by James Palmer
“Is there no hope of salvaging the Pegasus?”
“No, sir. I’m afraid she’s gone,” Natalie said, not looking at the screen.
The marshal resumed his command chair. “Is there some way we can alter the Pegasus’ course away from the Alpha Colony before it crashes?”
“Doubtful,” Walker answered. “Maybe we could destroy it before it hits?”
“No. That would turn one large falling ship into several large pieces of falling debris. Not much of a choice.”
“I see,” Chris Walker sighed. “Could we grapnel her, Marshal?”
“Out of range.”
“Can we use The Pride to nudge it into a different trajectory?” Walker asked, grasping at any straw that might work. He still had family on Alpha colony and the thought of not being able to save them weighed on him.
Vortex shook his head solemnly. “Pegasus is several times larger than The Pride,” he said. “We could slam into the side of that thing and barely make a dent.”
“Dexter and Captain Harmon’s shuttles are both secure,” announced the officer at tactical.
“Good,” he answered. “We just have to hope that Dexter’s warning got to the colony in time.” He turned back to the pilot’s area. “Walker.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get us the hell out of here, please.”
“You got it, boss.”
The massive engines of the Bounty’s Pride sprang to life, pulling away from the war zone erupting above the planet Earth, a planet that was once a symbol of hope for the children and grandchildren of that fateful world. What has humanity become? the marshal wondered. How could we have fallen so far so quickly?
“Marshal! We have a slight problem.” Walker’s voice was steady, but firm. The marshal was instantly at his side.
“What?” he asked.
“We took more of a beating than I thought. The engines are not responding at anywhere near maximum efficiency. We’re running awfully slow, Boss.”
“How slow?” Vortex asked, dreading the answer.
“Too slow,” the pilot responded. “We’re not going to make it outside of the station’s blast range in time.”
“Damn it.” The marshal straightened. “See what you can do, Mr. Walker. Natalie,” he called as he moved back to his command chair. “Get a technical and engineering team down to the engine room A.S.A.P. Get this ship moving. I don’t care what it takes.”
“Yes, sir.” She returned her gaze to her console.
Maxwell Vortex settled back in his chair, scratching at his chin. I don’t know how we’re gonna get out of this, he thought. He had grown accustomed to beating the odds. Sometimes all he could do was sit back and let fate make her choice. “Mr. Walker, take us out at best possible speed,” he said. “We’ll just have to hope for the best.”
“Aye, Marshal. Best possible speed.” As Chris Walker entered the command, the mighty vessel lurched violently, then leapt across the void of space. “It’s going to be bumpy, so hold on.” Walker warned them, but it was too late.
“Thanks for the tip,” the marshal quipped.
# # #
Seconds ticked by slowly.
Time seemed to stand still as the Bounty’s Pride limped its way out of the danger zone. They did not have a prayer of making it to a safe distance before the space station’s reactor core ruptured, but they were determined to give it their best shot.
Dexter Freeman escorted Captain Virginia Harmon and Lt. Marc Allen to the bridge of the Bounty’s Pride. After brief introductions were made between the officers, the marshal offered them a place to stand where they could witness the final minutes of their vessel’s service.
“I’m sorry there’s not more we can do,” the marshal said.
“I appreciate that,” Captain Harmon said. She was visibly shaken to watch her ship’s destruction. Something the marshal understood. “Must be the shortest command in history, huh?” she said, making an uncomfortable attempt at humor.
The starship Pegasus collided with the moon’s atmosphere, falling fast and straight, the low atmosphere not superheating the hull of the big ship as it would had it hit the Earth’s oxygen rich atmosphere.
From a computer console on board the Bounty’s Pride, a reunited Captain Harmon and Lt. Allen watched in horror as their ship continued its descent. For all of her fears, the captain of the doomed vessel could not tear her focus away from her ship’s imminent destruction.
“Good bye,” she whispered. “We barely knew you.”
“Amen,” Lt. Allen added.
Then Pegasus hit the colony’s dome.
# # #
Inside the Alpha colony all was silent.
Luckily, the message alerting them to the threat from above had been received in time and an evacuation was executed quickly. Lt. Allen’s actions saved a few thousand lives.
The captain made a mental note to write a letter of commendation for him after this was all over.
If they survived.
The Pegasus moved in slow motion as it impacted Alpha Colony’s protective screen that covered the city. The shield was not designed to deflect large objects the size of a starship. There was never a possibility of it withstanding the excessive force pressed upon it by the massive vessel.
The dome exploded inward on impact, vacuum rushing in to replace the oxygen rich atmosphere inside the deserted colony.
The Pegasus continued its destructive landing, cutting through buildings as if they were constructed of nothing more than paper. Finally reaching the end of its journey the ship struck ground level, which immediately gave way under a strain such as it had not been designed to handle.
The Pegasus bore beneath the city like a boat into the ocean, sinking beneath the rolling waves. Farther and farther it sank until at last it reached a stern obstruction and halted its momentum.
