by Tripp Ellis
Walker was fortunate that the hunk of metal blistering within his quadricep was small. The heat had cauterized the wound, so there was no bleeding. The wound wasn’t going to kill him. He just had to keep fighting through the pain.
The blast had ripped a hole in the deck, and Walker could see through to the corridor below. Walker swung his energy rifle around and blasted at the hole in the deck, making it larger. A few bolts was all it took to clear a path to the deck below.
The Marine had made the ultimate sacrifice, but now there was a path to escape.
Walker swung the barrel of his weapon back at the attacking Saarkturians and laid down a stream of suppressing fire. He ordered the Marines to drop down to the deck below. One by one they disappeared through the ragged opening.
Emma stood by him, holding off the enemy. They were the last two left on deck.
“Go!” Walker shouted.
Emma fired a few more shots down the hallway, and slipped into the hole and disappeared. Walker was close behind her.
Pain stabbed through his leg as he landed on the deck below. It felt like an electric shock jolting through his body.
Emma helped him stagger to his feet.
“We’ve got to move. Fast.” He hobbled through the corridor, advancing toward the detention center. A calm automated voice was filtering through the klaxons, instructing the Saarkturians to abandon ship. According to the automated voice, there was 15 minutes remaining until the reactors went critical.
Frenzied crew members scrambled about the ship, scurrying to escape pods. Walker and his Marines eviscerated anything that posed a threat along the way to the detention center. By the time they reached the holding area, the guards had abandoned their post.
Walker limped through the cellblock, searching for Slade. His worried eyes flicked from compartment to compartment, but she wasn’t in any of the cells.
Walker made his way back to the command station. He tabbed through the control terminal and replayed the security footage of the cell block. Valinok had grabbed Slade from the cell and was going to use her as a hostage to facilitate his escape. Judging by the timestamp on the video, Walker had just missed them.
He staggered back into the hallway. His eyes flicked from one end of the corridor to the other. It was impossible to know where he had taken her.
The Marines spilled into the hallway behind him.
“Split up. We’ve got to find the President,” Walker commanded.
Carson took half the platoon and searched the starboard side of the craft, while Walker took the other half and headed port-side. At each junction, the squad split in half again, until they were down to two-person teams.
Walker and Emma pushed through the hallway together, leapfrogging from point-to-point. Walker hobbled as fast as he could. His face was drenched with worry, concerned he might never find Slade in the sprawling ship.
The atmosphere was chaotic—flashing emergency lights, crew members scurrying for escape pods, klaxons blaring. Amid the pandemonium he heard the screech of Slade’s voice.
Walker staggered to the next junction and turned the corner to see Valinok dragging Slade down the hallway. The President was fighting him the entire way, but Valinok was almost twice her size.
Walker’s eyes narrowed, and he brought the reticle of his sights square onto Valinok’s head.
Just as Walker was about to pull the trigger, Valinok caught sight of him. He twisted around, pulling Slade in front of him as a shield. He placed the barrel of a kinetic energy pistol against Slade’s temple.
If Walker had been half a second faster, this situation might have been averted.
“Put your weapon down, or she dies,” Valinok said.
39
Walker
Emma hid out of sight around the corner. She backtracked down the hallway to the next junction trying to circle around and flank Valinok from behind.
Walker stood his ground with the sights of his weapon dead center on Valinok’s forehead.
Valinok’s finger tightened around the trigger. “You would be wise to do what I say.”
“You’ll be dead the moment you squeeze that trigger.”
Valinok pondered the situation. He knew he needed to keep Slade alive until he had reached a shuttle and had jumped to safety.
Walker’s eyes met Slade’s. He could see in her eyes that she wanted him to go-ahead and take the shot. Walker was damn good, and he could easily put a bullet through Valinok’s forehead at this distance, but an energy rifle was somewhat of an unknown commodity. The energy bolts impacted with a wider damage area. Even if he was spot on accurate, Slade could still be injured by the blast. Not to mention his trigger eye was practically swollen shut from the burn.
Walker grimaced and lowered the barrel of his rifle. He set the weapon down gently on the deck.
A devious grin curled up on Valinok’s face. With lightning speed, he aimed the pistol at Walker and fired several rounds.
Walker dove for cover, but there wasn’t much to be found.
Bullets whizzed through the air, clattering off bulkheads, showering sparks. Valinok’s aim was wide at first, but he homed in on his target. Just as he was about to pepper Walker with bullet holes, Slade elbowed Valinok in the groin.
He doubled over, then batted Slade across the face. The strike lifted her from the deck and sent her careening through the air, slamming against the bulkhead. Slade slid down to the deck, dazed.
Valinok instinctually took aim at her and squeezed the trigger.
Walker screamed. He was about to watch this alien kill the woman he loved.
