“Elyek! We need find who is alive and who needs healing most,” I said as I thrust Havok into Ember’s hands. I saw Koparr moving. He’d lost an arm but was somehow still conscious, clearly having been able to cauterize the stump, which probably saved his life. To my horror I noticed Calegg a few feet past him, unmoving. He had suffered multiple deep gashes, including one across his throat. His eyes stared lifeless at the ceiling. My eyes filled with tears and my legs seemed to lose their strength as I fell to my knees, exhausted and overwhelmed.
“Captain! We need to deal with the breach in the ceiling or get out of here. That tunnel is about to tear free,” Elyek shouted.
Shit! I hadn’t even considered that. I looked up. In seconds we would be open to space. I couldn’t even mourn or save those who needed me. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I cried out, forcing myself back to my feet. “Can we seal it up? I don’t want to lose anyone else if there’s a chance they can survive.”
“Use your telekinesis to hold that table,” Elyek ordered me, and pointed to a round table that had been torn free earlier. “It should cover the gap, enough to give us a chance. Yolek and I will begin moving those still alive to the corridor.”
“Okay, Elyek, do it,” I agreed, focusing on the table. I had no idea if it would work, but I slapped it over the hole anyway.
Elyek went straight to the unconscious but now much healthier looking Ember and dragged her towards the exit. I sighed with relief that at least she would live. The woman who had run to the aid of William was now helping him off the bridge as he leaned heavily on her. Yolek helped with Koparr, who was just about able to support his own weight. My heart broke anew when Koparr looked at Calegg and began to cry.
They were just clearing the bridge when the tunnel ripped free. The table I held in position was sucked onto the hole, doing a remarkable job of stemming the flow of internal pressure. But there were gaps, and we needed to move fast. I picked up Calparr with telekinesis, and all but threw the massive bloodied Torax through the bridge exit. Elyek was back on the bridge, with Ember safe. They began frantically searching through the bodies for signs of life, as did I. Elyek found no one. I found one Fystr in bad shape, but not as bad as when I left him without a head. I was about to cross the room to check on two more bodies, when the table bent outwards, crumpling.
Elyek was near the doors, they screamed for me to run. I levitated over with the noise of the table's integrity degenerating a terrifying counterpoint to my mad dash. I really didn’t need to get sucked into space today on top of everything else that had happened. I flew through the door that Elyek was holding open, landing in a pile amongst the other survivors. As Elyek let the doors close, we heard the table finally pop through the hull and the sudden depletion of air as the doors finally sealed.
Once again getting to my feet, I laid Havok into Calparr’s unconscious hands. “You're healing everyone as much as you can, Havok. No complaints, I can fill you back up.”
“Of course, Shaun,” he answered, sounding subdued, but immediately began pushing healing energy into Calparr’s body.
I continued to pass him around to everyone, so at the very least they were stabilized. As amazing as he was, there were wounds even he couldn’t heal fully.
Finally I sat down next to Ember, and in the flickering lights, I held her. When she came around, she smiled at me weakly at me, then covered her mouth, self-conscious at the lack of teeth along one side. I kissed her gently on the head and pulled her tighter.
“How are you still alive?” she asked groggily.
“By being very lucky, Ember.”
“You’re damn near unkillable,” she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief at my recent dance with death.
“If he took my head off, that would’ve been curtains for me. I'm lucky I only got stabbed through the heart. Not that it matters how resilient I am, if everyone else around me dies,” I said, emotion coming into my voice. The image of Calegg’s lifeless face haunted me. It was like losing a brother. I didn’t even know if Ember was aware he was gone yet, and I didn’t have it in me to let her know right now.
“We’re all hurting, Shaun. But I promise you, we’d have all died in there if not for you, so console yourself with that at least.”
Everyone still conscious sat bolt upright when the ship shook, loud clanging noises echoed around the corridor. We were essentially blind here; no comms, nothing. We just had to hope that it was the Haven and not the Fystr returning. I didn’t think what was left of us would survive a second round.
Letting go of Ember I stood. Havok came to my hand, having done what he could with the survivors. If it was trouble, then it would at least meet me first and not a bunch of my half-dead friends. I heard another bang, this time coming from down the corridor away from the bridge. I moved towards the sounds, when I felt the air pressure increase noticeably. More noise and the sound of distant footsteps approached. Moving onward, I hefted Havok up ready for anything. That was until I had a vague sense of Acclo’s presence. I continued toward the sounds more quickly, letting Havok fall when Acclo appeared running along the corridor, followed by yet more friendly faces.
“Thank fuck it’s you lot! There are people in bad shape. We lost too many,” I said desperately. “How did the fight outside go? We’ve been completely blind.”
“We’re safe. The Haven is substantially overpowered compared to the Empire ships and the Guegumar Stars surrounding you,” Acclo said.
“Did they all get away?”
“We got five of them, but one escaped.”
“Damn, do you know if you got the ship that was attached to us?”
“No, they were the first to flee. The other ships remained behind to cover their escape. Why?”
I groaned. “Shit! That ship had Zarime on it. An immensely powerful Fystr, second only to their Emperor.”
