by Jay Toney
"I'll have the numbers and kills removed when we get back, and I'll talk to my boys."
"No, don't. I like it, and it inspires the crew."
"If we survive this, don't be surprised if they come up with some wicked graphics and names for the ships."
"I think the ships should be named. They've earned it."
"We will be attacking in two groups. Amber and Jewel will be with me, so I can cover for them. Doc, you and Mike are together again. Natty, your every bit as good of a pilot as I am. I need you to form up with Reds team, and protect your brother in law."
"Okay Cappy."
"Lets show our Iniguar friends what we are made of."
We each boarded our Marauders, Jewel and I took Marauders one and two, and Amber boarded number three. The ground crew had specifically reserved these ships for us. These ships were not just loaded with missiles and gun pods, but included percussion bombs. Usually the percussion bombs were used on ground targets, but they could be used in space. They were unguided, but would follow the course they were on when jettisoned, exploding on impact. They were not as accurate as missiles, but could still be devastating with their larger explosive charge.
Once aboard, with the hatch sealed, I strapped in and keyed in the start up sequence. The ship felt as if it had a life of its own, when I powered it up. It felt powerful, shaking side to side, trying to free its self from my control. I'm sure it was my imagination, but the feeling of all that power beneath my fingertips felt exhilarating.
"Are you going to taxi, or sit there daydreaming all day," Jewel's voice sounded in my headset.
I taxied my craft to the launch tube, and centered it on the runway. Jewel and Amber lined up on my wingtips. When they signaled their readiness, we launched. Doc and Mike launched behind us, followed by Natty and Tanya in their ship.
Natty rolled her ship and peeled off joining Reds group. She lined up on Reds wingtip.
"Cappy told me to protect you."
"Natty, I'm sure he means well, but I have never flown with you."
"I can fly better than Cappy can. I know how to move fast. That's why he wants me here. He doesn't want his brother to get hurt."
"I like him, but I never knew he felt as if I was his brother."
"He told me and Tanya. You're my brother too. I love you and don't want you to get hurt, too."
"Thank you Natty. When we have some time we will all have to sit down together and talk about this."
Our groups each chose a destroyer. The missile ports on our destroyer were closed, so we targeted its guns, defenses, and the bridge. Amber targeted its PDC, firing a missile at the forward port side Array. She was rewarded with a large explosion, followed by a series of smaller explosions as its ammunition detonated.
The Alliance military, were not trained for this type of combat. It was like they disturbed a bee hive, and were helplessly swatting at us as we stung them. Jewel took out one of the destroyers turrets, and I lined up on the bridge. I dropped two of the percussion bombs, and peeled away. The bombs didn't pierce their armor, but still wreaked havoc on the bridge as their officers scrambled to get into there emergency spacesuits.
Wisps of atmosphere could be seen leaking from the damaged structure, but it did not have the explosive decompression I had hoped for. Amber and Jewel came around for another attack. The missile ports were still closed, so they chose alternate targets. Amber fired two missiles at the deck guns. The resulting explosion, ripped the gun turret from the deck, opening the hull to space. Several bodies, floated out from the open deck. Jewel fired a missile at the bridge. The weakened structure failed this time, the bridge was opened to space, and several of the ships officers floated out into space. I dropped two percussion bombs into the ships hull, where the gun turret once had been. The bombs exploded, lifting the forward section of the deck from the hull. The destroyer as out of the battle.
Doc and Mike were having better luck. There first missiles penetrated their targets defenses, opening up the bridge to space. Every officer that was on the bridge was dead. Their ship also had its missile ports open, ready to fire a salvo. Instead they got our missiles, down two of its missile ports, detonating the larger missile warheads, and blowing the forward section of the ship apart. Our Iniguar friends, seeing the weakened ships fired missiles at the helpless targets, destroying them.
Doc and Mike went after another destroyer, while Jewel, Amber and I targeted a frigate. Reds group was attacking a cruiser, going after its weapons one by one crippling its ability to attack and defend itself.
We used the same tactics on the frigate, that we used on the destroyer. Its captain, was a little smarter, targeting us with their PDC. The PDC were made for incoming missiles, and were to slow to track our ships, but they still added to the danger of combating the ship. Jewel fired at the port side forward PDC array , Amber, the aft, and I fired at the amidships array. The resulting explosions, destroyed the ships ability to defend itself from attack on that side.
****
Captain Jeffrey was once a good looking man. His body was broken by the Alliances torturers, but not his spirit. He still had vision in one eye, his left arm was broken and useless, he had scars from burns all over his body, and he now walked with a severe limp. The Alliance did not get any useful information out of him, and scheduled him for termination.
He and his chief engineer managed to escape from their prison cell. Captain Jeffery begged for mercy, promising to give the Alliance commander the information he wanted, if he was merciful by making his execution quick and painless. The prison guard opened the cell to extract the prisoner and possibly earn himself a promotion. It was a deadly mistake. The engineer attacked the guard and used both of his beefy arms to strangle the guard. When the guard lost consciousness, he broke the guards neck to make sure he couldn't sound an alarm.
