Jewel of The Stars - Season 1 Episode 1 - Earth's Remnant

by Adam David Collings

  “I don’t think she’s dead, sir, not yet, but she doesn’t have long. You need to have an emergency medical team standing by when we arrive.”

  Les turned to Maya. She was already on it.

  “It was the alien, Captain.”

  “I thought Braxton killed it.”

  “Apparently not, sir. We took it down, but who knows. It may still get up again. We won’t be here to find out.”

  “Get that woman safely aboard this ship, Jaylen. We owe her our lives. She has to make it.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Braxton gripped the stick and stared at his instruments. This was always the hardest part. He was in combat, but the battle hadn’t started yet. Distances were huge in space, and most of the time was spent getting into the enemy’s weapons range. The fighter was armed and equipped. The crew of the Boston had likely been prepping it for launch, but had died before they could finish.

  This coming fight was for them, the brave men and women of the Boston, as much as it was for anyone else. They’d lost their lives in this pointless and unprovoked attack. Braxton would avenge them. He’d avenge them all.

  Even if it killed him.

  #

  Medics rushed the metal hospital gurney through the corridor and into the sickbay ahead of Les. He caught a glimpse of Haylee’s prone form but it wasn’t pretty. Les had never seen so much red. The medics were frantic, so the woman must still be alive. There would be no reason to rush if it was all over.

  A nurse shoved an IV needle into Haylee’s arm. Rashona Clarke stepped out of the prep room, pulling a disposable gown over her scrubs. She glanced at the floor for a moment, the large gold cross hanging from her neck glinting in the light. Then she raised her head, all businesslike, and started barking orders at her team.

  A man burst through the doors behind Les.

  “Haylee,” he yelled.

  Les stepped forward and took his arm. “You need to stay back. We have to let the doctor work.”

  “Ron?” Haylee said, her voice low and weak.

  The man’s mask cracked. Tears formed in his eyes.

  A communication icon flashed in the corner of Les’s view. It was Sarah McLaughlan. He let go of Ron’s arm and swiped the notification. “Miller.”

  “Captain,” Sarah said, her words rapid. “Is Haylee conscious?”

  Les glanced over his shoulder. “Barely.”

  “I need her help getting this reactor installed.”

  “She’s in a fight for her life right now Sarah. You’ll have to make do without her.”

  “You don’t understand, Captain. I can’t do this without her. Not if you want a chance in hell that we’ll be ready to defend ourselves when the aliens get here.”

  “Let … me … help,” Haylee gasped.

  “No you don’t,” Doctor Clarke said. “You’re going in to surgery. I intend to save your life.”

  “If we don’t get the cannon working … it … won’t … matter. We’ll all be dead.”

  “No,” Ron Said. “You have to operate now.”

  “Please Captain,” Haylee gasped.

  Les took a huge breath and turned to Rashona. “Can you do this while she’s awake?”

  Rashona’s eyes widened as if to say are you kidding? “Unlikely. We can use local, but with all that’s going on she could pass out any time.”

  Les tapped a few more controls on his wristband. He then faced the surgical bay. “You’re patched in, Haylee. Make it quick. You’ve done a good job saving us, but now the doc needs to save you.”

  #

  The alien ship was dropping out of warp.

  “You bloody beauty!” Braxton yelled.

  His hope that the aliens would give in to curiosity were being realised. He wasted no time in aiming his torpedoes and jammed the fire control.

  The torpedoes burst forth from under his wings and sailed towards their target.

  “Fish in the water,” he announced to nobody in particular.

  The alien vessel was boxy. There was no elegance to its design at all. A great metallic brick. It was massive compared to the Boston, but paled next to Jewel of the Stars. It was heavily armoured. There was little chance Braxton would be able to destroy the thing single-handed, but that wasn’t his aim. The task at hand was to distract them. Every second he kept them occupied was another second Sarah and Haylee had to get the cannon working.

  Bright green bolts of light burst from the alien ship engulfing both his torpedoes. Braxton yanked the stick, spinning his fighter around, ready to make another pass.

  Five sparkling orbs fired out of various parts of the alien ship and all converged in an intercept course with Braxton’s fighter. They looked like the plasma balls he’d played with as a kid. Braxton readied his laser. As the orbs came into range, he shot them down one by one. Good thing his shooting skills hadn’t left him. Braxton fired his thrusters and powered forward. He’d have to make a loop before he could fire again. And he had to catch them by surprise.

  So far it was nil-all. A shot at the engines would slow them down. He turned as if to try another pass by the front, and then banked without warning, heading towards the rear of the ship.

  He lined up his sights and fired two more torpedoes. Two green bolts fired but missed their targets. Braxton smiled as his torpedoes neared their targets.

  Boom!

  A great hemisphere of glowing blue light illuminated the rear of the ship.

  His torpedoes exploded against it.

  Stars! The mongrels had energy shields. How was he supposed to get through those?

  He banked around and fired another pair of torpedoes. A new round of plasma balls headed his way. He shot them all down with his laser. When that was done he glanced down to see his torpedoes had again done no damage.

