Location: Thorn Valley
Sol: 325
Thorn Valley had undergone a major transformation in the months following the destruction of Rosebush City. For weeks, hoards of refugee Rats and Mice had been pouring in, seeking sanctuary. As the colonists' compound was nowhere big enough to house them all, they had instead set up huts, tents and other crude shelters all around the Valley. Some of the refugees had even taken the initiative of building new homes using the high-tech tools Josh had provided them with. Thorn Valley was now beginning to look like a small town – one that was rapidly growing into a whole new community.
Although, thanks to the colonists' good resource management that had provided them with an ample food supply, so now they had enough to feed all the additional newcomers, they were inevitably chipping into their next winter supplies. They would need a much larger crop in order to feed a colony this size long-term. Luck was with them, however, as planting season wasn't over yet, and with all the new additions to their colony, the one thing they were not short of was extra manpower to plough the fields.
Although most of the new arrivals had offered up their services wholeheartedly, some, including several former Council Rats and a few others of aristocratic background, who had no experience in peasant life and had always looked down on those beneath their station, had protested, insisting that they should be focusing on setting up a new form of government instead. However, their protests had fallen on deaf ears, as Josh sternly reminded them that anyone who wanted to be part of this colony was expected to pull their own weight for the good of the others, or else would be turned out and forced to fend for themselves.
On Justin's command, Brutus had drafted all the able-bodied Rats and Mice into farm labour service and, selecting the flattest areas of the Valley with the most fertile soil they could find, got them to work with a vengeance, clearing away all obstructing vegetation and ploughing them up for crops. Corn, wheat, barley, everything they had that could be planted was added to the crops. Even with several hundred additional acres ploughed, Mr Ages estimated they would have to endure at least another year of strict rationing until the crops yielded enough to feed them proper, but at least it should be enough to keep them from starving.
With the foundations of the new colony Nicodemus had always dreamt of finally laid, Josh had set about introducing the wonders of long-forgotten human science to the Rats. By tapping into the reactor of the Nimh-One for power and using some of his own engineering skills and all the spare wire and light-bulbs he had left in the Hab's stores, he had lit up the whole settlement with electric lights, allowing them to keep working well into the night.
Mr Ages, who had taken charge of the Stone, had invented a crude printing press and set to work, copying all the information he could get off the Stone and getting it down on paper for books. He would be publishing new scientific ideas for several lifetimes! By feeding all that knowledge into the brains of the people, they hoped to transform this world for the better, just as Nicodemus would have it. But not everyone was ready to make a fresh start yet.
Over at the Hab, Josh sat at the kitchen table facing a very sombre Justin. It was the end of another hard day out in the fields, ploughing, building shelters, expending the power grid and assisting families in need, and the colonists had finally returned home for another of Elizabeth and Emily's master dinners. But not everyone was in the mood for eating.
"Has there been any change in Isabella?"
Justin shook his head grimly. "Nothing, the same. She still won't talk and barely eats a bite. The nightmares aren't going away either."
They had brought Isabella back to the Hab with them and tended to her wounds. Although physically mending nicely, mentally, she still showed no improvement. She wouldn't allow any male member of the colony, even Justin, to touch her, and would have panic attacks each time anybody got too close to her. The nighttimes were the worst, as she would wake up screaming and sobbing from nightmares of her ordeal, making the use of sedatives necessary. The fact that she refused to eat half the time didn't help matters either, especially with her advancing pregnancy.
To give her some privacy, Josh had converted what had once been Fitzgibbons' private office, and later his, into a private room, refitting it with one of the bunks from the main dormitory. For safety, he had discreetly installed a security camera, so they could watch her around the clock, in case she tried to hurt herself or her unborn baby. Much to everyone's relief, so far, there hadn't been any suicide attempts.
Elizabeth, Emily and even Teresa had taken up the task of caregivers, providing all the loving care they could give to Isabella, but with little success. They had to practically force her to eat even a few bites and their words of encouragement only seemed to upset her more. When Elizabeth had tried comforting her, telling her she was going to be a mother soon, she had burst into tears, hating herself at the thought of giving birth to the child of the same monster that had murdered her grandfather and stolen away her innocence.
"Well, what did you expect, you idiot?" shot up an incredulous Tony Toponi, who had also taken up residence in the Hab, "She was raped and brutalized for months by that brute! If you ask me, she'd be better off dead! At least poor Bridget didn't suffer so much..." He fell silent as the memory of Bridget's horrible death, which he still refused to talk about, resurfaced. Justin shot him a furious glare at his outburst, but didn't say anything. He knew Tony was hurting badly, just like he was. Alas, it was true, given Isabella, although still alive, was now little more than a husk of her former energetic, joyful self.
"I'll give her another sedative before bedtime," offered Josh, "Hopefully she'll start showing some improvement soon."
"No, she won't," said Justin sharply, believing his princess was broken for good, "We failed her, Josh! Oh, how I wish I had killed that bastard Jenner when I had the chance!"
"Maybe when she has her child, she'll come round," said Bernard, trying to offer them some hope, "A mother's love for her child always works miracles."
"Yes, Jenner's child," said Justin sourly, "What do you think will happen when it gets out that she bears the child of our worst enemy? They'll just scorn them both and everyone who stands by them!"
"You can't judge a child for who its parents are!" said Elizabeth crossly, shocked by Justin's remark, "What Jenner did to Isabella was cruel and unforgivable, yes, but that child is innocent! And I, for one, am look forward to welcoming it into the world!" They all looked at her, touched by her resolve. True, Isabella's child, only weeks away, was not to blame for the way it was conceived, nor would it be growing up being radicalised by Jenner's evil, as the latter intended. That is, of course, if its mother didn't reject it once it arrived. Isabella was barely eighteen and knew nothing about motherhood, although Elizabeth was determined to help her learn.
