Quasar

by Philip R Benge

  “Sir, we have to leave now, they are requesting your presence down on the planet.” Demanding to know why he was not already on the way would have been more accurate, for doubts had already begun to eat away at the resolve of the Regan grand council to participate in his plans, plans that may allow them to snatch victory from this terrible defeat. Amundsen smiled grimly, well his troops would ensure that their leaders stayed within the command centre, stayed to ensure that the final victory was theirs, if things went according to plan.

  Olsen stood just behind Amundsen, his haggard features telling of the new pressures that had been put upon him since he had been made up to the rank of captain, and the agonies that he had endured during and since the battle for the planet Emanuel. He expected to endure more in the coming hours, but tired as he was, he was more concerned for the man before him than for his own safety. The admiral had seemed to have shrunk visibly during the short time that the battle had occurred, and Olsen was now worried that the admiral might be unable to lead his troops down on the planet Remus. Without him the rest would certainly fold, defeat at this point seemed certain to Olsen, unless he could bring Admiral Amundsen out of the terrible state that he was in and back to the man that his people needed now more than ever.

  Amundsen matched Olsen in height but his grey hair had all but gone, and now he looked a great deal older than his sixty years of age. He was still quite handsome with deep blue coloured eyes and a rugged looking chin that had a dimple in its base. Amundsen looked away from the large view screen and gave his attention to the man who had shared part of his journey through hell, whose heart had ached every time he had seen a fellow Regan die at the hand of Quasar.

  “You go ahead to the lifeboat Mikel, I have to collect something from my cabin, you go and I will join you in a minute.” Amundsen urged Captain Olsen and then he smiled at the young officer, albeit very weakly.

  Olsen stayed though until his admiral had preceded him from the bridge, even then he felt guilty at leaving the admiral instead of shepherding him along to the comparative safety of the lifeboat, which even now awaited the only remaining flag officer left alive in the Regan fleet. The reason that Olsen went to the last lifeboat was to ensure it did not leave without the admiral. However, his helmsman was there to ensure that it did not happen, for David admired his captain and would never commit any action that might endanger him.

  Amundsen ran through the now empty corridors of his ship, the screaming of metal and the noise of the klaxon seeming to exclaim to him personally, of the tragedy that was still unfolding aboard the ship. He should have been heading for the lifeboat station that was waiting impatiently for his presence, but instead he stopped off to collect a package from his cabin, something that even in this time of the utmost peril he could not leave behind. He hurriedly pushed it into a bag and then looked for the last time at the cabin that had been his other home for so many years. He could never have imagined life without the Rega as a part of it; now for whatever time was left to him he would have to live elsewhere. Only now did he turn to leave to re-join the remaining crewmembers, so that they too could leave the stricken vessel before it began its fateful plunge into the atmosphere about the planet Remus.

  Leaving the cabin, he ran down a corridor that was once filled with the cream of the corps, but now was only filled with the ghosts that he had tried to escape from ever since this war had began. The twilight cast by the red emergency lighting reinforced the message of death and disaster, blaming him for the deaths of his crew. The power that was Quasar was unbeatable by a people such as theirs; the Regans who had been twisted by Quasar were no guiltier of treason than an electronic device that began to work as soon as it was switched on.

  He did not see the last ghost until he tripped over it, the body of a young officer lying on the floor in the middle of a disaster that had engulfed him. It took only a quick examination to show that the man was dead, for his head lay at such a gruesome angle to the rest of his body. All that Amundsen could do was to whisper a quick prayer for the dead officer’s soul. After all the deaths that he had witnessed in this ugly war, Amundsen should have been hardened to death, but with the end nearly in sight the death of one so young finally got through his tough exterior. Tears slid down his smoke stained face as the image of this young officer introducing himself for the first time flashed before his eyes. The young officer had been boarding the starship for his first trip aboard the Rega. He had been filled with a wondrous joy, for he was to be serving aboard the flagship of the Regan fleet. Now he was dead, a body without a soul. Two hours previously the flagship had been filled with such men, all glad to be serving with the last great fleet of the Regan Empire, now Amundsen was leaving its flaming ruins, all that remained of the Regan fleet. His heart was so heavy now, with the weight of so many men’s souls on his conscience, men who had died without his having any chance to do anything to save them. With even all of this on his mind, he still could not give himself the time to grieve, for he still had one last thing to do. Amundsen walked away from the body of the young officer and moved towards the open door of the lifeboat, and to the last chance that remained for the free peoples of the galaxy. Soon it would be over, soon they would be able to return home, the lucky ones that is, and to grieve for what had been and what could have been.

  A relieved Captain Olsen greeted his admiral when Amundsen finally joined him, and they were able to escape from the stricken starship, and before it dragged them down in a fiery embrace to the planet below.

  “Thank god you have arrived Sir.” Olsen’s relief was plain to see on his youthful face. “Whatever delayed you could not have been worth risking your life, or the galaxy its last chance of defeating Quasar.” Olsen protested to his commanding officer.

