“Oh… wow,” she said, somewhat sadly, realizing my time was limited.
“I’m sure you can handle it, James,” Dad said. “I know you can be the best.”
“Thanks Dad.”
After our talk, we decided to go eat. We went out to a local restaurant for some food. It was called Frank’s, which was essentially a burger joint. But despite the low cost and basic menu, the food was delicious.
“Mmmm, this stuff is great!” I said after downing another bite. “It’s way better than what we get from the military.”
Amanda gave me a look as if she thought I was crazy, but Mom just kept smiling.
“So…” Amanda said slowly. “What’s it like out there?”
“Not as fun as it sounded,” I stated calmly.
“It didn’t sound fun,” she laughed.
“Well, I personally had expected to serve Eli as well as enjoy it… But it’s brutal. Whenever someone dies…” I trailed off, my smile fading. There was a long pause.
“Well, the business is doing fine,” Dad interjected, noticing the awkwardness.
“That’s good,” I mumbled, still having flashbacks of Steven Roland and Ben Butler, both having been shot right beside me.
“While you were away we made quite a profit. Roger asked where you were last week. He apparently missed your wonderful service,” Dad continued.
“Oh… yeah,” I said.
I thought about how I would react if Nevin was killed… particularly right beside me. I started to feel light headed. I rubbed the area near my stomach where I had been shot. It was healed up nicely, but it still hurt sometimes. It started up its pain again.
“In fact, we are making so much money that Ross’s Rugs might be able to upgrade its store. Wouldn’t that be great?”
“Yeah Dad,” I said, trying to concentrate on him.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Then, I set the few bites of burger that were left back on my tray. “I think I’m done. I need to get some rest,” I said.
Shortly after we set back off for home. When we arrived I went up to my old room. My bed was still there, even after several years of vacancy. In the closet hung a few of my clothes, but most of them were stored in a box downstairs along with my other possessions. I changed into a plain white t-shirt and shorts and I sprawled out on my bed.
I quickly fell asleep, with the hope that sleep would clear my head. As I fell into darkness a strange world seemed to form around me. I felt warm… quite warm.
I look around and behind me our house is aflame. I try to move but I seem locked in place. I then look forward again to see my family standing in a line. A man armed with a pistol stood in front of them. He looked familiar. My mind ran through dozens of possibilities before it sank in… He was the first man I killed. The man my scope had picked on Sontonos. I felt a rifle in my hands. I attempt to raise the gun, but still I am unable to move. The man fires a shot into Mom’s head. He moves on and fires into Dad’s head. I want to call for help, but can’t, nothing is responding.
A raspy voice keeps repeating, “Save them! Protect them!” Finally the man shoots Amanda.
Suddenly, Nevin arrives, and kills the murderer. Slowly Rigel Korth approaches from behind, and jabs a knife into Nevin’s back. Nevin screams and collapses to the floor. Abruptly, I loosen up, raise my gun, and shoot Rigel.
Then darkness resumed. I woke up and looked around. It had become nighttime while I had been asleep. Everything seemed to be fine.
“Ugh,” I muttered. “It was just a dream… just a dream.”
I still felt tired, so I rested my head back on the pillow. As I returned to sleep, I hoped that it would not be as disturbing as the last time.
But this time it was not what would occur in my mind, but what would really happen that would be the most painful. I jerked up from my bed and looked out my window. It was early morning.
Car alarms were sounding and gunfire crackled around us. I heard the engine of some sort of aircraft nearby. I quickly threw my combat uniform back on and left my room. After I barreled down the stairs I found my parents in the kitchen gathering supplies.
“James! Help us, we’re getting the cans and taking them to the basement. Something is wrong!” Mom shouted.
Suddenly, there was a tremendous explosion. I glanced out the window to see that our neighbor’s house was burning and had a massive hole in the upper story.
“Where’s Manda?” I asked, worried for my sister.
