Sacrifice of Angels

by Trevor Wyatt

  Adachi smiled. “It’s kinda cool it took a woman to stick it to them.”

  Ashley returned to the teleportation control panel.

  Then, a massive explosion rocked the space station. It was too far to affect them, but close enough for them to know that it happened within the station.

  Ferriero glanced at Ashley, his eyes filled with terror. “The ship!”

  Incidentally, Ashley didn’t feel anything. She should have felt something—Jeryl was there, after all. But she didn’t. She only thought of the other crew members, and that bothered her.

  “Sef?”

  “The heat signature is too high for me to pick up anything,” he replied. “Give me a minute or two. I should be able to tell if they made it.”

  “Commander Gavin to Captain Montgomery,” she said in her comms.

  There was only static.

  “Captain Montgomery, come in,” she said.

  Static.

  She glanced at Ferriero and shook her head.

  Ferriero’s shoulders slumped.

  She said, “Hey, it’s okay. Their comms may have been destabilized by the explosion. It’ll be a minute or two for the comms to recycle and work again.”

  Ferriero wasn’t listening.

  “It’s that Veld. I just know. I wouldn’t put it past him. Maybe he led them into a trap.”

  His palms were already balled into fists.

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions, Lieutenant,” Adachi said. “Keep your eyes on your console and keep those ships away from the station.”

  Ferriero complied. However, the frown was working its way into becoming a permanent feature on his face.

  “I have one ship that has broken through and is firing missiles at us,” Ferriero said with urgency. The anger was gone from his voice.

  “Leave the missiles to me,” Adachi said in reply. “Take out the ship before it escapes beyond the range of our missiles.”

  “Roger that,” Ferriero replied.

  Ashley watched as Adachi took out all five of the missiles that were launched at their quadrant of the space station. Ferriero launched back three missiles at the ship. The ship evaded one and took out the other—it didn’t get so lucky on the third one, getting hit at the aft of its main engines. The explosion caused a chain reaction that damaged its engine, but the ship was able to limp out of the covering range of the station’s weapons before it was fired upon again.

  “Ashley, come in,” Jeryl’s voice sounded in her ear.

  Ferriero heaved an audible sigh of relief. Ashley remained impassive.

  “Go ahead,” she said to her comms.

  Chapter 26

  “We got hit again, Ash,” Jeryl said, unconsciously reverting to how he was to Ashley before the torture incident. It took a moment for him to realign his mind. He usually went to Ashley when he was emotionally stressed. For a minute, he had forgotten that things were sour between them.

  “We heard the explosion,” Ashley replied. She didn’t sound like she noticed the endearing quality in his tone.

  She did, but she chose to ignore it.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Veld betrayed us,” he replied. “He took us to the control room and activated the explosives. The Seeker got destroyed.”

  There was silence.

  “We made a lot of memories on that ship,” she said.

  “I know…” Jeryl replied. “Look, we’re about to begin loading survivors onto the ship. Get ready to teleport yourself and the rest of the crew to this quadrant so we can all get the hell out of here.”

  “Ship? What ship? You just said that the Seeker was destroyed, Captain,” Ashley said impassively.

  “Right. We’re boarding the Tyreesian ship that brought the Seeker here. It’s a big risk…but at this point, we just have to take chances. We almost have nothing to lose. We can’t let the death of the crew come to nothing,” Jeryl explained.

  Ashley didn’t reply.

  “Commander?” Jeryl said.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied. “We’ll be ready.”

  She didn’t sound convincing, which made Jeryl suspicious of what she was planning to do. Jeryl had already lost a lot of good people in this suicide mission, he wasn’t ready to lose any more. Most especially, he wasn’t ready to lose her—even though he may already have.

  “I mean every single word I said, Commander,” Jeryl said. “This is an order.”

  Ashley sighed. “Jeryl…”

  “No,” Jeryl said. “Whatever it is, the answer is no. As soon as we’re ready to go, you will teleport everyone, including yourself, to this quadrant and we’ll leave together. That’s an order.”

