by Trevor Wyatt
Tira pulled out a pistol from her holster and handed Jeryl the weapon, butt first. Jeryl gripped the weapon, checking its balance in his hands and smiling.
“Now, let’s kill these guys and get off this damn space station,” Jeryl said.
“I have an idea. A crazy one,” Tira replied.
Jeryl groaned as he pulled himself off the bulkhead and squatted with Tira.
“Four bogeys remaining,” she said. “Three by view glass and one by the wall. I’ll take the three by the view glass, while you take the one by the wall. They are about ten yards out. Got it?”
Jeryl looked at her blankly for a few seconds. It seemed as though he was having problems understanding her assessment. But then he nodded and looked ahead.
“Got it,” he said.
Tira kept her gaze on him for a while. Don’t fuck this up, sir, she didn’t dare to say.
“What’s your idea?” Jeryl asked, “And stop looking at me like I’m going to do something stupid.”
Tira smirked. “Sorry, sir.” She glanced at the transparent view glass to the left through which they could see the raging battle.
“If we could get one of the enemy’s shuttle to crash on this side of the space station, the flare could give us—”
“A flash bang effect,” Jeryl said. “Good. Do it.”
Tira brought her wrist device to her mouth. “Powers, come in.”
“Go for Powers,” a strained voice replied. “Fuck!” There was an attending explosion that lingered.
“Powers?”
“Still here, Tira,” he said.
“We’re on the south side of the space station, in the hallway where there’s a transparent view glass,” Tira spat. “Can you see it?”
The question hung in the air for a minute before Powers replied.
“Roger that. I see four bogeys advancing to your position,” he replied calmly. “How can I help?”
“Tell him to fire a torpedo on the bogey’s position instead,” Jeryl muttered. “He couldn’t get a shuttle to crash directly into the space station at this angle.”
Tira nodded and relayed the captain’s instruction to Powers.
“Are you sure about that?” he asked. “The station’s shield is already weak.”
“Do it, Powers,” Tira said.
“Roger that,” Powers said. “Hold on to something. Wait—sorry, there’s nothing to hold on to.” Then he laughed and the line went dead.
Fucking retard, Tira thought with a little smile.
In the chaos of the space battle, Tira saw a Hunter pull out of the dogfight, make a high turn, and begin to descend towards their side of the space station.
“Get ready, sir,” Tira said. “You have the one of the right, while I have the three on the left. Shut your eyes, sir. And move out on—”
“Tira, stop worrying about me, will you?” Jeryl snapped. “I’m well able to hold my own.”
“Sorry—”
The torpedo struck the space ship, rocking it to its root. The flare this time was more intense, the sound splitting ears.
Tira and Jeryl shot out of the bulkhead’s protection at the same time. Tira threw herself towards the nearest soldier, smacking his forehead with her weapon and knocking him out cold. Before he collapsed to the ground, she grabbed him, and used him as a body shield. Then she shot the remaining two dead center in their heads.
Tira finished off the soldier on her hand, then she turned to see if Jeryl needed help. She saw Jeryl looking back at her, standing over the dead body of the fourth bogey, who now had a hole through his head.
Jeryl smiled and said, “See, I told…”
And he collapsed.
Tira ran to him and caught him before he hit the ground. “Were you hit?” she asked immediately, checking his body for signs of bleeding.
“No,” Jeryl said, “just still tired.”
“Well, we need to get out of here.”
“The Seeker...”
“The Seeker's safe, Captain,” she told him, looking out as the hulking shape of The Seeker freed itself of the station, another battleship towing it out.
Tira helped Jeryl down the corridor. At the point where the corridor cornered, they paused, bringing their guns to bear. Once they saw that the other part of the hallway was deserted, they hobbled the rest of the way until they got to an escape pod.
It was a small section that looked some kind of outgrowth from outside the space station, but was in fact an escape pod.
