“Reeeeally?”
“Yep! Only…now I’m not sure if that was a good idea or not.”
“Why’s that? You like her, so at least you can get to know her better during the trip.”
“Yeah, but I worry about her. What if she gets hurt or worse?”
Daniel nodded thoughtfully. “I can understand that. But you know, when you think about it, whether you’re on the mission or here facing a Zarlack armada, I’m not sure it makes a huge difference. We’re all in mortal danger now, so you might as well spend some time with her while you can. Plus, if you’re with her, you can protect her.”
Chase absorbed these words then looked up with a small smile. “Actually that makes a whole lot of sense. Thanks.”
“Hey, what are friends for? Now, aren’t you supposed to be getting things ready? Or is there more you want to make me try than this awesome pizza?”
“You’ve got to try the sweet and sour pork.”
“Sweet and what now?”
“Another time. Ask the replicator. Gotta go. It was good talking with you, thanks.”
Daniel chuckled. “Same here, pal, thanks for the pizza. But what’s a replicator?”
“Sorry, I meant the food synthesizer.”
“Whatever, you’re basically an Earthling now.” Daniel laughed again but, as Chase stood up to go, he called, “Chase?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful, buddy, we need you.”
“We?”
“You know what I mean.”
Chase’s face softened. “I know. You be careful too. If I don’t come back, you’ll have to make sure this planet survives. Everything depends on it.”
“Dude, I really hate it when you get all melodramatic on me.”
“I’m serious, Dan, we cannot let Earth fall.”
“And we won’t, but I forbid you to get your sorry ass killed, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir!” Chase doubled back to the table and took a slice of pizza to go. It was gone by the time he left the mess hall.
He was still licking the cheese from his fingers when he opened the door to his quarters and saw Sarah standing in the middle of the room.
“Jeez!” He jumped back. “You scared me!”
“Commander Kepler, reporting for duty, sir!”
He grinned. “Hey you.”
She took her beret and threw it on his bunk, waving her hair out around her. Chase took a second to catch his breath. Then she stepped forward and put her finger on his chin.
“I’ve received orders to report to my new commanding officer for the mission.”
He smiled. “That’s sweet. How did you get here?”
“I hitched a ride on a transport going to the ship.”
“Well I’m thrilled to see you; I can’t seem to think about anything else but you.”
“Me neither.”
They locked eyes for a moment, then brought their lips together. Time seemed to suspend as they weaved their hands through each other’s hair, pressing themselves together as hard as they could stand.
A sudden buzz on the door broke their reverie.
Chase shot backwards, and Sarah darted to the bed to retrieve her beret.
“Enter!” he called, a little breathlessly.
“Yo, Chase,” Yanis answered as he came inside, “I just wanted to…” His eyes grew wide as he saw the two of them standing there. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Commander Sarah Kepler. Nice to meet you, sir.”
Chase and Sarah blushed at the same time and Yanis looked between the two of them like he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“The commander will be joining me on my mission tomorrow,” Chase quickly explained. “She came to report for duty.”
“To your quarters?” Yanis asked in disbelief.
“Yanis,” Chase said pointedly.
Yanis shook his head quickly. “Right, anyway, nice to meet you, Commander. I’m Yanis Tixichos—chief engineer aboard this hunk-a-junk.”
“Nice to meet you too, Chief,” she answered warmly as they shook hands.
“You’re the one who tested the F-140, aren’t you?” he asked curiously.
“Yes, a great ship.”
“Thanks. From the flight logs, you did an excellent job piloting it.”
“Thank you. Did you design it?”
“Well yes, with Chase’s assistance.”
Chase made a throaty noise. “Assistance?”
“Okay, okay, under his guidance.”
Sarah grinned. “Well you both did excellent jobs; it flies like a dream.”
“Thank you,” they said in unison.
Sarah laughed nervously then the three of them fell into awkward silence. Eventually, Chase noticed the parts Yanis was holding and seized upon the conversational life raft.
“Are those…?” he began.
“Yes, of course. That’s why I was coming here, to deliver the neuronal link controllers for the ships.” Yanis looked as relieved as he was. “I could only make two, and since I’m late on the mines project and I’ve got the captain on my back about shielding the satellites, well, I hope two will do.”
“We’ll make do, thanks.” Chase smiled, then glanced at the door.
Yanis got the message. “Great… Well, I’d better go back to engineering.”
“Right, see ya. And thanks for dropping by the interfaces.”
Yanis nodded and gave Sarah a two-finger salute. “Was nice to meet you, Commander.”
“Nice to meet you too, Chief.”
“I’ll catch up with you later, Chase. You know where to find me.”
Chase nodded quickly and Yanis disappeared through the door.
As soon as they were alone, Sarah turned to Chase with a mischievous smile. “That was…kind of hilarious.”
“Really?” Chase asked as he pulled her to him. “I thought he’d never leave…”
“Oh I’m sorry, Lieutenant Commander. Was there something else you wanted to be doing instead?”