"Does this mean we will soon have a new friend to play with?" asked Cynthia, who, too young and innocent to understand why all the adults were so upset about this new baby, was excited at the idea of having another playmate and one closer to her age too.
"Soon enough, darling," said Elizabeth, kissing her daughter on the cheek, "When he or she is a little older. And you can finally be the big sister." Cynthia beamed excitedly at the thought.
"Will it be a boy or a girl?" asked Timothy.
"We'll know when the baby arrives," said Elizabeth. While tending to Isabella, Josh had used the ultrasound machine from the Hab's medical bay to get an image of the baby, confirming it was indeed unharmed and healthy. However, he didn't know enough medicine to tell if it was male or female and the computer wasn't programmed to automatically identify the foetus of a Nimh-Beta Rat.
"I say it's a girl," said Teresa, who, like Cynthia, cherished the thought of having another little sister to dot on. Martin pulled a face of disgust at her.
"Another stupid girl? Yuk! Don't we have enough of them around here already? What we need is another boy... Ow! What was that for?!" Teresa had slapped him over the head.
"We girls aren't stupid, you are stupid, you moron!"
Across the table, Fievel imitated Martin by also pulling a face at Teresa's turned back, only to be slapped over the head by Tanya for his cheek. "Mind your manners, little brother, or I'll string you up by your ankles!" Fievel gulped, muttering an apology. His big sister could be quite scary when she was angry.
"Now, now, that's quite enough, children," said Elizabeth, breaking up the squabble. She shot Martin a warning look to watch his mouth, "And I believe it's past your bedtime. Off you go, now!"
As the children toddled off to bed, the adults returned to their conversation. There were still some urgent matters that needed to be discussed, namely the safety of their community in the face of the enemy they knew might still be lurking out there. More than two months had passed since the fall of Rosebush City and yet, so far there had been no sign of Jenner. Could he still be alive? Without a body to prove otherwise, they could only assume he'd gone to ground somewhere.
"Do you think he might come after Isabella and her child?" asked Elizabeth, looking concerned. That poor girl had been through so much already, she thought. If Jenner ever came back for revenge, she could be in great danger and her child would be even worse off.
"He might," said Josh grimly, "After all, I castrated the bastard; if he learns he already has some offspring to continue his bloodline, he'll want to claim that child at all costs."
"He better not, if he knows what's good for him," said Justin darkly, "With the Great Owl as my witness, if he ever touches Isabella or her child again, I'll kill him myself!"
"I don't understand why you young fools are getting yourselves worked up again," said Mr Ages, shaking his head, "That scoundrel is dead and good riddance! You left him in agony, in a pool of his own blood! There is no way he could have escaped that volcano! Why do you keep worrying about his ghost coming back to haunt us? You're all behaving like children!"
"An enemy like Jenner cannot be defeated that easily," said Brutus, who, being a hardened warrior Rat and having had his fair share of enemies coming back for revenge, stubbornly refused to put his worries to rest. "He's still out there, I can feel it. Mark my words, all of you. It's only a matter of time before we hear from him again."
Brutus' concerns proved to be completely justified, for only a few weeks later, on Sol 366, the first sign of trouble they'd seen in months finally appeared on the horizon. Josh was out, setting up weather equipment, when a Rat came running, to inform him that Justin's patrol had spotted something of great concern.
Joining Justin and Brutus on the top of a ridge on the edge of the Valley, he looked out to where they were pointing. Not too far away, on a side of a nearby mountain, was the unmistakable sign of movement, easily spottable because of the shine cast by, what could only be, armour plating reflecting sunlight. Surveying through his binoculars, Josh's worst fears were confirmed as he spotted dozens of heavily armed soldier Rats approaching Thorn Valley. Over the top of the mountain, he could make out the silhouettes of many more. This wasn't good.
"Everybody back to base, now!"
Returning to the Hab, they hurried to the control room, where the satellite surveillance station was. Zeroing in onto the grid on the edge of the Valley, what they saw made their blood curdle. The other side of the mountain and the valley beyond that were crawling with soldier Rats. This time, it was no small reconnaissance party they were dealing with; they had an entire army of hostile Rats about to crash on their doorstep!
"I count at least a thousand of them," said Josh, staring at the satellite image, "They're heading straight for the Valley!" Right beside him, Elizabeth began to fret. Josh put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.
"How long before they're here?" asked Bernard, also feeling extremely worried for his family. They had escaped Warren T's clutches, only for Jenner to come along and finish the job.
"I don't know. One day, maybe, if we're lucky," said Josh, not bothering to sugarcoat the seriousness of their situation. It only took a single glance at that screen to realise that they stood no chance of fighting them; they were outnumbered at least five to one and only a fraction of their people had any military experience, nowhere good enough to muster an army capable of taking on a formidable force like that.
"There's no way we can fight back," said Justin grimly, weighing out the odds, "They're far too many. We'd all be slaughtered in no time at all. We have to evacuate Thorn Valley at once!"
"Evacuate?" exclaimed Brutus incredulously, "Leave everything we toiled so hard to build to be destroyed? I'd rather die fighting!"
"Don't be a fool, boy!" Mr Ages chastised him, feeling like a fool himself for thinking Jenner was dead in the first place. The worst wasn't over yet, not by a long shot, "You'll be killed! Look, I'd hate to be driven out of house and home again, but it's not the end of the world. As long as we have the Stone, we can always rebuild somewhere else..."
"Where?" pointed out Tanya, "There's nothing out there but open desert! There isn't another Thorn Valley for thousands of miles!"