Tira operated the controls, opening the doors. Jeryl helped himself in, while Tira followed. The moment she entered, the door opposite the pod opened up, and a contingent of soldiers poured in.
Tira had the advantage of surprise, which she took quite well. She fired off a few rounds, right after she tapped the eject button.
Three soldiers fell dead as the escape pod slid shut and shot off into space. Tira, who wasn’t strapped in, was forced into the back of the vessel, smacking her head against the surface.
Almost immediately, they were struck from the side by debris from the space station. The impact caused the engine to explode, throwing them into an uncontrolled spin.
“Shit!” Tira said, fighting the pain in her head that threatened to send her into unconsciousness. She reached for the seat opposite Jeryl and strapped herself in.
“What happened?” Jeryl said.
“We lost our engine. We’re still within orbit of the space station.”
“If it explodes…” Jeryl started.
“We go with it,” Tira said. She brought her wrist device to her mouth and said, “Mayday. Mayday. This is Tira, I’m with Captain Montgomery. We’ve lost engine power. We need help.”
“I copy you, Tira,” a familiar voice said. “Hunter to your six.”
Tira glanced at Jeryl, whose eyes had widened in shock.
“It’s Commander Gavin, sir,” Tira said, stating the obvious.
Almost immediately, they felt a sharp tug as a Hunter fixed an electromagnetic latch on the escape pod and began moving them to safety.
Just a few seconds later and the station exploded in a glorious flash of yellow and orange. They watched it happen through the tiny port in the escape pod. The hulking station imploded, fire tongues licking at the fuselage, and every ship in the vicinity was either caught in the explosion or the shock wave.
“Rest in pieces, motherfucker,” Tira said, Kaine's image floating in her mind.
Chapter 35
Jeryl
The hall echoed with the dull footsteps of officers.
Jeryl sat with Ashley by his side. They were both dressed smartly in the military white of command officers of the Terran Armada. Waiting on a bench adjacent to the main entrance into the briefing room, they looked at each other and smiled.
The waiting hall was huge with a vaunted ceiling. The ground had been painted with imagery of the beauty of space, making it look as it it were filled with twinkling stars and famous Armada starships.
Closer to the center of the great hall—which was really a large hallway—were paintings of The Ghost and The Seeker side by side. Two champions of the Earth-Sonali War. Even the Phantom or Firestorm didn’t come close to what they did to ensure humanity’s survival and eventual victory.
Jeryl didn’t know how solemn he had become until Ashley put her hand on his.
“I know how you feel,” she whispered, briefly looking up at the officers passing by.
Jeryl shook his head. How could you possibly know?
“Kaine was the most dedicated captain I knew,” Jeryl said. “He taught me a lot. I’m a decent enough captain because...because of him.”
Jeryl paused and examined The Ghost’s image on the ground. Even in the stream of sunlight from the high windows that washed the entire ground in a golden flood, The Ghost’s outline still had that ghostly feel. The artist had been able to capture its needle-like appearance, its darkly innards and the general stealthy feel.
In contrast, The Seeker was a hu
lking vessel. Bulky, huge, almost graceless and ready to battle. Near the twin vessels was another set of two vessels: Phantom and FireStorm, both of which were large and sleek. It was as though the engineers took the best of The Seeker and The Ghost and mashed them up to make superior vessels.
Jeryl only hoped that these vessels had superior captains.
“I know what it’s like to have your whole world turned upside down,” Ashley said. “I mean, look at me. I felt the same way when I discovered I was pregnant.”
Jeryl looked at his wife, her statement catching his attention. She was as beautiful as the day he had first met her—the real her, not the stereotyped executive officer that washes out of the Academy.
Weary stripes lined her forehead. Her eyes were a bit sunken in their sockets. Her cheeks were puffy. However, the paleness of her skin betrayed the stress she’d had to endure these past few days and weeks.
