by Charles Nall
The loading bay opened and Sharon rushed down the ramp into the dock below. She yelled back toward the rest of the crew, “I've got to talk to Rattlesnake! We have to figure this out!”
Elijah chased behind her. “Wait, wait! Hang on!”
They both ran by a group of people slowly walking up to the now-docked Rapture. The rest of Rapture's crew walked down onto the docking area. “Well, there they go. You guys planning on doing anything?” Jacob asked to the crew.
“Where those two running off to? They should be running off the station,” called out Knave Gunner from the group of approaching people.
“Oh great, you guys,” Trevor said.
“We're just giving you a warm welcome.” Knave smiled.
Arnold sighed. “Please, just let us be.”
“This place was a lot better without you guys. You should have stayed away.”
“Get out of our face,” Jacob said.
Knave sneered, “We were just walking by, no need to be like that. Can't we all just get along? You just don't belong here, we're trying to be friendly and give you some professional tips. If you don't want to play nice, though, we'll be on our way. Don't do anything you regret. Teresa isn't here to save you this time.” Knave and his crew continued down the dock, walking by Rapture's crew.
“He has a way with ruining your day,” Trevor said when Knave and his crew were out of earshot.
Sharon continued running down the steel plating floor of the station. Elijah tried to keep up. “Wait, Sharon– hang on!”
She turned to the brig area of Rattlesnake. There was no security outside the brig.
Elijah caught up to Sharon and panted. “I have a very bad feeling. We need to get back to the corvette.”
Sharon entered the brig and walked toward Rattlesnake's cell. She covered her mouth in horror.
Elijah grabbed her arm. “We need to get out of here.”
Rattlesnake was dismembered. The cell was filled with bloody parts that used to belong to the crazy prisoner. A butcher's shop. His head was missing.
Sharon was trembling. “How? Who did this?”
“He said he was hunted for disobeying orders. If you're right, he lived when he was supposed to die. Someone found him and made sure he died. We have to get out of here. We know too much, whoever did this could still be around,” Elijah said.
They both left the brig and looked down the corridor, towards the opposite direction from the docking area. Two figures were slowly approaching. They wore brown cloaks that obscured their faces. One of them pointed towards Elijah and Sharon with a bony finger.
Sharon muttered, “Oh. Maybe they did it?”
“Run. Just run!” Elijah yelled.
They ran as fast they could down the corridors. The cloaked figures were right behind them. Elijah knocked over some metal crates to try to hinder their pursuit. Elijah and Sharon ran into the docking area back toward Rapture.
They ran by Knave Gunner's crew. “You guys running a marathon? Where you off to now?” asked Knave.
Elijah and Sharon continued on without saying anything. Knave Gunner's crew blocked the path of the cloaked figures. Knave eyed the strangers. “I don't know who you are. You really don't belong here. Let's chat.”
The cloaked figures looked past Knave's crew and then ran down the dock an opposite direction.
Knave was confused. “What the hell is going on? Hm. Let’s go.”
Elijah and Sharon ran up to Rapture. Her crew still chatting just outside the loading bay. Sharon called out, “Get in there! We have to get out of here! It is not safe!”
“Wait, slow down. What's wrong?” Jacob asked.
“She's right, Jake. We need to get out of here.” Elijah called out to the worker refueling Rapture, “Hey! You! Disconnect those lines. I'm sure we have enough for now. Disconnect it! We're launching!”
“We don't have clearance to launch right now,” Trevor said.
“Get clearance. We have to get out of here,” Elijah said.
Jacob sighed. “Fine. Let's go. I don't know what's going on but I trust you guys. Let's get ready for launch as fast as we can.”
About a minute later, Rapture was lifting off.
“Yes, I know. We need clearance. I know this is unusual. I know. Please. We need access. Let us out, clear the tube. I don't care how many other ships just asked for clearance,” Trevor said to the traffic controller on board the station. “Listen, guys,” he said to the crew on the bridge, “I don't know if I can get us out of here, yet.”