At the last possible moment before the weapon fired, Valinok’s head exploded. Blood splattered everywhere, painting the bulkheads and spraying the deck.
Emma had put an energy bolt through the back of his skull.
The 8 foot tall behemoth crashed down, and blood oozed from his carotid arteries onto the deck.
Walker staggered to his feet and limped down the passageway. He and Slade embraced. They held on like they were never going to let go.
“I hate to break up the party, but we should get moving,” Emma said.
“You’re pretty handy with that thing,” Walker said.
“I try,” Emma winked.
The three of them headed back to the flight deck and rendezvoused with the Marines. Explosions continued to rumble through the ship. The alarms were still blaring, and the automated voice was counting down the estimated time until the reactors went critical. There were only a few minutes left.
Chloe set the gunship down and lowered the back ramp. She had been hovering in the bay, incinerating anything that tried to enter.
Carson and his Marines climbed into the gunship. Walker, Emma, and Slade brought up the rear. Walker hobbled up the ramp. Each step felt like someone had stabbed his thigh with a kitchen knife. He pressed the button on the bulkhead, raising the ramp behind him. It clamored shut.
Chloe spun the vehicle around, throttled up and flew out of the bay. She slid the thruster control to full and blasted away from the Saarkturian flagship as it exploded. Multiple detonations ruptured the hull. The massive warship crumbled to pieces. Debris spiraled into space. Section by section, it splintered into oblivion.
The tiny gunship narrowly escaped the blast. The shockwave sent it tumbling through the void. Chloe finally regained control of the vehicle, and headed for the Revenant.
With no crew left alive, the remaining Zarvox ships drifted listlessly in the nebula. The remaining Saarkturian ships jumped away. Apparently they had deactivated the orb. There was no longer a quantum disruption prohibiting slide-space jumps.
President Slade thanked the Marines. They looked like they were on their last legs. They had sucked it up for the fight, but their adrenaline rush was crashing now.
Chloe landed on the flight deck of the Revenant. Slade ordered the Marines to get to medical. There weren’t enough vials of the antidote on board to cover everyone. But with any luck, Doctor Jack
son could concoct a mix of antivirals that would assist the immune system in fighting off the virus. At least until they could get more supplies and the antidote from New Earth. The trick was going to be finding Doctor Jackson among the prisoners taken by the Zarvox and getting him back to the Revenant.
“Chloe, take the transport and start ferrying prisoners back to the Revenant,” Slade said.
“Yes, Madam President.”
“I’m assuming command of the Revenant until Captain Bryant returns. Right now, I want her to stay aboard the enemy ship. We need to commandeer their fleet. They are far superior to ours.”
A Marine ADV landed on the flight deck. The ramp of the transport lowered and a platoon of Marines in full body armor emerged. Emma caught sight of Dylan as he pulled off his helmet. Her eyes sparkled and she ran across the deck to greet him.
“I see you’re still alive.”
Dylan smiled. “I see you are too. You almost look like you missed me.”
Emma shrugged. “I thought about you once or twice.”
Dylan seemed amused.
“You know, I’m pretty well connected around here. I bet I can get them to do another screening of Devastator 2 in the rec room. I mean, it really was a shame we had to cancel our date.”
“Date?” Dylan said, arching a playful eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t do dates?”
Emma smiled back at him. “I may have changed my policy.”
Dylan grinned.
President Slade marched to the CIC and transmitted a message of hope across the entire Federation. The invasion had been stopped. The colonies were safe, for now.
40
Walker
President Slade and Captain Walker sat atop their horses and watched the sunset. Brilliant hues of orange, red, and pink painted the sky. The sounds of a babbling brook filled the air. Crystal-clear water slipped over rocks and snaked through the lush green forest. They were in the middle of nowhere. And that was exactly how Slade liked it.
She had always wanted to retire to a log cabin in the woods. And while this wasn’t exactly retirement, she did get an extended stay in a log cabin.
The air was a perfect 70°. It would drop to the mid-50s after sunset. Sometimes a little lower. Enough to justify a glowing fire in the fireplace.
“I think this is paradise,” Slade said.
“I would have to agree,” Walker replied.
“Do you think we can stay here forever?”
“I don’t think you can get away with that just yet, President Slade”
“President Slade-Walker.” Slade smiled.
“Will that fit on a bumper sticker?”
“I don’t even want to think about re-election.”
“Let’s just enjoy this little bit of peace while we have it. It never seems to last long enough.”
Thank You!
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please consider reviewing on Amazon—a simple “Loved it,” or, “Hated it,” would be appreciated.
—Tripp
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I'm just a geek who loves sci-fi and horror. I was abducted by aliens and forced to travel the galaxy as the official biographer of an evil galactic ruler. This is where I learned to hone my craft. Fortunately, I escaped and made my way back to Earth, and now I write about my adventures. I hope you enjoy!
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