ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE
STAR BLAZERS—ENDGAME
Being the ninth part of THE NEW COMET-- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz
This Act is being completed with the Cooperation and Assistance of Derek A.C. Wakefield (as usual)
Thanks also to Gail Kopetz (Fluffy! My Wife!) and Ami Meitsu for helping to inspire me….
Note: This chapter contains some mature content…just wanted to warn you…
ACT TWO: TWO BULLETS…
I. FLASHBACKS
A Limestone Cave
Planet Demonranstra
Sunday, July 26, 2207: 0812 Hours Earth Space-Time
"Do you know something?" Deke Wakefield said while he sat finishing his survival ration breakfast with Dawn.
"What?"
"When you had that nightmare five hours ago about Jeff being killed, it reminded me of when I used to comfort my sister Kathi. Remember Kathi?"
"She was cute," said Dawn. "Thanks to her being killed in the war, she never got to grow up. I wonder if she would have liked sitting here trapped in this rotten cave with us?"
"She would have been playing house with us," said Deke.
"You and that Starventura doll," sighed Dawn. "A girl adventurer daredevil type in that purple jumpsuit. Purple bellbottoms."
"She was cute," said Deke.
"For a while, she was your girlfriend," grunted Dawn. "The first other woman I got jealous of. And that long blond hair." Then, a crazy thought hit Dawn. "Did you marry Sasha because she kind of looks like Starventura?"
"Yes and no," said Deke. "I haven't thought about Starventura for years. I bet those things would go for several thousand credits now as some kind of Gamilon War antique. You know anyone else who had or still has one?"
"One lady I know still has hers…I think," said Dawn.
Deke began drumming with his drumsticks, and, to his surprise, Dawn grinned and revealed a pair of sticks she had found in the jungle and had whittled into crude drumsticks last night when she had been on watch. The two of them began drumming a cadence against a rock formation for a moment, until Dawn stopped and blurted out, "Deke!"
"Yeah?"
"Now I remember! That time when I yelled at you for changing Star?"
"The doll?"
Dawn nodded. "I told you that you were not supposed to be looking at her naked," teased Dawn.
"Well, bullshit!" said Deke. "How was I supposed to change her if I didn't look?"
"Does Sasha have a purple jumpsuit?" teased Dawn.
"Please…not a good time to bring her up," snapped Deke. "Especially since it may be debatable if I ever see her again!"
"Sorry," said Dawn.
In the meantime, on the Argo, efforts to repair the battered ship were still ongoing as the heat gradually dissipated. The internal temperature was now maybe 90 degrees as Nova only had to get one more climate control unit back on line. If she could do so today, temperatures would be back to normal a day later.
Diane Henson, who now worked in a pair of male-patterned slacks, a bikini top, and thongs, knelt beside a panel in the engine room as Wildstar, clad in his uniform top, shorts, and shower thongs, came down, observing her working with a very greasy Tim Orion (who had on an undershirt and his slacks) and some other crew members.
"How is the work going?" he asked.
"Fairly good, so far," said Diane. "We might be able to get the wave motion engine back on line in the next two days. Good thing, too, because the batteries are running low."
"How bad?" said Wildstar.
"We have to get the engine back on-line in forty-eight hours or we'll begin having to cut down more in the way of shipboard functions."
"That bad, huh?" said Wildstar.
"Yeah," said Diane. "But I think we can do it. I think."
"If we aren't able to do it," said Wildstar. "I…I don't want to think about it! Just do it!" he snapped.
"Yessir," said Henson as she saluted.
A while later, Derek found Nova in the life support area, where she was making the final repairs to one of the air conditioning units in her skirt, sandals, and a standard shirt tied under her breasts that showed her sweaty, pregnant midriff.
"Hi," Nova said as she extricated her head from the unit, saluted Derek, then gave him a quick kiss. Derek gave his pregnant wife's stomach a pat in return and hugged her.
"You look like you need a drink," Derek said. "Thanks for working so hard."
"I'm almost done with this," Nova said. She wiped her face with a rag, made sure her gloves were on securely, and she went back into the unit. "How are the engine repairs going, Derek? The batteries are starting to get low; I know that."
"Henson says sometime in the next two days. I told her to rush it."
"If we don't have full power in thirty-six hours, we're going to have to cut artificial gravity and lighting to two decks," Nova said. "These climate control units have been working overtime since we're so close to that star. And if we can't move in two days….I don't like the thought of the radiation buildup, either."
"Nova?" said Derek.
"Talk to Sandor. He and Bando just found that the star seems to be becoming more active…." Nova then extricated her head from the unit, smiled, and said, "I'm about to try to turn it on now, Derek. I'll cross my fingers and toes that it works."
Commodore Wildstar looked down, and noticed Nova crossing her gloved fingers before putting her hands on the switch. She crossed her bare toes on her sandaled right foot and pulled down the power switch.
The unit coughed, sputtered, and roared to life as Nova wiped her brow and smiled. "Thank God! That's done! If that star doesn't go crazy, we should have normal shipboard temperatures again in about ten hours. But what do we do if we get attacked?"
Derek took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about all of the possibilities, none of them good. We'd have to depend on the Black Tigers and missiles until we have enough energy back on-line to run the main guns or the wave motion gun."
"And what about that missing gun turret on the fantail?"
"Nova, we have the hole patched over. Unless we can find a lot of metal somewhere and have ten uninterrupted days like after the battle of the Rainbow Star Cluster where we rebuilt the ship's keel….and we got that metal only by cannibalizing the wrecks of three Gamilon spacecraft carriers…we can't build a new turret short of a dockyard!"
"Oh," Nova said. "I'm sorry I upset you."
"It's not you, it's this damn situation we're in…half-defeated, half-wrecked…marooned…"
She put up her hand and coughed. "I know. We are not in a good situation right now. I hope Deke and Dawn are still alive," Nova said.
"The chances of that are very small, I hate to tell you," Derek said.
"I've been talking with Sasha. When she is not crying her eyes out, she says she can still feel Deke through their bond, Derek. Ergo, would logic not dictate that for her to feel him, he must be alive?"
"Logic, huh? Okay, genius! Write me a formal proof and leave it on my desk in the morning," said Derek with a little grin.
Nova tapped her foot. "Sometimes, you are impossible!"
Another Living Group enlisted person came up to Nova, saluted and said, "Ma'am, we are having trouble with one of the refrigerator units in the galley again. Can you look at it?"
Nova nodded and said, "I'll see you later, sir," to Derek.
