Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair

by Marcus Johnson

  “This is Lieutenant Commander Peterson with an announcement to the crew of the Avoni. In the last attack, Captain Valis and Commander Kivi have been injured. With rest they will recover, but as of now, I’ll be taking command of the Avoni. Prepare to send all of our injured over to the Daevoni. That is all for now.” After turning off the com he turned to Mira. “Please do the same for the captain and commander.”

  “Okay,” Mira answered. She motioned for the medical officers to get a pair of stretchers.

  “Do we have a plan?” Zae asked as she turned to speak with Brian.

  “Valis left one behind on her computer,” he answered. “I’ll be sending it to the pilots and allied ships in a few minutes.”

  “You kept your cool,” Zae remarked.

  Brian looked over at Valis and Kivi once more. “As much as I want to shout and cry out it won’t do them any good. Until further notice you’re the first officer Zae. I’ll be counting on you.”

  “Yes,” she said.

  * * *

  Seles and the other pilots landed on the Avoni. She left her mobile suit and saw Jesela in a frenzy of work. She quickly made her way from the launching bay to the bridge and found Brian there, along with Zae and Baed.

  “Where’s the captain?” Seles asked as she surveyed the bridge.

  “Her and Kivi were injured and are being transferred over to the Daevoni,” Baed said.

  Brian went to reassure her. “Don’t worry, they’ll both survive. For now I’m taking command.”

  “We’re receiving a hail from the other two ships,” Zae reported.

  “Put them through,” Brian said. A moment later the image of Esra and El Kar appeared split screen again. Both saw Brian and the look on their faces changed.

  “What’s happened to Valis?” Esra asked.

  “Her and the commander have been injured,” he answered. “As stated in the battle plan she sent you we’re transferring all our injured personal to your ship.”

  “The plan she submitted is suicide,” El Kar said while looking it over on his ship. “There’s no way the Avoni will survive on its own, even for a short while.”

  “We’ll manage,” Brian said.

  Jesela walked through the bridge’s elevator door a moment later. She went to the station at the top of the bridge for engineering use. After making sure the system still worked she looked at Brian.

  “We’re going to use the remaining forty mobile suits as a shield,” Jesela said. “If each of them grabs onto the Avoni at regular intervals it’ll create a shield as strong as the Grey ships.”

  “That’s insane,” Esra said.

  El Kar laughed. “Yes, it’s madness indeed. But if Lady Star came up with the plan then it’ll work. I’ll do as asked Brian.”

  Esra shook her head in disbelief. “I’ll defer this to the two of you. We’ll prepare to leave in ten hours.”

  “Agreed,” Brian said as the other two captains left the conversation.

  “What should I do?” Seles asked.

  He turned to her. “I want you to lead the mobile suit forces from the Daevoni.”

  “What? Why shouldn’t I stay here?” Seles asked. She appeared angry.

  Brian motioned for her to join him in the meeting room adjacent to the bridge. “Zae, please take care of everything for a moment. I need to speak with Seles in private.”

  “Sure,” Zae said.

  Seles went into the meeting room with Brian. “Are you trying to push me off the ship?” she asked.

  “That’s not it at all.” He paused while thinking over the battle plan. “Valis’s plan has many contingencies in case it doesn’t go as planned. When the other ships jump out of here they’re going to need someone who can make capable decisions on the ground. I trust Dreka to do so for the Talons defending the Reinkar, but I’m not sure about the Daevoni’s forces. Not because they’re incompetent, but because they took serious damage from their battle with the Greys. Since I have to stay with the Avoni you’ll have to be the one to take charge on the other end.”

  She sighed before closing her eyes to gather herself. “Good, I didn’t want to think you’d do that to me.” She pulled him down to her level and kissed him. “Take off this armor Brian; we only have a short time together.”

  “Right here?” he asked while deactivating the seal on the exoskeleton.

  “Yes, there’s no time to go anywhere else.”

