by Davis, John
Chandra finally cut the lieutenant loose, though she did her best to keep him close.
“A little help?” Jack asked, turning to begin offering his own arm to those who needed help climbing up into the chopper.
“Wait? The children?” Julia asked loudly.
“Relax, they were on an earlier flight out. Missing all the fun.” Wesley replied.
“You mean?”
“Yea, they're no doubt out of harm's way. Eating well and sleeping warm, I'd say.” Wesley added.
“Oh,” Julia replied with a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
People continued to file into the chopper, each one of them hoisting themselves up through a large door at its rear. Dozens more awaited their turn, but Jack knew it could never be.
“We pick up too many more and we'll be weighted. Never make it to the surface.” the lieutenant commented loudly.
He also knew that the war ship, no matter how mighty, was still taking major shots and would soon burst into nothing.
One of the two soldiers positioned in the front of the chopper, turned to hand-signal the door closed. His order followed moments later by another soldier pressing a large button to its right.
The passengers aboard the chopper could hear the screams of those outside – total chaos continuing.
Cries for help and pounding against the thick steel of blast doors, as the chopper began to pull from the ship's deck slowly. Jack's stomach began to knot as he thought of those screaming people being left behind. Perhaps a few of them would find themselves safely aboard another skiff – though he knew for certain that most would perish.
Jack also thought of the war ensuing right outside of their ship – small fighters tearing into one another as cannon shots ripped wildly through the void black of space. He understood that their journey to the surface would no doubt be a turbulent ride. One that may find them all meeting death by way of exploding fragmentation.
Then again, should they survive the onslaught of enemy fire, their survival could very well be short lived down below. On a rain-drenched rock that hosted the colony. The fucking spot which, in his mind, started everything. It had quickly become a curse of sorts, a damnation of his sins now pushing against him.
Jack would be lucky to survive the free-fall. They all would. If luck was on his side, Jack's inner soldier would once again be forced to fight for their survival. This time, however, it was as if he were a wounded tiger with nothing more to lose. His wife, his crew – everything he'd lived for up until this moment. Gone. Jack embraced the fight to come, his fingers clamoring a bit from the thoughts of revenge against these bastards of the stars. This time he didn't run from the fight, he ran to it.
Two tears in a bucket.
-
“Delta-Seven-Delta, this is Star Hammer Orion. We read you loud and clear and have received your coordinates. Hold tight and give them hell, we're nearly three full days out. Copy?” a soldier replied through his hand com, awaiting a reply.
A reply that would never come.
“Call our scout ships back and burn to their position.” a highly-decorated officer ordered.
“Yes sir,” one of the soldiers replied, nearly a dozen in total – each seated in front of a workstation. “May not have the fuel to make a return trip if we burn the entire way.”
“So be it,” the commander replied. “Send out a message to the defense platform, tell them we're responding. Advise them we may be burning into a one-way trip and ask them to get us a tanker ship as soon as possible.”
“Yes sir.” the soldier replied.
Each of the soldiers knew it'd be a one way trip if they burned in. Simply put, the ship would consume fuel at alarming rates – pushing the engines to their limits in return. It would allow them to make what was normally a three day trip in about half of the time. The core warned against this, however, as the ship would tap through its reserves and become stranded at its destination.
It was a gamble. Each of the six Star Hammer ships were nothing short of massive. Built to serve as a command post in space, they were filled with commanding weaponry and thousands of skilled marines who knew how to utilize it.
As four birds made their approach to the Hammer's docking bay – each of them an unarmed recon shuttle, their lights blinked of red and yellow. Sensors which began to communicate with lights built within the flooring of the hangar. Moments later, the shuttle's on-board navigational systems synced with the navigational systems built into the hangar's flooring. All of the lights turning green.
Standard procedure as the small ships coasted in on auto-pilot, bringing each of them to a soft landing as steel beams gently rested onto the thick flooring below.
Less than five minutes after, the entire ship began to thrust loudly, eventually burning its way to the fight. Hoping to rescue anyone who was in need, though the Hammer's commander had no idea of the enemy forces that awaited him. He simply knew of a fight in which marines just like him, needed help. And help was on the way. Sprinting hard across the star-draped landscape and ready to whip some ass.
-
“Gonna be going down hard,” one of the soldiers yelled, shouting his warning to the seemingly overcrowded shuttle of souls. “If you've got a harness, use it. If not, find something bolted to the ship's frame and don't let go.”
It was the worst sight Jack had ever witnessed, at least in terms of battle. As they glared through the thick windows of the small craft, which tumbled quickly to the colony's gravitational pull, Jack knew it without a doubt.
They were beaten.
