Trent and Kress engaged their cruise engines and flew away from the asteroid base. Several fighters took off in pursuit.
"Be careful, Trent. We have pursuers. Do you think you can handle them?"
"It's been a while since I flew a Rheinland ship, but I can take 'em. Engaging now!" Trent broke away and turned to face the fighters. He targeted the closest as they began to fire their weapons. Trent fired a steady stream of cannon fire and the first ship went up in flames. Kress engaged a second fighter and made short work of him.
"Kress! Two more on your six!" Trent closed in as the two fighters engaged Kress. Trent launched a pair of missiles that took out the shields of one of the fighters. He then finished it off with a well-placed gun blast. Kress dropped several mines at the remaining craft as Trent pulled away. Two mines found their mark, and the ship spun wildly out of control. Trent fired his cannons and destroyed the ship.
"Excellent work, Trent, but there will be more. We must move quickly. Follow me!" Kress engaged his cruise engines. Trent followed.
"Kress," Trent said, "what the hell just happened?"
"I have been working undercover, as it were, for many months now. I discovered that many of the Nomads in Rheinland had survived the activation of the Hyper Gate and had gone into hiding. I asked Orillion if I could investigate this further, and he agreed. I have been hiding here ever since. I have not actually been in contact with Orillion since that time. He probably thinks I'm dead."
"Where are we, anyway?"
"We are in an uncharted system known as Omicron Zeta. The remaining Nomads from Rheinland have taken refuge here. There is a jump hole nearby that will take us to Omicron Gamma."
"Great. Corsair country. So how did you spend so much time there and not be turned into one of them? And how did they miss the cardamine on you and me?"
"Not all of them are Nomads, Trent. Some are still bitter that they couldn't go to war for the glory of Rheinland and have followed the Nomads blindly. I just pretended I was one of them. As for the cardamine, the injector I carried is designed to seal the cardamine completely from the outside environment. I can only assume the one you had is designed the same way. The Outcasts say that it keeps the cardamine pure. It certainly worked to our advantage.
"You see, the reason why the Nomads could not come near us, and the reason why they do not come through the Omicron Alpha jump hole, is that cardamine is actually quite aromatic. Not to human senses, however, but to Nomads it is extremely noxious and potent. If not sealed properly, the vapors of the cardamine causes extreme agony to a Nomad, even at great distances. Direct contact for them is deadly. That's why they couldn't come near us. The cardamine vapors from our bodies repelled them."
"Nice."
"Trent, I have learned that humankind in Sirius does not have much time left. It is vital we return to the Osiris as soon as possible. The rest of the trip will be dangerous. Omicron Gamma is Corsair space, and it's a safe bet that they'll come after us regardless of who we are. We must be on our guard at all times."
"What's going to happen?"
"I would prefer not to say anything until we reach the Osiris. Get ready, here is the jump hole."
OMICRON GAMMA SYSTEM, EDGE WORLDSTrent and Kress emerged from the jump hole and found themselves surrounded by countless numbers of derelict ships. They all looked to be of Corsair design.
"What is this place?"
"The Corsairs call it 'The Graveyard of the Innocents.' I have heard that it is a form of proving ground for young Corsair pilots. I have plotted us a course that will take us to the Omicron Theta jump hole. It's not far from here. Let's go."
After an uneventful trip, they arrived at the jump hole. Just as they were about to enter, several Corsair ships emerged, saw them, and attacked.
"Great!" Trent yelled as he gunned his thruster and went after one of the ships.
"Trent! Break off and go to the jump hole! We cannot waste any time!"
Trent broke off his attack and headed for the jump hole with several fighters on his tail. Here he was, one of the greatest pilots in Sirius, running like a coward. How nice. He reached the jump hole and went in just as the Corsair ships opened fire. In a flash, he was on his way to Omicron Theta.
BATTLESHIP OSIRIS, SIGMA-13 SYSTEM"Colonel Kress, it's good to see you alive," Orillion said as he shook Kress's hand. "We thought you were long dead."
"Thank you, Orillion. I must say it is good to be surrounded by my own species again."
"Looks like you're compiling quite a list of people you owe greatly, Trent," Orillion said with a smile. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, except for the damn cardamine crash."
"At least it kept you alive. You can thank Mr. Chavez for hiding the injector in your ship. He felt that eventually it would be of great use to you. Colonel Kress, I believe it is time to debrief you. Let's go. Oh, and Trent, you might want to go to Medical. Someone would like to see you." Orillion and Kress left Trent alone in the hangar. He turned around and made his way into the Osiris' medical quarters.
King was there, and lying on a recovery bed, alive and well, was Juni.
"Trent! Good to see you back in one piece. We were worried. You are still human, aren't you?"
"I'm fine. How are you feeling, Juni?"
"Human, and that's saying a lot. Other than that, I feel like hell."
"Well," King said, "I'll leave you two alone. I got some business to attend to. See you later." King left the room, leaving Trent and Juni. An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
"Edison," Juni finally said, "I just want you to know that I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"I'm sorry for not believing you. I'm sorry for leaving. And I'm sorry I nearly turned you into one of those bastards."
