by T. R. Harris
As Adam stood, noticing the sight in his left eye begin to grow narrower and still with the taste of blood in his mouth, something else incredible dawned on him. He felt no pain. Even though Nigel had already attacked his ribs and his head, it was as if none of that mattered. He was aware of the sensation of pain, yet his mind refused to let him give into it, and at that moment, Adam knew why. He grinned.
“Well, Nigel, it seems as though you’ve created a monster,” Adam said with an even, confident voice. “I remember you once said that after suffering through your torture for so long, my mind would come to accept the pain as normal.” Adam held his arms out to his sides. “It looks like you were right. I thought that sensation only applied within my prison, but now I see I was wrong.”
Adam squared up his own stance and narrowed his eyes. “Give it your best shot, asshole. It won’t be enough.”
Nigel McCarthy roared and fell into a fullback’s sprint. Adam made little effort to avoid the huge man, allowing himself to be carried through the air until he was pinned against another piece of equipment and with Nigel’s thick left forearm pressing against his throat.
“Let’s see how well you cope when you can’t breathe.”
Adam did fight for air, yet he didn’t panic. Instead he placed a couple of intense body blows into Nigel’s gut. Still the huge Brit pressed him into the wall. Next Adam began to force his right hand up and between Nigel’s arm and his neck, until he could join his right hand with his left and push away.
Nigel suddenly released his grip and spun to his right, grabbing Adam by his jumpsuit and throwing him halfway across the room. Adam was on his feet in a flash and met Nigel’s charge with a rapid series of lefts and rights that caused the Englishman to stagger backwards. And then they faced off again, with Nigel being more careful this time, moving to his left as the two of them punched at each other like boxers in a ring. After feigning with left, McCarthy managed to land a solid right on Adam’s jaw. Adam simply shook off the blow with a grin.
“There’s nothing you can do to me that you haven’t already done,” Adam said. “Your sadistic fun and games have conditioned me for this moment.” Adam then took a quick step forward and managed to land his own right against Nigel’s jaw. “Now I’m getting bored of this whole scene, so saw goodbye, Nigel McCarthy.”
Adam continued to strike at Nigel, who did his best to counter many of the blows, yet not all of them. However, at one point managed to duck under one of Adam’s right crosses and wrap his tree-trunk-like arms around Adam’s midsection from behind. He lifted Adam off the ground and forced his face into a metal wall. He then worked his right arm around until it was across Adam’s neck.
Again, Adam didn’t panic. Instead he took hold of Nigel’s right hand and began to separate the fingers from the fist. Individual fingers are no match for a full hand bending them backwards, and soon Nigel released his grip around Adam’s neck and found himself being twisted around to take Adam’s place facing the metal wall.
Now with his right hand pressed high into his back, Nigel screamed out in pain. Adam then placed his left hand around Nigel’s face and grabbed his chin. Then in a flash, he released his grip on Nigel’s hand, and placed his freed right hand against the back of Nigel’s head. And then with a quick jerk of his hands in opposite directions, Adam twisted Nigel’s head until a loud crack was heard.
Instantly Adam felt Nigel’s body go limp, as his broken neck severed the spinal cord. Adam pressed against the lifeless body of Nigel McCarthy for a few moments, closing his eyes and even fighting back an urge to cry. But finally, he grabbed Nigel under the arms and tossed the rag-doll-like body into the center of the room.
Nigel McCarthy, former Lord of the Kiran Clan and all-around pain-in-the-ass throughout two galaxies, was dead.
Adam looked up from the body to see four aliens dressed in orange jumpsuits standing in the doorway and staring at him with a look of absolute terror. When they saw him take notice of them, they turned and ran from the room.
With one last look at the lifeless body of Nigel McCarthy, Adam ran off to where he’d seen the MK-17 slide under the piece of equipment. He fell onto his stomach and reached underneath, almost to his limit, before his fingers found the weapon. He then rushed back to the control console.
