by Trevor Wyatt
Then next moment, he found himself standing on a similar platform but in a different room. It had a low headroom space with windows that overlooked the beautiful vastness of space. There were five Tyreesians, just like Ashley said, and they were all armed.
The place was quiet and calm, but it definitely wasn’t a meditation room. It was just a safe space to store the transport platform. As he was considering this, more officers appeared on the transport platform and shredded the five Tyreesians before they realized the Terrans had boarded.
“You killed them!” Veld protested.
“As they would have killed us had we not struck first,” Kaia replied. “Now remain quiet or I’ll shut you up again.”
“Please no,” Veld begged sarcastically. “Not the stun setting again.”
Jeryl ignored the Tyreesian’s banter and led the crew on a charge out of the teleporter room into a wide corridor. The only thing they had going for them was the element of surprise and the narrow corridor. Jeryl and Tira, who were at the head of the charge, kept their weapons blazing and tearing through.
The first two Tyreesians fell, more surprised as beams tore through their body.
The second two Tyreesians had time to draw their weapons but not to fire as successive air blasts from Jeryl and Tira decapitated them.
The next set of Tyreesians charged with laser whips and were cut down. But they were followed by two more who got off several shots that caused Jeryl to duck as Tira took aim and fired with superhuman speed.
But the next wave came after that and Tira was unable to re-aim.
Thankfully, Jeryl let two charges go from his weapon and took them down.
Tira took the next two down as Jeryl ducked.
The duo lost all track of time as they fought in close quarters, taking down sets of Tyreesians, two by two.
They followed the corridor down to an elevator.
“We don’t know what’s waiting for us down there,” Tira said. “I suggest we put flash bangs and send it down to the docks deck, then take the ladders.”
“Good idea,” Jeryl said. He ordered a few crew members to do that and come through the elevator after Jeryl and the rest of the crew had taken over the docks.
Jeryl led Tira and come of the crew into the corridor to the left, where they found a hatch into the shafts used by maintenance.
Kaia, Mary and the rest remained on that floor, holding the elevator. They were halfway down when the alarms went off.
Jeryl was the first to crawl out of the shaft into the main deck. It was so massive it shattered Jeryl’s sense of scale immediately. He glanced at the Seeker, stationed there like a simple aircar inside a garage.
Just as Jeryl was preparing to shoot the guards that were near him, the elevator opened and the flash bangs exploded. Jeryl wasn’t sure how many soldiers, engineers and guards were in the dock, but they all turned to look at the elevator and the ones who were armed opened fire.
This was Kaia and Mary’s crew. They methodically picked out the armed ones, moving, aiming, shooting and repeating. Reinforcements poured in from an elevator on the other side of the dock, but at the same time the rest of the crew poured into the docks through the main elevator.
The bloodbath lasted for up to ten minutes. Jeryl felt a stab of pain everytime he saw one of his crewmembers fall. He shuddered when he saw Ensign Gomez take a air blast to the head, his limbs still twitching as his head exploded. Or as Lieutenant Dashiki, the new transfer from the TUS Agememnon who had shown promise in the Astrophysics department was caught in a cross fire that vaporized him into fine particles of blood and bone. Jeryl knew he would never be able to undo these sights. The most he could do was remember and watch the carnage as it happened – to pay tribute to their sacrifice – so that at least someone would know how they died.
With time running out, Jeryl ordered the crew to stay at the elevators to prevent more reinforcements; he also reported their success back to Ashley in beta quadrant, telling them to be ready to teleport.
No one boarded the ship. They all waited for Jeryl to board the Seeker first. The ship rose high up, about five stories into the air, its area covering more than seven city blocks. The nearest entrance to the ground was the engineering deck, which had a bay for conveying engineering supplies.
Jeryl led the crew over to the blast doors. Kaia was right beside him, holding onto Veld, who seemed to be rearing every time she pushed him forward.
“What is going to happen when you open that door?” Veld asked.
“The onboard computer will recognize my signature and power up the ship,” Jeryl said. There was a panel to the right side of the door. It slid to the side, and revealed a palm reader. The palm reader was highlighted a pale red; it was active and ready to scan.
“You do not want to do that,” Veld blurted.
“Yes, I do,” Jeryl said.
“No, you do not,” Veld said. “Because the ship is rigged with explosives. The moment the engines are powered up, the explosives will go off, killing us all in the process.”
Jeryl retracted his hand from the palm reader. He turned, his face burning with anger.
“Why would you rig a starship in your own docks?” Jeryl boomed.
Veld cringed under his intense gaze.
He said, “It was supposed to be a worst case resort. We never expected you to leave the beta quadrant. However, we were nor going to take chances with you. We figured that if you were able to make it to the ship, then we would probably be already dead or dying.”
A wicked smile spread across Veld’s face. “If we die, you die with us.”
Jeryl looked away. “Ashley, come in.”
“Go ahead,” she said.
“Can you scan the Seeker for any trace of explosive devices?”
“What?” Ashley said. “Searching.”
Jeryl waited.
“Shit,” she said. “The Seeker is rigged to the teeth with explosives. The trigger seems to be connected to the ship’s primary drives. The moment you activate the ship, they’ll blast the entire ship with explosives. What the hell is going on? How did you find out?”
