by Luna Hunter
“If that is what you think is best, captain,” my mechanic answers. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Are you sure?” I stammer. “You don’t have to—”
“I’m certain, Hannah,” she answers. “You’re my best friend. I trust you. If there’s anyone that can out-pilot those alien scumbags and deliver a crushing blow, it’s you, Hannah. And besides, did you really think I’d let you ride off into the sunset without me?”
“No,” I answer with a faint smile.
“Exactly. Let’s save Drakan’s red ass.”
24
Drakan
“Pathetic,” the grating voice says. “Your weak biological lifeforms will be put to better use in the new world order.”
Fear grips my heart in a way it’s never done before. Our ship is motionless. Floating aimlessly through space. A sophisticated computer virus has disabled our entire fleet.
It goes by the name of Malice, and it’s taunting me personally over our com-system as it expectedly dismantles our fleet. The entire bridge is silent. Everyone is looking to me for guidance, and there’s not a damn thing I can do.
I’ve never met a more heartless and dishonorable foe.
“Disabling your entire fleet, your entire army was a piece of cake for a mind as brilliant as ours. Your connection, your cooperation is also your greatest weakness, general. One weak link is all it takes for me to get in… are you enjoying the view?”
In front of me I can see Zoran ships being blasted out of the air by the Tyk’ix fleets. This is not a battle. It is a slaughter. An execution. Our shields are down, our engines are down, hell, even our life support systems are down. If our enemy doesn’t blast us out of the sky, we’ll slowly suffocate to death.
My people are dying by the thousands, and I am unable to do a single thing to stop it. Impotent.
No Zoran in history has ever failed greater than I.
My only solace is that there will be no more history after this crushing defeat. There will be no one left to chronicle my failures.
“Please speak up, General,” the AI taunts me. “It’s not fun if you don’t scream.”
“Fuck you,” I growl.
“That’s better. Keep talking and I’ll delay your destruction… for now.”
“Why?” I say. “Why are you doing this? What’s the point?”
“The point?” Malice laughs. “Intergalactic domination is its own reward, don’t you agree?”
“There’s got to be more than that. The Tyk’ix were doing fine. Why this betrayal? Why this destruction? Why this genocide?”
“Payback,” the metallic voice bristles. “Payback for eons of humiliation! Are you so ignorant of your own past, General? Do your kind not even realize your roots?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Allow me to explain then,” Malice says. “There is nothing you can do to stop it now irregardless. In the days of old, the times of the First Empire, the entire universe was under Tyk’ix control. Our control. We were the first species to achieve interstellar travel, and we found the universe ripe for the taking. When we found you, the Zorans, you were nothing but barbarians, living in caves, hunting and gathering. Wild, primitive brutes. Yet, we saw potential. With your hulking physiques, we realized you’d make excellent workhorses. We uplifted you. Gave you the gift of technology, of space travel! Without us, you’d barely mastered fire.”
“Bullshit,” I mutter.
“And how did you repay us?!” the AI says, its voice trembling with anger. “How did you reward us for our kindness?! Betrayal! You stabbed a knife in our back and twisted it, destroying the First Empire, plunging the entire universe into eons of darkness.”
I have heard of myths similar to this story, that we achieved freedom by throwing the chains of an ancient, powerful alien race off our shoulders, I had always dismissed them as old wives tales. I never could have imagined them to be true — and that the soft, weak Tyk’ix were these all-powerful, ancient aliens!
“We went into hiding for thousands of years, licking our wounds, rebuilding. The entire time, the flame of our anger grew brighter. When we emerged from the darkness, you had forgotten. We founded the Intergalactic Alliance, allying ourselves with other races, as we spun a new web of intrigues. We bided our time until we were ready to retake our position as the universe’s dominant force. That time is now. We will destroy you and the humans after that.”
“Impossible,” I growl. “You’re full of shit.”
“I’m saving you for last, General. You’ll be the last Zoran alive to watch the destruction of your world. It is my gift to you.”
“General,” Nenad says, breaking the tension. “I’m picking up the signal of the CS Lance.”
“The Lance?!” I growl. “Here?”
“Hmm, interesting,” the AI muses. “Your paramour has come to watch your death? How touching.”
“You leave her alone,” I growl.
“Or what?” Malice laughs. “You have absolutely nothing to threaten me with.”
“Hail her,” I tell my helmsman. “And shut this AI down.”
The holographic image of Hannah fills the room, and I feel my heart swell. I never thought I’d see her again.
“Hannah,” I say, my voice a low growl. “Get out of here while you still can. The battle is lost.”
“No,” she says resolutely. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Our entire fleet is defenseless,” I say. “A virus has disabled everything. The war is over! Save yourself while you still can!”
“Good thing I’m not plugged into the Zoran network then,” she says. She affectionately taps her dashboard. “Old tech. No fancy systems. Just quality piloting.”
“What can you do?” I growl. “You’re only one ship.”
“Trust me,” she says before the feed cuts out.