The group realised Tanya was right; with Rosebush City and Minsk both destroyed, save for a few scattered tiny oases, there were no remaining green pastures big enough for the 200 plus colonists of Thorn Valley to relocate to within reach. The First King's tomb had a sizeable water source, but it was too far to reach on foot. Most of them would probably perish on route. It seemed they were faced with unconditional surrender or a fight to the death. And, knowing Jenner's vindictiveness, surrender would mean enslavement and torture without mercy. Death would be far more preferable. But they had to do something.
"Get your families ready to go, quickly," Josh said to Bernard and Elizabeth, "Take the women and children and all the supplies you can carry and head for the mountains! I will stay and hold them off for as long as I can." He reached into a drawer and took out Fitzgibbons' gun, fully charged. Turning, he saw nobody had moved. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Get a bloody move on!" His friends however wouldn't budge an inch.
"We're not leaving you to fight Jenner alone, Josh!" exclaimed Justin incredulously, "This is our fight too!"
"It's me Jenner's after," said Josh, refusing to be swayed, "Your duty is with Isabella; Bernard's is with his family, and Elizabeth with her children. Mr Ages is also in charge of the Stone. I serve no further important purpose so I can be spared; at the very least, I can try and take Jenner down with me!"
"No!" cried a sobbing Elizabeth, taking Josh's hand, "You can't leave me now! I've already been widowed once. I can't lose you too! Please, Josh!" Josh took her into his arms.
"I want nothing more than to be with you forever, Biff," he said sadly, "But what good will that do if we are all caught and enslaved? I couldn't live with myself if you and the children ended up rotting in a slave-driver's dungeon! I'd rather sacrifice myself to ensure that you'd stay alive and free!"
"No, Josh, no!" cried Tanya, also taking his hand. Although she had always taken great care to keep her personal feelings for Josh to herself in front of Elizabeth, the thought of him making a last stand, literally committing suicide, was more than she could bear. "I... we love you, Josh. You're our friend! You can't just sacrifice yourself! There has to be another way!"
"There is no other way," said Brutus solemnly, also prepared to die fighting alongside Josh, "The best we can do now is save as many as we can. Also, we should destroy everything we leave behind, burn all of Thorn Valley to the ground if necessary. We can't allow Jenner to loot the place..."
"Wait a minute!" interrupted Josh, suddenly remembering, "Burn them... Of course! You're a bloody genius, Brutus!"
"I am?" asked the warrior Rat, raising an eyebrow.
"There is a way to fight them!" exclaimed Josh, his hopes suddenly restored, "We fight fire with fire! Why didn't I think of that before?"
"You mind telling us what you're on about?" asked Justin, as Josh pulled up a blueprint of the Nimh-One's nuclear engines and studying it. He couldn't remember how much fuel was left, but he knew the unobtainium fuel rods had an infinite shelf life, so they should still have enough juice even after 2,000 years. It would be a dangerous gamble, but it was the only thing they had that was even remotely capable of taking out an army that size.
"I'm talking about using the blast from the Nimh-One's drive-tubes to obliterate Jenner and his army as they come charging into the Valley," explained Josh, "The old space bird may not be spaceworthy anymore, but she should make a fine atomic cannon!" After outlining his plan to his friends, they hurried outside and called everyone to order.
"All right, everyone, listen up!" called Josh through a bullhorn, "As you already know, the enemy is near and about to attack. They will be here by tomorrow morning. They completely outnumber us and we can expect no mercy." There was a buzz of frightened muttering among the refugees, which seemed likely to lead to a full-scale panic at any second. Josh held up a hand to silence them.
"I understand your fear and your desire to ensure your safety and that of your families. However, I have an idea that might give us a fighting chance. It was Nicodemus's dream that this place becomes your new home and I will not allow that traitor Jenner to destroy it now. I know many of you have families and children and therefore I cannot ask you to stay and fight. Therefore, this mission will be entirely voluntary: anybody who wishes to stay and fight with me may do so at his own risk; anyone who wishes to evacuate before it's too late may do so with my blessing."
For a few seconds, nobody spoke, looking with uncertainty at each other. They didn't want to abandon their new home, not when they had only just made a fresh start; but, on the other hand, did they dare take on Jenner's powerful army? What miracle could this human possibly procure to even out the odds? Then, Bernard, always the voice of motivation, stepped forward.
"I am staying," he said firmly, "My family and my people have been the targets of persecution and fear long enough. We will defend our new home from those evil invaders! We will not be driven off our land again or surrender ourselves into slavery! We will fight alongside Captain Anderson, to the death if we have to!"
His words seemed to reignite the spark of courage within the hearts of the spectators. True, Jenner had already taken so much from them: he had murdered their king, had kept them literally enslaved under his rule, even let their home city be destroyed and so many of their friends and family to die without lifting a finger to help them. Thorn Valley was all they had left and they couldn't let Jenner take it away from them.
"I'm staying too," said Tony Toponi, also stepping forward, followed gradually by the others as well. Not a single Rat or Mouse backed out. This was their fight as much as it was Josh's and they would see it through together, to victory or to death. Josh smiled, feeling touched. They were not abandoning him to face Jenner alone.
"Thank you, my friends," he said, "All right, we don't have much time. We need to get to work immediately!"
On Justin's command, several able-bodied Rats set to work, building a barricade of sharpened logs and mounds of earth in a semi-circle on the edge of the Nimh-One crash site, forming a fortress, while Brutus got all the soldiers he could muster and took them through an intense training drill, preparing them for battle. Several carpenters and blacksmiths among the civilians had also been drafted into service, fashioning as many weapons as they could on such short notice.
