by Libby, Seth
As the shuttle made its ascent, the fighters formed a defensive ring around it. The shuttle broke the uppermost limits of atmosphere a few minutes later, bringing the vastness of space into view. Liam stared in wonder all around, taking in the view of the stars and the awaiting Battlecruiser Sacrifice.
The battlecruiser was just as breathtaking to see, especially now with a full moon framing it in the background. Liam checked his radar for enemy contacts, not that he expected to find any. Once satisfied there were no immediate dangers, he then once more went over carrier landings. If he made a mistake during this landing, he couldn’t just simply reset the simulation and try again. Roughly fifteen minutes later, they began their final approach. Liam listened to the comm channel as they approached. Before long, a voice spoke from the dignitaries’ shuttle: “EDF Sacrifice, this is Omega Shuttle 1 requesting permission to land.”
“This is Sacrifice. Permission granted, Omega 1. Stay on your current trajectory and slow to one-third. You are clear to dock in Bay 3,” said the female voice of the flight control aboard the battlecruiser.
The shuttle slowed and then entered the battlecruiser’s landing bay as Necro Squadron cut their speed to wait for their turns to land. In groups of two, the squadron made their way into the landing bay and settled their fighters into their designated landing ports.
As Liam unfastened his seat harness, he watched the landing bay crew running about, carrying out different assignments. Ladders were being attached to the outside of each fighter to allow the pilot to climb down. Maintenance crews worked on the fighters, checking for any problems.
Once a crew member attached the ladder to his fighter, Liam climbed down and made his way to Evan’s fighter. As Liam approached, Evan saw him, smiled, and said, “Well, that was just like simulation. So any idea where our quarters are?”
“Didn’t you read the schematics you were given for the cruiser?” asked Crystal as she walked up.
“Well, I intended to but sort of got distracted the other night,” said Evan with a smile on his face.
At this, Crystal’s face turned a bright shade of red and she looked away, seemingly becoming very interested in the maintenance crew working on Evan’s fighter. Steve, who had walked up with Tim to witness the exchange, smiled and said, “I know where the pilots’ quarters are. I even know whose quarters are whose.”
They waited for the rest of Necro Squadron to arrive before they made their way from the landing bay. As they left, Liam could see the shuttles landing that would bring the media crews. Liam hoped he could just relax in his quarters until they got under way; he really wasn’t in the mood to talk to the media.
September 6, 2012, 7:48 p.m. ESTAboard the EDF Sacrifice
Walking through the halls of the battlecruiser, Liam examined everything as he passed. Here and there, the crew rushed about, all seeming to be hard at work. What Liam found interesting was that while the landing bay was a dark gray, the passageways were entirely white. The only color came from gray flooring and random view ports or diagnostic screens set into the walls. They walked for about fifteen minutes before they reached their destination.
Liam found his quarters, keyed in his entry code on a keypad to the right of the door, and the door slid open. Entering, he switched on the lights and looked around. He stood in a small room. Like the halls, the walls were also white, but a soft gray carpet covered the floor. The only furniture present was a desk and office chair that occupied the left side of the room with two other chairs in front. This room was apparently meant for a private meeting room. Built into the left wall behind the office chair were shelves, but they were presently empty. A painting of Earth hung against the far wall almost opposite the entryway. Two other doors led out of this room, both in the right corner: one on the opposite wall, the other on the right wall.
Walking first to the one on the right, he touched the sensor and the door slid open. Inside was a small kitchenette with several storage cupboards. Taking a few minutes, Liam opened cupboards here and there, then opened the medium-sized refrigerator. The entire kitchenette had been stocked with all of Liam’s favorite foods and drinks.
