Chapter 6: Huntdown
Atlas and Lenora rushed down to the docks. A quick glimpse they were seen by the draconians. "Faster, keep running!" Atlas barked. The hunting party fires plasma weapons at them as they already identified of them by appearance. Successful once again, they boarded the Folkvangr and the battleship departs with high speed thanks to its new reactor.
"Atlas; Callan needs you at the bridge." Paul says to him in haste of fixing the minor damage of the ship's inner hull. He goes there with Lenora in tow. Multiple shockwave hit the ship with the light still in red as the ship is still in combat. "Atlas, you're here." Callan braced at the table of the shockwave. "Shield at 80 percent!" one of the bridge crew shouted in warning. The captain personally adjusted the power output to maneuver out of the battle only to see a draconian carrier elevated upwards behind its escort ships. "Turrets, fire directly at the launching bay of the carrier!" The command of the captain rang out. Atlas pulled one of the gunner crew that is operating the console and take the shot himself with the other gunners. Having the experience, he landed the salvo in multiple succession. Camilla turns the vessel hard as her instinct's kicks in. Folkvangr T bone ramming a battleship that uses optical camouflage.
"Shield at 20 percent!" the operator yelled. "Fuck, we won't make it!" As soon as Callan says that the enemy stops firing. It directly hailed at the ship while breaking through the ship's communication receiver. "Estcallian vessel, surrender immediately. I Orlan the commander of this task force will guarantee your safety of your people as long as you remain under my wing." The prideful humanoid with dragon wings says his intention directly. The captain full throttled the ship engine. Lenora steps into view of the communicator.
"You are not worthy to serve; you have butchered our planets and now you gave mercy at us out of pity?" Lenora answers him full of hatred.
Laughter of multiple people including the dragon commander is heard by them, he then signals them to stop. "We are all just the same, your past coalition just to defend against us and our combined parliament forces that aligned with us to secure this fraction of the universe under one rule; after all, we have seen a massive unknown black fleet flying by inside our sectors before and know there is a much stronger foe out there. In the end, all of them is just getting butchered until the last one survives. That's why we will conquer before being conquered." He pauses his words before continuing after confirming who the female Sakhalin fox is. Atlas is shocked of hearing it. The event must occur when he was missing before. The Imperial Cybran Empire must cause some stir amongst the galaxy during their search of their lost Emperor. If they have caused it, there must be other factions that have done the same. The thought alone makes him lean back at the wall away from the others eyes, thinking what they have done.
"The Estcallian resisted us and rise up with other minor houses saying that the black fleets are just visitors, ignoring our call to arms. Instead of joining us, you have sealed your fate as the traitors of the whole Federations. Who would have thought that the royal family of Leonard's wanted to marry the Zithra that have allied with us over a century now? It would seem that your father is an Idiot who did not research very well of their allegiance and dreamed off too far. Especially his advisor." He mocked her. She steeled herself of those words.
"You piece of s-" Callan bust out of anger, Atlas stopped him and shakes his head. He pointed out at the star chart that they are nearly at long range communication. "Nothing to say in return princess? I say you are really beautiful; you would be perfect as my slave. Why don't you return here and makes things easier for us? You are the only left that is resisting our rule. The others have fallen." The Draconian says it to her. Lenora clenches her fist in anger. As she was about to say something, Atlas tapped her shoulder and takes the lead; she looked at him in confusion. The Draconian commander looks at him with amusement. "Hoh, who is this now? An assassin covered in jet black or a blackguard of the royal family?" Making fun of Atlas's appearance.
"No, we will not comply." Atlas answers shortly. "Very well then, I will give you a head start for our hunt to be much more fun than before. You will join your peoples soon enough in the afterlife." Speak out of confidence that they already know that they will win. Lenora from the back sees Atlas stands in attention differently that the others have done. He pulls the long laser assault rifle that he hides behind his cloak and extends it to its normal length. He slammed the buttstock hardly to the metal floor as the sound rang across the bridge, making the others sees what he is doing. The rifle barrel pointed arc to the projected enemy commander. It was a custom of the cybrans; to challenge a duel to someone using that pose while pointing the arched barrel to the foe. "And those black ships will once more come on this sector, this time to make it their own while devouring the draconians souls and those people that did not submit to them. Only because 'you' did not let this warship to arrive at its destination unharmed. They would sure to enjoy this. The Imperial Cybran Empire. Especially the emperor." Atlas looks at him with sharp eyes; piercing his soul, making him cut the communication.
The captain is first to ask Atlas. "Atlas who really are you?" Hearing the words of the captain, he hides the assault rifle back at his cloak. All of them watched him as the ship speeds toward the given coordinates. "I am not the owner of this body as he is already dead, that is why I don't know anything of this part of the galaxy." He answers shortly. "Then you're from?" Callan asked as Lenora sits near Atlas. "I am from the Imperial Cybran Empire, don't worry; they are not hostile of you. The ICE will accept you with open arms as their comrades, that is all I can guarantee." All of them quiet down as Atlas leaves the bridge to change out his clothes in his room and to finish recalibrating his space fighter. "Sir, can we trust Atlas? What if they wanted to sold us off to the Empire?" one of the crew members asked him, making them starts a conversation with each others of the topic and look at the Princess. "You idiots, if he wanted to do that; why does he is the first to respond quickly from the Zithra attacking us and orders us to evacuate during that attack." What the captain said quiets them down.