On the flight deck of the derelict Nimh-One, Josh was preparing his secret weapon. Dusting the primary fuel-gauge screen clean, he threw several switches on the console, checking the readouts. Most of the fuel cells were empty, their fuel rods spent, except for one. Number Four booster was good to fire. Just enough fuel for one good burn. Once the reaction started, Josh knew, it could not be halted. They only had one shot, so they would have to wait until the last possible moment to fire.
Josh did some hasty calculations in his head. The wreck of the Nimh-One was resting at a rather steep angle, its tilted drive-tubes facing in the direction from which Jenner's army was expected to attack. It was perfect. The only question was would the ancient boosters still fire after 2,000 years? All telemetry readings were in the green, but, being an engineer, Josh knew a million things could go wrong that might prevent the engine from firing, or worse, cause it to self-destruct in a giant mushroom cloud. Sadly, there were no alternatives.
His HHC lying open on the console, Josh began typing in a series of commands on the ancient keyboard, programming a remote sequence for firing the engine from afar. No point being onboard this wreck if the engine went into meltdown on contact. Not that it would make much difference, because a nuclear explosion that size would be more than enough to level all of Thorn Valley in the blink of an eye. Well, at least it will still take out Jenner and all his thugs in one foul swoop, along with us...
Everything set, Josh rejoined Justin and the others outside. Night had fallen by now and all the defences were ready at last. Barricades, weapons, everything. The women, children and the elderly had been ordered to take cover in shelters set up on ledges and alcoves high up in the valley walls, where they would be safe from violence. Mr Ages had personally picked a hiding place high up on the cliff for himself and the Stone, entrusted to him by Josh. Lookouts had also been posted, monitoring the enemy's every movement. Although they could see the glow of campfires over the ridge on the edge of the Valley, so far, Jenner hadn't made a move.
"All's still quiet," said Justin, "They're probably just watching us, observing our defences." Josh nodded.
"Let's hope they don't realise our main defence," he said, gesturing at the rusted tilted spires, which were the Nimh-One's drive-tubes, hot and ready to fire at the push of a button. "If Jenner sends in only one wave to test our defences, instead of the whole army, our plan goes down the pisser."
"He won't," said Justin confidently, "I've worked with him for many years and his strategy relies exclusively on using brute force and overwhelming numbers to defeat an enemy. He doesn't care how many Rats he loses in the process; as far as he is concerned, to die in combat, or rather in his servitude, is an honour well worth dying over, as long as it guarantees him victory." Josh felt disgusted. As far as he was concerned, sacrificing one's own men like pawns was certainly not the trait of an honourable or a courageous soldier. But, at the same time, it gave him some hope their insane plan might actually work; Jenner's do-or-die mentality might ultimately prove to be his own downfall.
As dawn broke over Thorn Valley, both armies were still at a standstill. No battle sirens had been sounded; no order to attack or defend had been given. The colonists of Thorn Valley, most of them not even trained soldiers, barricaded inside their feeble fortress, and Jenner's army of bloodthirsty warriors, born and bred to kill, positioned on the edge of the Valley in tight formation.
Josh was watching the enemy through his binoculars. He could see several Rats on chariots leading the troops, which he figured were Jenner and his lieutenants. All of the soldier Rats were clad in shiny armour plating and brandishing weapons, a stark contrast to their own limited arsenal – or, rather, what it seemed at first glance. What could they be waiting for?
Inside the Hab, Elizabeth and Emily sat with the children, watching everything that was happening outside from the base's security cameras. Isabella was resting in the room next door with Tanya keeping her company. Her pregnancy was pretty far advanced by now, with the baby due to arrive sometime in the next few days, although her psychological state remained extremely poor. Although nobody had told her what was happening outside, insisting it was all just a precaution, somehow she seemed to realize that her rapist was lurking nearby, utterly terrifying her.
The adults kept looking at the camera feeds, holding their breaths in anticipation. The final battle was only minutes away. Should the worst happen and their defences were overrun, Josh had instructed them to take the children and flee to the mountains immediately using the Rover, to which Elizabeth and Emily had half-heartedly agreed. Martin kept grumbling about not being included in the troops.
"Why can't I be out there?" he kept saying, much to everyone's irritation, "I'm not afraid of that tosser Jenner! I'm not even afraid of the Great Owl...!"
"If you're not afraid of anything, you how come you couldn't even enter the Temple of the Great Owl without clutching Mother's hand?" asked Teresa, rolling her eyes. "Scaredy cat!"
Ever since moving into Thorn Valley, the children had been anxious to meet the Great Owl in person. Although initially hesitant, on Josh's insistence, Teresa had finally worked up the courage and gone in, followed by Timothy and even Cynthia, who had clang to her mother in fear every step of the way. The realization that the Great Owl was just a hologram, completely harmless, had caused them to burst out laughing. Martin had taken a little longer to persuade and when he finally worked up the courage to enter, he had been utterly overwhelmed with embarrassment for chickening out in front of his siblings, who kept teasing him about it. He gave Teresa a rude hand gesture.
"Now, children, no arguing!" said Elizabeth firmly, "Josh was specific in his orders that we don't go outside until it's safe. Don't you forget, Martin, he's assigned you the task of looking after me and your siblings in his absence, just like Fievel has with his mother and sisters." That seemed to break through Martin's irritation, reminding himself that, as the family's eldest son, his duty was here.
At that moment, a cry of pain was heard from next door. A panicked Tanya came running out. "Mama, Elizabeth, it's Isabella! I think the baby is coming!"
The two Mice matriarchs came running into the bedroom. Isabella was awake, panting and moaning. Sure enough, they could see her water had broken. The overwhelming stress of her mental trauma, coupled with the fear that she might fall back into Jenner's hands at any moment, had caused her to go into premature labour.
