Ascension – Chapter One: Ambush

As part of my break this week, I promised my audience that I would post a sample from each of my books for their respective days. I start with the first book in my queue, Ascension. The first chapter from it is Ambush and it serves as the entire backdrop to the entire novel. I hope you enjoy.

 

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War to the citizens of the New Expoletian Empire was not a new concept, since it was all that many of the people born under the banner of the tri-suns knew.

It was in the year 3754 that the Empire came into existence. It was not an easy process for anyone involved, but we learned a lot about ourselves. We found our identity. We fought the oppressive government. We earned our freedom and since that day, we fought to retain it. I happened to avoid most of the major fighting of the Tharassian Civil war and the fallout that ensued from that combat. The stories lingered about the significant threat from outside our galaxy, but we did not fear them. Nor did Humankind feel threatened by us. Problems began when an outpost of ours in a potential colony stopped relaying information. Recruits and captains knew who to place the blame on, and we wasted little time in setting about learning all we could. Any detail humankind left behind would serve us well, even though we did not care much for their primitive technology. We did not feel there would be any danger either. After all, the Aeterian was one of the most advanced vessels created in the known universe. Was being the operative word.

“Disengage warp drive on my command,” Captain Vorth said.

Vorth was far less dignified than his appearance suggested. Though he stood straight and held his nose high, his antics when off-duty were the stuff of legends. He once convinced his superior officer to leave him – a red raw recruit at that stage – in charge of a multi-trillion credit starship so the officer could take a bathroom break. The starship did come back to dock a few hours later, though it did need extensive repairs, particularly to the engine core. Apparently, it was quite simple to burn one of those out when you go eighty percent light speed.

“Rerouting power to weapons deck,” I said.

My station was not too glamorous, but I do admit that it was a necessary one. A starship cannot not fly itself as stolen intelligence from Earth suggested. The difficult part lay in ensuring that all the systems of the vessel worked in perfect conjunction. Unlike a shuttle, the New Expoletian starships did not have an internal intelligence that coordinated the systems. Everything was instrument powered, so to speak.

“Anything on the scanner?” Vorth said.

“Nothing. No lifeforms detected for twelve clicks either direction. Shall we go dark?” the ensign next to me said.

“Bring us out of warp space,” Vorth said to me.

I eased back the throttle of the warp core. The Aeterian was fortunate enough to have an advanced model. It would not make much sense if a generation five starship did not have state-of-the-art equipment. The system containing PFB-1OA43Dn, a scouting station, faded into view, and though grandiose from afar, the scale of the planetoids it used to maintain orbit was underwhelming. As the white dwarf shone upon the shiny hull of the Aeterian, something in my mind suspected foul play. The area was too quiet. It seemed too convenient for my liking.

Yet there it was. The New Expoletian scouting station sat in orbit around the star. A circular beacon for our people. Except there was a clear issue with what was going on. It was not anything anyone could have anticipated, nor was it supposed to happen. Vorth saw it, I saw it, and everyone on the Aeterian saw it.

 

There was no damage to the station whatsoever.

 

All the lights were active and from our position, the station appeared to be operating as intended. We still saw nothing on our scanners and that troubled us more than anything did. I slowed our starship down to cruising speed – 600 kilometers per second – and steadied a course toward PFB-1OA43Dn. A pin drop would be like an explosion over the next few minutes as tension was that high. Nothing else in my life has ever come close to matching the atmosphere in that bridge since. Not even when my life was under threat in the Great War have I felt more uneasy.

“Take us in easy. Don’t assume we’re in the clear,” Vorth said.

The surveying station continued its dedicated path around the central star. More features came into view as the Aeterian moved closer. Hangar lights illuminated the entrances designed for small resupply vessels. The station rotated so we all knew that there was gravity aboard, but it still chilled us to our core knowing that something could be awaiting our arrival.

The Aeterian shuddered when it crossed the gravitational threshold of the station. My comrade continued to scan the entirety of the station yet picked up nothing. There were no signs of life. Nor was there any sign of activity. There was nothing but the repetitive hum of the massive reactors powering the platform. If anything were on board, then it would hide that place.

“Extending docking claw. Shuttle on standby. Slowing to orbital velocity,” I said.