His eyes dropped to her abdomen. Her uniform had blotted any sign of a pregnancy. He could tell she was still getting used to the idea. Heck, he was still getting used to the idea.
Jeryl smiled at his wife and said, “How are you holding up?”
Ashley shrugged. She can be defensive when it came to the pregnancy and how it affected her work.
“I’m doing just fine,” she replied.
Jeryl nodded, closing his eyes for a moment and kneading his temple. “It’s been crazy these past few days, hasn’t it?”
Ashley gave a short laughter.
“More than crazy,” she replied. “You gave us more reason to worry during this mission than during the Earth-Sonali War.”
“That is so not true,” Jeryl replied amidst a wave of laughter.
“Honestly, Jeryl,” she replied, her face straight. She tried say something, but when Jeryl looked into her eyes, she held her tongue.
“I want what’s best for you and our child,” Jeryl said. “I just don’t know how to do that and be a captain.”
“I know,” Ashley replied.
There was a short, sweet silence between the two. Jeryl wished it would stretch for another few minutes, because for the first time since The Ghost fleet debacle, he was enjoying the warmth of his wife’s presence.
Ashley leaned into Jeryl and planted a kiss on his right cheek.
“I love you, Captain Montgomery,” she whispered into his ears. “Never forget that.”
Jeryl was about to reply, when an ensign marched out of the briefing room. He snapped into a salute and Jeryl saluted back.
“Captain Jeryl Montgomery,” he said officiously.
“Yes?” Jeryl replied.
“The Admirals are ready to see you.”
Jeryl squeezed his wife’s hands. They both shared a smile before he followed the ensign through a door. The door led into a hallway that ended in a small antechamber where two other ensigns operated workstations.
“Through that door, sir,” the ensign who’d come to fetch him said.
Without a word, Jeryl walked into the briefing room.
Among the Admirals in the session were the commander of the Terran Armada, the commander of the Terran Armada Intelligence, the Director of the TAIOC and Admiral Flynn.
All parties concerned had already received a full briefing packet before now, so Jeryl simply summarized what he had sent to them. There weren’t many questions to be asked, except some clarifications on how deeply Kaine was in league with the Tyreesians. After these clarifications, they discussed how they would react to the Tyreesians’ machinations.
About an hour and a half after Jeryl walked into the briefing room, he walked back out into the great hall. Ashley was still waiting for him when he emerged.
“How did it go?” she said, standing up to meet him.
Jeryl shrugged. “As bland as it could’ve gone.”
“That’s odd,” she commented, the hint of a smile appearing on her lips. “There’s usually someone to blame for something even when missions go according to plan.”
Jeryl smiled. “It wouldn’t be the Armada if no one blamed anyone.”
They walked out of the complex laughing at their own joke. Their shuttle from The Seeker waited on the ground level air park.
“Take us to the Armada memorial,” Jeryl commanded the moment they were both seated and strapped in.
“Aye, sir,” replied the ensign at the control.
The shuttle lifted off into the air and dove south into the heart of the city.
When they landed at the memorial, there was a staff waiting to escort them to Kaine’s resting place. The pleasant middle-aged woman told them what they could and couldn’t do before she left them to it.
Jeryl stood over Kaine’s headstone in a paralyzing wonder. Ashley stood by his side quietly. It was one of the things he loved about her. She knew when silence was preferred. She knew when to talk. She knew him so well that he could trust her to do the right thing. This was why he knew she would do the right thing for their baby and family.
Thing is, can I do the right thing? Can I trust myself to do what’s right for our child?
“He died. Years ago.”
“What?” Ashley croaked, suddenly surprised.
Jeryl continued immediately, “I know he went down with the station, but that wasn't Kaine. That wasn't the man I knew. The man I called brother died all those years ago...the one that in league with the Tyreesians, the one who rose against his own race—that one is nothing but a murderous traitor.”
Jeryl said that last bit with so much venom that it unsettled him. He didn’t know how deeply affected by Kaine’s actions he still was.
