by Sarah Noffke
Alpha-line Q-Ship, Paladin System
“I’ve been hit,” yelled Lars. Warning lights flashed on his dashboard. The fact that he’d taken a serious hit on his armor wasn’t what was most alarming to him in that moment. It was the fact of what was on the radar.
“There’s another missile on your tail,” yelled Lone Wolf.
Lars could take one hit, but probably not a second.
“You got to get out of there,” said Escrema.
“We’re coming after you,” said Lone Wolf.
“You stay to the plan,” said Lars, attempting to quickly regain composure after being rocked hard. “Your mission is Unsurpassed.”
“Yes sir,” answered Lone Wolf, although he sounded reluctant.
Lars couldn’t shoot down the missile. That was clear enough. There was another option though, he thought. There’s another one besides simply running. He knew that, but it was like remembering a dream from the night before. It was there and not.
The Black Eagles had done as he requested and were fending off the Sting Rays. They nearly had them cornered, which would mean their surrender was soon. Lone Wolf and Escrema were keeping Unsurpassed mostly occupied. And luckily one of them had been able to shoot down the other missile. But one missile was hot on Lars’ ass.
It’s not going to quit until it hits its target, he thought, swerving from side to side, trying to keep as much distance as possible between his ship and the missile. All at once, like a dream popping into one’s mind randomly, Lars remembered one of the best perks of the Q-Ship. They looked like transport ships, but were much sleeker in their pure form. And while being faster would offer a benefit as far as keeping away from the missile, it wasn’t going to be what actually saved his ass completely.
Lars slowed the Q-Ship, which he realized was a deadly move. It was the only way though.
“What are you doing Carnivore?” asked Lone Wolf. “You’re about to get hit again.”
“I know, but I’ve got to try this,” said Lars. He hit the button to unlatch the outer armor, but stayed in place for a long moment. The missile was almost about to hit. Lars readied both thrusters, but didn’t move. The timing had to be perfect. The missile was dangerously close. Lars closed his eyes and did something he hadn’t done in a long time. He prayed. Please let this work.
Lars’ eyes popped open and he pushed the controls forward just before the missile hit. The Q-Ship dropped its armor and sped forward at break neck speed. The armor left behind hovered in space for a moment and then bam! The impact pushed Lars forward again. But he wasn’t hit because the armor he shed took the attack.
Upper Deck, Onyx Station, Paladin System
Eddie set Julianna against the wall in the safe room, although she immediately slid down. She was completely unconscious, but safe for now…or so it seemed. Eddie could hear a commotion in the distance. They had strayed from the plan, but it wasn’t too late to recover. Maybe Felix had taken the bait. He would have assumed that the general had been shot with the degen. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. For instance, the real general could be infected. Eddie pushed that thought out of his mind as he propped Julianna up again. She kept sliding down, since her muscles were limp from the antidote.
“General, your time has come,” said an icy voice at Eddie’s back. “Or rather, your time is up.”
Eddie’s back tensed. From the rear, he no doubt looked like the general. It had worked, but he couldn’t allow himself a moment to rejoice.
His fingers twitched at his side.
“Don’t even think about it. Hands up,” said Felix. His voice was rusty, like the way a saw sounds when cutting metal. “Just turn around and prepare to die like a man.”
Holding up his hands, Eddie took in a steadying breath. “If you wanted me dead…” he began, making his voice a coarse whisper, so it wasn’t easily discernable from the general’s. “Why didn’t you just shoot me in the head? Why infect me with the degen?”
A hostile laugh absent of any joy rattled from Felix. “Getting to you hasn’t been easy. If sending a sniper after you had been an option, don’t you think I would have done that long ago?”
“I’m certain you’ve already tried that and failed,” said Eddie, his eyes on Julianna sleeping in front of him.
Another laugh. “It’s true. You know that I’ve tried before. The explosion years ago was just the first attempt.”
“When you supposedly died,” said Eddie, his voice a hush.
“Yes, and then I plotted and planned for this very moment.”