I pressed a few buttons on my station. It was complicated to learn all of them, but since the Aeterian was a newer vessel, the whole system was new to me. I had served seventeen years in the military at that point. I knew how to fly the older generation of starships. In fact, I was one of the few who could claim I went through training in a generation four starship. I did appreciate the features of the more recent models. It might not be user-friendly, but the number of pilots required dropped from upwards of twenty down to one. It never got easier though.

A green light flashed on my console. The next step in the docking procedure – which is a twenty-minute procedure on other vessels – is to align with the clamp on the station. Kodekai Enterprises, the makers and designers of almost every spacefaring vessel in the New Expoletian Empire, did not make this a simple task. PFB-1OA43Dn had a unique port that sped up the process. The issue was in sliding the claw into the port with utter precision. All I had was a camera on the hull.

“Take care. Brass won’t be happy if we damage the newest addition to the fleet,” Vorth said. He looked over my shoulder at the same screen I used. I heard him suck in a deep breath as the port came into view. I glanced up at him and he gave a nod. “This next part is all you. At your own pace.”

He was right about that. The second the sensors on the docking claw went off, I cut all power to all movement systems. With all the grace of a gazelle, I extended the claw further. Inch by inch it went out. I had no idea how close I was, and if I went too far, then there is no way I would manage to dock elsewhere. Sweat slid down my forward and, using the knowledge I accumulated over the years, I sensed that I was close enough. I took a sigh and began the final step. I had to anchor the rods inside the claw.

“Engaging docking locks.”

I pressed the first button and waited. It flashed orange. Then yellow. Then orange again. The fourth time the light shone blue. One rod was in place. Six more to go. The second rod was less nerve-wracking than the first, though I always contemplated if I was not in right. It went blue and everyone on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief. The next four were easy, and I flew through them. The final rod light flashed orange for the second time. Then the Aeterian shook. I smiled.

“Final docking rod locked into position. Engine shutdown complete. Welcome to PFB-1OA43Dn, Captain,” I said.

I could not get another word out of Vorth until after we set foot inside the station. I met him and the small crew of six others in the hangar. He tossed me a rebreather and I knew he wanted me to board the station with him. I had not been a part of field work my entire career. I was a dependable flyboy, but I saw this as an opportunity. I thought about what this could mean for me as I retrieved my rifle from the armory. It was as shiny as the day I got it and I still remembered the myriad of lectures I heard.

 

“This is your weapon. It is your lifeline. Your best friend. Treat it well, and it will not fail you. Mistreat it and you won’t get another,” Captain Primus said.

It might seem odd that a militaristic culture would be stingy on weapons, but that is not the reason for us possessing a single rifle. Primus went on for hours about the process each weapon underwent and why they were special to us. Unlike most weapons in the universe that we came across, the weapons produced by the weapons manufacturing branch of Kodekai Enterprises were modular. They were able to act as any type of weapon the owner required of them, and each had a chip tailored to the DNA of a single soldier. What that meant was that the weapon would only work for that one person.

 

My rifle was an older model, though no one cared about that detail. It did the job, and it did the job well. It continued to function well beyond all expectations and many of my peers referred to the Valkyrie as a fine wine. Every year that passed, it only seemed to get better and better. It felt weird to hold it again knowing I expected to use it.

The shuttle’s engines roared around the hangar when I returned with weapon in hand. It was a remarkable sight. It one of the best things, if not the best thing I ever saw in my life. When I said that to others I would admit that I did so from a biased perspective. I never found anything else that gave me the rush of adrenaline that the power of an Expoletian shuttle on full display did. It chilled me to my core every time it happened.

“Keep tight, watch your corners but most of all, don’t be afraid,” Vorth said.

“Any idea what’s inside, boss?”

Vorth raised an eyebrow to Zeev. The bulky soldier was little more than an unbloodied fighter. We all knew, despite his claims otherwise, that he had never seen a single real fight in his life. One of the main reasons he was aboard the Aeterian was his size. It was quite rare in those days to find an Expoletian soldier towering above his comrades. He was a good soldier though. Sure, a thousand recruits made top of class every year, but it was an impressive accomplishment given that being a part of the Expoletian Armed Forces was a requirement. There was also the fact that every year, there were at least half a million recruits.

