She gave her orders and the ship slipped into the grey nothingness of Nospace. A few moments later, the grey ripped apart to be replaced by the blackness of real space. Just over 300 kilometers off the starboard bow lay Asel’s ship, The Sweet Bejesus, its Ion engines ablaze as it raced to intercept the small yacht ahead of it. Gabriella instructed the Captain to open a communication link and waited until Asel’s visage filled her vision.
“Hey there, little dog," she said with a smirk. “Your master’s here and she’s carrying a big stick.” She nodded to her Captain. “You can fire when ready Captain. Try not to leave any survivors.”
◊
“Calm down Felix."
“Fmmp yhm," replied Felix lying hogtied and gagged on the floor of the Puritan. Ram Terry suspected he was being sworn at but under the circumstances it was understandable.
Ram Terry eyed the desperately struggling man. “Look here my friend. I know Crystal. She’ll be alright. I’m sure she will find some way off the station. As for Tarquin, he’s a resourceful fellow; he can look after himself, I’m sure.”
Felix, looking hardly reassured, increased his struggles and tried to glare balefully at the leader of the Church of the Holy Lamb. Hampered by his struggling and generally awkward position, it wasn’t a very good glare. Nevertheless, Ram Terry was slightly taken aback. The good natured person he knew was suddenly replaced by a madman.
Can’t really blame him, thought his Raminess. His girlfriend and one of his best friends get left behind at the tender mercies of one of the Galaxies foremost psychopaths. He wouldn’t be that happy either. Not that he wasn’t worried either.
He loved Crystal like a sister; albeit a sister that was physically impossible; and would be devastated if anything happened to her. That was however, unlikely. He knew the girl well; they had grown up together. One thing he did know about Crystal was that she could look after herself. Not only was she resourceful but she also possessed the same powers as a Seraphim or first order Angel.
Still, he thought, that Sammael is a ruthless sod. If anyone could think of a way to harm her, it would be him.
Dwelling on the past or on what would or wouldn’t happen was hardly helpful. Sammael, it would seem, had made good his escape and was now en route to Gabriella. With him, presumably, was either Tarquin, Crystal or both. Ram Terry felt sure that Sammael would keep both alive as hostages or bargaining chips for the Overdrive. No point in worrying about it though. There was nothing Ram Terry could do at the moment anyway. The most important thing was to get Felix and the Overdrive to safety.
After Tarquin had left to help, Ram Terry, Felix, Walter, Bruce and the four shepherds had waited anxiously for their return. With the other PDS station about to dock, Ram Terry decided that they couldn’t wait any longer. He’d ordered his shepherds to lock Knights Captain Tynan in the bathroom and get the small yacht clear for a jump into Nospace.
At about this time, Felix had exploded, demanding that they wait for Crystal and Tarquin’s return. After becoming rather insistent and even hostile, Ram Terry had no option but to order his Shepherds to restrain the distraught engineer.
Logan, who was still unconscious and in the med unit, was in no position to assist his friend. Ram Terry was thankful for that. The situation could have easily gotten out of control if the former military intelligence man was on hand to back his friend up. As for Walter and Bruce, Bruce had been offered a permanent position with the Shepherds as security and as a result was in no position to interfere. Walter could only offer some half hearted protests.
Now, only moments away from Nospace and safety, Ram Terry was starting to relax. He had both Felix and the Overdrive. All they had to do now was to get back to Novelle New Zealand. By now hopefully, Novelle New Zealand had organized their defenses and it would be safe to head straight to it.
There was no way of contacting them to see if all was clear. Any message he sent would more than likely fall into the hands of the Areopagites. If his people had not prepared themselves, he, the others and the Overdrive would all fall into the Areopagites hands, and probably die a very horrible death. Not particularly comforting but Ram Terry was a realist. If the Areopagites got their hands on this technology, their stranglehold on the galaxy would be complete and independent religious organizations such as the Shepherds would be wiped out.
