by Josh Kilen
The Princess leaned back, screamed one more time, then her whole body went limp. The images on the extractor's screen grew fuzzy, "No, NO, NO!" Shaker yelled as he furiously worked the controls. Just then, buried under almost everything else, the coordinates appeared. Shaker saved them to the hard drive and quickly turned off the machine. The Princess lay there, lifeless, not breathing and Shaker pulled her to the floor. He ran over to get the portable defibrillator and placed the paddles on her chest.
"You know, It'd be really great if you were done by now," Ryanis said over the intercom.
Shaker bolted over to the comm and responded quickly, "Got the information, now get out of here, I have to save a Princess."
Ryanis wanted to ask how she was doing but his attention was needed on the task at hand. "Hold on you two,” he said, ”This is going to get bumpy."
Ryanis turned the Tiberius toward the Gamot sun. The only way to escape was to hyperjump through the sun using the sun's own gravity to propel them. The temperature rose even higher, so hot that Ryanis almost passed out. Fortunately the coordinates for the next system were pre-programmed in, so all he had to do was hit the hyperjump switch.
Meanwhile, Shaker charged the defibrillator paddles and shocked the Princess. She bolted up, eyes open, and took a deep gasp.
In the cockpit, Ryanis hit the switch and the Tiberius entered hyperspace. Through a star.
The inertia was terrible. Shaker and the Princess didn't have time to strap in and were thrown back against the wall. The ship vibrated so hard that large pieces of the memory extractor flew off, bouncing around the room. It felt like the ship itself was falling apart.
Slowly the shaking stopped. Shaker placed the Princess on a cot so she could rest and went up to the cockpit. As he walked in, he saw Ryanis with his head in his hands. Shaker put his hand on Ryanis’ shoulder, "Nice ride, little bumpy though. Did we have to do what I think we had to do?" Ryanis simply pointed to the external screens.
Shaker saw a very bright light off in the distance, "Wow, we made a supernova. I've never seen one this close."
Ryanis leaned back, "I scanned the system and didn't detect any lifeforms but I just hate not knowing for sure."
Shaker tried to sooth Ryanis, "Hey, I built those scanners myself, if they couldn't pick up any life forms then there weren't any out there."
Ryanis looked gratefully at Shaker, "Thanks. I'm sure you're right." Nodding toward the engine room, “How's she doing?"
"She died for a little while, but she's better now." A worried look crossed Ryanis' face, Shaker held up his hands, "It's okay, she's resting, I think she'll be all right. It was all worth it, we got the coordinates."
"Good, at least some decent news came out of this. Okay, go see to the Princess, I'll get us to an inhabited system where we can contact the Alliance."
Shaker went back to check on the Princess. She sat up on her cot as Shaker walked in.
"Are you feeling up to convincing the Alliance to going to war?" he asked.
"Just give me a minute. My head was probed, we were baking in an oven, and I almost died. Can't a girl take a breather?"
Shaker chuckled, "Not when the fate of the galaxy is at stake."
The Princess smiled weakly then took a deep breath, "You're right of course, thank you for saving me," she said.
Shaker waved his hand, “Don't mention it, saving lives is just one of the many fine services we offer on the Tiberius.” And he helped her walk back to the cockpit.
They made a secure call to the local Alliance base. The local commander was named Huffington Jenkins, and he did little more than bow profusely. His only redeeming virtue was that he sent them on to the next officer in the chain of command, who finally forwarded them to Admiral Barrington.
"Princess!" he exclaimed, "We thought you were lost! I had my men looking everywhere for you."
The Princess cut him off, "No time for any of that Admiral, we have a problem. The Malogans know about the ancient space station."
The Admiral's eyes widened, "What? How? How do you even know about that? That's one of our most closely guarded secrets!"
The Princess told the Admiral everything she knew about the station and what the Malogan's were planning.
"This is terrible news, but you say you have the coordinates. If you give them to me, I will plan a strike."
