Starmen (Starmen (Space Opera Series) Book 1)

by J. M. Hagan

  Inside, was an empty cell.

  “Shit. You think that was where they were keeping her?” begged Jack.

  They gave it a look over, but there was nothing to examine. “At a guess…yes,” said Anderson. He swallowed. “Maybe she’s with them. I mean, if they’ve already interrogated us, maybe this is her turn.”

  His eyes widened in alarm. Then he shut them and concentrated.

  Cane, if she’s with them, then that means you’re gonna have to protect us against the Overseer Agent. Are you sure you’re ready for that?

  I can only speculate, Jack. But we have no choice. When you encounter her, finish her quick!

  The next room they came to was bathed in a flickering blood red glow. A narrow walkway that had pods either side for a long stretch. There were tubes connected to the pods, and within it were people with pale, wrinkled skin. Male and female, all bald, all sleeping with tubes in their mouths.

  “This must be where they make them,” guessed Jack. “The Agents.”

  “Human, alien hybrids,” said Anderson, leering into the round glass window of one of the pods. “It’s been their plan all along. Before we came back in time, it was said that there were tens of thousands of them. People on Earth loved them so much they were even offering themselves as test subjects.”

  “Human cattle,” said Jack.

  “No. We’re not even worth as much as cattle. We’re just DNA to them.”

  At the head of the room was a much larger pod. Jack stood on his toes and looked inside, he saw an angular face with hardened scales. The pod was seven feet tall.

  “A human, Dok’ra hybrid?” he guessed.

  “The most powerful breed of warriors in the galaxies,” said Anderson. “Come on, Jack. We have to keep going. She needs us.”

  They didn’t have to go far to find them. Jack checked the next room, and there she was in the flesh.

  The Agent stood before Claudia with her fingers steeples. Claudia was strapped to a bed that stood upright. The Agent, with her eyes shut, was moving her mouth like she was in conversation, but only air passed her dark lips.

  Claudia was pale, her skin and hair soaked with sweat. Jack gripped his wrench tensely as he stepped into the room, and Anderson followed him. Not a sound was made.

  He noticed her eye twitch; Claudia moaned anguish. The Agent – her mouth curled into a smirk. That pissed him right off.

  Jack charged.

  The Agent heard him approach, turned about, and fell into a defensive stance. She bared sharp, pointed teeth, as she let out a snarl.

  *

  Cane watched on through Jack’s eyes.

  Jack was already swinging at her. The wrench took a millisecond to collide with the side of the Agent’s head. But, in that brief wait, she had already identified Cane, and managed to cling to Jack’s mind, despite Cane’s best efforts, and the impending head wound.

  She fell to the side when he hit her. Jack swung again, but she caught his wrist. Then struck him up the chin with the back of her hand. Jack crashed down.

  Anderson tried to help. He dove into her mid-section with his shoulder. But the Overseer took him by the scruff and tossed him across the room.

  Jack picked up his wrench. Got to his feet. They circled one another. Jack swiped at her, she swayed. She slashed at Jack with her claw-like nails and took a deep scratch from his face and neck.

  As blood ran, Jack came back with a kick that hit her in the chest.

  Anderson dove into her again when she was off balance, this time bringing her to the ground despite her superior strength. The Overseer screeched an ear popping cry as she wriggled.

  Cane felt his head burn with effort. He bit down. Gave every last bit of energy he had. But the Overseer was desperate. Somehow, she pulled the strength she needed from somewhere.

  Cane folded briefly under the tremendous pressure. Just as she pushed Cane out of Jack and Anderson’s heads – Jack whacked her in the face with his wrench.

  *

  Jack whaled on the Agent, with Anderson holding her down. He smashed her in the head until she wore a crimson mask, and lay still.

  He felt something in his head. A silent cry. He had to shut his eyes and wince. His head felt cold. His face twitched.

  Cane was gone, he knew.

  In his mind’s eye, he saw the Overseer before him – she was drifting away in silence, becoming lost in a dark abyss.

