by Tripp Ellis
“Well, I guess we’ll have to land for you.” Zoey addressed Violet. “Maneuver in front of them and line the flight deck up with their trajectory. Match their speed, then slowly reduce. I’ll deactivate the artificial gravity on the flight deck until they’re inside. It may be a bit of a bumpy landing, but it will get them on board.”
Violet moved the Revenant in position, drifting through space at the same speed. She aligned the flight deck with the transport. It slowly glided into the bay. Violet watched on a video monitor and tried to bring the elevation of the deck up to match the Decluvian ship.
Zoe activated the artificial gravity, and the transport crashed a few feet to the deck. The Revenant rumbled, the sound echoing through the corridors. It was like dropping 250 tons of steel.
Walker and the others were a little rattled, but none the worse for wear. He peeled himself off the deck and scooped Bailey into his arms. He marched to the back of the transport and lowered the loading ramp. He marched down the inclination to the flight deck.
Zoey was there to greet him. Her eyes bulged at the sight of Lu—she had never seen a Decluvian before. Her body tensed as Malik and Saaja descended the ramp.
“Relax, they’re with me,” Walker said.
“This should be interesting,” Zoey said.
“We can exchange stories later. I need to get him to the med center,” Walker said, nodding to Bailey.
Zoey led them through the maze of corridors to the med facility. She ran a battery of diagnostics on Bailey. By that time, he was already starting to perk up.
“Blood work looks normal,” Zoey said. “Vitals are good. Either the shot you gave him worked, or this is one tough animal. Where did you find him?”
“Thantos 6.”
“That’s a shit hole,” Violet said.
“Tell me about it.”
“With the amount of poisonous creatures on that rock, I wouldn’t be surprised if this little guy has one hell of an immunity to neurotoxins.”
Walker raised an eyebrow at her, wondering how she knew about Thantos 6.
“I have access to vast amounts of planetary data,” Violet said, casually.
Walker sensed that something was different about Violet, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Bailey sat up and let out a weak bark. He looked up at Walker with big eyes that just demanded some affection.
Walker’s eyes were filled with relief. He pet Bailey and scratched his chin. “You’re going to be okay, Sergeant.” His eyes gleamed and a rare smile curled up on his lips.
Bailey barked again.
“It’s blind luck we found you,” Zoey said. “We were on our way to Polaris 5. I’ve got a casualty in quantum stasis that needs a real doctor.”
Mitch’s voice crackled over the comm system from the CIC. “I’m picking up another ship at the edge of sensor range.”
Zoey’s eyes filled with dread. “What kind of ship?”
“Looks like a UPDF Skylark.”
“Can you establish communication?”
“I’ve got a message coming through from Captain Slade,” Mitch said, perplexed. “Isn’t that who you’ve been looking for?”
Zoey grinned. “Yes, it is. Put her through.”
Walker had even more reason to smile.
Slade’s voice filtered through the comm system, bringing great comfort to both Walker and Zoey.
It wasn’t long before the Skylark hobbled to the Revenant and landed on the flight deck. Slade emerged with Logan and the squad of Marines.
Her eyes went wide at the sight of Walker, but she restrained her enthusiasm.
Walker and Zoey greeted her with a salute.
Slade returned the gesture. “Permission to come aboard?”
“Permission granted, sir,” Zoey said, grinning from ear to ear.
Slade’s big eyes met Walker’s. The energy between them was palpable. She wanted to fling her arms around him and crash into his lips and let him know how happy she was that he was alive. But a captain just doesn’t do those things on the flight deck.
She contained her emotions and spoke dryly. “I thought you were dead.”
“Nobody’s found a way to kill me yet,” Walker said, holding back a smile.
“That’s good,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Keep it that way.”
Slade glanced around the flight deck in awe. She was well aware of the stories surrounding the Revenant.
“She may not be the Scorpion, but she’s better than nothing,” Zoey said. “Though, she does have a few minor quirks.”
Slade lifted a curious eyebrow. They all had a lot of catching up to do. And an invasion to stop.
THANK YOU!
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please consider reviewing on Amazon—a simple “Loved it,” or, “Hated it,” would be appreciated.
—Tripp
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I'm just a geek who loves sci-fi and horror. I was abducted by aliens and forced to travel the galaxy as the official biographer of an evil galactic ruler. This is where I learned to hone my craft. Fortunately, I escaped and made my way back to Earth, and now I write about my adventures. I hope you enjoy!
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Table of Contents
Copyright
1. The Revenant
2. Slade
3. Zoey
4. Zoey
5. Zoey
6. Walker
7. Zoey
8. The Decluvians
9. Walker
10. Zoey
11. Zoey
12. Zoey
13. Zoey
14. Zoey
15. Walker
16. Saarkturia
17. Zoey
18. Walker
19. Zoey
20. Zoey
21. Zoey
22. Walker
23. Zoey
24. Zoey
25. Zoey
26. Zoey
27. Walker
28. Zoey
29. Zoey
30. Zoey
31. Walker
32. Zoey
33. Zoey
34. Zoey
35. Walker
36. Zoey
37. Zoey
38. Saarkturia
39. Walker
40. Zoey
41. Zoey
42. Walker
43. Zoey
44. Zoey
45. Walker
46. Zoey
Thank You!
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