Sodenia- The First Space Bastion

by Luigi Robles

  “Alright, we’ll do it,” Larissa said.

  As Sodenia got near the enemy fleet, she began firing back, and the enemy ships began to fall. One by one, they dropped away, exploding in space left and right. It was then that Fain noticed that Sodenia’s cannons weren’t like the ones on the Acram ships, not even close. Where Sodenia’s cannons, even the smaller ones, took only a few shots to take an enemy ship down, the enemy weapons couldn’t penetrate Sodenia’s shield unless she was stationary. But it was the opposite when it came to their main flagship.

  Why so much of a difference? Fain thought. Could it be that they are used to having less resistance from other species? Is this why the Herrion almost won? Could they really be so arrogant? So proud?

  Fain did his best to avoid enemy fire, but sometimes it was downright impossible. Each time Sodenia’s shield got hit by one of the enemy’s weapons, it reverberated throughout the ship, and the shield lost a percentage of its integrity.

  As he neared Earth’s atmosphere, the firefight intensified as more heavy ships zeroed in on Sodenia. At the same time, the gigantic mess Green was in revealed itself to Fain. At least twenty-four heavy ships and a large number of scout ships were attacking the nearest shore. The cities by the shore were gone, most of them just a swath of ashes, and what was left was engulfed in flames.

  “Eora, deploy all drone pilots,” Fain said as he slowed the ship and skimmed the atmosphere. “Have them concentrate on the scout ships. And let’s fire everything we’ve got at those ships down there and the rest up here.”

  Fain knew that slowing the ship down wasn’t a great idea, as it would increase their target size exponentially. But he also knew that if they missed the target, they would hit Earth. Sodenia would be Earth’s shield, and he wasn’t going to abandon those people down there.

  The area around Sodenia was engulfed in a scorching exchange of firepower. The ship was firing all its weapons at the Acram fleet—missiles, cannons, Gatlin turrets, and drones—and did not stop for a second. All the while, Sodenia’s shield was beginning to fail.

  If this keeps up, we aren’t going to last much longer, Fain thought as he watched the numbers on the dashboard decline. They were making incredible progress, and the enemy fire was decreasing, as there were fewer of them, but their shield had only five percent integrity remaining. Plenty of enemy fire was getting through, damaging the ship’s hull and possibly the armored hide beneath it. They had to get out of there, and they had to get out of there fast.

  Come on, Eora, come on, you can do this, Fain thought as he eyed the last two heavy Acram ships remaining on Earth. Sweat was beginning to form on his forehead as the tension built up.

  “All heavy ships have been destroyed,” Eora said as the last two explosions appeared on the surrounding view screen. “There are only six scout ships left.”

  “Eora, monitor them closely. Have the drones continue to engage them,” Fain said as he accelerated Sodenia out of the target zone. “Try to buy us some time while our shield recuperates.”

  “Understood,” Eora said.

  Fain took the ship on a wide, curving course, at the end of which they would come face to face with the flagship. But he didn’t do so at full speed; he was buying Sodenia some time to restore her shield. The numbers on his dashboard looked promising. Seventeen large ships remained, along with fifteen scout ships—including those on Earth—and all the smaller ships had been destroyed. But Fain knew better than to celebrate, as the flagship remained, and it was following Sodenia’s every move.

  “Larissa, talk to me,” Fain said. “How is it going down there? Any good news?”

  “You know, Fain, this isn’t exactly a walk in the park,” Larissa said, sounding busy. “But we’ve managed. So far, we have seven missiles strapped onto drones.”

  “I think that will be enough,” Fain said. “Get them ready to launch and come back to the bridge.”

  “OK, that will only take a few minutes,” Larissa said.

  The seventeen remaining heavy ships kept attacking Sodenia as she moved through space, but just like the rest of the enemy fleet, they too fell to her mighty cannons. But something wasn’t right; it was as if they knew they were going to get destroyed but they went along with it anyway.

  “That’s the last of the heavy ships,” Eora confirmed. “And there are only two scout ships remaining on Earth.”

