by G. P. Moss
"I was left behind. I did not desert like your Hoare over there. At some point, there may be a chance to reunite with StarTapped Beta Command. Depending on their attitude and a suitable apology from my family, that is."
Captain DuPont scratches his head.
He is a reasonable man.
Yvette's lovely, melodic voice reaches his ears.
"Sir, I volunteer to help crew Beta 4 with First Officer Stevie Lo. I am a spare engineer. Just a thought. Sir."
"It would mean you resigning your commission with French-Welsh and signing with Captain Ariel."
Ariel is excited at the news but will be sorry to see Stevie change ships.
"What is your current rank, Yvette?"
"Ensign, ma'am."
"Transfer to us and I shall promote you to First Officer. Stevie, you will be a Vice Captain."
Yvette looks thrilled.
"What is your team called, ma'am?"
"We do not have a name yet."
"Then for now, I will say I fly with Team Ariel!"
Ariel smiles.
Francoise rolls his eyes. Once. Any more and they start to click.
"That settles it, then. Off you go, Yvette. Good luck and bon voyage!”
“Thank you, Captain DuPont; I will miss you.”
The French military hero wipes away a tear.
“And you, my dear.”
Chapter Nineteen
Milky Way (StarTapped Beta Command, contemplating a state of readiness)
Nicholls briefs his Beta crews.
"Make sure communication is cockpit only. This next information is highly classified, some may say top secret. We will shortly initiate a chain of events that I hope will allow us to investigate the possibility of landing on Whistler. But first, we have to get past Mr Whistler and his remaining fighters. I only counted 5 remaining, from the 6 we originally encountered."
Only 3 remain but he doesn't know that.
Beta 6's Captain, Andy Oliver, cuts through the intercom.
'Sir, shall we transfer all civilians before entering Whistler space-space? I don't think they will relish the idea of stomaching a battle."
"Transfer where, Oliver? Andy. Oliver. We need all cruisers in fighting mode. Do not tell them what is about to happen. Understood?"
A significant pause.
"Yes, Sir!”
Lady H cannot help herself.
"Yay for StarTapped! Heading into battle all secret and surprisey!"
Nobody comments.
Taking on Mr Whistler could possibly be the rashest, and last thing StarTapped ever does.
Important Captain Nicholls will possibly be remembered by no one as the man who, by default, ordered the destruction of most of the remainder of the human race.
He is incredibly courageous or mind-blowingly stupid.
Time will tell.
*
Planet Whistler
Mr Whistler inspects his 3 remaining fighters. They are in a hangar, in pieces, flight-tech droids attempting repairs. They have been hit badly; it will take some time to restore them to battle readiness.
"It is just me now then. My spaceship is now the last line of defence for my kingdom!"
No one comments. It is best in these situations.
"Ha! Not to worry. Those Earthling wannabes will never have the guts to return to my patch. Spineless, inexperienced space explorers; space pirates will eat them all alive, yum yum!"
He climbs the steps to his grand, white turreted castle, surveying the beautiful landscape around. The small population is obedient and subservient, mining the sparkling minerals that make him the richest man on the planet.
Attacks have been few and far between and each time were subdued by his 3 most experienced and capable fighter pilots. Yes, Poppy, Damien, and Pedro saw them all off, sending them away with their tails between their wobbling legs.
Scratching his head, he ponders recent events. His 3 favoured warriors lost. He thinks of the 3 remaining; Denny, Kenny, and Lenny, 3 brothers who spend more time squabbling amongst themselves than training to be better combatants. Not to worry. He will train more, build new fighters, and restore his empire with military might.
He should hurry.
Storm clouds approach.
Storm clouds armed to the teeth.
*
Speaking of lost heroes.
Whistling Warriors Damien and Pedro are moving at speed through the Milky Way.
Damien is taking a chance.
Pedro is just heading wherever his stricken fighter leads him.
They are both on a collision course with recently decimated planet Earth.
They both think they are alone.
They are both angry.
*
Planet Frelsh
What to do with the jelly heads of planet Frelsh?
Francoise decides to leave the newly mashed civilians where they are, leaving them supplies of food and equipment.
He is wasting good food and equipment. Jelly heads only care for the jelly leaf which supplies all the nutrients they need to giggle and stumble through life.
But like I already said, Captain Francoise DuPont is a nice man.
They take off in order to explore the rest of the planet, find a base without jelly leaves and figure out what to do next. It has not turned out as Francoise had hoped, now that experienced decision makers are turning green and wobbly.
The French-Welsh Alliance are now a mini unit, a micro nation, without direction.
But at least their leader is a nice man.
And they have their own planet.
Sort of.
*
The last space cadet has come a long way and not just in miles. Within a short space of spacetime, she has established herself as a competent leader, fighter, and negotiator, as well as already granting asylum to a much-valued alien warrior.
She wants to find StarTapped Beta Command, be reunited with her deserting family and basically be able to ride her mountain bike down steep hills with dangerous drops.