Atlas recalibrated all the wirings inside the hastily assembled space fighter. The hangar is near empty of people, only a handful of technicians and engineers are seen building the hydroponic room to create extra ration based on planting edible plants. "Why the hell did I always do this, and to get into this sort of situation; even in other borrowed body." He begins doubting himself. Thinking of it as a curse that his uncle gives to him. A few hours have passed as Atlas finally finished the space fighter while swearing nonstop to his uncle. He sees a glimpse of Lenora walking to the civilian room section. "What a good princess; taking care of her fellow citizens." He smiles of remembering his younger self before they find the new capital planet. Folkvangr suddenly receive an impact shock; making Atlas run to the bridge again.
"What happened?" The arriving Atlas questions the fearful face of Callan. Atlas finally see what the captain and Callan are watching. They are being chased by a single fleet with a single high-speed warship flanking them both port and starboard; Folkvangr return fire with its insufficient crews. Seeing they are so close to the edge of the empty void; Atlas makes the decision. "I think it is time… Open the launching maglevs…" He looked at the captain who is surprised by his decision. "Open it now!" He yelled at her. Camilla did not open it; she thinks that Atlas is not thinking rationally. The button is pressed by Callan, she looked at him in of what he has done in disbelief. Atlas ran off from the bridge; Lenora was standing the entrance, overhearing what he just said. Her hand is shaking; trying to stop him. Atlas stops near her. "My gear is in my room…" He immediately run to the hangar after saying to her face full of tears. Her mended heart by Atlas once more shatters as he left her by herself.
Without thinking twice, he taxies his space fighter to the maglev launchers after wearing the anti-gravity suit. With the front end of the space fighter hooked, it launched at high speed. Atlas purposefully left the open communication to Folkvangr. "Keep going, I will hold them off." Ordered Atlas while dodging oncoming fire using the rolling scissor maneuver from the port side of Folkvangr; Camilla, Lenora, Maya and Callan see what he is doing directly on the feed camera that Atlas have placed beforehand on the tail of the fighter. The targeted enemy warship thrusters are destroyed as He flies pass. Absorbing the high gravity turn from the Immelmann and low barrel roll he performed; Atlas coughed out blood of the pass maximum strain the G-suits can handle. He nearly passed out only to be awake again by Lenora's voice. He gives a smile to her while he tilted his fighter; passing the Folkvangr bridge to the starboard side. Directing the attention of the last high-speed warship, he fights it head on. Few of the gunfire managed to hit his fighter as the cockpit begins to crack. Another one grazes its right wing.
He overrides the charging capacity of the laser lances and fires it at the bridge. The impact can be seen as it explodes when Atlas fly half over the warship. Another high gravity idle maneuver is executed by him to destroy the thrusters. He vomits up blood and breathe erratically, trying to gasp for air. "Atlas, that is enough! Return to the ship!" Maya cried out for him but he only returns a grin of his blood marked lips as he headed directly to the fleet flagship. Camilla cannot see his blood-filled face much more and angled her captain hat to cover her eyes. Few interceptors from the main fleet tries to stop him as he approaches at break neck speed to the flagship. He tries to fire the main lances again but it malfunctioned due to the overcharged shot. Few of the interceptor's fires homing missiles at him as he dodges it. Five managed to hit him as the outer layer of the fighter begins to peel off piece by piece. He gunned a few of them down while receiving the flagship fire from its close in weapon systems.
Without a choice left, he directed his fighter to the bridge at full speed and rammed it. The fighter pierced the bridge and sucks out a few of the bridge crew before the secondary bridge protective layer is activated. The Estcallians still sees the view from the camera as it falls near the back of the cockpit. Atlas collar bones are broken during the impact as the safety harness snaps. The commander appears into the sight of the camera. He clears the broken cockpit glass and grab Atlas by the neck. The communicator barely works as they hear the words of the Draconian commander "Pretty brave for an Estcallian." Orlan says to him. He is unable to retaliate as every single muscle in his body is in pain after the impact. "Any last words, brave pilot?" He amuses himself while holding up Atlas in the air. "F…for the…Cybrans and…Estcallia…" He clicked his tongue as the last word that Atlas spokes to him, Orlan stabbed his heart using his sharp tail, blood gushes out of the empty hole; The commander gives a satisfying smile of killing him. He holds the body of Atlas and sees the camera. Orlan shows it in front of it; the dead lifeless body, the face of Atlas accepting his death with a grin as his eyes closes. He is thrown away by Orlan as seen on the camera.
He crushes the camera and a few shots is heard before the communicator finally broke down. Lenora cried silently while Maya embraces her, trying to give her comfort. A voice message is sent to the Folkvangr. Callan that barely hold himself in; opens the voice message. "You have quite a subordinate princess, for his bravery; I will let the empty void consumes you since I have wasted enough weapons just to kill him. Don't worry, you will be joining him sooner or later." Hearing the message, Lenora pushes off Maya lightly and walked to Atlas room covered with vengeful tears. She locked herself in the room, as she sees Atlas's equipment left on the bed and his uniform during his visit at the Estcallian palace. She takes the handkerchief as a digital note chip fall from it.
Lenora opens it. 'Hey Lena; if you see this, I am probably be dead by now. Don't forget what you promise to me. Find the real me… -Atlas' After reading the note she curls up at the bed as her tears continues. "I promise…" She slowly says it, forcing a smile while hugging the handkerchief to her chest. Folkvangr moves deeper into the empty void.