Lakeisha saw her sitting in the chair and smiled. “Good to see you up and moving again, LT.” She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed facing Danielle.
Danielle winced as she shifted her weight in the chair. “Nice to be up and moving, albeit slowly. How are you doing?”
Well, the pain is finally going away," Lakeisha replied. "I'm still a little tender in my stomach, but not enough to keep me down." Lakeisha got up, walked over to Danielle's chair, knelt down, and whispered, "I think I found a way out."
Danielle was shocked, she leaned closer to her friend. “You did? Where?”
"A little bit before the guards down here change shifts from night to day, the night guards huddle up in the main med bay area at the end of our corridor," Lakeisha explained quietly. "Looks like they are playing some gambling game. While they are playing, almost all of them have their backs to this corridor. If we can get by them, there is some kind of maintenance ladder just down the next corridor that leads to the deck above us," Lakeisha smiled. "Which happens to be the hanger deck our ship is still stored on."
Danielle thought about it for a moment. “It could be another trap though. Remember the last time things seemed too easy?”
Lakeisha pulled a gun out from under her shirt. "My thoughts exactly. So, I made a test run last night. I made it to our ship and ran the diagnostics. Apparently, the power core wasn't damaged. They just hit us with some kind of discharge weapon that overloaded our systems. While I was there, I got this out of our ship, and made it back without notice."
Danielle took the gun from her and looked at it. It was definitely one of the pulse weapons from their ship. “This will definitely help level the playing field. Make a try tonight?”
Lakeisha grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Danielle handed the weapon back to her. "Keep this safe." Lakeisha tucked the weapon back into her waistband and pulled her shirt down to cover it. "When do you want to go?"
Lakeisha thought for a moment. "After K'oron's last checkup visit of the day would probably be best. I'll come here as soon as I can, then we can go for it."
"Sounds like an idea to me," Danielle agreed. "I'm going to tell K'oron that I'm hurting again so that he will give me a booster dose of medicine. That way if things get tough, the meds will keep any pain in check. I'll see you later tonight then."
"I'm going to head back to my room," Lakeisha said in a normal volume, getting up from the bed and ending their covert conversation. "I'll stop by tomorrow unless you feel like coming my way."
She left the room and left Danielle to her thoughts. We've got to pull this off! One of us has to get away and warn the Queen. These people are monsters, just like the Rylans said. Then her mind shifted to K'oron and his treatment of them. I still can't figure you out K'oron. Are you a nice guy in a tough situation, or are you just playing me? She pondered the idea a bit more. He had been nothing but kind to her and had not once even remotely tried to glean any information out of her. The only question he had asked was just about Terran society as a whole, not military in nature. If the roles were reversed, I'd probably be curious about his people too and ask questions about them. She didn't trust him since he was serving on this enemy vessel, but so far he had behaved decently to her. Maybe he isn't a bad guy after all. After all, one can't control the people one is born into. She found herself hoping that their escape didn't cost him his life. She gave a small sigh. Nothing I can do about that if it does.
Later that evening after K'oron had made his final checks on them, they decided it was time to try to escape. As they passed the main area, the night shift guards were playing a game in the corner, just as Lakeisha had said.
"See? Completely distracted.” Lakeisha pointed, a smug grin on her face. It was her favorite way of telling Danielle 'I told you so'.
Danielle glared at her and put a finger to her lips. “Shh. Keep moving.”
They made their way past the guards, and into the next corridor. The maintenance ladder was unguarded, and they quietly climbed up to the next level of the ship. When they emerged from the access hatch at the top of the ladder they were on the hanger deck. Their ship was still sitting where they had left it.
"You go fire up the engine and I'll get the bay doors open," Danielle instructed and walked over to the control panel on the wall. This was all working out perfectly, maybe too much so. Once again, this feels too easy. Last time No'tok was steps ahead of us at every turn, just playing with us. If he catches us again, I'm sure he'll make sure we are dead this time.