  Jeryl’s heart was already pounding. Ashley had learned a lot of things from him through the number of years they had been living and working together. One of these was the penchant for doing what she felt was right and not what her captain ordered her to do.

  Most times, her moral convictions and the orders she received would align. On rare occasions, they didn’t.

  Ashley, almost like Jeryl, learned to do whatever she felt was right, orders be damned. So, at that very moment, Jeryl knew he had probably just wasted his breath issuing her an order.

  “Yes, Captain,” Ashley said.

  Even as she said that, he could hear the insincerity in her voice. He would have to appeal to her on a different level. An emotional level, if he wanted her to comply to his order.

  “Hold on, Ashley,” Jeryl said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Then he cut the feed.

  Jeryl was standing right in front of the open ramp that led into the Tyreesian ship. He asked the crew to gather as much supplies as they could find within the hangar. They didn’t want to get onto the ship only to find that it didn’t have enough power and supplies.

  To ensure the Tyreesians didn’t try to enter the hangar while they were boarding, Jeryl used a tablet from one of the officers to record a message—it promised them he would slit Veld’s throat if they would as much as attempt to enter the hangar.

  Out of fear of being killed for real by Jeryl, a semi-conscious Veld issued an order for the Tyreesians to back off. Had it not been for Kaia and Mary, he would have been dead by now.

  They disabled the elevators to be sure the Tyreesians would follow Veld’s directive. None of the crew knew what could happen. With the cunning Tyreesians, nothing could be certain until the end.

  Kaia assembled a team of twenty well-armed security operatives from the crew tasked to sweep the Tyreesian ship for any hostiles. They were split into two teams of ten, each team headed by Kaia and Tira.

  Jeryl realized how dependent he was on Tira’s combat abilities. She was indeed powerful, though maybe raw around the edges. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t bet against her in any contest. He had decided to recommend her for a promotion to Lieutenant and a transfer to security or maybe Armada Intelligence, if they would have her.

  If we make it out of here, Jeryl thought.

  “Sir,” Tira said, “we’re ready to breach.”

  Kaia was addressing the team, who were all gathered in a circle around her by the open ramp. Through the ramp, Jeryl could see the large entrance bay. This particular bay had several doors and elevators and a bulkhead ceiling that rose three stories in height.

  Tira had a device similar to what Sef was using. She took it from one of the Tyreesian guards during their fight in the docks earlier; it showed the schematics of the ship, which they had divided into two equal parts. They successfully identified the major parts of the ship that needed manning, including engineering, communications, weapons, and the CNC.

  Mary had already drawn up the roster and issued everybody their assignments as per Jeryl’s order. But still—they were severely shorthanded to fly the ship.

  Jeryl knew it would be difficult to do so with their number. He told Mary that he needed people with enough experience on the CNC. Their ride out of the station and through Tyreesian space would be bumpy. That is, if the
y made it out alive at all.

  Veld was tied up and left to sit by the right arm of the ramp. Beside him was a security operative with a gun pointed directly to his face. Jeryl didn’t even want the Tyreesian to have any space to come up with another damn idea.

  Kaia joined them a bit later. “We’re ready to proceed.”

  “How long will it take you to clear the ship?” Jeryl asked.

  “Our priority is engineering and the CNC,” she said. “Once we clear these areas, which should take us about five minutes, the crew can begin to board. It’ll take us another fifteen minutes to clear the entire ship, by which time the ship would be ready for takeoff.”

  Jeryl said, “Proceed with caution and stay on comms. Who’s taking Veld?”

  “I am,” Tira said. “My team is heading toward the more difficult places on the ship, like the armory, the living quarters, and the multi-leveled brig.”

  Jeryl nodded. “Proceed, then.”

  The women snapped a salute and left, and the security operatives split into two teams. With guns at the ready, they stormed into the ship. Veld, who was now handled by Tira, led the incursion.