The MK was already set at Level-One, so all he had to do now was manipulate the targeting computer. He always despised the computers, never using them himself, and one of the most perplexing features they offered was the option to set a firing delay. He had no idea when that would come in handy—except in this very unique situation.
He bent the barrel of the weapon until it was at a ninety degree angle from normal and then set the timer for the maximum delay of three minutes. That wouldn’t be enough time for him to get off the ship, but it would give him a head start. It also wouldn’t give the crew much time to locate what was now a bomb and get it away from the shield controls before it detonated.
He knew all power for the starboard bank of diffusion screens ran through this one console, so blowing it to smithereens should do the trick of knocking out the bank and keeping it from being reactivated. Adam looked under the console until he found a suitable hiding place for the weapon—and then he fingered the trigger.
The instant blast of the deafening squeal could be heard echoing throughout the room and the corridor outside, making it impossible to locate the source. It seemed to come from everywhere.
Now without hesitation, Adam barreled into the outer passageway and ran for the evacuation chambers where the escape pods were located. The one he was looking for was only fifty yards down the corridor, and even then he had to play fullback through the mass of orange-jump suited aliens who got in his way.
When he found the right door, he pressed the side control and the door slide open. Adam Cain rushed in—and then promptly slid to a stop with his heart now firmly in his throat. The entire room was devoid of escape pods. Not a single one occupied the round launch tubes, having all be used by panicked crew when Nigel had first attacked the Goliath, and none had been replaced in the rushed repair job in preparation for her current mission.
Adam sighed. “So much for Plan A,” he said out loud to the empty room. “Looks like it’s onto Plan B.”
175
“Admiral!” Captain Krin called out across the noisy and crowded bridge of the Leviathan. “The starboard bank of diffusion screens on the Goliath just shut down.”
“They winked?”
“No, sir. Readings indicate a dead bank, no energy feeding them at all.”
“It’s Adam,” Sherri cried out from where she stood next to Andy Tobias.
“It has to be,” Riyad concurred.
“Fire control…prepare seekers…target the starboard side of the Goliath.”
“Yes sir.”
“But Adam’s aboard,” Sherri protested.
“What the hell do you want me to do? The Leviathan is holding on by a thread, and now the Goliath is vulnerable. I have to take the shot.”
“Admiral, hold on a second,” said Riyad. “The Goliath must know they’re a sitting duck and only moments away from annihilation. Ask for their surrender.”
“Are you crazy? McCarthy would never agree to that.”
“Adam somehow got the shields to drop, so who’s to say Nigel is still alive.”
“What can it hurt to ask, Andy?” Sherri added.
Tobias surveyed the desperate faces staring back at him. He certainly didn’t want to sacrifice Adam’s life if it wasn’t necessary. And yet he also didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
“Admiral, there is a message coming in from the Goliath.” Captain Krin’s words came as a welcome reprieve for the decision Andy didn’t want to make.
“Broadcast!” the Admiral ordered.
“Attention Leviathan, this is First-Commander Hoscis of the Goliath.”
“This is Admiral Andy Tobias, go ahead First-Commander.”
“As you are aware we have
lost our right side diffusion shields, and with no prospect of reactivation, my ship is now extremely vulnerable, not only from your ship, but also from others occupying the region. We therefore ask that you cease aggressive action against us and accept our immediate surrender. There is no need to continue what is a losing effort.”
“First-Commander, we would welcome the—”
“Admiral, we have a secondary contact immediately above us and closing fast!” Captain Krin’s voice was a scream, something highly unusual for a Rigorian.
Andy glared at the image on the main view screen of First-Commander Hoscis. “It is not one of ours, Admiral,” the alien with the green-tinted skin said as his head began to tremble visibly.
“Launches detected, multiple, Admiral.”
“Target?”
They appear to be heading for the Goliath. And Admiral, they are seekers.”