Lakeisha nodded. "Okay, just hurry. I'm ready to get out of here." She made her way across the unguarded hanger deck to their ship. She climbed into the front seat and got the engine started. "Come on, Danni! Get the door open," she said aloud even though Danielle couldn't hear her. Suddenly she heard the loud groaning sound of the hanger bay doors opening. She looked back to the control panel where Danielle was operating the doors. What she saw was No'tok and his troops capturing Danielle! Several of the soldiers had what looked like pulse rifles pointed at her.
No'tok turned to the ship and shouted at Lakeisha. “Shut down your craft and exit now, or your friend is going to die!”
Danielle turned and looked at Lakeisha. “You have your orders! Take off!” The look of defiance on Danielle's face told her that Danielle had meant every word when she said to leave her behind
She didn't want to leave her friend behind, but this was the only way. She increased the throttle, and the ship began to lift off the floor. As she rotated the ship toward the open door, she saw one of the soldiers hit Danielle in the head with the butt of their rifle, and she fell to the ground. Then the soldiers turned and started firing on Lakeisha and the ship. She saw the doors starting to close. They were trying to trap her! She gave it more throttle and started moving towards the closing doors. She tipped the craft slightly to the left to avoid damaging the wing and cleared the doors. Once clear, she pressed the throttle all the way. She set a course back toward Terran space and left her friend to die at the hands of No'tok.
CHAPTER 7
Commander Rutledge hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since the first incident in the Quarantine Zone. He had spent so many hours in the command chair, that yesterday he went to see Dr. Richards about his lower back. As he sat down to start this shift, he felt the gel of his new lumbar support conforming to him. Somebody needs to make these gel cushions standard equipment for these chairs. His eyes might still be bloodshot, but at least his back was getting some relief.
They had finished collecting all of the debris and remains from the attack on the Expedition. The debris had been shipped back to Mars yesterday morning on a cargo freighter. The remains were still being cataloged and identified. So far, they had managed to identify 156 individuals, including the late Captain Reynolds although it was only part of his left hand. Most of the unaccounted were from Valkyrie Squadron, which made sense because they were on smaller ships which wouldn't have preserved the bodies as well.
He was just managing to get into a comfortable position in his chair when the sensor officer, Lt. Valarie Delacruz, called out.
“Commander,” Delacruz shouted, “we’ve got inbound from the QZ!”
"Can you identify?" asked Rutledge. He got back up out of his chair and walked over to the sensor officer. He hoped this wasn't the attack he had been fearing. He needed to hear his sensor officer tell him that it was more debris, or an emergency beacon, or anything besides an enemy ship.
“Affirmative,” Delacruz nodded. “It’s one of the lost Talons! Beacon code identifies it as being Valkyrie One. Sir, it’s Lt. Hart’s ship!”
Rutledge let out a sigh. It's not an attack. He gave some thought to what he was hearing though. How did you survive, Lieutenant? He decided to err on the side of caution. “Were any remains recovered for Lt. Hart or her technical officer?"
The Executive Officer tapped on a console panel. "No sir, we haven’t recovered any of their remains or a
ny pieces of their Talon."
So, it could actually be them. Or it could be a trap! "Send out a pair of Lancers to escort it in. If they’re ours, they deserve a welcome. If not, blow them out of existence. Comms, ask for identification.”
Delacruz relayed the orders to launch down to the hanger bay. Then she opened a comms signal to the incoming Talon ship. "Inbound Talon, this is Sentry Command. Please identify yourself, or you will be fired upon." There were a few seconds of silence before they heard static, then a voice.
“This is Ensign Lakeisha Johnson. Sovereign Angels. Number 927102-75. I need a priority secure line to the Queen as soon as I board! The V’drellians are back!” the voice on the other end responded.