“Veld,” Jeryl spat. “He’s trying to save his own skin.”
Jeryl turned his wrath to Veld.
“You’re going to show me how to remove the bomb otherwise I’ll fucking kill you right here!” Jeryl yelled.
Veld reared but Kaia held him in place. “Okay, okay, I will show you!”
His voice was tremulous.
“You can deactivate it at the security point. It is in the aft section of this docks. That way.”
He pointed in the direction of the alternate elevator.
“I don’t trust him,” Jeryl said to his crew. “A few of you stay behind. The rest of us will go in case we need to contend with anything.”
They nodded. About fifteen officers chose to remain, who were mostly noncombatants. They were instructed to hunker down, aim and shoot in case of an incursion.
The rest followed Jeryl.
“Lead the way,” Jeryl muttered to Veld, then added, “And if you try anything, I’ll make you suffer before I kill you.”
“Aye, captain,” said Veld in a sarcastic tone. “I believe you.”
Chapter 23
“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not,” Jeryl growled so loud and so close to the Tyreesian that he noticed the alien shivering in his clothes.
“I fucking dare you to try something and make my day,” Jeryl continued. “Just make my fucking day.”
Veld kept quiet, terrified of Jeryl’s murderous eyes.
Good. Mission accomplished, Jeryl thought.
Jeryl pulled away from the Tyreesian and motioned for him to lead the way. He didn’t need Veld to believe him. No, Jeryl didn’t need Veld to believe he would do the things he said he would do. In times like this, belief wouldn’t help anybody. If anything, it would only compound the problem. Jeryl needed Veld to fear him—more than that, he needed Veld to be terrified of him.
Of course, Jeryl naturally preferred the people he led to respect him, not to fear him. He’d found out that subordinate officers and crew members would only go the extra mile with respect and belief in a vision. That was the only way the crew members would ever give their lives for their captain—just like what his crew did for him when they crossed the border into Tyreesian space.
The Tyreesians ways of psychological warfare, on the other hand, were always through brutal and terminal methods. They always traded with terror.
The Tyreesian principle was simple: they believed they could only control what was afraid of them. Inciting fear was their stock in trade. Their ships, space stations, terrifying weapons, and tortuous interrogative techniques—those were all to spark fear in their enemies . It would breed fear until it would become a raging storm in their hearts. Then, and only then, could they have control.
Nevertheless, Jeryl was sick and tired of Veld’s games. In fact, he was already sick and tired of being in that space station. He was barely holding it together. And to top it all off, Ashley might not come back to him once they got off the space station.
He knew the situation was bad for him. Even though he was trying, Jeryl could barely keep it together. He was losing his mind, thoughts of death and loss were now running around in his head at FTL factor 5.
“I must hand it to you, Captain Montgomery,” Veld said to him. “You are one tough human to crack. I do not think I could have done what you did, sitting there while the love of your life gets tortured. I mean, who does that?”
Veld was ahead of the contingent of the Seeker crew members. Directly behind him was Kaia, who had the muzzle of her weapon poking the back of Veld’s head. Jeryl wasn’t so far behind that Veld couldn’t see him in the corner of his eyes.
Spread out behind them were the crew members of the Seeker. All of them were armed with an assortment of weapons, ranging from powerful pulse weapons—a Tyreesian trademark—to laser weapons, emulated from Sonali weaponry. Most of them where armed with guns, while some had knives, blades, and whips.
Jeryl knew not to depend on their number, which was still comfortably above two dozen. Only a few were security operatives specifically trained for situations like this. Most of them were engineers and specialists for different fields. The last time a lot of them held a gun was either way back at the Academy or during the Earth-Sonali war, and even then, they might not had fired off a single shot.
Nevertheless, they would now be going up against foes that would not only be armed and ready to destroy them, but would have the upper hand; the Tyreesians knew this space station like the back of their hands.
Jeryl ignored Veld. He’s just trying to get into my head, he thought. He wasn’t going to let that happen, and the best way he knew how to do it was to not speak to the Tyreesian.
“Stay sharp, people!” Jeryl ordered.
They were then walking past the Tyreesian warship that had brought in the Seeker. There was a fallen ramp behind it that allowed entrance into one of its cargo holds. The ship was powered up with the lights working all over, but it looked deserted. Jeryl wondered why.
Perhaps it was part of the Tyreesian scheme or maybe their crew was killed when they attacked the docks?
“Most humans would break down at the first crack of a whip,” Veld was saying, slowly cat-walking towards the elevator. Jeryl couldn’t see any doors aside from the elevator. He wondered where the aft section was if there was no door leading to it.
Jeryl assumed there was a secret entrance of some sort. After all, security points shouldn’t be so conspicuous in case of a mutiny or attack.
“Well, I’m not most humans,” Jeryl muttered, keeping his eyes peeled at the many corners of the Tyreesian warship, where an attack could spring from.
“Indeed,” Veld said. “You know my father hates you with all his blood.”
“Really?” Jeryl said. “I didn’t realize you could hate someone with all your blood.”