The two of them made their way to the flight deck and managed to sneak aboard a scout ship, without sounding an alarm. They sealed the hatches and went to its cockpit.
"What now Captain. I don't see any way off this ship without them opening the doors for us."
"Chief, I am surprised we made it this far. We will make our own door. I just need a few more minutes and we will celebrate together today, in paradise.
The two officers powered up the scout ship, starting its engines. Alarms sounded and troops rushed into the hangar bay to try to stop the escapees. The chief fired the ships weapons at the troops, while the captain spun up the hyperdrive. Coordinates, didn't matter, they knew there was no escape, but death. This way, he would take the battleship with him. It was the only vengeance he could possibly hope for.
"Goodby Chief, its been a pleasure knowing you all these years."
"Likewise Captain."
Together they engaged the hyperdrive. In an instant, they were gone, the scout ship tore itself apart going through the many bulkheads of the battleship trying to escape. To the observers, it looked like the battleship was blown apart, in a massive explosion.
****
Natasha, moved the Persephone, in and fired a full salvo of missiles at the frigates port side. All four missiles hit destroying the damaged ship. There was only one cruiser left, and we recalled our marauders, while ships from both fleets converged on it.
To avoid capture and torture, the cruisers captain initiated the ships self destruct. He had time for one last act of defiance. He fired a missile at Red's Marauder. Then his cruiser was enveloped in a series of explosions, destroying the ship.
Marauders one through five landed, but Marauder six was still missing. Tanya reported that they were on the way back, but she and Natty still hadn't arrived. Red made a landing on our ship. He joined us, tears running freely down his face
. With a shaken voice, he said, "Nathaniel, I'm sorry. Natty and Tanya are gone. I've lost two of my sisters."
It was a blow I wasn't expecting. It felt like Red had just hit me in the gut with his massive fist. That would have been preferable to the news he brought me. I staggered back from the blow, and Amber and Jewel held me, both girls crying.
"What happened? They just checked in reporting they were on the way back."
"The cruiser got one more missile off, before it was destroyed. It was meant for me. I couldn't shake the missile, and chaff and flares wouldn't confuse the missile's guidance system. Natty sacrificed herself and Tanya by flying between me and the missile. She protected me, like she said she would. She was a spirited and brave girl."
****
"Hello Natasha."
"Hello, Please call me Natty. I like that name better."
"Do you know who I am?"
"No, but you are a very beautiful lady. What is your name?"
"I have gone by many names, I like Astrea the most. It means Star Maiden. Do you know why you are here?"
"No."
"Normally, my sister Dike ,(th ee k ee), and I sit, offering advice to Rhadamanthys, Minos, and Aiakos, while they judge the souls of the departed. Dike ensures that all judgments are fair. I only judge those who are pure of heart, innocent, or have sacrifice themselves for others. You are the fourth soul that has been brought before me today, by the Keres for judgment. That hasn't happened in eons."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any problems."
"To be brought before me is a very high honor, reserved for very special cases. The first three souls were easy to judge. They were sent on, and are receiving their rewards."
"Oh... that was very nice of you."
"You on the other hand are different. Your soul is new, and hasn't had time to mature. Normally I would send you back in another incarnation. However you have learned to love, and you sacrificed yourself for that love. This presents me with a problem. I am not sure what to do with you. Tell me how you came about getting this new soul."
"I do not know. Randolph built me to be an Avatar for his ships AI, and to help Cappy recognize me and the AI as a person with feelings. I did not know that synthetic people had souls."
"They don't. You must have done something very special to receive a soul."
"Cappy married me and my sister wives. We all loved each other, very much. He told me that I could eat and drink, like regular people. I like eating and drinking yummy food."
"That would not be enough to be granted a soul. Tell me more."
"We all bonded to each other with Iniguar Bonding Disks. They created a link between all of us, allowing us all to feel each others emotions, especially love. I was able to feel when Cappy or my sister wives were sad, and would make them happy again, with sex."
"The Iniguar Bonding Devices work by exchanging pieces of souls, from the couples bonding together. You collected enough pieces of souls, from your bond mates to grow your own soul. I think you are the first one this has happened to."
"But, Cappy broke the connection between us, when he did a rejoining with Jewel and Amber. I can't feel him or Amber any longer. I think they may have taken my soul back. I was only able to feel Tanya after the rejoining. I was her wife, her little sister, and her daughter, all in one to make her feel happy."
"Nathaniel, and Amber, did no such thing. They do not have that power. Your soul belongs to you alone. What he did was a very foolish thing, by rejoining. With every joining, larger fragments of each others souls are exchanged. All of them are experiencing different traits from each other. Some are minor, most are major. This will have changed them in some very significant ways. That is why a rejoining is rarely done."
"That explains why Amber and Jewel can fly so good now."