  “Jack, are you okay?” asked Anderson, his voice coming through like an echo.

  The Overseer wasn’t alone.

  She grabbed a hold of Claudia’s leg, she was floating in the darkness alongside her, and the Agent pulled her away with her. Claudia drifted along with her head slowly drooping, as she inched out of his reach offering no resistance.

  Jack tried desperately to grab her hand, but it was lost to infinity…

  His eyes shot open. Full of despair, he hurried to check on her. She looked even worse than Anderson had when he woke up. Her face was too pale…

  He touched her face. It gave off the faintest heat. Then he checked her pulse. It was fading fast. “No, Claudia, no. Don’t do this to us,” he cried.

  They hurried to unstrap her from the bed, and when she came free, she became a weight in his arms. Jack lowered her to the ground, his eyes full of tears. He shook her. Anderson was checking her pulse, putting his hand over her mouth to check her breathing, but Jack didn’t have to – he already knew.

  He saw it take her. Its last act had been to break her mind.

  “Jack, she isn’t breathing,” Anderson sobbed, his head dropping into his hands.

  “She’s gone,” Jack whispered.

  He shut his weeping eyes and held her tight. Overwhelmed by his sorrow, he wished he could hold on to her a while longer. But he couldn’t. He had to let her go. As he set her down, he ran his hand softly down her face.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, before kissing her forehead with trembling lips.

  16

  A few moments passed.

  Anderson had been trying to resuscitate her to no avail. Jack stood in the corner, coming to terms with their loss.

  “We’ve gotta leave. We’ve gotta keep going.” It hurt him just saying it.

  Anderson stood up, hands on his hips, tears running freely. “Yeah,” he said, in breathless despair. He wiped his cheek and sniffled. “She knew the risks. She made me promise to keep going, even if something happened…”

  “Me too,” said Jack, managing the slightest smile as he viewed her proudly. “We don’t have Cane’s protection anymore.”

  “I know. But we have this,” said Anderson, taking up the Overseer’s gun.

  *

  Cane tried his best to re-establish their connection, but he couldn’t do it, no matter how hard he tried. His head was aching from the mental battle he had fought against the Overseer Agent.

  But, even without that, he doubted he could do a thing for the time being. Claudia was gone, and it was his fault. He clenched his fist as he bit down on his thumb hard, shutting his eyes.

  He was furious with himself, with the whole damn race they were battling. He wished they’d never existed at all, and cursed them in his mind.

  “Cane, what’s the matter?” asked Europa.

  “Claudia,” he said, and just uttering her name filled him with sorrow.

  “She’s dead?”

  Cane nodded. Europa may have been just an A.I., but she lived for her crew. He wondered how she was processing this information…

  “I’m sorry, Cane. You can’t blame yourself, it wasn’t –“

  He shook his head angrily. “Europa, not now. Just…let’s just be quiet for a moment.”

  “Yes, Cane,” she replied softly.

  Cane stood up and went to the window. When he looked out to the starry expanse, he was overwhelmed by a dark feeling in his gut. He knew something was coming before Europa even warned him.

  “I am detecting a spatial distortion.”

  An enormous sh
ip, big enough to be considered a dreadnought, came tearing out through a sub-space bubble before him with a bright white flash.

  “Contact,” warned Europa. “An unknown vessel has arrived.”

  “I see it,” Cane remarked, mesmerized by the size of it. The ships batteries seemed innumerable, and its long forward cannon looked capable of taking down a ship ten times the size of Europa.

  He hurried to the pilot’s den to check the scans. The ship was overloaded with weaponry. It had powerful shields, and its hull was heavily reinforced. It was much too big for Europa to handle on her own – he knew that off the bat – and the moment they powered up their systems, they would become detectable at this range.

  “Have they detected us?” he asked, his mouth drying up.

  “No. But they will when we make our move.”

  *

  They fought their way through the corridors. Anderson took down two armed greys with the blaster he acquired. The place was in high alert, and before they knew it, they were being chased by a whole squad intent on killing them.

