by DJ Morand
“Are the plates stored?” Abel asked.
“They are,” Artemis replied.
“Do it ADM,” Abel did not expect a reply and the AI gave none. The sound of the low hum coming from the magnetic quantum belt around the ship was signal enough. The light on the command deck dimmed temporarily, but lit back up.
Echo watched the screens at the engineering station and sighed with relief as the shields powered up to ninety percent. She could feel the slight shift in inertia as Abel turned the Atlas to face their foe.
The whoomp whoomp whoomp of the laser turret began almost as soon as they had completed their turn. Echo had not been paying attention to Abel’s orders. She was consumed with the numbers on the Transteel console display. There was a comfort in the raw numerical data. She was able to distance herself from the emotions plaguing her. The sound of the rail turret, zzzzing zzzzing, distracted her momentarily. The metallic sound of metal projectiles launching from the magnetic barrels made her think of the clanging of swords. Echo was brought back to the hangar aboard the TP-D and the fight with the EXOs. She began to pant. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw herself standing over Alek Vale and hacking at him with Six’s sword.
Six, Echo thought. Why did you attack him? Why did you die?
Echo tried to answer the question for him, but all she managed was a dry and cold thought, it was your fault. You killed him.
Burdened by her own emotion Echo tried to focus on the battle occurring around her. The Atlas shook and Abel was yelling something, but she couldn’t hear him. She couldn’t hear anything. The color drained from the world and everything stood in muted gray. Echo reached out her hand and felt someone grip it. The touch drew her from the nightmare and she saw Abel’s face. She heard his voice.
“Echo! Are you alright!?” Abel said.
“Good, I’m fine,” Echo took Abel’s hand and pulled herself up. She didn’t remember falling, but the command deck showed signs of damage.
Maybe he didn’t notice I froze, she thought.
“The Mirage is out there, Breaker. You were right. The first salvo from the ship damaged one of the inertial dampeners. ADM fixed it, but we all got thrown a bit.” Abel explained.
So he didn’t see, Echo thought.
“Are we still under power?” Echo asked.
“Enough to keep fighting. I need you on defenses. Between ADM and Artemis we have offense covered. Tee has comms locked down, so we’re not dealing with EXO.”
“Sounds good. I’m ready, how are we avoiding damage now?” Echo asked.
“ADM is split, he can’t keep it up though.” Abel returned to his chair and sat down to access the haptic controls.
Abel angled the Atlas around to come on the port side of the URSA. The Mirage banked starboard and away from the Atlas. Abel began pursuit.
“ADM, target his inertial dampeners. The way he is maneuvering will start throwing his crew around. Artemis, target the shield emitters with the rail turrets. Echo boost our forward shield capacity to ninety-five percent and drop our rear deflector to sixty. If that URSA is the same as the Kodiak, Breaker will have a rear mounted rail turret as well,” Abel ordered as the Atlas banked hard to stay in pursuit of the weaving Mirage.
“Confirmation: Affirmative,” ADM said.
“Forward emitters at ninety-two, ninety-four, ninety-five and holding,” Echo said.
Artemis did not respond, but Abel could see the targeting change to focus on the shield emitters. The Mirage opened fire with its rear rail turrets. The shields on the Atlas held as the gunships danced with one another. The Mirage was slightly faster, but it was outgunned. Abel knew that the Atlas would eventually win the contest, but he had to catch it first.
The Mirage accelerated and tried to twist to the port side. The maneuver looked like it was going to work when the port side inertial dampener exploded. The quick flash of fire and smoke provided enough momentum opposite the ship that the Mirage bucked and leveled out. The change of position kept the URSA class gunship from avoiding the Atlas’ rail turrets. Moments later the displays in the ATLAS-V class ship indicated that their enemy’s shields were down.
“Fire a full missile salvo now!” Abel cried.
ADM did not respond, but the missiles began to fire almost immediately. Four ship to ship missiles cut through space and arced towards the Mirage. The missiles exploded as several other ships entered the battle.
