by Danny Brown
He exited his PAU, then ran over to the control panel. Being higher ranked, he had access to all sections of the ship, including the sealed flag bridge.
The doors began to open once he entered his codes. They did not open all the way due to the damage taken by the pirates attempting entry.
He was not prepared for what he saw. There was a brightness to the large room, but it came not from the lighting systems. He picked up a helmet from the back of the flag bridge and placed it on his head. The auto shader immediately darkened his visor as dark as it could go. There, in the middle of the room, shining brighter than the sun….
Is..is that an angel?! He thought.
As he slowly approached, a chill went down his spine when the being took notice of him, looking directly at him.
Oh God, Jackie?!
##
Content in the destruction of so many pirates, Jackie relaxed, enjoying the flames as they fluttered and swirled all around her. Killing all those pirates seemed so easy to her. The deaths of the ones deserving of punishment seemed so just. The infestation had been eradicated.
I have become like a god! I feel…so…powerful!
She thought to herself how the people of the Commonwealth revered her, how they could become her people, they would so easily bow down and worship her!
And they should. I was dead, and am alive again. I have delivered them from the evil ones. Yes, they will love me, they will worship me!
She considered, with a twinge of regret, how this was a suitable replacement for what happened to her on Earth those years ago.
I was weak and powerless. Now I am strong! No one will hurt me again! Never again!
At that moment, the blast door to the flag bridge creaked as it slid partially open. In came a figure, a man dressed in black. He reached over and grabbed a helmet, putting it on and facing her.
What interest does this insect take in a god?
The man approached slowly, regarding her body levitating above the deck.
Will he be my first? She thought with excitement. Will he bow down and worship me?
Even through his mostly opaque mask, she could see his features. He looked at her with awe and reverence…and sadness. She saw his lips moving but heard nothing. She wanted to listen to what he was saying!
I am distracted, too distracted. My mind is in too many places simultaneously. I must focus, to gather myself to hear my worshiper!
She consolidated her many minds, no longer able to see what was happening across the planet below, nor on the ships around her as she folded her consciousness back into herself. All to focus on this man.
“…that’s why I need you to come back to us, come back to me, Jackie.” she heard him say.
I know that voice…I know that man!
“I know you were raised to be a good person. At one time, you were a great wife and a great mother. I know you were hurt very badly. I know you feel like this power makes up for what was lost, but it does not, it cannot. Not ever. This is not what your family would have wanted.”
That’s…that’s…Rick!
“I told you, I promised you, I was not going anywhere,” he said calmly. “So here I stand before you. I love you, Jacqueline Campo, come back to me. This is not who you are. You are a woman, not like other women, but a woman nonetheless. You are the executive officer on board the WFS Nemesis. You are a woman with a call on her life to lead, not to dominate. Come back to us, come back to me.”
Wh-What am I doing?
<
Pari?
<
Why have you been silent?
<
What’s happening to me?
<
Yes, I realize that now.
<
Who was your creator?
<
You knew her?!
<
Relinquish, she commanded the fire.
The fire left Jackie upon her command, fleeing through the walls then the bulkheads of the Nemesis joining the flames outside. The fire that encompassed the ship then fled down to the surface of the planet, then below the crust from whence it came leaving the Nemesis as a large, matte black object in the sky.
The glow of her eyes and veins dissipated. Her body gently lowered to the ground, facing Commander Amori with a very obvious look of relief on his face, and a hint of a smile.
“Welcome back, Commander,” he said.
“I was…losing myself,” Jackie said as she slowly shook her head. “You came for me…again,” she continued, appearing weary as she looked up at him.
Then she collapsed, and her vision went dark as an oppressive exhaustion took her to much-needed rest.
Chapter 26
Dennaway Star System
The planet Wellington, city of Tyre
Five days had passed since the Battle for Wellington. Much of the surviving crew were in medical facilities in and around Tyre, as they numbers in the thousands. Many thousands of deaths had occurred in the allied fleet, with casualties reaching over sixty-percent. The surviving ships were operating on skeleton crews barely large enough to keep them in orbit.
After the satellite-to-Gate relays had been re-established, the rest of home fleet had been recalled, along with fifth fleet and the forty-third. More than a thousand warships now orbited the planet of Wellington. The Commonwealth was taking no chances that their home planet could be in for a follow-up attack, at least until the Gatekeepers could be rebuilt.
