The Crucible- The Complete Series

by Odette C. Bell

  “What?” I snapped. “But even if you’re right, and this does work, it will only work on the station.”

  “Wrong. Using the Miracle’s shield boosting technology, we’ve been able to modify our systems and tie them in to the station’s propulsion drives. Theoretically we’ll be able to create a bubble that will encompass all our ships. The bubble will only be stable for 72 hours, but that won't matter. Though this new drive will increase our speed and cancel out some of the Forgotten’s advantage, they will still catch up to us in the next 48 hours.”

  “You sure this will work?” someone asked.

  The Chief shrugged, lowered her gaze to the table, narrowed it, then nodded. “It’ll work. I’ll make sure it does.”

  The Captain nodded. “I have every faith in the Chief. That is why I have gathered you all,” she let her gaze swivel from left to right, locking it on members of the resistance and members of the Star Forces in turn, “to discuss the next stage of this plan. We have located a dead system 36 hours from here called the Omega Sector. I believe it is where we should make our last stand.” The Captain flicked her hand, and a hologram scooted towards her from the other side of the room. It flicked to show a visual of a barren star system. “It has three planets, two gas giants, and one large rocky world. No life.”

  I let that fact settle in as I stared at the barren world on the hologram.

  … So this is where we’d make our last stand. I stared at the visual of the rocky outcrops, letting my gaze slice up towards the star filled horizon.

  I could imagine myself down there in our last few moments, struggling to buy the galaxy one last chance.

  My hand tightened instinctively around the edge of the table.

  I heard Alyssa shift her head towards me. “It will be fine,” she whispered softly under her breath.

  “Our plan from now on will be to drum up as much support as we can and to complete the deployment of the endgame weapon.”

  “Even with 48 hours, how can we drum up support? From where?” I leant forward in my seat, clasping my sweaty hands over the table.

  “We have a few light cruisers at our disposal that utilize the same beyond light booster drives. The modifications are also relatively simple. We’ll be able to disseminate them to friendly forces in order to get them to the battle in time.” The Chief gestured to a new hologram that span into the center of the table. “With these modifications, you’ll be able to reach the Fogan Expanse with these drives in a little under eight hours.”

  Nobody needed to ask who was in the Fogan Expanse. The pirate factions.

  I found myself swallowing.

  “You’ll also be able to reach the remnants of the 14th and 15th Star Forces fleets.” The Chief pointed at the hologram again with two of her hands.

  “You’re gonna need a hell of a diplomat to get both the pirates and the remaining Star Forces fleets to join us,” I said as I shook my head.

  “Yes, Lieutenant Commander, we are. That is why you are going on this mission,” the Captain concluded.

  “Sorry?” I span around in my seat to stare at her.

  “Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepherd, you will be tasked with this mission. You must convince both the pirates and the Star Forces to deploy any remaining ships within range to our armada.”

  I wanted to tell her that was suicide. It was impossible.

  But this was our last hope, wasn’t it?

  Though I wanted to shake my head again or clamp a sweaty hand on my brow, I didn’t. I controlled myself and forced a nod.

  “Nightingale,” the Captain moved on smoothly, “you will…” she trailed off uncharacteristically, letting her gaze lock on the table for a few seconds, “we would not ask this under any other circumstances, but there is no other way.” She levelled her gaze at Alyssa. “You must work with Axis to perfect a plan and go through the final stages of the deployment of the endgame weapon. Once we are on the planet, it will all be down to you.”

  Every gaze settled on Alyssa.

  I would have balked. Sweated. Squirmed in my seat. She didn’t. For a few seconds she let her gaze settle on the table, then smoothly she pulled it up, locked it on the Captain, and nodded.

  “He will be restrained with magnetic security links that can be activated at any time. You’ll be in no immediate danger.”

  “I’m not scared of that. I can handle Axis,” Alyssa said in a low tone.

  Yes. She could. But could she handle her anger and desire for revenge? As soon as I thought that treacherous thought, I pushed it back.

  I shook my head, turned, and nodded at her with an encouraging smile.

  “The rest of the details of this plan will be disseminated in a briefing note. If anyone has any questions, come directly to me.” The Captain took a step back, but she did not make a move to end the meeting. Instead she stared at us all in turn once more. “I know we come from different creeds, different beliefs, different places. Hours ago some of us were enemies. Now we are not. Now we work together. For the cost of tearing asunder will be everything. I trust you all,” she said, voice echoing and punching out on the word trust, “and trust will see us prevail.” Now she took another swift step back, turned, nodded, and left.

  I didn’t want to move. Not immediately. My mind was reeling. Convince the pirates and the remaining Star Forces ships within range to come to our aid? This was an impossible task.

  Before I knew it, Alyssa leaned over and clasped a hand over mine. “You can do it, Shepherd. No one else could. You can.”

  I jerked my gaze towards her. “This is… there’s no way,” I was sure to keep my voice low so it couldn’t travel beyond us.

  “You managed to convince me to stay. To not sacrifice my life. If you can do that, Shepherd, you can do this.” Alyssa rose and nodded down at me.

  There was something flickering in her gaze. Call it hope. Call it expectation. Call it the possibility of a brighter future.

