Chapter Eight
Preparing For A New Day
ARAZIS
The siren sounded moments after she was scheduled to wake up from her sleep. She had barely gotten her clothes on. The door to the tube closed up and she got ready to start off the day. Her mind and body fully healed from the battle the day before, she was ready again for another painful meeting with the outsiders.
When in full uniform, she headed out to join the crown amassed near the bow on the announcement platforms. There, the captain or other important figure would address a crowd with important news. Usually, the three large decks strapped to the very hull of the ship would be packed with Kadeshi awaiting news important enough for people to abandon their daily routines. There was only two platforms partially crowded but with lots of room to move around. There were also maybe a dozen on the third. Captain Jeremiah the Second was standing on a stage in the middle platform where everyone could see. She ran into Saiin and his two other friends on the third platform balcony. She decided it was less crowded there and she could get a better view at the stage below.
"This is it," he said, "the battle's back on. He just said how the Suteh and the Ptah have arrived with us and are sending defense groups. They have more than enough crew to balance the loss we suffered."
"This is it? These few hundred people?" she said in anger and sadness.
"Yeah. There are fewer than twenty pilots along with the crew of one fuel pod docked in the frigate bay. The rest are the essentials who keep the Amun herself working."
"How . . . sad." One of the others said. She was on the break of tears. Seeing these platforms so empty was a real awakening on just how serious a loss this has been. The Amun alone would not stand a chance against the outsiders. They need assistance.
Luckily for them, the two other Needleships were ships that returned from a previous mission on guarding the outer perimeters near the old hot-spot where ships of various models used to try and pass through the Garden. There hasn't been a single sighting there in over a hundred years. The last was a small stray cruise ship. And the passengers decided they would rather live in the Garden than die. The two had a hangar full of fuel pods and multi-beam frigates along with an overfilled stock of Swarmers and advanced Swarmers.
"There are groups of frigates headed our way this second."
"Are the generators set up?" she asked.
"Yeah. They'll be entering our inhibitors in minutes." Saiin said.
"Shhh, listen." The other friend said. The captain was starting up again.
"It is ready! We have set our formations and troops are transferring over to the Amun as we speak. I will only say this once more. We must stop them." He walked off the stage headed for his seat of command on the bridge.
"Well," Saiin started, "let's get to our ships shall we?" Ara and Saiin walked off the platform headed for the hangar.
"What do your friends do?" she asked.
"They both work on the main cannon."
"Oh." Her mind was concentrated on the day ahead. It would bet gruesome and bloody.
"Let's stick together this time." He said.
They entered the hangar that was almost empty except for about a dozen other ships. They began the familiar procedure of entering their Swarmers and getting comfortable.
The signal was given, and they all blasted out the hangar headed to the soon-to-become battleground.
ERIC
The pilot was getting ready to board his fighter when he heard a familiar voice call to him.
"Eric!" called the blond-haired Taiidan. They met halfway down the hangar in a hug.
"Trix? How did you—
"They let me leave! Can you believe it? I told them everything. Well not about how you helped me escape. That might have ended you up in a cell."
"I'm so happy to hear that! They just let you leave with no catch?" he asked sceptical but excited.
"Well I'm under constant surveillance, but yeah. They probably know who you are now, but it's okay because it's no longer a problem."
"That's great!" he was feeling so good that he almost had tears of joy. Yesterday, he feared she would be killed and he hunted down. Now, she's free to do whatever she wants. And they could be together now. Well not right now. He still had to win a huge impossible battle.
"I'll see you when I get back, okay?" he said. He didn't want to get too excited. Well it was too late for that, but he wanted to be able to stay focused in battle. If not, well . . . boom.
"Don't leave just yet!" she said.
"I need to. It's my job. You know," as he pulled away, Triikor pulled him back and planted a kiss on him. It lasted what seemed like forever for the two, but then reality sunk in and they pulled away.
"I-I uh . . . I shouldn't have done that."
"It's okay. I'll get you back when I get back." he gave her a wink and turned towards the Saju-Ka. He thought about that last moment with Trix. She never showed signs of that to him, maybe a hug or two, but not that. So much for his great friends plan he thought of earlier that day. He's gonna have to accept that load of information overload from her. He honestly didn't mind. He wanted it as much as she did. But he's always been shy to everyone.