Large salvage crews had been called up to clear out the orbital debris and to clean out the remnants of the pirate fleet which still had its largest ships intact and were adrift. By law, these former enemy ships were now the property of the Commonwealth to do as they pleased.
The government called for a high-level meeting but was quiet regarding the topic. The Federation had already submitted it’s debrief, along with the official stance of the nation and the individual reports from principal officers. What more was needed was unknown.
Jackie debarked the shuttle with Commodore Summers, Captain Jeri De Vitis and Commander Rick Amori, all in dress uniform with an escort of heavily armed marines. The shuttle before them had debarked Commodore Charles Eikel and Captain Camila Garcia with their complement of marines.
The need for security had reach levels of paranoia not seen in the Commonwealth capital for over a generation. What almost happened was an atrocity of unheard of levels. Over a hundred thousand civilians had died when the pirates made landfall. They did not die from orbital bombardment nor nuclear devastation, but from a brutal, almost primal desire for murder. No one wanted to take chances that some may be lurking about, or that conspirators would have a second-strike option ready to go, especially with the so much of the leadership on the planet.
The security employed in the city was tight. It was basically on lockdown. On top of a the deployment of a full division of marines, they had one whole battalion of marines in PAUs and even broke out two battalions of ACUs, or Autonomous Combat Units. The Commonwealth was the only empire with robot soldiers, as nobody else seemed able to work out the tech. There were dozens of tanks blocking key streets
, powered mechs almost three stories high roaming about and fighters flying seemingly random patterns over the city. Jackie could not look at a roofline without seeing snipers in position, ready to strike.
As they walked into the building, marines lined the corridors. Upon seeing the Federation marines, there was a camaraderie in their eyes. Upon seeing Jackie, there was only fear. Many stepped back as she approached. She had to breathe deeply, knowing her differences were out in front of everyone.
Leaks had occurred, and her story was all over the media. The Askirti princess, escaping Earth. The Askirti princess, surviving the massacre of Orlando. The Askirti princess, watching her own family die. The Askirti demon burning down enemies where they stood. To some she was a hero, to some, she was the devil. To all, she was regarded with no small amount of fear.
All I wanted was to raise my children quietly, spend my life loving my husband and uplifting my community. Now I am seen as the monster of legend. When will they seek to destroy me? Is that what this meeting is?
As they walked into a small auditorium, it was already packed with the major Commonwealth military leaders, some from the Dennaway system, others brought in from their more powerful systems and various fleets. The procession into the room was greeted with a familiar silence, one she was all too familiar with after years of military service. The hushed tones, the stares.
The Ice Queen cometh.
She just closed her eyes momentarily and drew in another deep breath. The Federation party was led to an assigned place in the center of the room. After they had been seated, His Eminence stood.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said. “This is a closed meeting. As each of you has already been debriefed, we have reviewed everyone statements and are trying to wrap our heads around how this happened….”
The prime minister droned on as politicians did and Jackie quickly became bored. As she eyeballed the room, she noticed person after person was staring at only the Federation crew. No, only at her. It was unnerving, but she had long ago learned how to disconnect her feelings from her face and allowed herself to at least show a state of confidence she did not feel.
<
I’m sure you can call me Jackie.
<
Did you?
<
Ha, no thanks. Is there something you wanted?
<>
What?! Who was it?
<
It took only a moment for Jackie to find who Pari was referencing.
Okay, and how is the Commonwealth doing in their investigation?
<
Pari?
<
Jackie snorted slightly.
What evidence do you have?
<
Jackie was so involved with what Pari was sharing with her that she did not hear her name when it was called first.
“Commander Campo, do you have anything you would like to share concerning our investigation?” asked an older, distinguished woman.
What was her name?
<
Oops, okay, thanks!
Jackie looked over to Commodore Summers who nodded to her to proceed, so she stood.
“The Federation agrees with the sentiment of this committee that inside help contributed to the gutting of the home fleet prior to the invasion…” at this point, Pari was telling her word by word what to say so she sounded like she knew what she was talking about as it was her turn to drone on.
“And?” Admiral Lee asked.
<
That’s preposterous!
<
“Admiral, this sounds like a Commonwealth matter. How much do you want the Federation meddling in your affairs?” Jackie responded.
