Gillian heard a loud rapping on the hangar’s doors. A glimmer of hope floated around inside Gillian’s beating heart. Could it be the commander? Her flighty idea of a storybook ending hinged on whether or not her heroic prince was standing on the other side of that door.
Her eyes caught the dirty, blackened face of Commander Kaspar when she opened it a crack. Before Gillian could react, the commander pried open the doors with his burnt fingers and collapsed inside the hangar. Crouching on his knees, Kaspar begged for breath. His lungs were on fire, burning every time he took in another precious gulp of air.
“Close the door, quick.” His words were short and curtailed by his weary exposition. The persistent commander rolled on the floor attempting to bury the small collection of flames that had spread across his suit. Coughing, he rose and leaned against the wall, his well-worn plasma shooter dangling by his right side.
“Are you okay?” Gillian stepped in close to inspect him.
“I’ll be fine.” He again fought hard for his breath, “From the looks of it, Lieutenant Shaw has succeeded in eliminating Adrian and wiping out the rest of these pesky buggers.” Kaspar blew a whisper of air through his chapped lips.
“Now what?” Gillian asked.
“We board the ship and set a course. Any ideas?” he asked. His mind was riddled with the events that had just transpired and, truthfully, didn’t want to think anymore than he had to.
“What about the planet in Brody’s journals? He wrote a lot about a planet with the same comparable elements to our very own Earth.”
“How far?” Kaspar’s eyes winced from the residual smoke.
“About 20 light years,” Gillian replied.
“I’m hoping Ulysses found a way to fix the hyper drive.” Kaspar headed towards the ship’s ramp. “We should be golden if that’s the case.”
“I thought the engines were toast?”
“Ulysses was under Adrian’s mind control. Adrian had him fix the hyper drive first. The primary engines are intact and functional. It’s the backup engines that were fried in the crash.”
“What else did Adrian divulge to you?” Gillian asked.
“That the Abagail has two sets of engines. The main ones were not inflicted with any damage during the rough landing. The secondary ones were affected, but Adrian seemed sure that this bird can fly on the primary engines.”
“What if he’s lying?”
“I doubt it. Adrian’s main goal was to leave aboard the ship and he needed me to fly it, so I don’t think he’d yank my balls about the engines. Otherwise, none of us are going anywhere.”
“Point made. What do you need me to do?”
“Hang back and prepare for liftoff. I have to activate the ship’s main computer to ignite the main engines. It was a fail-safe put in by Adrian. The Abagail will fly on either set of engines, as long she is able to use the hyper drive.”
“Sly little shit,” Gillian pressed the button to raise the ramp.
“The intercoms work. Any problems buzz the cockpit.” Kaspar pulled her close and kissed her. His charred face rubbed against her soft skin.
Gillian returned the favor. His kiss felt great and just what she needed.
“I will stand by your side, no matter what, Jilly,” Kaspar assured her. “What happened back there, I don’t care. We will prevail, me and you.”
“I will not leave your side, Commander,” Gillian replied with a playful wink. “Go fly us home.” She watched as Kaspar headed down the corridor and towards the cockpit.
Shaw’s blackened fingers gripped the edge of the railing with a desperate hope. He swayed back and forth, trying to pull himself back up to the ledge. A steady stream of beaded sweat worked down his face, dripping off the bottom of his chin. He had succeeded in pulling himself up to the lower ledge, about three stories below Adrian.
“Time for Plan B.” He sat down with his legs sprawled and shuffled around to get a better reach for the second round of explosives. He could still feel the layers of skin dangling from the sides of his neck where Adrian had buried his claws.
Shaw coolly reached into his pocket, and withdrew several sticks of dynamite. He retrieved the trusted lighter, the one he had used to use to fuel his previous smoking habit, and flicked the explosives’ wicks in succession.
A slim army of Carnelian’s crawled down the walls of the lower level, attempting one final attack on the stubborn lieutenant. Their iguana-like bodies slunk along the walls, opening their mouths, ready for the kill.
