END of LINE: Humanities Last Stand - part 3

by John Short

  Up on the bridge, coms suddenly called out, “Sir! We have a distress call coming in! It’s the cargo vessel Fildom. They are under attack by a pirate vessel. Their drives have been taken out.”

  “Nav, have you got a location yet?” Jon asked.

  “Yes sir, location noted and dialed in.”

  “Jump the ship!” Jon ordered. “Weapons hot. Tell combat to be ready. I'm heading down to my ship.”

  “NO YOU ARE NOT!” Phillie screamed as she came onto the bridge. Apparently it was a good thing that she had changed her mind and come to the bridge instead of going straight down to Engineering like she had started to do. “You are going to sit your butt in that command chair and let your men handle this. I swear by the Goddess Jon Connell, I'll shoot you myself if you don't! When are you going to start acting like an Admiral?!?”

  In his weakened state, the shift of Defiance making the jump caused Jon to fall into the command chair. In truth he had nearly fallen on the floor and only the luck of the foolish had landed him in the chair.

  “See? You're in no shape to be trying to lead an attack!” Phillie admonished him.

  Defiance appeared close to a pair of ships. The smaller of the two was firing a steady stream of lasers into the engines of the larger boat. “I'm really getting tired of these pirates.” Jon commented. “Weapons, blast that ship out of the sky!”

  “Yes Sir!” came the almost joyful reply. “Firing now!”

  Defiance's first shot took out the pirate's engines, her second ripped a huge hole in the side of the attacker and the third shattered what remained into thousands of smaller pieces.

  “Did anyone get the pirate's data before we just blew the thing to dust?” Phillie asked.

  “No ma'am. There wasn't time. One more hit on that cargo boat and it would have been destroyed,” the data officer informed her.

  “Coms, can we talk to the cargo vessel?” Jon asked.

  “The channels are opened sir.”

  “Cargo vessel. This is Admiral Jon Connell on the Defiance. May we be of assistance?”

  “Only if you're not planning to just come over here and finish what the other pirates started.”

  “I assure you Captain, this is not a pirate vessel. We came in response to your distress call. Can your ship still fly?”`

  “I'm sorry Admiral. We thought we were all dead. The ship is too far gone. We're bleeding air and the drives are finished. If you could get my crew off and take them to safety I'd be very thankful.”

  “How many souls are we looking at?” Jon asked.

  “Five crew, two officers.”

  “I'll send a shuttle over. Have your people standing by.” Jon switched his coms over to speak directly to Jarrieal, “Jar, go get them off that thing before it blows. Take a backup squad and be careful.”

  “On our way boss.” Jarrieal told him. “You could have at least let us have some fun with the pirates before you blew their ship up like that. Just because my mate won't let you play isn't any reason why the rest of us can't.”

  Jon could almost hear his friend laughing at him as he sat quietly in the command chair on the bridge of Defiance, glaring up at his Chief Engineer. “Can I at least go meet them when Jar brings them aboard?” he asked Phillie.

  “I'll take you to the conference room and have Jar bring their Captain to you.” Phillie offered. “I will not have you over doing it.”

  “Fine. I give up.” Jon told her as he threw his hands in the air and let her help him into his wheelchair.

  “Have Leviathan meet us here in case we have to take their ship somewhere for repairs.” Jon ordered. “I'm starting to feel homesick for that big bruiser already.”

  “Right away sir.” the Coms officer acknowledged the orders. Suddenly the Defiance was dwarfed as it floated next to Leviathan's hanger bay to be pulled inside and locked to a docking port. The cargo vessel was also drawn into Leviathan's gaping bay along with her.

  “Here we are gang. Home sweet home!” Jon exclaimed. Then he commed, I want all department heads in the conference room over on the Lev in thirty minutes. We have some things to decide.”

  Jar arrived with the Captain of the cargo vessel as the rest of the crew filed in. Phillie had already helped him to leave the bridge of Defiance and make it to Leviathan's conference room ahead of everyone else. “Here's the Captain of that cargo ship Admiral.” he announced.

  “Welcome to Leviathan sir. Please take a seat.” Jon greeted the man.

  “Thank you Admiral.” the Captain replied as he sat down. “What ship is this again? Did you say it was the Leviathan?”

  “That's correct. We've brought your ship onboard and are ready to take you wherever you need to go.”

  “My ship is a ruin. Those pirates destroyed her engines and almost blasted a hole in her side. If you hadn't come when you did, we'd have all been lost.” the Captain thanked him. “The only place that can make her fly again are the yards on Lexon II.”

  “Can your destination world arrange for repairs to your ship?” Jon asked.

  “We were on our way to pick up a shipment at a farming world, sir.” the ship's Captain informed Jon. “They need us to transport their crops to market. None of the regular haulers will go near the place since Boss King claimed it.”

  Jon would have to think long and hard about taking Leviathan to Lexon II. His plans did not include exposing his ship to that many people just yet. “Jar, ask Phillie to inspect their ship. See if we can have Defiance tow it out to pick up its cargo and then tow it to Lexon space.”

