Orchestra of Shadows

by Charles Nall

  The captain moved several stands of the commander’s hair out of her face. He then caressed her face.

  Freeman coughed. “By the Articles of Galactic Command, Regulation 1088, I relieve you of your– command.”

  “You can't do that.”

  “I just did. Get off my ship.”

  “I can't leave–”

  “Get off my ship!”

  Devereaux nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. It—It was a pleasure, sir.”

  “Likewise.”

  He saluted the commander. She smiled and returned the salute with a shaking hand. Freeman's hand then started to drift in place. She looked past the captain.

  Commander Serafina Freeman died.

  Devereaux closed the commander's eyes.

  Devereaux escaped out of the bridge. He found the nearest available escape pod. He entered the pod, which had barely enough room for himself, and input commands into a computer panel. He wailed in emotion.

  The pod doors closed. The pod launched.

  Devereaux could see out a small window in front of his face. The flaming wreckage of the front section of Freedom continued flying through space beneath him. The hull splintered and buckled. Small explosions kept erupting across the broken ship.

  “Goodbye.”

  What was left of the destroyer exploded in finality.

  14

  March 4, 0270 AC - 20:51 Local Time

  Judgment-class USS Agamemnon

  Orbit of Artemis, Galactic Union Space

  The broken Rapture rested in the hangar area of the Agamemnon. The crew stood outside their wounded corvette. Many other damaged ships lined the flagship’s hangar bay.

  Teresa Day and some of her crew walked up. “Hey, good stuff out there.”

  Jacob sighed. “It wasn't that good. Look at her.”

  He pointed at the wrecked Rapture.

  Teresa smiled. “I've seen worse. She'll fly again. That's the important thing.”

  “Thanks for coming to our rescue, again,” Sharon said.

  “You'd do the same thing. I'm sure you'll save my hide one day.”

  “So, once we're all fixed up... Aisu IV?” Trevor asked.

  Elijah laughed. “We're not getting any contracts in a while, bud.”

  Switch Austrinus smiled. “They'll fix this ship up faster than you think. Unfortunately, we lost the contracts to Aisu IV, sorry. Knave Gunner's crew got your contract.”

  “We've had our differences, but good for them,” Jacob said.

  Trevor sighed. “I'm sure they will rub it in my face if they find something neat.”

  Sharon smirked. “Here's hoping.”

  Arnold looked worried. “Do you guys know what happened to Riko? Was she aboard the hypership when it... ”

  “I'm sorry, Arnold,” Switch said.

  “Was she? Was she there?”

  “There is no way she survived,” Teresa replied.

  “We lost a lot of good men and women. Life isn't fair,” Jacob said.

  Arnold stared at the floor.

  “This whole mess is terrible,” said Teresa. “We lost Denys.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Elijah said.

  “Things will get better, I'm sure,” Rylan Ter said.

  Arnold sighed. “How could anything get worse?”

  June 4, 0270 AC - 21:11

  Regent’s Quarters, Cerberus-class BDS Abaddon

  Hyperspace, Near Babylon, Blood Dynasty Space

  Drake Mabus slammed his fist against the wall.

  “It'sss okay, masster,” Noctis Reek said.

  “No, it's not. Eridanys was supposed to be killed.”

  “The war can ssstill begin.”

  “Perhaps. It looks questionable for our warships to jump away as soon as the Confederates jump in. There has to be a way to salvage this.”

  “People are ssstill angry and confused. You had to essscape. You had to protect yourssself.”

  “Perhaps,” said Mabus. “I can always spin it a certain way. I could wonder why the Union didn't jump themselves. I was a guest in their house and an invading force attacks? We made a judgment call and jumped away.”

  “It could work, massster.”

  “It has to work.”

  There was a knock on the hatch of the quarters.

  “What?”

  “It–it's Thorne,” stammered Lieutenant Tobias Thorne outside the hatch.

  “Come in. And give me good news.”

  Thorne entered the room and hesitated to talk.

  “What?!” Mabus yelled.

