The Final Battle (1996)

Backstory

2012-06-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

In the conclusion of the First Contact trilogy, the fragile peace between humans and S'Parnians for the last five years is shattered by a border skirmish. As both sides gear up for war, an ancient enemy returns to wipe out both sides. Traveling back to the colony from the first story, our heroes consult the ruins of a lost civilization on a way to destroy this new menace.

The most important aspect of this story is that of course it resolves the love triangles from the previous story. Whether it's to everyone's satisfaction is a matter of opinion.

Please enjoy "The Final Battle..."

Epilogue

2007-06-12T12:32:00.002-07:00

Epilogue

The sky was gray and it looked like rain. Jordan didn't notice this as she stepped out of a hovercar and onto the grounds of Arlington Cemetary. The cemetary was being rebuilt after the Darkstar had destroyed Washington. Jordan saw a group of people and a black coffin. Chairs were set up near the coffin and the funeral was ready to begin.

Jordan saw Hastings, Gage, Garren, and Anderson waiting for her at the grave site. She took her seat in the front row and then the funeral began. Fujimori was standing in front of the assembled people, he would be conducting the service, without the aid of any prompts or even a podium.

"We are here today to mourn the loss of our comarde‑in‑arms, Lieutenant Amanda Rosaro. Perhaps mourn is not the quite word for it. We are here to honor her memory for all that she has done for the Alliance during her brilliant military career."

"I first had the opportunity to meet Lieutenant Rosaro many years ago on the lunar colony after an assassination attempt on me. Lieutenant Rosaro's 5th Platoon narrowly arrived in time to save me. Our encounter was brief, but even then I could tell that she was one of the finest soldiers the Alliance had. She was a brash and bold commander who didn't always play by the rules, but she was honorable and courageous."

"Lieutenant Rosaro saved my life again more recently when a unit of Venrul found myself and Colonel Gage in the Yukon. She valiantly defended us, buying time for us to make our escape. She destroyed nearly a dozen of the Venrul's best troops in order to save Colonel Gage and I, but at the cost of her life. Lieutenant Rosaro was a noble soldier until the very end, and I can think of no better way to honor her memory than to inter her remains into this cemetary with the bodies of thousands of other heroes who have given their lives in defense of their home. She has also been awarded the Medal of (whatever, look that up later), I'm just sorry that it has to be posthumorously."

Fujimori sat down and Jordan stood up and went to where Fujimori had just been. "I only learned of Manny's death a few hours ago and I'm still a little in shock. However, before we bury her, I just had a few things I wanted to say."

"Before I met Manny I didn't have any friends and I was obsessed with going out in some kind of blaze of glory. Colonel Hastings first introduced Manny to me on a trip to New York over six years ago, and since then my life has changed drastically. She taught me what the meaning of friendship was. She gave me a reason to live. She changed my life. Instead of wanting to kill myself over my parent's death I became comfortable with my life and accepted their death. I became a more confident person, a better pilot, and a far better human being. And it's all because of Amanda Rosaro. She made me see that life was worth living and she welcomed me as a friend and was there for me when I needed her. Like President Fujimori, I owe my life to her."

It saddens me to be at her funeral today, but at the same time I know that this is what she would have wanted. She would have wanted to go down in defense of the Alliance, in defense of her home. And I know that right now God is welcoming another angel into Heaven." Jordan sat back down and it was Garren's turn to step forward.

"Manny and I had served with each other for years, and despite all the tight spots we had been in, I had never prepared for this moment. I guess I thought that if anyone would get killed, it would be me. Manny was always so strong that I guess I took it for granted that she could make it through anything. She had already died once, but she came back, and I never considered that she would die again. But she did die and I still can't think of anything to say." Garren turned to the coffin and patted it gently. "You were the best damned soldier in this universe, Manny, and I'll never forget you. I just hope you know, though, that these rookies you started to train turned out fine. They learned from the best, so it's no surprise. I'll miss you, Manny, but I know that you're in a better place now. Good‑bye."

Garren sat down and Anderson stepped forward to close the service. "I met Amanda in a New York coffee shop over six years ago, and at first we didn't hit it off. I was a little rash in propositioning my services to her and she was taken aback. Eventually, we did become friends. She put her life in my hands when she entrusted me to use a new technique to repair the cell damage she had suffered. She believed in me and I was glad that I didn't let her down."

"Amanda was a great soldier, but she was also a magnificent human being. She was devoted to her friends and a caring and compassionate person. She was by far one of the best people I have ever known and I was glad that I had the opportunity and privledge to know her. I will never forget her, and I am sure that rest of you will not either."

"As we can conclude, we can go from here secure in the knowledge that Amanda was a good person who never swerved from defending what she believed in. She never shrank from a challenge and devoted her life to protecting the Alliance and all that it stood for. She was also a woman who deeply affected all those around her. And even as she departs from this physical world, the legacy she leaves behind is of caring, courage, and honor." Everyone rose and turned to a line of soldiers standing a few yards away.

The 5th Platoon fired twenty‑one shots into the cold, gray air to honor their fallen leader. The shots echoed across the silent grounds and slowly faded. Lieutenant Whittaker, the new commander of the platoon, stepped forward and folded the Alliance flag draped over the coffin. It was usually given to a friend or family member, but in this case Whittaker kept it. It would be forever displayed in the headquarters of the platoon as a tribute to the woman who had built the 5th Platoon into the premiere unit in the Alliance ground forces.

Then the coffin was lowered into the ground as someone played taps. Those assembled saluted the coffin as it slowly descended into the ground. It disappeared from sight and everyone slowly lowered their hands. For the first time in many years, tears came to Jordan's face and she buried herself in Anderson's arms. He was silent, knowing there was nothing he could say to console her.

***

Sam climbed out of the hovercar and looked at the Matrix. It had reappeared some time before Sam and his family had returned to their home after word reached them that the Venrul had been defeated. Sam had left his wife and children at their house to try and clean things up. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

He still felt that it was his fault that the Matrix had been stolen. While he was glad that it had returned, he still felt pangs of guilt at its loss. He touched the surface of the Matrix and felt a surge of energy rush through him. He pulled away and shook his head to clear it. He looked at the Matrix again and it felt like something inside of it was telling him that it was not his fault, that he should stop feeling guilty.

Sam wasn't sure if he could ever stop feeling guilty, but he knew he had to try. He had a life to live with his family and he couldn't let the guilt ruin it. He turned away, but then stopped as he thought he saw something lying near the Matrix. He looked again and saw the glint of something reflecting from the light inside a tangle of foliage. He went over to it and saw that it was a boot. He pushed the foliage aside and gasped in shock.

A body was under all of the vegetation. It was the perfectly preserved body of a human female. Sam knew that there was no way that anything could be so well‑preserved and have been there long enough for plants to grow over it. He pulled the body away from the Matrix and looked for some identification. He found something in one of its pockets. It was a United Earth Alliance military identification card. The face of the woman was shown and the name on the card read: "Commander Arsa Veranda". Sam recognized that name, but couldn't believe it.

Arsa Veranda had been the name of the human who had become the Savior. He had watched her fall into the Matrix six years ago. The entire area had been searched and no sign of a body had been found. There was no way that they could have missed something so obvious for so long. Then how had she gotten there?

Sam looked at the Matrix and knew the answer. The Savior had finally cast aside her physical form and transcended into something better, something more pure. He looked up into the sky and smiled. She was free of the Matrix and one with the universe now. Her work completed, the Savior had finally been able to leave S'Parni. Sam picked up the body and gently set it in the hovercar. He would have to take it to a military base where it could be sent back to Earth so that it could rest in peace. As Sam drove away, all of his guilt drained away. Like the Savior, he could now move on with his life.

***

S'Olonny stood in the silent graveyard and stared at the memorial to S'Tallen. His arm and side were wrapped in bandages, but S'Olonny had made a point of being in the cemetary for the dedication for S'Tallen's memorial. He smiled grimly as he thought of the irony of how he had always wanted S'Tallen to be dead, and now that it had happened he didn't feel happy at all. In fact, he felt miserable.

Not all of his misery was due to S'Tallen's death. A good portion of it was that his son was dead and he was all alone now. He had informed his wife of what happened, but she still did not want to see him. He doubted that she ever would. S'Uftril's body had been recovered and S'Olonny had buried it in a secluded area, knowing that no one would accept such a traitor to be buried with S'Parnian warriors. It was another little irony that S'Tallen, a scientist, was given a memorial in the cemetary.

S'Olonny thought back to the battle of Rygan I and how he had been glad that S'Tallen had been captured by the humans. He would have enjoyed killing the scientist then, but things had changed since then. S'Tallen had proven his worth as a scientist by helping to create the Savior and as a decent S'Parnian by saving the human and S'Parnian forces fighting the Venrul by ramming the Darkstar with the Vindicator.

Thinking of his ship made S'Olonny feel even more lonely. He had lost his son, his wife, S'Tallen, and his ship. Even his only human friend was gone now to live on Rygan. He was alone with no one in his life. Still, he knew that he had to go on. He had to rebuild the S'Parnian military after the damage done to it by the Venrul and reestablish trading with the humans.

He had told his son that he had fought the Grand Council to provide a better future for future generations of S'Parnians. He had delivered the Savior, but he still had work to do. He had to help S'Parni rebuild so that a new era could begin. An era of peace and prosperity that would make sure that no S'Parnian would ever have to lose as much as he had. S'Olonny touched S'Tallen's memorial and vowed that he would make it happen. Not for himself, but for S'Tallen and all the others who had died to defend S'Parni.

***

Terraz sat down at her desk and turned on her terminal. She had a lot of work to do, but was surprised when Lisa's face appeared on the screen as the terminal activated. She smiled a little and said, "I'm sorry to have to relay my message like this, Captain, but I had to make sure that you received it."

"What I'm about to tell you was told to me during my experiences inside the S'Parnian Great Matrix by Arsa Veranda. This information may sound strange, but it is perfectly reliable. It is imperative that you deliver this message to Alliance Command at once." Lisa explained what Arsa had told her about the alien species that would someday be contacted by humans. Terraz listened to it in shock and leaned back in her chair as the message ended.

A species that would create a weapon of mass destruction just to study a society hardly seemed very peaceful. Especially when that weapon had been used to kill hundreds of innocent lives in the attack on the Vincennes and Bennington. She wondered what the aliens had learned about humans, S'Parnians, and Venrul from their experiment. Probably nothing good, she thought gloomily.

Still, there was hope in that Arsa had said that humans would not meet this race for a long time. That meant that there would be time to rebuild and to prepare for the meeting should things turn out badly. She knew that Alliance Command would have their doubts about the validity of the report, but since it came from Arsa Veranda and Lisa Shaw, two legends in Alliance history, they would have to take it seriously. Terraz hoped that Arsa was wrong, because a race that could turn Bio‑Energy Collection Vessel Two into such a horrible weapon just without thinking about the consequences could be a dangerous enemy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Mary's face came on the screen. "Captain, I've got two messages incoming for you."

"All right, put the first one on," Terraz replied. She felt her stomach churn when she saw Klein's smiling face on the screen.

"Just thought I'd say good‑bye, Captain," Klein said haughtily. "Captain Kane agreed to take me with him to the colony he's going to be setting up as a haven for space pirates as per the deal he and Captain Laurants had agreed to. I would love to say it's been a pleasure serving with you, but that would be lying. I know you hated me, so fuck you. And, watch your back." The message ended and Terraz gulped at the implication of Klein's last statement. She just hoped that the next message was better news. "All right, put the next message up," she ordered Mary.

There were waves of static, but the picture finally cleared up to reveal the face of a teenager. Terraz's jaw nearly dropped to the floor as she recognized the face. It had been five years, but Terraz could still tell that it was Jenny Oliver who had called her. Jenny saw Terraz and smiled. Her face was a little dirty and her eyes tinged with red, but she seemed otherwise fine. She began slowly, "I'm sorry if I interrupted you Aunt Laurie, but I needed someone to talk to. My...my foster parents were killed in the attack on Earth and I don't have anyone else to turn to. Is there somewhere I can meet you to talk?"

