Kaine's Sanction

by D. M. Pruden

  “Bullshit. You thought it was a test, and you didn’t want to lose face.”

  Hayden was unsure if the warmth he felt crawling up his face was the alcohol or his embarrassment. He nodded.

  “Well, it isn’t. I just needed a drink before we spoke.”

  “What is it you wanted to discuss, Captain?”

  “I think you know. We’re facing a no-win scenario.”

  “And you want my input.”

  “You’re bloody right I want it, Kaine. I can only think of one solution, and it will cost every life on this ship. I need options.”

  Hayden studied the drops of liquor clinging to the inside of his glass. “I’m not sure there are many. The Malliac are poised to jump as soon as they hack the gate controls. We’ve got to destroy it if we’re going to stop them.”

  “Which means we’re going to have to fight our way past them. Scimitar is a good ship, with the best crew in the fleet, but we’re outnumbered. Even with the new Glenatat hardware, we had a difficult time holding off two ships, but thirty of them...”

  Hayden stared at the floor. “Possibly, with Stella’s help, we can push our way through the armada, but...”

  “I view your girlfriend as an unreliable weapon of last resort. Don’t get me wrong, if I get the opportunity, I will use her, if she can make herself do it. I just want to ensure our effort will be worth it.”

  Silence hung over the room as both men contemplated the dilemma.

  “Perhaps there is a way,” said Hayden.

  Pavlovich looked up, a smile barely hidden behind his beard. “Go on, First Officer.”

  “If the Malliac were distracted, a small craft could possibly slip past them and dock with the station.”

  “Now you’re thinking like a military man. Go on.”

  “There is still the matter of the docked ship, but if I take a squad of Rangers with me...”

  “You? You don’t have the technical chops.”

  Hayden nodded. “I went over the specs with Cora. We only have to plant a singularity from one of our jump core chambers. The entire station will collapse into it, and the network will be destroyed. If I take Atan and some of her top shooters, we might be able to fight our way to inside.”

  “The odds...”

  “Are too ridiculous to take seriously. This is a Hail Mary pass, Captain. Destroying the jump-gate with the rail gun or the dark energy cannon won’t cut it. Transdimensional space will still be accessible to the Malliac if the station’s core remains intact. All they need do is recover it, and everything is over for us.”

  “It’s a suicide mission, Kaine.”

  “Sir, did you really believe any of us were getting out of this alive?”

  “You would be wasted in the diplomatic corps, Lieutenant.”

  Hayden smiled. “I guess we’ll never know.”

  “Well, since I can’t think of any other option, we’ll go with your plan. Scimitar will park between those ships and the black hole. With our light drive offline, there will be more power to devote to the energy cannons. Hopefully, we can hold them off long enough for you to complete your mission.”

  Hayden wondered how his father would react if he knew what he planned. Would he be proud of him, or disappointed by the mess he’d gotten himself into?

  “Mister Kaine.”

  “Sir?”

  “You have turned out to be an exemplary officer. My only regret is that I won’t be able rub the admiral’s nose in that fact.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  It Is Done...

  STELLA’S SHIP WAS not small. In fact, it was roomy enough that she and her father had made a comfortable home of it for several years. Yet the squad of Rangers in their combat armour made it seem cramped. As Hayden manoeuvred the vessel toward the remaining docking port of the control station, he was glad for the short trip from Scimitar. He was more grateful they had not been detected.

  Stella was to be thanked for that blessing. Despite Hayden’s anticipation that she would insist on accompanying him, she had volunteered to remain behind.

  “If I stay on the ship, I can distract their attention from you. You’ll never make it past them otherwise.”

  Not for the first time, she astounded him with her altruism. Though she was raised isolated from human society, her commitment to the greater good made him feel a deep sense of shame for what drove his life choices.

  She and Pavlovich had conspired behind his back, leaving him little choice but to accept their plan. Scimitar would park itself between the enemy fleet and the black hole. Stella agreed to be the bait to draw the enemy’s attention.

  It was difficult to leave her behind. He realized how irrational that regret was; everyone would likely be dead within an hour. Still, until his departure, he had entertained the romantic notion that the two of them might die in each other’s arms. Instead, they only managed to steal a few minutes alone before duty called them both. After an all-too-short embrace and a final kiss, he was aboard the small vessel with a group of grim, silent Rangers.

  He piloted the ship to the station’s second docking bay without seeming to attract any attention.

  “We have a positive seal.”

  Warrant Officer Atan nodded and donned her helmet. In her full combat gear, she and the six other soldiers resembled armoured giants as they faced the hatch, preparing themselves for what lay on the other side.

  Hayden had opted to wear light body armour so he could retain maximum mobility. His job was not to engage Malliac warriors; the Rangers were for that. His sole purpose was to plant the device that rested beside him.

  A tuned singularity extracted from one of Scimitar’s light drive engines resided inside a containment unit. The cylindrical package, about the size of his forearm, was to be planted as close as possible to the central reactor. On detonation, the confinement field would be collapsed, and the singularity would consume everything in its proximity.