“She’s already downstairs,” Dad replied as he shoved more cans in a bag.
I grabbed a package of bottled water and ran downstairs hastily. I saw Amanda folded up at the far end of the room. Choosing to join her, I made my way to her and sat.
Another explosion shook the ground.
“Mom? Dad? You guys okay?” I called.
When there was no response I stood up and went upstairs. There were bullet holes throughout our walls. I looked out the window and saw a Corsair clad in black paint hovering around. My parents were okay and ran to me with the bags.
“Let’s go, come on!” Dad rushed.
Listening, I followed him straight back downstairs and closed the door behind me. I paused for a moment, and then locked it. The basement was rather bare. One couch, the supplies we had brought, and the box containing my possessions were the only objects occupying it.
“Oh curses,” Dad mumbled pacing around. “What is going on!?”
I heard knocking and then more shooting. I wished that I had had a weapon to defend myself, but we didn’t own any guns. Plus, all of my military issued guns were at base.
We waited for maybe twenty minutes before it happened. I heard heavy knocks on the door. Then a foot broke through. Men broke through and charged. They held civilian rifles and pointed them around. Dad charged at them but was shot in the shoulder. He continued and bashed one in the face. Amanda screamed and started running. I willed myself forward. I seized one’s arm and pulled him over. Then I knocked him on the floor and started kicking him.
I looked over and saw Dad on the floor and one of the pirates approaching me.
“This war ain’t over yet,” the man muttered.
I reached for the downed man’s gun but was then slammed in the face by the stock of the other’s rifle. I felt pain for a short time longer before everything went away.
My eyes fluttered open. It was all still dark. Fires littered the area, and part of the basement’s ceiling had collapsed. Dad remained where I had last saw him, but now surrounded by blood. My eyes began to water at the sight.
“No… No… No!” I said breaking into tears. On the staircase was Mom, having not succeeded in her escape. I tried to crawl closer but it was hard. I had blood on my face from a gash in my forehead. My view was still fuzzy from my wounds. I finally managed to reach my Mom. I lay with my arm around her and remained there for what could have been hours. I felt that although I had survived, that they had killed me inside.
I did not know what happened to my sister. I had not seen her in the basement, so I assumed she had escaped. I wished her the best of luck and hoped to find her someday.
Elonian soldiers eventually found me. They took me to a refugee hospital that had been established. I would never forget that day… the pain I felt. It changed me. I knew I had to stop this from happening to others. I had to be the best I could be and put the Elonian people before myself.
Part II
The War Across the Stars
Chapter 11
Special Operations
“Move in,” Ryan whispered.
Nevin, Cassidy, and I entered a service tunnel, while Ryan, Philip, and Max went down a hall. We moved quickly and quietly down the tunnel. We arrived at a door and stacked up. I signaled for Nevin to move in. He acted on the signal and I heard a suppressed burst of gunfire. I followed him in and noticed the dead pirate on the floor.
We were moving in to the pirate base’s command center. Located there should be the pirate leader as well as an Elonian I
ntelligence officer. The officer had been siphoning sensitive information to the pirate group. His motives were unknown, as well as his identity.
Ryan’s team was moving in to disable the power. With the power off, the command center’s electronic doors would release.
We darted down the next hallway. Several more pirates were neutralized with ease. These pirates were no match for revolutions of high-level training. We had come far from our days back in the Vorgian War.
We arrived at the Command Center entrance. The door was still locked.
“Ryan, James here… We’re at the door.”
“10-4, we are closing in on the generator. ETA well under a minute,” Ryan said over the inter-suit COM.
“Roger that, sir.”
We waited patiently in the barely lit room. Then the lights cut and I heard several machines groan to a stop. I grabbed one side of the split door and Nevin grabbed the other. We pulled it open and Cassidy moved in. Nevin and I followed suit. Quickly we advanced and seized the frantic Intelligence officer. Nevin shouldered his SMG and fired a single round into the pirate commander’s head. He was expendable… and better off dead. As for the officer, we needed him alive. I slipped out a tranq needle and jammed it into the man. Nevin and Cassidy cleaned up the rest of the guards and we were clear to go.
