by H. G Ahedi
“Our odds of winning once the fleet crosses the gates are next to none. You have received data and several warnings about the consequences of your actions, and yet you insist on proceeding. This shows that your judgment as commander has been impaired. This is not the first time this has happened and the results could be disastrous. In the view of the Imperial Command law, a commander that leads a fleet to imminent danger and death could be considered suicidal. Based on that fact, I declare that you are not psychologically fit to command. Under Section 234 of the Imperial Command Code, I relieve you of your command!”
The floor shook. Anastasia could feel her heart pounding, and she looked at her crew, who were staring at her. The crew of Freedom looked equally shocked.
Judgment day
Titan Deck 1, Bridge
“What?” Anastasia asked, returning Adrian’s stare.
“You asked us not to piss him off,” he replied in a low voice.
Jacob’s eyes moved to her side. “Are you just going to stand there?”
At that moment, Anastasia realized that Dr. Kent was standing next to her.
“She’s right, Jacob. Winning isn’t important at this time,” replied Dr. Kent.
Jacob’s face turned red. “I do not see your authority to relieve me! Eugene, open the gates. I will return and see what I can do about you, Commander!”
“If you return,” Anastasia replied coldly.
The screen turned black.
“He’s mad!” declared Dr. Kent.
“Lieutenant Weeds, open a channel to the fleet,” Anastasia ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Imperial Fleet, this is Commander Waters. Admiral Donavan is no longer in command. Do not leave the system.”
“Commander, the gates are opening!” yelled Adrian.
“Close them.”
“I can’t!”
“Lieutenant Weeds?”
“Commander, Freedom is jamming our signals!” reported Evan.
This was unbelievable. “Get the message through, Lieutenant!”
“Maybe I should yell!” said Evan.
“Lieutenant Weeds, I’ve isolated a frequency. Use it and relay the message quickly!” yelled Lieutenant Hawk from the tactical station.
Everyone waited in tense silence, watching half of the fleet leave the system.
“Damn!” cried Anastasia.
“No one’s responding!” Evan told her. “They’re getting the message, but they’re not listening.”
Anastasia gritted her teeth in anger. On the viewscreen, she saw the squadron ships stopping on the other side of the gates.
Evan faced her. “It’s the Titan squadron.”
“Tell them to get back here.” At least she could save someone. She returned to her chair. The small ships turned around. “Keep the gates open.”
“Commander,” said Dr. Kent loudly. “I’m getting a reading I don’t understand!”
Before she could respond, the view screen zoomed in on an area near the gates. Anastasia noticed the stars vanish in one of the sections. The darkness was close to the squadron ships. The darkness moved fast, and before the small ships could escape, it swallowed them alive. The squadron vanished in seconds.
Shock hit Titan’s bridge crew. Anastasia sat with her eyes wide open. Byron, Clio, and Micah were gone. Just like that. A small group of Orias ships raced toward the gates, but everyone was in such a state of shock that they couldn’t respond.
“Close the gates! Close the gates!” shouted Dr. Kent, rushing toward Evan, who immediately did as he was told.
No one spoke, each mourning in their own way. Anastasia had thought she was saving them, but there was no saving anybody. Not anymore.
Evan broke the silence. “Ma’am, I’ve been trying, but I can’t raise Prometheus or the Imperial Command.”
“Keep trying,” she said numbly. “What about the fleet?”
Evan turned. “They’re not responding. They have engaged the enemy.”
She shut her eyes.
“This is getting out of hand. What should we do?” asked Adrian.
Another shock wave hit the station.
“We can’t just sit here!” said Evan.
The admiral might have chosen his own death and the death of every ship under his command, but Anastasia was not him, and Titan was home to over twenty thousand souls. If she died saving them, she could rest in peace. Building up her courage, she said, “Prepare for separation.”
Every eye in the command center turned toward her.
“Commander?” asked both Evan and Adrian.
“We have no other choice.”
“But the colonists?” asked Lieutenant Hawk.
“I have a plan. Prepare for separation. Lieutenant Weeds, make the announcement,” Anastasia insisted.
“Yes, ma’am,” Evan replied. “Attention all colonists. Attention all colonists. Titan’s separation will commence in ten minutes. All non-military personnel should move to the outer section and enter the pods. I repeat: all non-military personnel should move to the outer section. This is not a drill. This is not a drill. All non-military personnel should evacuate the inner section.” The message repeated.
Anastasia opened a channel to the engineering section. “Cyr, tell me we have power and weapons ready.”
“We’re ready down here.”
“Good. Any ideas on how we can stop the Orias from boarding Titan?”
“We could try changing shield modulations,” Cyr suggested.
“Do it,” Anastasia told her. “Adrian, what about the perimeter shields?”
“They’re holding. Now at seventy percent and stable.”
“Let’s keep them that way. Cyr send a bust of power to the perimeter.”
“Affirmative.”
They watched as a ball of white light left Titan and headed towards the perimeter. It smashed against one receptor. They felt a jolt.
“Perimeter shields restored to seventy-five percent,” Adrian reported.
“Again.” Ordered Anastasia.
