The Omega Drive

by Nik Whittaker

  “Shit!” He shouted before opening the channel. “Oh, hi there.”

  “You land that ship right now or so help me I won’t be able to stop them, be smart here Dack!”

  Dack hesitated, wondering if he should follow the order. If they knew they were escaping, there was no telling what the Revenant might do. There wasn’t time to discuss the situation, which is what he would have preferred.

  He glanced up again, there were now hundreds of ships in the air, he closed his eyes and pushed forward on the stick, the Bullet Rose sailed forwards.

  “Sorry sir, we can’t stay. It was a great party though, let’s do it again sometime,” he said.

  The ship rose and entered the crowd. Due to the Bullet Rose being a more exploratory ship, it had a high level of agility, which meant Dack could weave the ship through the rest, getting closer to the airlock every second.

  “Lyla, how’s it going over there?”

  “We’re good here, no issues, Jako's docking codes are working still. Sounds like all the fun’s in your hanger,” she replied.

  “Oh yeah, we’re having a smashing time over here,” Dack laughed.

  In front of them the inner airlock doors began to close, a klaxon echoed around the room.

  “Dack, I’ve ordered the airlock to shut down, return to the ground now and we can talk this through!” Jenkins boomed through the comms.

  The first set of doors continued to close as the Bullet Rose approached, ships around them were slowing their speed so as not to get caught in the giant metal shutters. Dack spun the Bullet Rose round, avoiding collisions with the other ships, making his way closer to the freedom of space. At the last second he squeezed it through the shutters, they were now in the central pressure section, along with a handful of ships which were also trapped mid-evacuation.

  “What do we do now? They won’t open the outer doors knowing we’re in here!” Vittoria slammed a fist on the wall.

  The doors in-front of them cracked open slowly, just enough for several smaller ships, including the Bullet Rose, to escape.

  “You’re, erm, welcome,” Jako’s voice came into the comms.

  “Haha! Thank you Jako!” Dack laughed as he weaved the Bullet Rose out into open space.

  “Do you think they can still get us with the tracker beam?” Tylr asked.

  “In theory, yes, but the mass of ships here, there is no way they could aim and take just us. And if they got two ships in one beam, it’d crush them both by pulling them together. They can’t risk that,” Vittoria explained, as they moved with the other escaping ships. They could see the Equinox pulling alongside them.

  “Coyotes! Get back here!” Jenkins yelled, his voice more disappointment than anger.

  The two ships kept moving until they were a good distance from the Revenant, before they slowed and formed on each other.

  “So, that was thrilling,” Dack said, the comms open to both ships.

  “Jako, send the StarQuake coordinates to the Bullet, once we’re back we can discuss our next move,” Tanners said.

  “Affirmative,” Jako replied.

  The two ships headed at full speed back towards the StarQuake. No-one spoke, each in their own thoughts about what they should do next. They only had ten hours left to decide, before the weight of the Solar Assembly would come down on them, or they signed up for a suicide run.

  15

  The Coyotes were back on the StarQuake. Six of them sat around the rectangular table in the centre of the canteen, including Jako, still in his exosuit. This was a discussion which required them all.

  “Thoughts?” Tanner said, between mouthfuls of a soup which tasted of, but wasn’t, chicken.

  “We could use the tune up for the ships,” Vittoria said. She knew the StarQuake wasn’t running at 100% these days. The patch up jobs held, but they were still patch jobs.

  “Same for the armoury,” Tylr added.

  “Not t’mention the fact we won’t be outlawed by the Assembly,” Lyla said.

  “All good points,” Dack agreed. “The only question is, are they all worth it on a mission which we might not make it back from?”

  “But, erm, we could make it,” Jako added.

  “We could, and with the tune up, we’d be the best equipped version of ourselves. Can’t say we’ve been that for a while,” Tanner considered the idea.

  “I feel there’s a lot of information they aren’t telling us,” Vittoria added. “This new energy, why would they hide it? And why not find their ship themselves?”

