Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match

by Ron Francis

  “Whatever is easiest for you to make.”

  She made him a sandwich and brought him a glass of juice. He looked up and thanked her. “You know you don’t have to do this, I can get my own food.”

  “You are putting your life on the line for the entire sector. Today and tomorrow, I’ll get your food.” Her tone let him know it was not up for debate even as a miniscule smile briefly crossed her lips.

  “Thank you, Kimi; I don’t deserve a friend like you, do I?”

  “Probably not,” she replied with a much bigger smile. “But I am not going anywhere.”

  Okay, now that was flirting, right? I hope it was. I’m gonna talk to her as soon as I wake up from tomorrow’s injuries. He quickly changed the subject. “How is Captain Reed feeling?”

  “She is fine, Collin, Enso and Suzy apparently pulled off a miracle to save her life.” She paused as if choosing her next words carefully. “Jesse, I have noticed you no longer refer to her as Cassie, why?”

  A look of hurt crossed his face that made her wish she had not asked the question. “Cassie is what I called her when I thought we were close. I realize now that I was wrong and that was never the case. Captain Reed is what I called her before I knew her, and since I never really knew her, it’s back to Captain Reed.”

  “I know I’m the last person you might expect to hear this from, but maybe you should forgive her. You might be able to move on if you do.” I really hope you’re ready to move on, because I’m so ready to move on with you. Maybe we should have a talk now. No, I can wait a couple more days.

  “You might be right, Kimi, but I’m not ready yet.” He didn’t want to tell her that one of the reasons he hadn’t forgiven Captain Reed was because his failed relationship with the Captain had ruined his chances with her. The fact that Cassie had been using him only made it that much harder to accept.

  They sat and talked for a while before Jesse began to feel really tired. He went back to his quarters knowing he was going to have to do it all over again tomorrow. He badly wanted to live to see Nina and Ariel again, but most of all, he wanted to live to see Kimi fall in love with him again.

  ______

  Garrinoras had just given the word; the time had come. Yartan was very excited. Even more so since he had found out that Chawanas would be aiding them with close to sixty ships instead of two dozen. That would give them almost two hundred fifty ships, and possibly the planetary defenses to fight the Battle Hammers of Ginderbar, although he wasn’t sure if the Farannsians that were helping him had been able to get control of the planetary defense grid yet. He had just sent the transmission to Captain Trae-bar and the attack would begin without warning as soon as his ships arrived in system. Captain Xia would be keeping Ginderbar from sending any reinforcements by keeping his fleet poised to attack, but just out of range of their planet.

  He couldn’t wait to see the look on the face of whatever human was leading the mercenary fleet when they were forced to surrender. If everything went to plan, Ginderbar would no longer be a threat the pirates would need to consider when planning other incursions. As soon as the battle was won here today, and Jesse Marcos was killed, they would be well on their way to ruling the sector. Yartan spent the next fifteen minutes checking fleet readiness and making sure each captain knew which area of the human fleet they were supposed to hit. Hopefully, the mercenaries wouldn’t see this coming. As captain after captain reported their readiness to him, he smiled as his sensors picked up another fleet entering the system. He called for fleet-wide communications and excitedly proclaimed. “Prepare to attack on my mark.”

  ______

  Jesse woke up again and felt pretty good. He still had the marks on his face, and his fake limp should convince Garrinoras he wasn’t fully recovered. He entered the galley to see Josiah and Sergeant Rivada having breakfast. I hope it’s easier for them than it has been for Kimi and I. “Good morning, guys,” he said as he poured himself some coffee. He inhaled deeply to drink in the aroma of the hazelnut blend. Someone made my favorite. He smiled as he sat down.

  “Hey, Colonel, how are you feeling?” Tanna smiled kindly as she spoke, and she was gorgeous. Jesse was happy for Josiah, he knew she would be his type and he had been right. If only it were this easy for me, he sadly mused.

  “I’m doing alright, a bit hungry, not too sore, and not too tired. And please, call me Jesse.”