  An energy shield powerful enough to absorb the damage of two torpedoes had to require massive amounts of power. That probably meant that the shield couldn’t surround the entire ship at once. That was useful to know. If he’d had a wingman, they could’ve used that information to their advantage.

  An alert blared. Braxton glanced at the instruments. The alien brick was powering up a warp field, though how they did it with no visible warp ring, he had no idea.

  “No!” Braxton screamed. They’d realised he was nothing but a pointless distraction. He could do nothing to hurt them, so they were moving on to the prize.

  Braxton opened a channel to the Jewel.

  “Miller here.”

  “Sorry, Cap. I held ’em up as long as I could, but they’re headed your way again.”

  “Thirty minutes to intercept,” Maya’s voice said in the background. “He’s bought us about five minutes.” Was that all?

  “Let’s hope it was enough,” Miller said.

  Braxton’s fighter began to shake, then a bright light filled his field of vision. What the hell?

  Everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Then … all you need … all … you need … to do …”

  The world darkened. Haylee couldn’t get the words out.

  “That’s great Haylee. I have it.” Sarah’s voice was distant. Not distant because of the radio, but somehow “other”. As if she were talking to her from another universe.

  “All right, enough.” A Jamaican woman’s voice snapped above her head. “I’m operating.”

  That was fine. She’d done her best. She’d passed the necessary information on to Sarah. Sarah could finish installing the weapon now. Haylee no longer mattered. The doctor would try to save her life. It wouldn’t work.

  Was this what dying felt like? The world was getting misty. Fuzzy. Voices echoed around her.

  It was okay. She’d done her job. Everyone on board would live. Her family would live.

  Ronald! She’d heard his voice earlier. Was he still here?

  She forced an eyelid open. She tried to turn her head. There he was. They were leading him out.

  “Ro …” she gasped. H
er heart burst. She couldn’t live without him, but she wouldn’t have to. Could he live without her? How could she leave him? She loved him too much for that. Did he know? Of course he did, but she had to tell him one last time.

  “… love …”

  Did she say it out loud or just think it? She wasn’t sure any more. Oh, Ronald. Elsie and Austen.

  Haylee relaxed into her fate. It was time.

  Goodbye, Ronald.

  #

  “One minute!” Maya yelled.

  Les stared through the front window. Any moment, the agent of their doom would drop out of warp.

  “Are we ready, Sarah?”

  “Close, Captain,” her voice said over the comm channel.

  “I don’t need close. I need a gun I can shoot.”

  “The cannon is connected and the reactor is humming, but there’s no shielding down here.”

  “We’ve got one shot at this, Sarah. When they drop out of warp they’re going to see a helpless cruise ship. They won’t be on the defensive. They’ll be unprepared. You have to be ready when I give the order.”

  “I don’t think we’ll be there. It’s not going to be safe.”

  “Captain!” the officer at the helm shouted.

  Les looked up. There was a flash and a great metallic brick appeared before them.

  #

  Braxton shook his head. He was … he was still alive! Where was he?

  He tapped at the sensor controls, then looked up through the cockpit canopy. The alien ship stretched out before him. Had their warp engines failed? No wait … in the distance … that was Jewel of the Stars. What?

  Braxton tried to get a fix on his position. He was back where they’d started, parked next to the USS Boston.

  Braxton reached up to scratch his head but his hand found his helmet. His fighter must have been close enough to the alien ship to get caught in its warp field. The aliens had towed him all the way here. This was his chance.

  Braxton opened a coded channel to the Jewel.

  “Captain, it’s Braxton. I’m here. I think there’s a way we can blow these mongrels back to hell. I’ll concentrate fire on their rear. They’ll divert their efforts to protect their engines since I’m the closest thing to a threat around here. That’ll leave the bow free game. Then it’s all up to you.”

  “Understood,” Miller said.

  Braxton locked a fresh pair of torpedoes on the alien engines.

  “Okay, let’s see how much those shields of yours can take.”

  #

  “Deflectors up,” Maya said.

  “They’ll be no good,” Les said. “They were built to protect us from micro-meteors, not alien weaponry.” He tapped his wristband. “Sarah, we need that gun. Now.

  “Are you sure Captain? Without shielding, if it misfires, it could blow away half the ship, and this is such a cobbled job that misfire is more than possible.”

  Les stared at the hulking ship before him. They’d not hesitate to kill everybody on this ship. Logic said the enemy would win. If Les didn’t blow up the Jewel with a misfire, the aliens would. This was a desperate gamble. The book said it was a stupid move. But what did the book know? This was a whole new world.

  “We’re going to risk it.”

  “Captain,” Maya said, stepping closer. “Are you sure about this? The aliens won’t have to fire a shot if we blow ourselves up. Even if we don’t misfire the interference will short out every system on this ship. Maybe we should jump to warp, try to hide.”

  Les shook his head.

  “Sir, you’re by the book. This isn’t your style.”

  “I’ve played it safe long enough, Maya. I’ll not keep these passengers safe going by the book. We either succeed or we die, but either way, it happens now.”

  He took a step forward and stared down the alien ship.

  “Open fire!”

  A great blast fired towards the alien ship, a beam of crackling yellow energy. It hit the ship front on. Eruptions formed around the point of impact.

