by James McEwan
Thad fought with every ounce of strength and skill he had. His blades whirled and slashed with such speed that the green light of the force fields blurred into a hypnotic dance of light and death. Dreenoi bodies began to pile up, but it was not enough to stop the flood of blood thirsty Dreenoi. They just kept coming, and it was not long before the defenders were over run. Thad was the last to go down as he was tackled by several Dreenoi at once.
Onboard the Eden all watched in horror as the brave men fought for their lives in vain. Freya couldn’t contain herself any longer, “We have to help them!”
Sasha grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the door, “There’s nothing we can do.”
“I’m not going to stand here and watch them die!” Freya said as she shook loose from Sasha’s grasp.
“Then turn away,” she responded coldly.
Freya, in a tone that would turn your soul to ice replied, “If you weren’t with child I’d kill you were you stand.”
“You could try,” Sasha smirked, returning her ice-cold gaze.
“Sasha! You’re out of line,” The Emperor spoke for the first time since coming onto the bridge of the Eden.
Amanda was doing her best to hold and comfort her granddaughter, while her own heart was breaking. She was just getting to know her son, and now she was watching him die. She also felt so much sorrow for Ruby, knowing that she had just met her father and was about to lose him.
It was when Thad went down to the ground that all aboard the Eden collectively inhaled in a gasp and held their breaths, Fiona’s hand went to her mouth as she stammered, “Oh God no.”
Ruby couldn’t take anymore. She broke free of her grandmother and ran to the middle of the bridge where she could see the unfortunate events unfolding on the view screen. She was holding her ears when she screamed “GO AWAY! Leave my Daddy alone!”
Outside on the ground Thad’s left arm was caught in a Dreenoi’s pincers. It was busily chomping away in an attempt to penetrate his armor, which was thankfully holding for now. His other arm, still free, was chopping away at the Dreenoi as if they were wheat in a field to be reaped. The Dreenoi were clawing and snapping, trying to find any soft point in the men’s armor. Even with hardened armor it was only a matter of time before they figured out the joints were the weakest part. Once they got through it all would be over for them. The marine who had fought his way out of the Dreenoi tunnel had been knocked down and was lying flat on his face, pinned down with his arms at his sides. Unable to get his arms free and forced to the ground, he couldn’t to do anything. He wanted to get to the charge on his back and end it for them on their own terms, but the Dreenoi had him pinned. Then it happened, a Dreenoi got hold of his left hand and with three snaps of its razor sharp pincers it bit through the soft joint and took off his hand.
Blood sprayed the sand staining it a dark red and whipped the Dreenoi into a frenzy. The Dreenoi started to attack each other just to get to the blood. Thad transmitted what he thought would be his last words, “Eve put me on speaker, I want to say goodbye.” However, before she could honor his request Ruby screamed.
Then something happened that no one ever expected, let alone believed possible. The Dreenoi stopped in unison as if they were a bunch of robots that had just been rebooted. They stood completely motionless. The three men were so stunned that no one moved. The wounded marine even temporally forget about the pain and loss of his hand.
“I said LEAVE THEM ALONE!” Ruby screamed again. Then Ruby’s eyes rolled up into her head and she started to shake. A small amount of blood dripped from her nose and her little body crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Amanda rushed to Ruby’s side and scooped her up into her arms.
Before she could say anything Fiona grabbed Amanda by the arm and pulled, “Bring her this way.”
The two women left the bridge, heading for the infirmary. Meanwhile outside the hanger the Dreenoi in unison turned and walked toward the compound entrance. Thad jumped to his feet and watched as they walked away, “That was so strange! I wonder what made them do that.”
Colonel Grunt had also regained his footing. He grabbed his wounded marine’s arm, held tight the bloodied stump and used his force blade to cauterize the wound. The marine passed out from the pain. Normally his armor would have administered a painkiller, but the Dreenoi who had attempted to make a meal of him had damaged the armors main computer and it was no longer functioning properly. “I don’t know and I don’t want to stand around to find out.” Thad understood his meaning and grabbed the wounded man under his other arm while Grunt grabbed the man by the wounded arm. Between them they drug the marine towards the Eden.