If, on the other hand, the Overdrive was developed by the Shepherds, Ram Terry would do everything he possible could to restore the status quo in the galaxy. With such thoughts clear in his head, he left Felix still struggling on one of the lounge couches and trotted into the small bridge where two of his shepherds sat. He entered just as the two of them yelped in surprise.
“What is it?” he asked.
One of his shepherds gave Ram Terry a startled glance. “A ship has just jumped out of Nospace. Its effectively blocking our escape.”
“Who is it?”
“Its the Watcher ship, the Sweet Bejesus. She’s closing fast. What should I do your Raminess?”
“Move us off this trajectory. We still may be able to get clear for the jump to Nospace. Whatever you do, don’t let them get close enough to board, there’s too much at stake.”
The Shepherd nodded, then closed his eyelid to communicate with the ship.
“We are faster and more maneuverable," said Ram Terry. “We should be able to outrun him providing of course that nothing else gets in our way.”
“Oh god," said the other Shepherd.
“What is it now?," exclaimed a thoroughly frazzled Ram Terry.
“Another ship. Its, oh shit, its Gabriella your Raminess. She’s on the same trajectory. We can’t escape.” The Shepherds voice was rising with every word he uttered.
“Stay calm my Shepherds," said Ram Terry, sounding anything but calm himself. He was all out of ideas.
A familiar figure pushed his way past Ram Terry.
“Is there a problem here guys?”
Logan, still looking worse for wear, eyed the tactical screen dubiously.
“This is just my opinion of course, but I’d say you fellas are gonna have to do some creative flying to get us out of this shit.” He looked at one of the Shepherds in the command seat. “Want me to take over”? The Shepherd nodded hurriedly, relief stark on his face. He leapt out of the chair, making way for Logan. The former military intelligence operative settled gratefully into the chair with a sigh of relief.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like shit," he said, closing one eyelid and opening a link with the ships AI. “Just out of interest," he continued conversationally, “why is my good mate Felix tied up?”
Ram Terry motioned for the other Shepherds to get out. “Felix was behaving irrationally.”
“Why?,” asked Logan, distracting by his interface with the ship.
“Its about Crystal”
“Oh, I get it, women problems.” Logan smiled knowingly.
Ram Terry waited patiently for Logan to ask some more pertinent questions but they never came. Instead, there was a long silence as Logan’s attention was focused fully on the ship.
Finally, Ram Terry could sense that the dreaded question was coming; where was Logan’s lifelong friend Tarquin? He possessed a great deal of empathy and a limited form of telepathy. How would Logan handle it? Would he get violent? Would he be unable to pilot the ship to safety?
Logan opened his mouth. “On a more urgent and personal level, is the person in the toilet ever going to come out? I’m busting.”
◊
“So, this is the famous Snareball player. Quite impressive aren’t you.”
Tarquin tried to smile up at the Angelic figure above him. It was hard when someone was standing on your head.
“Lots of women fans seem to think so," he replied, struggling to push the offending foot away.
The offending foot belonged to Sammael who proceeded to push down even harder, forcing Tarquin’s face into the floor of the command deck.
“It seems we haven�
�t been formally introduced. My name is Gabriella, Cherubim of the Areopagites and member of the ruling council.” She smiled winningly at the part of Tarquin’s face that could still be seen above the decking and Sammael’s foot.
Despite the fact that he was in some discomfort, Tarquin couldn’t help but be dazzled by the lovely smile. And what a woman! Great curves, spectacular looks, lovely long blond hair. Even the wings he found strangely alluring. The part of his mind that wasn’t scared suggested some pretty devious sexual positions involving those wings. He told it to shut up.
“Pleased to meet you," he said, polishing up his best grin, which under the circumstances emerged as some grotesque caricature of a smile.
“What lovely manners. I’d love to get to know you a little better," she said with a lascivious wink, “but I’m afraid we’re running out of time. Or should I say, you’re running out of time.”
She turned her back on both Sammael and Tarquin and faced the main tactical screen.
“Stand him up."
