by G J Ogden
Crow then reached out to grab one of the devices from the frame of the bunk, but Banks caught the engineer’s hand. Crow winced, as if a bear-trap had just snapped shut around his wrist.
“We don’t know what will happen if we remove that,” said Banks, releasing Crow’s hand, though her eyes still held him in a tight grip. “That device is not why we’re here,” Banks continued.
“Stick to the mission, Commander,” said Sterling, agreeing with his first-officer that caution was required. “If there’s time, we’ll grab one of the devices on the way out. But we don’t want to wake these sleeping beauties before we have what we came for.”
Crow nodded, still shaking his throbbing wrist. “Aye, Captain,” he said, shuffling past Banks, while also shooting her what could only be described as a dirty look. Banks returned the glare with even greater intensity and Crow quickly retreated. Sterling then moved out of the cabin and waited for Banks to exit before closing door. He then moved to an auxiliary access panel on the wall and used his command override to seal all the crew cabins on the ship.
“Just in case there are more of them hibernating in here,” Sterling said to Banks, who was observing him with interest as he worked.
“This place gives me the creeps,” said Banks, checking along the corridor. “It’s like a damn morgue in here. Even the temperature feels colder than it should be.”
“The Sa’Nerra like it cold,” said Sterling, moving ahead and following Shade and the commandos out into the docking section of the Sa’Nerran shipyard. It resembled a spaceport waiting lounge, except there was no-one waiting inside it.
“The room is clear, Captain,” said Lieutenant Shade through the neural link. “There are only two exits from this room and we have them both covered.”
Sterling nodded; an instinctive and pointless gesture, since Shade was ten meters ahead with her back turned to him.
“You’re up, Commander Crow,” Sterling then said out loud, meeting the eyes of his ever-curious engineer. “Remember what I said. Get in, grab whatever encrypted data you can then get out.”
“Yes, Captain,” answered Crow, hurrying deeper into the docking area then dropping to his knees at the base of a Sa’Nerran computer console.
Sterling and Banks followed, watching the engineer attempt to prize off the front panel of the console without success.
“Need a hand, Lieutenant Commander?” said Banks, as the engineer continued to struggle.
Crow glanced up at Banks, his furrowed brow highlighting the fact that the engineer apparently hadn’t forgiven the Commander for manhandling him earlier.
“Be my guest, Commander,” Crow replied, offering Banks the tool he’d been using.
Sterling could see that Crow’s passive-aggressive response had not gone unnoticed by his first-officer, though this time Banks let it slide. Refusing the tool, Banks then gripped the edges of the panel beneath the computer console and tore it away as effortlessly as ripping cardboard.
“You’re now on the clock,” Banks said, resting the mangled panel against the wall. “I suggest you hurry.”
Crow set to work, cracking open his tool case and plugging an assortment of devices into the Sa’Nerran computer. Banks and Sterling stepped away from the engineer to allow him space to work. As he did so, Sterling glanced back toward the docking hatch that led inside the Imperium, covering it with his plasma pistol. The sight of the Fleet crew members, entombed in their bunks, was still bothering him.
“Turned humans are strong, but there’s no way they’re breaking down cabin doors,” said Banks, seeming to sense Sterling’s unease. “The Imperium’s crew are not getting out.”
“Let’s hope they never turn you,” replied Sterling, continuing to aim his pistol inside the Imperium. “Amped up even more than you already are, you could probably tear a hole in the hull with just your bare hands.”
“How do you know I can’t already do that now?” quipped Banks, dropping to a crouch and covering her captain’s back. Then she glanced up at Sterling, brow scrunched into a frown. “Hey, how do you know that Sa’Nerrans prefer the cold?” she asked, out of the blue.
Sterling was amused that Banks had picked up on his earlier, off-hand comment. There wasn’t much that slipped past his first officer unnoticed. It was one of the traits he respected about her.
“Over lunch a few months ago, I had the pleasure of Graves detailing one of the many experiments he’d conducted on the aliens, before Griffin recruited him,” replied Sterling. “Fifty-five degrees is their optimal room temperature, apparently. But they die within a couple of minutes at one sixty in dry air.”
