“Yeah, well, whatever powers we have outside the Termination Shock, so does she. We thought it through, Jason,” said Charlie.
“Warning. Warning.” sounded Jane over the com.
“We’ve got to prepare her for another jump,” said Killian. “Back to the Termination Shock.”
Jason looked at Kaito. “Get her ready.” He then rushed with his crew to the bridge and took the captain’s chair.
Killian leapt down into his station with the others and started typing furiously. He flung an image up onto the screen, and Jason cursed aloud when he saw the size of the Vorrak fleet. A majority of the ships were V-shaped, though there were other, larger pyramids flying toward them, capstone leading the way.
“Charlie?” said Jason.
“Setting a course back to the original jump site, Captain. Seven will be ready in exactly sixty seconds.”
“That’s no good,” said Killian. “The Vorrak will be on us in forty-five seconds.”
“You should have left me behind,” said Jason.
“Sir, if I may...”
“If you’ve got something to say, Pal, then just say it!”
“Perhaps we can buy some time. Fifteen seconds to be exact.”
“Go on.”
“Hail them, sir. I will talk to them. They are, after all, cousins of mine. In a sense, sir.”
Jason glanced at Pal warily. “Yeah, that’s all I need is you getting hacked by ancient robots bent on our destruction. Now that I think of it, power down.”
“Sir...”
“That’s an order!”
“Yes, sir.” Pal powered down, his head slumping.
“Hail the Vorrak,” said Jason. “I’ll talk to them myself.”
“Thirty seconds until H-Drive jump,” said Jane.
“Jane, silent countdown. Mae, hold this position.”
“Sir, we’ve established radio communication,” said Killian.
“This is Jason Eriksson of the U.N. Space Fleet. Who am I speaking to?”
The main holo-screen pixelated and died out, before blasting awake with color and white light. A figure appeared in the white glow, and to Jason’s shock, it wore a male human face. “Jason Eriksson, surrender and prepare to be boarded.”
Jason glanced at the countdown displayed on his console. Fifteen seconds.
“You never told me who I’m talking to,” said Jason.
Fourteen...
Thirteen...
Twelve...
“I am called Billion 927,” said the Vorrak.
Ten...
Nine...
Eight...
“Well, Bill, can I call you Bill?”
The Vorrak cocked his head in curiosity.
Seven...
Six...
Five...
“I’ve got a message from Earth,” Jason continued.
“Which is?” said the curious Vorrak.
Three...
Two...
One...
“Fuck you!”
H-Drive engaged.
There was a flash of light, and the next moment the fleet was gone. A reboot symbol appeared on the holo-screen as new readings came up.
“Report!” said Jason.
“We’re back,” said Charlie. “We’re back!”
The crew cheered and hugged each other, and Charlie raced up the steps from her console and crashed into Jason, kissing him hard on the mouth. They fell out of his captain’s chair and laughing, rolled across the floor.
“Mae!” said Jason. “Steer us home, full speed ahead!”
Chapter 32
Homeward Bound
The journey home would take four days at maximum speed, which was fine with Jason. He didn’t want to use Seven for such a short jump, and not inside the Termination Shock. She had saved their lives, and she deserved a rest. After the short celebration Jason and Charlie went to the engine room to see her. Kaito had opened the sphere, and Seven sat on a chair among the wires and blinking network staring at the floor.
Jason approached as one might an injured fawn, and he knelt before her. He offered her a genuine smile, which she returned. Jason hadn’t seen that smile in five years, and he choked down the sudden flare of emotion.
“How you doing, kid?”
She blinked, her face locked on that smile, but it was an afterthought. “I don’t know.” She glanced at the pod. “It’s better than being asleep, in there.”
“You don’t like it in there?”
She shrugged. “I have bad dreams when I float in the dark water.”
“You don’t have to go in there anymore if you don’t want to.”
“Okay.” She gave Jason a hug, but before he could return it she flinched back. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I grabbed you.”
“It's just ...don’t know what a hug is?”
She shrugged.
“Seven, have you ever been outside before?”
The little girl shook her head.
“Well, I tell you what. When we get back to Earth, I’m going to take you to the ocean. We’ll kick back a little, listen to some Jimmy Buffett. What do you say to that?”
Seven eagerly nodded her head. She looked at Charlie. “Can she go?”
Jason smiled back at Charlie as she came to kneel before Seven as well. “Yeah, she can come.”
“Are you my parents?” Seven asked, and the hope in her eyes broke Jason’s heart. He couldn’t have answered her if he knew what to say.
Charlie put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at Jason. “We can be.”
Seven hugged them both, and Kaito sniffled as he worked at the station connected to the sphere.
Jason stood and went to his old friend, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Kaito, I’m sorry your family got mixed up in this. We’re going to find them, and we’re going to free them.”