“Statement: Multiple contacts approaching. EXO is not present. I am reading odd signatures. Query: Do any others have schematics for the Atlas?” ADM asked.
“The Vald,” Abel said.
“What are the Vald?” Echo asked.
“No time to get into it now, suffice to say I don’t think they like me much right now. Oh and they created the EXO Prime,” Abel said glibly.
“Flak,” Echo whispered.
“Statement: They are demanding to speak to you Captain. Lament: I cannot keep them out.” ADM said.
The Transteel screen shifted and Abel found himself facing someone he thought was dead. The auburn locks of Aurora Rigel shone in the light on her face. She looked at Abel’s crew, lingering for a moment too long on Echo.
“So, you saved her. At what cost Abel Cain?” Aurora looked at Abel.
“Too high, but I didn’t get everything I paid for, Aurora,” he spat her name.
“No, I am not my sister,” the woman said.
“Sister?” Abel scoffed, raising an eyebrow and giving her a confused look.
“We are constructs of the Vald. You have met some of our people, you understand that they are weak and fragile compared to the hardier Quintarrans and humans. Where the Vald lack in strength they make up for with ingenuity. We are not so different from your ADM, in fact we are based on the same code, Quintarran nanite programming. Clever of you to think of it,”” the woman teased.
Abel was not paying attention to the woman’s taunts. He admitted she had caught him off guard, but not enough to ignore the other ships entering the sector. Each one of them was the same basic design as the Atlas, but they lacked the true code for the quantum plating, he had made sure of that.
“ADM,” Abel continued to ignore the woman. “Please enact modification protocol Nova Zulu Theta, on my mark,” Abel commanded. He waited for a few moments while more ATLAS-V class vessels entered the system.
Ursidae, Abel thought. A family of bears.
He continued to watch his displays. He had become so intent on the displays that he had not realized the woman was silent and staring at him.
“Oh,” Abel said in mock surprise. “You’re still here? My crew and I must be going, you have fun without us, okay?”
“Just what makes you think you can leave?” the woman said indignantly.
“Oh this, MARK!” Abel cried.
“Confirmation: Modifications deployed. Insult: If you spend bit for byte with me, I shall make your data bankrupt.” ADM said.
Abel gave him a strange look, but shrugged it off. He reversed the Atlas and expended the remaining bit of energy in the quantum belt to give another boost. Echo held her seat and gave Abel an astonished look.
“You’re leaving Breaker alive?” Echo said.
“There are twenty-four more of those ships meshing into the system, all converging on us. In a matter of seconds, they’ll be blasting each other to pieces with their quantum plating.” Abel said through gritted teeth. “Now please sit your pretty arse down and get our rear shield emitter to full power.”
Echo huffed and turned to sit. She saw the view screen showing the number of contacts pursuing and almost panicked. She began to adjust the settings to draw from the forward emitters to the rear emitters. The shields at the aft of the ship recharged to one-hundred percent. The forward emitters dropped to ten percent. She figured Abel was already aware and didn’t bother telling him.
32: WARP-T
Independent ATLAS-V Class Gunship: Atlas
2973 ESD - Friday, June 18th 17:20 hours
“ADM charge
the Warp-T drive,” Abel stepped out of his chair and moved to the weapons station next to Echo. “Take manual control and mesh out as soon as you are capable. We’re going to Eden.”
“Eden?” Echo questioned.
“Eden,” Abel said. “The EFNF is compromised. The Vald knew I was leaving the EFNF and when I did and they just happened to have the Kodiak waiting for me? They had to have excavated it long before they knew I’d be looking. The Fleet Admiral’s vessel is nowhere to be found and the EFNF barely tried to stop me leaving. This all stinks of conspiracy.””
Echo nodded. It made sense so far as she could tell. If these Vald were planted in the EFNF and had orchestrated Abel’s re-construction of the Kodiak - Atlas - then they could easily have redirected the Fleet Admiral.
“Observation: Captain, I am receiving a transmission, it is EFNF.” ADM said.
“Put it through, but keep us on course. I don’t care if we get cut off while we’re meshing out.” Abel said.