Banks frowned up at Sterling. “How the hell did he find that out?”
“He locked twenty Sa’Nerran prisoners in a sauna, one after the other, and timed how long it took them to die,” replied Sterling.
Banks snort-laughed, but then she appeared to realize that Sterling was completely straight-faced.
“You’re serious?” said Banks.
Sterling smiled at her. “And you wonder why it freaks me out when he sits down to eat at our table?”
Suddenly, Sterling heard Shade’s voice in his mind. It cut through him like a foghorn being sounded in a tunnel.
“Captain, I’m detecting movement coming this way,” his weapons officer said through the neural link.
Sterling and Banks swiftly moved into cover as Shade and the commandos fell back.
“I can’t get a clear reading, sir,” Shade went on. “Ten contacts, maybe more, one hundred meters out.”
Sterling focused on Crow, who was still engrossed in his work. “Commander, we’re going to have company very soon. Save what you have and pull back, now.”
“Just give me one more minute, Captain, I’m recovering some fascinating data,” replied Crow.
Sterling cursed under his breath then crouch-ran up beside the engineer. “Crow, disconnect now, that’s an order!” he barked into the officer’s ear.
Sterling’s sudden arrival and forceful order snapped Crow to attention. “Yes, sir, disconnecting now,” the engineer said, beginning the process of shutting down his devices and disconnecting the wires.
“They’re right on us, Captain,” Sterling heard Shade call out in his mind.
Sterling nodded to Banks and they both took up positions, ready to attack whoever was about to walk through the doors.
“Ensign, get ready to punch it as soon as I give the order,” Sterling said to his helmsman through the open neural link. “Don’t wait till I’m back on the bridge. Just haul-ass, as planned.”
“Aye, Captain,” came the prompt and confident reply from his pilot.
“Five seconds…” said Shade.
Sterling hunkered down and slipped his finger onto the trigger of his pistol. The doors at the far end of the docking space then slid open and two Sa’Nerran warriors marched through. A millisecond later, plasma weapons fire erupted toward the aliens and the two warriors fell. More Sa’Nerrans then charged though the opening to replace the fallen combatants, but they were hit and killed just as quickly. Then plasma fire began flying back through the opening toward them. One commando caught a blast head-on and was killed instantly, his entire face melted away like wax on a candle.
“Any time now, Crow…” said Sterling, aiming and firing at the advancing wave of warriors. The expressions on the leathery faces of the yellow-eyed aliens were as unreadable as ever. If Sterling’s crew had caught the Sa’Nerrans by surprise, or of the aliens had known they were waiting, he had no way to tell.
“Almost there…” Crow replied, still frantically dislodging cables and devices.
More aliens moved through and another commando was hit. In his mind, Sterling heard Shade order the remaining commandos to fall back. The smell of burned Sa’Nerran and human flesh now clouded the room and filled Sterling’s nostrils. It was a familiar smell. A terrible smell. The smell of war. It drove Sterling on harder than ever.
“Now, damn it,” snapped Ster
ling, grabbing Crow and hauling him up while continuing to fire at the advancing warriors. He took a hit to his side, but it glanced off his combat armor, which then bubbled and fizzed from the energy of the plasma blast. Sterling continued to fire, wounding another two Sa’Nerra, but the power cell in his pistol was already nearly depleted. He went to release it and slap in another when Crow yanked a data device clear of the computer console and held it up like a trophy.
“Transfer complete, I have the data!” cried Crow. The engineer then drew his own pistol and added to the torrent of plasma blasts that were flying towards the Sa’Nerran attackers. “I’ll cover you, Captain, now go!”
Sterling withdrew, expecting his engineer to follow close behind him, but as he reached Commander Banks, he saw that Crow was still firing at the enemy.
“Crow, get over here!” Sterling called out as he and Banks continued to fall back, laying down covering fire. However, Crow was now pinned down behind the computer console. Another commando was hit and killed, but the Sa’Nerran ranks had thinned too. Through the haze of burning flesh and material, Sterling could now count only six warriors. Then a voice cut through him like a scalpel.
