The Crucible- The Complete Series

by Odette C. Bell

  “Nightingale,” the Captain turned around in her seat and nodded at me, “go.”

  I didn't need to be told twice. I turned hard on my foot, pivoted with my knee, and sprang towards the superfast lift.

  As I jammed my finger into the button, it couldn't arrive quickly enough, and as soon as the door pinged open, I thrust myself inside.

  As the superfast lift descended through the Ra’xon, I clutched my hand into a tight fist, pushing my fingers hard into the palm.

  I could feel my implants lodged within my elbows calling to me.

  It wasn't the Forgotten; it was my power and the promise it held.

  Because finally, finally I was doing something.

  As soon as the superfast lift arrived, I thrust myself through the doors and sprinted along the corridor until I reached the primary hangar bay.

  It was a mess of crew, running back and forth, prepping fighters, getting ready for the main assault once we breached the outer station’s perimeter and took the fight straight to them.

  I sprinted towards the light cruiser I'd been assigned to.

  There he was.

  Shepherd. He was standing just in front of it, wearing his armor, his helmet resting by his boot as he checked the barrel of his gun.

  He looked up as I approached.

  Without a word, he nodded at me.

  That was all it took.

  That flighty frantic tumble of nerves that had taken to my gut ever since the battle began solidified into courage.

  There was something about him that always settled me down.

  “You ready?” he asked as he finished manipulating his gun, swung around, and slammed it against the magnetic holster along his back. With a click, the holster took the gun and Shepherd brought his hands around, knelt down, and plucked up his helmet. He locked it against his chest, drumming his fingers over it.

  I took a while to answer. Finally I nodded my head. “I'm as ready as I'll ever be.”

  He let out a short chuckle. “Me too.”

  A general alarm suddenly blared through the hangar bay.

  He nodded at me. “That's us.” He arched his head towards the light cruiser. “You first.”

  I smiled, twisted, and threw myself inside the open hatch. I took up position in the navigation chair as he sat alongside me at the piloting station.

  Silently we worked.

  A constant stream of battle data trailed over my console.

  I kept slicing my gaze towards it, checking our progress.

  Though the Star Forces were putting up a good fight, we were stronger. We’d also managed to disable far more ships than we’d had to destroy.

  For all intents and purposes, the battle was going just as we needed it to.

  But would our luck hold?

  “Ready?” Shepherd said as he nodded my way. “The Ra’xon’s finally punched through their last defenses. It's time for us to take our chances.”

  I nodded, the move jerky, my ponytail snaking across my shoulders.

  Shepherd's fingers darted across the piloting console, and I sat back and watched as our light cruiser lifted off the hangar bay floor and hovered a few meters up.

  A second later the primary lights in the hangar bay switched from red to green.

  “That's a go,” Shepherd said.

  Our light cruiser shifted forward until we punched towards the massive blue flickering shield that separated the hangar bay from space beyond.

  Despite the fact our cruiser was completely protected from the force of gravity, I still found myself locking a white-knuckled hand onto the console before me for support.

  Our cruiser swung around the side of the Ra’xon, piloting a course between her and the Miracle. It was quite a sight to see two such enormous ships hemming us in.

  At least they were on our side.

  The outer storage station was before us.

  It was a megalithic structure. Built of separate rings joined together by a long tube, it looked like a child's toy.

  A child's toy that quite possibly held the key to saving the Milky Way.

  As our small ship punched towards it, I could see the damage to the station. Hull plating span through space, and the outside rings were all singed and torn.

  “We'll arrive in three,” Shepherd snapped.

  I nodded.

  Then I forced my mind to plan what I would do.

  This would be my first real fight. Every other battle I'd ever fought had always been reactive. Either I was escaping or I was protecting myself from Commander F'val.

  This was different.

  “You ready?” Shepherd suddenly swung his head towards me, tearing his gaze off the view screen.

  I nodded again, then shifted my attention to him and somehow managed to smile. “You won't be going anywhere, will you?”

  That made him laugh, a smile cracking across his lips. “Don't worry, I'll stay right by your side. That's where it’s safest, after all.”

  I reveled in his cheeky smile, then our proximity sensors beeped, and he snapped his head back around and threw himself into the task of piloting our vessel.

  I felt my implants start to tingle. I itched to turn them on and throw myself into the fight.

  Because I could still hear them. Fainter now. But the Forgotten were always there in my mind.

  Ever since they'd destroyed half of the Star Forces, their siren call had swelled.

  I knew categorically that this would be our last chance to destroy them. If they got their hands on the technology stored in the station, the galaxy would be crushed within hours.

  “Contact in three, two, one,” Shepherd said as our ship punched into one of the hangar bays of the station.

  A few of our fighters had already gone ahead to lockdown the area, so there was no enemy fire as we swung into the bay and landed quickly.

  I punched up from my seat, locking a hand on the panel by the hatch. I twisted my head and shot Shepherd a look.

  His gaze lingered on the console before him for a few seconds until he snapped towards me and nodded. “Open it.”