  Les smiled. What must those aliens be thinking now?

  The deck shook. Les grabbed a railing for support. The lights dimmed, sputtered, and the bridge of the Jewel was plunged into darkness.

  A blue hemisphere flickered around the exploding wound. An energy shield, but it was too late. The shield sputtered out. The rear of the alien ship lit up. An almighty explosion.

  “I’m picking up chain reactions all over their ship,” Maya said. “It’s going to blow. We’re looking at a huge shockwave and lots of debris.”

  “All engines, full reverse.” Les yelled. “Brace for impact!”

  He grabbed hold of the ready room door handle and anchored his feet to the deck. A bright flash illuminated the whole bridge for a moment. Then the Jewel of The Stars shook like never before.

  Seconds later the shaking stopped. Les turned to the window. There was nothing left of the alien ship but shrapnel.

  Les let out his breath. It had worked. The alien ship was actually gone. Actually gone! He laughed.

  “We did it. We’re still here.”

  Maya shook her head and wiped a tear from her cheek. She reached forward, grabbed his hand, and shook it firmly.

  “Well done, Captain,” she said. “You saved us all.”

  “No,” he said. “We did it as a team.”

  Les stepped up to the front console. “Can anybody tell if Braxton is still alive out there?”

  His heart pounded several times in his chest while his people worked in silence. All bridge systems were offline. They’d have to eyeball the fighter through the window.

  “There it is!” Maya pointed. Les smiled.

  “As soon as Sarah gets the electrical systems working again, open the shuttle bay for him to dock. The moment he’s on board, get us back on our original heading out of earth space and take us to maximum warp.”

  The officer at helm grinned. “Aye, Sir.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Braxton dropped from the cockpit onto the shuttle bay deck. Several crew members offered outstretched arms for high fives. He clapped their hands and bellowed a triumphant war cry.

  “I can’t believe that worked. I wasn’t sure they’d shift their energy shields to the front, but when they did it gave me the perfect opportunity to score a hit on their engines. They didn’t have a chance after that.”

  His audience cheered.

  “Sir.” A junior technician approached. “We received word. One of the security officers died on the Boston.

  Braxton’s smile plunged. “Which one?”

  “Not the chief.”

  Maaka.

  “And, sir, the civilian is in sick bay, in critical condition.”

  “What? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

  Braxton ran for the door and pelted down the corridor towards sick bay.

  His arms and chest pained with the exertion of his run but he couldn’t stop to catch his breath. Not now. His plan had put Haylee in hostile territory. He had to know she was okay.

  He rounded the corner. A distinctive medical symbol decorated a door. That was it. Captain Miller approached the same door from the other direction.

  Braxton burst through and Miller walked in behind him. The Doctor was emerging from a back room labelled Theatre. Her eyes were difficult to read.

  “The operation is finished,” she said. “I’ve done my best to repair the damage but her injuries were extensive.”

  “Will she make it?” Miller asked.

  “She’s alive, but still fighting for her life. She went into a coma from lack of blood. She may come out of it tomorrow. Or it might be weeks or months.” She paused and looked the captain in the eye. “Or never.”

  Braxton’s mouth hung open. He turned to the unsmiling Captain.

  No.

  This couldn’t be happening. Haylee had a husband and kids.

  “I … she shouldn’t have … that thing was dead. I was sure of it. This is my fault.”

&nb
sp; “It was an alien.” Miller said. “You didn’t know its anatomy. You couldn’t know how to kill it.”

  “But …” There were no words.

  “Doctor, would it have made a difference if you’d operated sooner?” Miller asked, a crack in his voice.

  “I honestly can’t answer that,” Clarke said. “She was in bad shape.”

  “What do you mean, operated sooner?” Braxton asked. Something was going on he didn’t know about.

  “Haylee’s treatment was delayed so she could finish briefing Sarah on the installation of the weapon,” Miller said. “I allowed that.”

  Braxton stared into Millers eyes, open-mouthed. They’d both contributed to this.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me.” The doctor pulled off her surgical gown and deposited it into a small hatch. “I have to speak to her husband.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Les stared out the porthole at the great white orb signifying warp speed. He rubbed his tired eyes. How long had it been since he slept? He’d gotten nothing last night. He glanced at the time displayed in the bottom-right side of his field of vision. Twenty-four hours since it had all ended. Twenty-four hours with no sign of alien ships in their vicinity. Twenty-four hours of watching the aliens take over Earth space, picking off ships and outposts at their leisure, just as Braxton had said they would. But the only ship close enough to mean them any harm was now in millions of pieces.

  He nursed his glass of Scotch. He hadn’t actually taken a sip. Truth be told, he wasn’t much of a drinker. Never had been.

  The crew bar was closed, but he could enter this room when he wanted. Captain’s prerogative.

  His wristband beeped. He tapped it. Another message from that rich woman, Dalia Spring. That made four. He’d have to deal with her at some point, but not today.

  The door sounded behind him. He turned. Braxton.

  “You wanted to see me, Captain?”

  “Pull up a pew.”

  Braxton strode over to join him at the porthole.