“Commander?” Shaw attempted one final communication with Kaspar. He heard the muted voice on the other end. “Godspeed and good luck. Shaw out.”
He then turned his attention to the approaching aliens.
“Hello there, boys, I have a present for you.” Shaw glared up at the blue organisms. Shaw chortled the words to Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire as he dropped the sticks of dynamite down the rest of the generator’s deep abyss.
The blast roared up the chamber and incinerated the Carnelians that were attached to the inner wall. Shaw rolled over and took cover by the exit door. Their screeches penetrated Shaw’s ears. Some had even made it and crawled over to the lieutenant.
Another round of explosions rocked the space station, severing it in half.
Kaspar firmly placed his hand over the scanner.
The LCD screen scanned his palm, and fingertips. The green and red lights flickered back and forth until a computerized voice welcomed the commander.
Commander Thaddeus Kaspar, how can I help you?
“Start the engines,” Kaspar ordered the computer. “Check the hyper drive, Abby.”
Attempting primary engines. Please stand-by.
“Come on.” Kaspar impatiently waited. He could feel the station exploding, and knew there wasn’t much time left.
Engines ignited, Commander. Hyper drive functional. Secondary engines are compromised. Attempting to repair engines with robotic assistance. The computer responded back.
“Get us the hell out of here, Abby,” Kaspar ordered the computer.
“Gillian, do you read me?” Kaspar spoke into the intercom. He pushed his weapon back into his belt.
“Yeah.”
“Open the other set of hangar doors.” Kaspar looked out the cockpit’s window.
“On it,” Gillian responded back.
Gillian made her way down the ramp, stepped out of the Abagail, and ran over to the white control panel. She was looking at a series of buttons. “Shit, which one?” She decided to press all of them. Without hesitation, Gillian hustled her ass as fast she could back to the ship and waited for the ship’s ramp to raise.
“It’s done, Commander,” Gillian spoke into the intercom, her back facing the rising ramp.
Kaspar felt heroic, staring off into the black space ahead. The Abagail successfully embarked on her new voyage leaving the obliterated space station behind.
The Abraham Lincoln International Space Station crumbled underneath the ferocious explosion. It showered Europa’s moon, raining down debris and hundreds of scorched Carnelians.
Kaspar sat down in the chair and ran his hand over the panel authorizing auto-pilot mode. He then headed back to the intercom.
“All safe, Jilly?” Kaspar heard dead silence coming over the intercom. “Gillian Shea, can you hear me?”
“Gillian’s unable to come to the phone right now, please wait while your subscriber is reached,” the voice cackled over the intercom before breaking into a humming tune of happiness.
“Adrian?” Kaspar seethed pressing his lips against the intercom’s speaker. His emotions swirled underneath a cloud of uncontrollable anger.
“Who else were you expecting? The Easter Bunny?” the voice mocked back.
“You harm one hair on her head, and I’ll personally kill you.”
“I relish that challenge. Meet me down in the cargo bay.”
Adrian abruptly ended the conversation with a sharp click of the intercom as the ramp door firmly closed
behind him.
Yo, Adrian!
“Welcome to the party, Commander,” Adrian greeted his guest to the cargo bay. Gillian was tightly held underneath Adrian’s left arm with a plasma shooter buried into her temple.
“Adrian, the game’s over.” Kaspar stood his ground. “You are not going to win this chess match.” He wanted so much to blast this piece of shit into space.
“Oh, but I strongly disagree. The game’s afoot,” Adrian replied with an undertone of his usual brand of cockiness.
“Afoot? Who the hell uses that in a sentence?” Kaspar asked the billionaire. “Nice look, by the way.” Adrian’s suit was ripped and torn, and his face had been charred from the fiery explosion back in the generator room. “Shaw got the best of you, I see.”
“I ran into some resistance with Shaw. But, he’s dead now. Can you believe that son-of-a-bitch tried to blow me up?” Adrian feigned surprise. “And, then I found out through some neat mind tricks, that you were the one who orchestrated this entire ingenious plan, not only incinerating the station, but my new family.”