  I did. I jammed my thumb into it with enough force to break the panel in two.

  The hatch opened.

  And we jumped down.

  Into the fight.

  …

  Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepherd

  So this was it. The battle to save the galaxy.

  I jumped down after Alyssa, grabbing my gun from my holster as I did.

  I received constant battle reports through the comm system of my helmet, and they assured me that the hangar bay and the hallways around it were currently secure.

  Still, if you wanted to win in war, you always had to be prepared.

  I took the lead, pointing a stiff hand forward towards one of the many doors at the back of the hangar bay.

  A few other light cruisers from the Ra’xon landed around us, touching down, sending slices of wind slamming towards us. They ruffled Alyssa's hair and played with her clothes, but couldn't do anything against my thick armor.

  With quick footfall, we reached the back of the room.

  I radioed ahead to check that the door outside was safe, then opened it.

  Into the fray.

  There were singe marks up and down the corridor, discarded weapons, a few broken panels with gel packs spewing their contents onto the floor.

  It was destruction, alright, but nothing compared to the total chaos that had occurred on the Ra’xon when those body drones had attacked, nor again the unrivaled destruction Alyssa had wrought when she’d torn through the Miracle.

  I let that memory play in my mind deliberately as I ran forward with her by my side.

  I told myself with Alyssa, we could do this.

  We could do this.

  We ran down one more corridor and came across the fight.

  In front of us was a hashed-together security station manned by resistance fighters, several directional shields protecting them as a fleet of security drone
s powered towards them down the corridor.

  Alyssa didn't pause. As I defensively ducked to the side, she walked forward, brought a hand up, and swept it to the side. Instantly all 20 drones were caught in her power, and she slammed them against the wall, holding them there, their bodies jittering and sparking until they stopped and one by one fell like dead flies to the floor.

  I knew that if she'd felt like it, she could have crushed them to dust. We were however trying to save as much tech as we could.

  The resistance members manning the security station turned around and looked at her with wonder.

  “Come with us,” I instructed them.

  Alyssa strode straight ahead.

  My gut knotted with tension at the thought of her being in harm's way, but as a station security guard came streaming down the corridor, I needn't have worried.

  She picked him up, pulled off his armor segment by segment, and crushed his gun.

  She left the man for the resistance fighters, who quickly rendered him unconscious.

  I kept wondering when she’d tire. She didn't.

  She streamed forward, walking purposefully, the thump off her boots on the floor about the only noise she made.

  She didn't scream or grunt or curse.

  She simply held her hands up, that distinct gold-yellow light playing down them in ordered patterned lines.

  The light itself was mesmerizing. The patterned symbols almost took my breath away. They were so mysterious. I wanted to stop her, grab one of her arms, and stare at them.

  Suffice to say, I didn't have time.

  Suddenly a door behind me opened, and a massive target drone barreled out.

  Before anyone could react, it slammed into my stomach and deployed its hooks. They wrapped around my back and punched into my armor.

  They didn't punch all the way through and cut me in half.

  Alyssa whirled, pulled the drone off with a dramatic motion of her hand, and crushed it.

  I fell to the floor.

  Just as I did, I rolled to the side and saw a soldier behind Alyssa lifting his gun.

  I grabbed my handgun and shot him three times in the chest, the bullets enough to disable his armor and give Alyssa the opportunity to strip it from his body.

  “Thanks,” she managed as she twisted around, offered her hand, and helped me up.

  “We're not even close to being even yet,” I pointed out as I nodded back down the corridor.

  Battle reports kept playing over my audio feed. Screams, curses, cut here and there with Captain H’agovan’s strong determined tones. We were winning.

  We had the Star Forces on the run.

  Now we just had to drive this victory home, secure the weapons, and disable the last of the station’s security systems.

  I couldn't believe it would be this easy.

  We'd been so cursed since the Forgotten had awoken that I'd expected Hell itself at every turn. Then again maybe this was just the calm before the storm.

  …

  Alyssa Nightingale

  I didn't want to admit it, but this felt good, it felt right. It felt like what I was made for. For the first time in months, maybe years, I felt truly in control. My body worked in sync, my emotions finally taking a back seat.

  It helped that Shepherd was by my side.

  He gave me the sense of security I needed – I always knew he'd have my back.

  Though the Star Forces were offering some form of resistance, it wasn't enough. We were punching through their defenses even quicker than I'd thought we'd be able to.

  In 20 minutes or so, we’d have complete control of the station.

  Then… then we’d have to see if this was worthwhile. If Admiral Shepherd had been telling the truth.

  If he hadn't… oh God, this victory would be for nothing.

  I had to forcefully push that thought from my mind lest it undermine my control.

  “We've got a pocket of resistance on deck 26.” Shepherd brought a hand up and tapped his helmet.

  They’d offered me armor of my own, but I'd rejected it.

  I'd never liked the idea of being entombed in metal. Plus, I doubted it would work with my implants. My implants would likely tear right through the armor and crush it to dust.

  We rounded another corner and faced another security station.

  I dealt with it.