“Oh, it would have been a massive boost to have killed him, then,” Acclo replied sympathetically.
“Yeah, it really would. What’s happening now then?”
“We are already making our way back to the Apochros Fleet.”
“Good, we need to get away from here. This did not go anything like we planned.”
“It never does,” Ember added, appearing by my side.
“Come on, let's get you to Ialos,” I said to Ember.
“Me? You daft shite, I just got kicked by a mule. You got stabbed through the fucking heart. I think you need a check over yourself.”
“Maybe. Okay then, meeting in the medical… place. Uhm, where is the medical place?”
“The only current active Medical Hub is in Quadrant One. Come, I will take you,” Acclo insisted.
And so, the sorry remnants of our party were led or carried down to the Medical Hub.
Chapter 28
The Great Leveler
In the Medical Hub Ialos checked my main wound over. It was all good; fully healed with not even a scar left to document the ordeal. After I was given the all clear, I made my way to the bridge. Under the pretense of needing to be there, but the truth was that I couldn't bear to be surrounded by my injured friends. Their faces caused me to recount each face that didn’t make it off the Uprising with us. They were all medicated now and not in any pain, the physical kind at least. The burdens they now carried on their souls were etched in each of their eyes. I had no doubt they each blamed themselves for not doing enough… not being enough. Just as I did.
By the time I made it to the bridge, we had already jumped to our allocated coordinates within Apochros space. The area around the fleet was just too busy to make the jump straight there. We were now just making our way towards the patiently waiting fleet. I tried to visualize the mass of Apochros Alliance ships by our side smashing the oncoming Fystr fleet into a pulp. It helped with the other thoughts that I didn’t want to have, just not enough.
I greeted everyone with nods. I had no smiles left in me today. Then I took my seat, to stare blankly at the star-studded screen in something like a trance.
A little while later, Wulek got my attention. “Captain, we have a communication coming through from Jezai’s ship, The Dominance II.”
“Hail Haven. Please, make your way to the center, following the course I have sent over for you.”
“We will do, Jezai. May I ask why? What is going on?”
“We are laying mines. We couldn’t be sure that you would follow the exact path we laid out before you left, so we refrained from placing the last of them until you returned.”
“I hope they’re particularly big and nasty mines. That’s all the shit-stains deserve.”
“I doubt they have experienced much like this before. I heard about your encounter with the Fystr. I am terribly sorry for the people that you have lost, Shaun. We will make them regret the harm they have done.”
“What about the Galactic Empire presence out there?”
“I hope they do not get involved, but if they do, I am confident we will be able to beat them too. Once you’ve seen what an Apochros Alliance fleet can achieve when defending its home, you too will share that confidence.”
“I bloody hope so,” I said as we ended the communication and moved onward toward the fleet.
The fully formed Apochros Alliance Fleet was a sight to behold: thousands of immense, dangerous ships numbering far greater than the fleet we had first met upon entering this place.
Before we had made it to our spot in the line, Ember appeared on the bridge. “Hey Shaun, how’re you holding up?” she asked with concern as she took her seat next to me.
Meeting her eyes, I offered a grim smile. “I keep thinking I see him out the corner of my eye, or hear his bloody voice across the bridge. And as bad as I feel about losing Calegg, I then feel even worse because I’m not thinking about the others who died, hardly at all. Just that fucker. I can’t believe we’ve lost him, Ember. It makes me feel like someone’s got their hands in my guts and they’re twisting them.”
“I get it,” she said, resting her hand on my arm. “It was Calegg. He was special. I didn’t know many of William’s crew that well, but I’d become close with Amnarr and Roger on the station. I’m hoping hurting these bastards badly now might help ease the pain.”
I nodded grimly, and we fell into a contemplative silence.
The next day passed in a haze for me, steeped in misery as I was. I’d spoken intermittently to Jezai, but he got very little out of me. The first stirrings of passion only emerged when we received a message that we’d been waiting for. “They’re coming, Captain,” Wulek said from the communications station. “They are approaching the minefield.”
I squinted at the main display to see if I could see anything. “Can we magnify them?”
“Yes sir,” Wulek answered. The display shifted, but I still couldn’t make anything out. “That's as far as we can go, Captain. We may see more once they reach the mines.”
We watched and waited expectantly. A minute passed before we saw it. A line of bright, flaring light.
“Shit! That looked like we got a ton of them.”
Wulek didn’t respond straight away, studying their terminal with keen interest. “Reports are coming that we caused damage, but so far no ships have been destroyed.”
“I suppose their main purpose was to lower their shields. The rest will be down to us,” Ember added, watching the big viewing screen as intently as me.
“There are supposedly more mines. We might get lucky.”
More of a light show lit up the screen. “Did any go down that time?” Ember asked eagerly before I could.
Again, Wulek focused on their station before turning to us. “No, all those mines were shot down.”
“Damn! Though I suppose a super-intelligent, advanced race walking blindly into a second set of mines would be a bit much to expect from them. Bastards!” I growled at the display as they moved closer. They came to a halt outside the range of the second line of Beler stations and our fleet.