Derek nodded and said, "Good luck with that unit."
Nova winked at her husband as she left.
II. MORE FLASHBACKS
The Eritz Gatlantis
Three Lightyears Away From Planet Demonranstra
Monday, July 27, 2207: 0900 Hours Earth Space-Time
The New Comet bristled with power as it roared through space a few star systems away from Demonranstra as Invidia's forces continued to look for the Argo so that they could either capture or destroy her.
Princess Invidia looked miserable as she sat on her throne while various officers made reports. "Some of the repairs are still underway, Princess," said Gorse. "Until then, our warp capabilities will be somewhat compromised."
"Not important," Invidia snapped. "Have you found the Argo yet?"
"There are fifteen star systems within three lightyears' diameter of Demonranstra to begin the search," said another General, who was named Mekis. "We have not detected any signals from the Argo in days. It is possible they may already be destroyed."
"No," said a deep, cruel voice as Ekogaru walked into the room in Stovall's body, leaning on a staff. "They are still alive."
"And you can't tell me where they are?" snapped Invidia.
"Sasha of Iscandar is being careful to hide her presence, even though I wish she was here for me to torture!" said Ekogaru. "Unless she does something extreme, the best that I can tell you is that they are maybe twenty lightyears away from us. I believe it is somewhat hard for this wreck of a city-ship to warp about now?"
"Do not call my ship a wreck," snapped Invidia.
"To make matters worse, one of our recon fleets made contact with a fleet from Radnar's side earlier today, Princess," said Mekis. "If Radnar finds us, we would have a hard time defending ourselves."
Invidia slammed a fist against the arm of her throne and sighed as tears came to her eyes. "Perhaps we should take this as a sign that the Earthlings have earned their freedom and call this whole thing off. You and Dyre were right, Gorse."
"While we can still fight?" snapped Gorse.
"Who gives the orders here?" said Invidia. "You, or I, Gorse?"
Ekogaru then came up to her and slapped her across the face. "And who props you up on your teetering throne, you piece of filth? Not your generals, not yourself, but I! I keep you alive and breathing for one reason! You are useful to me!"
"Why?" demanded Invidia as she rubbed her face.
"Someday, someday, I will bring back my own Empire and the power of the enhanced cyborg machine! Through my science, we can live forever!" Ekogaru roared. "Do you doubt my power, you snot?" he roared at Invidia.
"Stop speaking that way to our Princess," snapped Gorse.
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" roared Ekogaru as he tapped Gorse hard in the chest. "The only reason I let you people live is to weaken the Earthlings! I will have you know that in ten years, twenty years, thirty years, you and the Earthlings will BOTH be bowing to me as your new god! And gladly, since I will let you all live forever, so long as you worship me! That is why I let you live! You and the Earthlings have been manipulated into hurting each other like scorpions in a bottle! Don't you realize that yet? You two are both primitive filth to me, using primitive weapons, hardly better than cavemen fighting with sticks and rocks! Remember your place and role in life when you speak to me!"
Invidia was about to retort when Duchess Caella came in, knelt before Ekogaru, and kissed his feet! "Please do not hurt us," she cooed. "My cousin Invidia and her men have not been well lately. They understand your great superiority, O Lordship, and they will listen to your most wise counsel. Won't you, Invidia, my darling?"
Invidia, dumbstruck, just nodded.
"I thought you hated what your cousin was doing to the Earthlings," said Ekogaru as he rubbed Caella's hair.
"She's smart, but sometimes, I'm smarter than her because I'm older," cooed Caella. "Maybe we need to be meanies until they realize how great you are, Ekogaru, Lord…"
"How is your Earthling pet male?" purred Ekogaru.
"He's really cute, and really, really, really sexy, too," said Caella. "Like you!"
Ekogaru spat on her. "I do not sleep with the likes of you, Duchess," he snapped. "That is to be made clear, once, and for all time! Are we clear on that?"
"Who kept you from being picked on when we had the playroom, Invidia?" sobbed Caella.
"I don't want to be reminded of that," snapped Invidia. "You were always so spoiled!"
Ekogaru clapped his hands and put his hands on Caella's blond locks as she knelt and hugged his legs. "Let us bring to light these memories," he said as he made a ball of purple light appear before all of them.
Then, inside the purple light, images began to fly past in 3-D as if they were watching a holographic movie of some sort.
Invidia hid her face, embarrassed beyond belief as the Dark Lord laid her past bare….
The Cometine City-Ship Gatlantis
Sometime in the Earth Year 2189
At the Edge of the Andromeda Galaxy
Ten years before the battleship Yamato was even dredged up from the sea bed, Prince Zordar and his father (who still lived then) were plotting to expand their realm into Gamilon space by force by conquering various worlds between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Great Magellenic Cloud.
Zordar was away with his father, Ruling Prince Zadek, at a staff meeting, gathering as much intelligence as he could about Planet Rotella, the first of their planned targets.
Invidia's mother still lived, but she was busy as Caella and Invidia played in the massive playroom in the Comet.
At that time, Invidia was just six. She wore a dark little black dress and black boots as she played, climbing up a slide and squealing as she went down.
Caella, who was ten, wore shorts, a tank-top, and went barefoot as she waited at the bottom of the slide for Invidia.
Caella put out a leg and made her cousin stumble as she sang, "Freaky-skin, freaky-skin! Princess Invidia is pale and she's freaky! You're a Princess, I'm a Duchess, and you are really freaky!"
"I'm not freaky!" sobbed Invidia.
"Lookie at Invidia!" sneered a little green-skinned boy in a t-shirt and khaki pants named Cosmodart Naska. He would later grow up to be General Naska. "She's not green like us! Are you a mutant, Invidia?"
"LEAVE ME ALONE, NASKA!" sobbed Invidia.
Naska giggled, and he ran over to a sandbox and grabbed some sand. Then, he threw some sand in Invidia's hair as Caella yelled, "Hey, Naska! She's weird and freaky, but she'll get in trouble with her Mom and Dad if she has sand in her hair! Even though she dresses like she's goin' to a funeral, leave her alone!"
"She's too stinky to be allowed to live!" sang Naska. "Hey, Invidia! Wanna go dinosaur hunting with us on the next minor planet we conquer so the dinosaurs can eat you?"
"Leave me alone!" screamed Invidia.
"Hey, freaky, want me to protect you?" said Caella. "Or should I dump sand on ya?"