  Fain was now face to face with the colossal enemy flagship and heading straight for it at full speed.

  “Kya, I’m going to need you to work closely with me on this one,” Fain said.

  “That won’t be a problem,” Kya said.

  The flagship had fully turned to face Sodenia, and its claw-like limbs began transforming and rising once again. But Fain kept heading towards it.

  “We are on the bridge,” Larissa said. “And the drones are ready for launch.”

  “Good. I need everyone at their stations and strapped in,” Fain said. “This might be a bumpy ride.”

  “Eighty thousand miles and closing,” Eora said. “Target is well within range.”

  “Get ready to fire all cannons apart from the main cannons,” Fain said. “Fire at my command.”

  “Copy,” Eora said.

  Fain closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get a clear picture of what he was about to do. He thought about everything that had just happened, how the Acram behaved, and the things that did and didn’t make sense to him. He exhaled. When he opened his eyes again, he was in command—in command of his feelings, his body, and the situation. His mind was set.

  “There’s a large buildup of energy coming from the flagship,” Kya said.

  “Seventy thousand miles and closing,” Eora said.

  “Fire,” Fain said as he accelerated towards the flagship.

  “The cannons aren’t piercing their shield,” August said.

  “Fire the main cannons at two percent of their power, and stop firing the larger cannons,” Fain said as he abruptly stopped accelerating. “Kya, reroute all power we don’t use to the boosters.”

  Fain accelerated the ship once more, then abruptly stopped again after only a few seconds.

  “Pycca, I need you to drop our shield,” Fain said, gripping the controls. “Eora, stop firing all cannons one by one, and turn all Gatlin turrets towards the flagship. Fire the Gatlin turrets at will.”

  Fain saw the shield drop, and the turrets began to fire at the flagship. The crew trusted him to do the right thing, and they trusted him to win. He wasn’t about to let them down.

  “Deploy the drones,” Fain said as he accelerated and stopped once again. “Get them as close as necessary to fire the missiles, and have one of them detonate halfway there.”

  “Deploying rigged drones,” Eora said.

  “Kya, whatever power I am not using,” Fain said, “after I accelerate for more than five seconds, send it to the Fate cannons.”

  The drones headed towards the flagship, with one of them exploding midway, just as Fain had requested. The explosion looked minute in comparison to the previous explosions, or even the ship itself. But before the missiles were able to launch from the drones themselves, the flagship fired several small beams, destroying the drones along with the missiles.

  “Eora, stop firing the Gatlin turrets one by one,” Fain said as he brought Sodenia to a halt.

  “The high concentration of energy from the enemy ship is dropping,” Kya said. “It appears they are sending smaller ships to intercept Sodenia.”

  “I’ve learned a lot in our first venture into space,” Fain said, directing his voice to the bridge. “I’ve learned the capabilities of this ship and crew, and I am fairly sure we are just scratching the surface of both. And it’s because of that capacity and those abilities that we are here now, unafraid to look the enemy in the eye. But I’ve also learned something about the Acram throughout all of this, and that might just be their weakness. I’ve learned something about the so-called conquerors of the universe. I’v
e learned that they are arrogant, and they aren’t willing to win if it means using their full strength, and that’s going to cost them dearly today. Because today, we end this. Today, we win. Get ready to turn on the shield at full power, and fire the Fate cannons on my mark.”

  Fain accelerated Sodenia with everything it had, and the ship roared to life, pushing through space with the power of a star. He halved the distance between the flagship and Sodenia in a matter of seconds. The force pushed Fain back into his seat and almost took the air out of his lungs.

  “Shield up. Fire the main cannons,” Fain yelled as he took his hand off the accelerator and killed the engines completely. “Give it everything we’ve got.”

  Fain saw the massive flagship for only a few seconds before the Fate cannons erupted and their light obliterated his view. The main cannons managed to consume all the power stored in the battery modules within seconds. It was clear when Kya began feeding the cannons power straight from the ship’s quasar heart, as the light transitioned from orange to blue. The ship was beginning to shake under the massive stress of keeping such a powerful beam alive for so long.

