by J. N. Chaney
“What are we waiting for?” asked Lucia.
Billins and Clark both looked at me, each still holding Brigham between them.
“Just a few more seconds,” I said, watching the countdown continue. I nudged Clark to keep going, using the remaining time to get to The Star. This place was about to get flooded with panicked soldiers scrambling for their stations. In other words, total chaos across this entire ship.
“Sir, a slip tunnel has just opened,” informed Sigmond. “The drones are arriving. Should I proceed with the engagement?”
“Do it, Siggy,” I responded.
We neared the landing zone, and I quickly spotted Freddie and Dressler, already waiting for us at the dock.
A light glimmered along the glass, drawing my attention. I paused, trying to determine if there was something there or if my eyes were playing tricks.
The stars shined against the darkness, but were otherwise still. For a moment, I thought it must have been nothing, but then I saw it—hundreds of objects, reflecting sunlight as they came into view, grouped together like a swarm. The drones were here at last, and the real fight was about to begin.
Fourteen
“We’re under attack!” shouted someone from across the landing deck.
At that moment, an alarm sounded, flashing red lights throughout The Galactic Dawn. “That’s our signal,” I said to my crew, grabbing the airlock and hoisting myself up. “Everyone inside!”
“These two first,” said Abigail, pointing to Billins and Clark.
Billins climbed inside, stopping right in front of me. I nodded for him to pass. “Freddie, watch him for me!” I shouted over my shoulder.
“Will do!” he yelled back.
Clark was next, but I held out a hand to stop her. “Not you,” I said. “You know exactly what’s happening here, which makes you just as guilty as your boss. You’re staying here.”
“B-But I need to stay with—”
Lucia took off her staff, which seemed to manifest out of nowhere, now that it was free of the shield. She flicked a switch and primed the weapon to stun.
Clark’s mouth dropped. “No, wait!”
A quick shot struck her in the chest, and she fell straight to the floor, motionless.
Lucia reached down and felt the woman’s pulse. “She’s breathing. Are you certain we shouldn’t take her with us?”
I shook my head. “She knew the full details about what was going on with Lex, those experiments, the whole mess. She went along with all of it. That’s all I need to know.”
Lucia got to her feet. “Okay, then.”
As we fled inside, I ordered Freddie and Lucia to strap in and hold tight. Abigail secured Billins, while Dressler followed me to the cockpit.
“What’s the story with that drive you planted?” I asked as I threw my harness on and primed the engines. “Did it work?”
“Sigmond should have full access to their engines and shields,” replied Dressler. “Although, I can’t predict how long it will take them to figure out what we’ve done.”
I took my control sticks with both hands. “We only need a few minutes.”
“Disengaging from The Galactic Dawn,” informed Sigmond.
I watched the holo, waiting for the exact moment we were free of the other ship. As soon as we were, I hit our thrusters and brought us away from the airlock. “And the shield?” I asked.
“Lowering it now,” replied Sigmond.
An orange light flickered as The Galactic Dawn’s shield flickered off, allowing us to get away. As we flew beyond the barrier point, a set of drones began bombarding The Dawn’s hull—specifically, its quad cannons and light guns.
“They’ll figure out what I did soon,” informed Dressler. “The terminal I had to use was sitting right out in the open. We don’t have long.”
“In that case, Sigmond, you know what you have to do,” I said.
“Understood, sir,” said the Cognitive. “Overloading slipspace engines now.”
Sensors detected a brief energy buildup inside The Galactic Dawn, indicating they were about to go critical. Seconds later, energy levels dropped to zero as contingency protocols took over and automatically shut everything down. The Dawn would be unable to activate any slipspace tunnels until their engine could be cycled and rebooted. Between that, the loss of their guns, and their missing commanding officer, the crew would be utterly helpless in the upcoming battle.
I examined the holo, jumping from cruiser to cruiser. All of them were currently engaged in a battle with the drones, trying to pick them off, one at a time, but the drones were focused on disabling The Dawn’s guns, no regard for their own safety. We’d probably lose a decent number of them in the process, but it was worth the risk.
“Athena, Alphonse, this is Hughes,” I said. “Are you ready?”
“Awaiting your command, Captain,” responded Athena.
I paused, glancing at Dressler. “We’re sure this will work?” I asked in a low voice. “If they blow up, there goes the rest of the plan.”
“I think so,” said Dressler.
“You do?”
“I don’t know everything, Captain,” she replied.
“That’s not the answer I was looking for, but fine,” I said. “Athena, blow it.”
“Understood,” answered the Cognitive.
The holo showed a sudden spike in pressure building inside the nearby moon, rising exponentially. Neither of us had time to react.
The explosion filled the holo, with blue light growing from inside the breaking moon. The rock shattered from within, exploding into dust and massive stones, pieces breaking and colliding into one another, creating even more debris.
The light quickly settled to reveal Titan inside a cloud of dust, its shield flexing and reverberating from the recent force of the explosion.
