Author's Note: 2 and a half month late! This must be a new record. However for those of you still reading, you'll be pleased that I did not abandon this story nor will I. I'll see it through till the end. Hope you like chapter 12.
Chapter 12
Without looking back, Beka and Rhade exited the medical bay, securing the door behind them. They made it through several hallways on their way to command. On deck seven, Rhade suddenly heard a mass of approaching footsteps. He looked around and noticed a spot in the wall where several metal plates had been damaged, creating a deep hollowed grove. It would surve as a temporary safe house, he decided, and before Beka could protest, pulled her into the indentation within the wall after him. The first officer was about to demand an explanation, but Rhade quickly covered her mouth with the palm of his hand, indicating that she had to be quiet. Seconds later a wave of Magog rushed through the same corridor they had occupied seconds ago. From the opposite corner, Beka and Rhade could hear more crashes and detentions.
"You don't think we're going to make it," Beka could barely make out Rhade's comment even though he was right next to her.
"What?" she yelled over the noise of weapon's fire.
"You don't think we'll survive," he stated clearly, looking into her eyes. "That's why you were able to make that promise to Tristan. You do not think that you'll live long enough to face its consequences."
As Beka stared back at him, Telemachus could see the expression on her face change from anxiety and fear to that of anger. The next thing he knew was the sharp stinging pain from the smack of her hand that landed upside his head. Rubbing the soar spot, Telemachus gave her a both amazed and questioning look. Beka was furious.
"I don't know if you noticed," she shouted at him, the threat of Mogog momentarily forgotten, "but about two minutes ago, I became someone's mother! That makes Tristan my first and foremost responsibility, and this Valentine keeps her promises. I have an obligation to survive for my son."
She turned away from the Nietzschean and risked a look behind the corner to see if it was safe to move, but Telemachus couldn't tear his eyes from her. Pride swelled deep within his chest, and he once again marveled in wonder at what an amazing woman she was. Beka fell back into the grove in the walls another wave of fire passed through the corridor.
"Then," Telemachus said, "I would like you to promise me something as well." She glanced at him, weary of what he was about to ask, but Rhade only smiled. "I would like you to promise that after this is all over, you will do me the honor of accompanying me to the little club I mentioned a few months ago."
Beka couldn't believe what she was hearing and gave a short laugh. "You're asking me out now?"
"I figured that this is the best time I can hope to get a satisfactory answer," he shrugged his shoulders.
"Alright," Beka agreed despite her better judgment. "We live through this, and you can take me out to dinner afterwards."
"That's all the motivation I need," Telemachus pulled out his force lance as he stood, getting ready to fight once again. The only difference was, now he was no longer fighting only for his own survival. Now he was fighting for a possible family.
After fighting their way through several waves of Magog, Rhade and Beka arrived in command where Dylan and Trance were already preparing a counter wtrike. On the main screan, floated a huge image of the massive world ship. The captain glanced over his shoulder at the newly arrived officers.
"Harper and Rommie are in the machine shop getting the new weapons ready," Dylan quickly filled them in. "We're not sure why, but the core AI seems to have malfunctioned and Andromeda couldn't warn us about the attack."
"We're on manual?" Beka asked as she ran to the pilot's counsel.
"More or less," Dylan affirmed. "Life support and communication with the crew on middle and lower decks are still under our controls. So are some basic defensive weapons, but that's about it."
"Wonderful," she muttered under her breath. "Hang on to something people. This is gonna be a bumpy ride."
She wasn't kidding. Though Beka's piloting skills were superb and she maneuvered the Andromeda through the swarm of Magog ships quite well, even Beka couldn't prevent the impacts of the smaller ships against Andromeda's hull. The entire cruiser shook violently.
On the upper deck, Kali felt the afer shock of another explosion outside. She stumbled for a moment then regained her footing. Looking over her shoulder, Kali took note with some degree of pleasure of the countless carcasses of Magog that lined her path. She turned a corner and was overjoyed to see her troops coming towards her.
"Are you guys waiting to be Magog chow or are we getting the hell outa here?" she called to them.
At first the men looked happy to see her, then as one, their faces turned ghastly pale. Kali frowned.
"Commander, look out!" one of them shouted pointing behind her. Kali turned, but all she saw was a curtain of crimson.
Haper came to the conclusion that fear was the best motivator. He would have sworn that he hadn't thought so quickly in his life. Things just came together in his mind; formulas, ideas, and ways to build the ultimate weapon to implement them. He was close to compellation when the captains voice came over the com system.
"What's your status, Mr. Harper? Sometime today would be nice."
"I'm almost done, I'm almost… done!" Harper announced in triumph.
"Good, now how does it work?"
"Well, boss, this little baby," Harper tapped the side of the massive bomb with his knuckles, "is the love child of a point singularity weapon and those pesky little negative ions from the hell universe. Delivered into this world by some anti-matter borrowed from our slip drive and your usual Earth genius, she's guarantied to leave all her predecessors, including her big sister, the nova bomb, in the dust."
"How does it work, Harper!" Dylan sounded very impatient.
"Ah you launch it the way you would a nova bomb," Harper explained, "into the heart of the World Ship's sun. When it explodes, the combination of negative ions and anti matter basically chews apart the infra structure of the World Ship. Then the point singularity kicks in and creates several miniature black holes that suck up the rest of the junk. Not even the Abyss would be able to pull it back together."
"Excelent," the captain was pleased. "Launch it."