Strand_Delarus

by Don Chase

  “Thank you for the timely rescue sir, but we really should leave now,” Graunt said.

  “Leave? You just got here.”

  “No, I mean all of us, this ship, we should go now. It’s not safe here.”

  “Chief Graunt, you are now on a Galactic Federation battleship. Please rest assured that you are indeed safe.”

  “Sir, the fighter squad is ready to go,” a crewman said.

  “Launch fighters, let’s get a closer look at this ship,” Morandez said.

  “NO!” Morris yelled. “You have no idea what you’re up against. They’ve already torn apart our fighters.”

  “Well that’s what you’re up here for, to explain to me what’s going on. Meanwhile, I don’t see the harm in having my fighters take a closer look.”

  “Considering that station could explode at anytime now I’d say they probably shouldn’t get too close,” Marcus said from the middle of the group.

  “Excuse me?” Morandez asked.

  “The reactor core safety locks have been turned off so that thing could go up anytime now,” Marcus said.

  “Who are you?” Morandez asked.

  “My name is Marcus and I work maintenance on the Delarus… or worked, I guess.”

  “Is this true?” Morandez asked looking at Graunt.

  “Yes sir, we turned off the safeties. It was the only way we could think of to take out that ship and those… things.”

  “Things?”

  “Well they’re not human sir. That I know.”

  “Well if they’re not humans then what are they?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Are you telling me they’re aliens Chief Graunt?”

  “I’m saying they’re not human, at least not anymore. If that means they’re aliens then yes that’s what I’m saying.”

  “The fighters are away sir,” a crewman said.

  “Thank you ensign.”

  “You need to recall those fighters and get us out of here. I know we sound crazy but those things infect people and turn them into something else, some kind of killing machine,” Morris said.

  “You do sound crazy. Now they infect people too? Someone really needs to start at the beginning and explain to me exactly what is going on.”

  “Happily sir, just get us far away from that station and we will take all the time you need,” Graunt said.

  “We’ll go when I say we go. I’m sure we’ll know more when…” The captain was cut off by a hoarse croaking laugh coming from the back of the group.

  Grady stepped forward, his face gray and sweaty. “It’s already too late,” he said.

  “Who’s this?” the captain asked.

  “Sir, be careful,” Morris said as he turned toward the short maintenance worker.

  “SILENCE!” Grady roared as he punched Morris square in the chest, sending him flying.

  Grady’s eyes rolled back in his head and he laughed again. “You can run as far as you want. We are here now. We are many, yet we are one as you will learn!” he roared.

  “He’s been infected!” Marcus yelled.

  Graunt cursed and fumbled for the pistol strapped to his side. Grady cackled again, which turned into a growl and he lunged toward Captain Morandez. Shots thundered and Grady howled dropping to his knees. The shots continued to ring out, Grady convulsed as each new shot landed. He lurched forward once and fell flat. He lay motionless at the feet of the captain. Morandez sat in his chair, his mouth agape and saw Morris sitting on the floor where he had landed finally lowering his pistol.

  “Now do you believe us?” the pilot asked as he pushed himself up off the floor of the bridge.

  “What in the seven Hells was that?” Morandez gasped.

  “Originally, that was Grady. He worked maintenance on the station too. What that was just now? I have no idea, but that station is overrun with them.” Morris said as he stood and holstered his pistol.

  “Did you know he was one of them?”

  “No sir, I didn’t. I would have killed him in the pod if I did.”

  “Sir, you need to call those fighters back and get us all out of here. Either that ship is going to decide to take an interest in us or that station is going to explode. Either way, I’d rather be far away,” Graunt said.

  Morandez considered the chief’s words and mentally leapt into action. “Start setting us a jump course out of here, somewhere far enough away, but not too close to any inhabited space and someone get me a radiation scan of that station. I want to know how hot it is in there.”

  “Sir, the fighters are almost to the target.”

  “Do we have that radiation scan yet?”

  “Yes sir, we do, the levels are spiking. They were right sir, that thing could go up any minute now. I also have a buildup of energy coming from the ship itself.”

  “They must be getting ready to fire! Get those fighters out of there!” Morris yelled.

  “Recall all fighters immediately!” Morandez ordered.

  “Fighters are peeling off now sir.”

  “Is the jump set?”

  “It should be by the time the fighters get back,” the navigator said.

  “Radiation levels are reaching critical levels sir.”

  “Will the fighters be back in time?”

  “Yes sir, but just barely.”

  “Put the station up on the main screen.”

  In an instant they could see the station sitting quietly on the main display. The fighters had already circled around to their docks on the far side of the Barstow. “Open all communications channels,” Morandez said.

  “Aye sir, all channels open.”

  “I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can, this is Captain Morandez, commander of the Galactic Federation battleship Barstow. You are about to be very unhappy for a very brief period of time. Your campaign ends now.”

  “Sir, both energy signatures continue to grow.”

  “Let’s see if we can help them along. Target the station itself and fire a salvo from the forward guns.”

  “Target Locked.”

  There was a deep thrumming as the forward guns fired. They could see several shots streak toward the station. From the distance they were at it seemed that the barrage did little damage. Everything was still for a moment, long enough to take a deep breath, and begin to let it out. Then the screen burst into a searing white light as the reactor core exploded and tore through Delarus station, ripping it to pieces that flew across space in every direction. Everyone on the bridge stared at the main screen silently as the light of the explosion began to dim.

  “Report.”

  “The only energy I’m picking up is residual energy from the explosion sir. Nothing defined.”

  “Sir, we are ready for jump.”

  “I think we’ve seen enough. Let’s get out of here.”

  The thrumming of the jump engines could be felt throughout the ship. There was a short countdown from the navigator and when he finished the main screen went black and the jump had begun. “What about the ship?” Marcus asked.

  “There was no sign of the ship, nor any signature of the energy that had been building up in it.”

  “So was it destroyed?” Marcus asked.

  “Of course it was. No ship that size could survive an explosion that big.”

  Marcus looked over to Morris who was standing next to Chief Graunt. Both men returned his worried gaze but all three stayed silent, for now.

  The End