"What are we going to do?" asked Elizabeth, trying to remain calm. Although she had given birth four times already, she had always had the assistance of Auntie Shrew, who had been a skilled midwife. She could remember more or less what to do, but had never actually delivered someone else's baby before. "Maybe we should send for Mr Ages...?"
"No, there is no time now," said Emily, pushing Elizabeth aside and getting to work, "This is nothing a good old midwife like me can't handle." She turned to her eldest daughter, "Tanya, take the children out please. We need some privacy here." Tanya complied and ushered Fievel and the Brisby children out the room.
"All right, I'm going to need hot water, a knife and all the clean towels we have," Emily told Elizabeth, who hurried out to get the things. She stroked Isabella's forehead soothingly, "There, there now, child. You are in good hands. When I tell you, I need you to start pushing..."
For the next hectic hour, Emily and Elizabeth worked frantically with Isabella, to deliver her premature baby. Outside the makeshift maternal ward, Tanya was doing her best to keep the children calm, Isabella's loud cries of pain frightening them.
At last, a furless pinkie, its eyes still closed and lined with a blue film, was cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket, which was placed in Isabella's arms. The former princess, although exhausted and sore, had stopped crying, as she stared in silent admiration at her first child.
"It's a boy," said Elizabeth, swelling with joy at the sight of the newborn infant, "A strong, healthy boy. Congratulations, Isabella!"
"You did splendidly, dear," said Emily, also smiling. "You are going to be a wonderful mother!"
For the first time in months, Isabella smiled, eagerly cradling her son in her arms. She was a mother! The haunting memories of all the rapes and abuse she had endured while in Jenner's captivity, and which had ironically resulted in this birth, seemed to evaporate instantly. The joy of the birth of her son had finally healed her broken soul, just like Bernard had said.
"He's so cute," said a delighted Tanya, bringing a cup of some of her mother's herbal tea for Isabella, "What are you going to call him?" Isabella considered for a moment.
"Rasco," she finally said, "It was my father's name and it's only fitting my son should now carry it. And he should also carry my grandfather's name. Rasco Nicodemus II!"
The colonists all cheered with joy at the arrival of Rasco. Elizabeth called in the children, so they could meet their new fellow colonist – the firstborn child of Thorn Valley! All of them had lost interest in watching the battle raging outside...
Atop a ridge on the edge of the Valley, Jenner and his army were in position and ready to attack. Jenner stared intently at the settlement down below with its flimsy, limited defences, which stood no chance against his army. It would give him great pleasure to wipe out that foul colony of traitors and built his new domain on their graves.
"What about prisoners, General?" asked one of his officers, "How do we contain any prisoners of war we capture?"
"No prisoners," said Jenner indifferently, "We will slaughter every last one of them, including all women and children, leaving no survivors! Only make sure no one touches Anderson. His life is mine, and mine alone, to take away. Right, send in the first wave!" Although slightly taken aback by his commander's orders, the officer nodded in acknowledgement. He turned to the troops, raising his sword arm in the direction of the target, giving the signal.
"First wave, move forward!"
A wave of armour-clad soldier Rats, brandishing their weapons and yelling battle cries, surged forward downhill into the Valley, fanning out as they went. The officer raised his arm again, mentally timing his movements, "Second wave, move forward...!"
Down by the barricade, Josh and his comrades saw the soldiers charge. From afar, they resembled a black tsunami of flesh and iron, moving in for the kill. The final battle had started. Now, it was all about timing and the element of surprise.
"Everybody behind the ship!" called Josh, signalling to all the spectators to take cover behind the wreck and away from the blast zone, "Take cover now!"
Taking out his HHC, he brought up on screen the remote firing command he had programmed and punched in the final sequence:
FINAL IGNITION SEQUENCE INITIATED. PROCEED WITH BURN?
Y/N
Looking out at the approaching enemy, he saw they were getting closer, definitely oblivious to the deadly surprise awaiting them. In the background, he could see Jenner's officers sending in a forth and even a fifth wave, the entire army, just like Justin had predicted. It was all playing out perfectly. Counting down the seconds on his watch, Josh waited until the enemy was almost within spitting distance. Then, he hit the Y command.
Come on, old girl...
For a couple of seconds nothing happened. Josh was just about to try it again, when he heard the familiar deep rumbling sound from within the wreck, as 2,000-year old atomic rocket engines rose from the dead. He smiled. The nuclear reaction was starting! He felt the ground start to vibrate beneath his feet. The ancient wreck shook violently, almost as if it was about to somehow lift off again and take flight into space. But, of course, that didn't happen and it never would.
"Everybody down! Don't look at the flash!" The second he hit the ground, the engines fired.
The Rats never knew what hit them. Red-hot atomic energy, hotter than the surface of the sun, shot out of the Nimh-One's drive-tubes like a blast furnace, pulverizing them all. Those on the front lines were instantly vaporized, armour and all, their ashes scattering in the winds. Those further back merely lived a second or two longer, just enough to experience the sheer agony of being immolated alive. With alarming speed, the atomic blast rolled over them like a fiery wave of death.
From atop the ridge, Jenner watched in furious fascination as his best soldiers were obliterated in the blink of an eye. Blinded by the flash of the atomic blast, he looked away, unable to watch his Rats being reduced to charcoal, yet still able to hear their death screams. Behind him, his remaining army, terrified by the lethal force of that weapon and realising they stood no chance against that wild human beast, turned to flee.
"Come back, you cowards!" yelled Jenner, "You are soldiers, bound by your oath of honour to destroy that human! Come back I say!" But not a single one of them paid him any heed. The sight of that destructive power the human yielded had completely robbed them of their courage.
