Fleet Admiral James Byrd was on vacation, sitting on a red blanket in the middle of a plush green meadow. It was something he'd not experienced in several years. He took a deep breath, thoroughly enjoying the first few minutes of an anticipated two weeks of bliss. Leisurely, he looked down at a gold pendant he’d been holding in his hand, carefully eying the mystical figures carved within it. There were two men riding one horse, both carrying a spear and shield. The pendant had belonged to his grandfather, so he pulled it to his heart and held it there for several moments, revisiting a memory with fondness. Then carefully, he returned it to his pocket and raised a glass of lemonade to his lips. Suddenly, the ground shuddered violently, splashing the lemonade down his chest.
The ground shook again. The admiral instinctively dropped to the ground, gripping the grass near the edge of his blanket, the best he could do. When the shuddering stopped, he started to push himself off the ground but paused, making eye contact with a deer frozen with fear at the edge of the forest.
“What the...?” Tossed onto his back with another tremor, his eyes remained oddly fixed on the deer as it panicked and dashed into the forest. A moment later, the ground was still as silence hung in the meadow.
The admiral stood up, wondering about the source of the quakes. He was wiping the lemonade from his clothing when he heard heavy footsteps from behind. Before he could turn around to see who was approaching, he was thrown off his feet by another shudder.
Landing hard on his back, he heard the cracks and pops of bones absorbing the impact. He lay still for a moment, staring at the sky as he waited for the ground to stop shaking. When it did, he wiggled his toes and hands. There was sensation there. He sighed, furrowing his brow, his heart pounding rapidly within his chest as he took a deep breath. Without looking, he rolled onto his side, but was startled to find himself staring at a black boot next to his face.
A voice from above said, “Admiral, we have a problem.”
His eyes followed the boot up the seam of a pant leg to recognize a dark blue Star Guild uniform. A young woman's face with hazel eyes was staring down at him, her brown hair stuck to her forehead as if she'd been running. The admiral stiffened as a heavy feeling churned in his stomach. “Lieutenant Eden? Why are you here? What the hell is going on?”
The lieutenant shook her head as she extended a hand. She winced because of his strong grip, especially at his age. She also grunted as she leaned back, pulling him quickly to his feet.
“The fleet is under attack, sir.”
Dusting himself off, the admiral frowned. “Is this a joke?”
Eden returned his frown. “I'm afraid not, sir.” She grabbed his arm and started him into a run, guiding and pulling toward the forest.
The admiral suddenly stopped and yanked his arm away. “Explain to me why we—”
Another jolt rocked the area, but it was slight enough to allow them to maintain their balance.
The admiral looked into Eden's eyes, stern and unmoving. “Am I the subject of a prank?”
She quickly shook her head. “No. We have to get going, sir!”
Another blast shook the ground, knocking the admiral to a knee. Eden grabbed his shirt, forcing him up. “We need to get you to your vehicle and the flight deck immediately.”
The admiral paused, running his hands through his thick but graying hair. His mind raced. None of this was making any sense. He waved a hand, trying to dismiss everything as nonsense, thinking it had to be some type of simulation programmed into this biosphere. Then he smiled and chuckled. “Tell me, then, who would be attacking us?”
He could see fear in the eyes of Lieutenant Eden. The admiral couldn't help but feel a sudden chill move from her to him. He dropped his smile. There was something going on. “They came at us quickly, sir.”
He pounded his fist against his hand. “Who, dammit! Who?”
She shook her head. Her breath was quick and short. “We just saw it as a blip on the hologram, then more blips, then more. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands—flying craft we'd never seen before. When our sensors detected that they were armed and targeting us, we didn't know what to do. They fired, so we fired back. We're still firing at each other.” She hesitated, observing the horror sweeping over Admiral Byrd's face. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see his next expression as she stated, “Starship Contrebis is down and Starship Sirona has taken heavy damage, many casualties, and—”
He interrupted by grabbing her shoulders, shaking her. “Slow down, Lieutenant, and back up—what do you mean, Starship Contrebis is down?”
“Gone, sir.”
His eyes widened. “What? Destroyed?!”
Eden nodded her head, and this time it was the admiral grabbing her arm, pulling her into a run and practically dragging her into the forest. “We have to get out of this biosphere and onto my starship!”
Jumping over logs, dodging branches and tromping through bushes, they made their way to a central door with Admiral Byrd yelling, “Open!”
The door slid open vertically, allowing them to exit the biosphere to enter one of many roadways spread throughout the starbase—a starbase the size and shape of a moon. His vehicle was parked directly across from the door, with Eden's parked just behind. The road was empty, so he dashed across the street to an oval-shaped hover car again shouting “open!” He jumped in, gripped the steering wheel with one hand while pressing the ignition with the other, firing up the ion drives. He rose to a hover and looked behind to see Eden jumping into her vehicle. He gave her a wave to hurry as he pressed his foot on the pedal. He sped toward Flight Deck 21, thinking he had to get off the starbase to assess a situation never before assessed, and to fend off an attack for which they had never trained.
~
Thank you so much for reading, and, if you would like to read the rest of the Star Guild Saga, then follow the link below:
Star Guild Episodes 1 - 9
Star Guild Episode Zero Page 13