At the same time, rocks the size of ships flew through the darkness. The largest headed straight for the nearest ship, designated the UFS Patriot’s Arm, slamming itself directly into the enemy’s shield. The stone snapped into pieces, scattering itself along the orange defensive barrier of light. As the strain of so many impacts became too much, the shield cracked like glass, finally snapping apart.
Smaller pieces of debris continued through and collided with the cruiser, impacting its hull along the entire side. Finally, the crew managed to start firing their cannons at the incoming debris, but it was far too late. So much damage had been done to them in such a short amount of time, it was all they could do to keep the rocks from hitting them.
The UFS Peaceful Resolute had been far enough away from the blast zone to counter the moon’s explosion. They fired their cannons at the oncoming rocks with great precision, breaking them apart before they could get there. Not that it mattered, because Titan was already on the move and firing.
Fifty ships came flying out of Titan’s landing bays, targeting The Peaceful Resolute with great prejudice. Titan did the same, and together they laid the pressure on the enemy’s shield so thick it collapsed in a matter of seconds.
The two remaining cruisers—The Eclipse and Autumn’s Light—turned their attention on Titan, releasing their remaining ships, and firing.
I gripped my control stick and brought The Renegade Star around, facing the battlefield. “This is Hughes,” I announced. “Engage all targets. Focus on the cruisers’ cannons if you can, then move all attention over to the remaining ships. Prioritize your own lives at all costs.”
“We’re on it, sir,” returned Bolin on the comm.
Octavia chimed in. “We’ll clean this up nice and easy.”
I smiled. “Right, then I guess we’ll start heading back.”
“Not yet, Captain,” said Athena. “Titan is currently engaged and will be unable to lower its shields to allow reentry. I advise you to stay where you are and await pickup.”
I growled at the thought of sitting on my hands. “I’m not staying put while the rest of you do all the work, godsdammit.”
“S
he’s right,” countered Alphonse. “You’ve done your part. The Galactic Dawn is immobilized and disarmed. Let us clean up the rest.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Dressler interrupted. “He will,” assured the doctor, giving me the side-eye.
“Until then, try not to kill the package,” said Alphonse.
* * *
“Where are you going?” asked Dressler when she saw me unhooking my harness.
“Since we’re stuck waiting, I figured I’d check on the cargo,” I answered, heading to the door. It slid open and I entered the lounge.
Billins, Abigail, and Freddie were sitting there, each of them strapped in, although Billins had his arms tied down as well.
“You’re referring to General Brigham,” said Dressler, following after me.
“How’d you guess?” I asked, still walking.
“Hey, Captain, where you off to?” called Freddie as I passed by.
Billins squirmed in his seat. “Um, e-excuse me, but what exactly is going on?”
Abigail kicked the side of Billins’ chair. “Quiet, you.” She glanced over at me. “Don’t go killing him without me, Jace.”
“No promises, but you go easy on old Billins there,” I called over my shoulder, right as I entered the rear hallway.
“No promises!” she yelled, her voice echoing down the corridor.
I entered the cargo bay overhang and made my way straight down the stairs. Dressler was right behind me, mumbling something about how this wasn’t the time for this.
Lucia stood motionless with her staff like some kind of sentry, her eyes fixed on the sealed compartment in the back of the room. “He’s already awake,” she remarked, not bothering to look at me.
“How do you know?” asked Dressler, once we reached the lower floor.
“I can hear him scratching the wall,” said Lucia. “Like a dying rat.”
“Well, that’s colorful,” I added. “Siggy, open the door. Lucia, get your staff ready in case he tries anything.”
A line formed along the wall as the hidden compartment began to open, the door separating itself and sliding up.
Brigham was on his feet, hands behind his back, staring at me when the door opened. He seemed totally relaxed, devoid of any fear or anxiety—the opposite of what you might expect from someone who’d just been kidnapped. “Hughes,” said the old man, giving me a slight nod. “You wouldn’t happen to have any painkillers, would you?”
I stared at him, saying nothing. When I decided to speak, it wouldn’t be to answer a question.
He glanced around the cargo hold. “You have a fine ship, from what I’ve seen of it. This is the storage bay, correct?”
My thumb rubbed the butt of my pistol.
“I’ve seen the blueprints, so I’m familiar with the layout, including this little compartment,” he said, motioning around him. “It wasn’t on the official blueprint, but we managed to procure a more up-to-date—”
“We’ve disabled The Galactic Dawn,” I interrupted.
He stopped talking, but his expression didn’t change.
“Weapons and engines are down,” I continued. “The rest of the fleet is in shambles. Each cruiser under your command has suffered heavy damage.”
“I see,” he said, still without any shock. “That must make you feel very accomplished, Captain.”
I ignored the comment. “In a few hours, maybe less, the most powerful fleet in the galaxy will have been destroyed. Thousands will be dead, almost all of them Union soldiers, and you’ll go down as one of the worst military commanders in history.” I scoffed, shaking my head. “You lost to a nobody. A deviant Renegade and a disorganized band of rebels. That’s what they’ll say, Marcus. That’s the story they’ll write.”
Brigham glared at me, and for the first time in all of this, I could sense the hate on him, rising to the surface. But like any professional, he knew how to control himself and quickly suppressed it. He straightened himself, then took a slow breath through his nose. “All of that aside, why am I here? You must want something from me.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I want you to tell your people to stand down.”