Sammael, flanked by two burly Angels, roughly dragged Tarquin to his feet. A cut above the gladiator’s eye trickled blood down his chin where it slowly dripped onto his shoes. In front of him, Gabriella eyed the tactical screen. Two icons were so close to her ship as to look almost a part of it. Asel’s ship, the Sweet Bejesus, lay floating and crippled some 300 kilometers distant. Gabriella’s opening attack had destroyed their field generative ability, weapons systems and Ion drive. The other icon represented the Puritan. It was stationary less than 200 kilometers away; unable to use its Slipdrive because of Gabriella’s presence.
Sensing that something momentous was about to happen, movement ceased as Gabriella cast her eye around the bridge. Angels and Templars alike stopped what they were doing and watched her with a combination of fear, awe and longing. In the now all but silent command centre, the slow plop of Tarquin’s blood was clearly audible. Even the Captain tried to stop his shaking as he watched his Princess with a glazed look and somewhat goofy smile.
“Areopagites," she said dramatically. “We are poised to take what we have sought for so long. It is within our grasp. This man," she said, indicating Tarquin, “is the key to our success. With him, the Overdrive will be ours.”
The crew gave a half-hearted cheer, quickly growing in volume and forced enthusiasm after a glare from Sammael.
Gabriella turned her glance towards her commander. “Captain!”
The man jumped upon hearing his title and gave a nervous giggle.
“Open a channel to the Puritan and the Sweet Bejesus; split screen."
He gave a nervous little bow and hastened to comply. Moments later, the faces of Asel and Ram Terry filled the wall sized view screen.
Asel’s handsome face was twisted by a sneer as he looked down upon his adversary. Ram Terry looked his normal sheepish self. He could’ve been sneering but it was hard to tell.
“Gabriella, what do…”
“What is the meaning of…”
She cut both off with a wave of her hand.
“Gentlemen. Please. Listen to what I have to say. Asel," she said, addressing the Watcher first. “Our first salvo destroyed your fields, weapon systems and propulsion. You are outgunned and you know it. Run back to your father and tell him the deals off. You have two options; withdraw or be destroyed.”
According to sensors, Asel’s ship still had an operative Slipdrive. They were quite capable to opening a rift into Nospace.
Asel looked like he wanted to jump through the screen and attack. “This isn’t over Gabriella."
“Yes Asel. It is.” She cut the link. “Captain? If the Watcher ship hasn’t left in 2 minutes, you have my permission to finish them off.”
She turned to Ram Terry and smiled wickedly. “I have someone you might recognize." She moved sideways, enabling the sheep to get a clear view of Tarquin. She thought she detected recognition on the otherwise implacable features of the Holy Ram.
“Oi," said a voice off-screen. Ram Terry’s visage was roughly replaced by the man Gabriella knew as Logan, another one of Felix’s friends. “If anything happens to Tarq, I’ll rip your wings off and shove them up your arse.”
Gabriella smiled saucily. “Don’t threaten me with pleasure.”
“Look here you fucking bitch, I…”
“Look," said Gabriella, “we haven’t got time for this. Put Felix on or I’ll pull your friends eyes out.”
Logan shook his head. “Can’t do that. Felix is…um…indisposed at the moment.”
Gabriella sighed dramatically. “Put him on or I kill your friend now.”
Logan looked long and hard at the Areopagite. “What would you say if I told you we have one of your boys, Knights Captain Tynan to be specific, and we’ll swap him for Tarquin? Of course we could just kill him”?
“Go ahead," said Gabriella. “He is of no further use to me."
“Oh," said a slightly crestfallen Logan. He never believed that this particular gambit would succeed but was still slightly taken aback by Gabriella’s offhandedness.
“I repeat," said an impatient Gabriella. “Put him on now or I kill your friend."
Logan held out his hands in an effort to placate the Areopagite Princess. “Just settle down. I’m serious, Felix is really unavailable but anything you want to say to him, you can say to me.”
“Ok, fine," said Gabriella. “Here’s the deal. You give me the Overdrive and all the data from Felix’s AI and you can have Tarquin back.”