“Who were chasing you?” Jacob asked.
“I don't know, it was after we found the decimated corpse of the prisoner,” Sharon replied.
Elijah tapped on his console. “I have no idea who they were, but they were up to no good. We may know too much– although we can't even really articulate what we know at the moment. It's safer somewhere else.”
“Where?” Jacob asked.
“I don't know,” Elijah said.
“Well I can't fly down this corridor until we have clearance, I don't want to run into some other ship. That would be a mess,” Arnold said.
“Wait, I got it. We're accepted. Let's get out of here,” Trevor said. “Got the shield frequencies.”
“Alright. We're going,” Arnold said. “Don't expect a long journey, our deuterium and solar charge reserves are low.”
Rapture barreled down the docking corridor of the space station. Trevor input the outer shield frequency given by the traffic controller into Rapture's computer to match shield frequencies to allow the ship to exit the station. The large blast door opened at the end of the corridor. Rapture flew into space. Two other corvettes exited the station behind Rapture.
“We're out, now where we going?” Trevor asked.
“Again, I don't know. Any place in particular you want to go?” Jacob asked.
Trevor laughed. “I've heard Tau Ceti is beautiful this time of year. Wait, something is following us. What–”
The chasing corvettes started firing upon Rapture. Cannon fire impacted the hull of Rapture.
“Holy shit!” Trevor exclaimed. “What the... they're heavily armed. Switching shield frequencies.”
Another salvo impacted Rapture. The mounted rotary cannons of Rapture rotated around at Elijah's command and began fire upon the aggressor. Another explosion blasted across Rapture. The crew were knocked about as the ship shuddered. The lights dimmed and several console displays went dark. A few seconds later the console displays returned.
“Damage reports coming... heavy damage along the aft. We have minor hull breaches,” relayed Sharon.
Another blast rocked Rapture. Plates were ripped off the hull from the impact.
“Shields are down! I just effing switched them!”
“I just lost weapons. The reactor just took a hit, I think it blew out one of the leads. Can you re-route the power, Sharon?” Elijah asked.
“I’ll try. It's a mess. Everything is breaking.”
The bridge shook again from the barrage of enemy fire.
“I lost some port-side stabilization thrusters. Compensating. Who are these guys?!”
“Can we do a speed-jump, Arnold?” Jacob asked.
“Not with our reactor taking such a hit. It would be risky. Our best bet is to try to keep dodging the fire, but that is proving to be difficult,” Arnold replied.
“I have a few weapons responding,” Elijah said. “We’re not even putting a dent in those ships. If I were to guess, I think we found the ships of our cloaked friends.”
“Silver Cove is mobilizing forces to help us. I requested access to the jumpgate. There is already a frigate heading to Sol system, we'd have to take that ride. They’re reconfiguring the calibration to allow us access. We need to get there as soon as possible.”
“Orion Confederation territory?” Jacob asked.
“It's the best I can do,” Trevor said.
“Arnold, bring us around and head toward that jumpgate. Avoid all the incoming fi
re you can. We have to take that jump,” Jacob said.
“Alright, but we don't have much charge in the sails. We'll need to drop out of the conduit relatively soon. I think we can do it. I'm altering course toward the jumpgate,” Arnold said.
A black corvette unleashed a salvo of weapon fire onto one of the corvettes chasing Rapture.
“You boys getting into trouble?” called out Knave Gunner over the link.
“I've never been more happy to hear your voice, Mr. Gunner,” Trevor said. Trevor pushed some buttons at his station. “You're on speaker now.”
“We knew something was up, especially when we saw these two corvettes bolting after you in the station. Luckily Eclipse was ready to go. We watch our own. I'm sorry, look, sometimes it may not seem like I believe it, but you are one of us. Never forget that,” Knave Gunner said to the crew of Rapture.
“Thanks so much,” Jacob said as another barrage rocked Rapture.