“It is an expression,” Veld replied, “and you would do well to listen to me and not be sarcastic about it. When someone hates you with all his blood, it means that he hates you with everything he holds dear. It gives you the extent to which he hates you. He will take vengeance on you.
“Think about it. My father is a powerful man in the Tyreesian Collective. He now has holdings that are as vast as some of your vaunted Terran corporations. He is a power unto himself, with his own fleet and his own diplomats, making him the second most powerful man on Tyrose. If he hates you with all his blood, there is no institution, no species, and no barren planet where you can hide from him.”
Jeryl didn’t reply because he was trying not to let his heart race off in fear. He reminded himself that Tyreesians traded in fear. It was their primary weapon.
But then again, Veld sounded so lucid. And Jeryl could have sworn he heard a tone of bitterness in his voice.
“If you’re saying your father is responsible for your actions so that you can escape taking responsibility for what you did to Ashley, then save it,” Jeryl muttered to him. “Greer will answer for this eventually. But I have you now. I’ll make you pay.”
“This has nothing to do with your wife,” Veld said. “I am an interrogator, Jeryl. I do not care who I torture, so long as I get the job done. What I say is for your benefit. If you indeed get out of here, I want you to never be able to sleep well. I want you to always live in fear. I want you to know that there is a target on your back and to always be on the run, looking over your shoulder.
“It may not be in Tyreesian space. It may not be in Sonali or Kurta space. You may be on Earth, thinking you have escaped. You may be old and gray-haired, thinking it is all behind you. But when you least expect it, and from whom you least expect it, your end shall come in the most gruesome and painful way possible.”
Jeryl noticed a narrow recess to the right side of the elevator. There was a door on the wall.
Veld marched straight for it.
“Hold him back,” Jeryl said.
Kaia caught him before he could access the door.
“Ashley, come in,” Jeryl said.
“Go ahead, Captain,” she said.
“There’s a section aft to the alternate elevator of the docks,” he said. “Tell me what it is.”
Ashley relayed the information to Sef, who pulled up schematics and relayed the information back to him.
“It’s a makeshift customs check point, sir,” she replied. “They call it a security point.”
“Is it presently occupied?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “No one is in there.”
“Roger that,” Jeryl said. “Keep me posted.”
Jeryl nodded for Kaia to proceed. “Mary and Tira, you’re with me. The rest of you remain here and stay sharp.”
Jeryl ordered Tira to stay just outside the door to be on watch for Tyreesian guards.
Mary, Kaia and Jeryl then entered the security center. It was a narrow, small room with a single station and a view screen taking up the right wall. It was also dark and only illuminated by a live feed of the Seeker. The angle suggested that the feed was from one of the cameras of an adjacent Tyreesian vessel. Jeryl could see some of his crew members milling about the Seeker.
“Deactivate the bomb,” Jeryl told Veld. “Let him go, Kaia, but don’t take your eyes or gun off him.”
Kaia let Veld go.
Veld sat in the chair and began to work the station. The Tyreesian’s short stubby fingers moved so rapidly across the interface that it was difficult to keep track of what he was doing. If Jeryl hadn’t seen it for himself, he wouldn’t have believed.
“Mary, can you tell what he’s doing?”
Mary, too, was having a hard time keeping track of the flow of information running through the view screen. She kept squinting and squinting to try and read through. She held her tablet in her hands to translate all the Tyreesian on the screen, and that made it all the more difficult.
Jeryl was beg
inning to have a bad feeling about the whole situation. He was about to say something when a massive explosion hit the docks and rocked the space station.
Everyone was thrown to the ground. The shockwave blew out the windows of the area that Jeryl was standing and he felt fiberglass shards rip through parts of his skin. He recovered fast—in time to see Veld trying to go for Kaia’s weapon. Jeryl leapt onto Veld and they crashed on top of Kaia.
Kaia jolted to consciousness, gripping her gun. Jeryl pulled the Tyreesian up and swung him to the other end of the room. Veld flew across the small room and smashed into the wall, crashing into the ground .
“What happened?” Mary asked, picking herself up from the ground.
Kaia saw it first, followed by Mary and Jeryl.
The view screen, which was where they last saw the Seeker stood in all her glory, now only showed a view of a burning pile. No one could have survived that blast.
The Seeker – pride of the Terran Armada, was destroyed in a contained implosion that left much of the hangar burning, but intact.
The ship that had ended the Earth-Sonali War had been destroyed in a hangar bay – put down like a common diseased cow.
The fifteen brave crew members who chose to stay behind had all perished.
Jeryl glared at Veld, who was just coming to.
“What did you do?” Jeryl asked, standing his ground. He knew that if he would so much as move in the Tyreesian’s direction, he could strangle him to death.
Veld picked himself up, seemingly unconcerned about what he’d done.
“Well, about that, I may have forgotten to mention that there is no way to disarm the bomb. I just wanted to be far enough to survive the blast. Lucky for me—and you—we had it set up so that the explosions would not do much to the space station or even the hangar.”
Jeryl flew into a rage. He marched towards Veld but was held back by Mary, while Kaia jumped in front of him.
A part of Jeryl was now dead.