A blinding rage overtook Jenner. That accursed human who had ruined him, maimed him, had bested him for the last time. There was no future worth living for without his rathood. And he would not swallow the insult of yet another defeat at his enemy's hand, even if it meant his own death!
Uttering his own mighty battle cry and drawing his sword, he charged downhill and into the fray, meeting the sweeping wave of the atomic blast head on...
On the deserted flight deck of the Nimh-One, the fuel level readings on the panel dropped until they finally settled on zero. The fuel cell indicator glowed red, warning no-one-in-particular that the ship had exhausted the last of her fuel. Outside the wreck, the atomic flames receded, until the drive-tubes finally went out and the engines died, leaving a massive stretch of scorched earth all the way to the edge of the Valley, littered with burnt vegetation and hundreds of charred Rat corpses. A fine trickle of ash from cremated Rats, fell from the sky like an ominous blizzard.
The colonists of Thorn Valley stared in silent amazement at the scene of utter devastation, where their enemy had fallen. With the exception of a few badly burnt Rats on the brink of death still twitching on the ground, not a single soldier had survived the blast. The battle was over.
"We did it! We did it!" yelled Justin, shaking his fists in the air triumphantly. Around them, their fellow colonists were also cheering, many even crying. Against all odds, they had triumphed and without a single casualty! At long last, they were safe and free to rebuild, just as Nicodemus had intended.
The women and children slowly emerged from their shelters where they had been hiding, tearfully reuniting with their fathers, brothers and friends. Elizabeth came running, literally jumping into Josh's embrace to kiss him.
"I knew you could do it, Josh," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, "You saved us again!"
"Was there any doubt about it, love?" asked Josh cheekily, leaning over to return the kiss. Beside their mother, the children were beaming. Around him, all the spectators were still cheering wildly. Cries of victory and freedom filled the air. At last, it was all over.
Isabella joined them, cradling her newborn son. Emily had been incredulous, insisting it was too early for her to be out of bed and that she needed rest so she could nurse her baby, but Isabella had been adamant to see the outcome of the battle. It was the only way to finally set her demons to rest.
She stared out at the field of the dead, some bodies still smouldering, trying not to be sick at the smell of burnt Rat fur and charred flesh lingering in the air. She turned to look at Josh. She embraced him.
"Thank you, Sir Josh," she said, addressing him by his title bestowed upon him by Nicodemus, "My grandfather was right when he shamelessly broke every taboo in our culture and allowed you to join his court." She looked down at her sleeping son. "Thanks to you, my son will now be growing up in a free world of peace."
"It is tradition that every newborn member of the royal family has a chosen member of the court named his godfather at birth in honour of his services to the royal family," she continued, "Although the monarchy is no more, as the last member of the royal family, I intend to uphold that ancient tradition. Therefore, I name you, Sir Josh, and your future Lady Elizabeth, as my son Rasco's godparents!" Elizabeth gasped with joy, hugging Isabella. Although Isabella was technically no longer a princess and thus couldn't make this official, both Elizabeth and Josh were still delighted to have this honour.
Isabella then turned to Justin. After a moment's hesitation, she leaned over and kissed him. She smiled at Justin who was petrified with amazement at what had just happened. The same princess he had served and protected all his life, and who was strictly off-limits to anyone who wasn't of noble blood, was kissing him, a lowly Captain of the Guards?
"I have wanted to do this for a long time," she said, her heart filled with joy, "As a princess I was forbidden to do so, but now I have the freedom to finally choose the Rat I love. I love you, Justin Wilson, and I want to marry you."
Justin was overwhelmed. He had always secretly admired the beautiful Isabella, but, true to his code of honour, he had always kept his feelings to himself, knowing full well he could never have her. He was well aware of her crush on him, not unlike his own crush for Elizabeth, but had never dreamt in a million years of it ultimately blossoming into true love for the both of them. Now, with Nicodemus dead and the monarchy abolished, Isabella was no longer bound by the strict rules of her world and he was free to profess his love for her. Not forgetting his manners, he got down on one knee.
"Isabella, will you marry me?"
"Yes, yes!" said Isabella, her heart literally bursting with joy. This was without a doubt the happiest day of her life. Now, she was no longer the pampered princess held prisoner by a maniac, but a woman who had finally won the heart of the man she truly loved. The pair kissed again.
Looking out again at the sea of corpses, Josh noticed a few of them were incredibly still alive. He could see a few limbs still moving, could hear the faint moans of those still breathing but in agony. He felt pity for those wretches. Enemy or not, they could not just leave them there to die slowly from their injuries. They had been beaten, fair and square; now was the time for them to extend a merciful hand, to show the world that they, unlike Jenner, wouldn't sink to such an inhumane level.
With Justin, Mr Ages and a few others assisting him, Josh made his way through the sea of burnt and dismembered bodies, looking for any survivors. One or two were indeed still alive, but their burn injuries were so severe, the only thing they could do was to put them out of their misery using the last of the Hab's supply of morphine.
They had just about finished confirming that the rest of them were all dead, when trouble struck. Mr Ages was pawing under a wrecked chariot, the charred corpses of the rabbits pulling it still attached to it, when he spotted a battered figure lying face down in a bed of smoking ashes. Judging by his armour plating, it looked like an officer, although the armour was too badly smudged by the flames for the decorative carvings that signified the rank to be identifiable.
"Hello, can you hear me?" called Ages, bending down to turn the figure over and assess his injuries, "Are you all right? Let me help you... Ah!"
As the figure rolled over, Ages found himself staring into the evil eyes of a still living and deadly Jenner, who, in a flash, raised the sword still grasped in his hand and plunged it deep into Ages' abdomen, running him clean through the heart. Ages gasped, his scream dying in his throat as the deathblow hit him. Jenner withdrew the sword, letting the mortally injured Ages fall to the ground in a pool of his own blood. The last of Nicodemus' original team who had worked for years to find the Stone, had fallen.