“Ain’t no one got a clue what we’ll find in there. Your training will not help here whelp. Stay close to your partner,” Vorth said.

“Who’s my partner?”

It was in that moment that I pushed past Zeev. I felt his strength and physical presence from that brief brush with him. I heard his groan as the realization that I was his shadow and brother-in-arms. I knew how he felt. All he saw in me was a simple pilot with not an ounce of combat training. I intended to change what he thought he knew about me. It did take every fiber of my being not to be a show-off with my rifle. Instead, I smiled at him.

“We’d better get used to each other, big man. I’ve got your back as long as you’ve got mine,” I said to him.

Zeev tried to approach Vorth to dispute what I believe he felt to be an unfair decision. My seniority with Vorth was more than enough for the captain to wave the grunt away in a blasé fashion. For once in my life, I was on top of the food chain.

“Take us over,” Vorth said.

The shuttle shuddered and rose from the floor of the hangar. For a split second, there was no gravity until the gyroscopic stabilizer of the reactor kicked in. I never understood how the technology of the power system in all Kodekai manufactured vessels worked. All I knew about them back then was that they were the most important component of any warfare ready starship.

 

“Listen close, and listen well, soldiers. This is something all of you must know. This part right here?” Primus said. His fingers tapped the thrumming sphere next to him. “This is the heart of any vessel you’ll ever be on. There will always be more than one on the large starships and they will be quite a deal larger. I’ll not bore you with the technical details, but you must know that they power every system on a ship from the weapons, to the engines, to the shields, to the life support, and they act as gyroscopes.”

Oohs and ahhs came from the other recruits around me. None of them did so well at the end of training. They seemed too busy discussing how many enemies they were going to kill. Some days they discussed how their deaths would remain in the history books for all eternity. I did none of that. I kept my nose in my books and studied. I learned the ins and outs of every system of a vessel. I sponged up everything I saw. From my extensive studies, I knew I would have the preparation for anything.

“This is not a time to be brave and risk your life for nothing. Be smart when we touch down. First things first. Ammunition check. Count them off for me,” Vorth said to bring me back to reality.

“Seven hundred and fifty, boss,” Zeev said.

It would not be the last time that Zeev yelled at the top of his lungs in my vicinity. I discerned from the brief interactions I shared with him that day that he had the desire to be the centre of attention and would not give the spotlight to someone else. To me, he was the prototypical Expoletian soldier. Boisterous, obnoxious, and egotistical cover Zeev’s main bases. I thought he would not last long when it came to real battle.

The rest of us counted off our bullets and a pattern emerged. The more experienced among us, like myself, carried only a couple of clips worth of ammo. Our rifles could hold up to three hundred rounds due to the complex construction of our weapons, but the recruits were the only ones to dare carry more than a hundred and fifty rounds. Three clips were all we hoped we would need. We did not expect danger after all.

The shuttle shook again when it crossed over the invisible barrier provided by the shield of the station. Another Kodekai Enterprises innovation in action. It was a good sign, as all of us knew at that moment that there was no breach in the defenses. It also scared the hell out of those of us with experience to spare. In the back of my mind, a thought lingered. We were not too familiar with Humankind and I wondered if they had developed a method to breach our shields. It made my heartrate spike.

“Expect the worst soldiers. We touch down and we get right to business. No bullshit either. Be locked and loaded,” Vorth said.

The shuttle shook and rumbled as was characteristic of a landing. Yet instead of a gentle touchdown, we slammed into the ground. The roughness jarred my legs and I collapsed to my knees. I heard Zeev snicker at me, but I was quick to return to my feet.

“Been sitting down in the bridge too long,” I chuckled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a smirk on Vorth’s face. When I served under his command, I learned a great deal regarding what he dislikes. On the top of that list was rookie soldiers like Zeev. I took any chance to prove one of them wrong around the captain.

It must have worked. Before the shuttle came to a complete stop, Zeev jumped out into the hangar. He pressed a few buttons on his armour and the in-built atmospheric helmet covered his ugly mug. In all honesty, it was far from an improvement. Zeev glanced back over his shoulder. His shoulders rose and fell with laborious breathing. It was quite common for the large soldiers to feel cramped in their armor. A part of me did feel sorry for Zeev, but I realized I did not have much room to speak. I kept my commentary to myself.