"I have my stick!" yelled Invidia as she got her pointer out of the sleeve of her dress. "And I'm going to hit you both with it if you don't stop picking on me in my playroom while I play with my toys! My Daddy is Crown Prince and he can cut all your heads off!"
"Freaky, freaky, freaky!" chanted Caella and Naska together as they giggled at Invidia. "Freaky Mental Invidia! Invidia is a Mutant Mental Case! She's not quite even a Cometine!"
Invidia screamed and went after both children with her stick as one of the governesses finally stepped in and dragged her away. Invidia fought and hissed like a cat as she was dragged away for a spanking while Naska and Caella laughed their heads off.
Ekogaru then smirked as he stopped the vision. "Do we need to show them how you got spanked with your underpants down, Princess?"
"No!" said Invidia as Caella laughed her head off.
Caella said, "You looked so funny and freaky as a child, cousin! And you still look sort of freaky!"
"I AM NOT FREAKY!" yelled Invidia as she got her pointer and went after Caella with it. "And you are an ugly little trollop, Caella!"
"Stop fighting, girls," purred Ekogaru. "Now, shall we get back to this staff meeting?"
"Yes, Lord," said Caella in a simpering little airhead voice.
"YES," hissed Invidia as she thought, Soon, Caella, soon, one of these days, I will get you!
III. TIME PASSES…
A Limestone Cave
Planet Demonranstra
Tuesday, July 28, 2207: 1045 Hours Earth Space-Time
While events continued to go on around them, Deke and Dawn sat in their cave reviewing their past as they fought hunger by slowly eating some wild fruit and vegetables that Deke had found in one of his foraging missions outside of the cave yesterday.
"I'm going to be on an involuntary diet if I keep on eating this alien stuff, Deke," sighed Dawn.
"Where's your boots?" asked Deke as he realized that Dawn now went barefoot.
"I lost one down a crevasse when I was going to the bathroom earlier," sighed Dawn. "I know, I'm stupid! I threw the other one away."
"Why?"
"One boot does someone no good. Just like that time you broke that one roller skate. Remember?"
"Oh, yes," Deke said as he began drumming with his sticks while Dawn began to drum with hers. "DeSoto Middle School. We were in band together. Remember?"
"Yes, Marshmallow Boy, I remember that," grinned Dawn.
"Don't call me that!" Deke snapped.
"The name fit, sadly," said Dawn. "We all saw you as being kinda weird then. What with your waist-length hair, while most of the boys in your class kept theirs short or shoulder length at the longest. You were shorter than I was at that age, and you were a bit pudgy around the middle and in the face…"
"And you had your bubbly, positive attitude, long, shiny, waist-length, medium-brown hair, and brilliant, beaming white smile, so your popularity at DeSoto soared to new heights (most notably with the boys)…."
"Yes," said Dawn. "They all told me, "Get out of band! You're never going to attract a football player if you keep playing the drums, Dawn!"
"And those Junior Space Cadet Corps kids from high school began picking on me. One stuffed me in a locker once, Dawn. Then in 2196, I broke my leg during skateboarding practice and used my broken leg and the silent treatment you were giving me as a pity ploy to gain sympathy and attention from some of the other girls at school. Then you found me with several of them at the neighborhood soda fountain. When I got home, Kathi said, "Ohmmm…, Dawn gonna hurt you, Deke! U not supposed to be with any OTHER GIRL?"
"I wanted to kill you. I blew a stack as my not-so-little green monster showed itself for the first time. I arrived home in tears, confused and angry over what I saw. Over cups of hot cocoa, Lynn and Jess sat down with me and briefed me on how boys work," Dawn said. "Great lesson for a girl who is just twelve."
"Then, there was what you did to Staci Collinsworth after she would NOT STOP going after me," said Deke with a grin.
"At the principal's office, afteward I told Principal Cooley, "I can't help it if she put her hair in my hand and then ran away. I can't help it if she shoved my fingernails into her face. I couldn't help it if she shoved her eye up against the heel of my hand. I can't help it if she put her skirt, and then her blouse, and then her bra, and then her panties in my hand and pulled away…."
Both Deke and Dawn laughed hard over this memory, and ended up hugging. Deke ignored his headache as Dawn hugged him, and pulled out her Star Pendant.
"I still have this, you know," she said.
"Seriously, Jeff still lets you wear that with no grief?" said Deke. "The symbol that we began going steady in March of 2197 when we were thirteen?"
Dawn nodded eagerly.
"You know, your father Cal had a long talk with me after I gave that to you," said Deke. "He gave me two warnings."
"Which were?"
Deke cleared his throat and said, "One: you know she can fight when angered, so don't even think about looking at another girl. Two: You had better not even had thought about what MY DAUGHTER looks like in her birthday suit (let alone think about doing so in the near future)."
"What did you do, considering…uh…we had slipped off to that isolated part of the underground city, in the old tunnel, and had….uh…done it already?"
"I grinned," said Deke as he kissed Dawn.
Deke grunted as his headache hit him very hard. For a minute, Dawn was about to ask Deke if they wanted to forget everything and try that again (being bored) just to see what it felt like now, but she dropped the idea when she saw him grimacing. "What's wrong, Deke?"
"Headache," said Deke as thoughts of Sasha came powerfully to his mind as he extricated himself from Dawn's arms. For a minute, Dawn had seemed very attractive, and for a sneaky minute, even the thought of making her pregnant just like Wildstar had done to Nova didn't seem that bad to him-until he remembered Sasha when he got that headache, that is…
Deke shut his eyes, only able to think about Sasha as he blurted, "Sasha is watching."
"What?" said Dawn. "She doesn't have that kind of weird power like her mother! She's just half-Iscandarian!"
"You don't know crap about her," moaned Deke. "I felt her as if she was in this cave with us!"
"What, she sees you when you're sleeping? She knows when you're awake, Deke? What is she? Some Iscandarian floozie Santa Claus?"
"Ho, ho, ho," he moaned as he dry-swallowed an amphed pill pain remedy from his pack. "You go on watch, Dawn."
"In my bare feet?" she teased while wiggling her toes.
"You can walk in the grass, Mrs. Helpless," snapped Deke as he handed DJ to her. "Be careful you don't shoot me with this."
"Right, even though I hate this gun!" said Dawn as she mockingly saluted and tiptoed away, not reminding Deke that, in her cheerleading days, like Nova, she had occassionally led cheers barefoot when she knew she was destined to go up to the top of the pyramid of cheerleaders on their shoulders.