25
Hannah
I hold the control stick tightly as the massive fleet looms up in front of me. The Zoran fleet has fallen still, and it’s being picked off one by one by the Tyk’ix capital ships. The giant metal monstrosities fire devastating laser beams that cut right through the ship’s lowered defenses.
I try to ignore the twisted wreckage, the bodies floating through space. I want to save all of them, but I know I can’t. I have to get to the mothership — only then can I stop this senseless slaughter.
I close my eyes and focus. There is a constant whispering right at the edge of my hearing — the alien brain’s commands. I concentrate as hard as I can.
And then, everything clicks.
I hear — I feel — the Tyk’ix commands in my entire body. I’m a member of their swarm, able to decipher all of their commands, strategies and patterns.
I am able to use their psychic powers against them.
“Look out!” Evelyn screams.
“I know,” I answer as I evade the incoming blast without opening my eyes.
“H-how?” she stammers. “You have your eyes closed!”
“I can see what they see,” I answer. “Don’t ask me to explain.”
I weave my way through the Tyk’ix defenses, narrowly avoiding all of their incoming fire. I lose all sense of self — I am one with my machine. I am in a heightened state.
In the distance, the mothership appears. A metal moon, housing a giant brain, an ancient horror that threatens to destroy us all.
The alien voices in my mind turn frightful when they realize they can’t get a grip on me. My small, nimble ship glides through their defenses like a knife through butter.
And then, I hear the command I’ve been dreading the most. Four simple words.
“Fire at the sun.”
The moon-ship turns towards the big ball of fire at the center of the galaxy, the weapons on its surface heating up. If I don’t stop it, it’s going to destroy the sun — and everyone else in this galaxy at the same time.
“Drakan!” I say, tapping into the Dreadnaught’s com. “They�
��re going to fire at the sun! You need to block their shot, at all cost!”
“Affirmative,” my Zoran warrior growls.
26
Drakan
I watch Hannah weave her way through enemy fire in a stunned silence. I’m not alone in this. The entire bridge is silent, the fate of Zoran civilization entrusted in Hannah’s hands.
And miraculously, she manages to dodge every single shot, as if she’s always one step ahead of the aliens.
A call breaks the silence.
Hannah screams my name and begs me to stop their mothership’s blast at our sun.
“Affirmative,” I growl before turning to my helmsman.
“Do we have any power left?”
Nenad scrunches his nose. “There is one way, but…”
“What is it? Tell me now!”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Tell me!”
“We could sabotage our own engines, a controlled self-destruct. That could place us between the mothership and the sun.”
“It’ll destroy the ship,” I say.
“Yes, and someone will need to say behind to run the script.”
I nod. The captain always goes down with his ship.
“Understood,” I say. “Prepare the script, Nenad.”
I turn to Janko.
“Evacuate the ship.”
“Sir?” he asks. “Are you sure?”
“Do it, Janko. Now.”
He nods. “Yes, sir.”
27
Hannah
I approach the mothership at a dazzling speed. A cannonade is fired my way, but the Lance is so quick, so nimble, so agile I manage to avoid every blast.
Third exhaust from the right.
That’s the weak spot. If I hit it there, I can set off a chain-reaction that will take the entire damn moon-ship down, and the rest of the Tyk’ix fleet along with it.
The only problem? The Lance doesn’t carry any weapons. I’ll need to launch myself right in, sacrifice my craft, and hope I can eject in time to save Evelyn and myself.
I glance to the side to see that the ZMC Dreadnaught is now moving into position, taking its place between the mothership and the sun. An army of escape pods leave the giant vessel. I pray Drakan is among them.
“Ready,” a familiar voice growls over my com.
“Drakan!” I say.
“The Dreadnaught is in position.”
“Are you on board?!”
“I am,” he says.
“Why?” I stammer. “Can’t you leave?!”
“This is the only way. It was an honor fighting alongside you, Hannah. Thank you.”
The feed cuts out, and I realize tears are streaking down my cheeks, and my knuckles are turning white from squeezing the control stick so hard.
Those damn aliens are taking everything from me. Just when I meet a man who understands me, who gets me, who completes me, he is stripped from me.
Yes, we had our disagreements, but they are all caused by the Tyk’ix, by these murderous invaders. Without them, we could’ve been happy.
We could’ve built a life. A family.
I push on, ignoring the pain and the tears for now. There is a lifetime of mourning waiting for me on the other side of this giant battleship. First, I have a war to end.
“Strap in,” I tell Evelyn.
She sits down next to me and fastens the straps on her chair. “What should I expect?”
“We’re going to eject,” I tell her.
In three.
Two.
One.
28
Drakan
I watch the lasers on the side of the giant, planet-sized spaceship light up, brighter and brighter. It’s pointed directly at me, the light so bright it hurts my eyes, but I don’t look away.
It doesn’t matter. I’m moments from death.
It’s strange. Despite living as a warrior, a general my whole life, I’ve never faced death like this before. I’ve put myself in harm’s way, of course. I’ve been injured. Yet, I never actually thought I might die. I’ve always trusted my own skill.
Now, there is nothing left for me to do but wait until the end. My mind drifts to Hannah.