“Careful. There is no atmosphere in here. Bet your fancy scanners did not pick that up. No matter, that is what grunts like me do. So are we going or what?’ Zeev said.

The rest of us dismounted the shuttle with our helmets already on. A snarl crossed Zeev’s face. He realized not one of us intended to thank him for the warning. I did not have the heart to tell him we expected to find the hangar devoid of breathable air. I saw something similar many years prior to being a member of the Aeterian. It was how the military scuttled old warships.

What they did not teach recruits at the academies was how silent missions like this were. All you had to keep you sane was your own breath. Vorth issued radio silence almost as soon as we exited the hangar through the door. The hall, as sterile as an operating theatre, stretched out to our left and right. Not one of our people was in sight.

Vorth put me in charge of the group heading down the left passage. I felt a little out of place as I gave out orders. We moved with a deliberate pace. Two of us would move ahead to the next alcove in the wall. Most times these contained a door. The next two would be the ones to breach the room.

The first door I went into with Zeev was nothing more than an immaculate broom closet. Half-empty bottles of chemicals lined the shelves on two of the walls. Suits as white as the hallway outside lined the back wall of the closet, alongside two large metal buckets, two mops and a myriad of brooms.

I found it odd that we, as such a technologically advanced race when compared to our closest galactic neighbours, still relied on manual labor to keep everything clean. I suppose it made sense, given a broom and a mop did the job in an efficient manner.

“Move on. It’s clear. Seen any activity?” I said.

The members of my group all shook their heads. I felt odd using my communicator, but Vorth insisted that I would need it if I were to lead. I did feel a little more secure with it activated. I was not sure of my voice, and I felt sure that the waver in my voice was on full display. It was something I had since birth and carried with me all my life. I was glad to be an Expoletian for that reason. None cared if you were malformed or not quite as adept in certain facets as others were. As long as you had four working limbs, good vision, and were sound of mind, then, without a doubt, you would become a soldier.

At the next door, I could not be as tactical as I had with the previous broom closet. I left the opening of the door to Zeev. I was glad for his size. For starters, he did not bother to hack the locking mechanism. He forced the door opened with raw strength. The rippling of his muscles and the way his veins popped out of his skin mesmerized me. A rough prod of his foot was enough to break me from my fantasies.

I entered the dark room and, though I could not smell it, my armor registered a foul stench coating the interior. I reached up to my shoulder and turned on the spotlight that came standard with all models of Expoletian Combat Armor. It did not illuminate much of the room, but it was more than enough to figure out that the former owner had committed suicide. His body lay sprawled out in the single chair in the apartment. He still held the pistol in clammy fingers.

At first glance, Zeev believed it to be murder. I was not so rash to suggest such a thing. I went and pointed out what I could see that disproved his murder theory. First, I explained to him that, because of the angle of the entry wound – about eighty degrees it was – that no murderer would take such care to make a precision shot from between the victim’s legs. My second point was that the pistol held by the body was missing one of its twelve shots. Then I stated the obvious. The door mechanism was not broken from the outside. Someone inside disabled it.

 

“Expoletian Starships are certainly the mightiest vessels known around the universe, but they are far from invincible. The advantage that our ships have over everyone else is our fabled armoring technique. Not only do Expoletian Starships have hulls as thick as most of you are wide, but Kodekai continues to introduce an ever-expanding inventory of shielding systems,” Primus droned on.

These types of lectures were the ones recruits dreaded. A lot of us grew up watching a fleet of vessels. I did see the advantage in knowing what protected those aboard any given starship. It helped me to realize that without that knowledge in the brain of those in charge of commanding the various systems of the vessel, casualties from an attack were more likely to be total. A lot of the knowledge about what a SCOURGE shield system did to projectiles or how Havoc armor deflected heavy weapons fire went into the testing phase of training. I was glad I paid attention to everything.