  It wrapped hands around my heart and pulled me to my feet. I walked out with her, side-by-side.

  Together we would face this.

  …

  Annabelle Williams

  We tore through any ships fool enough to offer resistance. They were nothing but moats of dust in the air.

  I could feel the other ships amassing with us. The singing in my mind grew louder and louder as the Forgotten hive coalesced.

  We were bearing down upon them – my crew. The last line of resistance.

  There was no room in my mind to feel terror, sorrow, revulsion. It was taken up by the Forgotten’s greed.

  They had been waiting for eons. Poised in the dark. Ready to burst out and claim this galaxy as theirs once more.

  They were willing to sacrifice everything.

  And everyone.

  Including me.

  …

  Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepherd

  This was it. My ship was already prepped.

  I was taking Argoza, Ja'xal, and as much as it pained me to admit, my father. But I needed him. I wouldn’t have any currency with the remaining Star Forces. He would. If there was anyone who could convince them to come to our aid, it was Admiral Shepherd.

  Maybe I was trusting him more than I should. It didn’t matter. It was a risk I was willing to take.

  I was standing with Alyssa in a relatively abandoned corridor. My ship was in the hangar bay beyond.

  Though time was now our only weapon, I lingered.

  A tense silence spread between us.

  I took a sharp breath. I tried to take a step away from her, to turn, but I couldn’t. Instead I swallowed. “Don’t let Axis get into your head. You’re stronger than him, Alyssa, and you are in control.”

  She nodded, half closing her eyes. She reached out a hand and locked it on my sleeve, sweaty fingers pressing against the fabric as she clutched harder and harder. I watched her open her mouth.

  “You don't have to say it.” I placed my hand over hers, gently lacing my fingers through her
own and stilling her trembling hand with a firm grip. “I’ll come back, Alyssa. I promise. I’ll be right by your side when it begins. And when it’s over,” I added in a quiet voice.

  She didn’t say anything. Maybe she couldn’t. Her lips parted gently, her brow peaking and her eyes widening and glistening with tears.

  I held her hand even tighter. “I will come back. I’ll be right by your side when it begins,” I repeated. Maybe if I said it enough it would come true.

  She swallowed. “Maybe you shouldn’t,” she suddenly said.

  I almost jerked away from her. “What?”

  “We’re not going to win, Shepherd,” I barely picked up her voice as it cracked into a harsh whisper.

  “Alyssa, don’t say that. We have a chance. We have to concentrate only on that chance.”

  “It would be easier if I knew you were safe,” she admitted, trembling hand still in mine.

  I fought down a wave of bitter frustration as I pressed my lips into a thin smile. “No,” I said simply. “It will be easier for you, but impossible for me. Plus, Alyssa, we all have to be there. The Forgotten will give us no quarter. Either we defeat them today, or we sacrifice everything. I know I may not be as powerful as you,” I let out a short laugh as I realized how much of an understatement that was, “But I’ll still be able to fight. And I will.”

  I held her gaze and she held mine.

  She brought up a hand, flattening it over her face, and pressed it over her eyes. “Just be safe then.”

  “I will be. And Alyssa,” I took a tight breath, “don’t believe a thing that man says. Don’t trust him. Just don’t….”

  “I’ll do what I have to do,” she croaked. “If I have to trust Axis for the next few hours to save the galaxy, I will.” For the first time since the conversation began, determination rang through her voice. It was a welcome reminder of how powerful she was.

  Maintaining eye contact, I nodded. Then reluctantly, I took a step back, though I didn’t drop her hand.

  She didn’t pull her fingers from mine either.

  For seconds, for a full minute we stood there and stared at each other. I was unashamed to say I noted every detail of her face, the way her hair fell around her shoulders, the cut of her uniform against her figure. Everything that made Alyssa Alyssa.

  I took that final step back and broke my grip, my hand falling to my side.

  I watched her draw a deep breath, half close her eyes, and nod. “Good luck.”

  “I’ll need it. See you soon,” I said as I half turned, finding it impossible to tear my gaze from hers.

  “You don’t need luck, Shepherd. You can make a difference wherever you go. And you will. We’re all in good hands.”

  My lips crinkled into a half smile.

  I took one step back, turned, and walked down the hallway to the waiting ship.

  Why did this feel like the last time I’d ever see her?

  …

  Alyssa Nightingale

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that this would be the last time I ever saw him.

  I don’t know why. Maybe just latent paranoia at the fact that in a few hours I’d be fighting for the galaxy’s very existence.

  Maybe it was something more. The niggling fear that even if we won we’d still lose.

  It took too long to force myself to take a staggering step back and turn away.

  The rational side of my mind knew I had so much to do.

  The emotional part of my soul didn’t want to go.

  Shepherd had always offered me salvation from Axis. Now Nathan was gone….

  My comm PIP suddenly beeped. The noise wasn’t that loud, but it felt like a piercing shriek by my ear and I jolted backwards, slamming a hand on the wall for support.

  If I was this emotional before the battle began….

  I shook my head. “Lieutenant Nightingale here, what is it?”