They had made it only a few meters when the wounded man came to and was able to get his feet under him, “I can run on my own.”
The three men ran as fast as they could and the seconds it took to cover the rest of the distance to the hanger seemed like hours in the eerie silence that hung over the field of fallen and strangely behaving Dreenoi. Once they made it to the hanger door the Dreenoi stopped, turned around and began to attack once more.
With everyone on board the ramp was raised, and the hatch was closed and sealed. Eve sat down in the command chair. Not that she needed to, but she was going through the motions to keep up appearances. “Alright you little bastards; eat this,” she said as she waved her hand over the control interface.
Underneath the nose of the Eden a panel opened and a powered mini-gun dropped down and spun up. The gun made the familiar whining sound just before it started spitting out little blurs of yellow death. The gun swung back and forth in a wide arc cutting down Dreenoi as if they were stocks of grass and the gun was a scythe wielded by an unseen arm. On the bridge Eve smiled as she watched at least a hundred Dreenoi met their end.
Thad strode onto the bridge, “Everyone is aboard. I think it would be a good time to leave.”
Eve nodded. Over the ship’s internal comms a chiming ding announced a broadcast, “Attention, this is your captain speaking. I would like to welcome you to air Eden, and thank you for choosing to fly with us today…”
“Eve!” Thad interrupted.
She muted the announcement, “Oh you’re just no fun.” Thad didn’t bother to respond as he gave her a look of disapproval. “Fine,” she unmuted the comm and continued. “Even though the Eden is equipped with artificial gravity and inertial dampeners, things could get a little bumpy. So for your own safety, please find a seat and strap in, or hang on.”
The Eden was fully automated; however Eve had designed it so it could be flown by a crew of four. The bridge had three stations in an arc set slightly below the command chair. Freya was sitting at one of the stations the other two had been occupied, but were now vacant. Thad slid into the station next to his wife, grabbed the straps, and fastened them into the quick release.
Colonel Grunt had joined them on the bridge and stood tall next to Eve. Thad spoke over his shoulder, “I suggest you listen to her, she’s not in the habit of exaggerating.”
“I’ll be fine right here,” he replied in his stern command manner.
“Suit yourself,” Eve said. Then she dinged the comm again, “Okay boys and girls, here we go!” She smashed the acceleration command to the max.
The Eden exploded from the hanger as if it had been shot from a cannon, and she pulled the ship into an almost vertical climb. Colonel Grunt screamed as he was swept off his feet. He was now regretting not listening to Thad. The inertial dampeners couldn’t keep up with Eve’s corrections as she wildly rolled and pitched to avoid the rain of Dreenoi landing crafts. Colonel Grunt was tossed about the cabin until he was thrown towards Eve. She had no desire to be knocked from her chair so she caught hold of him with one hand and stopped him from bouncing around the bridge.
The Eden was definitely a bird of prey, her sleek lines and hawk like nose was nothing compared to her claws. As she danced through the air, her weapon systems worked in concert clearing a path for her to rocket through. They were almost to t
he edge of space when they heard over the comm channel that the rescue ships that were sent to evacuate the downed captain’s yacht had come under fire.
“Eve,” was all Thad said.
“I’m already on it,” She rolled the Eden and pulled a tight turn. “Hang in there people, help is on the way. One minute out.”
The comms cracked, “Good to hear it! We just need you to keep them back for another two minutes. The pilot is trapped and my crew has almost finished cutting him free.”
“Understood, I’m setting up a gun run now,” Eve ended her transmission and rolled the Eden flat before pushing it into a dive. For the few seconds the ship was level, Colonel Grunt took advantage of the time to wriggle out of Eve’s vice like grasp and strap himself into the remaining station seat.
He turned to Thad, “Care to explain how she was able to do that?” referring to Eve’s superhuman strength.
