11

Chapter 55

"General…the humans,"

Lo-Chem slowly lifted his head…his eyes peering through the young man standing before him.

Lo-Chem nodded his head.

Lo-Chem entered the command center. He placed himself in front of the large window at the fore section of the room.

He stared vacantly out at the star field before him; he crossed his arms…and stood silently.

His men glanced at him precariously; they're eyes were both fearful and apprehensive.

"Time?" he muttered. He spoke elusively.

One of his men slowly stepped forward; he averted his eyes nervously.

"Ten minutes approximately,"

Several moments passed in silence.

"Readings?" he replied in the same manner.

The young man gulped impulsively. He felt an indiscriminate need to cry or scream…but forced himself to speak.

"None…conclusive,"

"We will wait," he said quietly.

"Time to intercept?"

Theuma did not move his eyes from his console.

"Ten minutes,"

David silently nodded. He could feel a pit in his stomach developing.

"Any readings?"

"We're not close enough sir,"

David mused over the information for a moment…stroking his chin.

As the moments passed…he could feel his anxiety slowly growing.

David rose to his feet…and approached the conn…his legs jelly as he moved.

"Dick," he said quietly.

Dickie turned to look at David…the same bitter look in his eyes.

"What?" he hissed.

David examined his face for several minutes…searching his expression for some semblance of vulnerability.

"Dick," he said again quietly.

Dickie started to see the softness in David's eyes; he could…for the first time…see the apprehension and anxiety.

"I need your help,"

For a moment…Dickie felt a reflexing of his bitterness; an impulse to rebuke and repulse.

He pictured himself crossing his arms and stomping his feet; or reminding David of the futility of their outing.

But he saw something in David he had never seen before; something he never would have dreamed would have existed.

He saw something of himself in him; he could see that the man he'd known all of this time…since they were but students…was just an outer-shell.

It was a cover…to hide the inner struggle. The inner pain.

The inner terror.

For a split second…Dickie didn't feel so alone.

Dickie's bitter face softened slightly; the sour glare shrunk by several inches…and he even let some of the emotion in his eyes slip into the bordering edges of his face.

"We need a plan," he said gruffly but quietly.

David affirmed his statement with his eyes.

"What do you suggest?"

Dickie mused for several moments.

"I have an idea," he said quietly…his face lighting up slightly.

The battered Republic flashed out of warp…her fractured hull glistening in the light of a nearby sun.

She drifted slowly forward…keeping its distance from the alien ship.

From her nacelle bled copious amounts of exhaust; it whipped and swirled behind her as she limped forward like a wounded deer being stalked by a rabid wolf.

The alien ship remained stagnate…waiting for its prey.

"That's all I can give you, David," Ed spoke from the comm.

David silently nodded.

"Lets hope it works," he whispered.

A sound escaped from a station behind him.

David swiveled his chair…studying the comm officer with his eyes.

"Commander,"

David kept his eyes fixed.

The comm officer's lower lip began quivering slightly.

"They're hailing us," her voice faltered and whimpered as she spoke.

David let a moment pass in silence…apprehensive to move forward.

He turned around and glanced at Dickie…the two nodding to each other.

"On screen," he said quietly.

` "Earth ship," Lo-Chem said quietly.

"Let them wait…let them come to you,"

Lo-Chem nodded.

"They will become frustrated…and attack without poise,"

All they could hear was static…and a garbled, alien language.

David shot a glance at Theuma…a look of forced irritation on his face.

He glanced down at his hand; he just now noticed…it had been shaking.

"Comm," he forced out quietly.

He inwardly sighed…feeling his anxiety washing over him like a river.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He grabbed his hand and steadied it.

"Can you translate?" he said a little louder.

Before the comm officer could answer…a recognizable word escaped from the comm system.

"This is General Lo-Chem,"

He turned and glanced over at one of his men; the young man nodded to the General.

The voice sent a chill up David's spine; it was so cold and empty.

"This is Lieutenant Commander David Moore, acting captain of the Federation starship Republic,"

"Republic!" Lo-Chem hissed under his breath.

"We," David said quietly.

He hesitated…stumbling over his own words.

He felt a wave of disgust wash over him.

"We've come…to surrender," he clenched his jaw as soon as the words left his lips.

"We are helplessly damaged,"

"Its true, sir," the young soldier said aloud.

"Commander Moore," Lo-Chem replied…the words dripping off his lips disingenuously.

"I would be happy to discuss the terms of your surrender,"

The voice echoed in David's head; it sounded so familiar.