  He laughed. “Both of us may not be alive tomorrow.”

  “Stop saying things like that, it’s a mood killer.”

  “Whatever you say my lady,” he said.

  On the other side of the door, Jesela and Baed had their ears to the door.

  “What are you two doing?” Zae asked as she stood up to join them.

  Baed blushed before going back to her station. Jesela started laughing silently.

  “Is something funny going on?” Zae asked before putting her ear to the door. A moment later she blushed and went back to her station. “So that’s it.”

  * * *

  Valis awoke groggy and stared at the ceiling of a transport shuttle. She tried sitting up, but found it too painful to do so. Mira came over to her. “You’ll be alright captain.”

  “What happened?” Valis asked weakly. She saw that Kivi was unconscious on the bed next to her.

  “Brian found your battle plan and maneuvered the Avoni into the moon. He’s looking over the other one you were working on right now,” Mira said.

  “Please, put me through to him,” Valis requested.

  “Sure.” Mira turned on the video monitor next to Valis’s bed and called the bridge. Brian answered the call via the chair computer.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Like I got shot in the back,” Valis answered.

  “Just be glad you’re alive.”

  “Of course,” Valis said. “Have you had a chance to look over what I was working on?”

  “All of its right here,” he said while pointing to his head. “I’m be sending you and Kivi, along with Mira over to the Daevoni. Seles will lead the forces guarding the rest of the fleet.”

  “What about you?”

  “We have forty mobile suits to work with,” Brian said. “Our job is to attack the Grey forces surrounding the moon and draw them away from the rest of you.”

  “With their strength you won’t survive very long,” she said.

  “Jesela has a crazy plan to keep us alive,” he said.

  Valis laughed weakly. “She’s going to use the Rakna’s shields around the Avoni, isn’t she?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “That really does sound crazy.” Valis paused for a moment. “I trust the Avoni to you for now. Survive this day and come back to me soon.”

  “I will Valis, it’s a promise.”

  The message ended. Valis turned away before coughing. “Why do I feel like I sent him to his death?”

  Mira took her hand. “Have faith in him and all the crew staying behind with him.”

  Chapter 6 - A Battle of Separation

  Brian stood on the bridge of the Avoni. He looked out of place after being only a pilot for a long time. In front of him were Zae and Baed at their usual stations, with Jesela standing at the rear console. Zae turned around to signal that his transmission would be heard throughout the ship.

  “To all remaining personal of the Avoni, we’re to lead an attack on the Grey forces waiting outside this moon. Our mission is to divert their forces long enough for the Daevoni, the Reinkar, and all of the Reiki vessels to escape. As soon as they’re clear of the battle and have jumped away we’ll join them shortly afterwards. All mobile suits assume formation J-1 and activate your defensive shields to maximum output. If an opening appears you have permission to fire at will.” He ended transmission and turned on a signal to Seles’s mobile suit. “Have all the injured been evacuated?”

  “Yes. Good luck, and see you on the other side,” Seles said.

  “To you as w
ell,” he answered before turning off the com. Silence followed as the pilots scrambled and flew outside. They moved to the Avoni’s hull before attaching themselves to it. One by one the Raknas activated their shields, surrounding the Avoni in a powerful green particle barrier. Baed slowly flew the ship towards the exit.

  “This must feel strange,” Zae said, glancing back at Brian. “Normally you’d be out there in the thick of the battle.”

  “It’s true that this feels a little different Zae,” Brian said. “But to be honest, I feel like I’m in good company with the three of you on the bridge.”

  “Shields are at maximum output,” Jesela reported. “It looks like this plan might just work.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Brian said. “I wish we’d taken the time to overhaul the Avoni before this mission rather than after it.”

  “What would the difference be?” Baed asked.

  “The shielding systems would mirror the mobile suits, but on a much larger scale,” Jesela explained. “Not to mention the pulse canons would match the new shielding system as far as power.”

