Sacrifice:The Shenkar War

by Libby, Seth

  “Okay, that should just about do it. Power up the nav system, and let’s see if we get green across the board,” said Steve to Mark.

  “Green across the board?” asked Kimino.

  “Basically, as the nav computer cycles up, it goes through a system check. If the checks pass, a green light will show on the side of the nav box, signaling a positive connection. We need all nine lights to light up to know we have done it.”

  Mark typed into a keyboard and the nav computer hummed to life. A light humming also emitted from the small black box.

  “Okay, here we go,” said Mark.

  Within seconds, a green light lit up on the side of the box, then another almost immediately. Within twenty seconds, five lights had lit up.

  “Looks promising,” Kimino said hopefully.

  “No, we have gotten five lights before. I will get my hopes up when seven have lit up,” said Steve.

  All three once again descended into silence, watching the nav computer. Ten seconds later a green light lit up, followed quickly by another. Steve sat up straighter, his fists clenching as he leaned closer. “Come on, come on,” he whispered to no one.

  Suddenly, the eighth light came on. Steve pumped his fist slightly in triumph as he watched for the ninth light to come on. A minute passed and nothing happened, then another minute. Soon, five minutes had passed with no light. Steve’s sat back, his shoulders slumped, with a dejected look on his face.

  “Damn, I thought we had it that time. Mark, shut it down; I was wrong.”

  “Mark, wait, don’t shut it down yet . . . are you sure it still won’t light up?” asked Kimino.

  “Yeah, if we had done it correctly, then it should have finished its diagnostic system check.”

  “Under normal circumstances, but this is hardly a normal circumstance. Maybe it’s like learning a language, it needs time to do it,” said Kimino.

  Steve looked at Kimono and he shrugged. “Well, I have nothing, so it couldn’t hurt.”

  Once again, all three sat in silence and watched for the green light. And once again, five minutes passed, then ten minutes, and still no light. Mark stood and walked off, and began to pace.

  “We have to be so close. There must be something small we are missing,” Mark said.

  Steve leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He placed his face in his hands. “I just don’t know what we missed,” he said quietly.

  Kimino began to turn to comfort Steve when she noticed something. Turning back, she noticed the slightly flickering of green light in the ninth spot.

  “Steve, look!” she said as she shook him.

  Steve looked up at the nav computer. Mark, who had been pacing, also turned to look. Slowly, the final spot flickered. Then the light lit up bright green. Mark hurried to a nearby computer and let out a yell of triumph at what he saw.

  “All systems are clear--you did it!”

  Steve jumped up pulled Kimino into a hug and kissed her. Releasing her, he turned to Mark. “Call the Admiral and tell him the fold system is fully online.”

  December 21, 2012, 10:30 a.m. ESTBattlecruiser Tryliene

  Liam jogged down the passageway toward the hangar. It’s now or never, he thought to himself, hoping they were not too late to get to Earth. His thoughts kept returning to Leah and how she was doing. He feared he would lose her in the Shenkar assault. They just couldn’t be too late; they would either save the Earth, or he would die trying. If it came to the latter, he swore he would take as many of those bastards with him as he could.

  Rounding the corner, he spotted Evan and Crystal jogging down the passageway. Increasing his speed, he quickly caught up with them. Seeing Liam, Evan smiled and gave a nod.

  “Everyone understand the plan?” Liam asked as he jogged along.

  “Yep, I met with the other squadron leaders earlier this week to make sure all was understood,” answered Evan.

  “Did you know what day we will be returning to Earth on? I mean the significance of that day?” asked Evan as they walked.

  “No, what?” asked Liam.

  “It’s the end of the Mayan calendar. According to the Mayans, it’s the end of the world.”

  “That isn’t entirely accurate,” interjected Crystal.

  “Oh? How so?” asked Evan.

  “The Mayans never said the world would end, only that there would be a world-changing event that would transform the Earth as we know it. At least, that’s the most popular interpretation.”