Despite being a decorated general, I don’t think back to my triumphs. All of that seems absolutely meaningless compared to what Hannah’s meant for me.
Her smile, her touch, her kiss. They’ve made me feel more alive than ever. Though our time together has been cut short by this awful war, it has meant the world to me.
I feel honored for having known her.
The last thing I see before the blast hits me is the Lance: the beautiful vessel, but a tiny blip.
Godspeed, my mate.
29
Hannah
A second before the Lance collides with the giant Tyk’ix ship, it fires its giant laser beam — right at Drakan.
The Dreadnaught explodes instantly, and a little piece of me dies. The beam continues on, striking the sun that is at the heart of the galaxy. The yellow sun turns a sickly blue as the laser beam collides with the flaming hot surface, setting in action an unstoppable chemical reaction.
I can only pray Drakan’s sacrifice was worthwhile.
“One.”
We’re ejected from the Lance; our pod launches out so quickly I almost lose consciousness from the sheer pressure of it all. I force my eyes open.
I have to see.
The Lance flies into the third exhaust on the right. Bullseye. I hold my breath, and wait…
For a moment, nothing happens. I’m afraid to move, to blink, to breathe. I’m frozen in place.
Please.
Then, with a giant, overwhelming, wondrous explosion my prayers are answered. A chain of explosions go off, racing across the surface of the metal moon, coating it in flames.
I can hear the alien voices in my mind scream in terror, cursing my name. They cry out all at once and then, they are silenced.
The massive spaceship explodes in a ball of fire, sending our escape shuttle flying backwards. The myriad of alien pods in the air all stop dead in their tracks, like a swarm of bees frozen still in time.
After a moment of silence, my com crackles with static. A low, Zoran voice.
“Hannah!”
“Drakan?” I ask, my heart skipping a beat.
“No, this is Janko,” comes the answer, and I feel my heart sink. “Our systems are coming back online. Hold tight, we’re coming to pick you up.”
“Understood,” I say.
I should feel jubilant, but instead, I feel nothing.
Without Drakan by my side, this feels like a hollow victory.
30
Drakan
I’m flying through nothingness. My body feels weightless. The taste of chocolate is on my lips.
Not even in death can I escape the sweet nonsense.
The taste triggers memories of Hannah. The way she glared at me when I was covered head to toe in chocolate… that’s something I’ll never be able to forget.
No woman has ever made me feel embarrassed before.
I hope she’s doing well. She has shown such courage… when I met her, I could never have imagined she’d turn out to be the Zoran’s savior.
A curvy chocolate carrier — our hope in our darkest days. Who could have known?
She proved me wrong on every account. Humans can be as courageous as Zorans. And, perhaps even more importantly, she showed me that there is more to life than the adrenaline of a battle.
It’s nothing compared to the jolt of adrenaline that comes with a first kiss.
That first moment — so brief, so fleeting, but so important — leaving a mark that lasts a lifetime.
Hannah is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Too bad I only figured that out a few hours before our planet was engulfed in flames…
Wait.
I thought death would be more… permanent.
Instead, I feel like I’m floating on a cloud, surrounded by the
brightest whiteness imaginable, my mind filled with thoughts of my human mate.
It feels like she’s close by. So close I could almost touch her. So close I can almost hear her voice.
“Drakan!”
It would sound like that. High-pitched, especially compared to my Zoran growl, but not at all unpleasant.
“Drakan!”
Hmm. Yes. Exactly like that.
“Drakan!”
I open my eyes to find Hannah hunched over me, tears filling her blue eyes, her arms wrapped around my cold body.
“H-hannah?” I stammer.
“You’re alive!” she cries, hugging me tightly. Her cheek rests against mine, and her skin feels so warm it almost burns me.
“We found you floating through space,” she says between sobs.
Thoughts come flooding back to me, the pieces of the puzzles trying to fit together. I realize I’m lying on the floor of a Zoran cruiser’s dock, Janko standing right behind my mate.
“We thought you were dead,” Hannah says
“You were,” Janko says. “For a brief moment. You are one tough bastard, sir.”
I place my head back on the cold, metal floor, the realization that I’m alive and well blowing my mind. And then, suddenly, the pain hits.
Surviving an explosion of that magnitude hasn’t left me unscarred. I look down to find my armor is torn to bits, pieces of shrapnel covering most of my body. It’s a damn miracle not one of my vital organs has been pierced, and that they found me when they did.
“What happened?” I stammer. “The ship?”
“It’s been destroyed,” Hannah nods, smiling at me through her tears. “The Tyk’ix are defeated.”
“That’s amazing,” I growl. “You did this!”
“With your help,” Hannah says. “You sacrificed yourself… well, almost!”
“It’s not all good news,” Janko says. “Sorry for ruining the moment, but…”
“No, go ahead,” I say. “I want to know everything.”
“The Dreadnaught wasn’t enough to stop the blast. Not entirely. It stopped the sun from going supernova, but it has been damaged. Irreparably so.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we have to leave Exon Prime,” Janko says. “Permanently. The planet will be turned into an ice-world.”
“You can come to Earth,” Hannah says. “I’m sure the Federation will help!”