"We are prepared to send a shuttle over…myself and one other. I ask you to give me your word you can guarantee our safety,"

"I promise," Lo-Chem said…an unnerving grin spreading across his lips.

"Send your shuttle, Commander."

Lo-Chem gave the sign to end the call.

"Strike them! Strike them hard! They are like a wounded animal! Leave no one alive!"

Lo-Chem slowly turned to his weapons officer.

"When we have their Commander, finish them off,"

The soldier nodded; fear and reluctance bled from his eyes.

The shuttle's engines roared to life. It slowly hovered in its place…then pushed forward.

It swooshed through the force field…creating a ripple from it protruded.

It dragged along through the vacuum of space…at a snails pace.

Lo-Chem watched the small craft move slowly towards their ship.

"Something is not right,"

Lo-Chem quickly cocked his head towards the young soldier from before.

The young soldier shook with fear; he sheepishly returned Lo-Chem's stare.

"General…it's a trick! They're ship is full operational! They fooled our sensors!"

The General snapped his head back towards the window.

"Now!" David shouted.

Wong nodded his head and his fingers danced over his console.

Lo-Chem watched as the small space-craft picked up speed; his eyes widened as it collided with the belly of their ship.

"Nooooooo!"

Lo-Chem was thrown ten feet from the impact; he collided with a bulkhead…watching as the room around him erupted into chaos.

"Payback," David whispered.

He nodded to Wong; again…Wong worked his controls.

The shuttlecraft lodged in the belly of the alien ship erupted into a cataclysmic explosion.

Orange and red flames swirled and bellowed; chunks of twisted and burnt metal showered the vicinity.

"General! We've lost main power! We have hull breaches on twelve decks!"

Lo-Chem fearfully looked around at the swarming mess; screams of agony and fear swirled around him. The voices penetrated his thoughts.

Alert sounds roared and echoed.

Lo-Chem slowly collapsed into a pool of his own whimpering agony.

"No!" he cried.

"My duty! MY DUTY!"

He frantically ran his hands over his head and face.

"Father! What do I do!?"

Everything stopped for a moment; the chaos paused and all became quiet as Lo-Chem waited for a reply.

He began hearing slow laughter; a strained and cough-inducing laughter.

Lo-Chem cocked his head and furrowed his brow in frustration.

"Father," he said quietly. "What is so funny?"

A moment passed; dead silence.

Lo-Chem started breathing quicker and heavier as he waited.

"Father…please," he whimpered.

He could hear a wave of coughing…than more laughter.

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY!?"

"You,"

Tears started streaming down his face; Lo-Chem collapsed into a puddle on the floor…cover his face with his hands.

"Noooooooo…Father, please!" he got out through tears.

"Fire!" David roared…leaping to his feet.

The Republic flew forward…unleashing a relentless volley of dazzling orange laser beams and balls of light.

The lights collided with the alien ship…creating a devastating mass of flames and torn fragments of metal.

A huge gash opened at the center…the structure slowly splitting down the middle.

Lo-Chem slowly got to his feet…completely oblivious to anything happening around him.

He feverishly slipped out of the command center…and began running on down the corridor like a mad man.

"Ed," David said, hitting his comm panel. "Get our people out of there!"

"I can only get a few at a time! Transporters aren't at a hundred percent,"

"Do it!"

Lo-Chem…weapon in hand…ripped the cell door open.

He scrambled inside and yanked the young girl by her arm to her feet…pressing the gun to her forheard.

"COME HERE!" he screamed ferociously.

She trembled with fear…and her eyes filled with liquid. She nodded her anxiously…holding back her terror.

"David…look!"

David's eyes shot to the viewscreen.

In a split second…the tattered fragments of the alien ship erupted into one huge ball of glistening flames…then disintegrated into flying chunks of flaming debris.

David felt his heart sink to his stomach; he slowly fell back into his chair…a vacant look of devastation in his eyes.

"I…I failed…" he whispered.

He sat there for several moments…silent.

He could hear the voices of the dead…screaming in his ears.

A tear formed in the corner of his eye; he felt like he wanted to die along with them.

"How many?" he asked quietly.

"We got four,"

Before David could process the information…he heard a sound erupt from Wong's console.

"Commander, I'm picking up signal!"

David glanced up…half-disinterested.

"I'm picking up two life signs on the planet! One of them is Human!"

David growled; an uncontrollable rage poured into his eyes.

Dickie looked over; he caught a glimpse of the rabid anger coursing through David's body.

He recognized the intensity in his eyes; the same look he'd seen when he'd tried to mutiny.

This time though…Dickie knew he had to do something.