On the tact screen before him, Andy Tobias saw the Goliath begin to move off at incredible speed. Her shields may be down, but she could still run. And yet the barrage of seeker bolts that were now lighting up the space between the Leviathan and the Goliath continued to track her with deadly efficiency.
And then just moments before she reached the boundary of the dampening field, where the mighty warship could escape into a protective event horizon, the first seekers reached the unprotected hull of the Goliath. These bolts were of equal strength to the Leviathan, which carried ten times the energy level of conventional flash cannon bolts, and when they contacted the metal hull without resistance, the effect was catastrophic. Gaping holes were ripped open, and the escaping air pressure from inside the spacecraft blew out the entire starboard side of the Goliath. The huge ship began to bleed off speed rapidly, allowing the remaining seekers to catch up. This final salvo of eight seeker bolts shredded the hull of the Goliath, perforating the starship amidships.
And then something exploded—probably a number of the gravity generators—and the whole of space for half a light-year was bathed in the bluish-white glow of the resulting miniature supernova.
The bridge crew of the Leviathan stood in shocked silence watching the afterglow of the explosion on the main view screen. For some, it was the shear scope of the explosion that brought their silence. For others, it was the harsh reality that no one could have lived through such an event.
“Comm coming in, Admiral; and you will find this hard to believe.” Captain Krin’s cryptic message jolted Andy out of his stunned numbness.
“Greetings, Admiral Tobias!” said a jubilant face on the main view screen. “Looks like we got here just in time. Kind of ironic isn’t it that a Captain named David would take care of your Goliath problem.”
Captain Krin had been right; Andy couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Dave? Dave Robe? What the hell are you doing here?”
The joy on Captain David Robe’s face was hard to contain. “It seems that right after you and the others left, we discovered a third ship being built by Kroekus. I guess when money is no object you can pretty much do what you want. Well, we commandeered it and now, crewed mainly by Humans, we followed you here to see if you need any help. Even named the ship the Kraken, following your lead of naming these ships after huge, badass creatures. And it looks like we arrived right in the nick of time. You were taking quite a beating. Fortunate about those shields going down, but hey, sometimes you just need a little luck.”
“Why didn’t you let us know you were coming?”
“Orders, Admiral, something about maintaining a low profile until we knew what we were up against. A secret weapon has the most impact when it’s kept secret until needed.”
Sherri Valentine moved into the line of sight of Andy’s screen camera. Dave Robe waved and sent her a wide smile.
“Hello, Sherri. It’s been a long time. Glad to see you’re well. How’s Adam and Riyad.”
Tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. “Riyad’s fine—but Adam was aboard the Goliath!”
The resolution of the video between starships was excellent, so everyone was able to see the blood rush from Robe’s face. His mouth fell open and his eyes began to gloss over.
“What was he doing there? We’ve been monitoring some of your communications and I understood you rescued him from McCarthy.”
“We did,” said Riyad as he stepped up to place his arms around Sherri. “But then he went aboard the Goliath; he’s the reason the shields went down.”
“Oh my god, I didn’t know!”
“How could you,” said Andy Tobias. “And to make matters even more tragic, we had just accepted the surrender of the Goliath.”
The facial recognition feature of the bridge monitor aboard Robe’s ship followed him as he collapsed into his command chair. “I’m so sorry, you know I am; Adam was a friend. I would never have done anything to intentionally hurt him.”
“We know that, Dave,” said Andy. “It was just an unfortunately series of events. But I’m sure Adam would chalk it up to a necessary sacrifice for the good of the mission. Don’t let it get to you too much.”
“Andy, I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”
“Understood.” Andy looked around at the others, most with their heads in their chests. He didn’t know what to say. He turned back to the screen. “Dave, how about you and your secret weapon help out with the mop-up? It looks like a lot of the remaining Kiran ships are bugging out, but let’s not allow them to get away without paying a price.”