  “They said it’s unstable, maybe it’s just a, erm, dangerous substance?”

  “Isn't all energy?” Dack said rhetorically.

  “Jenkins vouched for the mission,” Tylr put their head in their hands, deep in thought.

  “And for us,” Lyla added.

  “He’s always been good to us, regardless of what we did,” Tanner agreed.

  Dack rose from the table and grabbed six small, brown, ceramic cups from a cupboard, along with a bottle of a bourbon which was next to them.

  He poured out a shot of the brown liquid into each cup, and passed them around. This was their usual routine when a large decision had to be made, one of the few formalities the crew had. Pressing a button on the side of the table a small rotating disc rose from the centre and began to spin at a slow pace. Around the disc were six indents, the exact size of the cups. A large bowl sat In the centre.

  “We drink for the mission, we abstain to pass,” Tanner announced, they all nodded.

  Dack dimmed the lights, just enough for them to see the disc, but little else.

  “Cheers,” they echoed round the table.

  They all motioned to drink from the cups, then placed them onto the spinning disc. The rotation and the dimmed lights, meant that once they had returned the cups, it was impossible to know whose was whose.

  When they’d all finished, Dack brought the lights back up and stopped the disc spinning.

  Tanner got up, and one by one turned the cups upside down over the centre of the disc above the bowl. The team all watched in anticipation. If everyone drank, then the vote passed, if only one person hadn’t, then it was denied. They had always voted on big issues this way, the whole team had to be in agreement, with no hostility towards anyone who disagreed with the plans.

  Four cups in and so far all the cups were empty, he turned the fifth and a small trickle of liquid dripped out. The intake of breath around the table was audible.

  “Ah c’mon tha’s surly not an abstain?” Lyla shouted.

  “Agreed, someone just didn’t finish it properly,” Tylr said.

  Tanners shook the cup a little, no more came out. They agreed it was a pass.

  “We should find a more fool-proof way of doing this,” Dack laughed.

  “Last one,” Tanner lifted the final cup, pausing for effect, then tipped it upside down.

  Empty.

  “That’s says it, all in favour. Let’s go save the galaxy!” He declared.

  “Second attempt,” Tylr added.

  “First one was a trial run, this time, hopefully, the people we’re trying to help won’t attack us!” Vittoria said, grinning.

  “Ok, let’s get in touch with the Revenant, they’re probably gearing up to hunt us down,” Dack got them back on track. “Jako, can you radio Jenkins and tell him we’re ready to assist?”

  “Erm, on it,” Jako rose and began to head towards the Azimuth. He was ready to get out of the Exosuit and back into his zero-g.

  “Ask him where we need to go for the upgrades, that’s the important bit!” Vittoria shouted as he left, she was looking forward to getting the ships a new lease on life.

  “Will do,” he waved back.

  “What shall we do in the meantime?” Lyla asked, looking at the others.

  “We need information on the Syndicate,” Tanner replied. “But I think tracking the Cipher is our best bet, without that they won’t be able to use the book, lets’s reach out to some of our contac
ts and see what they know.”

  “Tylr, get all the weapons together and see what we might need upgrading, and if there’s anything else we should request. We want to make the most of the Assembly's generosity,” Dack said.

  Tylr nodded, getting up and heading to the storage area for their armoury. Vittoria followed them out.

  “I’ll get some up-to-date diagnostics ready for the ships,” she said.

  “Excellent, Dack, Lyla, lets do some research,” Tanner slapped Dack on the back and headed towards the cockpit.

  “Yay, research,” Lyla’s sarcasm dripping on each word.

  Dack smiled, grabbing the bottle of bourbon and waved it at her and winked as he followed Tanner.

  “Oil for the brain cogs,” he said.

  Lyla’s eyes perked up, and she jumped to her feet.

  “Good thinkin’”

  16

  The Prime Leader settled down into the large leather armchair in his study.