Then, after Dawn left, Deke sat and moped in a very, very morose mood. Weird, he thought. Sniping at her, and I miss her all of a sudden. And I almost slipped before and forgot my marriage vows; to be with my ex? What is happening to my mind? Is Ekogaru possessing her or something? This is just plain nuts! Yet, it feels good…but, can we ever go home again?
IV. NEW TRIALS…
Space Battleship Argo
The Edge of the Great Magellenic Cloud
The Dikensia System
Wednesday, July 29, 2207: 1259 Hours Earth Space-Time
"Test it!" said Sandor from across the First Bridge. He was Officer of the Deck for another minute; then, it would be Nova's turn.
"Right!" Nova said as she sat at Communications, thinking to herself Where the heck is Homer? He's late!
Nova then punched in the right protocols and codings, and then she took a deep breath as the clock ticked over to 1300 and said, "Earth Defense Command! This is the Space Battleship Argo! Acting Commander Nova Wildstar reporting! Come in, please! Over!"
"First Star Force! Is that you?" barked a voice from out of the speakers as Nova turned a knob with a gloved hand.
"Yes, sir," she said as she thought, Ohhh…General Stone! Not the man I wanted to talk to right now! Well, I'll just play this cool, she thought.
"What are you doing there, Lieutenant Commander?" barked Stone.
"Sir, Lieutenant Glitchman is still at lunch with the Captain," Nova responded. "I'm perfectly trained to run this board, and I'm in command for the next watch unless Derek relieves me. How are you, sir?"
"We're surprised you people are still alive!" snapped Stone. "We haven't heard from you in several days! Is there a good explanation why you decided to play dead? Are you people taking unauthorized leave?"
"No, sir," Nova said. "We took heavy damage in battle a few days ago. Communications were out, and our main engine is still out as well, sir. We're near the edge of the Great Magellenic Cloud, but we have an idea that we are not far from the New Comet. They were also damaged when they tried attacking us a few days ago. It is the Captain's hope that when we make repairs, we can try to rescue Leader Desslok and then attack the New Comet before it ever gets to Earth."
"Oh, Lieutenant Commander? When did you make yourself an Admiral? And how did you freebooters lose Leader Desslok in the first place?"
"Sir, I believe we reported that to the Commander a few days ago. We were attacked near Iscandar. Did you forget our last message, sir?"
Stone looked Nova up and down with distaste. "And what the hell are you doing in a skirt, Lieutenant Commander?"
"In case the General has not noticed, sir, I am about eight months pregnant," Nova said dryly.
"And you expect me to…never mind. Where is Commodore Wildstar?"
"Lunch, sir," said Nova. "I am acting as Officer of the Deck in case we get attacked."
"Since when?" said Stone.
"I've been in the deck officer rotation of this vessel ever since 2199, sir," said Nova. "Captain Avatar first assigned me to that post along with the others. Every bridge officer on this ship is in the rotation, now, sir. Even Ensign Apprentice Wakefield."
Stone thought for a minute of that Iscandarian teenybopper Sasha running the Argo and he pushed the thought out of his mind in a hurry. Having this glorified secretary and housewife running this ship is bad enough, but having that Iscandarian teenager running this ship is even worse, he thought. "Women like you belong at home," he muttered out loud, not intending to be heard.
"Sir?" Nova said. "Did I hear you correctly, sir? Isn't that against the Code of Conduct, sir?"
"What?" he barked. Then, he yelled, "Do you know how much it is costing us to call you at this hour? I don't need to be talking to some fresh woman!"
"Well, until Derek is available, you're stuck with me, sir. Do you have any orders for the Star Force?"
"Uh…I…get your ship fixed! Then get your ass back to Earth!"
"I thought we were supposed to be following the Comet, sir," said Nova, in a cool voice, refusing to go down to Stone's nasty level. "We will be carrying out the mission the Commanding General gave us as soon as we can get underway again. Let our families know we are fine, sir."
"Oh…then…carry on! Stone out!" he barked.
Nova saluted and nodded as he cut off. "Male chauvinist pig," she muttered under her breath.
The bridge doors whizzed open just as Derek and Homer appeared.
"Captain on the bridge, assuming command. Did you report back home?" asked Commodore Wildstar.
"Yessir," said Nova as she got up. "I made our report to General Stone, sir. The Commander was away for the moment."
"What did you do to my panel, Nova?" barked Homer.
"Huh?" Nova said with wide, innocent eyes.
As Derek snarled at him, Homer almost pushed Nova aside and then sat down at his board and looked at it with crossed eyes.
"I knew it!" he said. "AHA! You left cooties there, Nova!"
"Cooties?" Nova said. "Really, Homer. You can't be serious?"
"All girls leave cooties behind when they sit down on things. It's girl germs! I never go to your radar because I'm afraid that your cooties or Sasha's will get on me!"
"Then how do you make love to your girlfriend Wendy?" Sasha asked innocently.
"Wendy has no cooties," sniffed Homer. "She is as innocent as the new-flown snow. Nova must have a ton of cooties because she is pregnant! You've got zillions of 'em, Sasha! All because of Deke!"
"If I ever see him alive again!" she snarled.
Nova put her hand on Homer's shoulder and said, "Translation, people. What you are saying, Homer, is that you are still a virgin? Right?" she said as Sasha, Diane Henson, and some of the others laughed and applauded.
"How do you know that, Mrs. Smarty-Pants?" snapped Homer.
"If you weren't a virgin, you would not be talking about women and cooties like that," said Nova with a wink as Derek hugged her from behind. Derek said nothing because he thought this was actually sort of funny. Homer had gone off on this tangent before, but he was getting stranger by the day.
Derek thought, At this rate, we all need a good poker game once we get under way again. I wonder if I can really teach Nova the game in a few days so she can beat Homer at poker and make him look stupid? Oh, Homer…you're always good for a laugh.
Later on, with shipboard temperatures now back to normal, Diane Henson went below to the engine room, where Orion gave her some good news.
"Ma'am," he said. "We're closing up the panels now. We're ready to restart the main engine."
"At last!" she said. "It's been almost a week!"
The engine room crew worked hard as access panels were closed up. Sandor was found in the compartment checking and rechecking readings at various boards. Finally, after an hour s'worth of diagnostic checks, Sandor said over his intercom to the First Bridge, "Captain, we're ready!"
"Good," he said. "Sandor, Henson, come up to the First Bridge and prepare to assume your posts. Kitano is ready to move the ship. We are changing course for the outer edge of this system. Orion, you are in command down below."