  “How is this achieved?” Baed asked.

  “By adding another gravity drive we can do such things, at least, in theory,” Jesela said. “They’re installing the new systems in place on Kivi’s new ship. Only after its constructed can we actual know the difference between reality and theory.”

  “Sounds complicated,” Baed said. “That’s why I’m flying a starship and you’re doing what you do Jesela.”

  “I think of it the same way friend,” Jesela said. The Avoni neared the exit of the moon. “The special system Daes put in place is detecting a number of anomalies outside.”

  “How many are out there?” Brian asked.

  “Looks like about ten in total,” Jesela answered.

  “That’s the amount Valis predicted,” Brian said. “I’m amazed at her ability to predict battle situations like this.”

  “That’s how she’s always been,” Zae said. “If she gets a look at her enemy just once she can usually come up with a viable plan to defeat them.”

  “Let’s hope that it works like that Zae,” he said as the Avoni left the safety of the moon.

  * * *

  As the Avoni moved outside, a number of Grey ships appeared from the darkness of space and began their assault, firing energy blast one after another. The Rakna’s shields held up while the Avoni steadily advanced into open space away from the moon’s surface. The Grey ships single mindedly focused on the Avoni while the other ships moved away from the moon’s surface and began gravity jumping out of the area. Seles and the other Rakna pilots were using the same defensive formation on the Daevoni, while Dreka and the Talons did likewise with the Reinkar. A flash of light from gravity drive began covering their ships as Seles watched the Avoni vanish. Good luck. She thought as the fleet appeared in the next star system. Captain Ezra’s image appeared on all Kalaidian monitors.

  “Maintain our formation until we have assessed the situation,” Ezra commanded.

  “Yes captain,” all Kalaidian pilots answered.

  Seles looked at the space in front of their position, where the Avoni would’ve been had they jumped with them. She bit her lip nervously.

  “Stay sharp lieutenant,” Dreka said over the com in a reassuring tone. “He won’t die that easily.”

  Seles looked at her com and shook her head. “How could you tell?”

  “By the way you’re flying right now,” Dreka responded.

  “Thanks,” Seles said.

  * * *

  “All of the other ships have successfully left this system,” Zae said after checking the scanners once more.

  “Alright, I think it’s about time we leave as well,” Brian said as a pair of Grey ships exploded nearby.

  Baed readied the gravity drive when one of the Grey ships began flying towards the Avoni in a suicidal charge. “I won’t be able to avoid it!” she shouted. As the Avoni began the gravity jump, the Grey ship slammed into them, causing the main drive to spin out of control. One by one everyone onboard fell unconscious from the strange sensation of leaping uncontrollably though space. In the moment when it seemed the Avoni neared its breaking point, the eyes on the Mjolnir lit up and activated its gravity drive. It sent out a massive glow of green particles and engulfed the ship. The veil of regular space appeared once more as the Avoni ended its journey far away from home. Those on the bridge began woke up with the ship’s systems half online. Brian stood up and ran over to Zae.

  “Zae, wake up!” he shouted. She began stirring a moment later before running her hand through her long green hair.

  “I’m alright,” she said as she went to her console. On the other side of the bridge Baed woke up as well and held her head.

  “That was really strange,” Baed said. Brian walked over to her.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m alright,” she answered before brushing back her long platinum blonde hair and returning to her station. Brian turned to see Jesela standing up as well.

  “I’m alright,” Jesela said. “I’ll start calculating our position immediately.”

  After everyone had gotten their bearings Jesela called up a star chart.

  “Where are we?” Brian asked while looking at the map. Jesela called up the image with a look of concern on her face.

  “We’ve jumped from this point to here,” Jesela said. The map showed they had moved a significant distance further than a standard gravity drive would entail. “According to the position of the stars we’re still inside the Alden galaxy. But if the positioning is correct it’ll take us six months to reach Confederation space.”

