by Greg Dragon
She walked back down the hallway, skipping a bit because of what she had overheard on his call. Yuth would be traveling with his new friend, but he would be doing it to deliver crystals to Rafian VCA.
19 | Captain on the Bridge
IN THE FOUR HOURS it took for Connie and her fellow pilots to make it up to the star carrier, she and Yuth had gotten to know a lot about one another. Switching to a private comm to avoid the jeers of her fellows, she talked to the Louine about her days as a cadet all the way up to becoming the XO for the mighty Rendron. He in turn told her about the Phasers and how he had met and followed Tayden Lark all the way to Vestalia.
The ice had been broken when he spoke to her in the arena, but the talk had taken them to a bar in Zallus and then to his bed after she let him kiss her. Their affair was the result of a number of complications coming to fruition, from Yuth’s near miss with permanent death to her loneliness and need for love and affection. It wasn’t planned or anticipated by either of them, but when it happened, it felt right, and they had held one another for a long time.
Choosing not to talk about it and why things had led them there, the pair spent the next day together talking, drinking tea, and digging into one another’s past. Now they were in space, a place they both adored, and she was speaking rapidly about her fallout with Rend.
Yuth found himself confused. His time with humans had led him to understand more about them than he cared to admit and despite his want for a large Louine-styled family, he couldn’t think of anyone else but Constance ITO. They kept on talking until they got to the carrier and Connie was forced to turn on her general comm. “Going into cryo. I will see you all on the other side,” she announced playfully and Yuth was about to respond when he caught himself.
He synced up his computer with that of Connie’s and she punched in the coordinates to an area near the Rendron. His seat folded back, forcing him to recline, and then metal bands surrounded his arms and legs to hold him still. A robotic hand placed a mask upon his face, and he opened his mouth to accept the breathing apparatus. In a few minutes he expected to feel the chill of the cryo vapors, so he closed his eyes and tried not to think about it.
“Hey, Yuth,” Connie said through the private comm channel. “I can’t wait to show you my space once we’re back on Rendron.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” he managed to say, but then the cold vapors froze him solid and his ship rocketed out towards the Rendron.
Once they all had arrived, the chamber thawed out their bodies and fluids were injected to help normalize the bloodstream. Yuth’s chair began to vibrate to influence blood flow, and as the metal bands recessed, he reached over to rub his wrists. “Still with me, Connie?” he asked once he could feel all of his limbs.
“Still with you, Yuth,” she replied in a voice that was sweeter than normal.
They pushed their whytes towards the Rendron and resumed their chatter about anything and everything under the suns. That was when a trace laser cut into two of the whytes, killing the pilots instantly. Yuth rolled his ship out of the way in a display of split-second maneuvering. He got on his comm and screamed to the rest, “Split up and find the vessel that’s firing that laser!”
They did just that but another ship was hit and several Geralos zip ships jumped in. Connie wasted no time in engaging with the enemy till she realized that the tracer was not averse to destroying its own ships. Screams and frantic shouts for help were all over Yuth Varience’s radio. He performed several maneuvers and watched out of the corner of his eyes as two cruisers jumped in, firing and tearing another one of the pilots apart.
“Connie, are you still with me!” he shouted.
“Here, Yuth, what’s the plan?”
“Everyone form up on me and get ready. We’re going for the mothership. The Geralos won’t fire on their main vessel.”
Only three of them remained, so they formed up in Vic formation, syncing their computers and moving erratically to avoid the laser fire. Yuth dipped them around the closest cruiser while simultaneously destroying one of their fighters. The other pilot, his callsign ‘Cru’, nicked one of the other ships and it crashed, taking the cruiser’s shields down with it. That was when the Rendron drew close enough to assist, and a trace from one of its numerous cannons split the cruiser in half.
Yuth and his wingmen moved on to the second cruiser and it focused a number of rockets on their location. A synced spiral flight pattern and some ace-caliber flying forced two Geral ships to go down under friendly fire. When this happened, Cru screamed a battlecry through the comm. Yuth Varience took them around to the other side of the cruiser and ducked into the open hangar right after a number of zip ships deployed.
