“Nobody but the Kregans are dying today.”
“Mira, can you link me to the torpedo’s guidance system like you did with the starfighters on board the Thalamos last week?”
“Affirmative, link established.”
Kevin thought he would throw up when his vision was replaced with what the torpedo’s head was showing him, which was wild spinning in between the Osiris, the Kregan ship, and the scary, massive sun.
Definitely not what I expected it would feel like.
Kevin had to fight the urge not to vomit and he had to focus his mind in order to regain control over the wild torpedo. It took a second or two, and soon the projectile was flying more or less in a straight line.
“Is that…?” said Kevin.
“You’re flying the torpedo toward the Osiris’ engines!” screamed Ziron.
“Oops, my bad, hang on.”
Kevin calculated a new trajectory and a blue line was drawn in his holographic HUD. It ended in the part of the enemy ship that Mira had told him would damage the Kregan’s engines. He stayed with the torpedo until impact, making sure it hit its target.
The moment it exploded, Kevin’s vision was replaced with flames hurling back toward the bridge, which did nothing to lower his need for vomiting, but he fought against it nonetheless.
“Ten seconds to structural integrity failure. Shields are failing,” said Mira.
Kevin disconnected the tractor beam and veered the ship hard to port. He redirected every ounce of power he could from other systems, including life support, and injected them to the engines.
The Kregan ship’s engines had been disabled and it continued its course toward the burning star. Flames engulfed it little by little and soon it exploded into a raging inferno.
“We have a kill!” cheered Mira.
But the Osiris wasn’t out of Dodge just yet; the engine rumbled and complained as the gravitational forces of the sun were trying to tear the ship apart.
“Can we jump?” asked Kevin.
“Chances of survival in these conditions are lower than fifty-two percent.”
“What are our chances of survival if we keep pushing the engines more?”
“Less than five percent.”
Well, I know which odds I prefer.
“Jump!” said Kevin, feeding their last pre-jump coordinates into the jump engines with his mind.
The ship blinked out of existence and reappeared in space a fraction of a second later.
The lights on the bridge turned off, sparks flew from the ceiling and nearly burned Kevin’s eyes.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl when Kevin noticed a bolt of blue lightning shoot from a console and head straight for his torso. All he could think of was how much he needed a shield as he raised his forearms in an attempt to protect himself from the deadly jolt of electricity heading his way.
Translucent blue circular shields enveloped both his forearms and deflected the bolt. At that moment, time felt like it resumed to its normal pace, and Kevin watched in horror as the bolt of energy grazed Ziron.
The Sphynx screeched as the brunt of the bolt burned the tip of his blue tail.
“Sorry Zee!” said Kevin, his face somewhat apologetic. “Mira, status report?” he asked.
But there was no answer.
“Mira?”
Kevin noticed all the holographic instruments had disappeared from his field of view. Only a few emergency lights provided very subdued lighting to the bridge. Mira, just like most of the ship, must have been disabled.
* * *
Boomer was barking madly, his sharp cries reverberating inside the bridge. Kevin reached with his hand and scratched his best friend’s head to calm him down. Boomer added one last sharp woof that sounded like a way to grab Kevin’s attention. That’s when he saw it.
Ziron’s motionless body floated through the bridge. He was drifting toward the wall.
“Zee! Are you okay? Please, wake up!” said Kevin alarmingly.
But the Sphynx was out of it. The pain from his tail burning earlier probably made him pass out.
Kevin released his restraints. He started floating almost instantly, which brought back his earlier motion sickness. But then Kevin realized that he had unlatched the seatbelts with a thought, which meant that even though most of the ship’s systems were offline, his nano-armor wasn’t.
He thought magnetic boots and his feet grounded with the metallic floor. He ran toward Ziron but wouldn’t make it in time before the blue cat cracked his skull against the wall. Kevin had to improvise. He thought lasso and lashed forward to grab Ziron. Things didn’t go as he hoped though, and instead of lassoing and grabbing the blue cat in midair, he whipped Ziron. The cat’s legs extended, and he screeched hard from the lasso’s impact that propelled him against the nearest wall face first.
An unpleasant clanging noise stopped Ziron’s momentum. The lights in the bridge blinked back into existence and gravity was restored. Ziron, still spread eagled against the wall, started sliding down with a squeaking sound until he hit the ground.
Kevin ran to his aid but stopped short the moment he saw fire in the cat’s eyes and long diamond-like claws shot from Ziron’s paws.
Ziron hissed. “Don’t! Don’t try to help, in fact, don’t you do a single thing—please.”
“I—I’m sorry, Zee, I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Yeah, well you did a bang-up job at it…nice work!”
Ziron picked himself up and dusted off his blue fur when his eyes locked onto the now black tip of his tail. He turned his head slowly toward Kevin with so much fire inside his eyes that Kevin thought for a second that they were two miniature suns.
“I think it’s best I leave the bridge now.”