"That wasn't your fault."
"If I wouldn't have been so careless it never would have happened."
"Juni, what happened to you?"
Juni was silent for a moment. "After I left Liberty I went to work for the Kusari Police. One day I was on a patrol when a wing of Blood Dragons ambushed us. Our former friends, Trent. Extremely skilled pilots as you already know, and they had very powerful weapons. Nomad weapons."
"What?" Trent was surprised to hear that. "How did they get Nomad weapons?"
"Somehow the Nomads infiltrated them and began taking them over. Anyway, they destroyed my wing and took me captive. After they...turned me, they sent me out to find you."
"Well, they found me. More than once."
"Trent, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"Juni, it's not your fault. Really."
Silence came between them again as they looked at each other. Finally Trent broke it.
"Maybe it's better if you get some rest now. I'll come back and see you later."
Juni nodded. "All right. See you later."
Trent turned around and left Medical. He needed a drink badly.
"I thought I might find you here," King said as he approached Trent. "Come on, we got a briefing to attend. Cardamine worn off yet?"
"For the most part. What's the briefing about?"
"Armageddon."
"Excuse me?"
"This could be the big one. The big battle. Come on."
"All right, people, settle down," Orillion said. "We have a lot of ground to cover and precious little time.
"As you know, Colonel Kress has returned with information that is extremely alarming. Apparently the few remaining Nomads that survived the Hyper gate incident took up residence in a previously unknown system called Omicron Zeta. Depleted of most of their ships and manpower..." Orillion stopped and smiled at what he had just said, "...they sat and waited for another opportunity. And now, ladies and gentlemen, that time may have arrived. If the reports we have heard are true, they have already begun to prepare for their next move. Lights, please."
The lights in the briefing room dimmed and a holographic projector came on.
"These pictures come courtesy of Kress. Apparently deep in Omicron Zeta is an inactive Nomad jump gate. According to Kress, it is currently not in operation because of heavy damage to the structure, but the Nomads have begun a project to repair the gate and activate it. They are nearing completion of this project.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is what awaits us on the other side of that gate."
The holographic image changed to reveal a sight that made everyone in the room gasp. A gigantic Nomad shipyard appeared, full of Nomad battleships nearing completion.
"There are nearly one hundred Nomad battleships in this shipyard, ready to deploy. Once that gate is completed, they will come through en masse and lay waste to the Sirius system." Orillion let that thought permeate through the room.
"Excuse me, sir," asked King, "but how did we get these images if they're on the other side of the gate?"
"There is a small jump hole near the gate. It is too small for large capital ships and is only suitable for smaller craft. The Nomads have been using it to travel back and forth.
"People, our mission is twofold: First, we will attempt to take out the Nomad jump gate to prevent the Nomad incursion. Secondly, we will send a strike team through the jump hole to sabotage as many of the battleships as we can."
"That should be fun," King whispered to Trent.
"We will be using the new cardamine warheads we have developed in the assault on the shipyard. Since we have few of these warheads available, they must be used sparingly, and every shot has to count.
"Our intelligence tells us that even now, there are Nomads in Sirius preparing for this invasion. We have reports that they have infiltrated Kusari space, and we can only assume that they may be in the other houses as well. I cannot emphasize enough, ladies and gentlemen, the importance of destroying these structures. The fate of Sirius, and that of humankind hangs in the balance."
The briefing room was silent once again.
"Colonel King, you will be leading the strike team against the jump gate, designated Alpha Wing. Colonel Trent, you will be leading Beta Wing, the strike against the Nomad shipyard. Beta Wing will be armed with the cardamine missiles and torpedoes. All but two of the gun mounts on your ships will be replaced with missile and torpedo launchers. I know this leaves you more vulnerable to attack, but since you are the best pilots in the colonies, I assume you'll find a way to manage.
"Also, all ships have been outfitted with a small hold containing a sample of pure cardamine. We hope that this will act as a shield of sorts to keep Nomad ships away from you. Please resist the urge to smoke it." This drew a laugh, easing the tension.
"Any questions? Good luck, and God help us all." Everyone rose and filed out of the briefing room. As they walked out, Von Claussen approached them. Juni accompanied him.
"Juni! How are you feeling?" Trent asked.
"I'd feel better if they would let me fly, but that's not to be. Anyway, I wanted to come down and wish all of you luck." She shook King's hand, then turned to Trent.
"Come back alive." She kissed him on the cheek, turned and left.
"I trust that was for luck?" King asked with a sly grin on his face. Trent smiled back sheepishly.
"So, once more into the breech, my friends," Von Claussen said, "perhaps for the last time."
"Well, at least we'll go down fighting," Trent said.
"And with a fistful of cardamine, too," King said. The three men laughed.
"So, Von Claussen, you're coming with us, then?"
"Yes, I will be flying with you, Trent. I hope that is satisfactory."
"No need to ask. Since you're already dead, that will make you pretty hard to kill."
The Osiris's comm system came to life. "All pilots please report to your ships. Flight crews report to stations. Prepare for launch."
"Well, that's it then. See you in space."
To be continued…..
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