Tears came to Terraz's eyes and she replied shakily, "Sure. Where are you at?"

"I'm in San Francisco at the airport. It was the only place with a working comm that could reach you."

"I'll be there shortly, all right?"

"All right. I love you, Aunt Laurie."

"I love you too. I'll see you soon." The connection broke and Terraz bolted out of her chair. She went to the hangar and procured a shuttle. As she headed for Earth she looked up at the Avenger and smiled. Gleaming silver in the starlight, the Avenger was still a symbol of hope to humans. A symbol of all that they had fought for and won. Now, as the last battle was over it was a symbol of a new beginning. A new era of peace between humanity and its neighbors. Terraz looked out at the stars and thought of Laurants and Lisa and how they were making a new life together. After all their struggles they had finally ended up together. She turned back to Earth and thought of how her and Jenny had struggled as well and hoped that they too could start a new life together.

[END]

Chapter Eighteen

2007-06-12T12:32:00.001-07:00

Chapter Eighteen

Anderson sat in his office, typing in the casualty reports from the battle. He reached Rockwell's name and Mary's words echoed through his mind. I could have saved her, he thought. Instead, he typed "deceased" next to her name and morbidly continued down the list. He stopped and turned away from the computer in frustration. He heard his door open and turned to see Jordan standing in the door. "Can I help you?" Anderson asked evenly.

"You look like you're the one who could use some help, Doc," Jordan replied and sat down. "Something's bothering you, what is it?"

"What's bothering me is that I'm not God! I can't save everyone! I want to be able to, but sometimes I have to sacrifice a patient in order to save others. It...it never gets easy, though," Anderson replied angrily.

"It's all right, Henry. People die in wars, you can't change that."

"I know that, I really do, but that doesn't mean I like it."

"You would be a monster if you did. What brought all this on?"

"A patient was brought in with a head injury. I could have saved her, I know I could have, but there wasn't time to perform the necessary operation. So I shoved her aside like a piece of meat and let her die. The consolation was that I was humane enough to keep the woman sedated until she died so she wouldn't wake up screaming."

"If you had performed the operation, what would have happened?"

"I would have been able to repair most of the damage, but there would have been some brain damage."

"And how many patients were you able to save instead?"

"I don't know, probably a dozen or more."

"Then you did the right thing."

"Right? I sacrificed the life of a human being. I let her die!"

"You did. But you had no choice. It was a battle and you had to play God. You had to decide if you wanted to put one person's life above those of a lot of other people, and you decided that it was more important to save many people and sacrifice one than to kill those many people and save that one person."

"Deep down, I know that I did the right thing, but it doesn't make me feel any better. She died from the head injury, but I condemned her to death. I killed her."

"No you didn't. She was beyond your help at the time, it isn't your fault. You just need some time to get over it. Maybe you should get some sleep."

Anderson nodded and turned the computer off. "You're right. Thank‑you, Major." He leaned back in his chair and asked, "Before I go, I'm curious: what do you plan to do now?"

"I don't know. Hastings is going to retire and settle down with Colonel Gage and the rest of the Guardian Angels are dead, so I guess my unit is gone. I think...I think I'll go home and take it easy for a while," Jordan replied.

"Home? I didn't think you had a home," Anderson replied.

"My parent's home in Montana. When they died, I was too young to inherit it, but it was put in trust with one of my relatives. I think I'll go back and claim it, settle down for a while."

"Good luck to you, Major. I hope you can find some happiness in your life."

"So what about you, Doctor?"

"I'll do what I did before: go back to London, demonstrate to my wife I'm still living, and reopen my practice."

"That sounds so dull."

"After all this, it sounds like Heaven. It will be nice to get back to my practice, where people aren't thrown on my operating table like sides of beef. The coughs and minor ailments will be so much better than head injuries, severe burns, and bloody wounds."

"You're probably right. It's been nice knowing you, Doc, you've been a great help to me as a friend."

"Yes, you never did have much use for me as a doctor."

Jordan stood up and smiled, "What can I say? I'm just too damn good." She leaned over and kissed Anderson on the cheek and left his office. Then Anderson stood up and left. He stood in sickbay for a moment and stared at the direction of the morgue. He walked into the dark room and turned the light on. The room was kept at temperatures near absolute zero in order to preserve the bodies, but Anderson didn't notice the cold. He walked amongst the frozen bodies encased in black bags and stopped when he came to the one marked, "Rockwell, Marie".

He ran his hand along the bag and tears filled his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Then he turned away and left sickbay, heading for his quarters. He dropped into a fitful sleep, haunted by nightmares of death and carnage. He woke up, sweating and panting, and longed to be home, away from the source of his nightmares. Still, he knew that his soul would never be at peace, and he vowed to never again take a human life.

***

Laurants stood in the engine room, his leg bandaged after Anderson had taken the shrapnel out a few hours ago. He looked around and saw Farley and what was left of his staff working to repair the damage to the room. "How bad is it?" Laurants asked.

"Actually, it's not too bad," Farley responded. "We're in better shape than we were after the battle over S'Parni. We'll be able to jump back to Earth shortly and effect repairs somewhere," the engineer replied almost optimistically.

"How long will that take?"

"A year or so. The old girl took a beating, but she'll be able to fight again."

"If they decide to keep her active. They may just decide to decommission her."

"If they do, I'll steal her and fix her up myself," there was anger in Farley's eyes and Laurants knew that the engineer had bonded to the Avenger over the years. "She's been to hell and back, Captain, but she's still got a lot of years left in her. Besides, I've already put five years into refitting her, I'm not about to throw it all away."

Laurants smiled and patted Farley on the back, "You've done a hell of a job with her, Commander. I'm sure Command will keep her active. They don't have many ships left, after all."

"Exactly. So if you excuse me Captain, I have to get back to work." Farley turned away and went back to work. Laurants took a last look at the engineer and turned away. As he was about to leave, a monitor came to life. He saw Terraz's face and wondered what was going on.

"Jack, something weird is going on. I'm reading an intruder alert."

"Where at?"

"See for yourself." Terraz showed him the location and his heart pounded.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." Laurants limped away, running as fast as he could. He stopped at the armory and grabbed a rifle, then he ran for where Terraz had indicated. He stopped at the door and input his access code. The door hissed open and Laurants eased into the dark room. He looked around, but didn't see anyone.

He edged forward slowly, his rifle at ready. He saw a tiny flash of light and saw a figure shrouded in darkness. He pointed his rifle at it and commanded, "This is an unauthorized area. Come out where I can see you or I'll shoot."

"Unauthorized? These are my quarters," Laurants heard Lisa reply. She stood up and stepped forward into the faint starlight. Laurants nearly jumped back in surprise. Lisa was wearing the same clothes as when she had left to interface the Matrix, only she looked different. She looked as she had when he had first boarded the Explorer nearly eight years ago. The flash of light Laurants had seen had come from the glass in her hand tha that was filled with scotch.

"What happened to you? You look...different," Laurants stammered in shock.

"I know. I had expected to be restored to as I was before I interfaced with the Matrix the first time, but instead I came back like this. I guess it's because inside my two halves merged into one person instead of resetting to the way things were before."

"It's...it's weird." Laurants stopped, something hitting him. If things had not reset to the way they were, then she might still remember the time they had spent together. "So what do you remember?"

"I can remember everything the way it was before I interfaced with the Matrix for the first time. After that, things are jumbled. I can only recall bits and pieces, nothing really substantial."

Laurants's heart felt as though it would rip in two, but he said nothing. He lowered the rifle and put on a brave smile. "I guess you'll want your ship back, now."

She shook her head and replied, "No. It's your ship now, Jack, not mine. I'm leaving the military and starting over." She stopped and looked him sadly in the eye. "I'm going down to Rygan. That's where I feel my place is now. I was taking a break from packing when you came in."

Laurants's eyes went wide as he listened to her. "You can't live on Rygan! The only living things left on that planet are the Glan, if they're even still alive! How will you survive?"

"There's edible plant life and the Rygans have rations stored in various places. I'll be fine. And in about fifteen years the first Rygans will emerge from the cloning tanks. I want to be there when they do to help them rebuild their society."

"You don't have to live there for the next fifteen years to do that! You can come back when they're about to emerge. Why are you doing this?"

She sighed and said quietly, "I don't expect you to understand my reasons. I know what I have to do. I hope you'll respect my decision."

"I won't let you go."

"You can't keep me here."

"Yes, I can. I won't let you go by yourself into a potentially hostile environment. You could die, and I can't let that happen."

"I'll be fine, I promise. I know the planet well enough that I can survive." She stopped and when she continued there was a note of pleading in her voice, "Please, Jack, don't try to keep me here against my will. I know what I have to do, don't try to keep me from it."

Laurants looked into her eyes and saw the sadness in them. He turned away from her and replied, "Fine. If that's what you have to do, then do it."

"Thank‑you," she said sadly. He began to leave and she called behind him, "Just take good care of the ship for me. It's all yours now."

"I will," he promised.

"I know you will. I'm proud of you, Jack, you've done a great job, and I know you'll continue to do so after I'm gone." Laurants left and went to his quarters.

He turned his computer terminal on and contacted the bridge, "Laurie, tell Farley to delay the jump for a couple of hours."

"Why?"

"I can't...I can't go into that," he answered and cut off the transmission. He shut off the computer and stared at it blankly. Damn it, he swore to himself, she's going to be gone soon. She would be out of his life forever and there was nothing he could do about it. He had to do something, but he had promised that he wouldn't interfere with her leaving.

He wanted so badly to tell her about his feelings for her, but he knew that she didn't love him and that it would be cruel to burden her with guilt about his feelings before she left. Still, if he just let her go then he would never have the chance to tell her. He rested his head on his desk and grappled with the moral dilemma, tears stinging his eyes.

***

Lisa hefted her bags into one of the Avenger's remaining shuttles and was about to board the shuttle when she heard the hangar's intercom spring to life.

(Insert the message here)

As the message played, Lisa could see Laurants standing in the doorway to the hangar. He slowly moved towards her and as the message finished he mouthed the last words. Then he stared at her silently. Lisa looked into his eyes and then darted into him, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you too," she whispered. She moved her head up and they kissed. The repair crew working on the hangar stopped their work and cheered. They slowly pulled away from each other and she asked, "What do we do now?"

"I'm coming with you," Laurants replied.

She was going to protest, but knew there was no point in it. "I guess I could use some companionship down there." She smiled and then asked, "So what took you so long?"

"I had to wait for the time to be right," Laurants replied. "How long have you known?"

"I remembered what happened between you and I, but I've loved you long before that. I just...I just never had the courage to say it."

"Neither have I, but I couldn't let you go without telling you. I couldn't live without you."

"I couldn't live without you either. I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to force you into anything. I didn't want to make you feel guilty."

"I understand. What about Nichols, do you still love him?"

"I'll always love him, but he's gone. I'm...I'm ready to move on with my life now. I'm ready to move on with you, Jack. I love you." They kissed again and Laurants slowly pulled away from her.

"I'll get my bags and we can be underway. Just the two of us."

"Actually," she whispered into his ear, "there will be three of us."

"What?"

"Remember that time we made love?"

"Yes."

"I'm pregnant. I felt it when my two halves merged. I could feel this other prescence. It was very small, but it was there."

"My God. Are we going to be able to take of a baby down there?"

"Don't worry about it. We'll be fine." Laurants nodded and turned away, a smile on his face. He couldn't believe it. He had started the day out alone and now he would have a family. It seemed like a dream. He pinched himself and winced in pain. Satisfied, he went up to the bridge.

Terraz turned to him and asked, "How'd it go?"

"Better than I hoped. I'm going with her. That means you'll be in charge now, Captain."

"Captain? I like the sound of that."

Laurants smiled and took the captain's pins off his uniform and handed them to her. "Take good care of those for me. And take care of the ship, too. It's all yours now." Terraz nodded and put the pins that Lisa had given Laurants six years ago onto her uniform.

"I'll make you proud, Jack," she said. Then Terraz fell into Laurants's arms, tears streaming down her face. "I'll miss you."

