by Rick Bentsen
“And yet you remain here. To protect your people.”
“Yeah. Seems pretty strange to me how things work sometimes.”
“Not really, Captain Bryce,” the priest gave him a kind smile. “Your soul tells me many things.”
“My soul and I aren’t on speaking terms.”
“Yes, I see that too,” the priest sighed. “It is a shame. Your soul can tell you a great many things, Captain. Your soul will save your life one day.”
“I’m sorry, I just can’t believe that,” K’Alan shook his head. “My wife believes. Her faith has always been stronger than mine. But of late… I just don’t know.”
“You will,” the priest turned away. “And very soon.”
2.2.2136
1500
SLS White Knight
The Lounge
“So, have you seen the Captain today, Lieutenant Commander?” Soran’s pleasant baritone greeted Kath when she came up to where he was tending bar.
“Not since the mission briefing,” the young woman replied. “Why?”
“I’m looking for him,” the bald barman shrugged. “He hasn’t been in, so I’m a little worried.”
“You’re worried because he hasn’t come in for a drink?” Kath raised an eyebrow. “That’s odd. What makes you worried?”
“Well, among other things, the captain is a creature of habit. He usually comes in and has lunch here around 1200 hours. He hasn’t been in yet today.” The large barman crossed his beefy arms across his chest. “I worry when people I know do things contrary to normal.”
Kath chuckled and looked around. She inclined her head towards the door.
“His wife just walked in. You might ask her,” Kath smiled. “But I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”
Kath took her drink and walked off towards a table, where a couple other bridge officers were sitting. Soran shrugged his shoulders again and started to wipe down the bar. K’Itea Bryce slipped onto a stool at the bar, still a little unsteady on her feet.
“What can I get for you?” the barman asked.
“Duterian Sunmist,” she said, her voice tired.
“One Duterian Sunmist coming up,” he smiled. “If you don’t mind my asking, are you K’Itea Bryce by any chance?”
“Yes,” she said, startled. “How did you know who I am?”
“I cheated. Your husband showed me a picture of you once,” he admitted. “He’s a good man.”
“Yes, he is,” K’Itea smiled. “I love him very much.”
“And he does you, I’m sure,” the barman smiled again. He started wiping the bar some more, although the bar was as clean as it always was. “I have to admit I’m a little worried about him.”
“Why?”
“He’s been very distant the last couple days. I’m sure he’s just worried about the situation, but as I said, I think he’s a good man, and I worry.”
“I’ve never heard of a bartender worrying about one of his clients before,” K’Itea laughed. “Why are you worrying about Kal?”
“He saved my life once. I never forget something like that.”
“Well, thank you for your concern…”
“Soran,” the barman said, pausing from wiping the bar.
“Thank you for your concern, Soran. I’m sure he’ll be all right.”
2.3.2136
1049
SLS White Knight
The Bridge
K’Alan settled into the command chair. He wanted to get this mission over with, and he fidgeted with a loose thread on his uniform jacket.
“Approaching jump gate,” Tyla Barros announced.
“Jump engines reading normal, Captain,” Sarah called.
“Jump!”
Chapter 8
2.3.2136
1055
SLS White Knight
The Bridge
HYPERSPACE is a layer of space under our own that we can tap into. Distances in our galaxy between two points are greatly reduced by going through hyperspace. In order for a ship to go into hyperspace, it must engage jump engines while going through a jump gate.
Hyperspace itself is nothing special to look at. Black against black, there are no stars, no planets. Nothing but an endless void. Navigating in hyperspace is usually done by computer because it’s so tricky. Jump gates have a hyperspace homing beacon attached to them that ship computers can lock onto to navigate in hyperspace.
Hyperspace can be a very lonely place.
“ETA at the Brentax jump gate?” K’Alan asked.
“About 24 hours, Captain,” Tyla Barros reported after doing the calculations. “It’s just amazing. Just fifty years ago, this trip would have taken twelve years.”
“Yeah. And we weren’t at war with the Brentax either,” K’Alan reminded the young woman. “You have the bridge, Ms. Barros. Call me when we reach the Brentax jump gate.”
“Yes, sir.”
K’Alan walked off the bridge and headed for the nearest lift.
2.3.2136
1222
SLS White Knight
The Gym
“Hey, pretty boy,” Masha called. “Wait up.”
Mario turned and looked at his friend. While he had been expecting her to find him, he was not sure he really wanted to talk to the large security chief. But the two had been friends for a while, so he would at least be polite to her.
“What do you need, Masha,” he asked. “I’m getting ready for the mission.”
“Captain says you got almost 24 hours to get ready,” Masha said. “How about a little sparring session?”
“Not right now, Masha.”
“All right, bud. What’s wrong?” she growled. “You never pass up an opportunity to spar.”
“I’d rather not talk about it.” He started to turn away, but stopped when she put her hand on his arm.
“Mario, this is me you’re talking to,” she reminded him. “ You know I won’t just let this go.”