  She smiled as she replied. “Well, you’ll have a definite advantage over Garrinoras today. He will not be as healed as you.”

  “Let’s hope.” He grabbed a protein bar and made his way back to his quarters to get ready for battle. He did feel better about his chances than he did yesterday. He was able to take everything Garrinoras threw at him and still come out ahead. Not to mention, the healing power of the pod. He no longer had the doubts. He knew he would be going home with his crew.

  Josiah came in and placed a data card on his desk. “I knew I wouldn’t be needing this.”

  “I’m beginning to think you’re right, Jo.”

  “When are you gonna realize that I’m the smartest man you know?” He laughed.

  “I’ve known that for over sixteen years, brother. I just never tell you because I don’t want you to get a big head.” They both laughed as Suzy came into the room to check on Jesse. “I’m fine Suzy; just have the pod warmed up for me later.”

  He could see the hurt in her eyes at his flippant comment and regretted it almost immediately. He wanted to kick himself for not being more sensitive. “Jess, how can you joke around about this? We still have no idea what surprises he has in store for you today.” She knew the humor was one of his defense mechanisms, but it still frustrated her at times. He didn’t have to see himself beaten to a pulp when he went in to the recovery pod, she did.

  “You’re right, Suzy, I’m sorry, but I know I’m gonna beat him now. I have no more doubts.” He kissed her on the cheek and left the room almost happy as he made his way down to the landing-bay to pick up his Hyperian battle sword.

  Kimi came into the room while Suzy was still looking at the vid-stills on Jesse’s wall. She looked a little surprised to see Suzy and asked, “Where did Jesse go?”

  “He’s testing out the sword one last time before he goes back out. Is everything alright, Kimi?”

  She decided she needed to talk to someone about what she had been feeling. “Suzy, can we talk?”

  “Of course, dear, what’s on your mind?” She sat on Jesse’s bed and motioned Kimi to sit down next to her.

  “I’m ready to have that talk now. I know for sure that I’m ready to be with Jesse. I’m over him and Cassie. I know he still wants more. He is trying to hold back from saying it every time we talk. I know it’s out of respect for my wishes. What should I do? Should I tell him how I feel now or should I wait until after the match is over? On one hand, if for some reason he doesn’t make it, I’ll always regret that he didn’t know, but on the other hand it could be a distraction to him.”

  “You should definitely tell him. This whole mess happened because the two of you never communicated how you felt. He obviously knows there is still a chance, and it would appear he’s right. He’s stuck on you. It may have taken him far too long, but he finally got there. If you’re ready to tell him, then tell him. Don’t make the same mistake again. Please, for all our sakes.” She smiled and put her hand on Kimi’s arm, but then the thought hit her, Kimi’s right, it could become a distraction. “On second thought,” she began again. “This might be the one time it’s okay to wait another day.”

  Kimi was deep in thought as she placed her hand over Suzy’s. “I believe you are right. I will talk to him as soon as this death match is over. I do not wish to distract him by telling him before.”

  “That’s probably a good idea, now we have to get to the landing-bay.” They both rose to leave and their hearts were heavy, knowing they helped push Jesse into this melee to try and save the sector from
a war they seemed hell-bent on having anyway.

  ______

  Admiral Dyson paced back and forth on the bridge of the Reclaimer. She did not like the updates she was receiving. Initial reports indicated that the two hundred ships she commanded plus the fifty ships from Kaldor would be more than enough to deal with whatever Garrinoras and the Zinnebailans could throw at them. More recent reports were indicating that Captain Xia had been able to amass close to a hundred ships to move on Ginderbar and Captain Trae-bar was able to bring another hundred plus into the Chawanas system. Together with Garrinoras’ fleet, now backed by the Zinnebailan government, they had an armada of over two hundred. She suspected they could win that battle outright. It was not knowing where Chawanas and their eighty ships stood, not to mention all of their planetary armaments. If they sided with Garrinoras, they would have a decided advantage. Not only that, but the fact that several planets were so willing to put so many ships under Garrinoras’ command seemed to indicate they wanted the war that would most likely decimate the entire sector.