  “Well, I would say an alien invasion qualifies for that. The only question is, how will this change it, for the good or for the bad?” said Liam.

  They all moved in silence for the next several minutes until they reached the hangar bay.

  “Evan, Crystal, wait,” Liam said suddenly.

  Evan and Crystal stopped and turned to face Liam.

  “Evan, you are my best friend, and I haven’t seen you happy like you are now in a long, long time. Both of you, please be careful. Don’t sacrifice yourselves. No matter the outcome, I don’t want you two throwing your lives away. If the battle goes bad, then I want you to land your fighters on Earth and go into hiding. By all estimates we have seen, it will take the Shenkar years if not decades to completely find and wipe out the human race. I want you to go into hiding and establish a resistance. Do what you can to keep the human race alive.”

  Evan looked seriously at Liam for a moment before answering. “Liam, but what about you?” he asked.

  “Yes, Liam, you can’t expect us to hide while you sacrifice yourself,” said Crystal.

  “I am going to do what I have to. If I die, then so be it, but I don’t want you two doing the same thing. Besides, I think the Earth will need someone who knows and understands the Shenkar to lead the resistance, so I order you both to do as I say. Do you understand me?”

  Both Evan and Crystal plainly didn’t like what Liam had said, but neither argued. Instead, they both saluted.

  “Yes, sir!” they said in unison.

  “Now get to your ships!” Liam commanded.

  Both turned and ran to their waiting fighters. Liam watched them go for a few seconds, then turned and jogged to his fighter. Scrambling up the ladder, he jumped down into the cockpit. Quickly, he locked his flight harness in place. Pulling a picture of Leah out of his pocket, he then secured it to his flight board. He had managed to retrieve the picture from his personal effects that had been taken before the enhancement process. Once his preflight was complete, his hands quickly moved about his flight board, cycling up his fighter.

  As his fighter hummed to life, he sat back and looked about the hangar. Six of the ten pilots he had started with in his squadron now sat with him, awaiting the order to launch. He could see Steve. By the looks of it, he was speaking to someone over the comm system on a private channel. Crystal and Evan, each in their own fighters, looked at each other, smiling. Dimitri seemed to be double-checking his systems, and Tim looked to be lost in thought. How many would be left when this was all over? He hoped they would all pull through. But most of all, he wanted his friend, Evan, to live on with Crystal.

  How things had changed in less than a year. Just about eight months ago, he had been sitting in his apartment with a gun to his head, wanting to end it all. Now the Earth was on the verge of destruction or could be under assault as of this very moment.

  His thoughts were broken as his comm unit came alive with the order to launch. Keying the squadron frequency, he spoke. “Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

  December 21, 2012, 10:35 a.m. ESTBattlecruiser Tryliene, Hangar Bay

  Evan looked over at Crystal as she looked back, love in her eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment. Smiling, he mouthed the words “I love you,” and waited for her to reply in kind. Then he turned to look over at Liam.

  His commander and best friend looked to be deep in thought. He thought of Liam’s last command--not to throw their lives away if things
go bad but to go into hiding and lead a resistance. He struggled with this command. How could he leave his friend to die--and he knew that would be Liam’s fate--and go into hiding? How this war had changed so many lives, including his own. He had wanted to die; he had tried to kill himself, in fact. But now everything had changed. Now he wanted to live. He had found love again and a possibility of a new life with Crystal. Things like this made him believe he was somehow cursed.

  His thoughts were cut off abruptly as Liam’s voice came over the comm unit. “Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

  Well, here goes everything, Evan thought to himself as he slowly pulled back on the throttle and the low hum of his fighter’s engines whined to life.

  December 21, 2012, 10:35 a.m. ESTBattlecruiser Tryliene, Hangar Bay

  Steve had just locked in his harness and completed his preflight when a voice came over his comm unit on a private frequency.