  According to Cora, once the reaction core was consumed, the connecting filaments that connected their universe to transdimensional space would be destroyed. The black hole created by the Malliac would no longer be an entry point for them into the network.

  Of course, to be effective, he had to get to the reactor. The likelihood of that depended on how far they could penetrate the station before they were detected.

  Their modified dark energy weapons at the ready, the Rangers exited the craft in a staggered, defensive formation until only he remained aboard. Several seconds later, he received the all-clear signal.

  Ignoring the butterflies in his stomach, he followed the soldiers.

  The place seemed abandoned.

  He checked his helmet controls to ensure the Glenatat modifications were turned on. On confirming there were no Malliac in the vicinity, he forced himself to breathe.

  After displaying the route on his HUD, he nodded to Atan to proceed as planned.

  The Rangers pressed around him, Atan and three in front and the balance protecting their backs. In single file, they inched down the corridor. The advance guard checked and cleared every doorway and intersecting passage.

  Though the facility was smaller than Scimitar, it was still far larger than he had appreciated. It took the squad a few minutes to reach the sealed entrance to the chamber.

  He entered the universal override codes given him by Pavlovich. He hoped they were current as he input the final digit.

  The door opened to two Malliac soldiers. Almost three metres tall, they were encased in obsidian battle armour that seemed to glow from within. Multiple, insectoid arms with pincers held deadly appearing weapons.

  He cried out and stumbled back. Even as he fumbled to unholster his own blaster, one of the creatures fired at the hapless Ranger he had fallen into.

  Chaos unfolded with an exchange of weapons fire. His modified small firearm had no effect on the shielded alien, which turned its weapon upon him.

  A high-energy arm cannon took the Malliac out. It hurtled into its companion, kno
cking them both to the floor. Atan advanced into the open doorway to unleash a second fatal blast.

  As he struggled back to his feet, movement farther down the corridor caught his attention.

  “More of them are coming!”

  Knowing full well his gun was ineffectual, he directed fire at the alien that rounded the corner. Two Rangers joined him in targeting the creature, which collapsed under their withering barrage.

  Something seized him by the shoulder and yanked him inside the chamber. He turned to see it was Atan’s iron grip that had pulled him out of the firefight.

  Anticipating his question, she said, “Sorry, sir, but you’re no match for them, and you’re the only one who can get to the core with the bomb.”

  Hayden looked to the doorway to see that three of the squad were down. The surviving Rangers entered and sealed the door.

  “It won’t be long before they break through. We’ll cover you for as long as we can, sir.”

  The sick realization sank in that none of them would leave the station. If their lives were to mean anything, he had to ensure the package he came to plant did its job.

  Stepping over dead Malliac, he advanced to the chamber door. After a last look at Atan and the others, he opened it and entered.

  Though he had once toured a jump-gate control station during his time at the academy, that one was under construction and not active. The sight that greeted him overwhelmed his senses. The walls glowed, bathed in a brilliant, shifting spectrum of colours. Hayden was forced to override the filter of his visor so that he could make out details.

  In the middle of the cylindrical chamber, set like an axis, was the reaction core. It extended to the ceiling. Looking down, he noticed he stood on a transparent floor and saw the pillar continue down below him. The column pulsed with a blue light while the room thrummed in time with it. The room seemed to beat like a giant heart.

  As he secured the singularity bomb, he realized that the cardiac analogy was not inappropriate. In a few moments he would cut off the beating pulse of human civilization, setting his species back by half a millennium, perhaps even dooming it to extinction.

  Out of a sense of hope, Cora had built in a delay timer to give him time to get away. He turned it on and sat on the floor with his back to the console.

  Unholstering his firearm, he cradled it in his lap and laughed. He hoped that the Rangers could hold off the aliens until the bomb went off. If he was supposed to be final line of defence, his modified pop gun would not be of much use.

  He suppressed the urge to contact his escort. The last thing they needed was to be pestered about how the battle was going.

  Heavy blows against the reaction chamber door told him the whole story. Atan and the others were dead, and he would soon join them. He was worried that the door might not withstand whatever they had to use against it for the time he had left.

  Standing, he checked the readout. Several minutes remained. Cora had been generous when she provided for his escape. He searched the simple interface for an override button but failed to locate one. Sighing, he pointed his weapon at it.

  The purpose of the bomb was to rupture the suspension field that kept the singularity from interacting with anything. All he needed to do was destroy the container, and he and everything around him would be instantly sucked into the oblivion of a micro black hole. The network would be destroyed and his mission accomplished.

  A simple pull of the trigger, and the mission would be accomplished.

  Visions of Stella prevented him from doing it.

  He tried to imagine what was happening to her and the others aboard Scimitar. Even heavily armoured and with the enhanced firepower provided by the Glenatat, he had a difficult time imagining that they could withstand the onslaught of the Malliac fleet for long.

  If he didn’t act, the enemy would soon breach the doorway. He and everyone he ever knew or cared for would be dead by their hands. Human history would be wiped away, along with every other sentient species in the galaxy.

  How could a race be so malevolent? What drove them? Was it instinct? Were compassion and reason beyond them? He chuckled at the idea that he might be able to talk to them, negotiate with them to find another path.