“Done," said Logan quickly.
“What?," said a voice in the background, unmistakably that of Ram Terry. “Out of the question. No deal. What’s to stop her taking the Overdrive and then killing us all?”
Logan held up an Afer in full view of the screen. No doubt it was a subtle hint to both Gabriella and Ram Terry.
“Don’t I get a say in this?," said Tarquin.
“No," said Gabriella and Logan simultaneously. Tarquin tried to protest further but an elbow in the head from Sammael persuaded him to desist.
“I agree," said Logan again. “And I don’t think Ram Terry is in any position to argue. I’ll move the ship in and dock with you shortly.” He cut the link.
Gabriella smiled triumphantly. In a few short minutes, she would finally have the Overdrive. With it she could vie for Metatron’s position. Then the galaxy.
“Captain," maneuver for dock with the Puritan. Oh, and finish off Asel. Can’t have him lurking around now can we?”
Collision alerts suddenly sounded. The bridge went red as it quickly moved to combat status for the umpteenth time.
“What is it?," she demanded.
“The frigates have found us," said Sammael behind her. “The other Gitanian PDS is preparing to fire as well.”
“Sod it," said Gabriella. “Target the crippled PDS and destroy it. The blast should hopefully incapacitate the one docked with it.”
Sammael nodded. Commands relayed, over 100 slipmissiles swept out from the Valkyrie, taking less than 5 seconds to reach their target. The attack completely destroyed the station, the blast severely damaging the other station docked with it.
Gabriella smiled with satisfaction. It wasn’t over yet though. The six frigates were closing in what looked like a classic pincer movement. “Forget Asel for now, we’ve got the entire Gitanian navy on our backs. We’ll just have to soak it up until we have the Overdrive. As for you," she said looking appraisingly at the muscular 6’7 frame of Tarquin. “I want to see you later. Sammael, take him and put him somewhere safe for me. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to him while I kill his friends.”
◊
“You and you," said Logan, indicating two of Ram Terry’s shepherds. “Untie him.”
“I really think this course of action is unwise," said an agitated Ram Terry. “This mission is foolhardy. As I stated before, Gabriella will simply take the Overdrive and Felix and kill us all. She can’t afford witnesses at this point. If Felix or myself remain at large, the Overdrive will
never be the exclusive property of the Areopagites. Felix can simply build another one. Isn’t that right Felix?”
“Don’t talk to me," said Felix, struggling out of the last of his bonds and shoving the Shepherds away.
Bruce and Walter, both carrying large plasma cannons, the latter looking somewhat awkward, moved the Shepherds and Ram Terry into a corner. Logan kept a watchful eye on proceedings with his Afer in case Ram Terry tried anything funny.
Ram Terry eyed Bruce hopefully. “I thought we had an arrangement. You were coming to work for me.”
“Deals off," replied the gorilla. “This is far more fun."
Ram Terry sighed dramatically. “This situation really is hopeless you know. We don’t stand a chance of rescuing Tarquin."
“I know," said Logan.
Startled, Felix, Walter and Bruce all turned to him. “What?”
Logan looked cheerful. “We’re going to create a distraction and Tarquin’s going to rescue himself.
The others shook their heads in obvious confusion.
Logan’s grinned broadened as he warmed to his subject. “Let me explain."
◊
The airlock slid open to reveal three figures, clad identically in white vacuum suits. One of them, the largest, carried a long mechanical device over his shoulder. Waiting for them was a squad of heavily armed Angels commanded by Sammael himself. The Angels were seemingly unaffected by the shaking and rocking ship, keeping their balance perfectly as it was repeatedly hit by slipmissile bombardment. The newcomers were not so lucky, staggering about unsteadily. One in particular, the smallest, was very shaky on his feet.
The Angels fell in around them and conducted a thorough search of their persons while Sammael stood arrogantly before them.
“Take off your headpieces," he commanded once the search was completed.
All three activated their AI link with their suits, ordering the helmets to slide down.
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