  Looking out of the small view port in the transfer station, Tiaz saw the massive ship that had suddenly come to rest beside them and where they were now being slowly brought into. “He surely has a big ship High One. It is easily the largest vessel I have ever seen.”

  “Can you see the bow?” Gala asked. “Does it carry the 'Stars and Stripes' banner?”

  “It’s hard to see from here High One, but it has some kind of stripped banner on it.”

  “Oh Goddess. He has awakened the beast. My mate once told me the story of their Leviathan ship. It is the ship that saved the humans and brought them to Haven. The Jon Connell of legend used it to destroy an entire planet of machines bent on destroying all living beings, then he sent it into hiding. Its location and how to bring it back to life has been the family secret for all the cycles of their lives on Haven.” Gala hung her head because it had been told to her that only as a last desperate act was anyone to awaken the ship they now approached. “If Jon has brought the beast to life again he surely must have felt as if it was his only hope. Also, it confirms what my mate and I always suspected but never told our son. Jon is the King of the Umin, reborn. Only one who carries the genetic marker could awaken the beast from where it slept.”

  “I have spoken to his heart-sister, the one called Wrenches, and she believes that he is lost in his sadness. She asked for our prayers and our patience. She agrees that only in truth and love will we be able to save him. She does not think he can accept anyone's love until he first finds the truth. He forces himself beyond his own limits in his quest for truth and the freedom of the rim worlds. He always pushes himself to the brink of death each time he faces the pirates. We both saw him do it ourselves when he attacked the one who grabbed your arm even though his men were all around us. His Phillie is afraid he will push himself too far and never come back. She is also very upset that you are here High One. She feels you seek to bring him harm. Why she would be so angered by the novice I can not say. She loves him like a brother and will defend him against any who would dare harm him.”

  “I could no more harm my heart-son than I could harm you Tiaz. I came because I knew only I would be able to do what must be done now. Ever since our Sister returned from Lexon Station after speaking with him as he passed to enter his ship, I've known it was time to bring out the full truth.” Motioning the new female closer, Gala lifted her veil and then raised her own. “Behold Tiaz, two of the three females who lo
ve him the most. His heart-mother and his mate. The other one just ran out from here. When Satrina contacted Sanctuary, I questioned her decision based on what I knew of her as the Lexon Princess and what I knew of my son Jon. He would never reject her! When she told me of his refusal to message her during his time away or to come home to Haven and be with her, I knew then she had been lied to. So we have the first truth. We have much more to discover before their love can bloom and our Jon can be healed. Let us set ourselves to the task ahead of us and find the rest of the truth.” Covering both of their faces again, Gala led the way back to their quarters where they set to work with their tablets and the secret code words known only to the females of Sanctuary that gave them access to the most secure computers on several planets. It was her access to those very same computers that had allowed Gala to find the coords where the pirates would be expecting to meet a Destroyer class ship to take Satrina from them. Getting Jon to meet with her and agree to carry her and Tiaz as cargo onboard Defiance had been the hardest part of her plan. Even though she had raised him, she had never been able to “see” into his thoughts or predict his actions.

  “High One, I must also tell you,” Tiaz almost cried. “Phillie worries that he may never again accept the love anyone can offer. She speaks of his great pain as if it were a living thing inside him.”

  “We must find the way to make him love again.” Satrina told Tiaz. “I will not come all this way just to lose him.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  While they had a team of their best Engineers going over every inch of the Fildom trying to make the battered wreck space worthy, Jon took the time to workout with his teams. It was a long, slow, painful process, but he was finally beginning to see some improvement. Today he was involved in a game that one of the crew had found among the many data disks already stored on Leviathan when they found her. It involved a small ball shaped like an oval that they had found at the bottom of one of the many boxes of athletic gear left behind when the ship had taken its last voyage. The game involved two teams who lined up facing each other. Then when the ball was handed to one of the players, both teams attacked in an effort to knock the ball from the other teams possession

  Jon and Jarrieal both enjoyed the game and could often be found in the large room together simply throwing the ball between themselves. Once the ball was thrown, each would run toward the other and try to prevent the one with the ball from reaching a goal line. This was exactly what they were doing today when slowly more of the crew began to take up sides and join in the game. They had seemingly given up on having any kind of orderly teams as more crewmembers joined. Now it had turned into a free for all of the males trying to take the ball and each one score a point for themselves.

  Phillie had found a place where she could watch from above and not be seen. Today she had led Tiaz, Gala and Satrina to watch also. During one period when most of the players had captured Jon and attempted to drag him down, his tunic rode up over his shoulders.

  “When did he get that?” all three of the secret spectators asked as they pointed to the image of a multicolored dragon on his back.

  “The ship gave it to him.” Phillie told them. “There's lots of things on this ship that only he can use. The swords, his special shuttle. Somehow this ship knows him.”

  “Its beautiful.” Satrina said with a tear in her voice. “It reminds me of the Connell colors he gave me when we mated.”

  “They are still yours child.” Gala comforted the Princess. “They will always be your colors. My son will find his way back to you in due time. This is just more proof that the legends are true. The King will always need his Lexonian mate.”