“What can I say.” Kaspar fished for words. “I used to serve in the Russian Army.”
“I thought we were tight, Thaddeus. I let you fly my ship, eat my food, spend my money. Christ, we were like brothers. And, to find out you wanted me killed? Man, that’s such a downer.” Adrian played his card to the hilt. As far as Adrian was concerned he was playing with house money.
“You are not yourself, Adrian. Those Carnelian’s are using you.”
“Ironically, I have more power now than I did back on Earth.” Adrian lived for this moment.
“It’s over, Adrian.” Kaspar said.
“Not by a long-shot. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, you do kill me. I’ve found out that there are more of them out there. Europa was only a rest stop on their way to Earth. Luckily for Earth they crash landed on Europa. The moon served as the perfect breeding ground for their species. They’ve branched out all over the universe. Some might be even living on Earth, Mars, and any other planet NASA can name.”
“You bluff.”
“Try me.” Adrian peered around. “I can see the ship is now airborne, and flying her due course. Excellent job, Commander. I’ll be able to set the course for the planet in question. This is like taking candy from a baby.”
“Let her go. This is between me and you.” Kaspar stepped closer.
“I’d invite you to our wedding, but you won’t be making the trip, I’m afraid.” Adrian tightened his grip on his squirming prisoner. “Too bad, I could’ve used a best man.”
“Wedding?”
“Oh, you didn’t tell him about our consummation earlier tonight?” Adrian seemed a bit surprised at Gillian’s resistance to share the precious information with the commander.
“What the hell are you talking about, Adrian?” Kaspar started to boil underneath the surface.
“Oh, I get it. Mum’s the word,” Adrian raised the plasma shooter to his lips. “I won’t tell. You know, loose lips sink ships.” He returned the gun to Gillian’s temple. “You stay right there, hot shot.” Adrian stared down the commander. His scarred face wrinkled.
“I want the damn answer to my questions, Adrian. And, I want them now.” Kaspar reached behind his back.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Adrian raised his voice. “I’ll kill her.”
Kaspar pieced the puzzle together. “You impregnated her,” Kaspar said. The very idea sickened the commander. Adrian’s plan had been brought to the next level. “You won’t kill your only chance at prolonging your new race.”
“Were you born smart or does it just come naturally? Like my intelligence?” Adrian definitely had a flair for the dramatic.
“You won’t kill her. You need her,” Kaspar said. He saw several windows spread out across the cargo bay. They were small, but they could do the trick. The exit door behind Kaspar was the only way out and he held the advantage. The plasma shooter would be able to penetrate anything. Kaspar knew the ship just as well as Adrian. Ulysses built several cargo bays throughout the ship, which, by Adrian’s flamboyant design, were made detachable from the ship. Adrian had once said that his ultimate dream would be to send the cargo bays full of food and supplies to starving civilizations across the galaxy, as NASA’s plan for space travel was in full swing with attempts to colonize Mars, Europa, and other planets within the galaxy. This would prompt NASA to help build the Abagail in their attempt to spread goodwill across the galaxy.
“But, you need her. You love her.” Adrian raised his burnt eyebrows. “It’s fucking kismet.” A series of movements started underneath Adrian’s skin.
Gillian continued to struggle, attempting to escape from Adrian’s evil clutches. She could still feel those things crawling inside of Adrian.
“I can read your mind. Don’t think about taking out the windows, it’s useless.” Adrian attempted to jeopardize Kaspar’s plan.
“Yeah, I do love her, and I intend to get her back.” Kaspar acted with lightning quick speed and drew his weapon even before Adrian could react.
Adrian turned violent and threw Gillian to the ground in haste. He had no real intentions of killing the mother of his unborn child. “Time to die, Commander.” Adrian’s victorious grin saturated the moment. He smoothly pressed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Adrian lost his split-second advantage. “What the fuck is that about?” He again pressed the trigger.