  Before long, crew members began milling at the entrance into the ramp. They were all carrying equipment and bags containing supplies.

  Mary came to Jeryl’s side, and he looked at her. Once upon a time, Lieutenant Commander Mary Taylor was the comms specialist of TUS Seeker. But in the last few hours, she had to play as a combat operative, spy, and now crew logistics.

  Mary sighed. “We’re small, but we should be able to fly the ship. I just hope the difference in technology isn’t too much for us to handle.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” Jeryl said. “Just use the tablets, install a translator into the main system, we should be able to read everything clearly.”

  “They may have different terminologies, you know,” she said.

  Jeryl smiled. “But we’ll be able to recognize symbols.”

  Mary reacted with an arched eyebrow.

  “Lieutenant Kaia to the Captain,” a voice came on the general channel. “Engineering is clear. I repeat, engineering is clear.”

  “Make sure they get the engines running immediately,” Jeryl said as Mary broke away from his side and headed to the ramp.

  “Aye, captain.”

  She led a large group of crew members into the ship. Most of them had tablets they’d scavenged that showed a detailed schematic of the ship.

  Over the course of the five minutes, the remaining crew boarded the ship while Mahesh coordinated the boarding of the wounded. So far, he was treating them with what little medical supplies he had. Veld had bragged that the ship was one of the biggest and well-stocked ships in the sector, so Mahesh expected to meet a sick bay that was well-supplied.

  Soon enough, it was just Jeryl standing in the vast hangar. The ramp was still open, though the ship’s engines had been powered up. Before Jeryl boarded, he turned to glance one last time at the still blazing heap of pile that used to be the Seeker. As he stared at it, his vision blurred.

  He made a lot of memories on that ship. That ship introduced him to his wife. It gave him purpose and made him who he was now. That ship saved the Terran Union and formed the Galactic Council. It even stopped the Omarian Gambit. And that same ship was reduced to a pile of ashes by a Tyreesian fucker.

  Jeryl was at the point of tears—so many had been lost. He had never lost so many crew members when he was commissioned into the Terran Armada. Not even during the war.

  Somehow, part of him felt a sense of guilt.

  What if we hadn’t pushed through with this plan in the first place? What if?

  “Captain, we’re ready for departure,” Mary said in his ears.

  “Ready the weapons,” Jeryl straightened up and walked into the ship.

  Kaia was waiting in the entrance bay to take him to the CNC. As they left, the ramp began to shut.

  “Where’s Veld?” he asked once they got in the elevator.

  “He’s tied up in the control center,” Kaia replied. “We needed his palm print to activate the systems, sir. It appears to be his ship.”

  “Will we always need his palm print?” Jeryl asked.

  “No, sir,” she replied. “We were able to deactivate the function. The ship is now fully ours.”

  “Very good, Lieutenant,” Jeryl said.

  The elevator stopped and admitted them into the control center.

  The control center had the same general design as that of the Terran Union starships’ CNC. There was a central chair with the workstations around; this control center was a bit larger, and had a wide space between the central chair and the first row of the workstations. “Captain on the CNC,” Kaia said.

  “At ease, people,” Jeryl said, heading straight for the chair.

  The view screen was bigger than any view screen he had ever seen. It took the entire forward wall.

  Jeryl didn’t know most of the people manning the work stations. He only knew Ensigns Tira and Adewale, and Communications officer Mary. He could only suppose that the rest of the former CNC crew had not made it, aside from the ones still in the beta quadrant.

  “Prepare for takeoff,” Jeryl commanded. “Mary, get me Ashley and put her on screen.”

  Then, two things happened in quick succession.

  First, the thrusters were engaged and the ship went up gently into the air. The hanger door slid open. The contents of the hangar that weren’t clamped down, including the ashes of the Seeker were all sucked out into the vacuum-like space.

  Second, Ashley appeared on the view screen, looking strained and distracted.

  “Sir, I’m picking up a small battle fleet of Tyreesian warships entering the system at maximum FTL. They will be here in less than three minutes. We have to leave now otherwise we won’t make it,” Mary said.

