Condition Evolution 4

by Kevin Sinclair

  My eyebrow raised at her of its own accord.

  She ignored me.

  As we left the canteen, Calparr opted to sit amongst the revelers.

  “We’re gonna have a drink?” I said into Ember’s mind.

  “Damn right, I think we deserve some kinda celebration.”

  “What about mind-altering chemicals?”

  “I think I’m ready to be human again. I trust myself, and you, to not go too far. If I decide to go on a crazy, year-long binge, I expect you to stop me.”

  “Ha-ha! Yeah, of course, but I think we should be okay. Now, let’s get this done and get back. I don’t want to be away from the Haven for a minute longer than needed. I feel like we’re all much safer there. Oh, and sorry for dragging you along.”

  She smiled, putting her hand on my arm as we took our seats on the bridge. “You don’t have to apologize, you daft sod. It had to be us, really.”

  “I agree, but still, it’s a daunting job to fly headlong toward the Fystr fleet.”

  “I know, right? Why am I not terrified like I should be?” she said as Elyek came up to us and answered the question for me.

  “I think we’re all becoming a little desensitized to danger, Ember. The coordinates are set, are you ready to make the first jump?”

  “Probably,” I answered with a smile. Elyek nodded and returned to the folding drive terminal.

  Once the disorientation of the jump had cleared, Elyek, Calegg and Koparr remained on the bridge, while we joined everyone else in the canteen. I only just managed to keep a straight face when I saw one of William’s teammates mopping the floor. The smell of vomit mixed with cleaning chemicals hung in the air, just like a real bar.

  “Right then, what does the FSU offer to drink? And what do you recommend, William?” Ember asked.

  “I know there’s lager and whisky. Beyond that…”

  “I’ll go check myself,” she said.

  I saw that Calparr was drinking a pint of lager. I don’t know why it looked so funny, but it did. I decided there and then that we needed an Irish bar on the Haven.

  Ember picked champagne, which lost some of its charm, having to be served in a tumbler. I picked lager. It had been so long, and I wanted to neck the lot as soon as soon as the first drop hit my lips. It took real strength of will to drink it slowly under Ember's watchful eye. Even so, it was damn refreshing, hitting the spot that no other drink could match.

  “So, we’re expecting trouble, Captain?” Roger asked, slurring slightly.

  “I really hope not, Roger. Not that I don’t want to bury Havok in a few more Fystr,” I admitted. Havok whooped with delight at the statement. “But anything other than the plan working, really won’t go well for us. We just need to get in and out.”

  “That’s fair enough, although I’m itching to kill me some more Fystr too!” he said, raising a glass, which turned into an impromptu toast with everyone declaring their desire to kill more Fystr, apart from Calparr.

  “I'm not,” he slurred. I was surprised to see him drunk.

  “I thought you loved fighting, Calparr?” I asked, curiously.

  “I do only what is... bessescary.” He belched to punctuate his statement. “I’m a peaceful man at heart. I’d have preferred to be a grower of food,” he confessed seriously, his words a little garbled. Then he slapped the table hard, with a roar of laughter. “Death to the Fystr!” he shouted.

  After a few more hours, we all took the opportunity for some sleep as we flew ever onwards. Thankfully, the humans among us wouldn’t have to suffer a hangover as long as everybody carried out their Holistic repair. I wasn’t sure how Calparr, Amnarr and Yolek the Veiletian would be feeling. But when they arrived on the bridge, they seemed in good spirits.

  “Elyek, have we found any signs of them yet?” I asked.

  “No, Captain, we’re approaching the coordinates where we should be able to communicate and we have an open line focused ahead of us which will connect as soon as we reach someone. So be prepared for action.”

  “Have we set the folding drive to charging? Is it ready to jump?”

  Calegg answered, “Almost, Captain. It will be ready as we reach the coordinates. Once there, we will have approximately 45 minutes to use the charge before it vents. Otherwise it’s another 20 hours for it to reset.”

  “Will we be able to get a visual once we're in communications range?” Ember asked eagerly.

  “No, we won't be getting that close, Ember,” Elyek replied. “Our comms have a far greater range.”