  There was a pause over the comm feed. Which was unusual. Communications aboard a starship were finely regulated. You didn’t contact someone over the official channels unless you knew exactly what you were going to say to them.

  “Alyssa, I think it’s time you come and see me.”

  Axis.

  I paled. It felt like my cheeks were drained of all their blood, and with nothing more than a tremble could have fallen from my face.

  “Alyssa?”

  I didn’t want to answer. I wanted to turn, pelt down the corridor, and follow Shepherd.

  “My child, your destiny awaits you. I am in the primary research bay. You will come to me now.” With that, there was a beep and the communication ended.

  I stood there with my hand pressed up against the wall, shoulder locked, elbow stiff.

  My whole body felt like a tightly coiled spring. One that was about to snap.

  I didn’t find the strength to move until I heard footsteps from behind me and an engineering team walked past. Realizing I couldn’t stand there locked against the wall in fear, I shook my shoulders and pressed off.

  I had to keep my true feelings hidden. Everyone was relying on me. If I couldn’t pull it together, then there was no point in those engineers giving their heart and soul to fix this station.

  So I pushed on, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants and taking it one step at a time until I reached the research bay.

  I lingered at the door, a cold sensation pressing through my chest as if my blood had been replaced with the depths of space.

  I didn’t get the chance to catch my breath.

  The door opened.

  And there he stood, a few meters away.

  Professor Axis.

  He was still wearing his magnetic security cuffs. A precaution in case he used his freedom to subvert our efforts.

  I doubted it would work.

  Though I hated him with every gram of my soul, Professor Axis was still the smartest man I’d ever met. He was always several steps ahead of you. When you came to a realization, it was a guarantee he would already have thought of that possibility days ago.

  He was undoubtedly the greatest asset the Star Forces had ever acquired.

  … Or not. I was, wasn’t I?

  And I couldn’t forget that.

  So I gathered my gumption and I strode in, angling my chin up and staring at him down my nose. “If you try anything,” I said, leaving the threat implied as I walked past him and surveyed the research bay.

  It was large. In many ways megalithic. It was about the size of the Miracle’s largest hangar bay.

  I knew why, too. Axis always needed space for his experiments.

  Unbidden from my memory rose flashes of my training.

  Every time I’d been flung across my training cell, my back impacting against the floor with such spine shattering force I would spend a week in the medical bay. Every time my power punched from my hands and ripped through the walls like nothing more than lines of neatly arranged paper.

  Every time.

  Those words echoed in my mind like a rolling drum beat.

  Axis stood exactly where he’d been when I’d strode in. He did shift his head over his shoulder though, eyes locking on me as I marched around the room.

  I stopped, turned over my own shoulder, and stared at him. “I don’t trust you,” I said flatly. “You will give suggestions. I will only follow them if I think they’re the best thing to do. You will not give me orders. Understand that you are not in control.”

  He smiled slowly, lips curling up his wrinkled cheeks. “I taught you better than this, Alyssa. If you were really in control, you wouldn’t have to say it.”

  I clenched my teeth. Automatically one of my hands curled into a fist. I could feel the power beckoning to me. In an instant I could turn on my implants… and then what? I’d ruin everything by taking out my deep-seated hatred on Axis.

  No. He was wrong. I was in control.

  I took a stiff threatening step towards him and narrowed my eyes. “Stop wasting time. Tell me what I’ll have to do to protect the endga
me weapon.”

  “You will give nothing short of everything you have. The Forgotten will attack our position using every ship, every body drone, every force at their disposal. You have to coordinate everything on the ground, protecting the endgame weapon from attack as the Forgotten mass around it. It will take approximately 20 minutes from deployment until it will be armed and ready. You must not only protect it but lure the Forgotten close enough that when the endgame weapon is used it will obliterate their primary forces.”

  “What’s its range?”

  “Several hundred kilometers.”

  “Several hundred kilometers? That’s ridiculous. That’s tiny. There’s no way—”

  Axis smiled again, his lips pushing even harder into his cheeks and his eyes taking on that glittering look that always curdled my stomach. “Nothing is impossible, my dear. But as I said, you will give nothing less than everything you have.”

  I clasped my hands behind my back, not least because I didn’t want him to see how tensed my fists had become. Plus, it reminded me of the regal composure the Captain always managed. If she were here in my position, Axis wouldn’t be smiling.

  “We won’t have to destroy all the Forgotten. Only their greatest weapons. The Death Giver must be obliterated. The rest will fall as long as it falls. If, however, you do not manage to destroy it, there is a chance they will be able to regrow.”

  “Regrow?”

  He smiled again. I would have done anything to wipe that smile from his face. Permanently. Instead I curled my hands into even tighter fists behind the privacy of my back.

  “There is so much you don’t know, my dear.”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “You don’t need to know the fine details of the Forgotten and their lifespan. All that is relevant is what I have told you – you must destroy the Death Giver in the final attack. It is up to you to ensure it is close enough to be obliterated by the endgame weapon.”

  I nodded. “And what about our forces? Will the weapon affect them?”

  “It won’t affect anything that isn’t touched by Forgotten technology.”

  I went to nod. I stopped. My eyes widened. “But I have Forgotten implants in my elbows.”