  “How small are we talking about?” Jeryl replied

  Mary looked at him with worried eyes and said, “Thirty-small.”

  Shit.

  “I can already tell that you will not make it,” Veld muttered. He sat beside the captain’s chair, the guard pointing the gun at him.

  Jeryl ignored him and focused on the view screen.

  “Ashley, we’re ready to go,” he said. “Come aboard.”

  She shook her head. “Negative, sir. There are too many warships. We will soon be overwhelmed. You know this to be true, sir. We need to cover your escape.”

  Jeryl swallowed hard. He rose to his feet and walked to the view screen. “I’m not going to leave you behind, Ashley.”

  “You need to, sir,” she said. “You don’t have a choice. We’ll throw up a minefield to cover your escape. That’ll keep the Tyreesians from following you. Perhaps, we can still transport somewhere once you’re beyond the mine field.”

  “Are you sure?” Jeryl said.

  Ashley flashed a wan smile. “Positive.”

  She nodded once before vanishing from the screen.

  Jeryl found it hard to believe her, but there was nothing he could do now, except hope that she was telling the truth.

  He had to think of the whole crew now. He had gotten them into this. They had to come first. He owed them that much before he could think of Ashley.

  Chapter 27

  If someone told Jeryl Montgomery three days before that he’d be in this impossible situation, he would have rebuffed the notion with extreme hilarity. He would have professed his undying love for Ashley and point that as the reason why he wouldn’t let her be tortured and left behind on a Tyreesian space station.

  He would have gone ahead to make bold declarations about staying to save his wife, and handing over command of the Tyreesian warship to the next highest-ranking officer. He would have proclaimed Ashley’s safety as his highest priority and that nothing else could matter.

  Talk is cheap.

  Jeryl stood on the Tyreesian warship’s CNC, facing the view screen. It showed the open hangar door and the ongoing space battle in
the backdrop of boundless space and glittering stars. Jeryl thought about the mistakes he had made since being boarded by the Tyreesians.

  Yes, he knew that being there in the first place was a colossal mistake on his part. But after that fact, did he make any other mistakes? Was his judgment so compromised that it led to massive losses?

  The Tyreesians were going to pay for all they had done. They would pay for their crimes with their blood. But did he play a part in their success? Or were they just too difficult to be handled?

  These were questions Jeryl would have to contend the moment he stood before Admiral Gan, or worse—a tribunal. The death of a Terran Armada officer would be a big deal. The destruction of a Terran Armada ship would almost be as big, if not bigger, depending on which Admiral you would talk to. There would be no contest in Jeryl’s case since he was at fault on both counts.

  Ha!

  The Admiralty would have a field day with him and his career. He knew his reputation wouldn’t protect him from being decommissioned and investigated for abuse of authority.

  Jeryl had to make sure that he could get everyone home, including Ashley and the remaining crew with her. Even the Sonali, Sef, who could make a case for the genuineness of their mission.

  Jeryl began wondering about the real reason why he wanted to save everyone. Was it to save his ass by the time he had to face the inevitable?

  Jeryl pushed the thought out of his head. They were still stuck in the space station. However, at this point, they were more trapped on a thick blanket of laser flashes and ships plying the space surrounding the space station. It was almost difficult to see beyond the immediate vicinity of the station.

  “How many Tyreesian fighters are in play?” Jeryl asked, working through their escape strategy in his mind. He wanted to do it as easily as possible; maybe he could get them to not fire on him by broadcasting an image of Veld under the business end of a knife. But then again, the Tyreesians were extremely unpredictable and Jeryl wasn’t so sure Veld would make any difference.

  “There are six hundred and seventy-five unmanned fighter drones in play at the moment, sir,” Mary said. “The space station has a contingent of a thousand fighter boths. But a lot of them were destroyed in the attack on beta quadrant by the Sonali craft, and a lot of the ships were damaged in the when The Seeker was destroyed.”