"That service number does come back as one Ensign Lakeisha Johnson, assigned to Valkyrie Squadron," reported the security officer, Lt. Raymond Jennings. "Of course it's impossible to know for certain if it is truly her without a fingerprint or DNA scan."
“Ensign, this is Commander Jason Rutledge. I’m the commanding officer on board Sentry Command Station,” Rutledge identified himself to the incoming Talon. “Due to the circumstances, you will be allowed to land your ship in hanger bay number nine, but you will also be taken into custody until your identity is confirmed by DNA. If you deviate from that course for any reason, you will be fired upon.”
“Understood, Commander,” replied the voice, “but I’m in a hurry, so have your medical staff waiting in the hanger bay. I’ve got important information to relay directly to Queen Constance as soon as I am cleared.”
The two Lancer fighters took up positions on each side of the Talon and escorted it without incident to hanger bay nine. When the Talon landed, security officers took up positions around the ship, weapons at the ready. The pilot of the Talon opened the canopy and dropped over the side. Several of the security team move in to restrain the pilot. Commander Rutledge then approached along with one of the station science officers.
"Hurry up," Lakeisha griped. "I don't have all day." The science officer walked up to her and held out a hand scanning device. Lakeisha placed her hand on it and watched it flash while it scanned her handprint and took a microscopic DNA sample. After a few seconds, the science officer turned to Rutledge and gave a thumbs up. Rutledge then gave a signal to the security team, who lowered their weapons and stood down.
"Welcome aboard Sentry Command, Ensign," Rutledge offered. "I wish it were under better circumstances."
***
Neither Rutledge or Lakeisha spoke during the walk from her ship to the lift. Once inside, Rutledge turned to her. "How are you holding up?" It was a bad attempt at conversation.
"I've been beaten, shot, operated on by aliens, and watched my best friend die," she glared at him. "How do you think I'm doing?" She watched his face tense as a reaction to her scolding.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ensign," he replied, "but we're all glad you're back home."
The anger on Lakeisha's face ebbed. "Sorry, Commander, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just been a long week."
"Yeah," he agreed, "seems like our week has been long too." They exited the lift at the command deck and walked to his office.
Once Lakeisha and Rutledge arrived at his office, she immediately sat down in front of his comms panel.
“Open a Level 1 Sovereign Angel priority link to Mars,” she instructed the device.
“Authorization code required,” the automated voice requested.
“Juliet Lima 5 4 7 Golf Zulu Niner” Lakeisha responded.
“Identification confirmed. Please wait,” the automated voice announced. After about a minute, the screen activated and an image of the Queen was visible.
“Your Majesty,” Lakeisha began, “Ensign Lakeisha Johnson, Valkyrie Squadron reporting. We were ambushed by the V'drellians! Their ships don’t register on our sensors. We never saw them coming!”
“Calm down, Ensign,” the Queen replied. “I have Admiral Hawthorne here with me. What exactly happened? We need every little detail.”
Lakeisha began to explain. "Valkyrie crossed into the QZ, as ordered. We didn't pick up anything on our scans, so Lt. Hart called the Expedition and said we were coming back. Captain Reynolds told us to hold position and brought the Expedition over the border. Then it exploded. The V'drellians came out of nowhere and took out the Expedition, then they started picking off our Talons. They captured our ship, and the rest are gone." She took a breath before continuing. "We tried to escape but were recaptured. Lt. Hart and I were injured and kept in the infirmary for several days. Then Lt. Hart and I managed to get out of the infirmary and make our way to where our ships were, but she was shot getting the bay door open. I flew the ship to our nearest outpost."
“You’ve been through quite an ordeal, Ensign,” the Queen said after hearing the report. “Commander Rutledge, you are to provide her quarters until we can get a ship to bring her to the capital.”
Rutledge leaned into the frame. "Of course, Your Majesty. We'll take excellent care of her."
Queen Constance turned her attention back to Lakeisha. “As soon as you arrive, you are to come directly to the palace.”
