by J. K. Mabrey
Proof
The Rinada had just made the jump to Theros. Dani delivered the portal payment through one of their dummy accounts and steered the craft away from the planet. Zavik wanted to talk to Alberan about the situation before it went any further. Waiting for Bragavick's men to reach Theros was as good a time as any. He walked into the room Alberan had commandeered. It was a cramped space, usually used for storing supplies for long travels. If Alberan minded, though, he did not show it.
"How are you?" he asked. Alberan was sitting on a crate in the corner of the room, staring at the empty wall. He had not moved since after their last conversation.
"Fine," he said sharply. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to thank you again for saving us, and say I'm grateful that you joined us."
He turned on the crate to face Zavik, "It was my duty, that is all."
"I understand that, but without your help, we may have never been given this chance to find Varin and stop Red Moon."
"I'm glad to have been of help, and I hope we can be successful on this mission. I'm used to working alone, so you'll have to forgive me if I seem distant. It's just the way I was trained."
"I can understand, and appreciate that," Zavik said sitting on the ground. "I just hope we can learn to trust each other throughout this mess."
"You have my gun, for as long as you need it," Alberan said and meant it.
"And I'll have your back as long as I can."
Alberan nodded his understanding and said, "Anything else?"
“Do you think we can trust Bragavick?” Zavik asked.
Without moving, he said, “I don’t know. He would most certainly like to remove Red Moon from the galaxy, but his cooperation will depend on whether he believes us enough. If he doubts us for a moment, he’ll leave us out to die, rather than risk confrontation without sufficient benefit to him.”
“I guess all we can do is hope he believes us," Zavik said.
“I’d venture a guess that he did. Otherwise, we might not have walked out of there. Are we ready to proceed?”
“Right now, we're to wait out of orbit until we hear from Bragavick’s men. Their raid will be our signal to go in.”
“Very good," Alberan gave a small nod to Zavik. "May Ier watch over us.”
“Ier?” Zavik asked.
Alberan stood from his crate. “Many Iriquios follow the teachings of Ier, god of peace and tranquility.”
“Oh, gotcha,” Zavik said turning quickly to leave to avoid the conversation.
Alberan rushed to stop him. “You do not believe in a religion, do you, Mr. Khan?”
“Not any particular one, no,” he said slightly dropping his head and then raising it again.
Confused by that answer, Alberan asked, “So you believe in many then?”
“That’s not exactly what I mean either. I believe,” he paused a moment, “in what I can verify through experience. If it would happen to be a religious one, then so be it.”
“You miss the point of religion then,” Alberan said directly. “It isn’t about verification, it’s about faith. Sometimes faith cannot be explained through experiences. You just have to accept that there are reasons beyond explanation for events to happen.”
“Perhaps I just don’t want to believe in any grand destiny,” Zavik said.
“You of all people should more easily understand how the events of our lives are easily shaped by outside forces.”
“What do you mean?” Zavik asked.
Alberan sat back down and invited Zavik to do the same. “You believe in doing what’s right, even when it is wrong, correct?”
“I guess so.”
“Of course you do," Alberan said vehemently, "just look at your history. You did what was necessary and right for your fellow humans, and were punished for it.”
“I disobeyed orders from a superior officer,” Zavik said.
Alberan held his hand up to stop Zavik. “You don’t have to justify their actions to me. But, did you ever find it odd that they couldn’t let it go, bury it in paperwork, or at the least punish you internally?"
“Well…”
“Are you certain that there was never a situation where a disobeyed order, which, mind you, turned out for the better, was awarded and commended, rather than openly court-martialed?"
“Well, yes, but during battles, sometimes you have to make rash decisions that contradict what comes from the top.”
“And isn’t that what you did?” Alberan asked. “Why weren’t you rewarded, promoted, or at the least demoted in rank and kept on the job?”
Zavik sat in silence. He had never considered any reason for his court-martial other than the military flexing its muscle. He had grown to despise them for their arrogance and for ruining his life. It had taken him years of work and multiple run-ins with unsavory characters to get to where he was now, which still wasn’t saying much. He could have been a Lieutenant Colonel by now, or higher, he was always ahead of Mike when it came to promotions. “What are you trying to get at?” he asked Alberan.
“You spoke of a grand destiny before. Do you think, had you still been in the U.E.F., that you would have the opportunity you do now?”
“And what opportunity is that?”
“The chance to take down one of the largest criminal organizations in the galaxy, the chance to thwart an intergalactic takeover of said organization, and the opportunity to show the galaxy that humans are honest, trustworthy beings, suitable for Council membership.”
“You really believe my discharge was so I could be here, with the smallest chance possible to stop a galactic war?” Zavik asked.
“It's a chance, right? Better than what chance we would have if you were still in the military, like your friend. But I’m not sure,” he admitted. “One can never be sure of such things, they must be taken on faith. But, I am sure that had you not been court-martialed, and effectively exiled, we would not be in the situation we are in, and Earth would have a little less hope of achieving sustainability. What happened happened, and it happened for a reason. The only thing we know for certain is that it has led us to this situation as we know it. And I feel that we are the best chance Earth and the Galactic Community have for avoiding an intergalactic conflict that would destroy countless lives.”