  It was too easy. So easy, that I always had to measure myself. Keep my power in check unless I accidentally warped the corridor like paper.

  We blasted through the enemy security station and came to an operational room.

  Half of the resistance fighters with us paired off and secured the room.

  Suddenly Shepherd, who’d been walking beside me, stopped, back stiffening.

  I twisted my head to face him. I was relying on him for battle reports. Though I had my own comm PIP, it wasn’t broadcasting audio of the attack, lest enemy soldiers hear it. Shepherd received a constant feed through his helmet and told me whatever was important.

  “What is it?” I hissed through my teeth.

  Though I couldn’t see his face, for some reason I felt he was paling, his body stiffening from shock.

  “What is it?” I took a shaking step towards him.

  “They found Axis,” he said. His voice was soft, so soft that his audio feed probably had to boost it to make it audible.

  I… stopped. Every part of me. From my heart to my breath to my mind.

  Everything ground to a halt.

  I’d known he’d probably be on board.

  But this… this….

  Shepherd swung his head to face me. “Alyssa,” he began.

  “I’m fine.” I brought my hands up. “But where is he?”

  “You don’t have to go see him. We managed to secure him.”

  “Are you sure? What about that site-to-site transporter he has?”

  “Disabled. The Miracle has extended its shields around the station – nobody will be able to transport. We have him. But Alyssa, you don’t have to go see him.”

  It would have been so easy to take Shepherd up on his offer. Too easy.

  I’d been running from Axis my entire life. Now I had an opportunity to face him on my terms and I wasn’t going to pass it up.

  I shook my head firmly, a few loose strands of hair springing along my shoulders. “Shepherd, I need to do this,” my voice reverberated on the word need.

  He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then I heard him let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll be right by your side.”

  “No,” I said quickly before I realized what I was doing.

  “Alyssa?”

  “I have to do this on my own, Nathan,” my tone dropped. “Please, I have to face him. Have to make sense of what he did to me. Please understand.”

  Again he trailed off into a long silence. He let out another stiff sigh and nodded his head. “I understand. But we’ll be right outside. If anything happens—”

  “I’ll collapse the room,” I said.

  He stiffened.

  “Relax, it’s a joke. And nothing will happen. For the first time ever, I have the upper hand.” I turned from Shepherd, walked forward, and rolled my sleeves all the way up.

  It didn’t take long to reach the room where Axis was being held.

  Ironically, it was a training facility. It seemed that Axis hadn’t lost any time after we’d plucked the Miracle from his grasp. He’d recreated his program on this station, despite the Forgotten war.

  This was fitting. To face him in a training facility.

  But this time I wouldn’t be the prisoner – he would.

  We reached the primary door into the facility. Several resistance guards were on duty, heavy pulse rifles in their hands.

  They nodded at Shepherd.

  I took a step forward. Shepherd brought a hand out and gently rested it on my wrist. “Alyssa… you really don’t need to do this.”

  I didn’t face him. I dropped my gaze, locking it on the base of the door. �
��I know. But if I don’t do this, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  Without another word, I walked forward, he dropped his grip, and the doors opened.

  I strode into the expansive training facility.

  It was a massive room, easily the size of a hangar bay.

  It had to be, considering the pounding Axis put his telekinetic warriors through.

  With every step I took, memories flooded back in and slammed against me like waves battering a shoreline.

  Though the room was massive, I could see him. Far on the other side.

  It was a long walk to reach him, and every step my boots pounded against the floor, my ringing footfall echoing through the massive room.

  Finally I reached him.

  He was standing, a pair of electro-cuffs around his hands. The cuffs weren’t linked together, but separate. If he made any sudden movements or did anything that could be deemed dangerous, the cuffs would lock together and connect to another set of cuffs on his ankles, practically rolling him into a ball.

  It would be painful.

  I wouldn’t shed a tear.

  I can’t tell you what I felt as I stood there and finally faced my nemesis.

  Anger? Fear? Loathing?

  All of them and more. For a woman who’d always had trouble coming to terms with her emotions this was hell.

  But it was a hell I gladly faced.

  For a few seconds he did nothing but stare at me, then he took an excited step towards me, that same fatherly smile spreading across his wrinkled cheeks. “Alyssa, my dear, you've finally come home.”

  I considered him, anger stabbing through my heart.

  “Alyssa, my dear, you’re back.”

  “I’m not back,” the cold dead words dropped from my stiff lips. “I’m here to save the galaxy.”

  At that admission, he burst into the widest of smiles, his lips almost disappearing behind his ears. “Then you’re back to do what I taught you to do, what I built you to do.”

  “You didn’t build me – you tortured me.”

  “Alyssa, my dear Alyssa, you must try to understand my vision.”

  “And what’s that? Total galactic-wide destruction?”

  “Everything I did I did for the Milky Way – to develop weapons to defeat the Forgotten.”

  “Then why didn’t you leave that wall alone? You were going to use me to open it, and if you had… if you had…” my voice shook. I would have given anything to control it, but I couldn’t. Too much emotion tore through me. It felt as if I’d swallowed a hurricane.