"Decision is out of your hands, X-Men," Corsair said. "I'm the captain of this vessel. My ship, my conscience, my choice."
He breathed deeply, then turned and strode into the cockpit. From where he sat, Cyclops could see his father drop into the co-pilot's chair and strap in.
"Punch it, Ch'od," Corsaid said. "Hit the hyperburners and let's get out of here."
"Aye,Captain," Ch'od replied.
Scott couldn't see the reptilian alien, but he knew Ch'od had followed Corsair's instructions, because moments later they were all pressed against their seats as the hyperburners kicked in.
Several times as they left orbit, surface to air weaponry strafed the ship. It rocked, and Cyclops thought he heard something pop and fizzle. Perhaps an electrical short, he thought. He smelled sulphur, something burning.
"Is that fire?" he asked, not ready to panic yet.
"Stay in your seats!" Corsair yelled. "We'll deal with it when we're through the gate. We've got to slow down to get through, and that's when the armada's going to get their shot at us."
With an abrupt jolt, Scott was thrown forward in his seat. He knew they were still moving, but it almost felt as if they had come to a complete stop.
"Oh God!"Jean cried next to him as an explosion on board the Starjammer threw them together. It must have been the armada, firing on them. Which meant they were entering the stargate.
"Just a few more seconds," Scott said, but he was as unnerved as she was. As he imagined they all were. Sparks were flying somewhere off to his right, and there was definitely a fire on board, perhaps more than one.
They were hit again, and the ship seemed to drop with a nauseating suddenness. Scott's stomach lurched. The interior lights went out, and the backup lights came on for a moment, then flickered out as well. The only light within the cabin came from the flicker of flames.
In silence, they all braced for another hit. They prepared themselves for what they expected would be the final strike against the Starjammer. You didn't have to be a star pilot to know the ship couldn't take much more. Scott thought he heard someone praying, a male voice, but he couldn't begin to think about who it might be.
Every muscle in his body tensed, waiting for that last hit.
But it didn't come.
"We're in!" Corsair shouted. "Now put those damn fires out!"
Cyclops, Raza and Archangel went to work immediately, dousing the flames with chemicals kept on board for that specific purpose. Minutes later, the fires were out and the emergency lights had been restored.
"We're coming out of it, folks," Corsair said quietly. But there was something in his tone. A hesitancy that Scott found particularly unsettling.
"Dad?" he asked, though he did not usually use the term in front of others. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Corsair stepped into the cabin and scanned his passengers. Finally, he looked at his son. Scott studied his father's expression, his handsome, rugged features. He'd seen the look on Corsair's face before. For a moment, Scott was a boy again, back on that burning plane with his brother Alex and his parents. But he'd lost his father once before. He was no longer a boy. He was a man now. No matter what, Scott Summers was not going to bailout again.
"What is it?" he asked again, and hearing the concern in his voice, they all froze, looking to Corsair for an answer.
"We've emerged into the Sol system, as planned," Corsair said. "We're almost home, people. But we're not going to get there."
Nobody moved, nobody spoke. Cyclops didn't think, at that moment, that any of them even remembered to breathe.
"What are you saying?" he asked, finally.
"The only thing still functioning on this ship is backup power and life support," Corsair answered, a hard set to his jaw.
"The Starjammer is drifting. For all intents and purposes, this ship is dead in space."
Epilogue
From the window of his study, Charles Xavier watched with extraordinary relief as the Blackbird descended through the night sky over his home. He'd spoken to Val Cooper half a dozen times in the previous two hours, but there had been no word regarding Magneto, the Acolytes, or the Sentinels. The last time they'd spoken, Val had informed him that it might be some time before they would be in contact again. Washington, unsurprisingly, was in an uproar.
And the public had no idea. Not a single clue as to what was really happening. Certainly, the press had been spouting wild theories all day and night, but the truth had not yet been revealed. Xavier knew from experience that, if at all possible, the government would want to keep it that way. Keeping secrets ... creating secrets was one of Washington's favorite pastimes. Charles psionically monitored the X-Men's arrival in the hangar. When they had allemerged from the Blackbird, he stretched his mind out to touch each of their minds.
Welcome home, X-Men. Pleasehurry to the ready room immediately. We must prepare for Magneto's next move, whatever it may be.
• • •
Fifteen minutes later, they gathered in the ready room. The mood was grim. Video monitors in the wall were tuned to the major networks and CNN, hoping that some news would be forthcoming. Xavier had the comm-system constantly dialing and redialing Val Cooper's number, without luck. He didn't expect an answer any time soon.
Storm had given the Professor a full accounting of the events that had taken place in Colorado. After which, a thoughtful silence descended upon the room, broken only by the chatter of television broadcasts.