"I know," Laurants replied. "We've been through a lot together."

"I'm just glad that everything worked out for you. You two deserve to be together, and I'm glad that you finally got the chance to be."

"Thanks," Laurants pulled away from her just as his sister bolted into him. "Good‑bye. Tell Mom and Dad that I'll be all right."

"I will. If you can, come back home sometime. I'll miss you," his sister sobbed.

"I'll miss you too."

Mary pulled away from him and smiled as she wiped the tears away. "You'd better be going now." Laurants nodded and slowly left the bridge. As he stepped into the lift he took one last look around, remembering all the times he had spent on the Avenger. There had been good times and bad, and he knew that he would miss the ship. But he had a new life ahead of him, a life with the woman he loved.

Terraz watched her friend go and smiled. After eight years of pain he would finally be able to be happy. She envied him in a way; she didn't have anyone that she loved. There was no one in her life. She turned away from the lift and sank down into the command chair. It was hers now and she wanted to get used to it. She looked at the holoprojector and a few minutes later she saw a shuttle shoot out of the hangar and head for the surface of the planet. It disappeared and Terraz knew that she would probably never see Laurants or Lisa ever again.

She sighed and activated the intercom to the engine room. "We're ready to jump," she told Farley. Moments later there was a flash of white light and the Avenger disappeared from over Rygan I.

Chapter Seventeen

2007-06-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Chapter Seventeen

"Here they come!" Garren called out to his troops. Ten Venrul transports were approaching and nearing the edge of weapons range. Garren coverted the arms of his ExoArmor into long‑range missiles and waited. He got a lock on a transport and fired, two fiery plumes spewing from the back of the ExoArmor's arms as two missiles sped towards their target. The transport was hit amidships and a hatch opened, troops pouring our of it.

Missiles from the other ExoArmors cut down the rest of the transports, forcing the Venrul soldiers to land short of their goal. They were out of range of the ExoArmors's other weapons, but Garren knew that wouldn't last. He motioned for everyone to wait and kept track of the Venrul troops. They were spreading out, using the trees for cover. However, Garren knew that eventually they would attack his line. He would have to wait until then. He motioned to Whittaker and ordered, "Have Hayes move out to scout the area. I want to know when they get close."

"Yes, sir," Whittaker nodded and took off to relay the orders. Garren stepped back and thought for a few moments, trying to figure out what the Venrul would do.

His troops were blocking the only entrance to the research facility, and the tree cover ended just before the line, so that the Venrul would eventually have to expose themselves. The only other thing they could do was to call in for air support, although Garren knew that most of their fighters would be tied up in the fighting. Besides, the Ice Fields station would detect anything coming. There was nothing to do but wait.

After five minutes of waiting, Garren received a report from Hayes. "Nothing yet, sir. I'm about fifty yards out of the line and on the right side. I can't make anything out for at least the next two hundred yards. They might be on the other side."

"Keep quiet until you find them, then tell me and head back for the line. I don't want you to get caught out there by yourself," Garren replied.

"Yes, sir," Hayes answered quietly. Then there was silence. The calm before the storm.

"It's quiet, too..." Whittaker began, but Garren cut him off.

"Don't even say it. It'll be plenty loud enough in a few minutes." Garren checked his ammunition load again and listened for any sounds of trouble. He hated waiting for the enemy to come, but it was better than going out and getting slaughtered in the woods. He just wished that they'd get it over with, though. The sooner they arrived, the sooner he cold avenge Manny's death.

***

Fujimori stared at the holoprojector and smiled. The map showed the entire globe, spinning slowly and displaying the fighting going on all over the world as Alliance troops emerged from hiding. So far things were going well for the Alliance, especially since the Venrul had no air support while the humans had squadrons of Eclipses and hundreds of ExoArmors supporting them.

The best news was that fighting in the city of Anchorage had quickly turned to an Alliance rout. Anchorage was one of the largest cities nearby, and also one of the main places the Venrul could have drawn reinforcements from. Fighting in Whitehorse and Victoria was also going well for the Alliance.

Fujimori knew that as long as the Venrul fleet was kept at bay, the Alliance could retake Earth. They had the troops, the equipment, the firepower, and the advantage of surprise. If they could keep up the momentum then they could triumph. However, if the Venrul fleet were allowed back into the fighting, then things could get ugly. He heard Valohev come up to him and turned to see what he wanted. He was surprised to see Jeremiah Laurants with him.

"He requested to speak with you, sir. I refused him, but he insisted," Valohev reported.

"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but my wife is really getting on edge with all of the fighting going on. She wanted to know if...if there were any way to see how my son's ship was faring," Jeremiah said.

"Who is your son?" Fujimori asked. He had not ever really had time to get to know Jeremiah, their ride to the station had been too hectic.

"Captain Jack Laurants, I'm sure you're familiar with him."

"Of course I am. Your son has had a brilliant career. I'll tune the holoprojector so that we can see the battle in orbit," Fujimori responded. He tinkered with the holoprojector and brought up a map of the battle in orbit. He highlighted the Avenger in yellow and said, "There's his ship. It should still be in good shape."

"Thank‑you. I'll tell my wife, that should calm her down a bit. She just hates thinking that Jack could die up there." Jeremiah turned away and left, leaving Fujimori and Valohev alone.

"I hope his son makes it," Valohev said.

"So do I. I'll hate to have to tell him that he's dead. It will be too much to bear. Hopefully it never comes to pass." The two men were silent and then turned back to the holoprojector.

***

Laurants saw the Heatherworth explode on the holoprojector and sighed. The Venrul were hitting the perimeter ships, despite the fleet's best efforts. There had to be some way to stop them, or at least to distract them. He looked at the holoprojector and got an idea.

He walked over to his sister's station, wanting to give the order personally, because he knew that it was a suicidal mission. He didn't want Mary to feel that she had been a part of it. He activated the comm and called Hastings. "Colonel Hastings, this is Captain Laurants on the Avenger. I need you and the rest of the fighters to do something."

"What is it?" Hastings asked as he whipped his Corona around and blasted another Venrul fighter.

"I need you to attack the Venrul ships hitting our perimeter. Strafe them, bomb them, do whatever it takes to keep them busy."

Hastings was quiet a moment and then replied, "Sir, not to sound disrespectful, but this is a suicide mission. We'll be sitting ducks for their ships and their fighters."

"I know. But if we lose the perimeter then all hope is gone. You're our only chance."

"I understand. We'll be all over them. Hastings, out." He sighed and then called all the rest of the fighters of the Phantom Strike Force as well as fighters from the Alliance ships. "Attention everyone, this is Colonel Hastings. We've been assigned to a new mission. We have to try and keep their ships hitting the perimeter busy. Do whatever it takes, but keep them distracted."

"That's crazy!" Someone burst out. "We'll all be dead for sure!"

"If we lose the perimeter, then everyone is dead. Everyone on Earth as well as everyone here," Hastings replied.

There were no further complaints and Hastings hit his afterburners, heading for the perimeter. He could see Gage on his wing and knew that they were both going to die. Still, he had to do it. Millions of lives were counting on it. His life and the life of the woman he loved were worth little in comparison.

***

S'Uftril didn't quite know where he was going, he just knew that he had to run away. He could hear is father's heavy footfalls somewhere behind him. He wasn't sure where he was, but S'Ufril knew that he had to escape his father's wrath. He saw a door ahead and ducked inside it. He was immersed in darkness and sat against the door, breathing rapidly.

After a few minutes he calmed down and got a hold of himself. He knew that he had to find a medical kit to tend to his shoulder. He turned on the light in the room and saw that he was in was a conference room. He had never used it, but it was the answer to his prayers. It had communications gear, a holoprojector, and there was a medical kit hanging in a corner. S'Uftril stumbled over to the medical kit and took out some bandages. He wrapped them around his shoulder and hoped that the bleeding stopped soon. He would have to stay strong to fight his father, and losing too much blood would cause him to get weak. Of course, his father was wounded too, but S'Uftril knew his father well enough to know that a little wound would not deter him.

He took a few stimulates from the kit and swallowed them. Those should be able to keep him strong enough to finish off his father. He sat down near the holoprojector and turned it on. He programmed it to show him the battle outside and smiled. His strategy was working as he had planned. His ships were pressing out towards the perimeter and slowly destroying the human forces there. After those were finished, his fleet could turn its attention to wiping out the rest of the humans's ships.

The Darkstar shook violently and S'Uftril remembered that the Vindicator and a large human ship were flanking the Darkstar. He brought up a damage report and his mouth went dry. The Matrix weapon was off‑line! Sensors indicated that the problem was with the connections to the Matrix. S'Uftril slammed his fist down on the table, knowing that his father had tricked him.

The real intention of his coming on board had been to distract S'Uftril while a saboteur disabled the Matrix. He stood up and shut off the holoprojector. He activated the room's comm and called the bridge. "I want all available security forces to report to Cargo Bay Three immediately. Then order all ships from the S'Parni fleet to come here to reinforce us. Finally, concentrate all available weapons on the Vindicator. I want those traitors eliminated!" S'Uftril broke the connection and stormed from the room. As he exited he saw something green flash towards him. He brought his S'Zai up in time to block the blow from his father's sword. His grip on the weapon was weak and it flew from his hand and hit the door. It landed on the deck a few feet away and S'Uftril ducked to avoid a swipe at his head.

S'Uftril spun around and kicked S'Olonny in the leg, toppling him. Then S'Uftril scrambled over and retrieved his S'Zai. He took it in his hand and readied to bring it down on his father. As he swung, S'Olonny came up and grabbed his arm, stopping the S'Zai in mid‑arc. They were locked together for a few moments until S'Olonny hit his son in the face with his other hand. S'Uftril howled in pain and stumbled backwards. He could feel blood on his face and horrible memories hovered in front of him. Memories of Grand Council soldiers storming his house and slaughtering his siblings, leaving him for dead. Rage flared up and he charged at his father. S'Olonny bent down and flung him over his shoulder, slamming him into the deck.

S'Olonny quickly grabbed his S'Zai and watched his son take off running. "S'Uftril, stop! You honorless worm!" He taunted his opponent. S'Uftril continued to run, feeling fear rush through him once more. He blindly ran down corridors, knowing that he had to find safety. He had no idea where that would be and so he kept running. Somewhere, his panicked mind told him, somewhere there is a place where I can stop and rest. Long after he had left his father behind, he could still hear his steps echoing in his mind. Finally he shouted an unintelligible phrase to release all of his anger, pain, and fear and collapsed to the deck.

***

"Get up!"

Lisa distantly heard a familiar voice telling her that she had to move and groggily recognized it as her own voice. Pain still ran through her, crippling her. "I can't!" She answered the voice.

"Get up!" Her voice yelled back.

"I can't! The pain is too much!"

"Ignore the pain! You have to get up and stop Arsa!"

"I'm not strong enough to stop her!"

"Yes you are! You have the power to stop Arsa!"

"No I don't! Why don't you stop her?"

"I'm not strong enough. I don't have your power."

"What power?"

"The power Arsa gave me six years ago, before she was trapped in the Matrix. The power that let you interface with the Matrix. It's inside you. Use it and you can destroy Arsa."

Lisa thought about it for a few moments and things began to make sense. This Arsa person had given her power to interface with the Matrix, but why? Could she have known what would happen to her? Lisa shrugged away those thoughts and forced the pain down. She got to her feet and stepped forward. Then she took another step and another, the pain falling away like a cloak.

She took another step and then saw something appear in front of her. Arsa stood in her way, smiling. "You are a fool, Lisa. You cannot beat me," she said.

"We'll see about that," Lisa replied, no longer fearing Arsa's power. She spun her foot into Arsa's midsection and then punched her across the jaw.

Arsa merely stood there, not moving a centimeter from the barrage. She laughed and punched Lisa in the face. It felt like a freight train was hitting her at full speed and she landed on her stomach a few feet away. She felt hands dig into the skin of her back and she was hefted to her feet. Arsa slammed her back down and then kicked her in the head. Lisa was turned over on her back and stared up at Arsa. Arsa planted her foot on Lisa's midsection and stepped down on it as hard as she could. Lisa screamed in pain and flailed her limbs around uselessly.