He put a finger over her mouth, then kissed her again. But they’d barely begun when yet another sharp buzz sounded from inside her pocket.
“Oh crap,” she mumbled, pulling herself away.
“What is it?”
“The alarm. I had completely forgotten. I have to go see my sister and nephew. I promised I’d come for dinner.” She eyed him speculatively. “Wanna come?”
“I’d love to, but I really need to install these and go over a few more details before we leave. Rain check?”
“Sure, absolutely; we’ll visit them together another time. I hope you don’t mind that I have to go though.”
“Not at all. Actually I’m not sure how much work I would have managed to do if you stayed…”
She laughed lightly. “It’s a good thing then. When should I meet you tomorrow?”
“I’m thinking we should leave around eight in the morning.”
“Alright.” She headed to the door. “Have a nice evening and don’t work too late. I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
“Me too. Have fun at the party.”
“Will do.”
Then she gave him a kiss and a wink, and left him standing in his quarters.
18
Sarah arrived at 7:45, packed and ready to go. Chase was there waiting with Captain Saroudis and she crossed the deck to meet them.
“Commander Sarah Kepler, reporting for duty.”
“Nice seeing you, Commander,” said the captain kindly.
“It’s nice seeing you too, Captain.”
“Ready for this mission?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Very well, but please, the both of you, be careful. It’s very important that you locate as many survivors as possible and secure whatever quadrinium you can find, but that being said, no unnecessary risks. We need all the good pilots we can get and, if what the Lieutenant Commander tells me is true, you fall well into this category.”
She beamed. “Thank
you, sir, understood.”
“You have four days tops, but the sooner you return, the better. If after that time you haven’t found any remaining ships from Alliance territory, return home. We’ll have plenty of new defense systems up and ready by then. Be safe.”
“Thank you, Captain.” She nodded and stepped back.
“Thanks, Captain, see you soon,” added Chase.
Captain Saroudis saluted and they saluted in return, before he turned and left the hangar. When he was gone, Sarah looked at Chase.
“Didn’t get much sleep last night, huh?”
“That obvious?”
“Yes, you look exhausted.”
“I’ll sleep during the jump. Did you have a good time yesterday?”
“It was fun, but I had trouble sleeping as well.”
“I wonder why that is,” Chase asked playfully. “It’s not like the weight of the world is hanging on your shoulders.”
She scowled at him. “Is that supposed to be my pep talk?”
Chase grinned and stretched ostentatiously. “That’s as good as it gets.”
She rolled her eyes and smacked him in the chest. “See you on board.”
They boarded their respective fighters and launched into space, quickly docking at what would be their home for the next five days, the Alliance dreadnought Iron Fire. Everyone else was already on board: a skeleton crew of seven people to operate the ship, engineering, and their portable med-lab, as well as a dozen fighter pilots including Chase and Sarah. There was also a contingent of Earth Alliance marines.
Chase went to the bridge to set the destination of their jump back to what was once Alliance territory. With a brief pause, he sat down in the captain’s chair and looked at the star-map holo-display. Aphroditis’ voice echoed in his head. Follow your instinct. After a moment’s consideration, he brought up the controls and entered in the numbers manually before engaging the jump engines.
The Iron Fire was a nice ship; it had seen a lot of action over the years. Chase had even served on it as wing commander under the orders of Captain Galis back in the day, but Galis had perished during the surprise Obsidian assault. As Chase thought back on his old commanding officer, he realized he hadn’t even had a chance to mourn. How many other countless men and women had perished without receiving the proper acknowledgment? How many ships had been destroyed? He wondered what Alpha Prime had become, if it had been turned to dust or if the habitants had become slaves under Obsidian tyranny. Well, one way or another, he was going to find out…
He went to his bunker to sleep and woke up eight hours later. It was already late in the day, though “days” in space didn’t mean much compared to planetary cycles. He stood up and glanced in the mirror. He still looked tired, but it would have to do. They would soon be ending their first jump and he needed to check with the crew and with Sarah. He had targeted an area at the very border of Alliance space, hoping to avoid attracting too much attention.
After making his rounds he went to check on Sarah, who had also been sleeping. They went to the mess hall together and had a delicious dinner of what she called spaghetti Bolognese. It was a little tricky to eat, but was mouth watering nonetheless. A few hours later, it was time to drop out of hyperspace and they headed to the bridge.
As Chase took a seat, he called for status updates.
“Sergeant Miller, please run long-range scans. Focus on Alliance signatures.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
After ten minutes of negative results, Chase was about to enter the coordinates for the next world, when Communications Officer Daliant reported an incoming transmission.
“Captain, we’re getting a distress call from the sixth planet of this solar system.”
“What type of planet is it?” Chase asked.
“It’s mostly a wasteland; very few life-forms, mostly animal. No industrial signs. Air is a mix of oxygen-nitrogen and carbon dioxide with traces of methane. Technically breathable, though I would recommend environmental suits to be safe.”
“Source of the distress call?”