The Princess shook her head, "No Admiral, I will be taking control of this operation. Gather your forces as quickly as possible, and rendezvous at the location I'm sending you right now. From there we will all jump to the station and begin the attack."
The Admiral looked less than pleased, "As you wish your Highness, but only in respect to your father's position."
The Princess looked sternly, "And hurry Admiral, every second counts. The Malogans have had plenty of time to get the machine working. We don't have time to lose."
Episode 15
One by one, the Alliance ships hyperjumped into the rendezvous point.
The Princess watched them through the view port, counting under her breath.
"There should be more ships," she told Ryanis.
Ryanis shook his head, "I don't think more ships would matter, the real battle's gonna be on the station itself. And even that's a long shot."
"There still should be more," The Princess went over to the comm and brought up Admiral Barrington, "Admiral, where are the rest of the ships?"
"Princess, we simply didn't have any time to mobilize,” the Admiral explained, “The bulk of our fleet is engaged in operations against the Malogans across the galaxy. It takes time to pull them away. This is the best we can muster on such short notice."
Her eyes narrowed, "This is half the ships I expected Admiral. When will the rest get here?"
The Admiral looked apologetic, "The bulk of the reinforcements are at least a day out. I know time is of the essence but my recommendation is that we wait until they get here. Our chances increase significantly if we do."
Ryanis had to pipe in, "Of course our chances go to zero if we're all mindless zombie slaves.” Turning to the Princess, he said softly, “We can't waste any more time."
The Princess considered both sides, "I have to agree with Ryanis, time is of the essence. We must leave now. Admiral, prepare your ships for jump. When they are ready, give me the signal and I will transmit the station's coordinates. Good luck."
Minutes later, the Alliance ships rocketed into hyperspace together, heading to the Ancient Space Station.
As the Alliance ships came out of hyperspace, the station loomed in front of them. It was huge and thousands of Malogan ships swarmed around it.
The main Alliance attack fleet moved in, focusing their fire power on the Malogan command cruisers. Black skinned Malogan ships flew toward the Alliance vessels, weapons firing.
The fleets clashed, lasers and missiles flew everywhere, fighters zoomed around the ships and cruisers broke in half. The battle was fierce and explosions filled the sky.
The Tiberius dodged attacks from every side, Shaker manned the guns taking care of any enemies in their way.
The Tiberius led a strike team toward the station. Their only chance at victory was to board the station and find the control room.
A squadron of Malogan fighters bared down on the strike fleet. Ryanis maneuvered the Tiberius up and around the fighters, while Shaker destroyed half of them.
Finally, they came within transporting distance, and the three made their way to the transporter to beam onto the station.
On his way out of the cockpit, Ryanis flipped the auto-pilot switch. Luckily, using a clever program Shaker created, Ryanis was able to imprint his flying ability into the auto-pilot. It was almost as good as he was.
As they put on their weapons and got ready to leave, Ryanis placed his hand on the ship. "Good bye, old friend."
The Tiberius spoke, "Goodbye, Sir. I look forward to seeing you come back in one piece." The Princess looked at Ryanis in surprise.
Ryanis
explained, "It's part of the auto-pilot, artificial intelligence. That's its way of saying be careful."
"Don't worry, you'll see it again. I'll get you through this," the Princess said with a lopsided grin.
Ryanis returned the smile, "Not if I save you first. Alright Shaker, let's go." And Shaker flipped the switch to teleport. The energy crackled around them, teleporting them to the station below.
As they re-materialized, it took them a few moments to figure out where they were.
The black eyed Malogan soldiers surrounding them didn't look very happy.
Episode 16
Ryanis, Shaker, and the Princess teleported into the station with their weapons ready. Unfortunately they beamed right into the middle of a Malogan army barracks.
The Malogan soldiers were surprised to see them, but quickly scrambled to get their weapons. Ryanis sprinted toward the door, firing his weapon at every soldier he could see. Shaker and the Princess did likewise. A Malogan soldier blasted the door just as they passed through. Shaker immediately turned and broke open the panel, crossing some wires, locking the door from the outside.