“Good to know Captain, we are withdrawing as well. Several more URSA Gunships have entered the system. Did you save my granddaughter?” Rear Admiral Zed was on the Transteel viewer.
“Sorry Rear Admiral,” Abel adjusted the settings to allow the EFNF commander to see them on the command deck. “Precautions, those URSA ships are Vald and they want my head.””
“You are more right than you know Captain,” The Rear Admiral was not looking at Abel, but Echo. “The Vald obtain and expand. You’’ve met the Auroras I take it?”
“Auroras? Plural? Yeah I’ve met them.” Abel said.
“The Aurora Intellis,” Rear Admiral Zed replied. “The AI.”
“Well flak me,” Abel whistled. “THE AI?”
“They are one in the same, or many in the same. I am not good with anecdotes.”
“Granddaughter?” Echo said.
“Yes, Echo Shade. Your mother was my daughter, although she misplaced her loyalty. Admiral Shade had come under the influence of the Vald.” Rear Admiral Zed explained.
“WHAT!?” Echo and Abel replied in unison.
“At their instruction he freed the EXOs thinking that he was slaying them. First Fleet was also influenced, but opposite to the Admiral. There is time for this later, we need to get out of the system.” He finished.
“Right,” Abel said. “ADM, do we have a mesh out point yet?”
“Confirmation: Affirmative Captain,” ADM replied.
Before Abel could respond the shock waves hit the Atlas. Abel spun and changed the view to see what was occurring behind them. The Vald URSA ships were launching their quantum plates in all directions. Several ships collided with one another causing a massive explosion and shockwave. The shockwave passed through the Atlas causing several systems to blare alerts.
“Observation: I am detecting multiple hull breaches, shields are holding.” ADM reported.
“There is a crap ton of comm traffic out there Captain,” Tee said.
For the first time Echo saw Tee, her eyes widened in surprise. Tee looked surprised at her reaction, he had tended her until she began to stir. Tee had assumed Echo had at least seen his skin if nothing else. It was a different feeling to be recognized like Echo recognized him now. Echo continued to stare, but Tee began to blush. His cheeks turned pink. Echo frowned, she felt the sting of guilt.
She felt guilty for Six, for her mother, for Zee, and for Abel. Her emotions wreaked havoc on her. Her chest tightened and she felt like she could barely breathe. Able noticed something was wrong and touched her shoulder. She shrugged away and left the command deck.
“Alright folks, we’re getting out of here now,” Abel said. “ADM, engage the Warp-T drive.”
“Confirmation: Affirmative Captain, Warp-T eng--”
ADM’s voice cut off abruptly and the Atlas seemed to stretch for a moment before propelling forward. Abel was thrown back into his chair and he heard a cry from Echo.
I must have miswired the Warp-T drive, he thought. That transition should have been smoother.
He remembered a moment later that the inertial dampeners auto-engaged, except that they were wired to the same power supply as the quantum belt. He designed it this way so that the ship could conserve energy, but neglected to realize what might happen if the belt were compromised. The ship propelled forward in space, but he was unable to pull himself from his seat. Tee and Artemis were in similar positions. Abel feared what happened to Echo.
“ADM,” he struggled to speak. “Disengage WARP!”
“Confirmation: Affirmative.” ADM said.
“Slowly!” Abel added.
“Confirmation: Affirmative.”
The Atlas slowly came out of warp and eventually Abel was able to move again. He checked the system and saw they were still light years from their destination, but they were out of immediate danger. He checked the power output and noted that the engines seemed to be running at peak efficiency. He did the calculations in his head and realized they would be only down for a day. The Atlas had held up very well in combat. He was both proud and worried.