"I trust we've learned our lesson," Arsa said. She stepped off Lisa and picked her up by her collar. "However, I will make sure you do not interfere again." Her hand lit up with white light and seemed to merge with Lisa's body. She writhed in agony and it felt as though her entire body were on fire. She was glowing with the same light as Arsa's hand and wondered only fleetingly what was happening. Then her world went black just as she landed in a heap.

She awoke what seemed like an eternity later and realized that the pain was gone. Ecstatic, she tried to stand up, but couldn't. What the hell? She thought and tried to sit up, but she couldn't do that either. Then she Arsa looming over her. "I see we've woke up," she said. Then she reached down and scooped Lisa up in her arms. "I'm sure you're wondering what's going on. Let me show you."

Arsa took Lisa's arm and held it up to her face. It was only

*FIX THIS!!! Modify this part and convert version of this file on leech's machine and fix beginning of this next part.* ***

"Move us back and charge the main gun. It's time to sting these bastards," Sanders ordered. The Avalon began to move backwards and turn so that its main cannon was pointed at the Darkstar. The weapon had not been used so far, and Sanders hoped that it worked.

"We're ready to fire," the offensive operations officer reported.

"Fire!" Sanders barked. An intense blue beam shot out of the big gun and struck the rear of the Darkstar. Pieces of the hull flaked off and Sanders knew that they had done some damage. "Keep firing at them with all batteries. I want them disabled."

Sanders leaned back in her chair and watched as the Avalon's weapons pummeled the Darkstar. She knew that it wouldn't be long until they started to destroy the enemy ship. It was weakened in several places already, it would just take more time to finish the job.

"Captain, they're firing on us!" The defensive operations officer shouted. Moments later the Darkstar's weapons opened fire and pounded the front of the Avalon. The bridge was shaken badly and Sanders struggled to stay in her seat. Then there was a massive explosion in the front of the ship as the Avalon's main cannon was hit. Flames washed over the bridge and Sanders's last thoughts were of the children she would be leaving behind. Then she, like the rest of the bridge crew, perished.

***

"Captain, the Vindicator and the Avalon have been disabled!" Shellowitz called out. Laurants ran to his station and could see that the two large ships were gone. They both were hanging in space uselessly, the Vindicator holed in what seemed like hundreds of places while the Avalon's entire bow was gone. He shivered and turned to Rockwell.

"Ensign, bring us in close to the Darkstar and set us up for a very fast strafing run. Laurie, focus all weapons on that ship as we fly past. Mary, try and raise either the Vindicator or the Avalon," he ordered. He sat down in his chair and thought. If the Darkstar were unleashed in the fighting then it would all be over. With its firepower it could cut down a could deal of Alliance ships at will. He would have to hope that the Avenger's maneuverability and firepower could keep it busy until help could arrive or the Matrix was retaken. He hoped that there was still someone alive on the Avalon and Vindicator, because they needed both ships badly. He turned to Mary and asked, "Anything yet?"

"Nothing from the Vindicator, but the Avalon did respond. Their exact words were, "We're busy, shut the fuck up." It sounded like the engine room instead of the bridge, though."

"With all their damage it makes sense. Keep trying to reach the Vindicator. Let's hope someone is still alive on it. And order the Dauntless to break off from us. We're going in alone."

Mary nodded and Laurants leaned back, knowing that things were looking grim. Unless the tide changed soon, the Venrul were going to win and Earth would be destroyed. He closed his eyes and tied to find a way to turn things around. He opened them moments later as the ship was hit, nothing coming to him.

***

Jordan was strapping into her fighter when she heard someone climbing up to the cockpit. Her blood ran cold when she saw that it was Kane. She hoped that he didn't decide to take revenge on her now for destroying two of his ships. "Hello, Major," Kane greeted her smoothly, showing no emotion.

"I knew you'd want to see me sooner or later, Kane," Jordan bit out harshly.

"Lemme guess, you think I'm pissed off about those two ships of mine you blasted, right?"

"Well, the thought had crossed my mind."

"Don't worry 'bout it Major. Those two ships were stupid. I had told them not to go after Jimmy's cargo and they did anyway. They wanted it for themselves. So actually you did me a favor. That's not why I'm here, though."

"Then why are you here?"

"I saw you strapping into this piece of shit, that's why. You're too good of a pilot to waste in some old dump truck."

"This fighter has seen me through a lot of battles."

"Yes, but if we're gonna be outnumbered a billion to one, I want my best pilot behind my best plane."

"What plane would that be?"

"My personal souped‑up Neutron fighter. It's decked out with plasma cannons, four regular cannons, two scatter‑shot weapons, and a missile bay full of modified Venrul‑busting missiles. Plus the engines are top‑of‑the‑line. It's the fastest fighter in the galaxy and it's yours if you want it."

Jordan stared at him neutrally, trying to hide her excitement. Kane's fighter sounded great, but she still didn't really trust him. He could have the fighter sabotaged to kill her. "What happens to my ship then?"

"It stays here. I can't fly this mission, so I thought I'd loan my fighter to you so that it can maybe turn things a little more our way."

"All right, I'll fly your fighter. Where is it?" Jordan unstrapped and Kane motioned for her to follow him. She followed him out of the ship's hangar and down a corridor. He stopped at a door and typed in a code. The door opened and they went inside. Jordan nearly fainted away as she stared at what was inside.

The Neutron fighter was painted black with white and gold trim that made it seem even sleeker than it was. She went over to it and climbed up to the cockpit. Never before had she seen anything so advanced. There were computers and screens everywhere. Kane smiled and said to her, "Most of the gizmos in there are of my own design. I found the original cockpit to be rather...inadequate."

Jordan sat down and instantly the screens came to life. She saw that one was a security device. "User identified as Major Sandra Elizabeth Jordan," a computerized voice said. Then Kane's face came up on the screen.

"I gave you security clearance to fly this fighter. Be sure to bring my baby back in one piece. It took me days to put this together," his digital image said.

She smiled and looked around her to get comfortable. The control stick was on her right side and studded with buttons. Kane's face appeared on the screen again. "The red button is for the energy weapons. Just use the toggle on the left side of the stick to select the weapon. The white button is for the missiles. The yellow button is for the emergency TDJ drive."

Jordan nearly bumped her head as she bolted up from her seat. "Kane, are you insane?" She shouted.

"I take it you found out about the yellow button."

"You bet I did. Are you crazy? If that thing gets hit I'm dead!"

"Not a chance. The drive is the size of a golf ball. The Biocrystallin is just a chip, not an entire crystal like aboard a starship. And the entire thing is protected in a blast‑proof shell, so don't worry about it. The only hitch is that you can only use it once, after that the chip vaporizes. It was meant in case I needed to get away real fast."

"Any other surprises?"

"No. Happy hunting, Major." Kane was about to walk away when there was a beep. He pulled out a comm from his pocket and answered, "Kane here, what's up?"

"Better git up hyear, the bad guys are coming in, lots of them."

"Is the anti‑TDJ drive net working?"

"Yep. They're all poppin' in right now."

"I'll be right up. Launch all fighters, raise shields, and arm all weapons." He threw Jordan a salute and hurried away. After he was gone the floor beneath the Neutron separated and revealed empty space. Jordan smiled and took the fighter down. When she was clear of the ship she activated her afterburners and streaked towards the nearest Venrul ship. It was payback time.

Kane sat down in his command chair and watched the situation in the holoprojector. There were nearly five hundred enemy ships in the area, the worst of which was the Conqueror. Kane knew right away that any battle was going to be a slaughter. Fortunately, his mission wasn't to battle the enemy horde. He simply had to keep them from jumping to Earth. "Keep the anti‑TDJ device workin'. Then git us the hell outta here and into the rings," He ordered, making sure to use the language and accent he used around his men.

"Are you sure we can survive in the ring system?" Klein asked from a chair in the back of the bridge.

"I don't recall askin' you anythin', but I know that we can stay in the belt."

"Won't they be able to find us?"

"Hell no. Our other ships are gonna be scattered around the rings and moons, scattering their readin's so they can't git a fix on any of us." Klein nodded and decided to shut up. He was just on board Kane's ship as an observer, not as a member of the crew.

Kane's ship weaved its way towards the rings of Saturn, firing at a Venrul cruiser on its tail. The cruiser was torn up by the ship's weapons and eventually exploded. Meanwhile, the pirate ship entered the rings and landed on a large chunk of rock that made up one of the wider belts. All power was shut off except for the shields, the anti‑TDJ device, and life support. An eerie silence settled over the bridge as it was immersed in darkness. "So," Kane began. "Anyone know any good songs?"

***

Sam was crouched down outside a large black building in his ExoArmor, waiting for the signal to move in. His ExoArmor, hastily covered in dark gray paint, was near a large rock on a ridge that overlooked the building. He could see Venrul guards surrounding the place, guarding the treasures inside. The treasures that he would soon try to destroy.

There was a beep on his comm, the signal to get ready. He saw escort ships appear suddenly and open fire at the building. The Venrul troops fired back and anti‑aircraft defenses roared to life. One of the escort ships was broken in half by the enemy firepower. The rest of the escort ships broke off just as another wave came in from a different direction. These escort ships broke off their attack after one run just as the first group came back from another direction. The gambit continued for several minutes, serving to confuse the defenders.

Two beeps came over Sam's comm and he rose from his position. He ran towards the building at full speed, the escort ships continuing their assault. No one noticed him yet and Sam hoped that it stayed that way. As he neared the fence around the building he activated his jets and rose high into the air. An escort ship passed just by him, close enough so that he could have touched it. He vaulted over it and neared the building. An escort ship exploded near him, its fireball showing the Venrul Sam's ExoArmor. They fired at him, shots hitting him in the back. He fell forward and crashed through a window, landing inside on his face. He hurried to his feet and looked around him. It was completely dark and he couldn't see the target. He stumbled forward and activated his night sensors. He stopped himself just as he was about to walk into the rail of a catwalk.

He peered over the edge carefully and saw Venrul standing at various places around the massive floor below. Some were guarding the doors while others seemed to be clustered towards the middle of the room, guarding something that Sam couldn't see even with his night sensors. He decided that that was probably where they were keeping the power cells. Still, he had to make sure. He converted one of his arms to missile mode and fired towards the middle of the room. The fierty tail of the missile lit the entire room up and Sam quickly deactivated his night sensors. Still, he could definitely see that something was there.

The Venrul looked up towards the catwalk and fired at Sam. He ran to his left, following the catwalk around the room. He finally stopped and leapt over the rail. He activated his jets and landed gently on the floor of the building. He converted his one arm back to normal and converted the other to machine‑gun mode. He knelt down behind a crate and fired at the Venrul troops. Their shots hit all around him, and one went through the crate and nailed him in the thigh. He winced in pain, but kept firing. He could see that the machine‑gun fire, while not overly powerful, was serving to keep the Venrul's heads down and had even knocked a couple of them down. He pulled out his rifle and blasted at the Venrul. A pair of them went down, and Sam was certain that it was for good. A Venrul shot hit him in his midsection and he fell backwards. He knew that the crate was not going to provide him with cover much longer. He looked towards the center of the room and could see his target more clearly now.