“Aye, aye sir. I suppose it’s the least I can do, while I’m still in command.”
“Knock it off, Dave. No one’s going to relieve you of your command.”
“I was talking about resigning.”
“Bullshit, and that’s an order!” Tobias yelled. “You did your job, and no one’s going to say otherwise. Now snap out of it. I need you and your command abilities. Don’t let a simple casualty of war cause you to fall apart.”
“Yes sir. Proceeding as ordered, Robe out.”
176
Six hours later the bridge of the Leviathan was nearly deserted, manned only by a skeleton crew after Captain Krin had given most of the others time off to relax after the pressure of the battle. However, none of Adam’s Crusaders had left the bridge. In fact, they had been joined by Nurick and Dracus for what was turning into a vigil for the fallen Adam Cain.
No one had said a word for going on ten minutes when Sherri broke the morbid silence with a whisper.
“Maybe he got out in an escape pod.”
“If any pods had been released we would be picking up active transponders,” Jym said from his console. “They are triggered automatically upon launch.”
Sometimes Sherri hated Jym’s alien lack of compassion.
“Not all of them,” Dracus said as he sat up straighter in his chair.
“Yes, all of them,” Jym countered. The little bear hated to be contradicted.
“All normal escape pods do, my little friend,” Dracus replied
“What are you talking about, Dracus,” Riyad asked with frustration thick in his voice.
The slender alien looked over at Nurick. “As the first battle for the Goliath was beginning, Nurick, Eric and I escaped in a special pod designated just for me as the First Advisor to Kroekus—and for being his friend for all those years. It has a transponder, yet it can only be activated manually.”
“Good,” said Riyad with a sigh. “I’ll note that for the record.”
Dracus continued to stare at Nurick until the Vicorean’s tiny beady eyes suddenly grew wide. Then simultaneously the two aliens blurted out, “Kroekus!”
“What about Kroekus?” Andy asked, now taking an interest in the cryptic conversation.
“Kroekus also had a specially-designated escape pod aboard, hidden from the crew and just for him,” Dracus explained. “Unfortunately, he never got the chance to use it. There is a chance that unless there was damage to that specific section of the ship the repair crew would have missed it completely.”
&n
bsp; “But how would Adam know about this pod and where to find it?” Sherri asked.
“I do not know if he would—yet Eric did.”
“And why would he know?” Sherri followed up.
“Because he asked me about it two days ago.”
“And you didn’t think that was strange?” Andy said as he moved closer to Jym and hunched over his small body.
“He is—was—a Human, and Humans often do and say odd things. I thought nothing of it at the time.”
“Jym, can you do a mass search for anything that separated from the Goliath just before the explosion?” Andy asked.
“Yes, although there is a lot of clutter in the recording. Along with flash bolts, there were also a few fighters launching at that time.”
“But the fighters have a chemical and gravity signature that can be isolated,” Kaylor said as he slipped into a seat next to Jym.
A screen then lit up before Jym, showing a colorful display of conflicting hues, looking like a four-year-old’s masterpiece finger-painting hanging on the refrigerator door. But then as Jym isolated—and then discarded—the signatures of fighter ships, plasma bolts and even communication radiation, the image began to clear up and become much more basic. Soon there was only one anomaly left—a thin line shooting out from the Goliath with a tiny white dot at the tip.
“That’s it!” Andy cried out. “Any readings?”
Jym was already busy tapping keys on the board. “Nothing, no heat or even electronic hum. It is a dead ball of metal.”
“We’re not even sure Adam’s aboard; it’s more likely that traitor Eric McCarthy.” Riyad said.
Andy stood up straight. “We’ll never know for sure standing around here.” He glanced around the bridge until he spotted Captain Krin, off by himself in a dim corner, half asleep. “Captain, call down and have a medical jumpship prepped and placed at our disposal.” He then smiled and looked around at the anxious faces staring back at him. “Everyone who’s coming along shake a leg.”