"Yessir!" he said. "All hands!" he yelled. "To your posts! Prepare to switch power from batteries and open main starting cylinder!"
Soon, men and women were running to their posts in the engine room as the Argo's klaxons began going off. They gave various reports as they ran to their posts and reported in as a humming noise began to fill the ship.
"Starting Cylinder sealed and ready!"
"Power ducts ready!"
"Main Keel Bussard Scoop Polarized; beginning to draw in matter for compression into tachyons!"
"Priming Circuits at 750 Volts!"
"Port and Starboard Boosters ready for Balance!"
"Time Warp Drive Intercooler Circuits Enabled!
"Afterburner Ready!"
"Supercharger set!"
"How much power do we have left in the batteries, sir?" asked an Ensign as he looked at Orion.
"Enough for two starting attempts once the auxiliary engines are on-line!" said Orion. "Ready for auxiliary engines!"
"Auxiliary Engines, Ready for Start!" said Kitano from up above in the First Bridge.
Then, Henson's voice said, "Open Auxiliary Engine Starting Cylinder! Up to 1600 RPMs speed at once!"
"READY!" said Orion as he threw a switch. "Pressure being released to auxiliary engines! Port engine! CONTACT! Starboard Engine CONTACT! 500 RPMS! 600! One Thousand! Twelve Hundred! Sixteen Hundred!"
"Boosters started and balancing perfectly," said Henson. "Ready for wave motion engine!"
Orion went over to the main control panel and threw a switch. "Begin auto-start sequence!"
"Main Starting Cylinder Ready!"
"Supercharger ready!"
"Ready for energy buildup!"
The energy buildup began as, up on the First Bridge, the crew sat tensely as Henson went through the startup sequence. Finally, she said, "Energy Level One Hundred and Twenty Percent! Ready for Wave Motion Engine Start! Ready to start flywheel!"
"Commence ten-second countdown!" said Kitano. "10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! ONE! ZERO!"
"Main engine CONTACT!" barked Orion from below.
"Main engine start!" barked Commodore Wildstar. "Argo, take off!"
"Argo, taking off!" said Kitano as he pulled back the throttle.
The main engine roared as the flywheels lit up, and, a moment later, the engine came up to life.
The main engine and the auxiliaries blasted back to life, and, at that, the Argo began to move again after nearly a weeks' worth of being marooned.
TWO HOURS LATER….
The Argo cruised past a small, Earth-like planet in the star system while each crew member checked over the ship's systems.
"Ship's speed, .75 of light speed," said Kitano from his post. "When we clear the planet's gravity, we'll be ready for our test warp."
"Warp course calculated to star system's edge," said Nova. "After that, we will prepare to warp back to the Demonranstra System as you ordered, Derek."
"Good," he said. "We have to search for Wakefield and Hardy as soon as we get there. I hope we can recover them both!"
I hope Deke is still all right, Sasha thought as she sat at the Battle Radar in Eager's place. I feel our bond, but it feels weaker. What the hell is wrong with him? I hope he is okay…
"Five minutes to clearing gravity well at current speed," said Kitano.
"Astro-Compass tracking normally," said Henson.
"Forward main gun turrets ready," said Domon. "Both Auxiliary turrets, ready! Pulse lasers, ready!"
"Black Tigers standin' by," said Hardy from his post.
"Warp position in one minute," said Nova. "I….MISSILES APPROACHING!" she said.
"What?" said Derek.
"Small spread of six missiles, eighty-five degrees to port!" said Sasha.
"Range, two megameters," said Nova. "Speed, twenty-five space knots! Identified as Cometine torpedoes!"
"Evasive!" barked Kitano as he turned the ship.
The Argo turned, evading the first wave from port. However, a missile hit to starboard a moment later, causing minor damage.
"Tracking enemy submarines!" said Sandor as he dropped the wave motion sonar probe from the access hatch in the ship's bow. "They're at RP-212 and JD-92! on the grid, Domon!"
"Prepare anti-submarine warfare measures!" snapped Derek from the Command station. "We can't take any more major damage, especially not NOW!"
"Preparing Anti-submarine warfare hedgehog missiles!" snapped Domon. "I'm going to force those things to surface!"
"First squadron of Black Tigers, TAKE OFF!" ordered Wildstar.
"Takin' OFF ASAP!" barked Hardy as he thought, I wanted to see ya again, Dawn! I wanted to be in the search party to find you! Hope I get the chance now with this battle ragin' all around us!
The Tigers took off as soon as the first wave of Hedgehog missiles went off, forcing two of the enemy subs to surface.
One of them surfaced just a few hundred meters away from the Argo, firing its two gun emplacements into the ship's side.
The Argo responded with her pulse lasers, blasting fire into the enemy sub's hull as if there was no tomorrow.
The sub took major damage as the Black Tigers roared up a moment later, firing right into the ugly sub's bow.
The sub fired back, blasting at least one Tiger pilot and his plane into oblivion.
An angry Hardy snapped, "I ain't gonna put up with that from you guys!"
The first squadron of the Trojans took off a moment later under Brew's command, seeking revenge as Brew snapped, "We aren't letting those Cometine dudes go home and have any brew tonight, guys! Send those guys straight to hell!"
Soon, six Tigers from both squadrons converged on the sub, pumping missiles and laser fire into the sub just as it fired again at the Argo, causing more minor damage to the beleagured space battleship.
The Tigers blasted missiles and laser energy at the subs, damaging one of the subs quite severely…
…just as six more of them surfaced around the Argo!
"NO!" cried Sasha from her post. "Wolf pack! We're surrounded by eight enemy subs!"
"Forward turrets, ready to fire!" snapped Commodore Wildstar. "Target! Enemy subs to forward!"
"Ready to fire!"
"FIRE!" snapped Derek.
Domon repeated the order as the Argo's main guns went off.
Two more enemy subs were blown to bits as the Argo was attacked again.
The Argo took three more torpedo hits in two minutes as Nova cried out, "More torpedoes approaching from starboard…they…"
To Nova's shock (and everyone else's) the torpedoes didn't hit the Argo. Instead, they surfaced and slammed into one of the enemy subs, blowing it to bits.
At his post, Sandor sat up and said, "Captain Wildstar! Eight more subs detected on sonar! They're Garuman-Gamilon subs!"
"Repeat that?" said Derek.
"One of the subs surfaced!" said Nova. "It's a Gamilon dimensional sub! They're helping us!"
"This is…a surprise!" said Derek.
On the bridge of his command sub, the Egrasyte, Gamilon General Fraken turned to his executive officer and snapped, "Where are they?"