It was a black cylinder that widened at its base. He couldn't make out any details, but he knew that it was what he was looking for. He slowly got to his knees and then rose to his feet. He sprinted towards the cylinder, despite getting hit in his left leg. He dove behind the cylinder and the Venrul stopped shooting. As he had suspected, they knew that they couldn't risk hitting it. He could hear them moving and knew that they would advance on him and try to take him in hand‑to‑hand combat. He turned to the cylinder and looked for the best place to plant the explosives he was carrying. His sensors told him that there was a large amount of energy coming from the cylinder and he soon located a panel. He ripped it out and was nearly blinded by a strong white light. The panel revealed a small, brightly‑lit crevice that contained a tiny chip. Sam picked it up and examined it. It was a Venrul power chip. He smiled and put the chip back. Then he opened a holster on his right leg and took out the explosives inside. He one into the crevice, making sure that it was secure. Then he looked for another panel. He found one and ripped it open just as a shot tore into his left arm. He spun around and saw Venrul all around him. There was no way he could escape, at least not in his ExoArmor. He locked the ExoArmor to the floor and armed the bomb he had planted, plus the ones he still had in the holster. He smiled as a shot tore into the ExoArmor's chest. He opened his leg and chest missiles and fired them all. Most of the Venrul were torn to pieces and the rest were on the floor after diving out of the way of the onslaught. That was the distraction Sam needed to squeeze out of the ExoArmor. He ran away from the Venrul, and hopefully towards a door. The Venrul didn't notice him and he knew that he didn't have much time before they destroyed the ExoArmor and found that he wasn't in it. He looked around in the dark and then heard a rumbling. There was an explosion, but it was not coming from the cylinder. A piece of the wall near Sam was torn away and sent flying over his head. Sam could see starlight and the firefight still going on around him and ran towards the hole that had been created. He emerged outside and saw an escort ship pass overhead.

He flailed his arms around, trying to get someone's attention. From his calculations he had twenty seconds to get out of the area. An escort was coming in, laying down one last past. There was an explosion and the pilot could just make out someone waving at him. It was a S'Parnian and he decided to investigate. He swooped down lower and saw that it was Sam. "Open the hatch," the pilot ordered. The escort ship's hatch opened and it slowed to meet Sam. Sam leapt into the open hatch and the escort ship shot into the air. Someone crawled over to close the hatch and then the escort ship was buffeted by the explosion of the building containing the Venrul power cells. Sam let out a long breath and smiled slowly. He had done his mission, and soon the Venrul on S'Parni would be at their mercy. The young soldier thought of his family and knew that now the planet could be retaken and he could get his wife and children to somewhere safe. If anywhere was safe.

***

The Avenger rolled to the right just as a shot flew past where it had been. We're going to get pulverized, Rockwell thought to herself. She brought the Avenger back hard to the left and the ship's weapons opened fire. Pieces of the Darkstar's hull were peeled off as the Avenger streaked along its hull. It banked away and then looped around, coming in at the larger ship from the rear. Rockwell zig‑zagged the ship around to try and minimize the damage, but the Avenger's shields were pelted nonetheless. The ship rocked from several hits, but everyone kept their stations.

"Damage report?" Laurants asked.

"Not too bad, sir," Shellowitz replied quickly as he worked to keep the shields operational. "All main systems are still working. A few decks have been hit, but nothing major."

"Good," Laurants mused. He looked over at Terraz, who was leaning back in her station. She had the Avenger's weapons on automatic and programmed to fire on the Darkstar. That meant she had little else to do but to make sure the system was still working and to hold on to make sure she didn't fall out of her chair from Rockwell's wild maneuvers.

The Avenger banked to the left and made a quick turnaround. It came back at the Darkstar, zipping across its bow and continuing to pound the ship. It turned to the right and flew straight along the top of the warship. It was punished severely for the maneuver, but Rockwell was able to keep it from getting too badly damaged.

"Captain, we're receiving a priority message from the Laporte." The Laporte was an old ship on the perimeter. Laurants hadn't been sure that it should be used, but any ship with guns was needed.

"Put it on," he answered.

"Captain, we're getting slaughtered out here!" A panicked voice shouted. Laurants moved over to his sister's station and grimaced as he heard the message.

"Who is this?" He demanded. No Alliance captain would ever lose their control like that over an open frequency.

"Ensign James Homer, sir."

Laurants stroked his chin, thinking about what he should do. "Is your ship capable of a jump?"

"Yes, sir. The bridge is damaged, but the hull is mostly intact."

"Good. Retreat at once."

"Sir?" Homer seemed as surprised by the order as anyone on the Avenger's bridge.

"Get back to the station. As soon as you've assigned new personnel I want you to return."

"Yes, sir," Homer responded and broke the connection.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Terraz asked quietly.

"No."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"Because there's no way that ship can fight with a snot‑nosed ensign in charge. There's point in sacrificing them pointlessly." Laurants looked at the holoprojector and stared at the Darkstar. He was certain that Lisa was aboard and was pretty sure that by now she had interfaced with the Great Matrix. If so, then all they had to do was buy her some more time to do whatever she had to do. Of course, it was possible that she was dead by now, in which case nothing mattered. He sighed and turned to Mary and Terraz. "The hell with strategy. Order all units to engage at will. Tell them to not stop fighting until every one of these Venrul sons of bitches is destroyed."

"What about the plan?"

"The plan is about to unravel anyway, there's no use sticking to it. We have to buy Lisa more time to interface with the Matrix. Hopefully we don't have to buy too much time. Have Farley get a couple repair crews ready to board the Avalon. We need to get her operational." He stopped and looked over at Rockwell. "Dock us with the Avalon, Ensign."

"Yes, sir," Rockwell replied and brought the Avenger swiftly away form the Darkstar. She brought it near the badly damaged Avalon and docked with a rear airlock. Against the Avalon no one noticed the tiny Avenger, a trend which Laurants hoped continued.

"The repair crews are transferring over, sir," Shellowitz reported. "From the damage they've sustained, it looks like they were hit when they were charging their main cannon, causing a chain reaction that badly damaged the ship."

"I see. How long will it take to get them functional?"

"They should be able to fight right now."

"Call them and ask them who's in charge," Laurants told his sister.

Mary complied and answered, "They've lost contact with the bridge and presume everyone up there is dead. They've been too busy trying to repair the ship to fight."

"Then we need to form up a relief team to send over. Try and contact anyone with bridge experience and send them over." Laurants sat down and waited. He stared at the holoprojector and watched as the Alliance fleet began splitting up and savagely attacked the Venrul. He knew that wouldn't last long, though.

***

Hastings dove in on a Venrul frigate and opened fire with everything his Corona had in fighter mode. He hadn't converted it to bomber mode in order to try and cover Gage, whose craft was in bomber mode. He pulled up and saw her swoop in on the ship and let loose a stream of missiles. The missiles smashed a hole in the frigate and as Gage pulled up it began to spin out of control as its circuits were fried by the radiation.

Gage lined up on another ship, but it was then that Venrul fighters came at them. Hastings broke to the left, but Gage was forced to break to the right to avoid the Venrul's shots. Hastings blasted two of the Venrul, but a third hit him in the tail. The Corona bucked, but Hastings kept it under control. He sidestepped a shot from a fighter and threw the Corona into a wild S'turn. The Venrul followed him and he knew that he wasn't going to shake them easily. He thought back to the Battle of S'Parni and smiled. He streaked towards a Venrul battleship, narrowly avoiding crossfire from an Alliance cruiser. He got as close to its hull as he dared, noticing that it wasn't quite as craggy as the Darkstar's, but it would do. He rocked back a forth like a pendulum, hoping to lure the Venrul into the side of the ship. They stared right on his tail, not falling for his trick. One fighter fired and hit his wing. Hastings nearly smashed into the battleship, but he was able to keep control of it. Damn it, this isn't working, his mind screamed at him.

Another shot hit the Corona just above the canopy and Hastings knew that it was all over unless he did something quick. He put the Corona up in a steep climb. The Venrul were fooled for only a moment, then they charged after him. He began a slow, deliberate loop. The Venrul cut towards where Hastings would come out of the loop, hoping to get on his tail and blast him to atoms. At the apex of the loop, Hastings suddenly reversed direction and shot up and away from the Venrul. The enemy fighters, caught flatfooted, were incinerated when Hastings turned at them in bomber mode and launched a swarm of missiles at them. He sighed in relief, but a moment later his fighter was knocked end‑over‑end by something. He steadied the Corona and saw red lights all over his cockpit. He had lost one of his engines, which meant he was a goner. He looked around to locate the source of the shot that had hit him and was horrified to see a Venrul frigate coming straight for him. With only one engine, there was no way that Hastings could fight the frigate, but there was also no way that he could run in his condition.

He checked to make sure the comm still worked and activated it. "Allison, can you read me?" He asked.

There was a long pause and then he heard her grunt, "I read you."

"I'm hit bad and there's a ship that's going to gun me down. I can't shake him."

Gage banked her Corona hard to the left to avoid shots from a Venrul fighter. She located Hastings on her sensors and knew that there was no way she could make it to help him in time. She looked helplessly around the cockpit and then stopped. She reached down and pushed a red button. She could hear a slight grating sound and turned back to see pieces of her plane floating away. The Corona changed into its fighter mode, streaking towards Hastings with newfound speed. The Venrul fighters were left behind her and she could see the frigate and Hastings's Corona. "I'm coming, Scott," she called out.

Hastings moved his fighter to the right as a shot from the frigate lanced past him. The next shot, though, hit the Corona on the belly, tipping it over on its left side. Hastings was able to right the Corona, but it was moving very sluggishly. He knew that he was done for now.

Gage let out a scream as she saw Hastings's fighter get hit. Relief washed over her as she saw that he was still flying. She had reached the frigate and swooped down towards it. She opened up with all of her cannons, hoping to inflict some damage. She knew that she couldn't do much since she had jettisoned her missiles. She streaked along the hull of the frigate at blistering speed, her weapons tracing a line across the hull of the Venrul ship. She quickly banked back around and conducted another pass of the ship. The frigate fired back at her, but she was too fast for it to hit.

"Allison, what are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" Hastings shouted.

"Just get out of here Scott! I'll keep them busy while you escape."

"Damn it, Allison, I can't leave you to die like this! Not for me!"

"You have to. Please, just go." Hastings pounded a fist against a console, but knew that Gage was right. He looked around for somewhere to go where he might be safe. There was nowhere nearby because he was on the outer edge of the fighting. That would mean he would have to go back in to land somewhere. He set a course for the Avenger and prayed that he could make it there.

Gage rolled her Corona in a corkscrew as she dove on the frigate once more. She pulled up just as there was a flash of white light. She saw an old Alliance cruiser jump in not too far from the frigate. The cruiser turned towards the frigate and opened fire. The frigate was badly damaged, but was able to return fire. The cruiser shook, but was still in one piece. It blasted the frigate once more and the Venrul ship was holed in several places. Gage pulled away from the fight and activated her comm.

"Thanks a lot," she said.

"You're welcome," someone answered.

"Who are you guys anyway?" She asked.

"This is the LaPorte. We just got back into the fighting after a few quick repairs," a different voice answered. She recognized it, but couldn't believe it. What the hell was Admiral Shaw, head of the Alliance fleet, doing on that rustbucket? She thought it best not to ask and headed towards Hastings. She was surprised to see that he was heading back into the fighting.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked him.

"I have to land somewhere. I'm heading back for the Avenger."

"You'll never make it that far!"

"I have to try."

It was Gage's turn to pound her console, but she knew that Hastings was right. He had to try and make it back to the ship. There had to be some way for her to help, other than to try and cover him as best she could. She stopped and came up with a crazy idea that just might work. "I've got an idea, Scott, but I don't think you'll like it."

"Do I live in this plan?"

"Hopefully."

"I love it. What is it?"

"Eject. Then I'll magnetically lock onto your fighter with my arresting system."

"That's crazy...but it might work. How do we land, though?"

"I haven't quite figured that out yet. We'll come up with that later."

"All right. Here goes," Hastings pulled the ejection handle and the cockpit of his Corona separated from the rest of the plane. He shot upwards and Gage went inverted and activated the magnetic arresting system that was usually used only as an emergency feature to allow a plane to stop if it was out of control. The ejection module of Hastings's Corona hit the bottom of Gage's fighter and stuck to it.

Gage streaked towards the Avenger as fast as the Corona could go. "Are you all right?" She asked Hastings.

"I'm fine," he replied. "Just don't take me to dinner for a little while after this is over."

Gage laughed and responded, "There go my plans for the evening." The Corona hurtled towards the Avenger, weaving madly to avoid the heavier fighting. Both pilots just hoped there was an Avenger to land on.

***

"The relief crew is aboard and reports that the Avalon is ready to fight," Mary reported and Laurants nodded.