The Vald had obtained his ship’s schematics. If it had not been for his and ADM’s subterfuge they might be dead now. As it was, the Vald had control over at least part of the EFNF, a base on Quintar IV, and schematics to produce more ATLAS-V gunships. The odds seemed to be stacked against him and his small band of allies. Rear Admiral Zed would arrive at Eden before him. They had not worked out a rendezvous or any kind of plan. Abel hoped that the former EFNF commander did not do anything that would jeopardize his arrival. Eden was a politically sensitive planet, but they were still people and he felt he needed to protect them. Abel would protect Eden, even if protecting them meant turning them into a deadly force of mercenaries. The only thing keeping Eden from becoming a military power was resources. If he could get them the resources they needed to survive and repair the graveyard of starships, he could rival the Vald. Maybe, just maybe, they could win this one.
Abel considered the implications of going to war with an advanced species and then nearly laughed. He had gone to war as a boy and managed to beat the Quintarrans and later the EXOs. The Vald had been behind all of it. At least Zed thought so.
You ready for this? Abel asked himself, before answering, I was born for it.
33: ESCAPING EXO
Independent ATLAS-V Gunship: Atlas
2973 ESD - Friday, June 18th 17:20 hours
Abel read the power output of the Warp-T drive and wondered if he could get another jump out of it to get nearer to Eden. He decided he could not and began devising a plan for repairs. Before he could do that, though, he needed to speak with Echo.
The former captain of the EFNF vessel Justice sat against the wall in one of the warp seats. The chairs designed to lessen the impact of inertia while entering or exiting warp. She looked at Abel with eyes that looked too tired. Abel worried about the look on her face. The tired eyes and the worried expression gave him pause.
If she is unstable, he thought. We’re going to have a problem. I need her help.
As if hearing his thoughts, Echo looked up and gave Abel a nod that served to allay his fears for a moment. They crept back, but he held them at bay. Abel hit the buckle on his chair to release the straps holding him back. The Warp-T drive was powerful enough that he could have been flung from his seat. The engines emitted a low hum indicating that they were under power again, which he had confirmed. However, the power was minimal at best. He walked over to Echo who looked up at him.
“Together again,” Echo said.
“Together again,” Abel fidgeted with his sleeve.
“Thank you,” Echo unbuckled herself as she stood up.
The two locked eyes and Echo turned her head. Her light blue face took a darker shade almost turning purple. Abel reached out a hand and took her chin. Echo looked up at him and he looked back at her.
“I’m not leaving again,” Abel said. “I need you.””
“I need you,” Echo said in a whisper.
&nb
sp; Her breath caught in her throat and Abel looked into her eyes. It seemed for a moment that he would lean in for a kiss, but instead he turned and looked at his motley crew. Artemis and Thomas Tee sat at their stations. Both were examining the controls awkwardly. Abel figured they had been watching until he turned around.
“Alright gentlemen,” Abel began. “And lady. We’re going to have to affect some repairs and get the hell out of dark space. Our destination is Eden.”
Echo nodded, although she was not sure why they were going back to Eden, “Why Eden? Are we in need of repairs again?”
“No,” Abel turned and returned to his captain’s chair. “The people on Eden need our help and the Vald have a base on Quintar IV, or influence there at least. It’s not safe to return.”
“The Vald?” Echo questioned again.
“Long story,” Abel said. He brought up schematics on the ATLAS-V vessels and the URSA gunship they had just fled from. He explained everything to her as Artemis and Tee ran diagnostics on the Atlas.
“So these Vald helped build this ship and helped you reach the EXO Prime just so they could steal the design?” Echo said, skeptical.
“Now that you put it that way,” Abel said. “It does seem too convenient.”
“And they call you the genius,” Echo poked.
“Hey,” Abel became defensive. “I was in a hurry to get off that rock and you were in trouble!”
“Speaking of which,” Echo changed the subject. “I specifically told you not to come for me.”
“So you’re saying I should have left you to die on that planet? With all those EXOs about?”
“No,” Echo conceded. “I’m grateful you came for me.””
Echo lowered her head. She could not help but think about her crew, her friends. She remembered Six’s sacrifice for her. Echo didn’t want to think about that. Those thoughts led back to the image of her swinging Six’s sword down like an executioner’s axe. Her mind filled with visions of blood, visceral, and her pained cries of rage. Echo knew she had been killing a monster, but the image of it was more than she wanted to relive.