Ashley began to rub his back gently and soothingly, reassuring him.
“I guess in a way, I’m still mourning him,” Jeryl said. “The one I called my friend is truly gone. What came after him was a monster.”
Jeryl turned and took his wife’s hands.
“If such a thing can happen to Kaine, of all people,” Jeryl started, “how much less me?”
“Don’t, Jeryl,” Ashley said. “Don’t compare yourself to that monster.”
Jeryl nodded. He looked away for a moment.
“What I’m saying is this,” he continued, staring at her passionately. “I don’t want to become what Kaine has become. If it can happen to Kaine, it can happen to even the best of us. What if I lost you? What if I lost our baby?”
Ashely remained silent, holding his hands and his gaze with a steadfast strength.
“I think that...maybe it’s time to step down from my role as captain,” he continued. “It’s no longer just me and you. There’s a third one coming, and he requires all of our time and dedication. I don’t see that happening if I’m still commanding The Seeker.”
“Are you sure about that?” Ashley said, her eyes brimming with hope.
“I mean, we don’t have to leave the Armada,” Jeryl said. “They’ll still need our help.”
“True,” Ashley replied. “We have a few more patrol assignments. After that, we could hang our hats.”
“Settle down for an office position on Earth or New Washington,” Jeryl said.
“Or one of the Union’s more beautiful worlds,” she said.
“Right,” Jeryl said. “No more crazy antics. No more wild missions. No more putting our lives on the line. We have a family to worry about.”
With a smile on her face, Ashley agreed. “Yes.”
And then they kissed.
Family, Jeryl thought, that's what matters now.
Ahead of them, a new life awaited.
Chapter 36
Cassius
Cassius took a huge bite of the specialty pasta that had just arrived. It was from his favorite restaurant, and he only allowed himself to indulge once every two months. His tablet dinged at him and he set the fork down with an annoyed grunt.
This better be good, he thought as he wiped his hands and picked up the tablet.
It was the encrypted message he had been waiting for.
The pasta would have to
wait. He looked at it with longing before decrypting the message.
Operation complete. Meet at the designated location, was all it read.
Cassius smiled in triumph. The son of a bitch made it. The plan had been ambitious at best, a suicide trap at worst. He only held a tenuous hope for success, and fully expected failure.
The message was exalting. He wanted to run out to the meeting place right away. He half-stood, then sat down in disappointment. The meeting wasn’t until 0230. Cassius poured himself a celebratory whisky, the food now forgotten.
Unable to sleep, Cassius shook his security detail early and drove around Fairdale. His old stomping grounds brought back memories of growing up poor and in the clutches of the local gang, the Rolands.
The Rolands still ran the place, for the price of his Chancellorship. When he was young and half-starved, he never imagined he would make deals like that. He was naive and righteous. He had no idea how things worked in the real world.
He held that view until his wife and son were killed by a manufactured plague.
That incident was covered up quickly, and Cassius was forced to do questionable things to ensure the future of his two daughters. Fairdale had come a long way since those days. Each house and apartment had the basic requirements now, and he had instituted a food program. No one on his planet would ever starve again. That alone was worth it.
He pulled into the shipyard and killed the lights. It was the middle of the night and thanks to his crime boss brother, the security lights and cameras were ‘on the fritz’. This was where the Rolands conducted their shadier business deals. Francis Ojun declared it off limits for the night at Cassius’s request.
The brothers had almost become enemies in Cassius’s early days of politics. Cassius had dreamed of cleaning up the organized crime that held his family figurative prisoners for so many years. Instead of aiding the poor that the government didn’t give a rat’s ass about, they extorted them further. Luckily, Francis changed most of that when he took over. While they still had their illegal operations, he used the excess profit to help those in need. He also gave a lot of hard working people legitimate jobs. Upon reflection, Cassius realized the gang leader had turned out more noble than the Chancellor.