  It was a large room in the centre of the Royal Sanguine, a large Galactic Syndicate Destroyer. He had designed the room, and filled it with artefacts from the old worlds, the time before the Endlings had ushered in a new age of technology.

  In his hands he held the book he’d recovered from the Crypt on Ganymede. So far, he could not decode it. His contact in the Council had sent him the information he needed to secure the book, along with some details on its content.

  He’d escaped death on the moon, when the Assembly had started their Orbital strike, he had the Jackals to thank for his rescue. They had known of the attack, and retrieved him from the ground using their small fighter vessels. The Jackals had been working with him since he had begun his reign as leader of the Syndicate, though they weren’t officially part of the Syndicate army. His own personal guard, whom he prized higher than the Elites.

  He turned pages of the book idly, scanning each page. They contained diagrams of several star systems and, he assumed, technology. Without the accompanying descriptions, which were written in an alien language, the pictures were useless. He sighed placing the book on the table next to him.

  A beep alerted him to someone arriving at the door.

  “Enter,” he called out.

  The door hissed open, the bright light of the corridor was a contrast to the yellowed lamps in the study.

  Standing at the door was one of the Elites, he held an assembly soldier next to him.

  “This is the one we found whilst clearing the craters, sir,” the Elite said, his helmet comm amplifying his voice.

  “Excellent, bring him in,” the Prime Leader spoke, his voice was gentle.

  The Elite pulled the soldier into the room, the boy’s face showed signs of being beaten, and a patched-up wound on his side had been weeping blood through onto the surrounding bandage.

  “Please, take a seat,” The Prime Leader offered him the leather seat he’d been previously sitting in.

  The young soldier fell into the chair, grateful to be off his feet.

  “Now, tell me, just yes and no answers for now please, I want only facts,” the Prime Leader knelt down in front of the boy.

  “Were you on the Moon,” he started with a base question.

  “Yes,” the boy muttered out, he’d not drank anything for several hours and his lips were cracking and dry.

  “Good, good,” the Leader smiled. He moved and passed the boy a glass of water from the table to his side.

  “Now, were you privy to any information regarding the Orbital Strike on the moon that occurred after we firebombed the ground?”

  The boy shook his head in between taking large gulps of water.

  “Hmm, I see,” the Leader stood up now.

  “Did you see anyone else on the Moon, other than your army and mine?”

  “Yes,” the boy said, after swallowing a large mouthful of water.

  The Leader spun and looked at the boy; he had thought there was some other force involved. An explosion had destroyed his private shuttle before the Orbital Strike had begun.

  “Who?” He hissed at the boy, “who else was on the Moon?”

  “The Coyotes,” the boy whispered, moving back into the chair to get away from the Leader.

  “The Coyotes? Are you sure?” He asked, staring deep into the boy’s eyes.

  “I… I’m sure,” he said, “they are the ones who patched me up on the battlefield. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for them,” he sobbed out.

  The Leader thought he had known the men he’d encounter, and was now sure. He stood up and walked over to the Elite who stood less than a metre away.

  “I see, well,” he raised his arm, “it’s because of them you will now die,” he grabbed the Elites’ sword from its sheath and, in one swift movement, sliced the boy’s throat with the blade.

  Blood began to pulse out of the wound as the boy gurgled the blood which was now filling his throat. The Leader moved closer again, small specks of blood sprinkled on his face.

  “The Coyotes have made this personal, and they will pay,” he spat at the boy, “you, I have no quarrel with, but I cannot have you speak of what I have been asking you about,” he motioned to the Elite. “I will spare life, but you will not speak again.”

  He stood and allowed the Elite to wrap a surgical bandage around the boy's neck. It created an immediate seal and stopped the bleeding. The boys vocal chords, however, were severed and he would not speak again.

  “Send for the Jackals, I wish to speak with them,” he told the Elite as he took the boy from the room.

  Once they had left, the Leader returned to his seat, the blood still staining the floor. He picked up a communication device and tuned it. A second later a voice came on the line.

