by Saxon Andrew
Tal stood up and shutdown his console, as Sha joined him. She turned to Ste, “Call us when you need a break.”
“I will, get some rest.”
After an hour, Tal closed his eyes and held Sha close. It was difficult, but he finally found sleep. Sha was sleeping soundly and was woken by Tal yelling, “NO! NO! NO!” He was writhing in the bed shaking his head and Sha grabbed his arm and shook him forcefully.
His eyes opened wide and his expression showed immense fear, “What’s happening, Tal!!” Tal shook his head hard and looked around the room. He turned to Sha, pulled her into his arms, and held her tight. Sha rubbed his back and softly said, “It was a dream, Tal!” Tal exhaled hard and nodded. Sha continued to rub his back and asked, after a few minutes, “What was it?”
Tal hesitated and began “I saw us all on the bridge. I was standing in the middle of the bridge; you and Ste were sitting at your consoles. Ste suddenly yelled that hundreds-of-missiles were flashing in on Epy and I felt the ship rock under my feet. You and Ste were thrown from your chairs but, somehow, I kept my balance and didn’t move. I looked up and saw the top of the ship blown away as fire rush into the bridge. You and Ste, along with his children against the back wall burst into flames. I heard you screaming but I couldn’t move or say anything. Suddenly, my body was on fire and…that’s when you woke me.”
“It was just a nightmare, Tal. It wasn’t real!”
Tal was shaking his head and he reached over and pressed a button on the headboard, “Ste.”
“Yes, Tal.”
“Stop the ship!”
“What?”
“Stop the ship, now! We’re coming to the bridge.” Sha was confused, when Tal said, “Get dressed!”
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I hope. Get dressed!”
• • •
They arrived on the bridge and Tal asked, “Where are the kids?”
“They were worn out from all the stress of what’s happened today. I sent them back to the other two-sleeping quarters to get some rest. What’s going on?”
“Tal’s had a nightmare!” Sha replied with pursed lips.
Ste turned to Tal, “What’s going on Tal?”
Tal repeated the details of his nightmare and Ste listened without interrupting and asked, “Why are you here on the bridge?”
Tal turned to Sha, “See if you can contact Duncan.”
She shook her head, “It was just a dream, Tal!”
Tal’s expression turned angry, “JUST DO IT!!”
Sha flinched and began typing on her console. The bridge was uncomfortably silent. Ste and Sha had never seen Tal yell at her. Finally, Duncan appeared on the front monitor, “I was hoping you would contact us. If I didn’t hear from you, I was going to try and communicate with you.”
Tal lowered his eyes, “Why, Duncan?”
“There’s been a change out at Neptune. The scout has been replaced by one of those giant alien warships. I didn’t want you going back there.”
Tal nodded, “Thank you, Duncan. We’re going to head directly back to Earth in a moment.”
“You need to come back anyway, Tal.”
“Why is that?”
“We want to update your ship with the new force field.”
Tal smiled, “Are you serious?”
“We’ve had a break through while you’ve been gone. I want it added to your ship’s defenses.”
“That’s incredible, Duncan. We’ll be back soon.”
The monitor went dark and Tal’s gaze went to Sha, then to Ste, and then back to Sha; their expressions showed their shock and stress at what they heard. Sha stared at Tal in silence. Ste was keeping his head on the front monitor, refusing to look at Tal. Tal watched them and said, “You two need to relax. I’m not some kind of alien!”
“How did you know, Tal?!” Sha asked.
“What do you mean?”
“How did you know that ship was at Neptune?”
“I didn’t.”
“Your dream says otherwise, Tal!”
“Will the two of you take a breath!! There’s a logical explanation for what happened.” Ste and Sha looked at each other and then back to him. Sha was glowering at him, as she tapped her right foot. Tal thought for a moment, and then said to Sha, “Do you remember when I taught you to train your mind to think ‘Change’ before you changed your form?”
“I do; what does that have to do with this?”
“I’ve always followed a pattern without fail whenever I was going after a target as an assassin. I would always ask myself before I moved in, ‘what am I missing?’ Even if I detected nothing out of the ordinary, I’d always force myself to take another close look. That pattern saved my life more times than I can count.”