“It’s just…” he started to say. He almost told her that he had a bad feeling about the mission. But he knew that she would try to stop them from going, and he knew that this was the best chance of the mission succeeding, so he changed his mind. “Nothing. Never mind.”
“All right, bud. I’ll let it go for now. But we will talk about this some other time.”
“I gotta go get ready.”
2.3.2136
1442
SLS White Knight
The City
K’Alan grunted. He really didn’t want to do this, but he knew that it was better to get it over with now then to try to have this conversation when he was getting ready to leave for Brentax III.
He walked along the various corridors of the city until he came to the area that served as the palace. It really didn’t look like the palace from Duterius Prime. But it served its purpose.
The royal guard, one of a very few that had survived the destruction of Duterius Prime, at the palace entrance nodded at K’Alan and let him pass. He smiled at the guard as he entered. He remembered that the man had been one of the guards watching over the survivors when he and Mario had found and rescued K’Itea.
K’Alan walked down a hall looking for where his sister or wife were. He saw K’Itea sitting in a room, watching out a viewport. He walked up behind her and gently folded his arms around her from behind. She looked up at him and smiled taking great comfort from being in his arms.
“Why are there no stars, Kal?” she asked.
“There are no stars in hyperspace.”
“It looks so empty,” she observed. “So lonely.”
“It can be,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she said, sadness creeping into her voice.
“Mario and I are going on a mission, yes,” he admitted.
“Elam will be mad.”
“He’ll understand in time,” K’Alan said, his voice betraying his lack of certainty in his words.
“He may.” K’Itea looked at
him. “Where are you going?”
“Brentax III.”
“Are you crazy?” she thundered. She pulled away from his embrace. “K;Alan Bryce, that’s the homeworld of the Brentax Empire!”
“I know,” he said.
“Why are you going?” she demanded.
“Because I’m tired of war,” he exploded. He regretted his tone at once. Sitting down next to K’Itea on the bench, he took her back in his arms and held her tight. “All I want is for this war to end so I can spend more time with my family. And this is a way to end it once and for all.”
“Oh? Is that the only reason you are going?”
“Plus I’m going to kidnap the person who destroyed our planet,” he admitted after a moment.
“So it’s revenge.”
“Basically, yes.”
“I don’t want you to go, Kal.” She buried her face in his shoulder, and he could feel the tears starting to soak through his uniform jacket.
“Kit, I have to go.” He kissed her hair and squeezed just a little tighter. What he really wanted to do was just hold her for the rest of his life, but he knew that he would have to go on this mission before that could really happen. “If Mario and I are successful, we could end this war and start an era of peace here in the quadrant.”
“I just don’t want to lose you, Kal.” She looked up at him with her big tear filled eyes. “And I’m afraid if you go, you won’t come back.”
“I’ll be back, Kit. Count on it.”
2.3.2136
2000
SLS White Knight
Forward Observation Lounge
Mario stood looking out a viewport. He’d been there for half an hour, just staring. He watched the blackness as it rolled past the viewport. His thoughts were turbulent and troubled.
“Mario? Are you OK?” Kath asked as she walked into the lounge her bootfalls muted by the plush carpeting.
“Hmm?” Mario was startled from his musings. “Oh, yeah, Katherine. I’m fine.”
“You sure? You’re staring out the viewport like you’ve never seen hyperspace before,” Kath chuckled.
“Looking out into hyperspace is like looking into one’s soul, Katherine,” Mario reflected.
“Getting philosophical in your old age, Mario?” Kath laughed.
“No, Katherine,” Mario chuckled. “I just get this way before a mission.”
“You know, you’re the only one who calls me Katherine. Why?”
“A beautiful name for a beautiful lady,” Mario smiled.
“You think I’m beautiful?” Kath blushed. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
“They must all be blind then,” Mario said, flashing his famous winning smile.
Kath blushed further and turned away. “You probably say that to all the girls.”
“No, Katherine. I haven’t said that to anyone in years,” Mario shook his head. “Aw, hell. Can’t a guy give a girl a compliment anymore?”
2.3.2136
2358
SLS White Knight
K’Alan Bryce’s quarters
K’Alan sat reading over status reports. He’d been having trouble getting to sleep so he thought he’d do a little work. He knew that the nerves he was feeling about the mission were behind the lack of sleep.
There was a soft knock on his door. Frowning, he looked at the door and then at the chrono on his desk, wondering who could be visiting him at this hour.
“Come on in,” he called.
The door opened and K’Itea and Elam walked in. A broad smile lit his face when he saw who it was.
“We couldn’t sleep either,” K’Itea said in answer to his unspoken question as to why they were there.
“Well, if I were going to have two midnight visitors, I couldn’t have picked a better two,” K’Alan said. He moved over to the couch and motioned for his family to join him.
“You don’t mind us being here?” Elam asked.
“Nope,” K’Alan said. “Not at all. In fact, I have something for you, Elam.”
“You do?” Elam furrowed his brow.