 

Another rough shove from Zeev pulled me back into reality again. I found that I was flashbacking to events in my training more that day than ever before or since. I gave Zeev a stern yet solemn nod and we departed from the somber room. Our lights left the emaciated corpse in the darkness. I felt like I was missing something, and I later thought of how things would be different had I discovered that it was not an Expoletian body.

My group continued to move along the hall. The lack of air pressure was physically discomforting, but mentally we believed ourselves to be safe. I knew this exact tactic from other times I dealt with Humankind incursions on Expoletian Territory. I did not express that the fact that the reactor of this station was still running raised alarm bells in my mind. Something about the whole situation did not sit right with me since the admiralty chose the Aeterian to investigate. I should have trusted my instincts better.

The hallway came to an abrupt end at a caved in section. The junior navigation officer in my group scanned the debris and confirmed what I suspected. The section beyond was unpressurized. I knew from our approach that there was no visible damage on the hull of the station, yet here was obvious evidence of foul play. I decided the best course of action was to hail my commanding officer.

“Captain, do you read me?” I said.

A few long seconds of static pass. The silence did not bode well and my stomach began to churn. Then I heard the crackle of static. I fumbled around with the dials on the arm of my suit. I had to boost the weak signal. It took me a few tries, but I managed to clear up enough static to hear Vorth. He must have figured out I was back on his frequency before he spoke.

“Do you copy, lieutenant?” Vorth said.

“I hear you, captain. There’s some trouble here,” I said.

“If it is about this damn collapse, then we are looking at the same thing. Please tell me you have some idea of what caused this, because I’m drawing a fucking blank here.”

I glanced around at my surroundings. I saw little sign of a fight, but there were definite scorch marks on the walls. I tilted my head and went for a closer inspection of them. Zeev went along with me and surprised me with hidden knowledge. Unlike myself, Zeev saw that the marks went further than what their appearance suggested. Without a single word, he traced a pattern on the wall. There was an epicenter of the explosion, and Zeev found it after a few minutes of observation. He gave a grim nod to me and stood next to the sealed door he deemed to be the area of first strike.

“Captain, this was an inside job. Ensign Zeev believes he’s found ground zero of an explosion,” I said.

The radio crackled for a few moments, but I heard the heaving breaths of Vorth. He said, “Any idea what type of device did it?”

“On first glance, it looks to me like a shaped charge. The level of destruction is too great for that to be plausible though. Do any of your men notice scorch marks on the walls that look like someone tried to scrub away?”

I heard Vorth bark a few muffled orders. The shuffle of feet was evident. I stared up at my group and they remained as stoic-faced as ever. It was quite unsettling to see. The sounds on Vorth’s end stopped. I froze for a second.

“Confirm that, lieutenant. Scorch damage here. Scrubbed. What are your thoughts on it?” Vorth said through static.

“It’s as I thought. The damage came from a human weapon.”

“How can you know?”

I cleared my throat and dreaded what I was about to say. I turned to Zeev and the others of my group and go to say something. My eyes fell on the radiation reader of my communications officer. I went bug-eyed as I realized what had happened.

“Because the Empire does not manufacture thermonuclear weapons.”

Vorth was silent. I hailed him but there was no response. I tried again and got the same result. I did not hear any sign of struggle nor did I think that Vorth would be stupid enough to cease contact with his crew. I scanned through all the channels I could find on my radio. Only a handful sent out static signals. I tried to hail each frequency twice as my training required me to do. For each frequency, I found that no one on the other end picked up and I started to worry. I resolved to try Vorth again. I did not expect an answer.

“Captain, are you there?” I said.

“He’s a little… indisposed right now,” an unfamiliar and croaky voice said. “I’d be glad to leave him a message for you. Course, he might not get it, given that he’s dead and all.”

“Who is this? Do you understand who you are up against?”

I heard the radio tossed from hand to hand a few times. Several chuckles came from more of the unseen attackers. Above that though, I discerned their footsteps. They were not staying still. I signaled to my crew that we needed to get back to the hangar as quick as we could.

“Oh, I fully understand the severity of this situation. I know all there is to know about the New Expoletian Empire. More than perhaps you do. See, they don’t teach you about history in your training camps. You sound too young to recall the end of the civil war. Is that right?” the voice said.

“Yea, you’re right,” I said.