  A heavy blow at the door yanked him from those fanciful thoughts. He inhaled deeply and steadied his shaking hand as he resolved to fire his gun the moment the door failed.

  Nothing happened.

  The incessant beating on the heavily armoured door had stopped.

  Hayden waited, anxiously anticipating a renewed assault. Perhaps they were preparing to use explosives. He looked at the remaining time on the bomb, considering the option of not waiting and guaranteeing the fulfillment of his mission.

  Had they somehow anticipated what he was up to and abandoned the station?

  A burst of static sounded in his helmet receiver, and he thought he heard Atan’s voice. Had she stopped the Malliac attackers after all? Perhaps she was injured.

  “Atan? Is that you? Status report! Chief?”

  “Bzzt...zzzpt...nemy dow...all clear—bzzt.”

  He took a final look at the countdown clock and made some computations. There was still time to escape. Atan and maybe others needed his help.

  He made up his mind.

  Advancing to the door, he cautiously opened it.

  A horrific scene greeted him. He was reminded of a museum painting his father once showed him titled “The Gates of Hell.”

  Near the doorway, he stepped over the remains of two Malliac soldiers. Farther away lay others, some with their armour ripped apart. Scattered among them were the armoured husks of the human Rangers. They had put up a superhuman resistance, overcoming twice their number.

  He searched for Atan or anyone who might still live. Spotting a Ranger beneath an alien body, he recognized Atan’s warrant officer insignia. Rushing to her side, he called out to her as he pushed aside a blaster, still attached to an arm.

  He removed her helmet and gasped at the sight of her lifeless face.

  A quick search of the other human bodies confirmed that none of the Rangers had survived. He glanced back at the two creatures lying by the door. Neither had signs of weapons damage, and he briefly wondered how that was possible before remembering the countdown timer.

  He picked up one of the lighter guns from a fallen Ranger and entered the corridor. A furtive glance up and down revealed it to be abandoned.

  He bolted from the room, desperate to reach his docked ship. Giving little thought to what he might do if he encountered any more of the aliens, he arrived at the airlock without incident.

  Less than a minute later, his vessel fired engines at full burn to put as much distance as possible between him and the station.

  Suddenly, in his wake, the blackness of space was illuminated by a brilliant flare of the exploding bomb. The expanding fireball reached its maximum radius before it pulsed, as if violently reaching the end of a leash. Just as quickly, the sphere of heat and light collapsed on itself, extinguished like a candle.

  It was done. Any sign of the station or the alien ship that was docked to it was gone, along with any means of return to Earth. The Malliac were stopped and no longer a threat to the rest of the galaxy. Instead of being proud, he couldn’t help but think he’d made a terrible mistake.

  He checked his navigation console. Reconciling his position, he searched for Scimitar, worried nothing remained of it.

  Shortly, he found it and brought an image up on the screen.

  What he saw was impossible.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Gone

  THE BATTLE WAS miraculously over, and Scimitar had carried the day, as unimaginable as that was. Dozens of Malliac ships were adrift. Many of them flickered, just like the wreck they’d encountered by the wormhole.

  Nearer the black hole drifted the severely wounded ship. A significant part of her bow was gone, and fires burned in the aft engineering section.

  Hayden’s heart pounded as he
adjusted course to rendezvous with the vessel. His spirits sank further with every unsuccessful attempt to raise her on the comm.

  As he approached, he noted the ship’s hangar was destroyed, so he located an intact docking port and manoeuvred his ship toward it.

  The seal was marginal, another miracle considering the beating Scimitar had taken. He forced the inner doors open and peered into the lightless interior.

  Playing his torchlight along the corridor, he did not recognize what he saw. Detritus and bodies floated, as if suspended in water. The walls were scorched, and blown panels revealed damaged conduit casing.

  Though Scimitar was obviously without gravity or power, the positive docking seal told him this section still had atmospheric pressure. He decided to keep his helmet on for the light and to filter out any toxins from the fires.

  His pulse pounded in his ears as he pulled himself along, past body after body of people he had spoken with only hours before.

  Not sure where to search, he made his way to the bridge. It was the most protected section, and he hoped he would find survivors there, including Stella.

  Fires and debris blocked his route, forcing him to find an alternate one. With every metre he advanced, his hope that anyone was alive diminished. The ship appeared to be crewed only by the dead.

  Finally reaching his goal, he found the hatch barely hanging from its hinges. Using a piece of debris, he levered the door open enough for him to enter. His heart sank at what he saw.

  The bridge had fared little better than the rest of Scimitar. Small fires burned, obscuring his view.

  He called out, hoping someone was alive to hear him.

  Someone coughed in the gloom. His pulse raced as he followed the sound to the place where Stella normally sat. He gasped at the sight of her. Still strapped in, her arms floated, slack, in front of her. Her eyes were closed, and he feared the worst. On reaching her, he saw her chest rise and fall. She coughed as he unbuckled her harness and enfolded her in his arms.

  Playing his light around, he saw nobody else. Twice more he shouted into the darkness, hoping someone would answer, but silence was his only reward.