The maneuver was shortly followed by a communication from Jezai. “Shaun, I have an incoming from the Fystr. I assume you would wish to be involved in any exchange.”
“Hell yeah, link me in, Jezai.”
We waited in silent expectation until Zarime’s sneering face popped up on the screen, although the smirk dropped slightly when he saw I was involved. Two smaller screens below him showed Jezai and myself.
“You managed to scurry back to your friends then, Shaun? That is good. I like to keep all my enemies in one place. Easier to exterminate.”
“Who will you practice your shit speeches with now, Zarime? You know, since Lorelei is no longer with us. Her energy did a lovely job of healing my chest. Thanks for leaving her in there for a while, you fucking bell-end!”
His face went bright red with anger, and fuck me, if that didn’t make me smile for the first time since meeting him.
Drawing each word out like its own individual punishment, he replied, “I don’t know how you did that, but I guarantee I will extract the truth from you slowly.”
“Zarime, I’m not being funny here, mate, but for a maxed out 95 percenter you’re pretty fucking basic! If you’re the best the Fystr have to offer, then seriously, I’d just toddle the fuck off back home. Maybe send the actual Emperor next time.”
I saw him visibly wrestling with his emotions. Which just goes to show, you can develop skills and then not actually use them, and let’s face it, if anyone knows that it’s me! Zarime chose wisely to ignore me. I was having too much fun with the arrogant bastard, and I was clearly getting under his skin. He instead addressed Jezai.
“Leader of the traitors, it is you I am here to speak to. You have been discounted all these years, yet you have not been forgotten.
“While hunting for these miscreants, we found out some remarkably interesting things from our Galactic Empire friends. And now we are here we can see for ourselves that you have developed quite the little empire of your own, all hidden away out of our sight. We were actually satisfied that the humans were dead after your little subterfuge. So why didn’t we leave, you may ask yourselves?” An odious smile crept over his face. “I have come this far today merely to deliver a message. We remained to enter talks with the Galactic Empire, and it seems they very much want this part of their empire back. Which falls in line with our own desire to clear this part of the galaxy of treacherous Fystr rebels and finally put to rest the shame you placed on our people.”
I was proud of Jezai’s response as he laughed a hearty chuckle full of contempt. “You speak of our people’s shame? Your hypocrisy makes a fool of you, and I see that nothing has changed in all the time that has passed. Now, as then, this is a wasted conversation. I will merely say that we are here, and we have built the strength needed to finally oppose your cruelty. If you wish to continue the argument, let our weapons do the talking. That is the only language Fystr truly understand.”
Zarime returned the laugh. “We are not here to fight today, only to deliver terms. My offer is quite simple. Every last traitor and their offspring must surrender, or we will raze this entire sector. There is no doubt you have developed an impressive defense here. I am not so foolish as to throw my fleet upon it needlessly, when it is not necessary to do so. We have waited this long, we can and will wait a little longer.
“Having agreed on an alliance with the Galactic Empire to remove you from this part of the galaxy entirely, we will now wait while they muster their forces. Furthermore, a small messenger force has been sent in Guegumar Star vessels, to gather reinforcements from our home territory. Ultimately, you were too weak to effect change so long ago, and I doubt your spine has strengthened enough since, to face the full might of the Fystr and the Galactic Empires combined forces.”
Message delivered, Zarime’s grin could not have been wider. To be fair to him, he’d just done a right number on us. I imagined the Apochros would all be panicking after that bomb. He was proving to be a lot smarter than I’d given him credit for.
Jezai genuinely didn’t look or sound aff
ected by the news. “Believe me, Zarime, my spine is in superb condition, and with the arrival of the Vakuna, our resolve has hardened. We entered into this encounter to deal a blow to your corrupt and poisonous culture, but we knew it would not end here. If you wish to speed up your inevitable demise, then that is celebrated by us.”
Zarime appeared to ignore everything that Jezai had said, but for one word. “Vakuna! What nonsense is this, traitor? You expect me to believe you have spawned the Vakuna?”
“Not us, but you. I believe you have already met him,” Jezai smiled.
“Hey Zarime, you big-headed bastard,” I said with a two-fingered salute.
“You! You’re this supposed Vakuna?” he said, his face a mix of emotions I wouldn’t like to decipher, other than to say he wasn’t fucking impressed.
“Apparently so. Am I as big a deal for your lot as I am for the Apochros? I mean, 99 percent Potential beats 95, right?”
His facial gymnastics had settled into a thoughtful expression. “This makes a certain amount of sense. There is no way any of you should have walked away from that ship. If you truly are the Vakuna as our prophecies predict and you have the potential to ascend, then yes. You are the single most important being for the Fystr to destroy.”
“Wow,” I said, fanning my face with my hand, “I feel a little embarrassed from all this attention.”
He didn’t rise to my mocking this time. He just kept talking as if I hadn’t said anything at all. Finally, the prick was learning. “Until you are dead, there will be no peace in this galaxy.”
“Uhm, there’s already no peace.”
“You are a child! What do you know of peace? All you have done so far is create chaos. That is the true nature of the Vakuna.”
“Nah, it means I’m the savior, or some shit like that.”
“No. It means the great leveler.”
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