I decided the best course of action was to play along with what the mysterious voice wanted. I hoped it would cause him to lower his guard and make defeating him much easier. I did not anticipate that I would be far less experienced than he was.

He chuckled. “I got you there. Your voice is too mature and you seem far too composed to be a simple rookie. Makes sense, given how you didn’t find the present my men left for you in that blasted hangar. That’s where your people put up the greatest fight. I give them credit for lasting three minutes.”

“Shut up!” I yelled.

“Tsk, tsk. You do not get it, do you? You have already lost. I will be seeing you soon, boy. Save your bullets for me. I want everything you have.”

I heard the sound of the radio being broken. The first sound to fade was the voices. The footsteps disappeared a couple of seconds later. The last sound that came from Vorth’s communicator was it hitting the ground and shattering. My expression fell and my body began to shake before I caught myself and composed my emotions.

“Weapons free, and for fuck’s sake, say something, all of you! I hate this damn silence.”

I cocked my rifle along with the others. The sound of their communicators turning on flooded my helmet headset. Zeev’s breaths were the most obnoxious noise, but it calmed me down quite a bit. My heartrate still peaked at well above normal levels, but I knew I was not alone.

“What’s your plan?” Zeev said.

“Don’t know. I was thinking of making it up on the fly. Unless you got any suggestions for how we handle this situation,” I responded.

Zeev was not too smart, but I did give him credit for trying to think of a way out of our predicament. I could almost hear the gears turn inside his head as he endeavored to prove he could innovate and lead. He grunted and shook his head.

“I’ll follow your lead,” he said. Zeev did not have the gusto he had when we landed on the station.

“Our best bet is to make it to the shuttle before whatever else is here with us does,” I said.

“Do you know who it is we are against?” Zeev said.

I stopped moving and closed my eyes. I did have an idea of who it was that was on the station with us. I knew that he was a human, and I knew he was much smarter than I was. I had to give him credit for the flawless execution of his ambush plan. Until that moment, I had thought he was a rumor to drive us Expoletians to do our best. Rainer was the enemy of the Empire.

“Someone you don’t want to meet. I met him once before and I have the scars from that encounter. I don’t suppose you remember the ESV Praetorian, do you?” I said.

“I’ve done my homework. The Praetorian was a third-generation starship. Went on a lot of scouting runs in hostile territory. Stripped for parts and scuttled years ago,” Zeev said.

“I was on that ship when Rainer attacked. He was the reason that the Praetorian was scuttled.”

I sighed and continued to lead the half-dozen soldiers along to the hangar. The going was slow even though the path did not change. The lights were out and that made it difficult to avoid any obstacles in the path. I had to help one of the soldiers up after they tripped over a chair or an abandoned weapon several times over the next few minutes. The fact I had to help my fellow soldiers was quite a relief from the thoughts that raced through my mind about what Rainer would do if he caught us. I did not plan to die this way.

“Hangar is dead ahead. Double time,” I called out.

“Thought of a plan yet?” Zeev said.

“Yea, shut up and listen,” I replied.

I heard Zeev grumble under his breath but he did not retort. He was one of the first of the six inside the hangar. I kept an eye on the hallway opposing where we came from. I thought I saw a glint of metal but I could not confirm before Zeev’s strong arm pulled me past the door and thrust me to the floor.

“Seal it!” Zeev yelled

One of the more experienced members of the group shot the door panel. With a hiss and a puff of smoke, the hangar doors slid shut. Alarms sounded as soon as the doors contacted each other. I pushed myself to my feet and glanced around to try to formulate a plan. Zeev and the rest of the soldiers kept their rifles aimed at the door as we all backed up toward our shuttle. I pulled myself into the cockpit and tried to fire up the engines. They failed to ignite. Zeev whipped his head to me. I caught his gaze and pressed the ignition again. Nothing happened.

“Zeev, you’re in charge of defense here. I need five minutes to diagnose the issue,” I said.

Zeev gave me a stern nod and began to give voiceless directions to the others. Some metal crates provided cover and the group moved them around to either side of the shuttle and ducked behind them, rifles aimed at the door. Zeev clambered into the transport bay of the shuttle. I knew what he was after and I pressed a few buttons on the console. A hatch opened up on the back wall and I smiled when Zeev gave an evil chuckle.

