by C. S. Harte
“They brought their own,” Nume said matter-of-factly.
Barick cocked his head to the side. “Is that possible, Jadin?”
Jadin shrugged and said, “Well, that’s a hell of a trick if they could do that.”
“Do you know the exact coordinates, Nume?” Barick asked.
She nodded her head and touched Barick's cheek.
Numbers began populating in his mind.
“Got it, thanks. Setting course now to that star. Full ion engines.”
The Endurance began sailing through the nebula.
“Captain, are we going to leave without Tien?” She looked ready to protest the decision to leave.
“The number one priority is to get out of here with what we’ve learned. There’s a new, powerful, possibly invasive alien species. Fleet Command absolutely needs to know.”
The Sphereships sent another volley of projectiles.
“Shields at 15%! Next wave will destroy us!”
“Fire at will, everything we got, empty our arsenal! We need to buy time!”
“Understood. Setting broad targeting.”
Every laser cannon fired from the Endurance. All six torpedo bays, loaded with Artemis missiles, discharged their loads.
“Direct hit, to targets number, 2, 3, 4, and 6. No discernible damage…”
Barick sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
“Should I fire again?”
“No, divert all power to rear shields and ion engine. Get warp engines online and charged. Our only chance is to escape.” He looked at Nume. “I hope you’re right about the star in this nebula.”
She smiled at Barick. “I am.”
“I’m detecting the gravity of a star, Captain. It’s a small red dwarf, .08 Sol in size. That’s tiny. I think they were using sensor jamming technology. That coupled with the interference of this nebula…”
“Great! One mystery solved. Let’s hope we can make it there.”
Another hit. Explosions echoed throughout the ship.
“Shields down! Shields down!” Jadin shouted.
“We need 60 seconds… Fire another round of Artemis missiles,” Barick ordered.
Another six missiles shot out of the Endurance’s torpedo tubes.
“45 seconds. C’mon…”
“Another direct hit!” Jadin yelled. “They aren’t slowing down… Nothing is working.”
“Can you siphon energy from the shield generators to the ion engines since the shield emitters are offline? We just need to buy 30 seconds till the Endurance reached the hidden star.”
“That’s genius, Captain. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” Jadin worked furiously. “OK, done.”
“Updating calculations,” Barick said. “10 seconds left.”
Another round of projectiles from the sphereships. The Endurance began vibrating from the strain on its hull. Multiple explosions rocked the ship.
Barick's eyes widened at his new console reading. “No… We’re slowing down. Jadin, we’re losing power to the ion engines.”
“There’s nothing I can do. We barely have enough power for the warp engines. If I divert any more, we won’t be able to warp when we get there.”
“Divert life support then.”
“Captain?”
“Do it. Do it now!” He looked over at Nume. “Is there anything you can do?”
She nodded and said, “I’ll try.” She closed her eyes and tugged at her left ear.
Barick gasped. It’s her. The ear tug! It has to be Saera…
Nume’s face and body became visibly tense.
“Something is happening to the Sphereships! They’re slowing down.” Jadin reported.
“Nume! You did it!” Barick beamed a smile at Nume.
She collapsed onto the floor, landing hard on her head as she fell.
“No…” Barick first instinct was to help Nume, but they weren’t safe yet.
“5 seconds till we reach the gravity well. The Sphereships seem frozen.”
Three seconds.
Two seconds.
One second.
“Engaging warp!” Jadin shouted.
Space shrunk in front of the Endurance and expanded in the rear, pulling the ship into warp space.
Epilogue
Jonas sat on the sofa of the rebuilt observation deck. Sleep still eluded him. The faces of lost crewmates chased him awake whenever he dared to close his eyes.
The Endurance made it to the Commonwealth outpost at Leonis Prime. It floated in a stardock while an army of engineers and repair drones restored the ship to its former glory.
Somewhere on the space station, Nume sat in a Commonwealth holding cell, undergoing daily interrogations. Fleet Command became suspicious of her after reviewing the event details.
Saera is inside her. Somewhere. There was no way to prove Nume was Saera. Her genetic material and memories were forever altered. Still, Nume looked like Saera. She had some of her features and mannerisms.
Jonas held a datapad in his hand. The letter from his brother remained opened. Reports of the Mimic invasion at Ostia Station traveled to every corner of the Commonwealth, the ending already spoiled. Every sailor at Ostia Station died. For five years, Jonas was angry at Nolan. Now Jonas was furious at himself. He never tried to reach out to Nolan. Never considered that the loss of Saera was a loss for both of them. He’ll never get a chance to apologize to his brother.
Tears fell onto the datapad. Jonas lived in a cruel universe. One that took away his baby sister and tore apart his family. When Saera returned, she was different to the point of not being Saera at all. All it cost was the life of his brother, a heartless, wicked, and sadistic exchange by any measure.
Reading the letter from Nolan would be a goodbye. A farewell to a brother that he had forgotten how much he loved. Jonas wasn’t ready to part with another person he cared for, not after the week he experienced. “You were a much better brother to me than I was ever to you…”
The datapad fell from his grasp. Jonas covered his face with his hands. Tears began streaming through his fingers. “I’m sorry, Nolan.”
Acknowledgments
Every day, my Maria brings sunshine to my life. Without her, I would not be able to get out of bed.
To my friends and family, your support and encouragement is food for my soul.
I have a great team of editors, designers, and ARC readers who make my books sparkle and shine. Without them, my books would not be worthy of anyone’s time.
My author friends, thank you for reminding me that I’m not alone or crazy and for being there.
To the fans that contact me with glowing reviews and praise, you are my motivation to push myself a little more each day. I wish I could write faster for you.
And to my mother, who I still think about every day.
About the Author
C. S. Harte is a writer of speculative fiction. Endurance is his second novella and fourth published story, overall.
In his spare time, he bakes French pastries. But not to eat. That would negate the little exercise that he does. It is a life goal for him to one day create the perfect macaron.
Keep in touch:
http://csharte.com
http://instagram.com/csharte
https://www.facebook.com/csharteauthor
http://www.goodreads.com
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-s-harte
Reader Circle
Thank you for buying this book by C.S. Harte.
To receive notice of special offers, free books, bonus content, and updates of new books, please sign up for the Reader Circle via the link below.
http://csharte.com
yscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share