  “Where have you been?” a voice demanded on the other end.

  “I had some business to take care of, what's the news?”

  “You need to step up your plans, the Assembly have agreed to send a team after the Cipher, and after you!” The voice was his contact in the Assembly, one of the Twelve.

  “I see, are they en route already?”

  “Not yet, they are due to launch in the next couple of day, have you located the Cipher yet?”

  “Not quite, but soon, I have my best people on it,” the Leader started looking through the book again.

  “Well hurry, the team will track you soon. I know the Council have briefed the team on some minor details about your location, but I’m not sure on their approach. You need to find the Cipher before they do!”

  “Of course, we are closing in on the location,” the Leader replied. “Tell me, who are they sending?”

  “The Coyotes,” the voice replied.

  The Leader smiled slightly, his lips turning upwards as the skin tightened.

  “Thank you for the information,” he said, “I look forward to meeting them soon.”

  The conversation ended, and the Leader stood, the smile still upon his lips, as the Jackals arrived at the door.

  17

  Vittoria was standing in the large hanger of the Orbital Station Hammet. The StarQuake was docked, for the first time years, and was receiving its upgrade. Alongside it, were the other Coyote’s ships; Dack’s ‘Bullet Rose’, Tanner’s ‘Equinox’, Tylr’s ‘Aphelion’, and Lyla’s ‘Solstice’. Each were also getting a full service and overhaul. The only one missing was Jako’s Azimuth module, which he refused to let anyone touch, and was still inside, despite the renovations occurring in the ship below his module.

  “Watch what the hell you’re doing with that!” She shouted at one engineer, who was taking out one of the StarQuakes internal components.

  Vittoria stormed over to the man, and grabbed the cylindrical component from him.

  “Do you even know what you’re doing!”

  “I’m a level five SA Engineer, Ma’am, I think I know exactly what I’m doing, thank you,” he retaliated, “it’s not my fault that these ships are in such a bad state,” the implication wasn’t lost on her.

  She froze, givin
g the man a look that could freeze blood.

  “Are you saying, that my work isn’t up to your standards?” She whispered, with venom.

  The engineer looked back at her, realising his mistake.

  “I… I didn’t mean that, just that they have a lot of work to upgrade them to the latest technologies and weaponry,” he back-peddled.

  Vittoria stared the man in the eyes, waiting to see any sign of deception.

  “They’re very well maintained ships though, perfect condition,” he added quickly.

  “That they are,” Vittoria replied, keeping her eye on the engineer.

  A viewing gallery overlooked the hanger, Tanner and Dack sat, watching the scene beneath them.

  “Should we get her out of there?” Dack asked, his concern for the engineer was growing with every word Lyla spoke.

  “No, I’m sure it’s just engineer banter,” Tanner replied with a grin.

  They moved out of the gallery and into the office, which doubled as the Coyote’s operations room while the upgrades were taking place. Lyla was checking over the medical supplies which was being added to the StarQuakes’ inventory.

  “How we looking Ly?” Tanner asked, peering over her shoulder at the list of items.

  “Lookin’ all right, we should be covered for most situations. Y’know as long as y’all do nothing really stupid,” she replied, pushing him away.

  Dack laughed, pulling Tanner away.

  “C’mon let’s check on Tylr.”

  *

  In the Hammet’s armoury, Tylr was testing several weapons on the firing range.

  “This one,” they said placing a rifle to their right side, then picked up another which was on the gun rack next to them.

  Several shots later, they placed it to the left.

  “Not this one, the sight is out by about three millimetres, get your people to fix it,” they said picking up another.

  The pile of guns on the right side was seven deep, with a handful of smaller gadgets surrounding it.

  Dack and Tanner stepped in, glancing at the weapons, and exchanging looks with the three Troopers who were assisting Tylr.

  “Found anything good?” Tanner asked, picking up an Alpha-grenade from the pile, feeling its weight in his hand.