After charging into the fiery wave in an act of suicidal defiance, Jenner had been thrown from his disintegrating chariot and pinned under the wreckage, which had shielded him somewhat from the flames. He'd regained consciousness at the sound of his enemies searching among the bodies for survivors. He was in terrible pain, with severe burns all over his body, but not bad enough to incapacitate him. After all, pain was a familiar companion in battle and an even greater ally when he inflicted it on others. Fate had granted one final chance at revenge and he was not going to waste it.
Playing dead, he waited until he felt the presence of someone standing right above him. It's the human, he thought. This was his chance! Just as the figure turned him over, he plunged his sword right into his target, only to realize too late it wasn't Anderson at all, but rather that crackpot old mouse Ages.
Not sparing his unintended victim a second thought, Jenner got to his feet to flee. He knew Ages' scream had attracted attention and very soon, that accursed human would be upon him. Sure enough, as he ran, an electric bullet sailed over his head, hitting a rock nearby and causing it to shatter. Ignoring the pain of his injuries, Jenner bolted, hoping to find another way out of the Valley before he was cornered.
Hearing Ages' cry, Josh turned and saw, with horror, the mouse academic skewered on the end of the long, jagged blade of a sword. He looked like a side of beef on a meat hook. The old mouse twitched once, grasping at the weapon impaling his chest, and then went rigid. In a flash, his murderer withdrew his weapon, letting him fall to the ground.
Josh felt his blood curdle as he laid eyes on a still living and breathing Jenner, who had returned from his own funeral pyre. The evil Rat was horribly disfigured all over from the fiery blast, entire patches of fur burnt away from his arms and face, leaving ugly blackened wounds with bloodied blisters, like something out of a nightmare, yet, in his insane fury, didn't seem the least hindered by any pain.
Snapping out of his trance at the sight of that murderous monster, Josh drew his gun and fired, running to Ages' aid. But Jenner was faster, swiftly ducking out of his line of fire and running for his life. Before he'd even reached Ages, Josh realised it was already too late. Sure enough, the old mouse lay motionless on the ground, unseeing eyes still wide open from shock of this sudden attack that had cost him his life.
"Forget him, he's had it," said Justin grimly, checking Ages for a pulse but finding nothing, "Get after Jenner!"
Thunderous, vengeful rage boiled up inside of Josh, as he gave chase. He could not let Jenner get away with this! That bastard had just cut his last caper by murdering Ages and he would personally blow that psychopath's brains out! Fitzgibbons' gun clutched in his hand, he followed the trail through the smoke. At that moment, he heard Elizabeth's screams for help. Josh felt his blood curdle...
Meanwhile, Elizabeth and the others were waiting back by the barricade. The distant moans of the dying had finally died down and a deathly silence had descended over the incinerated field, still thick with smoke, where Jenner's fallen army now lay in piles of smoking ashes. Any survivors had evidently fled to the hills and would think twice before coming near Thorn Valley again. Convinced they were safe, Brutus had issued an all-clear, so everyone was free to move about again.
Suddenly, the distinct sound of a cry of pain was heard out in the smoke, although it was too faint to recognise whom it belonged to. Had something happened? Concerned and forgetting all sense of caution, Elizabeth hurried out to investigate. Suddenly, she noticed someone appear out of the mist, running straight in her direction. Although merely a silhouette in all that smoke, Elizabeth could tell from the size that it was a Rat. It's Justin, she thought.
"Justin, is that you? Over here!" she called, attracting the figure's attention, "Is everything all right? I thought I heard a scream. Where's Josh...? Ah!"
Noticing her, the figure had sprang at her, grabbing her in a choke hold with one of his horribly blistered hands, the other holding a blood-stained sword to her throat. Elizabeth stared in horror into the grotesquely disfigured face of Jenner, whose evil green eyes shone with an animalistic hunger that spelled imminent bloodshed, his teeth barred.
"Greetings to you too, my dear Mrs Brisby," he said, almost suffocating her in his strong grip, "Perfect timing too. Your human lover and I have some unfinished business to attend to!"
"Help!" screamed Elizabeth, struggling to get free, "Somebody, help me...!"
"Silence, you little wretch, or I'll slash you in half!" snarled Jenner over her shoulder, his sword nearly cutting into her neck under the pressure, "Your human and I are going to have a little talk and I want you to be present for what I have to say."
"Hey, let go of her!" shouted one of the Rats, a former palace guard, who had heard her screams and realised she was in trouble, running to help, "Unhand her, you scum...!" But Jenner flashed his sword through the air without even looking at him, beheading him instantly.
Knowing Brisby's screams had been heard and, knowing Anderson wasn't far behind, he bodily picked up the struggling Elizabeth and ducked into the nearest hiding place: the Temple of the Great Owl. Unlike many of his fellow Rats, he had no qualms whatsoever about trespassing or spilling the blood of an innocent on holy ground. Pausing just long enough to ensure he had been seen, he ducked inside a split in the ancient fuselage, taking his hostage with him. He knew the human would follow.
Josh raced back to the barricade, only to find several horrified onlookers crowding around the body of a second victim of Jenner's sword, but, at least, to Josh's utmost relief, it wasn't Elizabeth. In an instant, his worst fears were confirmed; his beloved one had been taken. Elizabeth's children were there too, looking scared out of their wits and crying at the sight of the headless Rat guard lying on the ground. They'd seen from afar their mother being snatched by Jenner but unable to do anything to help her.