It was standard practice for an Expoletian ground crew to prepare for any eventuality. The shuttles of the Aeterian were some of the first to come equipped with a chain gun. Zeev hoisted it into the anchor on the side of the shuttle that faced the hangar door.

I continued to search through the various routines and subroutines that helped an expert pilot find any issues. I knew what I was after, but the new interface was something I was yet to grasp. I gave a glance up when I heard a large object hit the hangar doors. More alarms blared and a robotic voice rang out.

“Warning, structural integrity compromised. Recommended course of action: immediate evacuation,” the station AI said.

“Hope you know what you are doing. Those doors won’t hold much longer,” Zeev shouted.

“Do you doubt my ability, ensign? I’ll have this thing airborne very soon. You keep that gun aimed in that direction and I’ll do the rest,” I said.

“Don’t need to tell me where to aim my gun,” Zeev said.

He cackled when the chain gun between his hands whirred into life. The barrel began to spin up and I gave a smirk at the sound. It proved calming and helped me to focus my efforts, regardless of how much the door buckled.

My hands were lightning as I scanned through every system I could as quick as I could. I found no issue with the engine kit itself, nor was anything wrong with the hydraulic systems. That was odd to me as those were the most common causes of a non-functioning ignition system. Sparks flew into the hangar from the doors as another object made contact with them. Time was running out. Then I found it, hidden deep in a redundancy-prevention system.

“Zeev, that gun better have a lot of ammo,” I sighed.

“Why? What’s wrong? Are we leaving this place or not?” Zeev said.

“Well, all of us leaving depends on whether or not you know how to pilot a fighter. The shuttle’s dead in the water. The reactor is not working. Sabotage, by the looks of it,” I said.

Zeev stomped into the cockpit and placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. I turned to stare into his angry eyes. I knew what needed to occur. I glanced across the hangar. Zeev followed my gaze to the five fighters.

“There’s not enough for everyone,” Zeev said. His face turned from anger to a realization of what needed to happen.

“Someone’s gotta stay behind. Take the others and go. The cannons on the shuttle still work, so I’ll hold them back,” I said.

Zeev seemed to go into shock as he let me go and staggered backwards into the hold of the shuttle. He glanced at each of the soldiers outside the shuttle, still lying in wait for the enemy to enter. I watched a myriad of thoughts cross his face.

“You go. I’ll stay,” Zeev said.

“I won’t allow that. You have a future,” I responded.

“Fuck the future. Expoletians live for moments like this. There is no greater honor than to die in combat. Let me have this to bring glory back to my family name,” Zeev said.

I never heard Zeev speak of his family before. I knew he was not proud that his lineage went back beyond the formation of the New Expoletian Empire. Zeev’s family was one of the progenitors of what is now the defunct Tharassian Empire, the oppressive government that overthrew the original Expoletian line. I could understand his need to prove himself, and I gave a solemn nod.

“I’ll unlock the weapons systems.” I pointed to a series of buttons. “This is your main control centre. It’s self-explanatory so you should be right there. Let me unlock it… there we go. Anything else you need to know?”

Zeev motioned in the direction of a discrete-looking button. It was a standard part of any piloting interface though it never saw much use.

“‘Happy New Year’? What does that mean?” Zeev asked.

“That is your last resort. In fact,” I paused and pressed a complicated series of buttons until a faint beep sounded. “That button now removes the safeguards of every reactor on this station. Five seconds after you press it, everything here will become a pile of debris.”

“Won’t that destroy the Aeterian? I won’t destroy the pride of the fleet to stop whatever is out there. I won’t have another mark to my family name,” Zeev said.

“You won’t,” I said and grabbed the communicator. I brought it to my mouth and my eyes never left Zeev. “Aeterian actual. Executive override 14a. Evacuate system and rendezvous in New Expoletian Space. Over and out.”

I passed the communicator to Zeev and felt the station shake. I glanced to the scanner of the shuttle and saw the Aeterian heat signature move away from the station. The hangar doors buckled and bent inwards. Zeev and I knew it would take no more than a few seconds for the humans to break through. We both stared at the doors as another impact collided with them. Smoke poured through the open hole.