  “Probably for the best, I’d prefer not to see 2000 Fystr Ships, anyway,” she said.

  After that, we all sat in an eerie tense silence just waiting for the line to connect. We’d been through a lot, but the tension from this scenario was almost unbearable.

  “We have passed the point where I would have expected to make a connection. They must have moved,” Elyek stated in a worried tone. “Are we to continue, Captain?”

  “We’ve come this far. Keep going, Elyek, and Calegg. You just keep a fucking eye on that jump timer and if we don’t find anyone by the time it gets to five minutes remaining, then get us the hell out of here. We can’t do any more than we have, we’ll just have to come up with another plan back at base camp.”

  “Okay, Captain,” Calegg responded. “I’ve changed the coordinates on the folding drive too to stay within range of how far we can jump. I calculate that we can travel for another two lightyears, with the time we have available.”

  I nodded at the move. “Thanks, man.”

  We continued to travel forward, tentatively. Another lightyear passed before we finally had a bite, and our comm made a connection. I waited silently for someone to speak. “Unknown ship, identify yourself,” came a stern female voice.

  “Heya there, I’m Shaun from Earth! You’re all a bunch of shit-eating, fuck-nuggets who have little dicks,” I shouted. Then I signaled to cut the connection and fucking run. Everyone was laughing their asses off as we fled the scene. I felt like a kid again, knocking on doors and running away. Calegg hit our folding drive, and we appeared a long, long way away. Safe and sound.

  “Whoop! That wasn’t anywhere near as close as I thought it would be,” I said, slumping back in my chair. “Come on, Elyek, get us back to the Haven. We still don’t want to take any chances.”

  “I’m on it, Captain. We’re only an hour out.”

  “Well everyone, thanks for coming. I’m extremely glad you weren’t needed.”

  “Och, it was nice te come along,” William replied. “Yer a lot more fun than the prick who captained the Seshat, whose name shall not be mentioned.”

  “Thanks, man, and I hope you're a lot more trustworthy than he was!”

  “Och aye, Cap’n. I’m as happy as a pig’n shit. Though I de miss the Flying Scotsman.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. You’ll just have to name one of the fighters instead.”

  “Canna paint it on?”

  “Are you serious?” Ember asked. “Actually, William, don’t answer. I know you are.”

  “Captain, Ember,” Calegg said urgently. “I don’t seem to be able to communicate with the Haven. There seems to be some kind of interference.”

  “What kind of interference?” I asked, moving over next to him at the ship's main communication terminal. Ember and Elyek both came alongside me, while Calegg demonstrated what he’d been doing.

  “Are we in range?” Ember asked.

  “Very much so. There seems to be something blocking us. Though I can't tell what it could be.” Calegg answered.

  “Keep trying to get through.” I said, more sharply than I intended. I wasn’t in the mood for ominous surprises.

  Calegg nodded, “I will, as soon as we can detect the Haven on our scanners, we may be able to get some answers.”

  Around ten minutes later, still with no communications, the beginnings of a problem began showing on the scanners: Galactic Empire ships. At first just a few, but the number swelled
and by the time the Haven appeared, it was clear they were surrounded by enemy ships. “Shit, no! Elyek, can we go faster?” I shouted.

  “A little, Captain, but we are not equipped to fight through this.”

  “What choice do we have?” I yelled. “Keep going!” I felt instantly bad for yelling at them. “I’m sorry, Elyek. I’m not yelling at you but at these fucking bastards.” I waved at the display angrily.

  “I understand, Captain. I will continue forward.”

  “We should be able to pull up images soon, to clarify the true state of affairs,” Calegg offered.

  “Thanks, man. Get them up, as soon as possible,” I said before angrily sitting back in my chair, feeling completely inept. All the weapons stations were manned, but all we could do was watch. I sent up a silent prayer to any gods that might be listening out there to make sure everyone was okay on board the Haven, and that we would be able to make it through to them.