They flew through the narrow corridor and he let his guns tear apart a number of their ships. The comm grew silent as Connie and Cru concentrated; it wasn’t often that they had the privilege of flying wing to a Phaser. Yuth’s maneuvers were reckless so they focused on survival. It was ill-advised to fly into an enemy ship, let alone a dock whose inner doors were closing rapidly to seal off their entry.
Faster and faster they flew, dipping through one passageway and then another. Yuth gunned down the Geralos and they explored the massive dock, squeezing between gaps that their ships were not meant to enter.
“Oh, Maker, take me,” Connie whimpered as Yuth slipped between large closing doors. She banged a wing on entry but stayed calm to right her ship as she followed Yuth’s whyte through the cruiser.
Then they came upon the large barrier that separated the living area of the ship from the hangar. Yuth slammed on his force breaks and spun the whyte 180 degrees, then waited for Connie and Cru to do the same. “We need an exit,” he said into the comm with a calm that defied reason. “Rendron, this is Yuth Varience of the Phaser agency. I am with Constance ITO and Brost ‘Cru’ EVO inside of the Geralos cruiser.”
Static interrupted his statement and the voice of Phimanila Dawn came over the comm. “Yuth, this is Rendron, could you please repeat? It sounded as if you said that you were inside of that cruiser.”
“That’s what I said. Now can you do us a favor and put a trace on the hull somewhere between the fore and the hangar door? Do you see the location? We need a hole, or we will go down with this thing once you deliver the knockout blow.” He powered on his thrusters and flew back the way they came, shooting rockets into the closed bay doors and threading the needle through the resulting hole.
The entire exercise tested the limits of Cru’s and Connie’s piloting skills, but they performed remarkably and stayed with Yuth as he cut through the ship, making his way out. “What was the point of this, Commander?” Cru asked as Yuth found the long hangar pathway and slowed his speed.
“I dropped a detonator in the room we were in. The payload should be enough to implode this ship upon itself. That is, if the Rendron can get us out in the next five minutes. We’ll take it slowly and wait for the trace, and then get away from this thing before it sucks us—”
A bright light pulled them up short as a massive laser cut a hole in the hull. Yuth spun the whyte hard in an impossible maneuver, then shot through the hole and maximized his thrusters. Connie was far behind when she imitated his move, and Cru followed suit, barely escaping the vacuum produced by Yuth’s detonator. The cruiser collapsed upon itself and pulled in all of the ships that were near it.
Connie flew up next to Yuth and pointed towards the Rendron, and he nodded his approval and followed her towards the ship. Meanwhile the Alliance Aces cleaned up the Geralos zip ships, but from out of nowhere came a large, looming battleship. “We need to get inside Rendron as soon as possible,” Connie shouted into the comm, and she flew towards the hangar doors at reckless speed.
Yuth and Cru followed and managed to get inside, and they each found an empty area to land their battered fighters. When they hopped out, Connie ran to Yuth and hugged him tightly, and Cru walked up to clasp his hand with a look of admiration. “I didn’t think flying like that was
possible,” he said to the Louine, and Yuth bowed his head to him as a show of respect.
Yuth said, “That battleship is Serylusk, the undefeated scythe. That behemoth has brought down more Alliance destroyers than I can count on my fingers. It is the angel of death. I hope we’re prepared.”
“Well, it picked the wrong ship to try,” Connie said as she led them through the main pathway to the open area of the dock. “Rendron is immortal. Cilas eats Geralos for snacks. I don’t care how many Alliance ships that box of metal has sunk. She’s about to go up against the greatest Alliance captain.”
Yuth couldn’t help but smile at her unexpected confidence. The way she spoke reassured him of the Rendron’s might and he couldn’t wait to see Rend MEC in action. Cru waved goodbye as he ducked through a dark pathway, but Connie didn’t seem to notice as she took them through the ship. Numerous soldiers hailed her but she ignored them all as she pushed her way through until they came upon a transportation hub.