  Just then a loud scream of pain erupted from the floor below them and several of the players rushed to where Jon was laying on the floor. The females watched in horror as Jon's crewmates lifted him and gently placed him in his wheelchair before pushing him from the room.

  “Only if the idiot lives long enough once I finish with him!” Phillie called. “Go back to your quarters.”

  Jon used his wheelchair to get from his stateroom to the conference room for the meeting and he rolled in to find every one of his department leaders already there except Phillie. “Does anyone know where our Chief Engineer is?” he asked.

  “She said to tell you she wasn't coming to this meeting Jon.” Jar told him. “Said she hasn't had time yet to examine those ships we brought her on our last mission and she wanted to have her evaluation of them finished before giving you a report.” Jar thought about what he suspected before he said, “Something has her very upset Boss. I think she's still mad at you over that game the other day.”

  “Did you do something to get her mad Jar? I know I've been behaving. I haven't gotten into a single battle in weeks.” Jon kidded with his friend knowing already that his latest injury, while minor, during their game probably had gotten Phillie upset. “Very well, tell her I'll expect that report by last meal and I'll meet with her in my stateroom later about it, you're welcome to come along Jar.” Jon told him and accepted his simple nod as acceptance of his invitation to meet later.

  How do you all feel about taking our new passengers from the cargo vessel into Lexon II for repairs? Did Phillie say it would be alright for Defiance to tow it in or do we have to carry it there in Leviathan?” Jon asked.

  “It can be towed, but she thinks it will be better if we deliver it ourselves. Thankfully it had already delivered its last cargo, so that's one less thing to worry about. The guys flying the cargo shuttles seemed to think it was going to breakup at any minute while they were loading those harvested crops from the surface. Some of the Farmers said that if they didn't need to get the crops loaded and delivered before they went bad, they would have refused to load that ship.” Jar told him.

  “Gentle folk. I need to know what you all know about our ship. If we have to take Leviathan into battle, is she ready to fight?” Jon asked the group.

  “She's extremely old sir. No one is certain of her exact build date, but if the legends are true, she's been in space for over ten thousand cycles. However, she is still sound. She will stand up to anything that is thrown at her. Remember, she was built to fight the machine race sir. She is as strong as a mountain.” one of the males told him.

  “Aside from the Umin weapons we found which so far only you can operate, all of her offensive and defensive weapons work beyond anything we currently have in our entire Navy. The one weapon none of us can learn how to use is the one called the Planet Killer. There's something about it that needs five females and a special ring to operate. Wrenches said she was trying to overcome the Umin coding so more of our people can operate things like those Dragon Ships and the plasma rifles for the troops. She'll be able to tell you more on that.” another of the heads told him.

  “Medical is up and running. We're learning more and more about the Umin devises there, like the tubes. They heal everything if a person is left in there long enough, but we've learned how to program in special tasks. Take your back, we now know that if it is set to work only on your back, we can have you fully functional in a day or two.” Healer Hukor told him. “I was hoping to schedule you to give it a try soon.”

  “I'll think about it Healer. I'd like to be back to normal again. This chair and those frames are making me crazy!” Jon joked.

  “Just stop by and I'll take your case personally, sir”

  “Thank you.” Jon told him before looking to the ship's Captain.

  “We've updated all the star charts for planetary drift and corrected a few discrepancies in the locations of some of the rim worlds. Places like Canari that never wanted to be found are now accurately listed and we can jump in either already in orbit or far out from any planet in any system. It depends on if we want to get in their face or if we want to sneak in. The size of this ship makes it hard to do very much sneaking.”

  “Coms is far above anything we've had before sir. I can almost listen in on private messages between two lovers across the gala
xy if I'm bored with my regular duties or I can narrow our transmissions down to just our own away ships without anyone listening in. In other words Sir, once Engineering finishes the upgrades to your ship, if you are across the galaxy at Haven with Defiance and we are out here beyond the rim, I can send a message directly to you and have your reply in seconds, not days or weeks as is the norm for all other ship's coms. We'll almost talk in real time across the whole galaxy sir.” The communications officer explained.

  “That will come in handy for some of the missions we'll be going on where we leave Leviathan far out of the fight and take just Defiance in.” Jon noted. “Thank you, please keep me updated on the progress of upgrades to Defiance's coms. We’ll have to arrange to have the Novas stop by for upgrades to their COM routines. I want all my ships to have instant communications, not just the ones in the security branch.”

  “I'll find out the rest from Wrenches later, now how about tactical? Do we have pilots training to fly all those nice pretty attack shuttles and fighter craft we found?” Jon asked Jarrieal.

  “I'm still searching for the right candidates for the fighters sir. Those guys tend to go on to flying nice comfortable passenger liners or private pleasure craft after they get discharged. I'm thinking of starting up a cross training program for our shuttle pilots and then just assign the best to the fighters. Are you interested in trying one on for size?” Jarrieal asked. When Jon shook his head no, he continued his report. “I currently have all of the shuttles covered. The guys who fly attack can also fly cargo, so that's a break for us. My problem here Boss is I'm trying to hire nothing but ex-military that we can trust without making it obvious to everyone that we are recruiting a private navy. Which is basically what we are doing.”