"It'll take 'em a while to get through that," Shaker said, "Now, the control room is likely to be near the center of the station, close to the main energy source."
The door vibrated as 50 lasers tried to blast the door to bits.
Shaker looked amused, “These Malogans are nothing if not persistent.”
"We better get moving," Ryanis said, "Shaker, you have that energy detector thing you put together, lead the way. We need to find the control room."
As they fought through the corridors of the ancient station, the machine in Shaker's hand showed they were getting closer to the station's main power source.
As they came to a split hallway, the device indicated that they were very close to the power source. As they turned the corner, three guards stood outside of a large double door. Ryanis, Shaker, and the Princess were ready with their blasters, and took out the guards with well placed stun rays.
The Guards crumpled lifeless to the ground. But they immediately got back up and started shooting. Ryanis, Shaker and the Princess ducked quickly behind the wall.
Ryanis looked at Shaker, "Malogans aren't effected by stuns?"
"Must be a side effect of the infestation process. We don't have a choice, we have to take them down." And all three changed their settings to blast.
"Just aim for non-essential parts if you can. Remember, the people in there aren't responsible. Their infested." Ryanis said.
Shaker took the high ground, distracting the guards, and Ryanis took the low, delivering the shots that would put them down. The guards flew back against the walls. This time they didn't get up.
Ryanis, Shaker, and the Princess stormed into the control room.
They saw Jupiter and his Chief Scientist manipulating a huge wall of controls and switches.
Ryanis leveled his weapon at Jupiter, "Stop what you're doing and move away from the controls." Ignoring him, Jupiter continued to work.
"I'm warning you, I don't want to fire but I will."
Jupiter turned, "You do what you have to do." Snickering, he returned to his work.
Ryanis squeezed the trigger but the shot hit the ceiling instead of Jupiter, leaving a small, smoking hole. The Princess had stopped him, pushing his arm out of the way.
She pleaded with him, "You can't, my Father's still in there! Please don't."
Ryanis dropped his arm to his side. "Okay, Princess, we'll try..." and Ryanis crashed to the floor. Three Malogan guards stood in the doorway, guns trained on the Princess and Shaker. They fired.
Episode 17
Ryanis, Shaker, and the Princess woke up groggily. Their hands were tied and they were unable to move. The three Malogan guards who stunned them kept watch, making sure that they didn't get away.
Jupiter was still manipulating the controls, turning the ancient space station into the ultimate mind wiping weapon.
He turned slowly towards them, "I kept you alive because I want to give you the honor of being the first slaves created by this wonderful machine. Think of it, a galaxy filled with mindless slaves, just waiting for direction, and we will give it to them. And I will finally be the Master of the Galaxy!"
The Princess cried out, "Father, no! I know you're in there, please stop this."
Jupiter laughed, "I told you before, he's gone. I have rid myself of his nuisance and I own this body now. There's nothing you can do to get him back. Your precious daddy is dead my dear."
The Princess shook her head, "No, I can't believe it. Father, do you hear me? Please, fight back father, I know you can do it. Please come back father, you can beat him!"
The Master Malogan began to say something, but he hesitated, as if something choked him momentarily. "AhhMmmhmm, I told… you… he's gone. Just… give it up."
"You're doing it Father, you're fighting back and beating him, keep going Daddy! I love you, please don't give up, keep fighting!"
The Master Malogan closed his eyes and reasserted control, shaking just a little, "No Princess, he's not coming back. I'm in control now. No one can defeat the control of a Master Malogan. My control is supreme."
The tears in the Princess's eyes flowed freely, "Please Father, please, keep fighting."
Suddenly, Ryanis leaped at the closest guard, tackling him to the ground. While the Princess and the Master Malogan were talking, Ryanis was able to press the button on his belt. The Shield glowed across him and cut through his bindings.
Ryanis wrestled the guard's weapon away from him and shot him in the leg. The other two guards fired uselessly at Ryanis' shield. Ryanis fired and the two other guards fell to the ground.