  “It–It was a Double-Crescent in the ice of Aisu IV. The mercenary team we hired to help out were taken care of. We won't have to worry about them.”

  “Good.”

  “Shall we begin the excavation?” Thorne asked.

  “Yes. We need to begin production of the planet killers as soon as possible,” Mabus commanded.

  “Yes, sir.”

  March 6, 0270 AC - 13:30

  Sickbay, USS Agamemnon

  Orbit of Artemis, Galactic Union Space

  Lieutenant Ashara Cinderflake examined Captain John Devereaux's wound on his torso. She then replaced the bandage.

  “No sign of infection. You may still need a tetanus shot. You should have told someone earlier about your injury.”

  “I'm okay, Lieutenant,” Devereaux said as he winced from the pain.

  Cinderflake laughed. “How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Ash.”

  “Sorry. And I'm sure my injury is fine.”

  “You had a chunk of metal embedded in your abdomen and you just told us about it yesterday. You are insane,” Cinderflake said.

  “There were people in worse shape than I that needed that attention first. You saved a lot of people,” Devereaux said as he started buttoning his uniform. “If you hadn't evacuated Freedom, many more would have died. It was a great call.”

  “Plenty still died.”

  “Yes, but don't focus on them, focus on the ones you saved. You are a tremendous asset to the ship and her crew.”

  “The ship is gone.”

  “Yes, but we'll get another ship. We can replace it. I can't replace you. There's not another person in this galaxy I'd rather have as my medical officer. You deserve a promotion for what you did.”

  “So... Lieutenant Commander?”

  Devereaux nodded. “Yes ma'am.”

  Cinderflake smiled. “So then I would be able to recite some piece of paper and take command from you?”

  “Well, Ash, you aren't a line officer, but if you can control a ship as well as you control the sickbay, I figure we'd be in better shape.”

  “Much better than you.” Cinderflake laughed. “You walk around with a hole in your gut without telling anyone, it makes me wonder what awful things you are hiding on your ship.”

  “Oh, nothing on the ship.”

  March 6, 0270 AC - 15:21

  Engine Room, USS Agamemnon

  Orbit of Artemis, Galactic Union Space

  Captain John Devereaux shook the hand of Jacob Carpenter. “Your crew saved us out there.”

  ”We just did what was right,” Jacob said.

  Jacob and Sharon Rose were talking to Devereaux in the vast engine room of Agamemnon. Two energy channels pulsed. The room still needed some repairs. No crew members were in the engine room at the moment.

  “Where are the engineers?” Sharon asked.

  “If you listen closely you can hear the two hyper-drives spinning. We're about to make the jump to hyperspace. Engineers always leave the area before the jump.”

  “Oh, of course,” Sharon said. “A small amount of radiation is emitted when the ship enters a jump point. Nothing lethal, but the engineers do leave ahead of time.”

  “So we should start heading out, I imagine,” Jacob said.

  Devereaux nodded. “Soon, yes. An alarm will sound when we need to leave. The ship is heading for Urbania. Your crew should stick around for a little while. I've be
en talking to President Eridanys and Fleet Admiral Straczynski. Some interesting changes are in the works.”

  “Oh?”

  “It's too early to say. You did save a lot of lives. You destroyed the last salvo of torpedoes. The outcome of the battle would have been much worse without you.”

  “Just doing what we can,” Jacob said.

  “It's funny. When I first saw your corvette, my instinct was to shoot it down,” Devereaux said.

  Sharon smiled. “I'm glad you didn't.”

  Devereaux laughed. “Me too.”

  “If you don't mind me asking, how many did we lose?” Sharon inquired.

  “My ship itself? Two hundred eighty-seven lost their lives. Luckily, a large amount did escape on the pods,” Devereaux said.

  “Ugh. How many were lost in the battle?”

  “Too many. On both sides. The number keeps climbing. It passed two thousand on our side.”

  “That's horrible. Too many have died over Artemis,” Jacob said.