  Once we were able to pull up images of the battle, my heart lightened somewhat. While there was a 100-strong Galactic Empire fleet attacking, they were getting their asses handed to them. Our 40 fighter ships tortured them, and the Haven’s shields and deadly array of firepower made them look invincible. We all stared at the display in awe. “I wonder if we shouldn’t have called the Haven something a little more impressive, like the Indomitable or something, because it’s absolutely beasting these fuckers. I think it’s time we offer what assistance we can. I’m sure some of our fighters will come and help us out if we need it.”

  We came to a stop some distance away and opened up on one of the larger Galactic Empire ships. They were so under the cosh from the Haven that they couldn’t even respond to the new threat, and within two minutes we had played a part in destroying it. We moved on to the next largest ship. They managed to return fire, but our shields held out. It availed them nothing as they were shredded between our fire and that of the Haven. After that ship was finished, Calegg shouted, “We have comms. That last ship must have been blocking the signal somehow.”

  Acclo appeared on the screen. “It’s very good to see you return, Uprising.”

  “Acclo, thank the stars. How’s the Haven faring?”

  “We are fine, Captain. The ship has performed in a manner far superior to anything we could have expected. We will continue to clear this enemy further until you can safely navigate through to us. It should not be too much longer.”

  “Great news, Acclo. We’ll continue to assist as we can.”

  “See you soon, Acclo,” Ember shouted over my shoulder, drawing a smile from the onscreen Veiletian.

  We were in the process of switching targets to hasten our return when a horror of horrors occurred. Six Guegumar Stars suddenly jumped into the space around us. If you’ve forgotten, those are the same kind of ships as the Uprising.

  “What the fuck!” I screamed. “Run!”

  Too late. As one, they opened fire on us.

  Chapter 25

  No Contest

  It is hard to explain the complete, uncomprehending confusion of having six ships identical to ours appear around us. For a split second I thought they were friendly on the basis of them being the same type of ship. Fucking stupid, I know. Because a second later they ripped us a new asshole. We were a dead duck in less than a minute, floating lifelessly on the endless lake of infinite space. Engines gone, only emergency power which provided shitty blinking lightning remained, and thankfully the comms. We managed to send a desperate message to the Haven.

  “We are coming!” It was Ogun’s voice this time. “Hold on for as long as you can, Shaun.”

  “Unknown ship,” came another communication. “Why don’t you identify yourselves properly this time? Shaun from Earth doesn’t quite cover all that you are,” said a very deep and menacing voice.

  I smashed my hand down on the comm to reply. “Shaun from Earth and his friends is all you need to worry about, you fucking cocksucker!”

  The deep voice boomed out a laugh. “I must say, it was a wonderful surprise for you to announce your continued existence to us like that. We thought the traitors had done our job for us, but apparently not.”

  I didn’t reply straight away as I looked around to the others. “He fucking knows about the Apochros?”

  “It seems that way,” Ember agreed. “Just stall the bastard until the Haven can get here.”

  A massive boom shook the ship. The deep voice came back over the comms again. “As easy as it would be to just end you here and now, the Emperor wants the heads of everyone who fled from Earth. That sound you just heard is our boarding tunnel. I thought I’d come and pay you all a friendly visit. To think, I could have returned empty handed if not for you delivering those useless little heads to us on a silver platter, or should I say a Guegumar Star. What a fantastic folding drive it has, don’t you all think?”

  I hit the comm to reply in anger but Ember nudged me to stop me replying. “Don’t piss him off any further. We need him to take his time. Not rush us in a rage.”

  “Fuck! You’re right,” I admitted before taking some calming breaths. They did fuck all and my mind was all over the place. There was only one thing for it, and I swiftly moved into my Mindscape, stretching out the bond to give me time to think. The first extended minute was dedicated to stilling the panic that was racing around my entire body. Then I focused on the problem: We needed more time. They were coming on board, no matter what we did. So, how to stall them?

  “If they’re coming on board, then let me kill them all,” Havok offered.

  “We’ll definitely be fighting, mate. But how to plan it to buy us time?”

  “I want them all.”