Julianna was defenseless, lying unconscious on the floor. She was supposed to be awake. She was supposed to be his backup. The plan was falling apart.
“And before today shooting you in the head would have been a good enough solution, but as the years ticked by I realized that wouldn’t do it for me,” continued Felix. “I don’t just want you dead—”
“You want me to suffer,” said Eddie, his attention still on Julianna. He needed to move away from her. She would be a liability in her current state. And if the antidote hadn’t taken full effect yet, she was still vulnerable.
“Yes, and the degen makes what was a pipedream before become a possibility,” said Felix.
Eddie registered the click of a weapon a moment too late. The boom of the gun was so loud he thought it had gone off next to his ear. A searing, stabbing pain ripped through Eddie’s leg, and he staggered forward. The bullet passed all the way through the side of his calf, ripping through the flesh.
Eddie yelped from the pain and surprise, catching himself on the wall behind Julianna. He tried to keep her shielded with his body, but now he was making her more of a target. Panic started to crash down on him when Eddie realized the gunshot didn’t hurt as much as it should have. The nanocytes were already at work, fixing him.
Rattling, coughing laughter spilled from Felix. “Now, General, turn around so I can watch your face when I shoot you again. That must hurt like hell, since you’re not enhanced. How miserable your existence will be when I leave you paralyzed. But I’ll allow you to live. Isn’t that nice of me?”
Eddie tested his balance on his wounded leg. Surprisingly, it had no trouble taking the pressure. He lowered his arms, readying to dart away from Julianna and grab his gun.
Another bullet ripped through his arm. The explosion was deafening. This time Eddie was more prepared and side stepped away from Julianna. He didn’t stumble or let out a yelp of pain, which would only be what Felix wanted to hear.
“I believe I told you to keep your hands up, General,” said Felix, his voice full of amusement. He was enjoying this too much and that fun needed to end.
Eddie cuffed his arm with his hand. It hurt like a bitch, but that’s not why he was putting pressure on it.
“The thing is,” began Eddie, his tone surprisingly even, having been shot twice. “I’m not the general.”
Spinning around, Eddie grabbed for his gun, pulling it up in one clear motion. He fired at Felix, who stood fifteen feet away, by the entrance.
Felix moved like Julianna did—with incredibly fast reflexes.
No! Eddie thought, the realization finally hitting him. That asshole’s been enhanced!
Felix darted away from the line of fire, keeping his own weapon up. He shot at Eddie, who was slower to respond due to his injuries. The bullet nicked at the top of his hand, making him drop his weapon.
“Who are you?” asked Felix, his voice dripping with venom. He wore a navy blue trench coat and fedora hat pulled down low over his eyes, but the severe stare was easy to read on his face.
“I’m not the general,” said Eddie, pressing his good hand over the one that the bullet had grazed. His gun lay on the ground several feet away.
“Where is he?” asked Felix, his voice rising.
“Beats me,” said Eddie with a roguish smile. “Probably watching a movie. Maybe taking a nap. He didn’t seem stressed when he loaned me this suit.” Eddie stared down at the sui
t, covered in blood in places. “It looks good on me, don’t you think?”
Through clenched teeth, Felix said, “You’re that waste of space that Reynolds put in charge of Ghost Squadron.” His eyes fell on Julianna. “Well, you and the commander here.”
The way he pointed his gun at her made Eddie feel a sudden rush of panic. This had gone from bad to worse too quickly. He had to turn things around, but currently he had three bullet wounds, no gun, and an unconscious partner. Fucking-A!
“Why did the general think you were competent for the job?” asked Felix, looking less flustered by the fact that he’d shot the wrong man.
“Beats me,” said Eddie, taking several steps forward, making Felix tense. “Probably a momentary lapse in judgement.”
A wicked grin spread over Felix’s shiny face. Now that Eddie was looking at the man, he realized that his skin looked too smooth, too stretched—like he’d elected to have a great deal of plastic surgery done. “The general is a fucking idiot.”