Sha glanced at over at Ste and nodded for Tal to continue.
“I didn’t do that this time.”
“What do you mean?” Ste asked.
“I ordered you to head back to Neptune to remove the spy-satellite and the alien scout.”
“So!?” Sha asked.
“My subconscious didn’t accept my issuing that order without asking what I was missing. When I went to sleep, it began working on that question.”
Sha’s expression relaxed a little, “Tal, that sounds…”
Tal interrupted, “Sha, have you ever had something bothering you and you couldn’t get your mind around what it was? The next-morning, you realize what it was you’re missing?” Sha raised her shoulders and then nodded. “My subconscious determined that things could have changed at Neptune while we’ve been gone, and it showed me in a nightmare what it might be. I’ve trained my mind to always ask what I’m missing before I make a decision; I didn’t do it this time. My mind wouldn’t accept it.”
Ste sat back and thought about what Tal had just said, “That’s a good pattern. I need to do the same in the future.”
Sha sighed, “I’m sorry, Tal. I’ve wondered if you were human. You are, after all, a geneticist. I feared you radically changed your DNA into something different.”
“Even if I did, I don’t know any modification that would give me a psychic ability to see the future.”
“Tal, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t understand how you knew about that warship at Neptune.”
“Forget about it, Sha. I realized I missed something and needed to contact Duncan to see if he knew what it was. Ste, take a break and I’ll start moving Epy back to Earth.”
Ste stood up from his chair, took a long stretch, and left the bridge. Tal took the pilot’s chair and turned the ship on a different course. Sha walked over and sat down in his lap. Tal smiled and moved Epy on a couse that would take it high above the Milky Way. It would take longer to arrive, but that was all right, he had Sha in his arms and wasn’t in a hurry.
• • •
They arrived back on Earth and Tal was asked to assist Dr. Santiago in developing the new air filter. He went to the genetics’ lab and began modifying the virus to reduce its danger. He found it more difficult than he thought, and he spent most of his time in the lab. Sha came to see him a few-weeks later, and he took a break. “I’ve missed you, Tal.”
“I’m close to the solution, Sha. It won’t take much longer.”
“I’ve been asked to take Epy out to the receiver we placed high above the Milky Way to repair it. Its transmissions are starting to vary in intensity.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Tal, you need to complete the work on this virus issue you’re working on here; Ste and I can handle it. We’re taking an engineer with us to make the repairs and it won’t take long.”
Tal stared at her, “Can’t it wait until I finish? I should go with you.”
“Tal, I’m bored to tears, and it will be good to do something productive.” Tal’s eyes showed his concern and Sha smiled, “This will be a simple task, Tal. I need to be productive.”
Tal argued with Sha to wait until he could go with her and she pouted that he didn’t trus
t her. He finally threw up his hands and said, “Just be careful!!”
“I will. Let’s go get something to eat.” Tal agreed and went with her to the cafeteria.
• • •
Ste flew Epy high above the Milky Way and turned back toward the receiver’s location. He glanced at Sha, “Do you detect anything?”
Sha stared at her panel and shook her head, “No, not really. I’m detecting some small asteroids out in interstellar space not far from the receiver, but nothing else.”
“We’re moving in. Edward, you need to go to the landing bay and get the rover ready to launch.”
“On my way,” the engineer replied and left the bridge. Ste flew the ship in and slowed as he moved closer to the receiver. Ste opened the landing bay door and Sha yelled, “MISSILES, MISSILES, MISSILES!!” Ten-large-missiles flashed off a nearby asteroid and homed in on the Epy at high-velocity. Epy couldn’t go to phase-speed because the landing bay door was open exposing the interior of the ship. The missiles impacted the ship’s hull doing no damage passing out the other side of the ship but one of them hit the open door and blew it away.
Ste turned the ship and moved away from the receiver at maximum-speed. Sha looked at her monitor and saw ten-alien-warships come off the largest asteroid and start pursuing them. She saw a giant phase field moving toward them from long distance and knew it would be on them in moments. She pressed the communicator and shouted, “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! OUR PHASE FIELD HAS BEEN RENDERED INOPERATIVE AND A LARGE PHASE FIELD IS MOVING OUR WAY!!”