  “Six months!” both Baed and Zae shouted.

  “Where exactly are we?” Brian asked before narrowing his eyes.

  “Deep within Grey territory,” Jesela answered. “The main gravity drive’s out for the time being.”

  Zae stood up. “What should we do? What can we do?”

  “Survive,” Brian answered. “Call the Raknas back and put everyone on standby. Jesela, get everyone you can spare on the gravity drive. That’s your priority for now.”

  “Of course,” Jesela said before running off the bridge.

  “Zae, get me a detailed list of all remaining personnel on the Avoni.”

  “Yes,” she said as she called up the list.

  “Baed, look for a good hiding spot for us to go until we can figure things out.”

  “Sure,” Baed said. She flew the Avoni towards a gas giant nearby.

  “The list has been sent to the captain’s computer as well as your quarters,” Zae reported as she turned to speak with him once more.

  “I can see you’re anxious Zae,” he said before standing between the two front consoles. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Whatever force decided to do so has separated us from our friends by a long distance. How long it may take us to reach home is also uncertain, although I do have a few ideas on where to start. But what worries me more than anything is where we are.”

  “Right in the middle of hostile territory,” Zae said. “I pray they don’t have a perfect surveillance system in place to cover their whole territory.”

  “Let’s hope,” he said. The headache he’d ignored started coming back. Dammit, I wish I knew what was causing this. Brian thought to himself.

  * * *

  After the light show by the malfunctioning gravity drive had ended, Celi stood up alone in her medical lab. Looking out to the main room, she saw three medical attendants were waking up. She went into the main sickbay. “Ensign Tria, Ensign Laedi, and Ensign Mari, are the three of you okay?”

  “I’m alright,” Tria answered.

  “A little bump on the head, but nothing more,” Laedi said.

  “Nothing to worry about,” Mari said. “But commander, you have a cut on your head.”

  Celi brushed her hand over her head and felt some blood on her. “I’ll take care of it in a mome
nt. That gravity jump wasn’t normal, not at all.”

  Brian’s voice came over the come system. “All senior officers, please report to the bridge.”

  Celi took a regenerator and ran it over her cut. “The three of you stay here until further notice. I’m not sure what happened, but your services may be needed at any moment.”

  “Yes commander,” the three answered as Celi left for the bridge.

  Chapter 7 - Assessing the Situation

  Brian, Baed, and Zae waited on the bridge for everyone else to show up. The first was Jesela. She ran in and called up her work on the bridge’s main monitor. The next to enter was Meldi, one of the two leaders of the Rakna pilots remaining with the ship. A moment later Celi arrived.

  “I called all of you here to inform you of the situation,” Brian explained. He motioned for Jesela to put their location on the monitor.

  “That’s impossible,” Celi said with shock on her face.

  Meldi had the same look on her face. “Are we really?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Brian said. “We’ve been stranded far away from Confederation territory. In addition, the main gravity drive is down. And to make matters worse we’re the only officers remaining onboard.”

  “Seles,” Meldi said. “Are you saying I’m in charge of the Raknas?”

  “Yes,” Brian answered. “As of now ensign Meldi, I’m granting you a field promotion to lieutenant.”

  Meldi looked quite nervous as she saluted. “Yes commander,” she.

  “So, the worst case scenario has happened,” Celi said. “How are we going to get home?”

  “Without the main drive it will take us several hundred thousand years to reach Confederation space,” Jesela said while smiling sarcastically.

  “Alright Jesela, tell us the real timeline,” Celi said.

  “Of course,” Jesela said. She called up a number of models on the monitor. “If we tap the Mjolnir’s gravity drive it’ll take us about two years to reach Confederation space, barring any interference from the Greys. If we can find some Aldenite along the way we can recharge the main drive’s particles, thus shortening the amount of time to get home. Using that method it would take us a minimum of six months to reach Confederation space.”