"Please, Josh, you've got to help Mother!" wept Teresa, desperately grabbing his arm, "He took her! He has a sword to her throat! He'll kill her, please...!" Beside her, Cynthia and Timmy were sobbing. Martin looked like he was about to be sick. As if on cue, they heard Jenner's voice from inside the wreck.
"I know you can hear me, human. If you would like to step inside alone for a private talk, your little sweetheart needn't be harmed. If you try anymore of your tricks, I'll chop her into little pieces and force her children to listen to her death screams! I'm waiting, human!" They heard a muffled cry, which they knew was a terrified Elizabeth begging for her life.
Josh had to use every ounce of self-control he possessed not to lose control and go charging in there. He knew Jenner was preparing a trap and if he lost his head now, he'd get both himself and Elizabeth killed. But he couldn't just sit there until that unhinged maniac lost his patience and killed Elizabeth within earshot of her own children! He stood up.
"You all stay out here," he ordered, snapping back into full military mode, "Justin, have your people surround the wreck. Make sure nobody gets in or out, but don't you dare make a move, you hear? I don't want anyone provoking that sick bastard." Justin nodded in understanding. There wouldn't be any heroics without Josh's say-so.
"Let me come with you, Josh," pleaded Martin, eager to help Josh save his mother. "You might need someone to cover your back..."
"Absolutely not!" said Josh firmly to the boy, "Nobody is to follow me in there, you understand?" Realising he had unintentionally snapped at them, he bent down and pulled them close.
"I promise I will get your mother back safely," he said in a quieter tone of voice, trying to calm them down, "But I need you to stay out here where it is safe. Ok?" The children nodded. Giving them one final smile, he grabbed Fitzgibbons' gun, and, armed and deadly, he hurried into the wreck.
"All right, Jenner," he muttered darkly to himself, "So you want to make this fight personal? Just you and me? Happy to oblige. I'll send you to meet your maker as I should have done months ago, you son of a bitch!"
Gun in hand, his eyes surveying every inch of his surroundings for signs of movement. No sign of Jenner or Elizabeth anywhere. Slowly and noiselessly he made his way through the Nimh-One's wrecked interior, barely recognisable as a spacecraft anymore, but not to Josh, who knew all the good hiding places in here.
Come on out, Jenner, you cowardly sewer rat. Come on out and play...
Carefully making his way around dark corners and through collapsed bulkheads, he came to the edge of the flight deck. Jenner stood just beyond the open bulkhead door that led to the bridge, bathed in the light of the still-functioning control panels around the room. He held a trembling Elizabeth against him like a shield, the blade of his sword held firmly against her throat. Josh saw red, raising his gun so it was aiming directly at Jenner's head. He was tempted to risk a shot, but feared the force of his bullet, equivalent to that of a small bomb, might hit Elizabeth too. Jenner tightened his grip on the sword in warning, halting Josh in his tracks. The sinister Rat was smiling evilly.
"So, you've come to face me, human. I'm impressed."
"What do you want?" asked Josh, keeping his weapon steady, "You still want the Stone? Fine, you can have it!" But Jenner had a different agenda in mind as he cackled nastily. The evil Rat kept his sword poised on Elizabeth's throat, threatening to kill her should Josh take another step closer.
"Let her go, Jenner," growled Josh dangerously, "It's me you want, not her. Let her go and we can fight man to Rat! Or, don't you have the balls to fight your own battles? Oh, I forgot, you no longer have any balls, do you?" he asked mockingly, hoping to enrage Jenner enough to let down his guard and discard Elizabeth so he could get a clear shot.
Jenner's face darkened in silent anger at the insult, yet he didn't lose control. He had a whole new game to play and he wasn't going to be distracted by some filthy human's petty jibes. He glared back at Josh.
"You are nothing but a stupid, low-life, degenerate human," he spat hatefully, "No matter what those deluded fools tell you or how much you deceive yourself, you will never fit in here. You will always be the outcast, the inferior being in the shadow of Rat superiority!"
"Speak for yourself," sneered Josh, unfazed, "A cowardly traitor and murderer who is not above killing and raping his own flesh and blood! But now, your mistakes have finally caught up with you. You lose, Jenner! Now you're nothing!" He must have struck a nerve because Jenner's eyes narrowed in rage.
"You took away my dignity and everything else I worked all my life to achieve," he snarled, "And I'm going to make you suffer for this! You are the one who is about to lose everything, Anderson! You may have won the battle, but your own mistakes are about to catch up with you now. They will all hate you once they hear what you've done! You know what I mean?" Josh frowned, realising where Jenner was getting at.
"You can never make me hate Josh!" cried Elizabeth defiantly. Her love for Josh far surpassed even her fear for her own life. "I love him with all my heart!" Much to her surprise, Jenner smiled nastily. Now was the time to play his final card, which he had been saving for this moment – the moment when he would finally destroy Josh Anderson, if not on the end of his sword, then by ruining him by turning his beloved ones against him! Josh felt his insides curl up in anticipation, realising what Jenner was going to say the second before he said it.
"Then, my dear, you don't know the dark secret your darling human has been hiding from you," he muttered in a false tone of pity, "Allow me to enlighten you. The noble Captain Anderson, protector of the innocent and fighter for the weak, is in fact the murderer of your dear departed husband!"
A deathly silence filled the ruined ship as Jenner's words sunk in. Elizabeth froze, staring in horror and disbelief back at Josh, who realised his guilty secret that had been haunting him for months now, and which he had desperately hoped to keep buried forever, had finally caught up with him.
Author's note: Another chapter is up! As you probably guessed, Josh and Elizabeth's love for each other will now undergo the ultimate test because of what happened to Jonathan many chapters back. Will Jenner ultimately succeed is tearing them apart for good? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out!