“Ship’s too big to walk, Yuth, and Rend needs me on the bridge. Hop on and I will get us there in no time at all.” He did just that as she mounted a hoverbike and lifted them up near the overhead. They hung in the air, far above the hustling soldiers, and she kicked her boots back and rocketed them down the pathway. The ride was a fast one and she landed near the bridge. Phimanila Dawn ran down to greet her, and they hugged for a long time, their hands fighting not to do more.
“Welcome back, Connie,” Phimanila said, then turned to Yuth and regarded him. “You must be Yuth Varience,” she said, and reached out to shake his hand.
Yuth immediately picked up on the connection between the two and he shook her hand and brought her in for a hug. He said, “We share a love for Connie, Phimanila. So we are like siblings, you and I.”
“Oh? Okay…” she said, seeming to be confused, then glanced at Connie questioningly before leading them up to the bridge. Cilas MEC was at the helm with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked strong and formidable as he stood staring out at the massive Geralos ship.
Rend said, “Welcome, Phaser. Impressive fighting out there. I’m sorry that you came in during the worst ambush we have encountered.”
“It’s an honor to be onboard the Rendron with Cilas MEC,” Yuth said. “Do you think we have a chance against that vessel, or is it evasive maneuvers that you will be undertaking?”
“Strap in and watch, Yuth. I believe that this is a fight that we can win. See, Serylusk just got run off by Helysian, when Aqnaqak joined in to put her out of commission. What we have here is a ship with limited shields. It jumped in to escape, and so the FTL drive will be out of commission for quite some time.” He looked over his shoulder at Connie and winked playfully at her, and she walked up to him and saluted before taking her place by his side.
“How’s our tracer?” he barked suddenly and a man in front of him began to gesture at the computer rapidly.
“Up to thirty percent, Captain. It should be ready to fire in the next fifteen minutes.”
“Thype!” Rend cursed. “We have to do this the old-fashioned way. Move us into attack position, Mr. REL, and open up our cannons on the aft of that beast. I want her tracer out of commission so that she can’t answer. Tell the soldiers to aim for the seams. The bird is weakest where she cracks.”
Yuth Varience watched in awe as Rend commanded the crew of his warship to put focused fire on the Geralos ship. It answered back in kind and after a while his entire reality became screaming alarms and flashing lights. It felt as if the Rendron was being torn apart by the onslaught, but Rend stood in the center, unwavering in his command.
Then a scream pierced the air and he recognized the voice. It was Constance ITO, bent over Rend’s body. He unbuckled his seat and ran over to see what had happened, worming his way through a number of hysterical people. Cilas was pale and he was not moving. His right hand clutched the area near his heart, making him look as if he was performing a salute.
“He-he’s not breathing,” Connie cried and looked up at Yuth with eyes that begged for his help. He knelt and placed his ear to the Commander’s chest. Then a shot rocked the Rendron, putting out all of her lights and forcing them into darkness for a few seconds.
Yuth grew angry and looked up at the crowd. He said, “I will take care of the Captain. Get back to your stations. We’re in the middle of a battle with a ship twice our size. This is not the time for emotions, this is the time for action, so get to your jobs and bring the old captain another Geralos head!”
They snapped into action as he continued his examination but Constance ITO stood frozen, looking down at Rend. “CONNIE!” Phimanila yelled, and she ran up to face her friend. “Take the thyping lead, XO, we need to know what to do!” Connie seemed to be frozen in place while Phimanila shouted at her, and her tear-filled eyes stared down at Rend as if she expected him to get up and take the lead.
Yuth lifted him up and exited the bridge, stopping to ask a pallid soldier if he knew the direction of the infirmary. The man led him away as Connie stared on and Phimanila screamed at her to rise to the occasion. Another rocket hit the Rendron and the shields dipped low. All of the crew turned around to look at Connie who stood like a statue, unmoving and unaffected by the shouts and words of disappointment that were coming from them all.