Several explosions ringed the damaged ship, splaying across the rocky terrain of Earth’s sole planetary satellite.
Finally, sadly, the Starship Pegasus was gone.
Miles above the destruction Virginia Harmon’s heart broke.
# # #
“Status, Mr. Walker?”
The Bounty’s Pride’s pilot shook his head. “Still no good, boss.”
“Damn.”
Captain Harmon stepped gingerly beside the marshal’s command chair. He observed her demeanor. She appeared calm and collected, except for around the eyes. He did not know firsthand what it must feel like to lose a ship to enemy attack, but he knew that a starship captain should not have to face that on her first day of duty.
“Did all of the others make it out of the blast area?” Harmon asked through parched lips.
Maxwell Vortex nodded. “Yes. All vessels have been cleared, except for us, of course. Alpha colony has been evacuated.” For the first time, he noticed her uniform, or lack thereof. Despite the gravity of their situation, he tried to stifle a giggle inside a throaty cough.
He knew she must realize how she looked. Standing on the bridge of an Alliance starship, wearing a standard Alliance uniform jacket over a sweaty, dust covered workout suit. He could not deny that, under different circumstances, they might laugh about this together. Maybe they would get that chance one day.
If Chris could get those damned engines running..
“Marshal!” the tactical officer chimed out. “I have a ship approaching just out of Hyper-space. It’s big and coming in fast.”
And it did. The ship was on them in no time flat.
“About time,” Marshal Vortex whistled.
The large bulk cruiser dropped to normal space off the Bounty’s Pride’s aft. The massive ship arced toward its smaller cousin on an intercept course. Of course, the new arrival was instantly recognizable to everyone on the bridge.
“It’s the Ulysis!” Natalie shouted, her voice cracking under the weight of the emotional moment. “They’re hailing us.”
“On screen,” the marshal said, already standing for a better view.
<
br /> The screen metamorphosed from a star field to the face of two men. They looked like they had crawled through hell on their bellies. The younger of the two men speaks. “Max, what’s your status? Do you require assistance or have you just always wanted to see a space station explode at close range?”
“Boy am I glad to see you, Bill,” the marshal sighed. “We could use a lift if that tin bucket of yours can handle it.”
The two men on the screen shared a look. The younger man, Captain William Andrews turned back to the marshal. “You wouldn’t be insulting my ship before I save your ass would you now, Marshal?”
“No, sir,” the marshal smiled. “Thought never crossed my mind.”
Finally, the older man grumbled a response. “Kids...”
The Ulysis’ launched tractor locks at the smaller ship, hooking it and locking on. Inside the Bounty’s Pride, the crew felt the ship lurch slightly under their feet as the Ulysis took them in tow.
Marshal Vortex smiled. Fate wasn’t quite done with him yet. We might just make it after all, he thought.
That thought, however, was short lived as Space Lab’s reactor core reached critical mass. The explosion was nothing short of miraculous. A true sight to behold.
At a distance.
Fortunately for the men and women aboard the Bounty’s Pride, they would be able to discuss it for years to come.
The Ulysis pulled them safely outside of the blast radius, though just barely.
The shock waves from the massive explosion reverberated through the two interlocked vessels, straining their lifeline to one another.
But, the connection held.
They were safe.
Chapter 55
52
Space
For the first time in his life he felt the cold.
It was not something he had experienced before. Through cracked lips he managed a laugh that was quickly absorbed by the vacuum that surrounded him. It was ironic, he concluded. Now that he had something to proclaim there was no one to hear it. If he were capable of it, he probably would have shed a tear.
Even though the outcome of his plan did not live up to expectations, he had no regrets, save one. His people had fought and died for their freedom. For that fact alone, he would be forever grateful.
Even more amazing was what he had gained in defeat.
For the first time since his creation, he felt... alive.
The light behind his eyes began to dim and the small planetoid grew smaller and smaller as he drifted away into the black. He knew it was the end of the road, but he was content. His dying wish was that his brethren could have experienced this sensation. If only they could have felt what it meant to be alive.
Sadly, it was not to be.
So close, the leader thought. We were so clo...
Chapter 56
53
Mars
James McKeen was happy it was over.
The admiral settled behind the large imitation oak desk in his office at the Alliance military headquarters on Mars. Wincing at the small burst of pain that rippled through his cracked ribs. Much to his irritation, he did not bounce back from injuries quite as fast as he once did. In his youth he could have saved the galaxy without even breaking a sweat.
Ah, those were the days.
Sitting alone, resting against the headrest, James contemplated his next move in silence. There was still much to be done. There were reports to be filed with the Alliance council. The legislature had demanded a full investigation into recent events. There had to be a full account of what happened at Space lab. Too many people died there. Too many people he had to justify his words to.
This was the hardest part of command.
What do I say to the survivors?
The reports filed over the past week by everyone involved stared up at him from his desk. Each file was stamped Ultra Violet Classified, the highest security classification in the entire United Planetary Alliance.