  She sent a transmission to Admiral Togglasem to see if he had any more intel they could use. She was hoping she wouldn’t need those extra ships Chief of State Enosal had offered, but the reality was she might. She knew it would be a tactical mistake to take ships away from the defense of Ginderbar at the moment. Admiral Togglasem’s face appeared on the monitor before her and she greeted him with a warm smile.

  “Admiral, I’m beginning to worry about the reports I’m hearing out of Xenul and Taglaharn. It would seem that Garrinoras’ fleet is now over three hundred ships. Have you heard anything else concerning enemy fleet movements?”

  “No, I have heard nothing else. This is most troubling. I can’t imagine all of those planets want a full scale war. It may be time to begin looking for some reinforcements. We need to call the alliance and tell them to prepare for war. It does not look like we are going to get out of this one unscathed.”

  “No, it doesn’t. As much as I hate to do this, I’m going to have to have our Chief of State send some of the extra ships he offered. Hopefully, Ginderbar should still be able to stave off anything the pirates throw at them with their extensive planetary defenses. I will let you know when they get here, and I will keep you apprised of any further developments.”

  “You do understand that if we lose the battle here, it doesn’t bode well for us winning the war. Are there contingency plans for that eventuality?”

  “None that I’m aware of. I’ll let you know if I find out anything there. Dyson, out.” She wanted to curse herself for being so stupid. All of them, Togglasem, Enosal the Chairman, they had all been so sure that Garrinoras’ forces would wither at the site of two hundred Battle Hammers that they had never made any further preparations. It was too late to be calling the alliance now, if the pirates tried anything it would take them too long to muster their fleets for an appropriate response. Their failure to take the threat seriously enough just might wind up emerging them in a long and costly war that no one would really win.

  Admiral Dyson made her next transmission to Ginderbar. She explained the intelligence coming in and was told there would be twenty-five extra ships on the way. There would still be almost one hundred twenty-five ships plus the planetary defenses protecting Ginderbar. She had hoped for more ships, but could not blame the Chief of State for not wanting to leave Ginderbar unprotected. The reinforcements would arrive by nine o’clock that night, Zinnebailan time. She only hoped that would be good enough. As she continued to muse on the possibility of the upcoming battle over Zinnebulous, an incoming alert brought her attention into focus.

  “Admiral, we have a fleet exiting light space,” a young bridge officer called.

  “How many? Friend or foe?” She quickly asked. Before the officer could answer, she saw the hard light of enemy lasers begin to streak out from the pirate fleet. She received a definitive answer when more laser fire began to streak out from the ships that had just arrived. The aliens had them in a cross fire and most of Chawanas ships had joined them, boxing them in on three sides. So far, none of the planetary defense systems had turned on them, so it was likely that it was up to individual captains which side they wished to be on. Before the first laser had found the shields of a Battle Hammer, the Admiral had sent out the command to the fleet. “Fire at will, seek only your pre-arranged targets until it gets too hairy. Then stay with your groups and destroy them at will.” She wasn’t too worried, their plan was sound, and they were far more prepared than their enemy thought. Still, it might be close, and close was no good for the sector.

  Captain Yartan was impressed with the human response time to their attack. Opening up without warning had provided no advantage at all. Now, they were in the middle of it. Battle Hammers were picking off smaller targets nearly at will, but at the same time, his bigger ships were holding their own and dishing out some punishment. This would be a pretty even battle, which bode well for Garrinoras’ plans for a prolonged war within the sector.

  By this time, the Battle Hammers had broken off into groups of six and were harrying pirate and alien vessels all over the system. Thousands of Spykes were locked in combat with Razzers and several other types of alien fighters. The mercenary fighters were outnumbered almost two to one when Kaldor’s fleet launched their Cutters to help them out. The extra fighters helped, but they were still severely outnumbered. Thankfully, the Battle Hammers were doing a good job eliminating the alien gunships and the sheer skill of the human pilots was keeping them in the fight.