Thad shook his head, “Nope.”
Freya unbuckled and jumped up, “I’ll be back,” and with that, she left the bridge.
The Eden screamed out of the sky and unleashed hell. On the ground a massive wave of Dreenoi, nearly two thousand strong, were closing in fast on the downed ship and rescue crew. They were completely unaware that death was about to fall upon them.
The Eden let loose with everything she had. Rockets, missiles, lasers, power guns, and even the main MAG (Magnetic Accelerated Gun) fired. The ordinance tore through the Dreenoi with a devastating effect. By the time the Eden swung around for a second pass the Dreenoi had all but halted their advance and were now pointing their weapons toward the sky, not that it would do them much good. Whatever weapons they had on the ground were not nearly powerful enough to penetrate the Eden’s screens.
On the ground the rescue crew finished cutting loose the pilot. With the help of the medics, he was stabilized and rushed to the waiting retrieval boat. After they were in the air they radioed the Eden, “Thanks for the assist.”
“You’re welcome. Get clear as quickly as you can. I have a little surprise planned for the Dreenoi,” Eve replied.
Two minutes later the whole of Nome was overrun with Dreenoi who were trying to find anything left to eat. High above them in space the Damocles and the Eden were accelerating away from Nome as fast as their engines would carry them. As soon as Eve felt that both ships had reached a safe distance, she sent a one-word signal to the copy of herself that was left behind on the central home computer. “Now.”
Standing in the living room of the Hammer compound the hologram of Eve stood silently waiting, watching the Dreenoi who had broken into the house fall through her as they tried to attack her hologram. Once the message was received, the hologram spoke with a voice that shook the house. “Time to burn you little yellow bastards!”
Her hologram grew brighter and brighter until she was a burning hot white light that consumed everything around her. She had locked open the trans-dimensional power conduit, and like an open gas main she let the power build until it overloaded and exploded. The moon cracked than shattered in a brilliant flash of light that some in the universe thought was small supernova.
Chapter 8
The gravitational wave that was generated when the moon exploded hit the Eden, and like an expert surfer Eve turned the ship and rode the wave. Inside the war yacht, Thad felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach as he watched what was left of his home, the only real home he had ever known, float away. He watched as some of the larger chunks drifted into the atmosphere of the gas giant, streaking across the inky blackness and leaving bright burning lines in their wake. It was almost pretty.
Thad’s thoughts were interrupted by the soft hiss of the bridge door opening as Freya stepped through. “What the hell was that?”
Eve started to talk, but Thad stopped her, “I’ll tell her Eve.”
Even more confused Freya asked as she glanced between the two of them, “Tell me what?”
Thad unbuckled, stood up, and took his wife by the hand, “I’m sorry love, but Eve had to destroy Nome. The bump we all felt was the gravitational wave created by the explosion.”
“She blew up our home?”
“Freya, she had to. We couldn’t allow the Dreenoi a chance to get off the planet. If they did they would just go on to the next world and destroy that one.”
“I see… Well I guess there wasn’t anything there that can’t be replaced,” Freya said matter-of-factly.
Thad was now the one looking confused. He had expected her to be far more upset than she appeared. Maybe she was in shock. That was it, he concluded, she just hadn’t processed it all yet. He was still trying to think of what to say next when Fiona entered the bridge.
“Eve blew up Nome,” Freya said, knowing what she was thinking before she could ask. The twins did that a lot. Thad often wondered if they too were telepathic.
“I didn’t know she could do that.”
“Neither did I, but it would seem our friend has all sorts of tricks up her sleeve.”
Thad was clearly the one going into shock as he stood there expecting to wipe away tears and console two exceedingly upset women only to find himself the one reminiscing and his wives… impressed? “You two seem a little too okay with this. Are you sure you’re alright?”
Fiona smiled and took Thad by his arm, “Oh honey, don’t get us wrong. We’re sad that our home is gone, but you have to remember we were born and raised in space.”