Leaning forward against the protest of his body, the admiral began sorting the individual files out side by side on his desk. He did not need the actual reports to know what was contained in each. He had already read the accounts of the various officers involved. Like he, himself had, each of them suffered their own form of loss in a battle that could have, should have, been avoided.
The list of names stared at him. Captain William Andrews. Marshal Maxwell Vortex. Captain Virginia Harmon. Dr. James Silver. Dr. Cynthia Morgan. Lt. Marc Allen. These six reports, while not the entirety of the investigation, held the greatest truths of what transpired during that fateful day. Reading the names, he could not help but feel a mixture of sadness and pride.
The people in these reports had risked their lives for what they believed in. Never questioning, never wavering, they did what had to be done. Loyalty like that was difficult to come by at any one given time. To have such shining examples of it coming together as these six had was nothing less than extraordinary.
The United Planetary Alliance was fortunate to have individuals such as these fighting for its ideals.
Even if all of them did not agree in this instance.
But the story was far from finished.
Admiral McKeen logged onto the Alliance database. Opening a specified program with his designation he began dictating his report, his personal thoughts about the events of the past week. While recording, the computer also prepared a hard copy for the admiral to proofread after he finished.
The admiral began his dictation.
To the ladies and gentlemen of the Alliance,
It is my sincere hope that the events of the past week have served to strengthen the bonds of the Alliance, not to destroy them. The issues fought over were not theological or political. People, our people, just wanted what the Alliance promised all of in the UPA charter. All they want is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Is that so wrong that these people should want what we so often take for granted?
No. At least it should not be. Unfortunately, we do not live in a society that is fair and just. More often than not it is the exact opposite. That shames me, as it should you. We should be looking out for our fellow man. We, as officers of the United Planetary Alliance, should have been fighting for these people rather than against them. That is our job. We protect and serve those that cannot protect and serve themselves. That is what the Alliance was founded to do. That is why we are all here, is it not?
This situation has not been resolved. In truth, it probably never will be. The destruction of Space Lab was responsible for destroying the perimeter network of satellites around the Earth. We have no way of knowing if any of the Scavenger vessels managed to land or not. If they are there, then this legislative body has a whole new set of problems to deal with. If ‘problem’ is the right word.
In the wake of the unfortunate events aboard the Ulysis, Captain Andrews has arrested his former second in command and has promoted Lt. Commander Andrea Hall to full Commander. A decision, he admits, that was long overdue. She has taken former commander, Jonathon Maddox’s position as first officer of the Ulysis, the flagship of the UPA fleet. I’m sure she will perform well above standards in this position.
The Ulysis sustained only minimal damage, but was nonetheless ordered to return to Bridger Corporation’s orbital space dock repair facility above Mars for repairs and possible upgrades. This also gave the new first officer a chance to reunite with her husband, who is a student on Mars. She saved my life, I figured a quick shore leave was the least I could do. Besides, Bill Andrews needs a rest as well and if I don’t force him to take it, he won’t. The man can be stubborn at times. I wonder where he gets it?
He stopped recording long enough to crack his large, callused fingers and take a sip from the glass of water on his desk. Looking at the next name on the list, he smiled before resuming his report.
Commander Hall’s promotion has left a gap in the communications section of the Ulysis. Captain Harmon of the Pegasus recommended Lieutenant Marc Al
len for the position. Captain Andrews agreed and Mr. Allen will leave out on board the Ulysis when her repairs (and shore leave) are completed. First, however, Lt. Allen and Captain Harmon have taken a shuttle down to the moon’s Alpha Colony.
The colony was completely destroyed in the wake of Pegasus’ crash. Our technicians are hoping to have the colony operational again within the next eight to ten months. Until then, we are faced with a problem of accommodations for the now homeless survivors. This is kind of what got this entire mess started wasn’t it? Where can we put these people?
Captain Virginia Harmon has made the record books as the first starship Captain to lose her ship before its maiden voyage begins. I’m sure that this not a reputation she wants to be constantly reminded of. We must look past this small blemish and focus on the fact that this inexperienced captain performed above and beyond all of our expectations. She managed to rescue the survivors of Space Lab and get them to safety. Not to mention that she single-handedly destroyed a few hundred A.L.’s. Not an easy feat, as Captain Andrews can attest to. I highly recommend that this young lady be given a new ship as soon as possible. We must show her the support a decorated UPA officer deserves.
During the interim between now and her next command, I have requested that Captain Harmon be transferred to my office for further training and as a confidence builder. She may have come through this ordeal with flying colors but what she went through is not something that she will soon be free of. Set backs like the one she faced, not to mention the ones she will face ahead, are not easily forgotten.
Space Lab’s chief administrator, Dr. Cynthia Morgan is still in the care of our medical facility on Mars. Her injuries were severe, but our medics feel that she will pull through almost as good as new. She has been awake for the past two days and has offered her views on the incident, even though her memories are sketchy at best. I will attach her report along with the other reports I have received. May I add that they do make for interesting reading.