  Amundsen took out a photograph from the bag in his hand, it was of his only son, Colin, the only thing that he had left to remember him by, now that his son was dead. He had been forced to witness his son’s death when the starship Remus had exploded in a giant burst of energy, which was so bright that it lit up the bridge of every ship in the fleet.

  “Captain, this is worth more to me than the galaxy itself, for if we must die then I will have this photograph of him at my side, now that that monster Quasar has taken his life.”

  Olsen looked slightly guilty for having complained to Amundsen about his action, for he too had lost a member of his family in this awful war, and he too carried a photograph of him, as well as photographs of his wife and children. Olsen knew that he too would not be without them, especially at such a time as this. No, he believed that the admiral’s action were correct, whatever the consequences.

  The lifeboat left the doomed space cruiser with a slight jerk and then David, who was piloting the lifeboat, fired the single small engine and took it down to the space port of Remus. As soon as they had landed, and before leaving the small craft, Amundsen looked across at Olsen.

  “Let’s make sure that we finish Quasar once and for all Mikel, if we slip up now that monster is going to continue killing, and those we left back home will be in the firing line then. Anyway, we owe it to all of our friends that we have lost in this bloody war to finish it here, and we will not get a better chance now to do just that.” With these words, Amundsen left the lifeboat and led the way to the waiting president of Rega and his grand council.

  As Olsen walked after his admiral his thoughts for a moment returned to the last time that he had seen his wife and two daughters, it had been the day that he had spoken with the president. He had not even spoken with them since then, preparing for the battle and then the retreat had made it impossible, and now secrecy made it even more so. Who knew what he might let slip, he could not allow Quasar the chance to intercept their communications and perhaps hear an indiscreet revelation said in an unguarded moment, the chance of throwing away their last chance of victory was unthinkable.

  **********

  Quasar stood upon the bridge of his flagship Andromeda, his crew, still at their bat
tle stations were apparently untouched by the battle, and for so victorious a crew, their appearance was hardly that of the cream of the galaxy. In fact, their old friends of the Regan space corps would have been amazed at their condition now, their gaunt features testifying to the stress that they lived under. Their eyes were haunted by the many atrocities that were committed by them, and all for the greater power of Quasar. The only good thing about it was that they could not remember what they had actually done while in the power of Quasar, all they knew was the feeling of guilt that engulfed their every waking moment.

  The lift doors whooshed open behind them and two security guards walked onto the bridge, between them an officer of the Regan space corps struggled in their grasp. Lieutenant Carl Peterson had not been in the fleet long, he looked more suited to college rather than to the deck of an enemy vessel, which is where he was now. He was much shorter than Quasar, who towered over all of the bridge crew. His struggles ceased immediately as Quasar turned to him, and he felt Quasar’s eyes fix upon his and locking them in place. Quasar laughed, a sadistic gleam came into his eyes as he turned to take out a small box from a table next to his command chair, and he pulled out of it a small round electronic device. Quasar now approached Peterson, who renewed his struggles in a new but desperate attempt to escape, however it was futile. Peterson felt Quasar’s eyes boring deep into his brain, dragging to the surface everything that he knew. Quasar pushed the electrical device against the side of Peterson’s head and pressed the centre of it. A sharp needle shot from it to penetrate deep within Peterson’s head, he now belonged to Quasar.

  “Tell us Lieutenant of the whereabouts of your commanders, tell us which hole I might find them skulking in after this, their final humiliation?” Quasar demanded to know.

  The initial struggle within Peterson’s brain was plain for all to see, as was the agony that exploded upon his face. A scream of pain and revulsion at what he might be about to divulge exploded from his mouth.

  “Stop struggling Lieutenant, and you will find it easier on yourself.” Quasar whispered in Peterson’s ear.

  Peterson, for just an instant, found the strength to answer Quasar, and he swore an oath of allegiance to the Regan Empire.

  “I am an officer of the Regan space corps, and I swear to defend the empire for as long as I have the strength to do so. Kill me if you wish, but I will never willingly become one of your zombies.” He said grimly as a spasm of pain rushed through his body, he almost fainted as it entered his brain; only the fact that the two security officers were holding him upright stopped him from collapsing to the floor.

  The officer’s strength of character was lost upon Quasar’s zombies, who did not seem to notice the disgust hurled at them by the young officer, nor the many questions that leapt into his eyes as he took on all that he saw upon this bridge. However, the officer did not understand the full power of Quasar’s mind control, and so he was very unfair to his former comrades, as for his questions they would soon be answered.

  Quasar actually smiled at this final show of independence from Peterson, and his cruel laugh almost froze the officer’s blood. Quasar’s eyes fixed once more upon those of Peterson, who tried frantically to turn his eyes away from the wide staring eyes before him, but they seemed to fill the room. He panicked when he realised that he could not turn away from Quasar, he felt the eyes boring once more into the hidden recesses of his mind, everything he knew Quasar now knew. His head threatened to explode as the pain within it increased, it was almost as if Quasar was using his hands to sift through Peterson’s memories. The pain now entered every part of his body, his screams filled the bridge of the starship, but no one seemed to notice, for only Quasar’s zombies were there. The small part of the zombie`s brain that noticed saw it all as a continuing nightmare, however, they were unable to do anything but obey Quasar.