A majority of the ships outside of the glass were painted with markings he'd never seen before, and gave chase to defenseless shuttles that bolted for the surface. Shuttles just like the one currently full of panic.
Feeling the dip of their ship's nose – a good sign that a significant free-fall was upcoming, Jack removed his military-grade jacket. Wrapping it around both himself and Julia, the soldier then tied it firmly around one of the shuttle's support beams. Knowing it was surely welded to the ship's frame.
“I,” Julia muttered with panic. “I don't want to die.”
“Nobody wants to die,” Jack replied. “I can promise you that if we live through this, I will protect you down there.”
The young lady began to weep, as did many aboard the shuttle as others found themselves praying.
Jack found himself wanting to comfort her, but his own grief was nearly unbearable. With his eyes crisped with tears, Jack simply embraced her – strong arms doing their best to reassure a woman in doubt.
From the safety of a harness, Chandra had seen the exchange between Jack and Julia. For years, the female soldier had felt something for Lieutenant Jack Strong. Something more than friendship.
Often times she'd denied it to members of their team, but certain death has a way of forcing feelings to the surface. Chandra did something she'd not done in many years. Cried. Not heavily, but noticeably enough for Renaldo to spot it.
As soldiers they were trained to never fear death. Even in such a time, the sniper knew her grief was emotional. He seemed to understand her pain – sliding his hand over a bit and clasping onto her own.
It was in that very moment that everyone began to question their lives. The choices they'd made and feeling unexplored. The hammering of rain against the outer shell of their shuttle gave way to the fact that impact was soon to come. No time for second chances.
“Jack,” Chandra yelled, loud enough to get the attention of their longtime leader. “I love you. Always have.”
The seconds in which it took his mind to process her confession were their last before impact.
It would be their last moments alive aboard the doomed shuttle. Every soul lost in the fiery crash.
The Star Hammer Orion would arrive nearly a week after Chandra's confession of love – finding a tough fight with their demon-like opponents. A race of technologically superior beings with no regard for innocent life.
Less than a
day later, the succubus army would find that humanity was up to the challenge of a tough fight. Star Hammer ships joining alongside the Orion and eradicating such a vile race of warriors.
Though it would take nearly a year to do so.
As we colonized on the small moon once more, our soldiers began to recover what remained of the wreckage.
Lieutenant Jack Strong received a medal of honor following his death – along with every member of his team. Their journey into such a place and their sacrifice in the face of such dangers, never to be forgotten.
What would be forgotten, however, was Chandra's love for the lieutenant. His response never to be heard. They made a journey into whatever heaven or hell awaited them, with a singular thought. What could have been.
Unfortunately in the world of adventure, even heroes die. Each of us would like to believe that a happy ending is guaranteed. That somehow, someway, the hero of our story will find a way to prevail in the end.
I'm here to tell you that thousands die everyday. Each of them, the hero of their own story.
We would go on to learn that the succubus were only one of several alien races among the stars. Some of them peaceful – others violent. The most violent among them...human.
-
If you take anything from this short story, let it be this. Each of us will eventually find ourselves in a doomed shuttle of sorts. And though our demise will differ, our purpose up until that very moment remains the same. Live without regret. Follow your dreams and follow your heart, no matter where it may lead you.
Everyone's life ends in death. The setting, be it spaceships or a quiet hospital room in one of our many cities, will always be different. However, they all lead to a single closing moment in which we take a last breath. Take that breath knowing you made your mark on the world around you.
In fact, live every single moment of your life as if it were your last. In doing so, everything else will fall into place. Your loved ones will know where you stand. Your life will be full of happiness. Most importantly, when your moment finally arrives, you'll be able to leave smiling. That's what matters in the end.
Enjoy The Colony? Several books are NOW AVAILABLE from John M. Davis:
It's saloons and airships in this series! Adam Michaels is a down on his luck smuggler who stumbles onto true love. He'll have to use every trick in the book, however, as he's being hunted down by vampires for a deal gone wrong. His spaceship of scrap parts and crew of wily intentions will have you laughing throughout the entire adventure.
Gunship: The Series
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The Flight(Gunship I)
Glimmeria(Gunship II)
Reflections(Gunship III)
Gears and Spears(Gunship IV)
Legendary(Gunship V)
Ancients return to our planet in the near future, answering some of our greatest mysteries. Torn between enslaving us and harvesting us as a food source, however, prompts a civil war between two factions of the amber-eyed demons. Seizing the opportunity, humanity begins to fight back with everything we have left. Our hero, however, just happens to be torn between two lovers.
Guardian Angel (Book I)
Guardian Angel II (Berlin War)
Guardian Angel III (Days of Ruin) – coming early 2014.