Titan, Deck 1, Bridge
Minutes passed painfully, and Anastasia sat on the edge of her seat. She watched helplessly as the handful of ships tried to keep the Orias away from the perimeter. She wished the admiral had listened to her. They were failing miserably. She gasped when she saw Marion burst into a ball of flame. “Oh no,” she muttered, getting to her feet.
She felt her heart skip, but there was nothing she could do about it. She slowly sat back down. Freedom and the other five ships were hardly keeping up. Five of the squadron ships were fighting, and the others had disappeared. “How long until Titan is ready?”
“Ma’am, seventy percent of the civilians are in the pods,” said Evan. “We have to wait. Otherwise . . .”
“Can’t you do anything to speed up the process?”
“No,” replied Evans.
Anastasia banged her fist on the chair’s handle.
Titan, Deck 10, Docking Bay
“This feels wrong!” Emmeline said, looking outside.
Argon was busy preparing Raven for launch. “Don’t worry.”
“I can’t leave. We should join the fight!”
“No!” Argon placed his hands on her shoulders. “You have to go.”
“Argon, the situation has changed. I won’t leave . . .”
“Emmeline, go! I can’t let the Imperial Command get hold of you!” Argon insisted. “Prepare for launch.”
She reluctantly nodded and ran inside the ship.
Argon turned to the console and put the ship on autopilot. He punched in the coordinates. He’d already told his mother and Selina to join the other civilians. Titan wasn’t safe anymore.
The engines started. Emmeline began launch procedures. The clamps were released. The ship made a whooshing noise. The hangar door began to open.
“Okay, let’s move,” Argon said, turning around. Then he froze. He watched in terror as it moved through the air.
A black
demonly smoke hovered over the ships in the docking bay. It took a form. In front of him stood a beautiful woman. “You have it,” she said.
He glanced at the disruptor on the console.
“Give it to me,” she demanded.
Argon grabbed the disruptor. He screamed. A black metallic spear had pierced through his leg. Blood dripped on the floor. Screaming in pain, he looked at the creature in front of him. He grabbed his leg and fell on the console. He heard a whooshing noise. Above him, hanging in the air, was another spear.
“Tell me where it is,” the woman demanded.
Argon could no longer feel his leg. He groaned in pain and looked at her with pure rage. “Go to hell!” he shouted. Then he cried out. His head! He felt as if something had grabbed it and was drilling through his skull. It pounded with increasing agony. His temples felt like they were going to explode. “Ah!” he cried. Suddenly, the pain stopped.
“Emmeline,” said the creature. “Where is she?”
Panting, Argon’s eyes shifted between the spear over his head and the creature in front of him. Before he could decide what to do, he heard footsteps.
The creature looked past Argon and smirked.
“No! Argon!” Emmeline screamed from inside the ship.
“Go to hell!” he muttered and pushed a button.
The doors of Raven closed. He pressed another button, and the hangar decompressed immediately. Raven was thrown out of the docking bay. Once in space, the autopilot kicked in. The AI stabilized the ship, and it surged away from the battlefield. Argon smiled, watching her leave, and said his goodbyes. He turned to look at the creature, knowing his fate was sealed. Its eyes burned red, and he screamed as the spear tore through his heart.
Titan, Deck 1, Bridge
Anastasia tried to maintain her balance, but it was proving difficult. She watched helplessly as people died protecting the perimeter. The perimeter was becoming unstable. Shockwave after shock wave hit Titan.
“Commander! Commander!” shouted Aceline on the commlink.
“Doctor, you should leave with the other colonist.”
“I can’t get hold of Argon. I feel like something has happened to him. Something’s wrong. He’s not answering. I’m not leaving without him!”
Anastasia didn’t have time for this. “Aceline, this is no time to argue. Take Selina and leave. Now! I’ll try to find him. Go!”
Aceline didn’t reply. She closed the channel.
The computer announced, “Eighty percent of separation process complete.”
Anastasia wished it would hurry. The quicker she could remove the civilians, the sooner she could join the battle.
“Commander,” called out Cyr. “We have a problem.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she muttered.
“The generator on Deck 10, Section 17, has stopped working.”
Anastasia raised her eyebrows. “So, fix it!”
“I can’t! It would have to be done manually.”
“Call security.”
“They have their hands full. Half of the engineering staff are fighting to keep the Orias out. Can I ask Lieutenant Weeds?”
“No!” Anastasia interrupted her. “I’ll go.”
“Commander!” Adrian protested.
Anastasia glared at him. “Lieutenant Olson, you are in command. Continue the separation process.”
“Commander…” said Adrian getting on his feet. His face full of concern.
Anastasia felt proud. “Adrian, I’ll be back. Take care of Titan until then…” The truth was, she wanted to do something until the separation process was complete. It was driving her nuts, and she had to locate Argon.
Titan, Deck 10, Docking Bay
The elevator opened on the south side of the docking bay. When they stepped out, Anastasia and five of the security guards were met with smoke and darkness. She coughed, turned to the nearest panel, and vented the gas out. The emergency lights came to life. The corridor was silent, barren. Her heart beat so fast that she feared it would stop. She glanced at the guards, and two of them moved ahead. They hurried through the long corridor and soon found the generator. She punched in the codes, and the door slid open. She saw the problem immediately. There was a coolant leak. “We need to replace this.”