She wants these things, but she does not need them.
Ariel Hope is an independent person.
"Harry, are we cleared to go?”
"Yes, Ariel; all systems checked and ready."
Ariel misses the sarcasm. If she ever finds the programmer, Polly, she may just ask her to restore Harry to sarky mode.
"Stevie, is everything cool in Beta 4?"
"We're all cool here, Captain. She's ready to fly. So is Beta 4!"
Ariel hears some French giggling in the background.
She is not jealous.
Stevie is a great catch.
Except for the wolf bit.
He needs a special lady to handle that.
Yvette's sing song voice, as light and tuneful as a bird, is like that for a reason.
Yes.
She just might be.
*
Milky Way (StarTapped at the ready)
Nicholls gives the order.
"Stupid speed 2 seconds. GO!"
8 StarTapped Beta cruisers smash through all reasonable concepts of speed.
They emerge at the edge of the giant dust cloud.
Not the greatest environment in which to clearly see your enemy.
Nicholls is oblivious to this minor distraction.
"Keep it steady...keep it steady."
All cruisers are keeping it steady.
As the dust begins to thin, the Whistler planet can be seen in the distance.
Lady H gasps.
"Wow, it looks so beautiful!"
"Radio silence please, everyone. No more observations, lovely though they may be. Complete focus, please. Prime AIs for attack mode. Fingers on buttons. Get ready."
*
Mr Whistler potters around in his spaceship. The crew are at lunch, away from the ship, in the bright red canteen, designed to cause headaches and nausea, chewing their meagre rations in a sultry manner. Today’s offering is carrot kebabs.
A warning light flashe
s on the main console. Space-space is being compromised.
The screen lights up.
"What the...?"
There is no time to recall the crew.
Mr Whistler checks his moustache in the mirror. His neat black uniform is freshly pressed, high boots polished to a glimmering shine. He is ready for anything.
*
The Whistler crew look up from their kebabs as the spaceship launches without them. In a weapons specialist's pocket is the chip he was replacing after lunch. The main laser firing chip.
The weapons specialist returns to the carrot. This is good, makes a nice change from turnip.
*
Nicholls sees the spaceship travelling towards StarTapped Beta Command.
"Hold your fire. Wait...wait...almost...wait...FIRE!"
8 Beta cruisers unleash their deadly laser weapons as the spaceship suddenly stops.
Nicholls can see the damage already inflicted. What intrigues him is why there is no response from the Whistler craft.
Mr Whistler sits in his raven black high leather chair, impotently pressing his advanced laser buttons. Nothing is happening.
A single technical status form sits to the side.
Red faced, his ears steaming, he reads the latest log.
'Main laser firing chip being replaced. Original not damaged, just thought it was time for a new one. Replacing after lunch.'
The spaceship begins to roll, its defences now breached. As Mr Whistler continues to steam, his hand crushing the technical status form, his beloved ship spins, lurching violently as its controls malfunction.
The Whistler spaceship drifts away, probably to end up in some far away space rubbish dump with noisy neighbours.
*
Nicholls stares at the screens to the left and right of him. He then tries it one at a time.
Better.
He is still staring, open mouthed.
The cruisers are in a perfect Vulcan formation, except for the 2 at the back, Lady H and Jeremy West.
It is a proud moment.
He addresses the rest of Beta Command.
"Attention, everyone. Many congratulations on defeating the Whistler spaceship. Great shooting, all. We are now in a position to explore the possibility of finding a new home for humankind. The civilians do not need to know this will have been a hostile takeover. We just discovered it, right? Blah de blah and all that. Let us see what we have just won!"
A massive cheer reverberates around each cockpit.
Captain Ed Hope has mixed feelings. He is relieved Nicholls' recklessness has not brought catastrophe and there may be a chance for settlement.
He cannot celebrate. All he thinks about is his beloved daughter, Ariel. If she survived and how she is doing.
“Miri, any signs of Beta 2?”
“Nothing, Ed. Not a sausage. Not a...”
“Yes, thank you Miri, I get the gist.”
He regrets leaving without knowing.
*
Gobby Johnny Hope sits in the family's quarters, holding his mother's hand, his Spacie uniform immaculate in its possibilities of future grandeur. In her earpiece, Gerry has just received news of the battle outcome. She hugs her son in relief and joy.
Gobby Johnny gently releases himself from the cloying embrace. He dreams of a massive office from which to rule the universe. Some of it, anyway.
Even a little piece will do.
End Note
I have left out many of the hard, scientific facts of space travel for the sake of my mental health.
If you enjoyed the adventures of Ariel Hope, The Last Space Cadet, please read more as she continues her epic adventure, and see what happens to StarTapped Beta Command, French-Welsh Alliance, and Damien & Pedro, currently heading to Earth.
I would love you to visit and like my Facebook page where I shall keep you updated on Ariel’s adventures.
Thank you for reading!
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