"Sir, the remaining enemy subs are all plotted! Ready for our wolfpack to counterattack!"
"Order them to attack! Make certain that the Argo is not scratched! Per General Talan's orders, we want them left alive to help us locate Leader Desslok!"
"Yessir! Preparing counterattack!"
"Execute!" snapped Fraken.
"Yes, SIR! Executing attack formation on enemy submarines!"
Fraken smiled as he ran to his periscope as he submerged his submarine back into subspace, where he met the Cometine subs head-to-head as they also submerged.
From there, it was almost no contest as the Garuman-Gamilon subs ran silent and deep in subspace and fired torpedo after torpedo into the Cometine wolfpack.
Trails of energy blasted out in hyperspace as enemy sub after enemy sub was blown apart. Only two Cometine subs were left a moment later…one ran, and the other one surfaced to attack the Argo, fighting back desperately as the Black Tigers and Trojans converged on her before she could again submerge. Soon, no Cometine sub was left as the Star Force and the Gamilons joined forces to finish the final sub off.
Finally, space was again quiet as Fraken's subs surfaced around the Argo and Fraken sent a message.
"Captain!" said Homer. "The Gamilons are contacting us!"
"Switch the Gamilon commander to the main video panel!" ordered Derek.
A moment later, Fraken's image appeared on the video panel as he stood laughing behind his periscope. "Clean sweep, Commodore Wildstar!" he reported. "Only one enemy vessel got away from us, and my perimeter guard might get him by morning. Do you require assistance?"
"Yes, but what we need can only be done in a shipyard," said Wildstar.
"I am noticing that one of your aft turrets is missing and that your stern has taken damage?" said Fraken.
"Yes, but we need an entirely new aft main turret," said Wildstar with a bowed head. "I don't know if you can spare us the metal to build a new aft turret?"
"We most certainly can," said Fraken. "I have a floating space fortress at the edge of this system. You can dock there and repair your damage, and my men will help you reconstruct a new aft gun turret out of the materials that we have on hand. We have a foundry and other shipyard facillities in our Fortress. I believe we can repair all of your damage within twenty-four hours. All that I ask is that you repay the favor to us in equal time someday. I take it you are searching for Leader Desslok?"
"We are," said Wildstar.
"If you find him soon, please bring him back to my Fortress. Then we will be able to take him back to the Empire. We are aching for vengeance against the New Comet, but Talan has told us to hold off on a full-scale attack until Desslok is rescued. When Desslok is safely back with us, I will be glad to help you send that ship to Hell before it ever reaches Earth. But, for now, please accept our offer. I am sending the coordinates of our Fortress to your communications officer."
"I will accept your offer, General," said Derek. "Thank you."
"Anything that we can do to help, as we are on the same side…" said Fraken as he smiled. Then, the Argo's main screen went dark.
"I'm glad that's over with," said Nova a moment later as she got up to stretch her legs and kicked her chair back on its track.
Sandor was by Kitano's post and he said, "We might have had a much harder time if that battle had gone on much longer. Nova, did Homer send you those coordinates yet?"
Nova nodded as she ran some routines at her board as Homer came up and handed her a slip of paper. "Thanks, Homer," she said, not noticing it as he pulled her chair away. She ran some more scans and said, after glancing aft at Derek's face, "Derek, the Gamilon Fortress is at TXQ-212 on the graph. We're past the gravity well of that fourth planet now, so I can compute our course for a space warp to that Fortress."
"Good, Nova. Get to it. Homer, what are you doing?" snapped Derek.
Homer just snickered as he ran back to the aft part of the bridge with something.
Then, Nova went to sit down and cried out when she said, "My chair's gone! Derek! WHO TOOK IT?"
"Mister Glitchman!" snapped Derek angrily. "This is ridiculous! Put the Lieutenant Commander's chair back in its place!"
"Sir, she looked like she needed to stretch!" said Homer. "Besides, I have to de-cootie this!"
"De-cootie my seat?" said Nova as her eyebrow went up. "Now, Homer, there is an essential difference between girls and boys. However, part of that difference does not include mythical friggin' cooties!"
"Too bad IQ-9 isn't here…he'd be making a great time out of this," said Nishina.
"Stop picking on her, you idiot!" snapped Henson.
"Homer, put Nova's chair back where it belongs so she can work," snapped Derek. "Then come see me later! These practical jokes of yours are just plain getting stupid!"
"Yessir," said Homer as he hauled Nova's chair back to where it belonged and locked it back onto its track on the deck. He actually helped her sit down while she smiled wanly at him and then he stepped away so she could work.
Three hours later, after the Argo warped to the Gamilon Fortress and made port, Derek came up to his cabin, where he found Nova lying on their bunk with her sandals still on, looking very mournful.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he said.
"That stupid Homer!" Nova sobbed. "I'm pregnant and now he thinks it's funny to harass me?" she said through thick tears. "He is such a jerk at times! No wonder Venture wanted to punch him through a bulkhead several times! I'm tempted to do so myself about now!"
"Hey, you're usually the one with the level head here," said Derek as he tried to hug her.
Nova threw a pillow at Derek and yelled, "The babies! They're kicking harder than ever in here! If I had sat down and fallen on my butt on the deck, Homer might have laughed, but I might have gone into premature labor or something! From that last scan Doctor Sane took the other day, Alex and Ariel are still a little small for eight months! We don't really have facilities for neonates here on this ship! For God sakes, tell Homer to get off my case!"
"I'm going to have Mast for him later on, Nova," said Derek as he held her and tried to comfort her as she cried in his lap. He rubbed her stomach and said, "Are they frisky now?"
Nova nodded. "They sure are. They want out." She smiled a little at this. Then, she blushed and said, "I want to show you something."
"Which is?" said Derek.
Nova smiled and took her top off and then undid her bra and cast it aside. She sobbed and smiled at once as she invited Derek to touch her nipples. "Feel those?"
"They're a little wet," he whispered.
"My milk is starting to come in," she said in awe. Then, she pulled off her sandals, stood, and undid her belt and skirt, and let them fall to the deck as she pulled down her panties. Naked, she came to him and said, "My body's getting ready to bear our children, Derek. Isn't it the most beautiful thing?"
Derek held and kissed his pregnant wife as he said, "Yes. It is. How big are they inside you now?"