Nothing.
“What’s the matter? Did you forget to read my mind on how to operate the plasma shooter?” Kaspar mocked Adrian. He had his weapon firmly fixed on him. “It’s a damn irony that your very design will be the death of you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Remember your ambitious plan for these cargo bays?”
“Refresh my memory.”
“The last time we talked, before you invited everyone to the city, you had stepped into the limelight with your innovative spaceship. Your quirky desire was to make all the cargo bays detachable.”
“I remember now. I wanted the Abagail to be the Red Cross of outer space.”
“Yeah, that worked out really well.”
“Enough chit-chat.” Adrian again pressed the trigger, but nothing happened.
“Gillian, get back to the cockpit.” Kaspar urged. He attempted to take a shot at Adrian, but a sudden rock from the ship robbed him of his chance.
Gillian didn’t hesitate. Adrian glanced down at the weapon. He had finally figured out how to work it. He pressed down on the hammer’s button and turned his attention to Kaspar. “I can still hurt your girlfriend without killing her.” Adrian winked at the riled commander, letting a series of bullets soar through the air.
Gillian felt a sudden burn tear through her shoulder as she stumbled past Kaspar and out into the hallway.
Kaspar regained control of his weapon and stared down Adrian.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” Adrian said with pleasure. “Now, it’s your turn.” Adrian attempted another shot, but the five-second delay would cost him his golden chance.
“You’re gonna pay for that.” Kaspar’s eyes narrowed and without a moment’s hesitation he sent a searing shot into Adrian’s chest. The plasma bullet burned right through Adrian’s chest and bore a hole into the cargo bay’s wall. The air began to seep out, beginning to suck the men across the room.
Adrian was caught off guard by the surprise move. He could feel his blood escaping through the hole. His blood squirted out into space and floated away from the cargo bay.
Kaspar quickly regenerated the shooter and sent wave after wave into Adrian’s body, piercing his lower abdomen, shoulders and legs.
Adrian felt his body adhere to the wall, limiting his movement. The air had sucked him to the wall like a fly to flypaper. Adrian again felt the intense air pressure suck away his blood. He could feel the Carnelian’s starting to shift within.
“You lost, Adrian,” Kaspar addr
essed the dying billionaire. He maintained his footing as Adrian’s body plugged the holes, limiting the kinetic force inside the bay.
“No, you lost, Thaddeus.” Adrian stared him down. “You might have succeeded in killing me, but be warned; they will find you. No matter where you go. This is only the beginning.” Adrian started to send a collection of mental shock waves through the cargo bay. He felt his powers start to weaken. The Carnelian’s were being sucked from Adrian’s body and pressed through the hole on the other side where they were transformed into a stream of bloody tissue.
“But, it is the end for you.” Kaspar uttered the words while he pressed back on the trigger one last time. “It’s time to open some windows and let the hot air out.” The scorching series of bullets reached their marks, burrowing their way through the windows, allowing the air to escape the cargo bay. Kaspar was already moving towards the door when the suction started to pull him back into the cargo bay.
Gillian grabbed hold of Kaspar’s wrist and with a series of hard pulls, safely brought the commander back into the hallway. Both of them scrambled to close the door.
“You can join the rest of your friends out in space.” Kaspar’s hands gripped the wheel and spun it firmly closed.
“Is he dead?” Gillian asked. Her hand covered her wound. “Man, this bitch hurts. You weigh a ton. Ever think about joining a gym?”
“I actually have a black card membership at Planet Fitness.” Kaspar turned to her. “Can you help me out?”
“What do you need?” Gillian asked.
“See that latch over there, to the right of the door?” Kaspar instructed Gillian.
“Yeah.”
“When I say, pull it out and twist it to the left.” Kaspar placed his hand on the other latch.
“Okay,” Gillian responded. She peeked one final time into the cargo bay.
“One. Two.” Kaspar started the countdown.
Rise of the Carnelians (Europa) Page 23