  “Captain?” August asked.

  “We are dangerously close to overheating,” Eora said as the ship shook.

  “Just a little longer,” Fain said. “We have to make sure. We won’t have another shot.”

  “Fain?” Pycca asked.

  “Fain!” Larissa yelled.

  “Cease fire,” Fain said, reacting to Larissa’s voice. “Reroute all power back to normal and check all systems.”

  When the light cleared, Fain couldn’t believe his eyes. More than half of the massive flagship was gone, and the other half was destroying itself with a series of explosions.

  “Are you seeing this?” Fain asked as he began to move Sodenia away.

  “We are seeing it,” August said, unable to hide his cheerfulness. “That’s the end for them, and we are still alive. I almost can’t believe it.”

  “We are seeing it alright,” Pycca said. “But Sodenia is severely damaged. Nearly all systems are overheating. If we don’t land soon, that could be us.”

  “I hear you loud and clear,” Fain said. “We are heading to Earth.”

  Fain was able to hear the cheering crew from the bridge all the way to the command room.

  “Kya, monitor the ship as best you can until there’s nothing left of it,” Fain said, taking off his four-point seatbelt. “And one more thing—will you be able to land the ship on Earth?”

  “Both things will not be a problem,” Kya said. “Where would you like the ship to land?”

  “Let’s make it the same place as we took off,” Fain said as he lowered his pilot’s seat back down to the bridge. “If that’s possible. Keep me informed.”

  The crew cheered for Fain, but he was quick to stop them.

  “Things aren’t over yet, not by a long shot,” Fain said, putting his hands up and gesturing for them to stop. “And there are still two scout ships unaccounted for somewhere on Earth.”

  The crew members went back to their stations and began checking the ship and following orders from Pycca and Larissa. As they headed back to Earth at a comfortable speed, Fain patiently waited for the two scout ships to appear or be detected.

  But he didn’t have to wait long. Halfway through their return journey, Eora’s voice came through the coms. “Two scout ships detected. It appears they are attempting to leave Earth.”

  “Show them that coming to attack Earth is a one-way trip,” Fain said. “And let’s hope that they hear the message loud and clear.”

  Epilogue

  Sodenia landed on Earth near the same small island that it had blasted off from; the island itself was a few feet underwater. Fain felt uneasy about his decision. Something told him that it wasn’t right. He should have consulted with Colonel Green before landing, but now it was too late. He had walked into a clear disadvantage. He was mentally preparing himself to deal with the consequences of his decision. Fain knew that if he had stayed in space, negotiations wouldn’t have been one-sided.

  “There’s nothing left of the Acram fleet,” Eora chimed in.

  “Eora, thank you,” Fain said. “Kya, can you confirm?”

  “I can confirm that we’ve seen the last of the Acram fleet,” Kya said. “Over half of the flagship has self-destructed.”

  “Open her up,” Fain said. “It’s time to breathe some fresh air.”

  Every door on the ship that was able to open to the outside did, and people began to walk off the ship and onto the small underwater island. Most didn’t seem to care about the knee-deep water; they just looked happy to be back home.

  “Fain, are you coming?” August asked as he, Pycca, and Larissa headed towards the bridge door that led to the corridor.

  “Yeah, Fain, come on,” Larissa said.

  “I will go in a little while,” Fain said. “Go on ahead.”

  “If you don’t come out in ten minutes,” Larissa said, “I will come and get you, Fain Jegga.”

  That put a smile on his face, and he simply nodded in agreement. The three left, along with everyone else on the bridge, leaving Fain by himself.

  “I am guessing they want to make sure this isn’t just a dream,” Kya said. “They want to make sure that we are truly on Earth and that this is real life.”

  “Since when do you guess?” Fain asked.

  “When it comes to understanding human emotion,” Kya said, “I have always guessed. To truly understand human emotion, what every feeling really means, is beyond my capabilities.”