Tal had his communicator set to receive any transmission from the Epy; he jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the genetics lab and rushed across the lab into General Lein’s office. Ka arrived right behind him, followed by Admiral Montana. “What’s happening, Colonel Talent?!” Lein said in a raised voice.
“Sir, we’re being pursued by nine-alien-warships that are pacing us. We damaged one alien warship with our pulse cannons and the others are keeping their distance. A large phase field is approaching at high-speed and I suspect it’s one of the alien’s major warships. The nine-pursuers are waiting for it to arrive. Our landing bay door has been blasted off the ship by a direct missile hit and without full hull coverage, we can’t go to phase-speed.”
Tal yelled, “GET OUT OF THERE, SHA!!”
“Tal, they set a trap and we walked right into it. That alien warship is coming here to take possession of our ship and we can’t allow that to happen! The new metal must not be revealed to them. We have discovered that their blasters cannot penetrate the hull and our pulse cannons can damage their standard warships. We’re not going to reveal the new force field; that’s another thing we must keep hidden from them, Sir.”
“PLEASE DON’T DO IT, SHA!” Tal screamed.
“Tal, we have no choice. I love you. Always remember that.”
Ste quickly added, “I’m so sorry, Ka. Please watch over my children.”
Ka’s tears were falling, as she said, “I will, my love.”
Lein looked at the console operator and ordered, “GIVE ME A VIEW OF WHAT’S GOING ON!!” The huge wall-monitor illuminated, as they made contact with the receiver, it immediately began sending video images. The room was silent, as they saw the small ship being pursued by nine-alien-warships. Epy was changing course rapidly, but then a giant alien warship came out of its phase field. It moved in at high-speed toward the Epy and they heard Sha say in a soft voice, “I don’t think they believe our ship is from Earth. We moved in from above the Milky Way and the Epy looks nothing like any ship they’ve seen on Earth; they must believe that we’re from an alien civilization scouting them.” Tal’s gaze was glued to the monitor; his fear and distress were clear on his face. His eyes were little more than slits, his hands were gripped into tight fists, and his body was as tight as a stone.
Sha announced over the speaker, “I’m not going out without taking some of them with me. Tal, please forgive me! You were right.”
Tal screamed, “NOOOOO!!”
The Epy suddenly turned and went to its maximum speed. It flashed in on the giant warship in an instant and Tal knew that Ste had set the self-destruct-circuit to execute at impact. The Epy hit the giant warship dead center; it happened so fast the giant alien warship had no time to fire its blasters in time to defend it. The ensuing massive explosion turned the monitor white, as it overloaded. When it cleared, they saw the giant warship was going up in a giant explosion that was sending a massive shockwave rolling out into the nine-warships that followed the Epy toward the giant. It rolled over them and they went up like a string of giant firecrackers. The shockwave continued and rolled over the receiver, ending the video.
Ka fell to the floor sobbing. Tal stared at the dark monitor and softly said, “This is my fault! I didn’t keep my promise!” He started trembling and Duncan rushed over and grabbed him; Tal’s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. General Lein rushed over and helped Duncan lower him to the floor. Duncan looked at Ka and rushed to her. He wrapped her in his arms, turned to a nearby Captain, and ordered, “Get some stretchers here!!” The Captain began speaking on his communicator, as Ka passed out in Duncan’s arms.
• • •
Six-weeks later, Tal sat still on a bench staring straight ahead. He had been sitting on the bench for hours and didn’t hear any of the sounds around him. He was isolated with his thoughts, as he vacantly stared straight ahead. He heard a voice say, “It took some time to find you.” Tal looked slowly to his left and saw Duncan sitting beside him, with Natalie sitting next to him.
Tal asked in a raspy, soft, voice, “How did you find me?”
“I had the satellites trace your communicator. You turned it off, but the transponder was still active,” Duncan answered. Tal nodded slightly and turned to stare straight ahead. Duncan felt Tal’s misery and blew out a long breath. “I don’t know if this will help, but Sha was right. My contact in the colonies has reported that intercepted alien transmissions show that they believe they are being scouted by another alien civilization. Their plans to launch a full invasion of the colonies is being called off until they find out where it’s located.”