Exiting the kitchenette, Liam opened the last door and entered his bedroom. A large bed rested against the far wall with a nightstand and a lamp. A closet for clothing and uniforms sat to the left of the bed, and a door was against the right wall. Several drawers were built into the wall next to the closet. Opposite the bed on the wall was a large flat-screened television with what looked like a cable box below it. Walking over, he picked up a remote and switched on the television, then turned on the box. The television screen changed and a menu appeared, offering several options. Besides mission reports, ship status, and many other military-related things, there was also an entertainment section that offered any movie you could think of.
Switching the television off, he looked around some more. Next to the door Liam had just entered were several boxes. Briefly sorting through the boxes, Liam saw many of his personal effects and things he had requested. The door against the right wall led to his personal bathroom.
Removing his flight suit, he showered and donned a fresh uniform. Over the next few hours, he emptied out the boxes, putting his personal effects away. Once finished, he grabbed a beer from his refrigerator and sat at his desk. As he sat down, there was a chime from his door. Getting back up again, he walked to the door and touched the sensor. The door opened to a waiting Evan, who promptly stepped through the door followed by Dimitri. Evan looked around before smiling. He said to Dimitri, “Well, it seems being Lieutenant Commander definitely rates higher on amenities.”
“Yes, it seems we are but lowly peons in the scheme of things,” said Dimitri.
“Oh, ha-ha, guys. Don’t make me pull rank on you and cite you both for insubordination,” Liam said as he pointed a finger back and forth accusingly.
Evan laughed and so did Dimitri as they walked about, looking over Liam’s quarters.
“Actually, our quarters are pretty much the same, except you have a small meeting room separate from your bedroom. You walk into our quarters, and you are basically entering our bedrooms. We have a small table with a couple chairs for a desk, but otherwise, that is it,” said Dimitri.
After making his rounds, Evan then turned to Dimitri and Liam. “I hear there is a recreation room for the pilots--let’s go find it,” he said.
So all three left Liam’s quarters, investigating anything of interest as they walked along. The crew of the Sacrifice hurried about getting the ship ready for the jump, and several times they passed other Templar Knights who were also exploring the battlecruiser. It took them about forty-five minutes to find the Knights’ recreation room.
Upon entering, Liam spotted several members of Necro Squadron already present. The three walked over to a large table where Crystal sat with Steve, David, and Tim. Sitting down, Liam looked around the room. All the tables were set up around the outside of the room; in the center were four pool tables and two foosball tables. Against the right wall was a large bar with bar stools. To the left of the bar were three dartboards and to the right was a small dance floor with an entertainment system.
Soon, Michael, April, and Darren walked in and joined the rest of Necro Squadron, and they all sat and talked of things to come. Liam studied each person in turn as they spoke. Evan he knew well, as they had been friends beforehand. He was the best pilot on the ship, always ready for a laugh, and known as a joker. Sitting next to him was Crystal, who was a smart young woman and, by the way she looked at Evan, it was plain she was smitten with him.
Steve sat next to Crystal; he was of average height with short spiky black hair and brown eyes. Steve was a genius when it came to computers. He could hack into anything and tended to do just that when the opportunity arose. Next to Steve sat David. Born in Venezuela, his family had moved to the United States when he was sixteen. Liam had noticed many women eying David whenever he was around. David was a huge fan of rugby and was a very good
pilot.
Tim sat next to David. While he still had the appearance of a mousy-looking person, the ten pounds of muscle he had recently gained gave him a more formidable appearance. Although Tim was far from the warrior many of the squadrons were, if you needed a problem analyzed, then Tim was the man for the job. Next was Michael. He was a rather plain-looking man with brown hair and eyes. Michael sat staring into April’s eyes, not saying a word, only smiling. April was a short, pale, red-headed girl with green eyes. She rarely spoke and, except for at Michael, she rarely smiled. She seemed to hold a deep sadness that Liam knew nothing about. He hoped Michael could help her through whatever caused her such deep pain. The battles ahead would prove to be beyond formidable, and none of them could afford to have someone who wasn’t dependable.