"Maybe three pounds each oldscale," said Nova with awe. "They're almost ready to be born, my love. It won't be long now." Then, she wriggled her toes down and began to cry afresh in Derek's arms. "What…what if they get born during a battle, Derek? What if I have them on the bridge in front of those guys? What if I can't have any medication and just scream through the whole thing on some mattress someplace? Or on the deck like those poor women in the underground city?"
"Nova, that won't happen; we'll find a way to get you to Sickbay or maybe a Base Hospital. I think this war might be over in three weeks…"
"How do we know that?" Nova sobbed. "What if I have them cold, naked and all alone without you there as some prisoner on the Comet Empire or something? What if that horrible Princess Invidia laughs at me and breaks their necks when they're born…when I'm in too much pain to stop her?"
Then, Nova just began to cry in Derek's arms. He carried her to the bed and held and rocked her through the ordeal as he sang to her and his children inside her. After he was done, he said, "What do you want?"
"Make love to me," she whispered. "Before I get too fat to do even that anymore!"
"I will," he said…as he began to kiss her.
V. TWO BULLETS
A Limestone Cave
Planet Demonranstra
Thursday, July 30, 2207: 0442 Hours Earth Space-Time
"The last time I was with you was when?" said Deke in a depressed voice as he held Dawn, ignoring his headache now as the loneliness of their ordeal was just driving him crazy.
"Over five years ago!" snapped Dawn. "December 26, 2201."
"When did I hear that date before?" said Deke.
"Wildstar's anniversary!" snorted Dawn. "But that's not us! We're never getting back to Sasha or Jeff now. It's over a week! They must have forgotten about us!"
"Sasha's alive," said Deke. "I can still feel her."
"Yeah? What about Jeff?" yelled Dawn. "He might be dead by now!"
"I'm sorry," said Deke as he sighed. "You know, there are times I feel guilty that I ended up with Sasha…."
"Yeah…you didn't feel guilty enough not to do the deed with her!"
"Well, you never wrote back to me after I wrote you all of those letters," said Deke angrily.
"Yeah! Well, you're no prize in the sack, Deke!"
"What the hell do you mean by that, Dawn?"
"Jeff has a bigger manhood than you do and he's a far better lover than you ever were! He excites me…if I will ever see him again, that is! On the other hand, you had a habit of putting me to sleep! Is that what Sasha likes? Someone who is clumsy and barely knows where to put it?"
"You are so FULL of it, Dawn!" Deke yelled.
Then, she threw DJ back at him. "I hate this stupid gun of yours! It's part of what caused us to pull apart in the first place! You, this gun, and that vengeful attitude of yours!"
"So what are you going to carry for a weapon the next time you have to friggin' go on guard duty?"
"A K-Bar knife!" Dawn yelled. "Your buddy Nova showed me how to use it! And there's another weirdo! I admired her, and she probably gets off on killing people! The world's first Spartan Nurse!"
"I was with her in battle a few times, Dawn," said Deke. "She knows how to kill people, but I can most certainly tell you she gets no joy out of it! And I don't, either!"
"Oh, yeah, killer?" wept Dawn. "And you're unrealistic thinking that I was ever going to come back to you after several years. You couldn't make up your mind between your Iscandarian floozie and me? Or did you want both of us at once or something?"
Deke felt like slapping Dawn for that. "Dawn, you are just so damn…"
Then, something outside the cave snarled…it just snarled in the night.
Dawn ran to Deke's arms and screamed, "DEKE! What's that?"
"Sounds like some of the local wildlife," he said dryly as he held her.
Deke and Dawn stared into each other's eyes, and they looked out and saw red, glowing eyes outside of the cave.
Deke drew Dawn instinctively close and he held her. He held her closer than he had for years.
"I'm afraid, Deke," she said in a small voice.
"I know," Deke replied.
For a moment, it felt like 2200 all over again. Deke drew Dawn even closer, and he was shocked (but not altogether surprised) to feel his body responding to her being so close.
Dawn rubbed her thigh against him, and neither of one them were shocked much when Dawn's hand went around Deke's bottom, and she practically rubbed herself against him.
Time stopped as Deke literally felt Dawn's body throbbing for him inside her thin, skin-tight uniform. Feeling as if he was in a dream, Deke reached down and gently undid the vacc-zip that held the crotch of her uniform shut for hygenic purposes, and he was shocked and pleased to, for a moment, find he was touching her, sans underclothes…underclothes she had discarded days ago when they had just gotten too grungy.
Dawn gasped and shivered as she said, "Deke, forgot to tell you…I'm naked under my uniform now…I…"
Then, she undid his fly and pulled Deke out, notwithstanding what she had been saying about his pride a moment beforehand.
The beast growled again, and Deke just prepared to take Dawn right on the cave floor when it went away and they realized what they were doing!
"My God!" said Deke as his headache hit him at full force and made his mojo run out of gas in a hurry. "I've…I've got a wife!"
"Yeah….Jeff…will…kill me…" said Dawn as she pushed Deke away and got decent, although her prominent nipples under her uniform told a different story.
"Sasha is…" said Deke….
"What?"
"Feeling this…and, I'm sure she will want to kill me!" Deke said.
The Argo had departed from the Gamilon Fortress at 0300 Hours, with her damage repaired at last thanks to Fraken and his crews in the space fortress. In the Fortress, the gun turret had been rebuilt, and other damage had also been repaired.
After the Argo left the Fortress, Wildstar ordered a test of the aft turret at a nearby asteroid field. It worked just fine.
The ship warped at 0330 and Derek left command of the ship in the hands of Sandor as he and Nova turned in at last for some sleep at 0342, pulling off their uniforms and just falling asleep unclothed in each others' arms after snuggling a little bit.
Some time passed.
But the scene was not so cozy in Sasha's quarters.
On the Argo, Sasha, naked, was jarred from a sound sleep at 0443 Hours as she sat up and almost screamed out loud. "Deke, what in the Goddess' Name were you…just…doing!?"
The image of Deke with his THING OUT feeling up Dawn hung in front of Sasha's mind like a horrible nightmare as her longing dream about being with Deke turned into this horror.
Sasha growled a low, feral, bestial growl like an animal as she pulled a robe on over her nakedness and ran right up to the Captain's Quarters.
Derek and Nova found themselves awakened from a sound sleep a few minutes later by Sasha smashing at the hatch.
"Ohhh, who's that?" moaned Nova. She staggered up and threw on a yukata over her sweaty form…it was a summer after-bath kimono; Nova's had pink flowers on its white material. Nova was sweating because she had been having a bad dream in the little bit of sleep she had gotten. Then, she tossed Derek his plain two-tone tan kimono. He awoke and got the door after he clothed himself. Then, he saw Sasha there.