“Commander, while that might be true, a lot of innocent people died, and we are requesting a little cooperation here,” the admiral said in an over polite way. “The three men to your right are suspects in a conspiracy that led to the invasion. We wish to know…what they know,” she added. Jackie could plainly see the woman was scared talking to her. Pari had shown her the woman’s increased heart rate and perspiration along with other vitals.
I don’t need to see her vitals to know that she’s about to pee herself right now!
<
“Very well,” Jackie answered.
She slowly stood, took a few steps towards the men then stopped.
“It will be better for you if you cooperate,” she said in a calm, quiet voice.
The one in the middle, Admiral Rubenstein, sat back without a care in the world with the person to his left, General Lim Ruptiz, who oversaw the militia on the ground, the same army that seemed unusually disorganized during the attack. The one on his right was sweating bullets. Jackie decided to address this man. He was fat and bald and looked like he was about to pass out.
“Fleet Admiral Tomas Patel,” she said. “You are suspected of treason. How do you plead?”
“Y-You’ve got nothing on me! I’ve done nothing wrong!” he responded.
“Admiral, I saw on your news how over two thousand of the dead on your planet were babies. Tiny, helpless human beings. The fleet was sworn to protect them but failed. Can you explain how your fleet failed those children?”
“I’m not talking! You can’t make me! I have rights!” he yelled.
Jackie looked over to the prime minister, then Admiral Lee and gently said, “I can retrieve what it is you seek. But I am afraid they might not survive. Please inform me as to the will of the Commonwealth in this matter.”
Admiral Lee responded fearfully, “we know they are involved, but the details were kept only in their heads. We have to know what they know.”
“Very well.”
Jackie looked back over at the men, the one in the middle still having a smug look on his face. Her eyes began to glow bright green, as did the veins in her face and hands as her hair flowed unnaturally.
The lights suddenly dimmed in the room, small bolts of lightning coalesced on Jackie. A small, white fire burst from her neckline, slightly licking the base of her skull and jaw line. More fire came out of her sleeves towards her hands.
There were gasps and a few screams across the room as people were taken by surprise. Many had supposed the stories they heard on the news were a cover story. They thought the Commonwealth had a new secret weapon. Most in this room had supposed it was impossible a person could wield such power. They were wrong.
As she took a few more steps towards the three men, the one in the middle was no longer looking smug. He had a look of absolute horror on what was about to happen.
Jackie spoke, but no longer needed her mouth. Her voice came from everywhere, sounding as if many voices speaking as one.
“You will give up your secrets. There is no hiding.”
Jackie first extended her hand towards Admiral Patel. He seemed like the easiest target. Flames leaped from her hand to his head, encasing it in a ghostly, otherworldly fashion followed by more gasps from around the room.
<
After a minute of exploration, of sinking her tentacles into his mind, she found what she wanted, which was not much
<
She released him. It had been painful for him, he was shaking and crying, grabbing his head with both hands. He fell out of his seat, using his legs to scurry away from her until he backed into a wide-eyed marine who was also terrified. The admiral was no longer in his right mind, laying there curled up in the fetal position, crying and blabbing on senselessly.
Looking at the other two at the table, she said with many voices, all omnidirectional, “You two reek of sin, in a moment I will know what you know.”
Then she extended both hands, one at each man, and flames leaped out, encasing their heads, only brighter this time. As she lifted her hands, their bodies followed suit lifting out of their chairs and into the air. As she lifted them up, lightning continued to pour energy into her, creating quite the spectacle. The two men were shaking and convulsing, blood coming from their eyes, noses, and ears. Moments later, she released them, and their bodies slumped to the ground. Smoke was coming up from them due to the intensity of the energy they were burdened with, and their eye sockets have been fully burned out.
Pari, compile a report of our findings and send to Admiral Lee.
<
The lightning ceased, the fire went away, her eyes returned to normal, as did her skin, and the lights in the room went to full brightness again. Jackie calmly turned back towards the admiralty to address them. Everyone was in utter horror as to the power she held, unsure of what would happen next.
“I have found what could be found. Details have been sent to your tablet,” Jackie said in her quiet voice. “They call themselves ‘The Chosen.' It is indeed a network of pirates across the various empires of men. Most disturbingly, they truly believe what they are doing is for the greater good.”