"There would've been someone else out there."
"There is no one else," Alberan said. "It's just us, and there would be no us if you weren't here to lead. We can stop this."
“I hope you’re right,” Zavik said. “Perhaps your faith will be rewarded.”
“That is why I pray,” Alberan said and turned back to face the wall.
Zavik left Alberan, stopping at the door to glance back as he stared at the wall. Returning to cockpit he asked, “Were you able to hack into the network around Theros?”
“Yes," she said glancing at him as he sat down. "You alright?"
Brushing off her question, he shrugged and asked, "What's going on down there?"
"Zavik, you can talk to me you know, about anything. I've become quite the good listener."
"I know," he said softly. "Perhaps after this is all over. I need to ask you something, but now's just not the time or place."
"Of course," she said and leaned over and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
He smiled and asked, "What's going on down there?"
"Well, there doesn’t seem to be much going on at all. Red Moon’s pretty quiet.”
“Hopefully we’ll be able to wake’em up a little," this time he faked a smile at her.
“I’ll continue to monitor, and let you know when Bragavick’s men arrive," she said.
“It should be a small force, but with hardly any traffic around this place as it is, they’ll be easy to spot, for us and for Red Moon.”
“Then I’ll also keep an eye on Red Moon’s defenses," she said, "and try to bring down anything I can.”
“I’m sure Bragavick would be grateful. Did you locate Varin’s office?”
&n
bsp; She pulled up the schematics of the compound. “From the schematics I was able to find, which are obviously incomplete, or fake," she said in annoyance, "there are buildings missing that are on our scan of the compound.”
“So this is old?” Zavik asked.
“More like a decoy,” Brax said entering the cockpit. “I told you he was very secretive. That is no doubt part of the plan for this base, but there are more of those. Each suggesting a certain design, but when placed together would develop a much different layout.”
“So is this even of use to us?” Zavik asked.
“Oh, most certainly,” Brax responded. “Just don’t expect it to reveal all of the secrets of his base. You can assume that his office is off limits to almost everyone else in the galaxy, and since we know he is currently on Cedona, it should be empty now. Is this ship equipped with a thermal scanner?”
“Yeah, it’s old, but should still work,” Zavik said.
"Why does that not surprise me," Brax said.
“I don’t think we’ve used it since we were dropping those supplies off at Volcust,” Dani said. Clarifying for Brax she continued. “Area we were dropping off was an active volcano sight. We had to land on the section of dirt that wasn’t radiating at seven hundred degrees Celsius.”
“Good, then you see that tower, right in the middle,” Brax pointed to the center of the map. “That's where we found you, near the base of the tower. When we get close, thermal scan that and find the room that is empty, that should be our target."
A yellow light on the dash suddenly started to flash. Alarmed Brax asked, “What is that for?"
“Calm down," Dani said. "I set an alarm to go off whenever Red Moon started to have increased activity on their network. They must be up to something." She began pulling up files and video of the area. "Yes, look, they’re activating their defenses and mobilizing their rather small fleet.”
Brax focused in on the screen detailing the actions. “Hmm…looks like they’re more paranoid about sneak attacks then they used to be,” he said. “When we rescued you two, they had hardly taken any action until the ships were in the atmosphere.”
“Yeah, we haven’t even heard from Bragavick’s forces yet,” Dani admitted.
“So what do they know that we don’t?” Zavik asked.
“They know we’re coming,” Brax said.
“Betrayed?” Dani asked nervously.
“I don’t think so,” Alberan said entering the increasingly cramped cockpit. “They just have advanced warnings, possibly spies, wherever Bragavick’s forces are coming from. They will be met with a very formidable resistance. It will make the entire compound be in disarray either way.”
“Then they will still do their job,” Zavik said.
“Look!” Dani shouted, “The portal to Zalif has a stream of ships coming through.”
“Zalif?” Alberan asked. “Must be a portal jump to mask their true port of origin. The Blue Blazes don’t have any connection to that system, as far as I know at least.”
“We should wait until they enter the atmosphere to make our move,” Brax suggested. “The Red Moon compound will pay us little attention then.”
Dani waited until the fleet moving in on Theros had penetrated the atmosphere. Then she fired up the Rinada’s engines to full throttle. “Brax, monitor the Blue Blazes fleet to make sure they are ahead of us, and that we’re heading towards the compound from the opposite side.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Brax said, taking a seat behind Zavik.
The Rinada entered the atmosphere of Theros, racing towards the target. Brax informed her that the Blue Blazes fleet was on schedule to reach the compound about one minute before them, plenty of time to get the battle between the two into full swing and mask their approach.
With the Rinada in range of the thermal scanner, Dani scanned the central tower of the compound. The slender tower appeared on screen, revealing ten rooms occupying a level each. Red markings filled the rooms throughout the whole tower, except for two. Dani isolated the two rooms, one on the third level, another on the second from the top level, that was void of any life.
