Far From Home: The Complete Series (63 page)

Turrets turned in their direction and opened fire. Jessica swung the
Saratoga
left and right to avoid the fire, but she couldn’t get past it all. The
Inflictor
‘s weapons chased down the
Saratoga
‘s hull, smashing against the plating and tearing into the bare titanium alloy beneath.

“Hull breaches,” he reported.

“Seal us in,” Jessica said. “As long as they’re not in here, it doesn’t matter.”

“Aye.”

She turned the ship out of the line of fire. The
Saratoga
handled well.

Commander Greene tracked the cargo container’s path on his screen.

“Almost there…”

“Wait till it’s right in the exhaust fumes,” she advised. “That little spark should do a lot of damage.”

Greene bit his lip as he watched the blip roll into the
Inflictor
‘s plasma exhaust. He slammed his fist down on the detonator.

Before they could get away from the blast zone, the container exploded, igniting the exhaust. The chain reaction started in the exhaust manifolds, spreading toward the many pipes feeding the
Inflictor
like arteries directing the flow of blood to muscles. In an effort to restrict the fire, the safety systems built into the
Inflictor
‘s inner workings sealed entire sections of the ship, and in so doing, robbed the
Inflictor
of any engine capability.

The explosion swept the
Saratoga
to one side, as if she were a fly batted away by the back of a hand. Circuits blew all over the tiny bridge, raining hot white sparks down around them.

“Yes!” Greene yelled with joy. “Direct hit! Multiple explosions inside.”

“Nice one,” King said. “Now what about us?”

He checked his readings, his expression changing to one of concern. “Same as them, loss of thrusters. We have manoeuvring jets and the Jump Drive. Other than that we’re dead in the water,” he said.

“Well that’s put a dampener on proceedings…” Jessica said as she tried to get something – anything – out of the engines.

Nothing. Totally inoperable.

“Dammit!” she snapped, smacking her fists down on the console.

“Uh . . .” Greene muttered.

She turned around. “Del?”

“They still have weapons control. The
Inflictor
is firing!”

Jessica looked back up at the viewscreen. Sure enough, like a dragon, the Draxx ship spat balls of fire at them. The spheres of crackling, wicked energy rushed toward them. Jessica stood to attention, facing the inevitable, her hands clenched at her sides.

At the last minute, she registered movement to her left. Then it swooped in front of them, a ghost from the past, a thing of beauty. The
Defiant
cut between them and the warheads struck her side. Explosions registered there, but they did not stop the Union vessel as she swung past.

“Wow,” Greene managed to say.

Jessica smiled as in front of them, the
Defiant
locked heads with the
Inflictor
.

11.

The hangar tested positive for a breathable atmosphere, and Hawk clambered out of the shuttle. He removed his kataan, flicked its switch, and stood with it braced at his side. The hangar was empty, save for him, his shuttle, and dozens of Draxx fighters.

Warning sounds issued from within the ship, and red lighting flashed at the far end of the hangar, but the hangar itself was dark and deathly silent.

Then he heard the blast doors open about two hundred yards away. General Carn stood there, silhouetted against the white square of light in the doorway. He, too, held his blade at the ready.

The General stepped into the hangar. The doors slid shut. Then the General ran at Hawk, blade held forward. Hawk broke into a run, his kataan out to the side, both hands on the grip.

He grimaced, every bit of rage he could possibly muster directed into a furious growl. They rushed upon one another, and their blades clashed in a huge white spark.

* * *

Up ahead, the
Defiant
attacked the
Inflictor
with all she had, but the Draxx ship just had more punches to swing. The exchange of firepower was furious and blinding from the
Saratoga
‘s standpoint.

But as the
Defiant
turned away from the
Inflictor
to gain some distance, the Draxx giant didn’t stop. Hits registered in small explosions along her hull.

“This is going to be a short battle,” Jessica said.