  “Not enough, it’s time to add a few more,” called out a voice from behind him. Admiral Akeldamas approached with his guards.

  Sharon gasped.

  “How... Where did you come from?” Devereaux asked.

  Akeldamas grinned and continued walking up to the group. He pulled out his sidearm. “You see, Captain, you are short-sighted. 'Throw him in the brig,' you say. During a full-scale attack? Do you know how easy it was to evade your forces and find an escape pod during that carnage? My loyal guards on Agamemnon kept me hidden until now. My fate has been sealed, but at least I will be take you out with me.”

  “Get away from us!” Devereaux yelled.

  Devereaux, Jacob, and Sharon slowly backed away from Akeldamas.

  “If–If you shoot in here, you may hit sensitive machinery,” pointed out a nervous Sharon.

  A warning alarm started to sound.

  “Would that be a bad thing?” Akeldamas laughed. “Devereaux. I wonder, how did you fight it? I still don't understand what happened to cause this, but I know you must have weaseled your way into this position. It won't matter. You will be dead. Jacob Carpenter will be dead. Hell, I'll kill the girl, too. I was supposed to be the right hand! And he chooses you over me?!”

  “What's he talking about?” Sharon asked.

  “Nothing. The admiral is clearly insane. You will rot in jail for this,” Devereaux said.

  Akeldamas growled, “No jail can hold me. Not even Mars can hold me.”

  Jacob whispered to Sharon, “Mars?”

  Sharon whispered back, “Mars is a prison planet. A penal colony for convicts across the Milky Way. The convicts have their own society. There's no way off that rock.”

  “I understand killing me, Bradley. But keep these two out of it,” Devereaux said.

  “They are so much a part of it. But you don't realize that. You don't see anything.” Akeldamas laughed. “But you will all die. Yes, you will all die. I will start with... Jacob.” He aimed his weapon at Jacob. “Guards, draw your weapons. If Devereaux even thinks about shooting me put a bullet in him. I shall ascend.”

  Devereaux placed his hand on some railing.

  The guards pulled their sidearms.

  Akeldamas fired his weapon as Sharon quickly tackled Jacob onto the floor.

  The bullet pierced a panel in the engine room, but did not hit anything sensitive.

  “Aw, so cute. Fine, you’ll die first.” Akeldamas aimed at Sharon, who was still on top of Jacob, shielding him. Akeldamas started to pull the trigger.

  Suddenly, the ship lurched as it entered hyperspace. Akeldamas and his guards weren't prepared for this and nearly fell to the ground.

  Devereaux swiftly pulled his sidearm and shot Akeldamas in the head. The body slowly collapsed onto the ground.

  Devereaux called to the guards, “Don't make a mistake. You don't have to join him.”

  The guards looked at each other and then backed away from the fallen admiral.

  Sharon was still on top of Jacob on the steel floor. She looked down and nervously laughed. “Uh. Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  March 8, 0270 AC - 12:20

  Mess Hall, USS Agamemnon

  Hyperspace, Galactic Union Space

  “This food is so much better than the stuff on Rapture,” Trevor Reynolds said.

  Elijah Shepherd cut a piece of chicken on his plate. “Hey, I cooked for us occasionally.”

  “And this is better.”

  “Fair enough.”

  The spacious mess hall of Agamemnon was filled with many tables. A large amount of crew members were also enjoying their meals.

  “The rest of the crew is missing out,” Elijah said.

  “Well Sharon and Jacob are, uh, busy,” Trevor replied.

  Elijah chuckled. “Where's Arnold?”

  “No idea.”

  “I have a feeling this isn't over.”

  “It's not.”

  Trevor surveyed his plate for his next bite. “Do you think everything will work out?”

  “Yes. But it will get worse before it gets better.”

  “Yeah. I can see that.”

  “We look toward the vastness of the sea. The waters are calm for now, but a storm approaches. We stare upon a broken horizon.”

  “Uh, whatever you say, man. So, how are people handling your... you know?”

  Elijah laughed. “The fact that I'm from another time?”