Darren was next. Liam didn’t know much about him. Although tall, he had a sort of a reserved nature about him. During the training sessions, he rarely spoke, and even when they had their downtime, he kept to himself, usually reading a book. Last of all was Dimitri, born in a small town in what was formerly the USSR. The man had hawklike features that gave him a brooding look, yet he was a very likable man and always up for a practical joke if the occasion arose.
Liam wondered what these men and women would be like when they first confronted the Shenkar. Would they stand fast, or would they flee in fear? He highly doubted any of them would run in fear. For one thing, they simply knew what they had to do. When they had first volunteered to undertake this mission, they all had been men and women who had wanted death. All had suffered the pain of loss of a loved one. Now as he watched them, he had come to see them as friends as well as family--and he saw a different group than those who had volunteered for the suicide mission several months earlier. He saw people who cared for one another as friends, as well as something more in the case of Evan and Crystal, and Michael and April. He wondered if they realized that the person they cared for would most likely be dead within the next few weeks. One would witness the death of the other, and what would that do to them?
Looking around the rest of the recreation room, he watched all the other pilots and wondered which of these men and women would not be here after the first encounter with the Shenkar.
September 6, 2012, 9:23 p.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Recreation Room
Liam excused himself, telling his fellow pilots he wanted to go over last-minute preparations. However, exiting the center, he didn’t go back to his quarters. He instead walked toward the hangar. Entering the hangar, he looked around. The media crews were boarding awaiting Omega shuttles to be taken back to Earth. He noticed that the Omega shuttle the world dignitaries had used was already gone. Liam waited until the last of the media boarded the shuttles and lifted off before he entered deeper into the hangar.
September 6, 2012, 9:23 p.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Recreation Room
Evan had watched Liam walk from the room, seemingly deep in thought. Lately, Liam seemed to be keeping to himself, always around yet apart from the group. On more than one occasion, Evan had spotted Liam watching the men and women of Necro Squadron or even other pilots of the other squadrons. When Evan had asked him about it, he simply said he was just thinking about the coming mission. If Evan had to guess, though, he would say that Liam was wondering who would be the first to die and what he could do to prevent their deaths.
Evan wished he could do something to help his friend. He had lost his wife and now was in command of nine men and women who would die in the end. A sharp jab to his ribs brought him out of his thoughts.
“Hey, flyboy, already lost in space?” asked a smiling Crystal.
Looking at Crystal, he returned the smile, examining her face, drinking in her beauty.
“No, just thinking--worried about Liam,” said Evan.
“He has looked more worried lately than usual,” remarked Crystal.
“Yeah, he is worried about us all. He knows we all went into this knowing our final fates, but it doesn’t stop him. He has always been like that, always trying to protect everyone. If anyone needed something, he was always there to try and help.”
“Well, there is nothing we can do about it now. Maybe later we can corner him and get him to talk. However, until then, let’s talk about something different,” Crystal said playfully as she squeezed his thigh with her hand.
Her smile alone would have been enough to get his pulse racing, never mind the thigh squeeze. He had to clear his throat before speaking, yet still stumbled anyway.
“Uh . . . w-w-would y-y-you want to um . . . you know, go somewhere private?” said Evan.
Even couldn’t remember the last time he felt butterflies while speaking with a woman--and Crystal was definitely all woman. Crystal smiled even more as she leaned in so her mouth was next to his ear. He could feel her hot breath as she spoke.
“How about your quarters since they are closer? We can work on maneuvers,” she said with a devilish smile on her face. Evan turned quickly to the rest of the pilots at the table.
“Well, guys and gals, I think I will turn in now.” Then he turned to Crystal before speaking again, “Did you say something about needing someone to show you how to get to your quarters?”
“Yes, thanks, I would appreciate it,” Crystal said smiling as she got up.
Saying their farewells, they walked quickly from the rec room. At a pace close to jogging, they hurried to Evan’s quarters. After what seemed a very long time, they reached his quarters and keyed in his entry code. No sooner were they through the door then they turned to each other and embraced in a fierce passionate kiss. Each of them pulled at the other’s clothes in attempts to remove them. After several minutes, Evan pulled the top half of Crystal’s uniform down.