"All right, let's get on our way then. As soon as we've cleared the Avalon, get us back into the fight at any possible targets," he ordered. He watched the holoprojector and saw that the Darkstar was moving very slowly, blasting any Alliance ships in range. It was ignoring the Avalon and Vindicator completely. Laurants knew that it was about to get a rude awakening.

The Avenger moved away from the Avalon and towards a Venrul battleship. There were only a few of those left operational, which was a good sign. However, there were plenty of other Venrul ships left while the supply of Alliance and S'Parnian ships was dwindling quickly. The Avenger's weapons opened up on the battleship as it flashed past it. Rockwell quickly brought the ship back around and it battered the enemy battleship again. It quickly darted away, taking a few hits from the battleship as it left. It got onto the tail of a Venrul destroyer and battered it until the enemy ship exploded. It avoided the debris and swooped in on a Venrul cruiser that was engaged with a pair of S'Parnian Interceptors. One of the Interceptors was badly damaged, but it was still fighting back. The Avenger turned sideways and came in between the two Interceptors to land several hits on the cruiser. A few moments later the enemy ship was disabled from the radiation in the area and the Interceptors looked for their next victim.

Meanwhile, the Avenger kept twisting, turning, and pounding any enemy ships that came across its sights. The Venrul hit it a few times, but nothing serious. Laurants leaned back in his chair and looked up at the stars. Most of the stars were blocked out by ships, but Laurants could still see some, and for a moment he forgot all about the battle. He felt completely alone and at peace as he stared out into space. He thought about his brother, his parents, but most of all he thought about Lisa. She was out there, on the Darkstar, facing tremendous odds. He wished that he could be with her now, but he had no choice. He had to stay with the ship, take care of it like she had told him in his dream. Even if that meant he had to abandon the woman he loved, he had to do it. He just hoped that by some miracle she made it off the Darkstar alive.

It was then that the Avenger was hit as three Venrul cruisers came onto its tail. Rockwell maneuvered the ship around wildly, but the cruisers stuck to it. Then two of them moved to flank the human ship. Rockwell saw an opportunity and plunged the ship in a steep dive. She brought it back up in a tight loop and the ship's weapons raked the cruiser that had been behind it. It kept moving upwards, losing the cruisers. Rockwell wiped the sweat from her brow and lined up a Venrul frigate. The Avenger made short work of the enemy ship, but was pounded in turn as a Venrul destroyer came at it.

With less and less Alliance and S'Parnian ships, the Venrul had more firepower able to be thrown at the Avenger. Laurants could see that this was happening to other ships, just as the simulations had foretold. The enemy was pressing its numerical advantage and there was nothing Laurants could do about it. All he could do was hope that the survivors could buy Lisa enough time to finish with the Matrix.

Even as this thought crossed his mind, the Avenger was pounded by a Venrul battleship. The battleship had aligned itself so that after the Avenger had finished a run on a cruiser it had been in the perfect position to blast the human vessel. The small ship was sent spinning, throwing Laurants from his seat. Rockwell regained control, but a Venrul cruiser pounced on it immediately and strafed the entire length of the ship. A shot hit near the bridge and sent shrapnel screaming through the bridge and immersing the area in darkness. Emergency systems sealed the holes, but when the lights came back on, Laurants could see Shellowitz sprawled out on the deck. He stood up, but then felt a wave of pain and realized that he had something lodged in his right leg. He winced but hobbled over to Shellowitz. The man had blood spreading on the front of his uniform and Laurants saw that shrapnel had pierced his heart.

"Is everyone else all right?" Laurants called.

"I'm fine," Terraz replied.

"I'm all right," Mary responded.

Rockwell said nothing and Laurants hurried over to her, ignoring the pain in his leg. Rockwell was still sitting in her seat, unconscious but breathing shallowly. She was bleeding from a cut on her head, but there was no shrapnel, indicating that she had been grazed by something. "Mary, get her to sickbay," Laurants commanded. He would have done it himself, but it would take too long with his wounded leg.

Mary came over and saw the blood on Laurants's leg. "What about you, Jack? You're hurt too," she said concernedly.

"Don't worry about me!" He snapped. His mind flashed back to the Battle of S'Parni and he remembered how Lisa had broken her ankle when a shot had hit the deck near her. She wouldn't let herself be carried away to sickbay, and neither would he. "It's not that bad."

Mary was going to protest, but she could see the look in her brother's eyes that said he wouldn't let himself be removed from the bridge. Mary nodded and then bent down and picked Rockwell up in a fireman's carry. She dashed off the bridge just as the ship was rocked again. Laurants groaned and then sank down into Rockwell's seat. He checked all systems and was glad to see that propulsion was still working. He quickly diverted the defensive controls to Terraz's station and then got the ship moving again.

Anderson finished with a patient and another was hefted onto the operating table. This one had a hole in his midsection that still had a large chunk of metal jutting from it. Anderson carefully removed the metal and took a look inside. There was some intestinal damage, but nothing too serious. He quickly patched up the man's intestines and closed him up. A nurse put the man on a hovercart and pushed him over to the recovery room, which was actually a storage room.

The doors opened and Mary came in with Rockwell over her shoulder. A nurse was about to put another patient up, but Anderson waved them off and motioned for Mary to lay Rockwell on the table. He scanned her and grimaced. He turned to a nurse and said, "She's too far gone."

"Too far gone?" Mary blurted out as they removed Rockwell. "What do you mean?"

The next patient was hoisted up and Anderson replied as he tended to the patient, "There's no way I can save her now. The front of her skull is fratured, there's hemoraging in her brain, and fragments of bone embedded in her cerebrum. Ordinarily I could at least cure the bleeding and the fracture, but even then there would be brain damage. That operation would take hours which I don't have, though."

"So you're going to let her die?"

"I have to. It's either that or sacrifice other patients who I can save. I'm sorry Ensign, but that's the way it is."

Mary glared at the doctor and clenched her fists. "Is she going to be in pain before she dies?"

"No. She'll remain unconscious until she dies."

"Good," Mary replied slowly. "At least she won't be in pain." Then she left as quickly as she could, taking one look back at the Avenger helmswoman. A tear came to her eye and she turned away and went back up to the bridge. She numbly sat down in her chair and stared at nothing in particular.

"Can you handle defensive ops?" Laurants asked her.

"Huh? What?" Mary stammered.

"Can you handle the defensive station?"

"I had some training on it," Mary replied.

"Good, get over there." Mary nodded and carefully went to the station. There was still blood on the chair, but she forced herself to ignore it. Then she saw that Shellowtiz was still where Laurants had left him. Mary took off her jacket and spread it over his chest and head to cover his face. Then she turned to the station just as the Avenger was hit. The shields were dropping rapidly and there was almost nothing that Mary could do to stop it. There was very little power left to drain to the shields, meaning that soon the ship would lose them entirely.

Laurants knew that the Avenger was going to be destroyed very soon. The shields were low and the weapons were starting to be drained. Worst of all, the Venrul were ganging up more and more on the ship. Laurants put the Avenger in a hard roll that spun it past a Venrul cruiser. A shot glanced off the shields and Laurants leveled the ship out and lined up a run on a frigate. The frigate was blasted into bits and the Avenger kept moving, Venrul swarming it from all sides. A fulliside from several Venrul ships struck the Avenger.

"Shields are gone!" Mary called out. Laurants knew then that he and his crew were done for.

***

The Venrul were approaching from all sides, but Garren motioned for his troops to hold their fire. The Venrul moved towards the humans steadily, moving out of the cover of the forest in order to storm the human line. Garren converted the arms of his ExoArmor to machine‑gun and laser cannon mode and waited. The others did the same and grimly held their ground.

The Venrul were also holding their fire, rifles held tightly in their hands. When the enemy was about thirty yards out, Garren shouted, "Fire!" He opened up on the Venrul line with his machine‑gun and cannon. The machine‑gun bullets did little except bury themselves in the Venrul. The lasers, on the other hand, tore into the Venrul environmental suits, hacking off limbs and dropping the enemy soldiers. "Aim for their legs!" Garren called.

He fired a stream of bullets into the knee of one Venrul and it fell over. It crawled forward, but a shot from his laser cannon dispatched it. The two sides were only about fifteen yards apart and the Venrul all simultaneously leveled their rifles at the humans. They opened fire as one, but most of their shots were absorbed by the human fortifications. Garren was grazed in his left shoulder, but no serious damage was inflicted. The humans fired back and more Venrul fell before their volley.

It was then that something hit Garren in the back and knocked him over. He stood up and looked behind him and saw a line of Venrul troops running towards him. Even though they were running they were moving slowly. They also looked different then the Venrul attacking the ExoArmors head‑on; their left arm was a cannon instead of an arm and their armor looked different. There were about fifteen of them charging the line of humans from the left flank.

"Hayes, Smith, come with me! The rest of you, keep that front line busy!" Garren command and jumped out of the trench. He hit his thrusters and streaked towards the Venrul shock troopers. He twisted in flight to avoid their shots and landed right in front of the leader. He blasted the leader in the face with is laser cannon, but the shock trooper didn't twitch. Instead, it slammed him to the ground with its cannon arm. Before it could fire, Garren rolled over and pelted it with his machine‑gun. The shock trooper didn't budge and Garren rolled out of the wa as another tried to blast him. He converted his right arm to normal and pulled out his rifle. Hayes and Smith arrived and were engaging the other Venrul, but there were still six focusing on Garren. Garren fired at them, but his rifle was virtually ineffective. He was able to hit the lead Venrul shock trooper in the waist and break it in half. He saw blue liquid ooze from the shock trooper and knew that the substance had to be the Venrul itself. He whirled around and shot the ooze with his rifle, vaporizing it. He was nailed from a shot by another Venrul and fell on his back.

The Venrul seemed to be enraged and charged at Garren. Garren remembered the battles in the underground tunnels of Rygan and how frenzied the Glan had been. This was much worse because the Venrul carried laser cannons instead of pipes. He was hit in the chest and knew that he was going to be killed soon. He thought of Manny and rage began rising inside of him. They had killed her, the heartless bastards! He got to his feet and hit his thrusters. He slammed into one shock trooper, sending them both to the ground. He cut his thrusters and sat on top of the Venrul shock trooper, pounding it in the face with his right hand and emptying his machine‑gun into it with his left. He finally smashed through the trooper's face and then tore its head off. He turned a little and whipped the head into another trooper. Garren could feel himself getting hit, but he didn't care. His rage was focused on the shock trooper before him. He dismembered the thing and wielded the trooper's left arm as a club. He turned and smashed in the head of another shock trooper with the arm and then brought it around to bash the thing in the midsection. The trooper went down and immediately Garren turned slightly and fired his machine‑gun into a shock trooper that was trying to get the drop on him. As he fired, Garren charged the Venrul and smashed its left arm with his club. It staggered and he sent his left leg crashing into its side, knocking it to the ground.

He pounced the fallen trooper and tossed his club aside. He battered it with his right hand, until he had broken through its armor. Then he reached inside of it and grabbed a handful of blue liquid. He shook the liquid aside and the Venrul below him seemed to weaken. He stuck his left hand inside the hole and fired the last bullets from his machine‑gun into the exposed Venrul. The trooper died, but Garren was sent flying through the air as something slammed into him. He felt something roll him over and looked up into the face of a Venrul shock trooper. It pummeled him with its right hand. He could hear armor cracking and knew he couldn't last much longer. He kicked up with his legs and hurtled the shock trooper over him. He stood up and converted both hands to gun mode. He fired shot after shot into the Venrul until it was nothing more than a smoking heap of metal and liquid. He whirled to his left and his left arm connected with the right arm of a Venrul trooper. He stuck his right arm into the midsection of the Venrul and fired three shots. The Venrul fell into the snow, unmoving. Garren looked around him and saw the area littered with Venrul corpses. The battle still raged as the ExoArmors fought both shock troopers and regular Venrul soldiers. Garren moved to lend Hayes and Smith a hand, but suddenly realized that he was wounded in the back. "Oh shit," he groaned. He pitched forward and his world went black. ***

Jordan twisted her Neutron around to the left and blasted a Venrul fighter. She dove under a Venrul frigate, strafing it as she passed. As she darted away from the frigate she was nimbly able to avoid getting hit by any shots. I could get used to this, she thought.