“Bullshit!” yelled Eddie. He was only five feet from the conceited monster.
“I’ve read through your record,” taunted Felix. “You had some notable achievements. A few things that some would consider brave. But you let them die.”
Heat flashed in Eddie’s head. He knew. Knew about Eddie’s parents. Demons began to pour to the surface, overwhelming him. “I didn’t.”
“Oh, is that right?” asked Felix, his dark eyes shining even under his wide brimmed hat. This bullying was all a part of his game. “You didn’t flee?”
“I had orders,” said Eddie, his lips hardly parting to let the words out. He inched forward again.
“Do you ever think what would have happened if you’d disobeyed? Would they still be alive? Maybe you could have saved them,” said Felix, provoking him.
“I couldn’t.” Eddie was yelling. How did he know all this? “They were already dead. It was too late!”
“I guess you’ll never be sure,” said Felix flippantly. “And you went on to save an entire squadron that day, but you left your parents to die. I bet the guilt, the uncertainty, of what could have been just continues to eat you up inside.”
Eddie launched himself forward, darting one way and then the other, avoiding the gun fire that rang out from Felix’s weapon. He slammed his hand across Felix’s arm, making his gun fly from his grasp. He might be enhanced, but Felix Castile wasn’t trained for combat. That much was clear as soon as Eddie thrust his good leg up and slammed his foot down on Felix’s.
A guttural sound echoed from Felix’s mouth. He dove for the gun, but Eddie brought his fist around and slammed it into the side of his head. The assault made mention of itself in his injured arm, but it still didn’t hurt like it should. Felix fell back hard on the doorframe, his ear slamming hard against the corner.
Eddie grabbed him with both hands by the jacket and then pushed his back against the wall. Felix choked on a cough. The fear was real and wild in his eyes now. Eddie couldn’t stop. The insults on him had unleashed a fury he hadn’t felt in a long time. Eddie spun him around, still holding him by the jacket. Felix’s long finger-nailed hands grabbed for his hands but Eddie couldn’t feel a thing. Only his anger. He threw Felix on the ground and was over him at once, punching him hard in the face.
The anger was overwhelming. It was all-encompassing. In the distant part of himself, he knew he needed to stop. He needed to pull back and show his humanity. But Felix’s taunts played in his head, mirroring the things the demons whispered to him so often it was a waking nightmare. Felix’s face flew to one side and the next. Each assault tore at Eddie making him think he could never stop. Never be good again. This man’s suffering was the key to ending his own.
“Eddie,” moaned a voice in the distance. Wait, no it was nearby. He paused and looked around to find Julianna groggily trying to push away from the wall. Her attempts seemed useless.
Eddie stared down at Felix. The guy’s face was bloody, but his own enhancement had kept him safe enough, about like Eddie with the bullet wounds. Still, Julianna was there, awake…
Eddie looking at Julianna, remembered who he was. Remembered the things he did and the things he didn’t allow himself to do. He wasn’t a monster. He was a man. A good man with a good heart.
Eddie pushed himself off of Felix, who immediately groaned and covered his face with his shaking hands.
He stood over the coward for a long moment. He was weak. Too weak to fight a real fight.
“You disgust me,” said Eddie, looking down at Felix. “You think you know anything about this universe? If you did, then you’d know exactly why the general picked me to lead. It’s the exact reason he didn’t put you on that ship to Earth.”
Felix was crying. The fucking coward was crying, the one thing a man never did in battle. He had scooted back on his rear end, using his hands to propel himself toward the far wall.
Eddie shook his head. “Honor. The one quality that you lack over any other. At the end of the day, everything and everyone can be stolen from us. But not our integrity. And you never even had it to lose.”
“I-I-I should have been able to…” cried Felix. “To go home! Don’t you see what he’s done to us? What they’ve all done? Our home world was stolen from us! I deserved to go back! I-I deserved it!"
Eddie could barely stand to look at the piece of shit before him. But he was shriveling with regrets what had already been done and couldn’t be undone. It is the weak who lived in the past, feeling sorry over lives that can’t be relived. You remember your own words, Eddie, he thought to himself.