Lakeisha nodded. “Understood, Your Majesty.”
“Get some rest, Ensign,” the Queen instructed, “you’ve been through enough for now. Mars out.” Then the display went black as the signal was terminated.
When the screen went out, Lakeisha visibly wilted. All of her determination and adrenaline fumed out. This ordeal was finally over, and she was safe again. She turned, looked at Rutledge, and managed a meager smile. "Got anything to eat? I'm starving."
"Anything you want," he replied. "Let's get you to some guest quarters so you can get cleaned up. I'll have some clean clothes brought to your room, along with whatever you want from the galley."
"Thank you, Commander," she acknowledged. "That would be great."
***
Queen Constance looked concerned. This was turning out to be the absolute worst case scenario. The V'drell Dominion was still out there after all, and now they were attacking the Commonwealth. "I guess the Rylans were right about the V'drellians all along. Seems they are ready to pick up where they left off. We need to begin mobilizing our forces in preparation for a V'drellian strike but must do so quietly. Now is not the time for civil panic." She could already envision her people rioting at the palace gates, and blaming her for not protecting them.
"I'll inform the fleet to start preparing for war game exercises in proximity to Sentry Command," Hawthorne replied calmly. "That way our ships are in a ready state without causing any undue attention." He hoped his steady demeanor would be picked up by the young Queen and she would draw strength from it. He understood the severity of the situation far more than the young ruler. As the head of the Terran military, he knew that war was costly to a nation. Not only in resources, but in lives.
"Admiral, how do we defend against, let alone attack, an enemy that doesn't show up on our sensors?" the Queen inquired.
Hawthorne shook his head. "Honestly, Your Majesty, at this point I'm not sure. We'll have to gather more information. We'll review the scant bits of readings we picked up from the original attack, and see if our scientists can make something out of it."
She shook her head and gave a melancholy laugh. "So what your saying is, we don't have a clue?"
"In a word, no," he replied somberly. "However, I do have faith in our people to solve any problem. I will personally meet with the director of Scientific Studies at Fleet Operations as soon as I leave here. I will stress the need for an urgent and creative solution."
"I suppose that is all we can do at this point," she replied. "I'll have the Director of Interplanetary Affairs keep the lines of communication wide open with the Protectorate."
"Speaking of communication," Hawthorne said. "Are we going to attempt any form of communication with the Dominion?”
“I’d like to at least try, given that we appear to be defenseless at this point,” she answered. “Do we have a
ny means to contact them? Maybe the Protectorate knows how?”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Hawthorne said as he bowed. Then he turned and left the room.
***
Gaelon was finally able to leave the red rock of a planet the Terrans called Mars. He was ready for his return to Rylos. Why his predecessors didn't simply conquer these primitive people instead of forming a treaty with them he would never understand. Everything about the Protectorate was sophisticated, enlightened, and democratic. Whereas the Terran Commonwealth wasn't any of those things. There was room for improvement at home, to be sure, but the Protectorate was much more civilized than the barbarians of the V'drell Dominion and vastly superior in all ways to the insects of the Commonwealth. Someday their worlds would bow before the Protectorate, he just hoped he lived long enough to see it.
Gaelon was reading over a file concerning a drought that was occurring in one of their outer colonies. Those colonials understood that they needed the Protectorate for health and security. While he was reading, Hardaath entered his quarters and stood just inside the door. He knew Hardaath would stand their silently until he acknowledged him. Gaelon liked the Androsans. Their people knew their rightful place in the universe. They were servants, soldiers, and messengers, but not leaders. They truly understood the ways of Kamseth. They realized that life was better when you let superior beings do your thinking for you. He summoned Hardaath over to where he was sitting with a gesture of the hand.
“First Minister,” Hardaath said with a low bow. “We received the sensor data from the Terrans and only saw extremely brief readings of the ship that attacked the Terran border patrol.”
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