While the guards kept a watch, Anastasia put down her repair kit and opened it. The first thing she had to do was disconnect the corrupted coolant pack from the generator. As she began working, she realized it was hard to concentrate with the constant announcements and alarms beeping. Once it was disconnected, she replaced the coolant pack with the fresh bag and began integrating it into the system. She felt like she was in a sauna. Sweat dripped down her face and neck. Once she had secured the pack, she punched a few buttons, and the doors closed. Reaching out for the nearest panel, she called engineering. “Cyr. Try now.”
The generator came online immediately.
“Awesome!” Cyr said.
The computer announced, “Ninety-five percent separation process complete.”
“Adrian, tell me all the civilians are ready and secure,” said Anastasia.
“We’re almost there,” he replied.
“What about the perimeter?”
“Believe it or not, it’s still holding. The shields in one section are weakening, though.”
“Cyr, can we transfer more power?”
“I don’t think it will help now…”
“How many Earth ships remaining?”
“Three.”
Anastasia shut her eyes. “Okay.”
The floor beneath her shook vigorously, and the corridor turned dark. She grabbed the wall to maintain her balance. The lights flickered. Another alarm blared loudly. A conduit blew in front of her, and fire raged.
“Commander!” the guard pulled her behind him.
Within minutes, the corridor was full of smoke.
“It’s better if we go the other way,” said the guard.
Anastasia nodded.
They rushed in the other direction, and she traced Argon’s communicator to the docking bay. She came to a sudden halt when she thought she saw something. The alarms, the screams, the blasts, and the jolts all vanished. Taking sharp breaths, she took a few steps forward. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Argon lay on the floor in a pool of blood, a spear thrust through his chest.
“No. No. Not like this,” she mumbled.
The hangar doors shut with a loud thud.
“Commander!” someone shouted.
Laser blasts brought her back to her senses. She looked up and saw the guards firing at a black smoke hovering over the hangar deck. The lasers were bouncing off it. A group of Orias materialized.
“The Orias are here!” a guard screamed. The guards opened fire.
But Anastasia’s eyes remained fixed on the black smoke. She hastened toward the weapons locker and grabbed a shield. The smoke floated over her and then materialized into a woman.
“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing on Titan?” Anastasia demanded.
“Are you their leader?” asked the creature.
Anastasia stood up straighter. “Yes. I am.”
“Interesting.” The woman looked at her from top to bottom.
“What the hell do you want from us?”
“I want the device, and I want you to die!”
A spear appeared out of nowhere and surged toward Anastasia. She put the shield up, and knocked it over. She fired her disruptor. The laser went through the creature.
“You cannot kill me. I am the queen.”
Anastasia raised her eyebrows.
Another spear appeared. Anastasia moved swiftly, missing it by inches. The spear hit the floor and pierced through it, creating a small hole. She grabbed and pulled it out with all her strength and threw it at the queen who grabbed it in mid-air and smiled.
Anastasia pulled the spear out of Argon’s body. The queen turned back into smoke, which rushed through the deck and appeared inches in front of Ana
stasia. The smoke became the queen once more, and she swung the spear.
Anastasia ducked. She took her chance and kicked the creature. She felt better. There was some space between them.
Their eyes met, and the queen smirked.
A whooshing noise distracted Anastasia. Then she realized the spear had turned into a sword. It’s all a game for her, she realized.
The swords clashed, and the queen threw her weight with her weapon. Anastasia grunted and blocked it with the shield. She swung her sword, missing her opponent by mere inches. The queen swirled, and her next attack was more powerful. Anastasia blocked the sword inches from her face and kicked her. Both women stopped, breathless, and stared at each other with hatred.
“Give up. You are no match for me!” the queen shouted.
Anastasia kept the shield close to her chest.
The queen laughed. “What do you think you can do with that?”
Anastasia smiled as something dawned on her. “Shield fire!”
The outer rims of the shield became bright. It vibrated in her hand, and a flash of light hit the queen. She was thrown back and landed on the floor.
“That’s what it can do!”
“Fifty percent power remaining,” the shield said.
Anastasia moved back when the queen turned into a ball of whirling smoke and headed straight for her. Suddenly, she reappeared. Swords clashed in the air again. Anastasia felt the queen’s strength. She freed her sword and attacked again. “Get off Titan!” she yelled in anger.
Titan shook, and Anastasia lost her balance and fell to the floor. The shield slipped out of her hand. She looked up; the alien queen rushed toward her. Anastasia rolled and got to her feet. She grabbed the shield and stood up.
The queen smiled, and her eyes glittered. She was creating a ball of white light between her hands. “Get ready to die!” she shouted and threw it at Anastasia.
Anastasia raised the shield. The white beam hit it with full force. “Ah!” she screamed as she felt herself being pushed backward. She could feel her hands weakening. The shield vibrated vigorously. She heard a cracking noise. “No!” she yelled, trying to stay on her feet. Suddenly, the pressure was off. Breathless, Anastasia peered out to look at the queen.