"What do we do now, Professor?" Bishop asked. "We can't just wait around for Magneto to make his move."
"I'm grieved to say that is probably our singular option," Hank sighed.
"It don't sit well with me, but I got to agree with Hank," Logan admitted.
"Hey, guys," Bobby said, getting the team's attention.
"Are we forgetting who we're dealing with here? Whatever Magneto's got planned. We won't have to wait very long. What worries me is, between him, the Acolytes, and the Sentinels, we're going to need every bit of help we can get."
"Which brings us to the rest of this team," Storm said. "What of them, Professor? Any word from Cyclops?"
Xavier knew that he should have told them when they first arrived. But he simply had not wanted to think about it. Now, though, there was no avoiding it. His eyes narrowed ashe considered his words.
"Professor, what is it?" Hank asked, and Xavier could sense his concern.
"I communicated with Lilandra a short time ago," Xavier answered. "The Shi'ar hierarchy is in an uproar. Deathbird has been badly injured, and both the Starjammers and the X-Men escaped into the stargate. Of course, I was forced to deny any knowledge of the X-Men's actions."
"That's phenomenal news, Professor!" Bobby said excitedly. "Not that I ever doubted they'd pull it off, but ..."
"There's more to it than that, Iceman," Xavier interrupted. "Whatever happens with Magneto, you must be prepared to face it without your teammates."
Professor Xavier swallowed. He could not have missed the anxiety that now filled all of the gathered X-Men, even without his psi powers.
"It has been several hours since the Starjammer entered the stargate, nearly that since they ought to have emerged," Xavier said. "Yet, I have not been able to contact the vessel, nor have I received any communication from them."
"Where are they?" Storm wondered aloud.
"God knows," Xavier responded. "And I hope that he watches over them."
Once more, silence draped the room like a sodden blanket, heavy with apprehension that was quickly evolving into dread. Xavier wished he had the words to comfort his friends, his former students, his X-Men, but for once, he could not think of a single thing to say.
"Professor," Hank murmured, breaking the silence. "Professor."
Xavier looked up. What is it, Hank? he thought, using telepathy to ask the question.
"Increase the volume," the Beast whispered, and only then did Xavier notice that Hank was not looking at him, but past him, to the bank of video monitors on the far wall.
Professor Charles Xavier turned, and was startled to see the face of his oldest friend, and his greatest enemy, staring back at him from all four of the monitors.
"Eric," he mumbled to himself.
Then all they could do was listen.
"... am jamming all cable feeds and network broadcasts and supplementing them with my own signal," Magneto said.
His face filled the screen. Framed by his crimson helmet, Magneto's eyes glared with intensity under winter-white eyebrows that ought to have made him appear kindly. Instead, they made him look cruel and, somehow, sad as well. Or perhaps that was Xavier's interpretation, for he knew Magneto to be both of those things.
"Two roads diverged into a wood," Magneto began, using a quote from Robert Frost that made the moment all the more surreal. Xavier remembered that Eric Magnus Lehnsherr, the man who would become Magneto, had always loved Frost.
"Humanity has ever chosen the easy path. Like animals to the slaughter, you brainlessly trod together down the path of intolerance, bigotry and hate. All along, you might have chosen another path, and this day might have been averted. But perhaps you are animals after all. Perhaps you are without true awareness or nobility.
"For many years I have fought to make the world a safe place for my people, for mutantkind. Recently, I determined to create a haven, or sanctuary, where mutants could live undisturbed by the fear-inspired predations of the human animal.
"As of this moment, I have the means to create this haven here on Earth. And there's nothing you can do to prevent it. The choice has been taken from your hands. I have forced the world onto the road less traveled, and you will find it a hard road indeed."
The camera panned back to reveal two Sentinels, hovering in the air some distance behind Magneto. Beyond them, the skyline of New York City.
"Dear God," Xavier said in astonishment.
"As of this moment," Magneto continued, "Manhattan island is in my control. It is a haven for mutants, which will serve as the template for the world of peace that I have worked so long to bring about. All mutants are welcome, as are all humans. But mutants will rule here. No human being will be harmed so long as they adhere to the laws of the mutant government. Those who wish to leave will be allowed egress and relocation. The new laws, and the boundaries of the haven, will be enforced by the Sentinels, by my Acolytes, and of course, by myself.
"Manhattan island is the financial and cultural center of North America. Yet it is only the beginning. Very soon, the Mutant Empire will spread throughout the world.
"Earth will be at peace, or it will be destroyed. That is my promise to you."
Magneto disappeared from the screens, and they erupted with a panicked meltdown of news coverage. As the X-Men began to discuss strategies, and looked to him for direction, bile rose in Xavier's throat. For decades, he had dreamed of harmony between mutants and humans.
Xavier's dream was about to be put to the ultimate test.
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