They both looked at one another, and in the silence was an unspoken agreement between the two of them. Greene’s eyes were sad, regretful. But his face remained determined, and the fact she could rely on him brought Jessica strength.

“I always knew this would be a one way trip,” Commander Greene said.

Jessica stared dead ahead. “I didn’t want it to come to this…”

“I know,” he said simply.

It was all that was needed.

“Del, spool the Jump Drive generator,” she ordered, sitting back down at the helm.

Ahead of them, the
Inflictor
continued to fire at the
Defiant
, and it was all she could do to watch her old ship try and evade.

12.

Hawk leapt backwards onto the nose of a Draxx fighter, and still Carn swung at him. He parried the hit, knocked the General’s blade to the side, and kicked him.

His foot connected with Carn’s head, smashing the mirrored face plate. The General stumbled backward, one hand holding the remains of his mask while the other held his sword outstretched in front of him defensively.

Hawk dropped to the deck and dived forward. Carn blocked one of his hits, then followed it up with one of his own. But with one hand held to his face, he was handicapped somewhat in his intimate battle with the Union legend.

Hawk ducked beneath one of Carn’s hits. He sliced up through the General’s armpit. His sword arm fell away and black blood splattered over the deck from the raw, exposed flesh at the gaping hole.

“GAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!” Carn screamed, forgetting his face to touch where his arm had been seconds before. He looked down incredulously at his arm on the deck – the hand spasming around the handle of the sword, the fingers still twitching. Body fluid spurted down his side.

Hawk didn’t wait. He stood up, raised his kataan and brought it down on the General’s torso. It sliced through his body armour, revealing dark flesh beneath. Hawk spun about, jabbed the sword backwards into the General and skewered his midsection.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” he said. He stepped forward, pulled the blade free. Carn fell to his knees, and when Hawk turned around to face him, he found himself seeing Carn’s identity for the first time.

General Carn was humanoid. Or had been, once. His skin had wrinkled and darkened with extreme age. His face resembled a giant prune. Where his eyes had failed he had artificial ocular implants. A silver coloured re-breather covered his nose and part of his mouth.

“What are you?”

Hawk’s spoke through ragged breaths. “I was once like you.”

“Human?”

The little lights set into the General’s implants twinkled on and off. “Almost.”

Hawk held the tip of the kataan against Carn’s throat. “Your war ends here, General.”

He lifted the sword, and Carn looked up at him. For a split second it almost looked as if the old man was thankful for some kind of release.

Then Hawk swung down and Carn’s face contorted into one of pure, undeniable hatred as his long, cruel life ended.

13.

“Activating the Jump Drive,” Jessica said. Up ahead, the
Inflictor
rushed toward the limping form of the
Defiant
.

She positioned them where they needed to be and stood. Del came to stand next to her. His eyes were wet with tears.

“It’s been an honour,” he said.

He extended his hand. Jessica didn’t shake it. She pulled him in, held him close.

“You were like a brother,” she said in his ear. “And I loved you like a brother.”

Del squeezed her. “Your Father would have been proud.”

Without looking, Jessica reached over and pressed a button. Then she held on tight to Commander Greene, squeezing her eyes shut as she awaited the inevitable.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Me too,” Greene said.

The Jump Drive of the
Saratoga
kicked in. The ship raced toward the
Inflictor
like one giant warhead. Its speeding form cut through the
Inflictor
‘s interior, and in an instant, the massive ship evaporated in the white hot fury of its own reactor blossoming into a nova. In her final second of life, Captain Jessica King felt warmth engulf her. It was not unpleasant. She sucked in one last breath, held it in her lungs so she couldn’t cry out.

Then she knew no more.

* * *

The
Defiant
was blown back by the rush of energy expended by the detonation of the
Inflictor
, tumbling through space but still intact. And tearing away from the scene of chaos, headed back to the station, a little Union shuttle bore a legend to safety…

14.

On the
Defiant,
Captain Jessica King watched as the
Inflictor
blew apart in a mighty explosion. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes.