Eclipse dodged fire from one of the enemy corvettes. Eclipse fired another salvo onto the ship it had attacked before. It was a direct hit–the enemy corvette exploded into debris. The other enemy corvette retaliated with mass driver fire that pierced through one of the main thrusters of Eclipse, causing it to go into a spin. Eclipse struggled to stabilize as the enemy corvette continued on Rapture's tail.
“You're on your own now! Get out of here!” Knave yelled.
Rapture flew into the portal between the jumpgate apparatus and into hyperspace. The enemy corvette followed them, but not before launching a torpedo at the frigate sitting just outside the portal. The enemy corvette entered hyperspace as the frigate exploded, sending flaming shrapnel into the portal.
The jump point started to collapse, causing the jumpgate to be ripped apart. An even greater explosion flared from the destabilization of the warping of space. A fiery shock wave propagated into hyperspace. The enemy corvette and Rapture were overtaken by the blast of energy from the collapsing jump point and knocked violently back into standard space. All forward momentum ceased as they exited hyperspace.
Rapture groaned. Plating broke apart from the vessel. Wires lay strewn on the floor. Pipes burst. Rapture was barely hanging together. The consoles went dark in the bridge. Backup emergency power kicked on, but barely illuminated anything.
“Where are we?” Jacob asked.
“No way to tell,” Arnold replied. “Along the path to Sol.”
Sharon called out, “I need to get down to the engine room. I have to decouple the hyper-drive. It is likely to go critical! We were just overtaken by a collapsing jump point! It has got to be fried!”
“No! It's not safe!” Arnold yelled.
Sharon unlatched her restraints and floated off her seat. The anti-gravity system had been knocked offline. “No, Arnold. If I stay up here we will all die. I have to disable the hyper-drive.”
“Well, I'm coming with you!” Arnold yelled.
“Damage report? Trevor? Trevor?” Jacob looked over to Trevor. He was unconscious. Jacob unlatched his restraints and floated over to Trevor. “You with me, buddy? You with me?”
Sharon and Arnold exited the bridge and headed toward the engine room.
Some power returned to a few of the consoles. Elijah looked over the data. “We're a sitting duck. No shields. Barely any power. Only life support and a few other systems still online. All sensors offline.”
Elijah looked out the small window on the front of the bridge. The holographic viewscreen sputtered in and out of existence. The enemy corvette was circling Rapture.
“What do they want?”
“They are probably sending demands to us right now,” Elijah said. “Too bad we're completely dead in the water. There's no way to communicate with them.”
Trevor woke up. “I don't want to go to school today.”
Sharon and Arnold waded through the carnage on the way to the engine room. Plating was uprooted. The guts of the ship were strewn along the corridors. Steam hissed. They floated into the scalding engine room. A haze of warm smoke filled the area. Patches of green liquid drifted in the zero gravity. The hyper-drive hummed loudly. A warning siren blared in the engine room. A smell of molten metal lingered in the air.
“Help me unhook all this stuff. Ugh, coolant floating everywhere. I don't know if she'll fly again.”
“She will, Sharon, she will.”
Trevor clutched his head. “Comms are back online. I'm sending a distress signal. That corvette isn’t accepting any links. Sensors are detecting...” Trevor looked out the window toward the enemy. “The enemy ship is readying weapons.”
Jacob sighed. “It's over. It was a pleasure flying with all of you.”
Elijah nodded. “I have no idea why I was put here, but I am thankful for these extra few weeks of my life. I did enjoy my time here, thanks for being open to me.”
Sharon and Arnold prevented the hyper-drive from going critical. After removing hoses and wires, the hyper-drive went silent. They surveyed the damage.
“This will take some time to fix,” Sharon said.
“Is it worth it?” Arnold asked.
“Of course it is.”
Jacob looked out the window toward the enemy corvette. A tear formed in Jacob's eye. The tear struggled to stream down Jacob's face due to the lack of gravity. “Rapture. One hell of a ship...”
“Absolutely,” Trevor said.