“Objective secured. Prepped for evac.”
“Alright, we’re already closing in on the hangar,” he responded.
“We’ll be there shortly,” I informed him, shouldering the officer.
We needed to get to the hangar quickly. The destroyer Iron Fist was waiting outside to obliterate the base after we were off.
We hurried down the pitch-black halls. We had only our gun-mounted flashlights to guide us with the power off. On the way down the hall we encountered another pirate stumbling in the dark. A simple burst and he was down. Before long the whole base would be put out of their confusion. Within minutes we were boarding a solid black pirate Corsair.
“Good work team,” Ryan murmured as he started the engines.
We rose out of the hangar that had been carved into an asteroid. We could see the Iron Fist just outside the asteroid field.
“Rangers to Iron Fist… come in,” Ryan said over the COM.
“Iron Fist here, we read.”
“Objective secured. You are clear to open fire.”
“Copy that Rangers. Clear to open fire.”
Our stolen Corsair exited the asteroid field. The destroyer unleashed a massive barrage of missiles into the base. Asteroids exploded behind us. We soared into the open hangar bay of the destroyer.
We exited the Corsair, once again successful. We had made habit of success. We truly were the best soldiers the Empire has ever known, surpassing even the original Rangers.
We were far more organized than before, having more varied roles assigned between us.
Ryan, along with being team leader, was our explosives expert and pilot. He was probably still the most talented person among us.
Phil continued to manage electronics and data, and he tended to carry the SG-13 pump-action shotgun. This allowed him to use his strength in close quarters combat to his advantage.
Max had improved a lot from his days as our local idiot. He still had a tendency to crack jokes at the strangest of times.
Cassidy, ranked sixth in the original contest, had been added to our team to replace Robert. She did nothing but impress after that, having easily matched up with the rest of our team, and was certainly more useful than Max, even after his improvements. She had bright blue eyes and brown hair, about shoulder-length, bound to military specifications.
Nevin used the SMG-56 for mobility over power. He had only grown faster, and now our team made use of it, giving him tasks where his speed could be of aid.
I was proudly our designated marksman. My skills had improved immensely, to the point that I surpassed the rest of my team.
Before this most recent op, Colonel Miller, still the commander of the Rangers, informed us that we had an unusual mission next. He had told us it seemed unfit for a team like the Rangers.
Chapter 12
Operation UNKNOWN
The Rangers sat silently in a dark room. A bright holo-display sat in the center as the only light source. It resembled a TRIAD system, but was obviously modified for other purposes. Colonel Miller sat at the far end of the table. Several mysterious Intelligence officers observed the display.
“This mission is a gamble,” one of the officers stated.
“I understand that, but they are the only team that could handle the adverse conditions. If they find what we think they will, we’ll need them,” another responded.
“I don’t like it. What if the Vorgians knew we would collect the data? It may be sabotaged, faulty, a sort of ruse.”
“I agree,” another chimed in. “Besides, we are sending them through the Black Hole Belt. It’s ridiculous.”
“Yes, yes, I know. But the Vorgians likely succeeded. I trust this intel,” the second officer said thoughtfully.
A man with the lone star of a Brigadier rose from his seat and put his hands down on the table.
“This mission has already been decided. We are contradicting ourselves in a time of great importance. We need to hunt down Rigel Korth before he establishes some sort of new government.”
“Sir, with all due respect, it has been over a revolution since the Hornet departed from Vorga. I’m sure Korth has already begun on his new regime,” the first officer retorted.
The officer with the strongest support of the mission raised his hand for attention.
“Gentlemen. Yes we need to go. Yes we send the Rangers. But think. He will have a military stronghold at best, not a new civilization. The chances of finding other sentient life forms beyond the Black Hole Belt are astronomically low. We need to exterminate him, but we should not be concerned about his politics.”