“Lucas, hold your fire, it’s me!”
The Sa’Nerran plasma blasts ceased and through the smoke Sterling saw the face of Captain Lana McQueen.
Chapter 20
A place in the new order
Captain Lana McQueen barged her way through the center of the six remaining Sa’Nerran warriors and stood in front of them. The warriors did not react to her presence or her actions. They simply resumed their prior formation, rifles held at port arms like an honor guard. Lieutenant Shade and the two surviving commandos used the lull in fighting to withdraw into safety. However, Commander Crow was still ducked down behind the computer console, between Sterling and the Sa’Nerran warriors.
“Lucas, hold fire, I’m here to talk,” said McQueen. Her voice was different somehow, Sterling realized. It was unmistakably the voice of Lana McQueen, but she was speaking as if they were strangers. The familiarity and camaraderie between them was gone. The Omega Captain was also out of uniform. Instead, she was wearing Sa’Nerran armor, though it had clearly been custom-made for her more slender and taller human frame. “Tell your commandos to stand down,” McQueen continued. “We have much to discuss.”
“You’re here to talk?” replied Sterling, his tone a mixture of shock and disgust. “Just who the hell are you speaking on behalf of, Lana?”
McQueen smiled and stretched out her arms, indicating to the warriors that were standing behind her. “Things are different now, Lucas. Soon, you’ll understand.”
“All I understand is that they’ve turned you, and the rest of your crew,” Sterling hit back. He then glanced across to Crow and tried to get his attention. However, the engineer only managed to take a single step out from behind the computer console before McQueen’s voice echoed through the room.
“Stay where you are, Lieutenant Commander Crow!” McQueen barked, her voice suddenly becoming as hard as her new alien armor. Crow immediately froze like a mime artist pretending to be a statue. “You have something that doesn’t belong to you,” McQueen continued.
Crow slowly withdrew and ducked back into cover as one of the Sa’Nerran warriors aimed its rifle at the engineer. Apparently satisfied that Crow had got her message, McQueen then focused her attention back onto Sterling.
“Come on, Lucas, don’t be a fool, there’s no escape from here,” McQueen continued, offering Sterling an artificial smile. “There are thousands of Sa’Nerran warriors on this installation alone, and an entire taskforce that’s on the way to intercept your little ship, hidden in the planetary rings.”
Sterling gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his pistol. He tried hard to not let his face give away his feelings, but it appeared that McQueen could still read his expressions. He then glanced down at the power indicator on the weapon. The pistol’s cell was already nearly depleted, but he had at least one good shot left.
“I admit, you got further than I expected you to,” McQueen continued, still smiling at Sterling. “Surging inside the ring system was a bold move, worthy of an Omega Captain.” Then her expression hardened again. “But this is where your Omega Directive ends, Lucas. Give yourself up. Make it easier on yourself and your crew.”
Sterling shook his head. “We managed to get into this system and we can get out again too,” he hit back. It wasn’t just talk; Sterling trusted the abilities of his ship and his crew. He slowly raised the pistol and aimed it at McQueen, causing all six warriors to immediately focus their weapons on him.
“Hold!” McQueen yelled, raising a clenched fist. To Sterling’s astonishment the warriors obeyed her order. “You really don’t understand what’s happening here, do you Lucas?” the captain of the Imperium said in a tone that was both bitter and derisive. “I haven’t been turned by the Sa’Nerra. I’ve been educated by them and joined them by choice. We all have.” The words hit Sterling like a plasma bolt to the head. “Everything makes sense now, Lucas. I understand the Sa’Nerra’s point of view, and they have accepted me as the voice that will speak on their behalf. The Sa’Nerra would prefer that humanity simply yields and accepts its new place in the order of the galaxy. But make no mistake, if you resist, we will annihilate you, and your world.”
“If you think I’m going to surrender then your traitorous, addled brain has forgotten who it's talking to,” hissed Sterling.