"I know what I must do now. Normally I would erase your memory, but in this very special case you will remember everything."
"Can I have my link back with Cappy and Amber?"
"I will grant you that small favor, and include Jewel. I want all of you together, and I want you to be happy. I will also be granting you a couple more favors, to make sure all of you stay together."
"Thank you."
"Natty, I have a special message for Cappy, Amber, and Jewel. Tell them that they mustn't do another joining. If they do, they risk loosing their identity as even larger portions of their souls will be exchanged. Take my hand now, and don't be afraid."
"I am not afraid."
"Your soul is bound to me now for all eternity. I alone will be your judge. Someday you will all be together. For Tanya it will be like no time has passed, at all."
"Thank you Astrea."
Chapter 26
Our ships only had minor damage. After a short time of grieving and a symbolic wake for Natty and Tanya, Red departed heading back to his ship. He left his Marauder for us, choosing to ride on a transport shuttle instead. The crew would not paint the number 6 on it out of respect for Natty's and Tanya's sacrifice, instead they painted the number 14 on it skipping the unlucky number 13. They had come up with a symbol for the ships. The old Earth god Zeus now adorned the hulls, with his thunderbolts on their port and starboard sides. They hadn't named the ships yet, but I was sure that was to follow. The entry hatches were adorned with our names showing that we were the pilots for these particular ships.
"Cappy, I can't hear my sister any longer, what happened? Is she okay?"
"Natty sacrificed herself to save Red. Both Natty and Tanya are gone."
"Can you rebuild her, I still have her memories."
Randolph and Kim both shook their heads no. "No we can't. She was unique, there will never be another like her again. Its not just her memories that we need. She also had a unique personality matrix, and something else that made her special, making her independent of you. When we are able to, we will build you another Avatar."
"I don't want another Avatar. I want my sister. It hurts not being able to talk with her anymore, even with all of her idiosyncrasies. I loved her. Cappy, reset my personality matrix. I don't want to live without her."
"Its not as easy that. Between Randolph's tweaking of your systems and your developing emotions, you will have learn to live with it like the rest of us."
"Captain, Natasha is rebooting herself and erasing her personality matrix. There is nothing I can do to stop her," Randolph reported.
Natasha shut down. A moment later the ships AI came back to life.
A sweet soft spoken female voice replaced Natasha's more alluring voice. "I am a Nexus 9 AI, model number 971425602. By what name do you wish me to respond to?"
"Whatever you like. Right now I am hurting to much to think clearly, and give you a proper name."
"I will use the ships name as a default. You can change it anytime you wish. I am now called Persephone. Would you like me to summon sickbay to assist you?"
"No. I have just lost two people I loved. There is no bringing them back or filling the void they left in my life."
"Captain, an Iniguar vessel is hailing us," Jewel reported.
"Put him on the main viewscreen."
The Commander of one of the Iniguar vessels appeared on our main viewscreen.
"Captain Roberts, only you and your good friends could have heard our call for help. I offer you great thanks for what you have done to help us, once again."
"Commander, I heard no such call. It is our good fortune that we happened to meet here, on this field of battle."
"I've heard of your loss, yet somehow you are surviving the bonding, without the slow death that follows when ones bond mate dies?"
"I have been rejoined, with a new wife."
"This is very rare, and brings with it new and unique problems. We must discuss this in person."
"The problems, go beyond a normal rejoining. I am half Iniguar, descending from the house of Elaunae. She was a Priestess of the Sun and Moon. My wife's sister is also pregnant with my children."
"I have already heard to much. I will be aboard shortly with what information I have."
The viewscreen went dark.
Doc, Mike, Amber, Jewel, and I left the bridge, to greet our Iniguar friends. It didn't take long for their shuttle to arrive. A group of four Iniguar males, and four females, greeted us. The commander nodded at me in greeting. "I am Shar'tu brother to Shree'tek. This is my communications officer, my weapons officer, my sensors officer, and our bond mates."
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you."
"It is sad, that our visit will be a short one. We must commit what you humans call suicide. You have spoken of forbidden things, and all who have heard must die to protect the secret. Let us make use of what little time we have left. How may we help you."
"I am not certain I understand. What is it I spoke of that is forbidden?"
"There is a prophesy concerning the priestess of the house of Elaunae. It is said that one day a descendant of that house will either usher us into a great war, or be our savior. Elaunae fled from us, pursued by those who would see her bloodline and the prophecy ended. Her bond mate was killed to insure she suffered the slow death. It is fortunate that my brother and I come from a more progressive family, and would not seek your harm. Many of my people would hunt you and your offspring, if they knew of your relation to that house. That is why we must take this secret with us, in death."
I told Shar'tu of our re-bonding, and with it the different exchanges of individual traits we now shared. I also told him, about my natural gift of flight, and my passing this ability to my bond mates. I explained that we three were what was referred to as seers, able to navigate hyperspace, and finally I told him of our ability to make real objects from our holographic simulator.