  “Steve, it’s me, Kimino. I just wanted to wish you luck and tell you to come back to me. I love you more than I think I could ever express, and I can’t imagine my life without you,” she said in a quiet voice.

  Steve smiled, feeling a tear roll down his cheek. “I love you too, Kimino. Try and convince the Admiral not to smash the Tryliene against any Shenkar warships. I can’t possibly get another girl as beautiful and wonderful as you,” he said in a joking manner.

  “You didn’t know?” Kimino asked.

  “Know what?” Steve asked more serious now.

  “I was ordered to stay behind on the base. In fact, almost the entire crew was ordered to stay behind. The Tryliene has a skeleton crew aboard.”

  “But a skeleton crew won’t be enough to properly man a warship of that size and effectively take her into combat. Did he say why?”

  “No, even Commander Dunklin is in the dark about it--and let me tell you, he is not happy about it. All I know is they have been loading crate after crate on board. I did manage to get a look inside, but all I saw was some green paste-like material. I inquired about it, but I was informed to keep my nose out of it. Even that little Meshtrell Reeta is acting funny.”

  “Funny? How so?” Steve asked.

  “Well, normally the little guy, or girl . . . you know I really wish that question would be answered. It is really annoying not knowing their sex. But, anyway, Reeta is quite talkative, always wanting to know about human habits or like and dislikes. However, now Reeta is awfully quiet as he/she goes about overseeing the loading of the crates. If I were to guess, I would say Reeta is sad . . . if that is at all possible.”

  “That is strange. I wonder what is in those crates?”

  But before Kimino could answer, Liam’s voice cut across the comm system.

  “Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

  Steve pulled the throttle back on his fighter, its engines whining to life. Keying the comm unit again as he did so, he spoke a few final words. “I love you, Kimino,” he said simply.

  “I love you, too” was the reply. Kimino’s voice sounded as if she had tears in her eyes.

  December 21, 2012, 10:35 a.m. ESTBattlecruiser Tryliene, Hangar Bay

  Tim cycled up his fighter and then sat back, awaiting the launch order. Reaching into a side pocket, he withdrew a picture and the handkerchief he always carried. Securing the picture to his flight board, he then wrapped the handkerchief around his hand. As he secured the handkerchief in place, he gazed at the picture of his daughter. How he loved and missed her. He only hoped she had somehow found it in her heart to forgive him. He continued to stare for a long time until the crackle of his comm unit broke his thoughts.

  “Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

  Tim reached forward and pulled on his throttle until he heard the sound of his engines coming to life.

  “I do this for you, my Sabrina,” he said softly as he ran the fingertips of his free hand down the photo.

  December 21, 2012, 10:45 a.m. ESTBattlecruiser Tryliene, Command Bridge

  “All fighters have launched and are in position, sir,” said the young ensign.

  Admiral Kelvin nodded at this. Looking around, he gazed at those who had chosen to remain behind. They had been the ones he had privately sought out and spoken with. He had been sure of all of them, but the question he had asked them still hadn’t been easy. They were probably all going to die, but if they accomplished what they were setting out to do, then it would be a price well worth it. Without any more thought, he spoke loud and clear.

  “Is the energy field properly aligned?” he asked of a nearby engineer.

  “Yes, sir,” answered the engineer.

  “Initiate fold sequence on my mark in three . . . two . . . one, and mark.”

  December 21, 2012, 11:05 a.m.Terran System, Inbound Past Saturn

  Stephen Jinsin yawned as he sat in the cockpit of his Banshee fighter as it cruised through space. He really hated these long patrols: hours in the cockpit, constantly seeing the same boring view. Sure, the first few times he had been on a long patrol, it had been fascinating. But now it was just the same old routine. He wondered how he would do when the Shenkar arrived, if they arrived. The Shenkar were now a month past due according to the earlier reports. He wondered if the Shenkar would in fact ever arrive. It had been several months since they had any word from Admiral Kelvin and the crew of the Sacrifice. Looking over at his wingmate Burnson, he keyed his comm unit.