He gave me a half-smile. “Is that what all of this is about? You want me to officially surrender to you?”
“More or less. Truth is, I wanted to kill you, but one of my people suggested we go for the least amount of casualties possible. Can’t say I’m fully onboard, but I gave it some thought and it just made sense. You see, we’ve picked up a few Union strays since we started out. Some knew what you were doing, so they came here on their own.” I slid my eyes back to Dressler, who was standing with her hands in front of her, watching in silence. “Others, well, let’s just say they eventually saw through the bullshit and figured it out.” I turned to Brigham. “Most of the folks out there have no idea what they’re doing here. Isn’t that right?”
“Compartmentalization is an important aspect of military strategy,” said Brigham. “If every drone knows what the queen is planning, what’s to stop the enemy from overrunning the colony? All they’d need to do is capture a single drone.”
Dressler scoffed. “There’s compartmentalization and then there’s propaganda. You’ve been actively withholding key information from your people.”
“What information would that be, Dr. Dressler?” asked Brigham.
She paused at the sound of her own name.
“Oh, yes,” said Brigham. “I know who all of you are.”
“Doesn’t matter what you know,” I said. “All that matters is what you’re about to do.”
“Which is surrendering, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “You don’t have to die today. No one does.”
“No one?” he asked. He paused, briefly, and then laughed. “People are dying as we speak, Captain.”
I took a step closer, clutching my holster, but still not drawing the pistol. “Everything that’s happening out there is because of you.”
“Is that a fact?” he asked. “Because, the way I understand it, your little girlfriend is the one who stole Union property and murdered a senator…or did you forget about that?”
“I’d watch what you say about Abby,” I cautioned.
“Touchy subject for you, is it?” he asked.
“Nah, but if she hears you, she’s likely to rip your throat out and feed it to you, and I can’t be having that,” I said.
“Be that as it may, I’m not wrong,” remarked Brigham.
“You stole a little girl and you’re blaming someone else for stealing her back?” I asked. “You can fuck right off with that. There’s no excusing what you did.”
“What I did?” he asked. “Do you think you’re someone to preach moral superiority, Captain? Need I remind you of your profession? Or have you forgotten what Renegades do?”
“I know who I am, and I know what I’ve done,” I said.
“Then surely you must see the hypocrisy in your words.”
“I stole plenty, but I never killed a man who didn’t deserve it,” I said. “And I sure as hell never went after a kid.”
“Maybe not, but in defending one, you’ve caused the deaths of other innocent men and women. Deaths that could have been prevented. Look at what’s happening right outside. All those people are dying while you sit here lecturing me on ethics. I might be the one in this cell, but you’re the guilty one.”
“Enough,” snapped Lucia. She swung her staff and lunged forward, stopping a meter from the edge of the door. “This man saved my life. You will show him respect or I will cut out your tongue, your eyes, and your ears, until all you are is a walking husk of a man.” Her eyes crept slowly to his crotch. “And I won’t stop there.”
He stared at her, swallowing, and said nothing.
After a moment of silence, Dressler placed a hand on Lucia’s shoulder. “He’s just a cornered dog, barking at the air. He doesn’t know what else to do.”
“I’ll give you five minutes to think this over, Marcus,” I
finally told him. “You can either do as I say, save your people and yourself, or don’t, and I’ll hand you over to Lucia.”
I turned away from him and started to leave.
“Only five minutes?” he asked.
“Your people can’t afford any longer,” I said. “Better think fast.”
Fifteen
“We should just kill him,” said Abigail.
Her words took me by surprise. I might have expected a call for execution from Lucia, but not her. “What?”
She looked at both me and Dressler. “We don’t need him anymore, right? We have his facial scan and voice recording.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t still use him,” said Dressler.
“How?” asked Abigail. “As a hostage?”
“Possibly, but given the high value he holds, it seems short-sighted to simply throw him away. Perhaps Alphonse can devise a use for him.”
“He’s more dangerous alive,” said Abigail.
“Okay,” I said, breaking the discussion. “Let’s wait and see what he says first. It’ll be easier if he makes that call himself instead of having Siggy put on a show.”
“Indeed, sir,” said Sigmond, chiming in. “While I do have his facial scan, his mannerisms and behavioral patterns are still largely unknown. I will need you to engage in further conversation before I can fully create a viable replacement.”
“See?” I asked, looking at Abby. “Siggy’s not even sure he can do it.”
“That’s not what he said,” she answered.
“Still, we’re better off if we can make him give the order himself, willingly,” I explained.
Dressler glanced at her pad. “Five minutes are up. Shall we go back in?”
“I’ll do it. You two stay up here. Check on Billins and Freddie,” I suggested, stepping inside the open cargo bay door.
Lucia was still in the middle of the lower deck, her staff fixed on Brigham. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Brigham had slouched to the floor and leaned against the doorway. His back was straight and his eyes closed, like he was meditating.
“Gotta say, I never took you for the religious type,” I said, stopping a few meters from him.