This was when Phimanila Dawn picked up the captain’s comm and took her position in the center. “Is the tracer down yet?” she asked, and the weapons officer replied affirmatively. She seemed to consider what to do next but she was at a loss so she stood there, thinking. Multiple battles with Rend had taught her a trick or two, but she was intimidated by the Serylusk’s size. “Hey, Mayvon, you there?” she said finally.
“Yeah, we’re awaiting your orders, Phim,” a gruff voice replied.
“Okay, I want you to prime a vacu—”
“NO,” Connie said as she walked over to Phimanila. “A vacuum bomb on that class of ship would be a waste of our munitions at this time. I’m sorry I froze. It took some time to get my senses, but I will take the bridge now, Phimanila. You may return to the helm.”
Phimanila reluctantly gave up the comm and saluted lazily, then jogged back to her seat and plopped down inside of her chair. She commandeered the controls and then turned to regard Connie, who had clipped the comm to her lapel and stood with her legs apart and her hands clasped in the center of her back, just like Rend MEC.
“Miss Dawn, I want you to pull away from the Serylusk. Do it at a moderate speed so that it thinks it needs to chase. Once the main thrusters are powered up on that thing, I want you to deploy our fighters and lock a tracer on their hangar door.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” Phimanila said with enthusiasm and pride in her voice. She sent out the instructions and listened for more as Connie spat out orders to every level of the ship.
Soon the space between the two ships were dotted with fighters, tearing each other apart in a series of dogfights. Connie called for precision gunners to fry their FTL while she used the tracer to kill the last of their shields. Rendron was in bad shape, taking damage on an enormous scale, but Constance ITO stuck to her offensive and forced the Serylusk to swap knockout blows.
When the tracer finally collapsed the hangar doors, the Geralos fighter pilots were left stranded. The captain of the Serylusk saw that the tides were turning and began to slowly exit the battle.
“It’s using old Ion technology to take off running,” Connie said. “It has no FTL capability to get away free. Check its trajectory and outline the possible destinations. This will be a long chase and I don’t want reinforcements to arrive before she dies.”
The Rendron stayed on the bow of the injured Serylusk and Connie ordered the engineers to focus on the ship’s repairs. She knew that the Geralos would be doing the same, but she hoped they would be ready before the Serylusk could repair itself. “Deploy our fighters, diamond formation. I want them to shoot plasma missiles at the thrusters. There’s a crack in the hull near where the boosters sit and we can
exploit it with enough firepower.”
The Aces of the Rendron shot out of the ship and put missile after missile on the Serylusk thrusters. Orange light seeped from the widening crack, and before long an explosion occurred that stopped its momentum. The Serylusk lay dormant in front of them. Connie called for a tracer to hit the thrusters again and another explosion sent parts of the ship floating off into space.
One fighter flew into the gaping hole that resulted, and before long another explosion bore another hole in her hull. More fighters did the same while the Rendron kept firing and soon the Geralos shield was completely out of commission. Connie called the fighters back and sent out a recon team in an armored cruiser transport. The large ship entered the Serylusk and deployed these men to take the ship and kill any of the survivors.
Several hours passed while Connie stayed alert, giving them instructions when they asked for it. When she became exhausted, she gave up the bridge and she and Phimanila went to see how the old captain was doing.
“You stepped up beautifully,” Cilas ‘Rend’ MEC whispered as he clasped Connie’s hand in his own. Behind her stood Yuth with his arm around Phimanila’s shoulders, her face puffy from crying as she kept her eyes downcast.
“Just holding the bridge for you, Captain, until you came back.”
“There’s no coming back now, Connie, just time for goodbyes. Listen, the doctor on Meluvia told me that I had another year. It’s been two, and a man can only fight against nature for so long. I’m damn proud of you, kid. You—you remind me—you remind me of Hellgate. She was one hell of a pilot.”
Connie leaned forward and put her head on his chest to cry, and Cilas stroked her hair as he stared up at the silver overhead. “How’d we do, kid? Are the lizards running?” He looked over at Phimanila for the answer.
“Complete annihilation, Captain,” Phimanila said proudly. “Connie found a vulnerability after our initial attack and we cracked it open and sent the cleaners inside.”