“The truth is I’ve missed the feel of the deck plates rumbling under my feet,” Freya chimed in.
“Even though the Eden is smooth as glass?” Thad asked still floored by their reaction.
“Figure of speech silly,” Freya squeezed his hand.
“Oh!”
“Sorry to interrupt, but how is Ruby?” Eve asked as soon as there was a lull in the conversation.
That snapped Thad out of his fog, “What’s wrong with Ruby?” There was real concern in his voice.
“She’s fine Thad. She’s awake and enjoying a bowl of ice cream with your mother.” Fiona said as she let go of Thad’s arm to check out the large bleeding gash on Colonel Grunt’s head. When he was flailing about the bridge he had hit his head and split it open. “Oh you poor man. Here let me have a look at that.”
Colonel Grunt smiled, “Thank you miss, but I’ll be fine.”
“Nonsense, now come along with me to the infirmary and I’ll get you fixed up in a jiffy.”
“No really, I’ll be okay,” Colonel Grunt insisted.
“Colonel, I’d concede and go with her before she puts you in an armbar and marches you down to the infirmary,” Thad interjected.
“Oh Thad honey, you clearly still have a lot to learn about women. I would never lay a hand on our good Colonel. If he won’t come along willingly, I’ll just have to do this,” she said as she made her eyes as big as she could, lightly fluttering her long curling lashes. She then pushed out her bottom lip into a perfectly practiced pouty look, “Oh Colonel won’t you please let me help you?”
“Well what man could possibly defend against such ruthless tactics? Madam I am powerless to resist. Please, lead the way,” Colonel Grunt laughed as he held out his arm.
She took his outstretched arm, looping hers around it. “This way Sir,” she said as she beamed a beautiful smile up to him.
As Fiona led the Colonel off the bridge Thad turned his attention to Freya, “So care to explain what happened to Ruby?”
“Not sure what happened to be honest. At first she was hiding underneath one of command consoles, but when you and the colonel were being overrun by the Dreenoi she stood up and screamed stop. That’s when everything got strange. They actually did Thad, they stopped. We watched as they turned and walked away, and right after they did her nose started to bleed and she passed out. She seems perfectly fine now though. It was just weird if you ask me.”
“Hum,” Thad thought about what she said. “She did say that she heard the monsters and knew they were coming.”
“And
if she did somehow control them, she is the first telepath to be able to connect with them,” Eve added to the conversation.
“Eve, was there anything that stood out on her health scans?” Thad asked.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. I think if I could scan her when she is using her ability I could get a better idea of what is going on with her.”
“Hum, well that aside, what are we going to do now?” Thad wondered aloud.
“We’re going to go to Isis,” Amanda said as she entered the bridge.
“What, why there?” Thad asked.
Amanda approached Eve’s chair as she answered, “Because I need to find out what’s going on. I talked to only one person, one, and that person is on Isis.”
“Who did you speak to?” Thad asked.
“Sky Marshal Quintus Drake, the supreme commander of the StarGuard fleet, and your mother’s boss,” Eve answered for her.
Not happy that Eve had monitored the call; Amanda gave her a hard look, “Are you always in the habit of listening in on your guests calls?”
Not phased one bit Eve returned her stare, “Only when it comes to the safety of my family.”
“Your family? He’s my son!” Amanda said angrily.
“Yes he is, but Thad and the twins are all that I have, and I will do anything to protect them. So if I offended you by not trusting you, a women I know nothing about who just happens to be a high ranking officer in the same military that wanted him dead just a year ago, well then deal with it. I make no apologies for my actions.”
Thad felt it was time to say something before relations could get any worse, “Okay ladies, calm down and put the claws away.”
Amanda and Eve turned to face him and in unison said, “Stay out of it Thad.”
He held up his hands, “Now hang on a second.”
It was Amanda who cut him off, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to get between two women when they’re having a disagreement?”
“Oh is that what we are having?” Eve asked. Her programing, extensive as it was, didn’t understand what Amanda was talking about.