“It’s done, how long do I have?”
No answer came back.
“Not long enough!” another voice roared nearby.
It was Ganbaatar, but he could not pinpoint his location.
“You’re too late! I have already set this place to blow!” he yelled in response.
Ganbaatar began to laugh, and it was deeply upsetting as it echoed around the vast room.
“You think you can win here? You are more deluded than I thought!”
CJ spun around and around looking for some sign of him when he stopped dead.
There he is, just a few short metres away.
“Your days are over. This experiment of the Alliance is a failure. You are not the hero they thought you could be. You are just another casualty in a long list.”
“Really? This is what it comes to? You need to try and hurt my feelings?”
CJ laughed. It was all just an act. Anything that would buy him time and keep the Prince from undoing his work, but Ganbaatar charged at him. Although he lifted his rifle, it was struck by a fast strike with his partisan, and the sling snapped as it was knocked from his hands. He was kicked out of the way, hit a column, and crashed to the floor. As he looked up, he saw the Prince putting in a code, and before long the override sequence stopped altogether.
“You have failed,” Ganbaatar sneered.
CJ got back onto his own two feet. He knew now that somehow he had to beat Ganbaatar, but he had no idea how he would manage it. He drew his Assegai and activated his shield in readiness, but the Prince looked amused.
“You Humans, you really do believe that you can all beat the odds.”
“Haven’t I?”
“Maybe you only lived long enough for me to end you. Your luck has run out.”
Ganbaatar rushed at him and lunged quickly. CJ narrowly avoided the attack and stepped aside, but was hit by the counterweight as he tried to void the blow. He was knocked to the ground, but was on his feet once again in no time.
“You have some fight in you, and I respect that, but no being who resists Bolormaa’s will may be permitted to live.”
CJ went forward and dodged one cut and thrust low, but Ganbaatar adjusted quickly and came forward. He kicked CJ back and kept pushing towards the entrance to the room. CJ cut and thrust time and time again, but he was outclassed. Ganbaatar was toying with him now.
“Silly Humans, you never stood a chance.”
He knocked CJ’s blade from his hands and took hold of him by the throat, lifting him up against a wall beside the doorway to the reactor to choke him.
“Neither did you,” gasped CJ.
He locked his hands together and drove them down with one heavy blow into Ganbaatar’s collar where he had wounded him previously. The alien let out a cry of pain. As he released his grip, CJ was launched across the room. Ganbaatar was in immense pain. He lifted his head and opened his mouth, as if giving unrestricted access to his lungs like a wolf would. He howled and squealed in pain, but CJ did not let up. He was unarmed, but he ran towards the Prince and jumped to kick him with both feet. The wounded Prince collapsed as he cradled his arm from the collar wound and landed in the doorway.
CJ quickly tapped in a few keys to the entrance, and the doorway descended onto the Prince. It landed on his right arm and pinned him in place. He let out another cry in pain and began thrashing about with his legs, but he was thoroughly trapped. CJ just strolled casually back over to the console and punched in the code once again, but this time it did nothing.
“Boron, Boron, this isn’t working!”
But he got no response. He looked around for some other sign of something to do when he noticed his rifle on the floor. He picked it up and went back over to the console.
“What the hell! Here goes nothing!”
He opened fire and emptied a magazine into the console. Sparks flashed from it, and he drew out the last remaining grenades he had, launching them randomly about the room. He waited as if expecting some sign, but there was nothing.
“Well, fuck!”
Seconds later the columns full of bright light began to pulsate, and warning lights and sirens began flashing.
“Captain, if you are still in there, you need to get out of there. She’s about to blow!” Mirov shouted over the comms.
He was so pleased to hear the voice of one of his own team that he couldn’t even respond for a moment.
“Captain, are you there?”
“Yes,” he replied, coughing to clear his throat, “Yes, I am here.”
“Sir, you’ve done it. Get out of there!”
“How long do I have?”
“Not long!”
That was all he needed to know. He threw the rifle away and leapt into action. He headed for the door, but as he reached the one where he had left Ganbaatar, he found only the creature’s arm. He tapped a few keys on his Mappad, and the door opened. There was a trail of blood, but no sign of Ganbaatar. He didn’t have time to think about it. He ran and ran until he found an air lock. It would have to do. He sealed his helmet and jumped inside before venting to space. Red lights flashed all around him, the door opened, and he was thrown out into the darkness.
He floated in space for what seemed like an age as he tried to contact his friends, but got nothing. It was not long before he started to lose consciousness. The last he remembered was seeing explosions as the station erupted and was blown apart.
We did it. It was worth it.
* * *
CJ thought he was dead. He thought it was all over. But he could hear voices in his head as if they were calling him back to life. He finally opened his eyes and found Emily King sitting on the hospital bed beside him. He could tell time had passed, but he had no idea how much. She was clean and fresh and wearing a recently pressed uniform.
“I thought we had lost you,” she said, holding back the tears.
The doors to his room opened, and Lord Jafar walked in, accompanied by General Lysenko.
“How are you feeling?” Jafar asked.
“Amazing,” he replied sarcastically and barely able to get his words out.
“You amaze me, Captain, you amaze us all,” said Lysenko.
“Am I really not dead?”
Jafar shook his head.
“Far from it. You did what we didn’t believe possible, and you lived.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“The Alliance thanks you for your efforts,” said Lysenko.
He just nodded along.
“He is tired. Let him rest,” insisted Jafar.
They soon left just as quickly as they had come. He was left with Emily staring into his eyes with tears dropping down her face.
“You did it, CJ.”
“Great,” he snarled.
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“You’re a hero. A true hero,” she replied with a beaming smile as the tears still streamed down her face.
She reached out and grasped his hand, and he knew one thing for sure. He was home, and this was not alien to him. He was exactly where he was supposed to be. He smiled as he realised he really was still alive. It was a welcome relief and funny to him all at the same time.
“’I love you,” she said as she continued to cry, “We all do, Captain.”
He faded out once more, trying to take it all in, but he was not yet strong enough. He’d never felt more at odds and more at home in his life. But one thing he knew for certain. He had found his calling, and he had found his friends. As he lost consciousness, he just smiled. He was living the life he was made for, but then he remembered what happened.
Ganbaatar, I am coming for you. There is nowhere in the universe you can hide that I won’t find you. I am coming for you.
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Phoenix Odyssey Book 1 (Battle Beyond Earth) Page 22