  “Heck, you aren’t alone in that,” Fain said. “I think that’s what makes us human. The fact that we can’t understand everything; the fact that we don’t know it all. And I like that. It is because of our inscrutable emotions that hope never truly dies.”

  “May I ask a question?” Kya asked.

  “Sure, go ahead. Ask me anything you want,” Fain said.

  “Since when did you know about philosophy?” Kya said. “I didn’t see that anywhere in your profile.”

  Fain laughed out loud for the first time in what seemed like forever.

  “And now you’ve learned how to joke as well,” Fain said, wiping a tear from his eye. “You are advancing every day.”

  “On a more serious matter,” Kya said, “Colonel Green is trying to reach you. This is the first time he has tried to reach you since the destruction of the Acram fleet.”

  “Put him through,” Fain said.

  “Fain, did we do it? Did we win?” Green asked, sounding stressed. “I tried to see as much as I could, but we had our hands full down here. Please tell me that we won.”

  “I can tell you, Colonel Green, that we’ve won this battle,” Fain said.

  “My God, Fain, thank you so much. We get to live another day,” Green said, sounding like he was sobbing, like a world of stress had been relieved. “We were thinking it was all over. We were thinking that this would be humanity’s last day on Earth.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, sir. It was not an obligation; it was a responsibility,” Fain said.

  “Regardless, son,” Green said, full of sincerity, “you have my thanks. Humanity owes you and the crew of the ship big time. Let’s just hope we can make them understand that.”

  “What do you mean, sir?” Fain asked, realizing that his initial worries might come to life.

  “First, please tell me that it was not Sodenia landing back on that island,” Green said.

  “Indeed it was, sir,” Fain said. “We need extensive repairs; we couldn’t stay in space for much longer. We had to bring her down.”

  “Although I knew you were going to say that, I was hoping that you wouldn’t,” Green said. “You see, Fain, the council members here on Earth are pretty pissed that their counterparts on the ship were killed. And they are trying to find someone to blame, or any excuse to take over the ship once again. They’ve taken your landing as a sign of disobedience against a direct order, and t
hey are holding you and the flight crew responsible. Now that you are here on Earth, the council loyalists will not have any problem turning and pointing fingers at you and the crew. There are also many nations trying to pull out of the ESAF. Things aren’t looking too great.”

  “What the hell?” Fain said, trying to stay calm. “We do all of this, and this is how they treat us?”

  “I know how you feel,” Green said. “I had my ass chewed out many times and almost got court-martialed for speaking in your defense. There’s already talk of replacing you and the flight crew. But we will do our best not to let that happen. Unlike the politicians and council members, we, like the people of Earth, are well aware of what you’ve done for us. But for now, we have to lie low and not give them any other reason to replace you.”

  “So, what will happen now?” Fain asked.

  “There is a navy fleet on its way to pick you up and bring you in,” Green said. “You shouldn’t be arrested. Quite the opposite. You will be treated and presented as heroes once you reach the nation’s capital. Expect to be giving speeches and such. But you will also not be allowed near Sodenia until this matter is resolved. Just be patient and inform the flight crew of this with utmost discretion.”

  “I understand, sir,” Fain said.

  “But don’t forget, Fain,” Green said, “there are many of us on your side. We owe you a great deal. Just be patient until we can figure out a way around this.”

  “OK, sir, I will try my best,” Fain said.

  “I will see you soon in the capital,” Green said. “And Fain, thanks again.”

  How can they be so selfish? It’s like it knows no bounds, Fain thought. We just saved their lives and they are looking for a way to end ours. Damn.

  “I don’t know what will happen now, Kya,” Fain said. “Knowing them, things could go either way. This might be the last time I see Sodenia or hear your voice.”

  “This will not be the last time you’ll see Sodenia, or hear my voice,” Kya said, sounding a bit different. Her voice no longer sounded disembodied; it sounded so human. “Or see me, even. I won’t let that happen. I won’t allow it. There will only ever be one captain of Sodenia, and that is you, Fain Jegga. I have already disabled the firewall that prevented me from controlling the ship. Things are much easier for me to do nowadays.”