  “Yeah, that.”

  “People don't know what to think. I haven't had any mad scientists kidnap me, yet.”

  “Yet,” Trevor said as he chewed.

  “I was brought to this time for a reason.”

  “By who?”

  “Those who reside in crystal fortresses.”

  “Yeah. Will we ever figure out who they are?”

  Elijah smiled. “I think so.”

  March 8, 0270 AC - 12:20

  Guest Quarters, USS Agamemnon

  Hyperspace, Galactic Union Space

  Arnold Lawrence sat alone in a room at a small table. The entire Rapture crew was welcomed as guests on board Agamemnon and received small quarters for the time being.

  Jacob and Sharon got a room together.

  Arnold grumbled.

  At one point he wanted Sharon. He still did to some degree, but he also wanted Riko.

  Riko was gone.

  He lost both of them.

  He stared at the liquor bottle that rested on the table.

  What happened to Riko?

  What happened with Sharon?

  Arnold felt hopeless.

  He poured himself a shot glass of the liquor.

  He stared at the shot glass.

  Arnold put the glass to his lips and then drank it.

  He slammed the empty shot glass down.

  Arnold poured himself another. Then he paused. He grabbed the liquor bottle and chugged some of it. He put it back on the table.

  The realization set in.

  In a rage, Arnold threw the bottle against the wall. Shattered glass fell to the floor as liquor dripped down the wall.

  He put his head down on the table and cried.

  March 19, 0270 AC - 13:51

  USS Agamemnon

  Orbit of Urbania, Galactic Union Space

  President Kael Eridanys pointed out the window that was spanning the side of the wall of the starship. “That's the Olympus Shipyards over Urbania. You can see a Judgment-class heavy cruiser being built.”

  “Wow,” Sharon said.

  Eridanys smiled. “It will be your new girl.”

  “This is unprecedented,” Jacob said. “I really don't understand.”

  “We lost a lot of people during the Battle of Artemis. Freedom was destroyed. Devereaux needs a new ship to command. He also needs more crew members. Rapture was beat up pretty bad and I understand it didn't even technically belong to you to begin with.”

  “That's completely not true,” Sharon said.

  Jacob laughed. “It's totally true, i
t was supposed to go to Arnold's father after the launch of Exodus.”

  Sharon playfully shoved Jacob.

  “Your crew will be assigned to the latest Judgment. We will find spots for you. You'll need to take some classes at the Academy, but you will all be honorary lieutenants of the Galactic Union. Some of you will have an easy time joining. Elijah used to be in our military a long time ago. Now that's an interesting story for another day. All of you, though, have shown great promise. Your commanding officer will be Captain Devereaux, and your executive officer will be the newly-promoted Commander Ember Skyrift,” Eridanys said.

  “Oh nice, a promotion,” Sharon said.

  “You were all promoted.”

  “Again, this is completely unprecedented,” Jacob said.

  “But that does not necessarily mean it's a bad idea,” Eridanys said. “One day those ranks will be official, I'm sure.”

  “Will there be a declaration of war?” Jacob asked.

  “Hopefully not. I'm fighting as hard as I can to keep the war from breaking out. I've heard your stories about the conspiracy. Unfortunately, we could not find any evidence of the conspiracy. Akeldamas perished so we could not interrogate him.”

  “Thanks for allowing us to join the Galactic Union Fleet,” Sharon said.

  “It was nothing. It was the right thing to do. By the way, we don't have a name for the next Judgment yet. We're holding a contest to see who can come up with the best name. You should think about it! Our ship names are usually mythological figures, places, or ideals, but sometimes other names creep in. Maybe we could call it Rapture. Just a thought. I will leave you be. Thanks and welcome to our family.”

  Sharon and Jacob smiled.

  President Eridanys walked down the corridor.

  Jacob saluted Sharon. “Lieutenant Carpenter, reporting for duty!”

  Sharon laughed and returned the salute. “So what are you thinking of naming the ship?”

  “I have no idea, I'm bad at naming things.”