  “Lieutenant, tell your new comrades what juicy bits of information you were trying so ineptly to conceal from me.” Quasar ordered the pain-racked officer.

  The young officers face twisted in pain as his old world dissolved into a nightmare as he listened to every word that was dragged from his brain until he had betrayed everything that he felt to be good and true.

  “The president and the grand council of the Regan Empire are on the planet Remus; they were watching the progress of the battle from their new forward command centre.” Sweat covered Peterson but he still summoned up the strength to scream a promise at Quasar, as for a moment only the command of his brain was returned to him.

  “Remus will be the site of your first and final defeat, and may your soul rot in hell, we awaiting the arrival of a new super weapon that will destroy you and your army of zombies.”

  Quasar dismissed the brave officer’s words as sheer bravado; he saw it in the lieutenant’s brain, now that he was back under his control. Quasar burst into laughter, well if such a weapon had existed then he would have been on the planet to receive it, waiting for it to be delivered into his hands while he slowly tortured to death all those who had led the fight against him. However he would have had someone else to try it out first, he would not want a repetition of what happened on the moon of Morania to happen again, for the Moranians too had spoken of a super weapon.

  Quasar had allowed himself a moment to collect his thoughts, while he was doing so, Peterson recovered fast from the stranglehold that Quasar had upon his mind. Peterson somehow knew that within seconds his brain too would be completely subjugated to the supreme will of Quasar, never to rise again, he too would be a zombie. He shrugged off the two security men and grabbed hold of one of their Phaser pistols, aiming it at Quasar, he sent a killing bolt of energy at the maniac who had destroyed an empire. It whistled through the air to strike Quasar, the noise of the energy bolt seemingly hanging there even after it had struck Quasar. Quasar was stunned, mentally, for a moment, but he shrugged off the power of the Phaser bolt. Peterson too was stunned, but in the last second that was truly his he turned the Phaser pistol on himself and fired another bolt of energy that killed him, even as Quasar attempted to regain control of the young officer’s mind.

  Quasar’s rage exploded in the moments that it took the young officer’s body to hit the floor. “You fools, I still needed him alive, I had not finished questioning him yet, you will pay for your clumsiness.”

  Quasar allowed the two security guards to recall all that they had done while under his control, for all of Quasar’s zombies had a part of their brain turned off that prevented them from recalling the consequences of their actions. However, now the consequences of their past actions since their enslavement exploded into their poor minds, and they were so terrible that they instantly sent the two men to the edge of insanity. They screamed as images of the terrible abuse they had inflicted on others flashed across their minds, how their actions had betrayed their world, their families. However even this pain was nothing to what Quasar now inflicted on them. They screamed out pleas for mercy as they felt their minds racked by the most terrible pain, it felt as if an eagle’s talons had entered inside their heads, and it was shredding everything. One of the guards lost his mind completely now, the knowledge of what he had done while in the power of Quasar, and coupled with the terrible pain within his head made him act. He threw himself to the floor at Peterson’s side, grabbed the fallen Phaser, and then attempted to turn it on himself. Quasar’s rage increased as he saw the guard attempting to commit suicide, and his rage caused the guards brain to explode, blood and pieces of human brain flew across the bridge to spatter the crew, who made no move to wipe it off, lest they too were noticed. If the guard was to die then he, Quasar, would be the deciding factor, not some imbecile scrabbling at his feet, he kicked a piece of the guards brain tissue in disgust before turning back to the other guard. He now attempted to commit suicide by using his own weapon upon himself, but Quasar fired his own weapon at the weapon in the officer’s hand causing it to explode. The flash of the explosion temporarily blinded all upon the bridge, with t
he exception of Quasar. The sight of the injured officer returned first, he looked down at his injured arm and saw that he was missing his hand, it had been lost in the explosion, he screamed out in pain again, this time though it was partly in sorrow for himself. However, it was far too late for the crewman, as Quasar now increased the injured man’s heart rate until he died of a massive heart attack. Quasar smiled, he was beginning to enjoy himself at last, and revenge upon all organics was truly sweet. His attitude swiftly turned to one resembling cold steel, and he turned away from the three bodies that had one time been brave men and towards Captain Odessa.

  “Ready the invasion forces of the fleet Captain, we are going to the surface of Remus to meet with President Thorson and the grand council of Rega.”

  The icy coldness in his voice was not lost upon the crew of the starship though and they obeyed his commands fearfully, not daring to glance up lest they catch his eyes, and therefore his ire. However, it should be noted that it was almost impossible not to obey the commands of Quasar, once subjected to the force of his mind, you were his to command.

  **********

  They came in low over the desert sands like huge insects, fire belching from their abdomens at the fleeing Regans below them. The defenders were blasted apart by the whistling energy bolts that exploded amongst the remaining planetary defences. Those who were nearby were flung through the air as if they were merely autumn leaves; such was the force of the explosions. They were mostly dead now, or dying, or wishing that they were dead, when later the hunters approached them. Within minutes it was all over, what was left of the spaceports inadequate defences, there merely to police the spaceport, were silent.