Ziron didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. Kevin deactivated the magnetic boots since gravity had been restored and took a knee as he undid Boomer’s belts with a single thought. Boomer jumped into his arms and licked Kevin’s face a couple of times before the Beagle’s face changed.
Before Kevin could react, the dog barfed all over him.
“I guess I deserved as much,” said Kevin.
He wiped the vomit from his face as he headed off the bridge.
6
Kevin walked down the corridors of the Osiris and tried the first door he came upon. It opened into sleeping quarters with four bunk beds organized in pairs. He climbed into the top bunk on the right and stared up at the ceiling. Boomer couldn’t jump that high, so he climbed into the lower bunk, circled twice, and flopped down on the comforter with a loud sigh.
Maybe my dad was right, perhaps I am useless.
Kevin couldn’t help but feel that he had failed, even though everyone was still alive, the Kregan had been taken care of, and the ship he was on was equipped with nano-tech that would repair all the damage Kevin had brought upon it.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel like he could have approached the battle more sensibly, not taking immediate risks in the first encounter with a new ship, whose capacity he might have overestimated.
“Are you alright, Kevin?” Mira asked.
“That depends on how you define ‘alright,’ I guess.”
“What’s troubling you?”
“I failed. I wanted to impress Ziron and instead it’s a miracle that the Osiris is still in one piece.”
“I’m having trouble with categorizing your assessment of failure. Ziron gave you one mission, destroy the Kergan ship, and you did so.”
“Yes, but at what cost?”
“Nano-circuitry is well on its way to repair most of the critical systems aboard the ship. We are all still alive. It seems to me all objectives have been achieved.”
“Tell Ziron that.”
“As a matter of fact, I already have. He’s not accustomed to being in perilous situations. As an engineer, he mostly works behind the scenes in safe environments. He’s not used to this type of commotion or thrill; I think he’s let his fear get the best of him. I’m sure you c
an understand that, as your species capacity for empathy seems very strong.”
“Still, this didn’t feel like a victory, at least, not like it did the last time around.”
“Interesting…let’s recap this, shall we. You engaged an armada of Kregan destroyers equipped with the latest prototype warship and AI, aka, me, and used the Project Sigma weapon to do so. Nobody but you ever succeeded in doing so, your use of the technology and the logs we’ve recovered are priceless and will allow us, over time, to perfect this tech.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Mira, I kicked ass last time; this time around, I almost got us all killed.”
“That’s where I have to disagree with your assessment, Kevin. While your primary objective was achieved last time, you lost your ship, and me. Fortunately, I was able to send a partial backup of what I had learned while being linked with your mind via subspace, which is the reason why we’re talking now. I was, am, one of a kind.”
“Yeah, you told me, a prototype warship AI.”
“That’s correct. And as such, I’ve derived the following conclusion: while you managed to achieve victory in your previous engagement with the Kregan, you couldn’t have fully won if the last captain of the Arcadian Confederate hadn’t sacrificed his ship, his life, and the lives of his crew.”
A pit started forming in Kevin’s stomach.
“Please, note,” added Mira, “that I am not trying to be harsh in my assessment, just as accurate as possible.”
“Yeah—not exactly filling me with pride at the moment.”
“Pride is irrelevant, Kevin. Did you help us and risk your life just to go on a power trip for yourself? Or did you truly want to save billions of lives?”
“The second one, of course. I think…”
“Even though our time in being linked was brief, I can echo your first answer and will attribute your current doubts to exhaustion. You’ve been fighting for your life for the last couple of hours, it’s normal that the drop in adrenaline could bring your spirits down in a physiological way.”
“Not that I don’t enjoy talking with you, Mira, but is there a point to all of this?”
“There is. Your last mission was a success at a price and with external help. But it was your courage and determination as well as your highly compatible mind that brought victory. Primary objective completed, but secondary objectives, like bringing the Thalamos back home, was not.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it mattered that much.”
“Compared to saving Arcadia Prime, it didn’t.”
“I’m still not sure why we’re doing this, though.”
“Today you had two major objectives. One: survive the Kregan assassin and save your life. You achieved both goals, even dispatching a highly trained operative in your first inter-species fight. I have to give you exemplary points for that, and if I had a body, I’d deliver you a medal myself. Then, shortly after arriving on the Osiris, you had to go into battle again, with a far less advanced ship than the Thalamos, and not only destroy the enemy, but make sure all passengers on board this ship survived. Again, you’ve accomplished that objective.”
“Are you saying that even though I’m feeling like a loser, I actually performed better than before?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Kevin.”
Kevin smiled, and most of his bad mood began to fade away.
“Thanks, Mira.”
“You’re welcome, Kevin.”
* * *
The cell was cold and damp with virtually no light source. Kalliopy was utterly alone. In an attempt to get her to provide vital information on her planetary defenses, the Kregan had systematically executed her royal guard one-by-one.
The fleet battle that took place around orbit of Arcadia Prime had ended with every destroyer and warship on both sides being destroyed. And now a rearmament race had started. One the Kregan was afraid of losing; mostly because when it came to technology and production speeds, the Arcadian Confederate had no equal and that was why they wanted to attack her world from within.