  “You’ll have your fun, now shush-up and let me think,” I hissed at him. My mind ticked over plans and placements. We could run further into the ship and hide? That might buy us enough time, but then, they could always just choose to leave and blow the ship up before the Haven got close. Could we get through their access tunnel onto their ship and take it over? I began thinking of ways to make that happen. After five minutes of formulating my plan, I knew from my training on Accre that around 30 seconds had passed in Normal-State. It was time to go.

  “Shaun!” Ember screamed. “What the fuck? They’re coming through!” She pointed to a bright red circle outline on the ceiling. “Why would you fucking phase out now!”

  “Quiet,” I snapped. “Elyek, Yolek, invisible now! Torax, take cover. I want all your fire, everything you’ve got, hitting that fucking opening as soon as they start dropping through.” I stood up and Havok automatically came to my hand. He knew what was coming.

  “William! I need your four weakest fighters to take cover and protect the minds of the Torax. Don’t complain, just fucking do it,” I ordered before he could respond. “The rest of you, shield your own minds and keep the fuck back out of my way, unless I really need help. I’ll never forgive myself if I kill any of you,” I said, looking each of them in the eye. I don’t know what they saw in my expression, but they all nodded, eager to please, which was good. There were times to be laidback. And there were times to make shit happen.

  The comm clicked to life again. “I hope you don’t think your traitor ship is going to make it in time to rescue you, because it is not. See you soon,” he said with a lot more snark than I had heard from any Fystr before. There was something different about this guy, and I didn’t like it. As he finished speaking, the glowing, red section of ceiling dropped to the floor. Fystr legs immediately appeared, levitating down in a controlled descent, only to drop the remaining distance to the floor in a torrent of flames and screams. Moving forward to the writhing body, I ended their torment by burying Havok deep into their chest. While the Torax continued their bombardment of the tunnel opening it became obvious that if they kept up a constant flow, the heat on the bridge would become unbearable, or worse, it would end up in flames.

  I’d anticipated this, and we also needed the Fystr to keep coming while we made time for our rescue.
So I signaled for the Torax to stop. “If you see movement, light it up again,” I instructed, gesturing at the hole.

  I knew the Fystr would find an option to get in here somehow. We waited with bated breath to see what they would try next. The flickering lights and partially burning roof making the bridge feel like a hellscape. Noise came from the tunnel. Two Fystr came back-to-back, each carrying two plasma shields as they dropped down onto the bridge. No levitation this time.

  Fire hit them as soon as they were visible, but their shields protected them. They edged forward, creating room for two more shield-bearers to drop in. They moved quickly and within a few seconds there were six, then ten.

  “Focus fire on the tunnel!” I cried.

  The four Torax obeyed, instantly switching from ineffective attacks on the shields to blocking the tunnel again. Using telekinesis, I began ripping out terminals, workstations, seats, anything I could find, and hurling them up and over the top of the shields. Ember, William, and Roger took my cue and joined in my assault. It was never going to hurt the Fystr, but I was trying to create an opening in their plasma shield wall.

  With reinforcements on hold, flames coming from above, and the volley of furniture, the Fystr on board had decided enough was enough. As one, they each dropped a shield, and pulled out a plasma charged weapon, before dropping their second shield to pull a second weapon. They looked a ferocious sight, brandishing a dual wield medley of axes and swords. I obviously didn’t stop to admire their elite maneuvers in the chaos. By the time the second shield dropped, two of them were already dead, to Havok’s delight. A third dropped to invisible knives. I briefly flashed yellow with Omni Energy twice in quick succession, and took an axe slash to the arm, while two more of the fuckers fell to Havok. A brief lull saw him heal my wound.

  Four left, and they all came at me, attacking in tandem. I pushed myself back with levitation, giving me and Havok a bit more range to work with, but these guys were no fucking slouches, following me with speed, their weapons flashing at me in unison. I deflected three of the incoming attacks, but we missed the fourth and I took another hit. Grimacing, I felt a small amount of satisfaction when Ember's sword flew past and sliced the throat of the motherfucker who’d tagged me. Havok couldn’t even heal me as his concentration was on defense. All was mayhem, as the flames spread across the ceiling of the bridge.