Chapter X

Chapter X FCS Farragut, Eagle-Class Frigate,
Carver V Recharge Station,
Chaos March,
January 3, 3060

"Captain Garret, we lost contact with Dropship Number One and the landing force."

The information was brought to the Shooting Stars and the remaining Cavaliers by the ship's tactical officer. Kyle inspected the tactical map of Carver V, frowning in crazed befuddlement that a mission as simple as this could go hairy. "Lost contact? What do you mean by 'lost contact'?"

"The dropship made a safe land on the HPG site by 1435 hours, then disappeared from radar. Reconnection had been tried, but so far none has been established."

"Commander Knell?" Allison asked anxiously. "Is Commander Knell OK?"

"Don't know yet. We haven't been able to communicate with them since the blackout."

"Jammed transmission?" Eric Anderson suggested.

"Hard to tell. The Zhanzheng deGuang has been throwing surprises after surprises, and they are always one step ahead of us. It means somebody is still leaking the information."

"I'm getting sick of this scheme!" Bill grunted. "I'm getting out of here!"

"Nobody leaves!" Kyle yelled and drew his gun. "AFFC made a mistake hiring mercenaries for this sensitive job, and I'm not going to make it worse!"

"Me? Screw you Davions!" Bill drew his guns, but Natalie, Eric, and Miguel all pulled out their sidearm and aimed it at Bill's head. Evee, dazzled and confused, reluctantly drew her own gun and pointed it at Eric, but it was a mere solidarity action. She really didn't know what to do. As a result, Miguel switched target, now aiming at Evee's forehead. Allison could only gasp and freeze.

"Put down your weapons, hijo de puta!" Miguel roared.

"You put down your weapons!" Bill replied cockily. "We have a mole in this ship and it ain't me! Might as well you feeding us to the Zhanzheng deGuang!"

"This is Federated Commonwealth ship! Put down your weapons before it is too late!"

But it was too late for the mercenaries. Half a dozen soldiers burst into the command room. Two soldiers sandwiched Allison and escorted her out of the scene, the rest cocked their Rorynex machine gun and shoved the barrels at Bill's and Evee's head. Evee quickly dropped her gun, but Bill was still adamant. He was not discouraged by the soldiers and moved forward, lining up his gun with Kyle's head.

Suddenly the ship quaked hard, knocking down people that were locked in the standoff. Warning sound blared while alarm lights blitzed. Three successive tremor followed up the quake, and there was a twisting, sickening groan of metal as if the ship was crunched underneath a giant foot.

"What is happening?" Kyle sprinted toward the tactical officer. "Are we under attack?"

"We have an explosion, Sir! Bay two… oh no! It's one of the civilian's trucks, Sir! The truck exploded! We have damages and fire in sector G, J, K, M, and Q!"

"The damn traitor is a civilian!" Natalie pointed out. "All this time we are defending them…"

A second quake, much stronger than the first, rocked the ship. Lights went out and sparks burst from the ceiling. The secondary generator kicked in, and smoke seeped into the room. Half of the screen burst.

"Damage report!" Kyle screamed.

"Ammunition storage is set fire, Sir! This ship is sinking! Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Everybody to the lifepod!"

Under the screeching alarm, blitzing light, and shower of sparks, everybody sprinted toward the lifepods. They soon joined hundreds of ship crews and civilians that raced for their lives, stuffing themselves into the pods out of the dying ship. But to their horror, half of the lifepods had been destroyed by the explosions. Civilians quickly scrambled the remaining pods, while others cried and screamed in panic as the bitter realization came to their mind. They were stranded in space inside a burning ship.

"We're gonna die, are we?" Allison blubbered in panic. "We're gonna die!"

"Calm down Allison!" Evee tried to suppress her anxiety. "There must be a way to escape!"

"They still have dropships in the adjacent bay!" Bill pointed out. "That's our escape!"

"But bay two is on fire! How do we get into the dropship?" Evee asked.

"I don't know, but if you want to stay here, be my guest!"

Evee didn't have a choice. She followed Bill, grabbing Allison's hand. Others saw them running toward the other bay, and they followed the three. When they came at bay two, they realized that there were not one but two dropships, enough for everybody. But fire raged out of control, and it was impossible to reach the dropship.

"I'll get my mech," Bill said, and like a reckless teen jumped into the fire and sprinted toward his mech. He stripped his burning clothes and quickly jumped into the elevator, hoisting him up to the cockpit of his Quickdraw. He got in the cockpit and started the 60-ton mech. Using his mech's arms, Bill moved some debris, creating a bridge from the door toward the dropships.

"How the hell did he do that?" Natalie was spooked.

"If we all get out of here alive, ask him yourself, because I don't know," Evee replied.

"Alright, get your mechs to dropship on the right and get everybody else to dropship on the left! This ship's gonna blow any second!" Kyle quickly took control of the situation. "Go!"

As the civilians storm the dropship, Evee and Allison sprinted toward their respective mechs. The temperature spiked the heat level to orange, but they paced their mechs as fast as they could. The Shooting Stars followed two steps behind him, and the ship's crew quickly took control of the dropship's consoles. The dropships started up, and everybody had been secured in the dropships. Everybody except Bill and his Quickdraw.

As the big mech stepped on the ramp of the dropship, a huge explosion ripped the hangar. The FCS Farragut broke into two parts, and the Quickdraw was thrown into the space, into eternal void.

"No! Bill!" Evee cried out, reaching out her mech's hand in an attempt to grab Bill, but it was too late. The Quickdraw spun in the dark space, and the image of the 60-ton mech diminished as the dropship's door rumbled close. The dropship quaked and blasted off, leaving the dying ship, and flew toward Carver V. But Evee wished she were out there instead of Bill. She didn't feel she deserved the luxury, but Bill certainly did. It was almost surreal, thinking about the fact that Bill was an ex pirate. But it might be the reason why Redjack Ryan put so much money on Bill's head. The honorable deed Bill made didn't fit well with Ryan's judgment.

Evee would never know.

Next on Escape from Carver V:

"Here's the situation: we are alone in Carver V. We are cut off, and I think it's unwise to ask for help at this moment. We still don't know who did this mess. If he is still with us, he'll know about the reinforcement. Soon enough Zhanzheng deGuang will come to us, guns blazing."
"I understand. Do you have a plan?"
"For now, the dropships are still the best place for the civilians, until I have a report from my lance. I want you, Allison, and Kangpae to guard the civilians. Don't let anything come close to them. Can you do that?"
"I'm scared. Are we going to make it, Captain?"
"We have to. We will survive. You have to believe it and make it happen."