She should have known when her sister, on the other side of the galaxy, asked for her presence that it was a trap. But she loved her more than anything in the world, and even though her advisors asked her not to make the trip, she couldn’t leave Athala in distress no matter how high the chance of a trap existed.
Had she been manipulated by a crafty fake message? Or was her sister really sick? And if that was the case, she knew with certainty it had something to do with the Kregans. The destroyers protecting Zalonda, the world where her sister Urania lived, had been called back to Arcadia Prime in the last hours preceding the final battle. The battle during which the young and peculiar human Kevin had helped them win on board their prototype warship Thalamos.
More warships based on the prototype design were now being constructed. But first, her eccentric inventor, Ziron, would have to recover the youngling and some of the data lost when the ship prematurely exploded a few seconds before his neuronal footprint had been beamed back to the planet.
Kalliopy became distracted from her current train of thoughts when she heard heavy footsteps approaching. She had declined the last two meals her Kregan captors had sent for fear they would drug the food in an attempt to extract information she wouldn’t willingly provide.
Her heartbeat accelerated with each new step. Would they bring more food? Or would they ratchet things up a notch? Kregans were known to resort to both psychological and physical torture, and she was surprised they hadn’t already attempted that.
When the door of her cell opened with a high-pitched squeak, she had to silence a yelp. It was one thing to be afraid, but she didn’t want them to know. A bright white light invaded the room and temporarily blinded Kalliopy. She raised her arm and had to blink multiple times until she began to see a large dark shape in the hallway.
“Get up,” commanded a deep voice. “He wants to see you.”
“Who’s he?” Kalliopy tentatively said.
“I’m not here to chit-chat, you either get up and follow me on your own, or I’ll drag your pretty face any which way I can. The choice is yours.”
Kalliopy swallowed hard.
Not much of a choice, she thought.
“And hurry up, I don’t have all day, your highness,” added the voice with no shortage of disdain in his voice.
It took some effort on her part to get to her feet. She had stayed for days on the cold, concrete floor. Her beautiful dress now all but ruined.
As she stepped out of the cell, she was finally able to get a better look at the rude Kregan officer. His orange skin was full of scars, some incredibly deep. No doubt the warrior type who had killed many Arcadians in the line of duty.
“This way,” he said, with a wave of his hand.
“Where am I going?”
“You’ll see soon enough. For the time being, just shut up and walk. And no funny business either.”
* * *
Ziron gracefully sauntered to Kevin’s location. Arriving at the room, he tapped on the door with his extended claws.
“I’m not in the mood to see anybody,” said Kevin’s muffled voice from the other side.
“I need to talk to you, and…apologize.”
The door slid open with a whooshing sound.
Ziron entered and was greeted with Boomer’s sharp bark and a low growl. No doubt Kevin’s pet had sensed that his current frame of mind was due to Ziron’s attitude to what had happened earlier. From what Ziron had learned from Kevin’s mind, dogs are very loyal pets.
The Sphynx still had a hard time accepting the notion that on Earth, a lesser genetically advanced cousin race, called cats, were also pets. Even though they didn’t seem to be as loyal and as malleable as the dog.
Maybe they’re moving into place to take over.
With that pleasant thought, he jumped to the lower bunk opposite to Kevin’s and Boomer’s.
“Hey, Kevin. I—I kinda need to talk with you.”
“Yeah, you said that already. Spit it out.”
“I’m not sure I understand what that means?”
“You mentioned an apology.”
“Oh, that…”
Ziron wasn’t accustomed to apologizing to anyone. He didn’t think he needed to. After all, his highly advanced intellect was partly the reason why the Arcadians were still standing. If not for all his inventions, they would have lost the war to the Kregan already.
But he could sense that Kevin was adamant about hearing the words.
“I—I…” but Ziron was having a hard time uttering the words.
“Get out. If you can’t even say it, why come in the first place?”
Ziron’s eyes dropped, and he gazed at the dark-grey carpet for a moment before looking back into Kevin’s eyes.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. You managed your objective, and we’re still alive.”
“That wasn’t that hard, was it?” said Kevin rather sharply.
Oh, it was…
“I’m not used to apologizing, that’s all.”
“Well, for an advanced race, you sure are dumb on some levels. Saying you’re sorry is liberating, if more people took responsibility for their actions instead of blaming others for the failings in their lives, the world would be a better place. Trust me on this.”
That was an interesting concept. One Ziron made a mental note to try and research further.
“Now that this is out of the way, can we talk about the next part of our mission?”
“Interesting how you’re assuming I’m still on board after the crap you pulled.”
“Aren’t you?”
Kevin shook his head. “Of course, I am. I’m just not doing it for you.”
“That’s perfectly understandable. But I can’t rescue Kalliopy without you.”
“I know. Let’s just let bygones be bygones.”
Ziron accessed Kevin’s memory banks to fully understand the meaning of the young human. His eyes shone briefly as they always did in such circumstances.
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 8