“What was that?”

Lisa Chang tried to make sense of her readouts. “I think the
Saratoga
used their Jump Drive to literally jump through her.”

“You’re mistaken,” King said, shaking her head. “That’d be suicide.”

Chang looked up. “Yes, sir.”

Jessica turned to Lieutenant Commander Del Greene. “Del?”

He looked just as confused as she was. “I don’t know what to say. I thought we were dead there for a minute.”

Jessica ran a hand over her face. She felt tired, irritable. Shocked, too, by what had happened. They were in one piece. The
Defiant
had the guts kicked out of her, but she was still standing.

She thought that perhaps it was fitting that on the day they consigned Captain Singh to the darkness of space they’d faced a battle of life and death and come out on the other side of it. He would’ve called that a good day’s work.

“We’ll figure it all out,” she said. “For now let’s take stock of whatever damage we’ve sustained and get back to the station. Something tells me the repairs we booked in for are going to take a little longer than we hoped…”

15.

Hawk finished his story. It had been days since he’d handed himself into Station 6. He’d instructed Admiral Grimshaw that his mission had been Top Secret, and that he must only tell the highest ranking official in the area.

That official, Admiral Clarke, now steepled his fingers in front of him as he considered what had been said.

“Well, Admiral? What d’yuh think?” Hawk asked him. “Am I mad?”

Clarke smiled. “No. I’ve had your DNA checked. You are who you say you are. And whilst your story is far-fetched . . . I cannot say that you aren’t telling the truth. Besides, I’ve heard some strange tales in my time.”

Hawk relaxed into his chair, relieved to have the Admiral on his side.

“So, where do we go from here?” Hawk asked.

Clarke glanced sideward at Grimshaw, who nodded slightly in agreement with whatever Clarke was about to say.

“That will have to be discussed,” Clarke answered. “I’d imagine a change of identity, for one thing. I don’t think it’d do for the general public to believe a legend has simply returned to life.”

“Agreed. I was thinkin’ along the same sorta lines.”

“Did you have a name in mind?”

Hawk thought for a moment. His eyes lit up. “Yeah. Come to think of it, I do.”

16.

Admiral Grimshaw walked with his hands behind his back.

“You know, it’s taken weeks to get this back into shape,” he remarked. “But it’s worth it. She looks great.”

They walked the corridors of the
Defiant
together, inspecting the recent repair and refit. The station itself had also undergone extensive repairs following its run-in with the
Inflictor
.

“Thank you, Admiral,” King said. “The repair teams have worked around the clock to get it done.”

“I think she looks the best she ever has,” Grimshaw said.

“I agree.”

They found their way to the munitions section where a plaque had been fixed to the bulkhead where Captain Singh had succumbed to his wounds from the fire.

“This is a nice touch,” Grimshaw said.

“Yes I know,” Jessica said. “The crew did the whole thing. I’m very proud of them.”

The plaque read:

IN MEMORIAM

CAPTAIN ANDREW SINGH

FATHER TO MANY

Every time she read it, Jessica felt a weight tug at her heart. It was getting easier, but she still grieved for Singh. It was apt that the crew had added the part about him being a father to them all, because that’s how she had looked at him. As the only father figure she’d truly known.

They left the
Defiant
and headed back to Grimshaw’s office on the station for her final debrief. On the ride toward the heart of Station 6, she happened to glance back at the
Defiant
.

“You know, she does look magnificent,” she said.

Grimshaw turned around to look too. “Aye,” he agreed.

* * *

“So, as far as we’re concerned, the
Defiant
is ship shape and ready to head back out,” Grimshaw said. He handed King a cup of tea and sat behind his desk with his own. “There is the matter of the ship that was stolen, of course.”

“Any luck with figuring out who they were?” she asked.

Grimshaw shook his head. “No, but whoever they were, we have them to thank. If it weren’t for their sacrifice…”

She nodded slowly. “Yes.”