“A ship’s beacon near the equator of the planet. According to our scans, the ship appears to be damaged. Signature of the ship is Droxian, Captain.”
Chase looked up in surprise and Sarah leaned toward him. “What are Droxians?”
“They’re a warrior race,” he explained, “once part of the Alliance, but they left it a while back.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know the details. Their core values and the Alliance’s clashed at some point, something about rituals the Alliance didn’t agree they keep practicing.”
“We’ve had similar issues on Earth with all the different religions and all. It’s probably the main reason we never united as a planet. Still”—she nodded toward the view screen—“should we help them?”
Chase turned back toward the communications officer. “How many Droxian life-forms are you detecting?”
“Just the one, Captain.”
“One…” Chase turned to Sarah. “What do you think, Commander?”
“Well, we’re here looking for allies. And while there’s only one, it could lead to others.”
“I’m just wondering if we can afford the time for an away mission.”
“Yes, but is it humane not to? I mean, what if that Droxian is wounded or starving to death? What if no other ships have passed in the area for weeks, months, or even years? You did choose this part of space because it’s very low in activity.”
Chase considered for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, let’s check it out. Sergeant, we’re going on an away mission, have a shuttle ready for us in five.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Chase landed the transport shuttle on the surface of the planet less than a klick from the coordinates of the distress call. He and Sarah exited the shuttle in full environmental suits, and he quickly brought up a holographic display from the left forearm interface on his suit.
“That way,” he directed.
The landscape was depressing, but held a certain charm. The atmosphere was mostly sand, but was dotted with spiky rock formations. In fact, it reminded him of the place in his last vision. That had to be a good sign. He checked his navigational data once more.
“We’re getting close.”
“How violent are Droxians?” Sarah asked as she walked by his side.
“They’re much stronger than us physically, but the historical data doesn’t mention a particular aggression toward other races. They might have left the Alliance, but they didn’t fight it either.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Believe me, if they were known to be violent I would have asked for that platoon of marines to come with us.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know… Quality time?”
“How romantic. I think I’ll have a storm with my sandy face massage now.”
He looked at her until it hit home. They both laughed.
He pointed suddenly. “There’s the ship.”
“It seems pretty banged up.”
Chase advanced cautiously. “Hello? Anyone hear me?”
He and Sarah looked around but there was no answer. Then something on his arm buzzed and he checked his holographic display once more. His face tensed in a frown.
“What is it, Chase?” Sarah asked nervously.
“There’s a life sign coming toward us at an impossible speed from the east…”
They barely had time to look at each other and take out their pistols, before a gigantic beast erupted from behind a rock formation, destroying it as it passed through. Chase gasped and Sarah stifled a shriek. It looked like a cross between an elephant and a dinosaur, with a disproportionally large face filled with rows upon rows of serrated teeth. The ground shook beneath its feet and both Sarah and Chase barely had time to jump out of the way before it was upon them.
The side of its shoulder hit Chase squarely in the chest and sent him rocketing backwards as i
t passed. He landed with a thud several yards away, and winced as he looked through the cracked visor in his atmospheric suit.
“Chase!” Sarah screamed. “Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine. Watch out for the beast! It’s turning back!”
Sarah turned around just as the beast spotted her and started hurtling her way. Chase pulled himself to his feet and began shooting at it, causing it to shift directions and sprint toward him instead. He and Sarah continued shooting as it charged, but the blast of their pistols seemed to glance right off its hide without causing any damage.
“Get out of the way!” Sarah screamed when it became clear it wasn’t going to stop.
He leapt a few steps to the side, continuing to fire, but the beast simply altered its course to match as it rapidly closed the distance between them. Chase didn’t know what to do. They were outmatched here, both in power and in speed. Sand billowed up behind it and it was close enough that he could see its sharpened fangs, when suddenly, the sky went dark.
He looked up in alarm as a shadow fell from the heavens, landing between him and his attacker. Before he could focus his eyes, the shadow was airborne again. It leapt through the air toward the beast and, when it was at its height, a silver sword flashed out between them. For a moment, it was as if the beast was stuck in midair, but the next second it fell to the ground in pieces. Chase watched in amazed horror as dark green and purple entrails spilled onto the sand beside it. Several yards away, it looked like Sarah was trying not to throw up in her suit. Then the shadow slowly straightened out and turned toward Chase.
It was the Droxian.
She was huge, at least several feet taller than Chase, very muscular and very strong. She had long, red dreadlocks and deep-pink eyes. Like all Droxians, her skin was blue, and the parts that weren’t covered in armor showed many scars.
“Thanks,” Chase said mildly as she holstered her sword.
She looked at him, but did not respond. As the swirling sand cleared, Chase noticed she was wearing some sort of gun on her belt and instinctively raised his own blaster. It was a mistake. The second he moved it, she shot it out of his hands, enveloping him in some sort of blue energy that belted his hands to his sides. Sarah fired upon her the next second, but she rolled on the ground to dodge it and lassoed Sarah as well. The two of them struggled for a moment, but the more they did, the more the belt seemed to tighten.
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