“Cap...” Kaito fell into his arms and broke down, crying into Jason’s shoulder. He quickly recovered, and sniffling, he looked back at Jason. “Thanks, Cap, and I’m sorry. I failed you. I failed the whole crew.”
“No more of that, all right? Not from me and not from you,” said Jason.
“All right, Cap.”
Jason turned to regard Seven mischievously. “Have you ever had chocolate?”
She shook her head.
“Well, come with me, my dear. We have some of the best MRE chocolate on this side of the Termination Shock.”
Jason and Charlie brought Seven to the mess hall and together they ate MRE stew and biscuits. Seven ate little, but when she tasted a brownie for the first time her big green eyes lit up.
Jason had a million questions for his daughter’s clone, but she had mentally transported the ship 2,400 light years in less than twenty-four hours, and he figured she needed a break from reality. She enjoyed the brownies, but it seemed that the sweets were too much for her virgin system. After complaining about a stomach ache, Seven let Jason scoop her up and bring her to his bed.
Charlie and Jason both kissed her on the head and bade her a good night, but the girl needed no coaxing, and was asleep before they had slipped out of the room.
Jason took a long, slow breath in the hallway, steadying himself.
“How you holding up?” Charlie asked.
Jason meant to say that he was just fine, but the stress of the last twenty-four hours, the heartache of the realization that he had killed Ember, and the presence of Seven had left his nerves and his emotions frayed. He broke down in her arms. Charlie held him close, stroking his hair and nuzzling her cheek close. Shoulders slumped, Jason unloaded his tears onto her hair, sobbing like a child.
After a few minutes, Jason got a hold of himself and wiped his face. Charlie was crying as well and laid a salty kiss on him. Her warm lips soothed his aching heart and gave him hope.
“Can we really keep her?” she whispered.
Jason looked into her eyes and fell in love with her all over again.
“Who’s gonna stop us?” he said, smiling.
“There are more of her, more clones of Ember.”
“I know,” said Jason. With everything that had happened, he hadn’t had time to consider how he felt about that. On one hand he was glad, but on the other, he was angry that they were being raised in a lab. And how had they grown to her age in so few years? Cloning was still illegal, even though every country knew that every other country was doing it. The practice was kept under wraps, and Jason hadn’t stayed up to date with the latest innovations.
“One thing at a time, I guess,” said Charlie.
“Yeah, one thing at a time.”
They reported to the bridge and found the crew watching the footage of Jason’s encounter with Iria’Nan. Jason felt in his pocket and withdrew the crystal. He moved over to Pal and pushed the power button on his neck.
Pal powered up and looked from side to side, his pixelated face looking confused. “Where are we?”
“You’ll figure it out. Listen, I need you to try to figure out how to ...I don’t know, connect to the crystal.”
Pal took it. “Iria’Nan’s essence,” he said with wonderment.
“What’s up with you?” said Jason. “Why do you always act so...”
“Human?” said Pal, his face hopeful.
“Did I say that? Why would I say that? Just do what I tell you.”
“Yes, sir,” said Pal, beaming.
Jason moved to his captain’s chair and watched the rest of the meeting play out. It all seemed like a dream now. He flexed his hand, staring at it. He could feel the difference in his body since returning to the solar system. Whatever the moon was giving off, it was still working.
“First contact,” said Killian, extending his hand. “Congratulations, Captain.”
“Heh.” Jason hadn’t considered that.
“Seems like once again you’ve made history,” said Mae.
“We’ve made history, Mae. And we’re about to make a hell of a lot more.”
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading The Man Who Broke the Moon. Devin and I love to hear what you thought of the story. Did you love it? Do you want more? You can leave a review HERE and let me know.
If you liked The Man Who Broke the Moon, I invite you to follow me on Amazon and browse my extensive back catalog, including the USA Bestselling series Legends of Agora and Epic Fallacy.
You can expect book 2, The Man Who Blew up Pluto, to be released very soon.
Thanks for reading.
Best,
Michael James Ploof
Other Books by Michael James Ploof
The Man Who Broke the Moon
The Man Who Blew up Pluto – Coming Soon
Rebirth Online
Rebirth Online 2
(Legends of Agora Novels)
Whill of Agora
A Quest of Kings
A Song of Swords
A Crown of War
Kingdoms in Chaos
Champions of the Gods
The Mantle of Darkness
Dark Echoes of Light
The Warcrown Legacy
Talon
Sea Queen
Exodus
Blackthorn Rising
(Orion Rezner Chronicles)
Afterworld
(Epic Fallacy Novels)
Champions of the Dragon
Beyond the Wide Wall
The Legend of Drak’Noir
The Mother of Zuul
(The Dragon Throne War)
A Dream of Fire
(Doomsday Sheriff)
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