She looked around her at the battle. There were only a few pirate fighters and ships still flying. The odds were too far stacked against the defenders to make for a long battle. Some of the Venrul ships were shooting at the rings of Saturn, trying to hit the pirate ships hiding inside. The anti‑TDJ net was still operating, keeping the Venrul from reaching Earth.

Jordan dodged some more shots and blew apart a pair of Venrul fighters. A swarm of them were nearing her and she knew that she had to hide somewhere soon or they would overwhelm her. She looked around her and hit her afterburners, streaking for the rings. She zigged and zagged around to avoid shots from Venrul fighters trying to catch her. She entered the gravity of the rings and looped around a large piece of rock. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the Venrul hadn't chosen to follow her. She landed on a smaller chunk of rock and shut down her fighter. She watched the battle and noticed that most of the other pirates were doing the same as her. Now the Venrul would have to find the pirates.

Klein looked over at Kane, whose face remained impassive. The token pirate defense was dispersed and the Venrul were hunting for the pirate ships. "What do we do now?" Klein asked.

"Wait," Kane replied.

Klein was going to say something, but the pirate the defensive systems burst out, "There's some kind of pulse coming from the largest Venrul ship, Cap'n!"

Kane stood up and dashed over to the defensive systems. Klein followed and could see Kane frown. "What's wrong?"

"They've found a way to jam us," Kane replied quietly, all of his bluster and cockiness gone. He looked at the man at the station and said, "Move it."

Kane sat down and his hands moved quickly across the computer. "Any way to stop them?" Klein asked. "No. That's what they want. If we leave the net up, that pulse will fry our circuits. We have to shut it down."

"If we do that, they'll jump to Earth!"

Kane turned to Klein and before Klein knew it there was a gone in his face. "You're here as an observer. So shut the fuck up," Kane growled.

Klein nodded and watched as Kane relayed the orders to all the pirate ships. Klein went back over to where he had been sitting, knowing that Earth was doomed. There was no way that the Alliance and S'Parnian fleet could have defeated the Venrul around Earth already, and even if they had, they couldn't withstand another onslaught. It was over, the human race's home would be destroyed very shortly. "Aren't we going to do anything?" Klein shouted at Kane.

"There isn't anything we can do," Kane replied defeatedly.

"We can go down fighting at least. We owe it to our planet to do at least that much."

Kane nodded and stood up. "Jump to Earth. Have everyone else do the same." He took his command chair and waited. The ship began to move and moments later there was white light all around as it jumped.

Jordan heard the order to jump for Earth and powered up her fighter. The Venrul were beginning to recover their fighters and some were already making the jump. She pulled away from her hiding place and ready the tiny TransDimensional Jump drive Kane had installed in the fighter. It powered up and she activated it. There was a burst of white light and moments later she found herself near Earth.

Venrul ships and fighters were everywhere, as was debris left from vessels on both sides. She quickly blasted a Venrul fighter and dove in on more. As she did, something odd cut past her. It was a fighter unlike anything she had ever seen, and it looked to be carrying something under it. She headed for the strange fighter and caught up with it. As she did, she recognized the pilot at the fighter's controls. "Colonel Gage, this is Major Jordan. Do you need any help?"

"We could use an escort to the Avenger. Traffic around here is a bitch," Gage replied.

Jordan located the Avenger on her sensors and grimaced. The ship was moving extremely erratically, getting on board it would be next to impossible. Still, they had to try. "Let's go."

Jordan led the way, clearing a path with the Neutron's cannons. Any Venrul fighter that neared the fighter was cut down in seconds. A few enemy craft got on the Corona's tail and Jordan looped back around, blasting at them and flying through the debris of one fighter. She turned back around quickly and finished off the Corona's pursuers. Jordan could see the Avenger nearby, pounding a Venrul cruiser. Unfortunately, three other cruisers were on it, hitting the Avenger with everything they had. The two fighters watched the ship yaw out of control and quickly recover. It faced the three cruisers and opened up on them, taking down two of them. It was hit again and seemed to shake violently.

The fighters were very close to the ship and Gage could see that they wouldn't need to request clearance to land; there was a huge hole in the hangar doors. "It's now or never," she told Hastings.

"What are you going to do with me?" Hastings asked.

"You'll see," Gage responded. She slowed and cleared the opening in the hangar doors. She lowered the fighter and came to a dead stop. Then she disengaged the magnetic hold on Hastings's cockpit. The cockpit module hit the deck, but was close enough that it did not suffer any damage. Then Gage landed and shut the Corona down. Jordan came in after her and shut down her Neutron. Both women jumped out of their cockpits and rushed over to Hastings. They managed to roll the cockpit module over and helped Hastings out. He was weak and had to lean against them for support, but otherwise seemed fine. They took him out of the hangar and into the adjoining corridor. They sat down beside him and he smiled.

"Thanks," he said. Jordan returned his smile and Gage leaned over and kissed him. "Nothing like spending Doomsday with the ones you love."

The Avenger shook again and no one laughed at Hastings joke. They all knew that they were going to be dead very soon.

***

S'Tallen pushed rubble off of him and shakily got to his feet. He was standing in what was left of the bridge. All of the computers and the holoviewer were smashed and dead bodies were strung everywhere. S'Tallen examined himself and saw that he was bleeding from a nasty gash on his left arm. His shell was cracked, but it had protected him from being killed from the falling debris, although it had been painful to roll onto it afterwards.

The scientist struggled off the bridge and to the lift. The lift didn't work, but fortunately it was stuck somewhere else down the shaft. S'Tallen carefully began to climb down the shaft, using the handholds carved into the shaft. He stopped at a door a deck down and triggered the manual release. The door grated open just enough so that S'Tallen could slowly and painfully pry it apart enough to squeeze through. He stumbled down the corridor, seeing rubble and dead bodies everywhere. He reached his destination and opened the door.

He stood in the War Planning Center, which was the only area not damaged from the battle with the Darkstar. The room had been heavily reinforced to protect it from attack within and without, so that it was impregnable. S'Tallen went over to a computer terminal and activated the power to the room that could be drained from emergency batteries. The War Planning Center lit up as terminals came on‑line. S'Tallen quickly routed all of the ship's controls to his station, grimacing at having to use his wounded arm. Then he turned to the holoviewer in the room and winced.

The human and S'Parnian forces were nearly obliterated. He could only see a few of them intermixed in the black tide of Venrul ships. He focused on the Darkstar and was horrified to see that the big ship was beginning to move. If it got back into the fighting, things would be over for sure. He had to stop it. He checked the Vindicator's weapons and groaned. It would take hours of work to get even a small amount of weapons functional. The shields were in only slightly better condition. One generator was working just barely, meaning that the ship could have very minimal shields. By some miracle the hyperdrive still worked, as did a couple of the engines. Slowly S'Tallen made a plan.

He could tell by the way the Darkstar was moving that it didn't consider the Vindicator a threat. That meant that he could surprise them. He smiled as he watched the Darkstar move away, oblivious to what was about to happen to it. Its fatal mistake would be underestimating him.

It was about then that he saw the large human ship begin firing on the Darkstar. Its front was blackened and smashed, but the Avalon wasn't finished yet. S'Tallen had figured that its crew was dead, but he must have been wrong. The Darkstar continued moving away from both ships, not seeming to care about the Avalon, despite the effectiveness of its barrage. S'Tallen could see pieces of the enormous beheamoth floating away as the Avalon's weapons cut into it.

Then the Darkstar was far enough away for S'Tallen to carry out his plan. He activated the shields and put all power into the forward shields. Then he activated the engines and aligned the front of the Vindicator with the rear of the Darkstar. He stopped a moment, briefly pondering the finality of what he was about to do. He reached for the button that would propel him into oblivion and knew that there was no going back after he hit the button.

All his life, S'Tallen had been seen as a coward by S'Olonny, the humans, the Grand Council, and many others on S'Parni. Now it was time for him to prove that deep down inside him he had the same bravery and courage as S'Olonny and the rest of his critics. His finger was poised over the button and he said wryly, "I'm sorry S'Olonny, old friend, but I shall have to make you happy and die first." Then he pressed down on the button and felt the ship rock as it was hurled into hyperspace.

It was only fractions of a second for the Vindicator to cover the distance between it and the Darkstar. It was much too short of a time for S'Tallen to do, think, or feel anything. The front of the Vindicator caved in, but the momentum of the ship plunged it into the Darkstar like a dagger. S'Tallen sat limply in his chair and watched. A scientist to the end, he grimly analyzed the situation as the Vindicator continued to smash through the Darkstar. He was able to foretell his own death as he saw pieces of the Darkstar hurl at him. There was no way that he could avoid having the shrapnel tear into him, cutting arteries and bleeding to death. I go to be with the Savior now, he thought as pieces of metal tore into his body, slicing him in many different spots. He was dead only moments later.

The Vindicator's engines died and it slowed. For a few brief moments the two ships were joined in some horrendous collage. Small explosions worked their way down the Vindicator, setting off larger ones. In less than a heartbeat the explosions reached the rear of the ship. The bio‑energy tanks, four of which were always filled to feed the crew, were set off and blew up in a huge explosion. This in turn set off the ship's bio‑energy matrix. The entire ship blew, setting off chain‑reactions in the Darkstar. There was a gigantic explosion that took half of the Darkstar along with whatever remained of the Vindicator with it.

The Avalon was pelted with debris and scarred by the explosion, but forunately all the damage occurred in the front of the ship, where nothing living remained. The human ship was tossed from the shockwave of the explosion, but was large enough that it steadied itself moments later. Then it turned its batteries away from the Darkstar and engaged the Venrul.

"What the hell was that?" Laurants demanded.

Mary looked perplexed, but was able to come to a conclusion only a few seconds later. "The Vindicator went into hyperspace and collided with the Darkstar." She stopped and her face paled. "Jack, get us the hell out of here, now!"

"What?"

"Just do it!" Laurants nodded and activated the Avenger's hyperdrive. The ship darted away from the scene and after a few seconds Laurants stopped the ship. They were just past the moon and away from the battle.

"What happened?" Terraz asked.

"Just look at the holoprojector," Mary replied. The other two officers looked and their jaws nearly dropped to the floor.

"My God," Laurants stammered. The explosion and shockwave from the Darkstar's explosion had devastated a good portion of the Venrul fleet. Many were crippled from the shockwave, while others were obliterated. Laurants was even more surprised to see that there were several Alliance and S'Parnian ships around the Avenger.

A monitor on the Avenger activated and Laurants saw the bloody, dirty, but still alive face of Dauntless chick. "What do we do now?" She asked.

"I don't know," Laurants replied. It was only then that he thought of the Darkstar. If it was destroyed, then that meant that Lisa, S'Olonny, and the Great Matrix were all gone. He knew that no one could have survived the explosion, so the love of his life had to be gone. Laurants felt weak, but managed to stay upright in his seat. Then he stammered, "Status of the enemy fleet?"

"They're in utter chaos," Mary replied.

"All units, prepare to engage again," Laurants commanded, trying to keep his voice strong.

"What?" Dauntless chick asked in shock.

"They're confused, we'll neve have another opportunity to hit them like this. Besides, when they regroup they'll continue to attack Earth." Dauntless chick nodded and the monitor clicked off. Then Laurants turned the Avenger back towards the battle and hit the hyperdrive. Something began to burn inside of him, a blind, primal rage. The Venrul had taken Lisa from him, now they would pay.

***

S'Olonny walked down the quiet corridors of the Darkstar, S'Zai poised and ready for trouble. He turned a corner carefully and then saw his son lying in a heap in the middle of the corridor. S'Olonny lowered his S'Zai and strode over to where S'Uftril lay. He knelt down and gently touched his son on the face. S'Uftril stirred and leapt back like a frightened cat. He raised his S'Zai and prepared to continue the fight.

S'Olonny put his own weapon in a defensive position, but having seen his son lying there made him think of S'Uftril as a child. No matter what S'Uftril had done, he was still S'Olonny's son. "S'Uftril, I do not want to fight you any longer. I am your father. Can you not see this in your heart?"