“He’s right. Just be aware that every minute we waste listenin’ to this babble is a minute that my boys are not out preserving the safety of our citizens. This whole mission may be the wrong place for ‘em, but even so, let’s at least get it outta the way,” Colonel Miller argued.
Silence filled the room after Miller’s statement. I glanced over at Nevin.
“Okay. This is over. The mission is on. Rangers, you will arm up and ship up to the Procyon. Procyon has a new engine device to allow for you to arrive much faster through Ultradrive. You’ll keep a warp beacon on the ship, meant for release once you find this planet. Dismissed,” the Brigadier concluded.
We rose from our seats and exited the dark room. The hallway was noticeably brighter, and it took some time to adjust. This mission was unusual. Apparently Intelligence thinks that Rigel and Robert are not only alive, but also rebuilding. We boarded the Carrier-class shuttle and prepared to be taken up to Procyon.
“This new ship is pretty exciting,” Phil commented.
“Why?” Max asked plainly.
“This is top-of-the-line stuff. It is a new class of heavy assault cruisers. The new Procyon-class will take the place of the current Invader-class.”
We continued minor conversations as we waited for arrival at Procyon. Once on board the ship we departed for our bunks. This mission would require a lot of waiting before we initiated the action.
The next day Procyon launched from Euphola toward the Ontario Black Hole Belt, a region where stars had collapsed onto themselves, then pulled others in to do the same. The strange anomaly had always been enough to dissuade many attempts at passing through it. Fortunately, this ship’s Ultradrive should be able to shrink the singularities small enough for us to slip by.
We had a nice arsenal of weapons for the mission. We had all of the usual guns to expect, as well as a few specialties such as rocket launchers and the new SF-42 SOPMOD. The SF-42 was an all-purpose weapon in the literal sense. It was fairly light for maneuvering around, yet has brilliant accuracy. It had a mid-length barrel, which could be shortened w
ith ease for close quarters and heightened mobility. With a scope and semi-auto setting, it made an excellent sniper rifle. While it was inferior in stopping power to the SR-4, with a clean headshot, it worked with the same efficiency. A thirty round clip allowed sustained fire or for a seemingly unending sniper magazine. On full auto it had a reasonable rate of fire as to not waste ammo, but still get the stopping power dished out fast enough. It looked to be an amazing gun, and I was anxious to try it out alongside my SR-4.
Another day dragged on as the Procyon flew through a miniscule version of space.
“Attention all personnel. This is Captain Baker. We are entering the Black Hole Belt. Be on station and prepared for emergency. Let us hope we make it through safely,” a voice announced over the intercom.
“Phil? Risk assessment?” Ryan asked.
“Well, this has never been tried by us before, so I don’t know what to expect. The singularities may disrupt our Ultradrive, dropping us into normal space… in which case our ship would be swallowed by a black hole in seconds. We could also we pulled toward one of the miniature black holes, but that seems unlikely considering their gravitational pull will be greatly diminished,” Phil explained.
“Yeah, uh, that is unlikely right?” Max questioned.
“I honestly don’t know. This has NOT been attempted,” Phil replied.
I pondered what was going on in the bridge. There was a distinct possibility that disaster was coming down on us, and that the bridge was trying to sort it out. The thought of the ship being consumed by a black hole, and us, the Rangers, dying quietly on a ship in the Ontario Belt… it simply didn’t seem right.
We waited, soaring through Ultraspace for days. The sheer distance we had to have covered was mind-boggling.
At last, a week into our journey, our captain’s voice came onto the intercom.
“Attention personnel and strike teams. We will be dropping out of Ultraspace within the hour. We do NOT know what to expect, and the possibility of Korth having established a considerable force here is not out of the question. With that in mind, we need pilots in their ships, and soldiers locked and loaded.”
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