The distraction was enough to make the Master Malogan lose control, and for Jupiter to fight back. Jupiter's body shook violently as the Master Malogan struggled to retain his hold.
As Ryanis cut her and Shaker loose, the Princess yelled, "Father, keep going, you're doing it! Please don't stop!"
A greenish blob oozed out of Jupiter's ear. With a loud plop it fell to the floor and Jupiter fell down in a daze. The blob crept back toward Jupiter's head.
Sean Ryanis walked up to the blob and pointed his gun, "I don't think so." He pulled the trigger. A red beam of energy shot out toward the green blob, setting it on fire and burned it to a black pile of ash. It screamed a deafening high pitched screech.
The Master Malogan was gone.
The Chief Scientist surrendered, putting his arms in the air. Ryanis put the shackles on him. The Princess went to her father while Ryanis and Shaker interrogated the Scientist.
Ryanis shoved him against the wall, "How do you turn this thing off?"
The Scientist laughed, "You can't, the power is already building up. Without a focus it will explode, killing all life in the galaxy. You have two choices, wipe all non-Malogan minds, turning them into zombies or kill all life in the galaxy. The choice is yours," The Scientist let out an insane laugh.
"There.. is .. another option." Jupiter spoke slowly. "That Malogan was able to see my thoughts, but I could see his as well. It might be possible to focus the energy in on the station itself. The result.. I think, would be a singularity, or black hole. I think I can change the controls." The King stood up and with Shaker’s help changed the controls to implode the station.
In a matter of minutes they had the controls set and they heard a massive rumble from the depths of the station. The energy was turning in on itself.
Ryanis, Shaker, the Princess, and King Jupiter ran as fast as they could toward the outer shell of the ship. Ryanis pulled out his communicator, “Ryanis to Tiberius, you still there my friend?"
The comm crackled, nothing. Ryanis shouldn't have expected anything else.
"Yes Sir, I was busy dispatching two pesky fighters. I am here but badly damaged. What do you require of me Sir?"
Ryanis felt like jumping in the air, "Good Job! I need you to be within teleporting distance, we have to
get out of here quick."
"Locking in on your location. I will be within transport range in 30 seconds Sir."
The station shook all around them, running became nearly impossible. Malogans were running around them too, escaping to their ships.
Looking all around, they couldn't find a teleporting platform. The comm crackled, "Sir. Scanners indicate a massive build up of energy in the center of the station. I would advise that you teleport now, while you still have time."
Ryanis looked over at the Princess. "We'll have to try it."
The Princess shook her head, "Four people is too much for the teleporter, I just got my father back, I'm not going to risk losing him again."
"I guarantee you'll lose him if we don't get out of here right now! Come on Princess."
Jupiter looked at his Daughter, "It's okay my dear. I have faith that it will work." He gave her a hug.
They huddled all together, and the Princess turned the controls. They disappeared from the station.
Once more, the smell behind the waste recylcer was awful.
"Seriously! Again? Why does it keep bringing us here?" the Princess asked.
"Something to figure out later," said Ryanis as he raced up to the cockpit.
Saying a quick thank you to the auto-pilot, he switched it off and regained control of the ship. Following only a few other ships, the Tiberius blasted away from the station at full power.
"Course set for Martosis, ready for hyperjump." Shaker said.
Ryanis reached over to hit the hyperjump control when a bright light consumed the entire ship. Alarm bells sounded and the ship lurched backwards. They weren't in hyperspace.
The station imploded on itself forming a deadly black hole and the gravity was sucking the Tiberius into its deadly center.
Episode 18
The Tiberius moved backwards toward the new black hole. Ryanis and Shaker worked the controls frantically.
Ryanis hit the control to send the ship into hyperspace but the extreme gravity prevented the ship from jumping.
Shaker started to panic, "We don't have enough power to break the gravity and jump. We're stuck!"
The Tiberius started to move backwards even faster. Shaker was thinking frantically, and then he looked down at Ryanis' belt. "I've got an idea. What about the power core in your belt," turning toward the princess, "and the power in your teleporter. It might just be enough to get us going."