  “Have you heard any news on the Sacrifice?” he asked.

  “No, they are pretty tight-lipped about it.”

  “Do you think they are dead?”

  “I don’t want to think about it. I knew a few people on the Sacrifice.”

  Not knowing what to say now, he remained quiet as he thought of a new subject. Remembering that Burnson liked hockey, he keyed the comm unit again.

  “Hey, Burnson, did you catch the Red Wings game last night? They really lit up the goalie for the Bruins.”

  “Damn it, I had money on the game. What was the final score?”

  “Eight to four,” Stephen said smiling as he could just imagine the pained look on Burnson’s face.

  “Christ, well, so much for the Bruins making the play-offs this year. This will be the third year in a row they miss the play-offs.”

  Stephen was just about to elaborate more on the game when something on his radar caught his attention. A blip showed up for a second on the farthest reaches of his radar, but then it was gone. It was an area they had already patrolled, and they had seen nothing. Still, something about it bothered him.

  “Hey, Burnson, did you get anything on your radar? I had a blip on there for a second, but then it was gone.”

  “Didn’t notice anything. You sure it wasn’t your imagination?”

  “No, I checked it against my computer, and my computer definitely logged a contact just on the crest of Saturn’s northern pole.”

  “Could have been a meteor?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I had better go check it out.”

  “Okay, let me call it in, and then we can head out there.”

  “No, don’t worry about it. You go ahead and I’ll catch up.”

  “Okay, see you back at base. I’ll have a beer waiting for you.”

  Stephen pulled back the flight stick and guided his fighter around. Engaging his afterburners, his fighter shot through space toward Saturn’s northern pole. At full burn, it took a relatively short time to reach his destination. Cresting the northern pole, his radar exploded with unknown signatures. His head jerked up suddenly as he looked out his canopy. His throat tightened and his stomach clenched at the awesome sight before him.

  Yanking his fighter around, he keyed his comm unit just as his threat alarms were triggered. Five Shenkar fighters were hot on his trail and closing in fast, as he attempted to make his getaway. Keying his comm unit, he was met
with static--planetary interference was the cause. Engaging his afterburners, he sped away from Saturn, hoping he would get free of the interference before the Shenkar fighters caught up with him.

  December 21, 2012, 11:28 a.m.Terran System, Just Outbound of Mars.

  Burnson was now having second thoughts about leaving his wingmate to investigate the blip on his own. Fighting between continuing on back to base and wheeling about to go find Jinsin, he had just decided to wheel about when his comm unit crackled to life with Jinsin’s frantic voice.

  “Attention, attention, all Earth’s Defense Forces. They are here. My god, there are so many! I have five Shenkar fighters on me, I need--”

  Whatever Jinsin was about to say he needed was suddenly cut off and static followed. Burnson looked at his radar, and suddenly, his radar exploded with signatures of all sizes. Checking his computer, he saw it constantly updating the contacts. Hundreds of smaller signatures registered as Shenkar Creeza light fighters. Kelgen-class destroyers followed by Shizrec-class cruisers came next. Finally came the Shenkar’s mighty battlecruisers. But what Burnson saw made his mouth go dry. Something so large, it dwarfed the Shenkar battlecruisers finally entered his radar’s limit. All he could think was how could they possibly stop such a force.

  December 21, 2012, 11:28 a.m.Hanscom Air Force Base

  Leah showed the soldier her driver’s license as she gave her name.

  “Nature of your visit, Ms. Aecrin?” asked the soldier at the gate.

  “I am here to pick up Lieutenant Commander Brennan’s effects. He was one of the Templar Knights who was aboard the Sacrifice. I . . . I . . . was named in his w-will.” Leah said the last part through the tightness in her voice as once again the tears flowed freely.

  The soldier, looking slightly uncomfortable, checked her name against a clipboard. He then handed her back her driver’s license.