  Admiral Dyson’s ship was in pursuit of one of the battleships of Chawanas. She hated to fire on them, she had so hoped they would be allies. The fact that twenty of their ships and their planetary defenses were held back suggested that somewhere on Chawanas some of them still held out hope. Her ship opened up with all weapons and quickly overwhelmed the Farannsian shields. They scored a direct hit on the alien sublight engines, but could not move in for the kill when two ships took up defensive positions in front of it and began to dish out punishment. They had already lost twenty or so Battle Hammers and six of Kaldor’s ships, but they had taken out well over forty enemy vessels. They thought they might be able to turn this into a rout when suddenly, laser fire began to pour out of satellite installations from around the planet and twenty more Farannsian ships joined the fray.

  In a matter of moments, she had lost ten more ships. A window opened and she fired all batteries on the damaged Farannsian ship, obliterating it. She wanted to send them a message that their betrayal was not appreciated. As the explosion sent fragments of the battleship in every direction, she could already see Spykes and assault shuttles making runs on the planetary defenses. If their fortunes didn’t change quickly, they would be forced to abandon their position and Colonel Marcos with it. Admiral Dyson silently vowed that would not be the case, even as she bit back a curse as a Kaldorian Destroyer was surrounded and annihilated. By this point, the aliens had the slight edge in ships, but with the planetary defenses, Admiral Dyson didn’t think the battle could be won without reinforcements.

  Suddenly her heart stopped as she heard the words, “Admiral, we have another fleet exiting light space,” in a wary tone, from the same young bridge officer.

  “How large and where are they from?”

  “Unknown and unknown. We should have some more information soon.”

  “Incoming transmission,” the communications officer called.

  “On screen, I guess we’re about to find out who they are.”

  As a face materialized on the screen, the entire bridge crew of the Reclaimer was on edge. They had counted one hundred ninety-two ships, which didn’t match the reported size of any of the fleets of Zinnebulous’ known allies. Her fleet and the entire sector would be in for some serious trouble if Garrinoras had an additional fleet of that size in the mix. The rest of the sector wouldn’t fare well either. The face on the other side of the transmission was human, so that was a g
ood start. She still had no idea who was heading her way, or why. The man was a military man in his late forties with a full head of graying hair and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He wore a white uniform laden with medals.

  “Admiral Dyson, my name is Admiral Sonnadall, of the Hyperian destroyer, Vengeance. I am reporting to you with twelve fleet groups from the Royal Hyperian Space Navy, courtesy of King Dominus.”

  Admiral Dyson breathed a visible sigh of relief and her bridge crew let out a cheer. “Happy to have you, please, pick a target and open fire. The Kaldorians are with us.” She sent over a quick description of their vessels and Sonnadall acknowledged receipt. “Not that I’m complaining, but how is it you came to be here?”

  “King Dominus didn’t like the look of things over Chawanas, and wanted to insure the safety of Colonel Marcos. He also figured he still owes the pirates for helping the Conglomerate dogs chase his daughter across Pandara. Admiral Vantilas speaks very highly of you and has given us strict orders to put our fleet under your command. I am sorry we’re late, and also if our approach rattled you, but we did not wish to alert any of your enemies to our arrival. The only ones who knew about this ahead of time were the King and Colonel Marcos. The Colonel didn’t know we would be able to send this many, but our war with the Conglomerate is going very well. They no longer pose a significant threat to Hyperia.” He paused a moment before continuing. “Just so you know, our King doesn’t consider this to be an act of generosity. He believes that he owes Colonel Marcos more than he could ever repay, so he sent us as an attempt to give a little bit back. He knows how fond of Ginderbar and Kaldor the Colonel is, so he would like to help make sure you are not outgunned in this important first engagement of the war.”