He closed the hatch of his interceptor and looked around. There were few fighters. There were lots of Tempest corvettes though. And that was good because they seemed to do most damage to the enemy fighters.
He shook all his thoughts out of his head and took off out the hangar. The dim red glow of the lights turned to dark blackness. He was headed over to his squadron, Red Squad. The one led by Mark Soban, the source of inspiration to the fighter pilots and many others of the Mothership Fleet.
He arrived at the coordinates but he was not yet there. Three interceptors were in formation, but the leader seemed to be missing.
MARK
I'm running down the halls like a crazed maniac trying to get to the Ferin Sha as fast as possible. I have no idea how long he siren has been sounding, I just know I'm late for a job that can't afford to have me missing. Red Squad was waiting. Isel and Eric were waiting. So were my newly assigned wingmen. I couldn't seem to have them stay alive. I thought about it, and the truth is, my other two wingmen never seem to make it out alive. Huh. Oh well. You want to work for the best you got to be the best.
I made it in the fighter hangar and sprinted to my ship, got in, and took off. I hadn't noticed it, but I forgot to wear socks. Oh well.
I joined my group using the boosters and got there as fast as I could.
"Took you long enough," was Isel's voice.
"Hey, I was taking a shower. What can I do about it? I didn't even hear the siren at first. I gotta get one of those in my room or at least in the hall outside of it."
"Well I see the commander is late for work!" Came another familiar voice on the intercom. This one was one I wanted to hear above all.
"Hey there Jay! Just stay alive for me will ya?"
"Can do, captain Bloody Hand," that was his new nickname for me on the job. He's revering to the funeral ceremony of course, when I had to cut open my hand for blood.
"Let's get together sometime after this, okay?" I asked.
"Sure thing, how about we do that right after this? Well not right after. I'm thinking on taking a trip to the pool or maybe a physician." We both laughed at that. He must be feeling the same as I did before my shower. One word, ouch.
"Hey tell Rob I said hi. Oh wait he can hear me can't he. Well you've been kind of invisible the past month, so just felt like saying something.
"Yeah whatever kid. Don't get killed." Were his comforting words, great choice, you know I haven't spoken to him in a couple months, why not tell me not to die above all else? How about a simple Hello? Or was that too impossible for him? It was probably too friendly of him.
"So Eric, how's The Homeworld War coming along?" I asked about his book.
"Great, it's all down up to where we are now. What about you and the Khar-Halla?" he asked.
"I'm almost done, another fifty pages to go. How have things been going down on the Rancor?" I can't believe this may be the last few minutes of our lives and we're all making small talk. H well what ells are we supposed to do? Pray? I think Sajuuk knows how we feel.
"Great! It's been extremely busy but it's going great. I met a Taiidan."
"So there's interesting stuff going on down there?"
"You have no idea." I think I want to eventually. But not today. I have a mission to survive.
JOHN
He sat in his chair nervously watching the battlefield. There was nt much to see through the dense reddish fog of the nebula.
Fiira shot him a nervous glance and he nodded in agreement. They were all tense.
"It's a trap." Said Fleet Intelligence.
"Hello captain obvious!" Paul said toying with some controls. "Ahhh!" he yelled in anger.
"What is it?" John asked.
"I can't get a good reading anywhere! There's more interference than the last time."
"Keep trying." Fiira said.
"Got it." he said.
"Got what?" John asked.
"I found the inhibitor readings and I'm sending the data over to intelligence." He said.
"Sensors report hyperspace inhibitors in a triangular formation." Screens flashed on showing just what he meant.
"Good job Paul." John said and observed the report.
"Even one can keep us from entering hyperspace. All of them must be destroyed." He concluded his message and they continued their jobs by joining the ion assault team as a repair supporter. "The nebula is still scrambling our sensors, but it appears that were have incoming enemy units." Intelligence said.
Indeed there were small crafts incoming. They recognized the yellow engine trail as the Guardians. One of them was speaking.
"Again we offer you the chance to join us and live here in peace."