“Yes, I do.” K’Alan took a baseball glove and baseball off of a small table by the couch. “I wanted to give these to you. I’ve had these a long time. I used to use these at the Academy.”
“What is it, K’Alan?” K’Itea asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It’s part of a game from Terra called baseball. I thought maybe I could teach the game to you, Elam. Or at least the basics.”
“Is it fun?” Elam asked, his eyes lighting up.
“I’ve been told that it’s actually more fun to watch it than to play it, but yes, I’ve had a lot of fun playing baseball.”
“Maybe you should explain the game to us, K’Alan,” K’Itea said with a twinkle in her eyes, knowing that K’Alan had finally found the thing to connect him to his son once and for all.
“All right,” K’Alan smiled. He wrapped one arm around his son and his other arm around his wife. “There are two teams…”
2.4.2136
1103
SLS White Knight
The Bridge
“Captain, computers are reading that we have reached the Brentax jump gate,” Tyla Barros reported.
“Prepare to jump to normal space,” K’Alan ordered.
“Ready to jump on your mark, Captain,” Tyla said.
“Jump!” K’Alan said after a moment.
The ship shuddered once as it entered the jump gate. Almost as soon as they cleared the gate, K’Alan could see stars through the stardome.
“Navigator, please confirm that we are near Brentax space,” K’Alan said.
“Yes, sir,” Mara Silvermaine said. She made a quick check of her scanners. “We are just outside Brentax space. Brentax III is two days travel time at the shuttle’s max speed.”
“Prepare the shuttle for launch. We leave in an hour. Commander Sykes, you have the bridge,” K’Alan said as he headed to the lift.
Chapter 9
2.4.2136
1106
Brentax Duhari class cruiser Torellia Corvax
Bridge
M’BEK Tarmos was insufferably pleased with himself. In the span of one week, he’d managed to destroy one of the Star League home worlds, and gotten himself a slew of medals and acknowledgements. Now the Torellia Corvax was patrolling the Empire’s southern border. He almost wished that the Star League would launch an attack to retaliate. It would mean many more medals and acknowledgements.
“Supreme Commander, we have jump gate activity,” T’Marik announced.
“Really?” M’Bek mused. “Which jump gate?”
“Number 37, sir,” T’Marik noted. “That is the one that the Star League would most likely use to launch an attack on us.”
“Can your scanners detect any ships that may have just come through the gate, T’Marik?” the commander asked.
“No, sir,” T’Marik said after checking over all his systems. “But at this range, our scanners are very limited.”
“Flight deck,” M’Bek growled as he punched a button on his console. “I want a single fighter prepped and launched. Send him to investigate jump gate 37.”
“Yes, sir,” came the response from the flight deck.
2.4.2136
1202
SLS White Knight
The Bridge
Commander Erin Sykes did not think she would ever get comfortable sitting in the command chair. She shifted around for a couple minutes trying to get comfortable and sighed when she finally gave up.
“I don’t like this chair,” she said to no one in particular. “I hope they hurry back.”
“Commander, I have Captain Bryce on the line for you,” Kath said.
“Holo,” the commander ordered.
“Shuttle Kiarin requesting permission to launch,” K’Alan said.
“Shuttle Kiarin…”
“Commander, contact on long range radar. Single Brentax fighter. We have not yet been scanned,”
Masha interrupted.
“Defensive screens full. Full scanner and visual cloaking. Make us invisible, Masha,” Erin ordered.
“Done, Commander,” the lieutenant smiled. She had anticipated the order and had set it so that she only had to execute the order.
The lights on the bridge dimmed as the cloaking went into place. As part of the procedure, the ships power signature was lessened. But that meant that the power savings had to come from somewhere.
“Captain, hold off on launching,” Erin ordered. “We have a long range Brentax contact.”
“Understood. Let me know when the pattern’s clear, Commander,” K’Alan said.
“Acknowledged.” She turned to face Masha. “Any chance that pilot can see us?”
“Not likely. To him, we look like space. Both visually and electronically,” Masha confirmed. “There’s no chance that we can be seen. Unless the fighter bumps into us, that is.”
“Good work. Let me know the moment he’s gone,” Erin said, settling back in the command chair.
The minutes ticked by slowly as the Brentax fighter continued to survey the area looking for whatever. The fighter was doing a very thorough scan, and they were getting fairly close to the White Knight’s location. After about twenty minutes, the fighter turned around and headed back the way it came.
“Commander, the fighter’s retreating,” Masha reported. “Passing off long range sensors now.”
“All right, Captain,” Erin said as she turned back to K’Alan. “You’re cleared to launch. We’ll maintain the cloak and silent running until we get the signal from the shuttle. Good hunting.”
“We’ll be back in five days,” K’Alan smiled. “Shuttle Kiarin out.”
“And don’t die on me,” Erin added after K’Alan had severed the transmission. “I don’t want your chair.”
2.4.2136
1344
Brentax Duhari class cruiser Torellia Corvax
Bridge
“Any word from our fighter?” M’Bek Tarmos asked. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair in impatience