Just then a loud alarm sounded but was suddenly cut off and a female voice spoke: “Attention, all crew members; report station readiness. The first folding sequence will commence in fifteen minutes. Everyone, report to your assigned fold stations. Repeat, everyone report to your assigned fold stations. First fold will commence in fifteen minutes.” The voice cut off as suddenly as it came.
“DAMN IT!” said Evan loudly.
“Guess we have to wait on this . . . ugh, the sexual tension grows,” said Crystal sourly as she pulled up her uniform.
They finished dressing, then Crystal quickly leaned up and kissed Evan again before exiting his quarters to go to hers. Evan quickly donned his battle suit, grabbed his plasma sword, and left for the hangar bay.
September 6, 2012, 9:40 p.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Main Hangar Bay
Liam wandered among the F-77 Scorpion fighters, stopping here and there to examine different insignias that had been painted on the sides. Every fighter sported a different insignia: a hawk, a set of bagpipes, an eagle, a dragon, a raven, a werewolf, a tiger . . . and finally he came to his . . . a ghost. Tracing his fingers across the ghost, he hoped he would lead his squadron well. He knew they would all die, but he hoped they would all take as many of the Shenkar as possible with them.
“You will be fine, Lieutenant,” said a deep voice from behind him.
Looking around, he saw General Kelvin standing there. Turning quickly, he snapped to attention, saluting. It took Liam a second to realize that the General was wearing the uniform of the Earth Defense Force. Stitched over the left breast pocket was the patch of a crew member of the EDF Sacrifice. Looking at the collar of his uniform, he saw the general now wearing four silver stars in a row along the collar: the insignia of an Admiral.
“At ease, Lieutenant,” said a smiling Kelvin.
“Sir, how is it you are wearing an EDF uniform? Last I knew, you were a General in the Air Force, not an Admiral in the Navy,” asked Liam.
“Yes, you would be correct in that. I was a General. However, with the creation of the Earth Defense Force, we developed a new branch of military forces. But it’s more than just that--it’s a worldwide military, a combination of the nations of the world working together in unity. While combat of this type will be largely in common with Nava
l tactics, there is a large element that involves Air Force tactics. This particular mission will be entirely fighter-based sorties unless something goes wrong. Therefore, the command staff of volunteers is from the United States, Australia, and the UK. And for this reason, I am an Admiral, as all ranks will correspond to Naval titles.”
“Aren’t you a good friend of the President?” asked Liam.
“Yeah, and it was quite the challenge getting him to agree to let me head up this mission. I argued with him for what seemed hours before he relented and admitted I was more than qualified for the job,” explained Kelvin, laughing.
Liam smiled, then looked over his shoulder at his fighter before turning back to Kelvin. “Sir, what do you think our chances are of succeeding in slowing the Shenkar long enough to build the defense fleet?” he asked.
Kelvin looked around, taking in the crew getting the ship ready. Then he examined Liam’s fighter’s insignia before he answered. “Honestly, I don’t know. We are depending on a lot of ‘ifs.’ One factor will be if the Shenkar are where the Meshtrell estimate they are. If we can destroy the advanced elements of the Shenkar forces before they can call in more support or even get a signal off, then that will be another factor. I am hoping we get lucky, but you can’t depend on luck, so we will wait and see. We need to slow them down for three months . . . that might not be possible, but we will try. If we can inflict enough damage upon their lighter capital ships, it might be that we won’t need to slow them for three months. So, like I said, it all comes down to a bunch of ‘ifs,’” said Kelvin grimly.
Kelvin turned again to look at Liam’s Scorpion fighter, running a hand along a wing, seemingly lost in thought. Liam stood there quietly, unsure of what to say for a few minutes before Admiral Kelvin turned back to Liam.