“These two rooms are empty,” she said. “If your theory is correct, one of these is the office we need. Now we just need to figure out which one.”
“It will no doubt be the higher one,” Brax said. "The lower one's where we found you, you can still see the damage to the north side."
“Must not be secure anymore since no ones being held there. Are you sure though?” Zavik asked as the Rinada raced closer to the battlefield ahead. "We only have one chance at this."
“Please," Brax exclaimed, "we all know this man is full of ego. He would not put his private office near a bottom level of a building like this. Besides, look, the top room encompasses two floors. Does that convince you?"
“Maybe we should hit both rooms,” Zavik said, “just to make sure.”
“That would be an added risk,” Alberan said. “I would have to agree with Brax that the most likely spot is the two story one near the top. I would suggest we focus on that only.”
“There is a lot at stake here,” Zavik said to Brax, “you had better be right.”
Brax looked at Zavik and nodded. "I hope I am."
Another alarm wailed from the console. “The Blue Blazes fleet has reached the compound,” Dani said.
“How long till we reach it?” Zavik asked.
“About one minute out,” she confirmed.
“Come in low,” Alberan suggested. “Fire at the outside wall with just enough to punch a whole in it, we don’t want to completely destroy the office. On our next pass, we’ll drop you and Brax off.”
“Sounds easy,” Zavik said.
“Ain’t it always,” Brax replied. “Why is it always me and you that get the welcoming privilege to go into these hostile territories?”
“Because we’re so good with people who want to kill us, I guess,” Zavik said.
“Ahh, yes, of course, how could I forget the bounty hunter who tried to collect our ransom or the prison roof escape. So good with those guys, you mean?”
“Exactly," he said. "We're here, and they're not."
"Fair enough," Brax admitted. "You do make a good point."
"Here!" Dani shouted as she shoved a small device into Zavik's hand.
"What's this for?" he asked looking at the foreign object.
"You're going to need to use that to get the file we need. Stick it in the terminal on his computer and it will automatically start a search through all of his files. Once it's located a possible match, it will transmit part of it to us to verify. Then you need to get the hell out of there but bring this back. It will contain the entire file." She slowly pulled her hand away from his, lingering for a second before returning her full attention to the ship.
The Rinada drew closer to the compound. In the distance, indistinguishable fighters could be seen engaging in dogfights. Surface-to-air rounds were indiscriminately arching towards the sky, taking out anything and everything they could hit. Once closer it was clear that the Blue Blazes forces were not going to be large enough to hold the attention of Red Moon for long. Already their ships in the sky were outnumbered almost two-to-one. Red Moon had indeed beefed up security since the last assault. Now they could only hope their approach was masked enough to allow them to dive in and shoot out.
The ship aimed straight for the towering building, larger than every other building in the area, it stuck out easily. As the Rinada crossed into their territory a surface gun took aim and began pelting the ship with explosive rounds. The shockwaves from the blast shook the ship but did not alter its course. The shields held well and one blast from the forward mounted guns blasted a hole the entire height of the empty room. The Rinada kept its speed up not wanting to draw any fighters to give chase. Dani pushed the ship to full throttle, if she could get far enough away no ship would follow.
She confirmed that the explosion was in the proper spot and informed the crew.
&nb
sp; “Good, now we just need to get close enough to get us in there without being shot out of the sky,” Brax said.
“Revert all power you can spare to the bottom shields,” Zavik said. “I’ll open the side hatch.”
Dani again aimed the speeding ship at the tower. She would come in just as quick, but this time, she would need to halt the ship right at the newly created opening. It sped into the compound, taking hard shots from the ground. The fighters in the sky were still ignorant of the Rinada’s intrusion into their space. They were more focused on their rival's fighters and their immediate threats. The ship came to a jarring stop aside the building.
Dani yelled to Zavik and Brax that they were in position and they opened the bay door. “Keep it steady!” Brax yelled. “I’m afraid of heights,” he said under his breath.
Zavik stepped up to the open door. “Dani, can you get us a few feet closer?” he asked as his legs began to tremble.
“I’ll try,” she said. “Make this fast. One good hit will knock us into the building.”
The ship inched closer, all the while jarring shots shook Zavik and Brax from their unstable feet. “I think it’s now or never,” Zavik said and took a running jump over the gap to the office.
He landed hard on his feet, collapsing to his knees. The ship was slowly drifting up, now over ten feet high, the fall distance, and risk of injury increasing. “Come on!” Zavik yelled. “You’ve got to jump.”
“I’m having second thoughts,” Brax said.
“Don’t worry! I’ll catch you!”
“How comforting,” he said to himself. Brax leaped the growing distance to the office floor, landing almost on top of Zavik’s unprepared body. The two collapsed to the floor.
Groaning, Zavik said, “See, told ya I’d catch you.”
Brax clutched his head and said, “You broke my fall like a jagged rock." He extended a hand to help Zavik to his feet.
Still wavering on his feet he said, “Yeah, well, I'm surprised you didn’t break my leg like a twig.”
“Don’t be dramatic, you can still walk.”