“Go now. This is your only chance. Run!” Zeev shouted.

“It was a pleasure,” I said.

I ducked out of the shuttle and gave a sharp whistle. The other four soldiers turned their attention to me. I signaled to the fighters and, while a couple glanced up to see Zeev standing with a determined look on his face, they jogged after me towards our escape. Another loud thump reverberated off the hangar doors. A sliver-sized gap opened up where they met and I caught the briefest glimpse of a familiar set of black power armor enter the hangar.

“Give it up, Expoletian. Your death will be that much quicker if you surrender now without a fight. I know you realize by now that your shuttle will not work. I am proud of that little piece of handiwork. Your system is so basic, hacking it was simpler than taking a child’s candy,” Rainer bellowed.

“You ain’t the only one with a trick up their sleeve, human,” Zeev’s voice crackled through my headset. “You think yourself so brilliant, but if I recall, your kind lost every engagement our two peoples have ever had. You tried to attack us on our home turf and we repelled you like the insects you are. We are a warrior race, proud to fight in battle, no matter the odds. Yea, I see the odds are against us right now, but for every step you make, you’ll regret it. Are you ready to meet your maker?”

Rainer’s laugh echoed off the hangar walls. I stole a glance back at him to see him in a crucifix position, eyes staring up into the heavens. Rainer was a huge man by even Expoletian standards and he towered over his own soldiers.

“I regret nothing I do, Expoletian. Men, kill them,” Rainer said.

By this point, I had made it to the fighters. I clambered into the cramped cockpit of an old Mercury-Five fighter. I closed the canopy with a loud slam. I was sure that caused Rainer to direct some focus away from Zeev. Several laser bolts ricochet off the thick armor of the fighter. A sound like an explosion erupts from the middle of the hangar. A second follows it. I smiled to see two dozen humans launched into the air. Zeev was covering fire.

“This is our chance, Go! Go! Go!” I shouted.

My fighter roared into life and lifted off the ground with a shudder. The controls took a few seconds to register my DNA, but the second they do, I lurched forward and out into space. Four others are close behind. I saw the Aeterian jump into warp space and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Warning. Code Black. Enemy vessel approaching destination. Preliminary scans complete. Vessel identified as EEV Breakwater. Categorized as main Battlecruiser. Danger level is extreme. Manufacturer recommends evasive maneuvers. Engagement not recommended,” my fighter’s AI said.

I watched as a vessel larger than the Aeterian surged forth from warp space. My fighter surged to the left to avoid an impact with the fortified hull of the Earth Empire flagship. My eyes widened when I saw several ships scramble from multiple hangar bays. Rainer planned for us to try to escape. He failed to realize that the Mercury class of fighters were the most advanced in the entire universe.

“Evasive formation. Jump home at the first chance you get. Scramble now!” I said to the others.

The formation we were in broke and we went in five different directions. I skated along the underside of the Breakwater. Previous experience with Earth Empire space ships told me that they used very few weapons on the underside. The Breakwater was no exception and, while I suffered multiple hits, the rounded and shaped hull of the Mercury-Five deflected most laser strikes.

“You can run, but you can’t hide. We’ve come a long way since we last fought. Tell your admiral that I am coming for vengeance. We will meet again, trust me on that,” Rainer said into my headset. I knew where his voice came from and I smiled.

“I don’t think we will meet again. Aeterian shuttle, initiate Happy New Year protocol,” I said.

I counted the seconds off in my head. The Breakwater disappeared behind me after the first. The wake from its engines threatened to send me careening off into space during the second. The third second, I witnessed my pursuers break off their chase. My allies disappeared off my radar in the fourth second. I was glad they made it to safety.

The fifth second arrived. There was no explosion. I wondered if I miscalculated how much fuel was in the reactors aboard the station. I ran through every possible option of what might go wrong in a forced reactor nova. Before a sixth second passed, a flash of light brighter than the star at the centre of the system ignited the cold of space. I grinned. Rainer was dead, but his words resonated with me even as I engaged my warp core. I shed a single tear for those lost on the station, even as my brain sent a wave of relief across my body. I found my emotions torn between joy and sorrow.