Tal continued to stare straight ahead and then asked after a moment, “Are they recalling the five-fleets?”
“No, they’re still coming. But the massive invasion force that was due to follow them has been stopped. They’re being sent out to scout the Large Magellanic Cloud in two or three-months.”
“Why there?”
“Sha’s approach to the receiver appeared to be directly in line with it.” Duncan answered.
Tal nodded slightly and continued to stare straight ahead, “Why are you here, Sig?” Natalie asked.
Tal flinched at the name and turned to Natalie, “The teacup ride defeated me. I didn’t learn from that lesson and thought I was indestructible. Sha is dead because I didn’t keep my promise to protect her. I should have been there with her and Ste.”
“You’d be dead too, if you were, Tal!” Duncan added harshly.
“No, that wouldn’t have happened,” Tal replied softly.
“How can you say that?” Duncan asked.
Tal turned to him, “I would have compared the asteroids close to the receiver with the images we took when we launched it. They weren’t around when we were there the first time. I would have seen it was a trap and avoided it. They’re dead because I didn’t go with them.”
Duncan sighed and hated to admit Tal was right. He put his hand on Tal’s shoulder, “Tal, you can’t do this to yourself!”
“She died because of me, Duncan!” Tal replied in a very shaky voice. “I’ve lost the only love I’ve ever known.”
Duncan looked at his friend and knew there was no getting through his pain right now. Tal lowered his head and fought his tears. Duncan looked at Natalie and nodded, as he stood up and walked away. He realized he wasn’t helping Tal but was only making it worse. Natalie slid over and put her arm inside Tal’s left arm. She remained silent w
ith Tal for a long time as the teacups spun in front of them. Tal managed to pull himself together and turned to look at her; she said softly, “I’m going to stay here with you.”
“Why?”
Natalie looked deep into his eyes before saying, “That’s what friends do.” Tal nodded and turned back to the teacups.
• • •
Natalie eventually convinced Tal to leave Disney and return to the base. He immediately went to his quarters and remained there having all his meals delivered to his quarters. Two-months after Sha died, he heard a knock on the door; he ignored it. He heard a louder knock and looked at the clock, it wasn’t time for a meal and he ignored it again. The knocking started and didn’t let up. He got up, walked to the door, and opened it. Ka was standing there angrily glaring at him and he started shaking his head, “It’s all my fault, Ka!”
Ka walked past him into the living room and he closed the door. She sat on the sofa and he saw her anger. He walked slowly over to her and sat down on the far end of the sofa, as far as he could get from her. She glared at him and he lowered his eyes. “You need to get over yourself, Tal”
Tal jerked his head up, “It’s my fault she died, Ka!”
“You might be right about that and I can’t tell you how angry I’ve been that you weren’t there with her. You made a promise to protect her.” Tal nodded and lowered his eyes again. Ka stared at him and exhaled a large breath, before saying. “You couldn’t protect her from herself, Tal.” Tal’s eyes narrowed, and he raised his face to her again. “Did you ask her to wait until you could go with her?”
“I did numerous times, Ka, but she insisted on going! She refused to wait! I should have gone with her!”
“What were you doing at the time?!” Ka asked harshly.
“Trying to get a virus developed for the new air filters.”
“What was more important, that air filter or the repair of the receiver?” Tal raised a shoulder. “ANSWER ME!!” Ka yelled.
Tal flinched, “The air filter was more important.”
Ka nodded, “Sha decided that she wasn’t going to wait for you to join her. And I’m going to ask you the same thing you asked me a while back, ‘when were you ever able to stop her from doing what she’s set her mind to do?’” Tal could only stare at Ka in silence. Ka raised her eyes and screamed before turning back to him, “I want so much to blame you for losing my daughter, but the truth is, she’s to blame for it and she’s caused both of us immense pain by her stubbornness!” Ka paused and collected her thoughts, “She knew she’d be safer with you, but she ignored it and did what she wanted. She also took the man I’ve grown to love with her. She’s left us with a hollow existence.”