"Ensign, do you understand what time it is?" Derek yawned.
"0455, sir. There is an emergency!"
"Which is?" yawned Nova.
"Deekee!" she yelled in an enraged tone.
"Deekee is an emergency?" mumbled Derek.
"Derek, maybe somethin's wrong with Wakefield," said Nova even though she was still rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Remember how she picks up on stuff?"
"Oh, that. What's wrong with Deke?" said Derek. "Is he hurt?"
"No!" Sasha snapped.
"Dead?"
"Worse than dead, sir!"
"How can he be worse than dead?" said Derek.
"He's playing around with HER. Dawn! The hussy! At least that is what I felt!"
"He and Dawn are still alive?"
Sasha nodded through her tears. "They're down on Demonranstra, hiding out in a cave near the sea maybe twenty klicks away from where their Cosmo Hound landed. I'm not sure where yet. I'm sure a party can find it. All of the others are dead. There are Cometines on that planet!"
"Cometines," said Derek. "Okay. We're going there and sending parties and getting them back. The presence of the enemy means you aren't going down there with them, Nova. Sorry."
"I'm going!" demanded Sasha.
"We expected that," said Nova. "I'll run the radar and scan what I can for you from up here…"
"Thanks," said Sasha through her angry tears.
"I recommend you go and get dressed," said Derek. "And make sure your Astro-Automatic is fully charged!"
Sasha nodded at that.
In the meantime, down on the planet, Deke and Dawn had company.
Cometines.
Dawn was cursing and crying because she had tried throwing her K-Bar knife at one of the enemy troopers, and she had missed.
She was reduced to hiding behind a rock and throwing stones at them while, beside her, Deke held them off with DJ, much of his remaining ammo, and the vile stench of cordite.
One of the Cometines fired at them, and then he laughed and yelled, "When are you coming out, you little rats?"
He smiled at his comrades and awaited an answer. Won't be long now, he thought. Especially since the Princess has sent us backup in the form of another destroyer squadron.
"Come and get us!" yelled Deke.
"Oh, we'll be happy to, Earthling scum!" laughed the Corporal in charge in a deep, rough voice.
"Hey, Gertz!" yelled his nearest comrade. "Is it true they bleed red like us when you shoot them?"
"They do, but it is kind of pale, like them!" laughed Gertz. Gertz cursed as one of Deke's shots hit his comrade with a scream and blew his innards all over a rock.
"Earthling!" yelled Gertz. "When do you give up?" he yelled.
"NEVER!" yelled back Deke.
"Suit yourself, scum!" yelled Gertz. He leered at Deke in the dark, drew more fire, and thought, Let him run out of his lead ammo, first. Scum. Then, he whispered into his comm unit. "Sergeant Daka, Gertz here. I have them cornered. Earthling male running out of ammo, Earther female, unarmed. Send me one more squad to finish it!"
"On the way in ten, Gertz, old friend," laughed Daka.
Now, I'll wait this out, scum, thought Gertz as he knelt behind his rock and played dead.
A few minutes later, a landing party roared down to the planet from the Argo in a landing boat. The boat was being flown by Commodore Wildstar. Sandor was backing him up, along with Sasha, Homer, Hardy, a squad of six Space Marines, and two gunners from Combat Group.
"Hardy," said Wildstar from the cockpit.
"Yeah?" said Jefferson Hardy.
"We'll split up when we get down to the planet. Nova's scanning from orbit for the most likely limestone caves she can find. When we split up, you take Sasha and the Marines. I'll take everyone else as backup."
"Good idea," said Hardy.
After Derek switched off, he turned to Sasha. "You're sure about that?" he said.
"About what?" she snapped as she tried to hold back tears.
"Youh dream."
"Wasn't a dream; it was a vision!" snapped Sasha. "They were playing games with each other down there! I know it!"
"Probably thought we was never comin' back. I might do the same if I was stuck down there with a few females…"
"Oh?" said Sasha. "Who?"
"Bryan Hartcliffe's wife Angie, if she wasn't pregnant, foh one thing. She's too good for him. Maybe Bangs if we were in the same situation. Maybe even Nova if she wasn't preggers either and she was sure Derek was dead and so was I."
"You men all think alike," snapped Sasha.
"Hey, I just admitted to yuh my three most likely choices for female companionship if I thought Dawn was dead. Half the guys on the crew have been lookin' at those three. Hell, your Auntie Nova's still a looker even with a bun in the oven!"
"Am I a looker?" said Sasha as tears ran down her face.
Hardy nodded and said, "No comment, Miss Sasha." He held her for a moment and gave then her a brotherly kiss on the cheek as Homer applauded.
"Oh, you be quiet!" Hardy snapped.
Deke felt an angry shiver go through him as a thought came to his mind. Sasha's in the atmosphere of this planet. She is coming. But Hardy just kissed her. You'd better straighten up and fly right, son…but who will get to us first? Them..or the green guys about fifty meters away?
"We're not going to make it, are we?" whispered Dawn as she heard more Cometines shuffling into the cave in the dim light. It was near sunrise, and they could just about see.
One of them pointed a weapon at them. Deke guessed it would soon be over, one way or the other.
"We may not," muttered Deke. "That's why I'm not shooting any more. That's why I kept back two bullets."
"Two bullets?" asked Dawn.
Deke nodded. "I learned this in survival training. Last ditch measure. Two bullets," he said. "I think they are coming for us. Do you want them to capture you alive?"
Dawn thought hard. Capture for her might involve eventual death, but would probably involve a long, vicious period of rape. "Nova told me that they…like to rape women. Nova has the edge of one of her dog tags sharpened so she can slit her own throat at the carotid artery if she has to. She told me she'll never let them capture her alive."
"Smart lady. Did you ever sharpen a dog tag?"
"No."
"Well, then one bullet is for you," whispered Deke. "The last is for me. It would've been nice to see Sasha again, but…"
"See that light?" whispered Dawn. "That will probably be the last dawn we'll ever see."
"Yeah," sighed Deke as he held her…just to comfort her shaking.
Then, she said, "When you shoot me…will…it hurt?"
"It'll go right into your head," said Deke. "You won't feel much…"
"You?"
"It'll go right in my mouth," he muttered.
Dawn nodded, wiping away tears as Deke undid the safety of DJ with a click.
Figures, she thought. I always hated that gun. Now, I might die because of it.
TO BE CONTINUED…..