Sharon and Arnold returned to the bridge. The entire crew shared silent glances with one another. Jacob floated up to Sharon's side. Sharon fought back tears. Jacob hugged her. Arnold looked over to Jacob and nodded, fighting back his own tears.
The enemy corvette fired thrusters to slow down. The corvette ceased circling its prey.
Suddenly, a starship materialized to the starboard side of the enemy corvette. The new arrival unloaded weapon fire. Fighters that also jumped in with the large ship zipped around the enemy corvette, tearing it to pieces.
“Wait. What happened? Who–”
Trevor interrupted Jacob, “It–It's garbled but I'm getting a transmission. Accepting the link. Come on, stupid thing. Our comms are barely working.” Trevor hit the side of his console. “Linking it to speaker.”
“This is Captain Tanari Oshiro of the CFS Iriguchi to battered corvette. Please reply.”
“This is the mercenary ship Rapture, we were just chased by the ship you obliterated. We're in your debt,” Trevor said.
Oshiro continued, “We're here to help. We were performing maneuvers not too far from here when we received the distress call, we didn’t even land our birds before jumping to your aid. Your ship really could use some repairs. Our hangar is big enough for a corvette, I believe. Let's get you taken care of. Welcome to Orion Confederation space.”
February 23, 0270 AC - 15:41
Captain's Quarters, USS Freedom
Orbiting Urbania, Galactic Union Space
“How many ships will be defending the President's heavy cruiser?” Admiral Akeldamas asked Captain John Devereaux. Akeldamas and Devereaux were in the captain's quarters, no other crew members were there to hear the assassination scheme.
Devereaux leaned back in his chair and looked over some pieces of paper. “Freedom will be there, along with Apollo and Callisto. President Eridanys will be arriving in the Judgment-class heavy cruiser Agamemnon. Judgments are the peak of the Union’s military might and can handle themselves well in a battle. The New York II-class Daedalus will also be orbiting Artemis that day. That's five warships defending the President. Along with whatever the Artemis Defense Grid has, probably a handful of fighters and other smaller craft.”
“Iriguchi will bring six Confederate warships. There will be no warning. That means the Confederation forces will decimate the Galactic Union warships. That's easy math,” Akeldamas said.
“Not completely. We're not considering what ships the vampires are sending.”
“I believe it will be two Mjolnir-class destroyers and Abaddon, the Regent's Cerberus-class cruiser. Their hyper-drives will
be ready. They will jump away at the first sign of an attack. They won't assist the President.”
Devereaux placed the papers on the desk. “I think we're missing a very important piece of the puzzle. I understand you want Agamemnon destroyed, but what of the rest of the Galactic Union ships? What about this ship?”
“I will not tell you there will not be loss of life aboard this ship. But the ship should survive. Agamemnon is the main target. Other Union warships will be targeted and destroyed if necessary. If you want the majority of your crew to stay alive, if you want yourself to stay alive, you will not do anything stupid. You could even start spinning up your hyper-drive before the attack. Don't make it obvious that you knew about the attack, but don't get yourself killed. You can figure out a way to ensure your survival. Beyond that, I need you to ensure my survival. I will ascend, you must help me complete my destiny.”
“I understand.”
“Do not do any heavy damage to the attacking forces if you do engage them. They will be able to leave when their mission is accomplished. They will have to deal with their own shocked government, so I am not so sure what will happen after the mission is successful. The Confederation government will deny having anything to do with the attack, claim the attack was made by a rogue fleet, but the fact will remain that the President was murdered. Someone would need to pay for that,” Akeldamas said.
A voice came across some speakers in Devereaux's quarters. “Captain, incoming vid transmission from Blood Dynasty space. It's encrypted. It's the Regent, he wishes to discuss our defenses over Artemis. And speaking of Artemis, we will begin jump preparations to Artemis soon.”
“Alright, Ensign. Link the transmission here, but do not link it anywhere else. It's for my eyes only.” The captain looked over at the admiral. “And Admiral Akeldamas, of course.”