McQueen lowered her clenched fist and cocked her head to one side. “You won’t shoot me, Lucas,” she began, with a cockiness and arrogance that the real Lana McQueen never displayed. You and I are the same,” McQueen went on. She then held out her hand, reaching into the space between them. “One way or another, you’re going to join me. You can either stand by my side, and play a key role in the new order. Or you can just be another drone in the Sa’Nerra’s human army.”
Sterling laughed then returned McQueen’s fake, insincere smile. “Or I can just do this,” said Sterling, pulling the trigger.
The plasma blast flashed across the room and struck McQueen in the chest. She fell, and was pulled back into safety by her troop of alien warriors. Seconds later the room was again filled with weapons fire.
“Crow, move!” Sterling shouted, feeling the heat from a blast of plasma fizz past his ear.
Lieutenant Commander Crow darted out from cover but was hit in the back and knocked flat on his face. The device that he’d used to retrieve the encrypted Sa’Nerran data spun across the floor and stopped several meters in front of Sterling. It was achingly close, but still out of reach.
“Cover me!” Sterling yelled while rushing out to retrieve the vital intelligence, but the weapons fire was intense and he was struck to the shoulder and knocked down. He growled, pressing his gloved hand to the melted armor, the heat from which was now burning his flesh. Banks dragged Sterling back and through the docking hatch as more plasma blasts flashed past. “No, we need that device!” Sterling shouted, unable to overcome Banks’ raw strength.
Lieutenant Shade then darted past him, moving so fast she was almost a blur. Plasma rippled through the air, missing the weapons officer by millimeters. Sterling and the others continued to return fire at the Sa’Nerra as Shade scooped up the device then wall-flipped off a support pillar in the center of the room. Landing cleanly on the deck, Shade raced toward cover but was struck in the back by a blast of plasma. Sterling caught her in an act of pure reflex before his officer fell face first into the metal decking.
“Get back to your stations,” Sterling called out, as two of Shade’s commandos hauled the officer up and helped her along the docking tunnel. Then he saw Lieutenant Commander Crow on the deck, hand stretched out toward him.
“Captain!” the engineer croaked, smoke from the plasma burn to the armor on his back still wisping upward. “Captain, please!”
Sterling cursed. Crow was too far away to risk a rescue, but he’d be damned if he would
allow another Fleet officer to become part of McQueen’s servant army. Raising his pistol, Sterling squeezed the trigger and shot Clinton Crow in the head. The engineer collapsed to the deck, more smoke rising from the charred skin on his scalp. Then Sterling slammed the button to close the hatch and ran like hell.
Chapter 21
Execute maneuver “breakout”
Sterling raced through the corridors of the Fleet Marauder Imperium as plasma blasts hammered into the docking hatch to his rear. Ahead, he saw Commander Banks waiting for him, her brow furrowed and muscles taut.
“Where’s Crow?” said Banks, glancing back toward the hatch leading into the alien shipyard.
“He didn’t make it,” replied Sterling, reloading his now fully-depleted plasma pistol while the two of them hustled through the Imperium’s narrow corridors. “But I have the data device, so assuming Keller can get us out of here, we can still salvage something from all this.”
Sterling then tapped his neural interface and reached out to his helmsman. “Ensign, Commander Banks and I are making our way back to the ship now. As soon as you see the docking seal turn green, execute maneuver ‘breakout’.”
“Aye, sir, standing by,” Keller replied, smartly.
Sterling was about to severe the link when another voice invaded his thoughts.
“Lucas, you can’t get away,” hissed Lana McQueen inside his mind.
Each word caused a shooting pain to rush through Sterling’s temples. His vision suddenly darkened and he felt his body thump into the deck. When his eyes cleared again, he was lying on the floor, his body held in Banks’ arms. He could see her lips moving, but the only words he could understand were the ones inside his head.
“Join me, Lucas,” McQueen continued, sounding wispy and ethereal. “Let us begin this new Sa’Nerran era together.”
Sterling fought to push the voice from his mind, using the same force of will that he so often employed to bury his darker thoughts and emotions. He reached up and tapped his neural interface and the sounds of the ship raced into his ears.