Behind him, he heard Julianna. Eddie turned to find her pushing up from the ground. The antidote was supposed to knock her out, but the shots and the sound of the fight must have snapped her to attention. She was a real soldier through and through.
Julianna staggered for a moment, losing her balance, like she was drunk. Eddie caught her in his arms, steadying her. “Easy now,” he said softly.
Her eyes fluttered like she was having trouble keeping them open. It was because of her, because of her calling out to him that he remembered who he was. That he hadn’t killed Felix with his fists, although the scoundrel deserved just that. But Julianna had brought him back to himself, reminding him that one doesn’t allow their enemies to make bad men of them.
“You okay?” he asked, aware of the shuffling and moaning behind him.
Julianna’s eyes were unfocused but darted to something behind Eddie. They widened.
Eddie spun, putting his back to Julianna in a protective manner. Felix was still seated but now it made sense. Now, his sniveling scooting made perfect sense. He had pushed himself back until he was over his gun. The weapon was directed right at Eddie’s head. Felix’s red eyes were hinged on him, tears continuing to stream down his slick cheeks. Even so, his hand was steady as he aimed the pistol.
“This time I won’t waste time shooting you in a limb,” said Felix, his voice scratchy with grief. “This time I’ll just shoot you directly in the head.”
There was nowhere to go. Julianna had her gun, but there was no way to get to it fast enough. And Felix was so close. Too close. Eddie pushed backward, only hoping that when he was shot it gave Julianna, even in her groggy state, a chance to get her weapon ready. To shoot Felix. To save herself.
“You’re completely right,” said a voice. The three turned to see the general standing in the doorway, his gun held up and aimed, a hot anger in his eyes. “This time I’ll ensure you’re dead.”
General Lance Reynolds shot only once. Felix fell back, hard on the ground. The bullet went straight through the center of his forehead. It was a decisive blow, quick and simple. And there could be no doubt.
Felix Castile was dead. Enhanced or not, he was gone for good.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Landing Bay, QBS ArchAngel, Paladin System
Julianna thought she’d never be fully awake again. She still remembered waking up to find Eddie pummeling Felix, and thi
nking it was a dream. More than ever before she had had to fight to stay awake. It was like trying to stay dry while stranded in the middle of a hurricane. Now the task was still excruciating, but mildly easier than before.
The light shined in Julianna’s eyes, not even making her flinch.
“How do you feel?” asked Dr. Parker, lowering the penlight he’d shined at her pupils. It had been so long since Julianna had seen a doctor, or even needed to. She tried to focus on his slicked back black hair, but her eyelids drooped against her permission.
“I’m going to need you to keep your eyes open a little longer,” said Dr. Parker.
Julianna widened her eyes and shook her head, trying to drive away the stubborn exhaustion. She looked at the doctor. He had black glasses that framed his slanted brown eyes.
“So again, how do you feel?” asked the doctor, showing unending patience with Julianna. She felt like they’d been at his for hours.
“Sleepy,” replied Julianna.
“That’s normal, considering,” said Dr. Parker, lowering the pen light all the way. “Do you notice that your reflexes, speed or senses are back to normal?”
“By that do you mean my normal or regular human normal?” asked Julianna.
She noticed Eddie stir, lifting his head to look at her. He was stretched out on a cot and bandaged, although he said he really didn’t need them.
“I mean your normal,” said Dr. Parker.
Julianna stretched out one of her arms, like testing it. It was hard to feel anything over the fatigue that was blanketing her brain, wrapping snuggly around it. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find an answer. How did she know if she was alright?
On the other side of the landing bay something hit the ground. Julianna swiveled her head in that direction. Hatch stood beside a damaged Q-Ship, a sort-of smile on his face. “She’s fine,” he called to the doctor. Then he reached out with his tentacle and picked up something tiny from the ground. He held it up and winked at her. Julianna squinted and just made out a tiny silver object. A needle. She heard the needle hit the ground.