  “It won’t be long until they figure out we’re not being protected by Cane,” Anderson cried.

  “Just keep shooting them, and they won’t get the chance to mess with our heads!”

  Jack had both of the guns the other two dropped. As they ran, he turned and fired back down the corridor to suppress their pursuers who weren’t far behind.

  “Okay, Jack, we’ve found it,” cried Anderson. He ran across the gangway to the node above the shield generator. “Cover me!”

  Jack took to his knee at the door frame and aimed down the corridor. When one of them came in view, he shot it in the chest and the little drone dropped. Then he shot at the rest. They scampered back to find cover.

  Anderson plucked the hair from his forearm and the nano-bot was set free to destroy the circuitry within that controlled the shield generator.

  “We done it,” he said, running back.

  They held them off together with a barrage of blaster fire. Some shots were returned in response, and they both took cover.

  “We’ve gotta make it to the escape pods,” said Anderson.

  “They’re in the way,” said Jack, panting. He swallowed when they matched eyes and he realised there was scant hope between them.

  “Either way, that thing is gonna take down the shields in three minutes. Cane, is gonna blow the whole place to hell, as soon as that happens.”

  “We knew the risks…”

  Anderson nodded. The time for his tantrums had passed. All that remained was acceptance. “I’m not giving up,” he promised.

  He came out of cover and fired a few shots, before a dozen came back at him, and he fell into cover. One of them took Jack in the leg, and he fell away in agony.

  “Jack!”

  “Never mind me!” he barked, squeezing his bleeding thigh. “Shoot those bastards! We’re not dying here today!”

  *

  "Cane, a comparison analysis of this ship matches their technology."

  "I thought that mothership was all they had?!"

  "I tracked the emergence of their energy signature,” Europa revealed. “They were hiding close-by, most likely in a state of lowered power to avoid detection."

  "They were always there...we just didn't know it. Damn. We should have known about this!”

  “Perhaps they never revealed the existence of this dreadnought, it is their last defence.”

  It sounded plausible, especially for a race as cunning as the Overseers. So, even when Earth became their ally, they never trusted them. “Europa, we have no choice. We have to move toward the mothership now, if we’re going to be in range when the shields go down.”

  "Agreed. I advise fleeing immediately after we destroy the ship."

  Cane hurried to strap himself into his chair. "I agree,” he said, accelerating.

  "We've been targeted,” said Europa.

  "We need manoeuvrability!” Cane cried. There was no chance in a straight up fight. “Power down the weapons. Redistribute the excess between engines and shields."

  "Incoming fire. Brace for impact."

  A huge energy blast impacted their shields and Cane was rocked so hard he almost lost consciousness, and bit into his tongue. Warning sounds were beeping. Red lights flashed. As he gave himself a shake, he felt blood run down his chin from his mouth.

  Pilot assistance activated!

  Europa took them along a spinning ascent. Cane watched as Europa dodged several barrages of weapon’s fire. He hurried to unleash his combat drone and sent it out on auto-pilot.

  “Europa, remain mindful of our range to the mothership. The second those shields drop – drop that bomb!” he cried, readying the nova-bomb they’d acquired from the rovian arms dealers at a hefty price.

  “Affirmative. What will you do?”

  “I’m going to have to re-establish my connection to, Jack.”

  *

  Jack limped over the bodies with Anderson’s help. His leg was running with blood, and every step sent knives through him. Suddenly, he felt Cane return to his mind.

  Jack…they have a dreadnought.

  Jack froze in his tracks, making Anderson stop with him, as a chill sailed through his back. Cane, have you been detected?

  “What’s going on?” Anderson asked, but Jack hurried to shush him.

  Yes. Jack, get to the escape pods! Hurry! We’re taking heavy fire!

  Jack got lost to confusion for a moment, and he quickly realised the gravity of their situation. “Were you talking to, Cane, just now?” Anderson prompted him.

  “Yeah, we need to hurr –“

  Thud! Thud! Thud!

  A huge beast appeared ahead of them, seven feet tall, with skin like leather, and a large rifle in its hand. A Dok’ra! These were the real soldiers of the Overseer army. The toughest in the known galaxies.

  Jack lifted his gun and managed to shoot it three times in the torso before it got off a shot – the laser took him in the shoulder in response.

  Jack was flung to the ground, howling in pain. Anderson screamed his name, and then he was shot in the belly. He dropped on his knees, blood spilling from his mouth as he managed an agony-riddled cry. He shot it in the shoulder. The creature roared. Then it shot him in the chest.

  Anderson slumped back, with flaming sparks burning from his heart as his face contorted in agony.

  “Bastard!”

  Jack lifted his gun with his other hand and fired a half dozen shots into its chest and stomach. The Dok’ra staggered from each hit until its back met the wall, then it slid down. A guttural groan of pain accompanied its last wheezing breath.

  Jack pawed his way over to his friend and when he realised he was gone, he dropped a weeping head on his chest. “No…” He wrapped his arm around him, and trailed his teary eyes across his shirt. “…Anderson.”

  He turned away and ran his hand down his face, wet with tears and perspiration, and with these new wounds, especially the one in his bleeding heart, he gave up clinging to hope.

  The red flashing lights around him switched to amber…

  Jack, the shields are down!

  Jack shut his eyes and hung his head. Cane, do it.

  Jack?!

  We’re gone, man. We’re all gone…just do it. I don’t wanna give them the pleasure of finishing me off…

  For some reason, all he could think of was talking to Brigid that night in his kitchen, before he had been abducted. He couldn’t even remember what they had talked about. All he could think was – I’m glad you never had to leave home like I did...

  Jack…goodbye.

  Goodbye, Cane.

  Jack…we did our best.

  He looked up like he could see God. I know, man.

  Jack clenched his fists and his teeth. A loud crash sounded, nearby explosions, the burning, then the approaching ball of flame as it stole up every bit of oxygen on its way toward him. The flames consumed.

  *

  Cane watched
the mothership get lost in the explosion of the Nova-bomb. When it cleared almost immediately due to the vacuum, all that remained was hunks of floating debris. A matter of seconds, and they were gone.

  Now wasn’t the time for mourning.

  “Europa! Get us out of here!”

  “Incoming!” Europa warned.

  A volley of fire blew up all around them, and Cane heard the shields powering down at once.

  "Shields down. Hull integrity compromised. Ship status – critical."

  Cane battled to get free of his chair straps as a fire erupted from the console in front of him. He grabbed the extinguisher beneath his chair and hurried to spray out the blaze.

  “Europa…we’re not moving…” he said, breathless.

  “They have disabled our engines.”

  He dropped his head into his hands, coming to terms with their loss. Tears poured freely.

  “Cane, a boarding party is on approach. There’s nothing I can do…”

  Cane’s eyes rose sharply. “Yes, there is,” he said, setting his jaw and scrubbing away his tears. “Europa…arm the self-destruct sequence.”

  Self-destruct initiated.

  “Cane, you’re sure?” she asked, caring.

  “Yes, we must destroy the time-drive, otherwise, it will fall into their hands. No matter what, don’t stop the sequence. No warnings, either. Let them come on-board, and be incinerated along with us.”

  Cane got up and went to Venec’s old drink compartment. He took out a bottle of booze, drank straight from it. As he looked out to space, he said, “Here’s to you, my friends.”

  Thinking of the inventor who began it all with a romantic dream, Cane sighed knowing that he was the last, and that his journey was about to end.

  He set back the bottle, and then armed himself with his laser pistol. Rather than wait around, he was going to enjoy the pleasure of taking a few of them along with him personally.

  As he got into the lift, he turned to have one last look at the command bridge, and he recalled the first ever time he saw it. “It’s been a pleasure, Europa,” he said.

  “We failed, Cane,” she moped.

  “Perhaps, they will do better than we have done.”

  “We can only hope…”

  “Good voyage, Europa.”