S'Uftril backed away as though S'Olonny's words were like a S'Zai blade swinging at him. "You are not my father!" He screamed back.

S'Olonny stepped forward, keeping his blade up, but not making any movements. "Your mother and I created you, I am your father. You were my eldest son, I taught you to be a warrior and prepared you for your military training. Why am I now not your father?"

"You ceased to be my father when you turned your back on your people. When you insisted on allying yourself with the humans against S'Parni. You ceased to be my father when that human bitch corrupted you and turned you against your own race," S'Uftril snarled, hate and madness shining in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" S'Olonny demanded.

"The human commander seduced you, turning you against the Grand Council. And because of it they sent soldiers to kill Mother, the other children, and I." S'Uftril stopped, and when he continued his voice was sad and pleading, "I fought the soldiers as best as I could, but they were armed and overpowered me. They left me for dead and slaughtered the children. I heard a window break and shots be fired as Mother escaped. The soldiers were enraged and set fire to the house. The fire burned part of my face and scorched other parts of my body, but I was able to get to my feet and searched the house. The other children were all dead and I fled into night. It's your fault that they died! If you hadn't let yourself be seduced, you would not have fought the Grand Council and they would still be alive! It's your fault!"

S'Olonny stepped back, shocked by S'Uftril's outburst. "I was not seduced by anyone. At first I entered into an alliance with the humans only to protect the Savior. Then I slowly began to respect them as warriors. I fought the Grand Council because I wanted to make a better life for your generation. A life free from the Grand Council's tyranny."

"Liar! My father would never have turned his back on S'Parni."

S'Olonny could see the hurt in his son's eyes and it was then that he began to understand what the cause of S'Uftril's anger was. He was angry at S'Olonny for not being there to protect him. He was angry that the father he loved had been the cause of his family's death. S'Uftril couldn't face the reality of the situation, so he had deluded himself into thinking that the humans were the source of S'Olonny's family's death. He loved his father too much to understand that it was he who had condemned his family to death. S'Olonny lowered his S'Zai and stared at his son. Then he uttered words that he had not said in his entire life. Words that the strict S'Parnian culture and warrior code had forbade him to ever say to his son. "S'Uftril, I love you. You must understand that I did not want anything to happen to you or the others, but I had to fight the Grand Council for the greater good of S'Parni."

S'Uftril stared back at his father, his body shaking with uncontrolled fury. "No!" He shouted and charged S'Olonny, his S'Zai raised over his head. S'Olonny brought his weapon up, but it was not enough to stop his son's mad rush. S'Uftril pushed S'Olonny's blade aside and whipped his own to the left, slicing into S'Olonny's arm. S'Olonny turned to block S'Uftril's S'Zai before it could do further damage. Their blades locked and S'Olonny used all of his strength to propel his son away and sent him sprawling on the deck. The orange S'Zai clattered away and S'Olonny moved over to where his son lay, gasping for breath.

"It is finished," S'Olonny said. "You will not see reason, so I am forced to kill you. Before I do, understand that I will take no joy in it. I will only grieve for the loss of my only remaining son."

S'Olonny raised his S'Zai, but before he could bring it down there was a slight tremor that fractions of a second later shook the entire deck. S'Olonny was sent flying away from S'Uftril and into the lift door. His S'Zai skittered away and he went unconscious as his head bashed against the door. S'Uftril slid down the deck towards his father. He moved his feet far apart and was able to brace himself against the walls. His S'Zai flew over his head and hit the lift door, shattering. The entire deck was spinning rapidly, but S'Uftril was able to keep his place. S'Olonny slid all over the deck, but as the spinning stopped, he slowly was returned to where he had fallen. Then the deck was steady once more and S'Uftril rose to his feet. He stumbled across the deck and found his father's S'Zai. He picked it up and trudged back over to where his father lay. S'Olonny's eyes opened and he stared up in horror at his son.

"Now I will kill you, traitor!" S'Uftril hissed. S'Olonny simply looked at him, fear building up inside of him. Not fear for himself, but fear for Lisa. He knew that if he died she would be all alone on the ship. S'Uftril would find her and he would kill her, extinguishing all hopes of retaking the Matrix.

S'Uftril stopped as he saw something in his father's eyes. "You are afraid, but not for you. Someone else is on board." He stopped and his eyes went wide and burned with hate. "She is here! The Matrix! No, I can't let her interfere with it! After I am done with you, I will hunt her down and kill her."

"No!" S'Olonny screamed. His right hand reached up and hit the button for the lift. The doors parted, but the lift was gone, destoyed in the blast that had torn the Darkstar apart. As S'Uftril swung, S'Olonny raised his legs and wrapped them around his son's and sent S'Uftril flying into the open shaft. S'Uftril screamed as he flew over S'Olonny and into the open lift shaft. He flung away the S'Zai and tried to grab a hold of something. His hand caught on his father's back.

"If I die, I will take you with me!" S'Uftril screamed. He pulled at S'Olonny, but S'Olonny braced himself against the doorway with his legs and his wounded left arm.

"S'Uftril, hang on and find something to grab onto. I can help you back up to safety. I can help you, if you let me," S'Olonny said.

"Never!" S'Uftril roared and let go. S'Olonny turned and watched as his son plunged to his death. The last thing he saw of his son was the hate still burning in his eyes. He slowly rose to his feet and picked up the S'Zai that had landed only a few feet from him. Then he loped towards the shuttle, knowing that Lisa was not in as much danger now and that there was nothing he could do in his present condition. He found the shuttle where he had left it and climbed inside. He pulled out a medical kit and set to work on bandaging his wounds, but as he thought of the look in his son's eyes as he died, S'Olonny knew that the wound in his heart would never heal.

"Now your soul may rest with the Savior, in peace," S'Olonny mumbled.

***

Lisa saw her other self lying paralyzed and managed to crawl over to her. "You have to get up," she whispered.

"I can't," her other self replied weakly.

"You have to. I can't beat Arsa. Only you can."

"Why?"

"You have the power. The power she gave to me years ago. That's why she split us apart, so she could keep the power away from her."

Her other self turned her head a little bit, and smiled grimly. "Power? I have no power. She kicked my ass. I tried to fight her, but she was too much for me."

Lisa stopped and thought about the problem. "Of course," she whispered.

"What?"

"You don't have the power and neither do I. Part of it is in each of us, but not enough to beat her separately. We have to fight her together."

"Together? I can't even move, and you can't even walk."

Lisa stared at her other self and roared, "Damn it, Ensign, on your feet, that's an order!" She got to her feet shakily and glared at her younger self. "Move it!"

Her other self slowly sat up and rose to her feet. She smiled and said, "I always knew I had it in me to do that."

"To do what?"

"Shout orders like that."

Lisa shook her head and replied, "Give me your hand."

Her other self nodded and held out her right hand. Lisa grabbed it with her own and as they touched there was a burst of yellow light. Their hands melded into one and they pushed against each other until they were merged completely. There was only one form now, one Lisa that glowed with a bright yellow light that blotted out anything but a vague human resemblence. She stared into the white void and moved her left hand. Arsa appeared in front of her a moment later.

"It's over, Arsa," Lisa said, her voice seeming to radiate from her entire body and echoed into infinity.

"No!" Arsa screamed. Lisa charged towards her, keeping her hands in front of her. Arsa tried to bat her hands away, but Lisa battered her arms aside. She reached up and locked her hands to Arsa's temples. Arsa screamed a primal scream as the yellow light enveloped her. There was a bright flash and Lisa was thrown backwards. The glow was gone from her and she shook her head to try and clear it. She looked up at Arsa and was shocked.

Arsa stood there before her looking as she had when they first met about twelve years ago, when she was fully human. "What the hell?" Lisa stammered.

"You've brought me back, Lisa," Arsa replied.

"How?"

"Six years ago I gave you a bit of my power, a piece of myself, because I knew that you would need it in the times ahead. I never dreamed that you would need it to save me."

"What happened to you, why were you trying to kill me?"

"When the Venrul took the Matrix, they used some kind of energy beam. It reacted with the Matrix and it...it changed me. I was filled with anger, bitterness, and rage. I knew that you were the only one with the power to stop me, so I had to get rid of you. Only...only there was enough good left in me so that I couldn't destroy you."

"I see. We've got to go now. The Venrul are still out there."

Arsa looked at Lisa sadly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I can't go with you, Lisa. I am free to leave the Matrix, but I have learned that my kind of power is too dangerous to be left here. I have to go somewhere where it can't harm anyone."

"Where?"

"Another dimension, another plane of existence where my soul can rest in peace. Before I go, though, I have to tell you a few things."

"You have to stop the Venrul, and to do that, you must reactivate the weapon the Rygans used on the Venrul."

"I can't do that!" Lisa protested.

"Yes, you can. You have the power to do so."

"I don't have any power, I gave it to you."

"You do have power. Look deep within yourself and you will find it."

"Arsa, I'm not like you..."

"You are. You were called to a destiny long ago in the ancient Rygan scriptures. "During the darkest hour the light of hope will shine though when two become one and the Last Protectorate rises to save the Rygan people." They're talking about you, Lisa. You are the Last Protectorate."

"I don't understand.".........................................................

"The ancient Rygan myths say that their world was created by a god called the Protectorate who gave his life in order to create the planet and the Rygans. It was foretold that another Protectorate, the Last Protectorate would rise to save them."

Lisa stepped back, stammering, "I can't believe it. All my life I've just been a normal person. How can this be?"

"You are no different than I was, Lisa. I was an ordinary person who was called to a higher destiny. You are as well. You must heed this call."

Lisa stared at her friend, still in shock. "I will," she answered.

"Good," Arsa replied. "Before you go, there is something that you must tell the Alliance and the S'Parnians when you get back."

"What is it?"

"There is a threat out there worse than the Venrul. Out there lurking in space is another race out there. You saw that collection vessel, the one with the strange weapons?"

"Yes."

"Bio‑Energy Collection Vessel Two met these aliens a long time ago. That was how they found the Biocrystallin. They plundered an alien colony world and returned to S'Parni, victorious. They returned years later, but this time the aliens attacked them and boarded their ship. They killed the crew and modified the ship with the strange weapons. Then they left it drifting in space for S'Uftril to find."

"They wanted him to have it so that he could use it against us. Does that mean they're planning an invasion?"

"No. These aliens have no interest in fighting us. They knew the war‑like nature of the S'Parnians and left it there to bring back here so that they could watch us, gauge what our societies are like."

"I doubt they were impressed with what they saw," Lisa deadpanned.

"I don't know about that. However, I do know that when we meet them in the future, we will have to be very careful in how we deal with them. A war with these aliens could be catastrophic."

"The last thing we need right now is another war. How soon will it be until we meet them?"

"I don't know. That's too uncertain. But the one thing I can tell you is that it won't be for quite some time. It will be after your time has passed. For you and your crew, this is the last battle. The peace that you've fought so hard for will prevail. Don't lose heart, Lisa. I must go now. You must as well. With the Darkstar gone now, the Venrul will no longer pose a threat to Earth. They will go to fulfill their vendetta against the Venrul. Good‑bye. You've been a great friend over the years and I wish I didn't have to leave, but I know I can't stay. No matter where I go, though, I will never forget you." Arsa smiled and moved her hand. There was a flash of light and Lisa found herself lying on the deck in the Darkstar. The Matrix was gone and she wondered fleetingly what had happened to it. Then she stood up and felt energy surging through her. She knew what she had to do, and she wouldn't let anything stop her.

She bolted from the room and ran towards the Darkstar's only remaining hangar. The few Venrul guards left alive died before they could even shoot at her. Lisa opened the hangar doors and to a Venrul fighter. The cockpit opened and she climbed in. The interface on the back of the cockpit adjusted to her body and power to control the craft flowed from her. The fighter shot out of the hangar at blistering speed, faster than the fighter could normally go. Then Lisa headed for her first destination which hung in the distance.

Laurants lined up a Venrul cruiser and Terraz cut it down with the Avenger's weapons. The ship banked hard to the left and swooped down on another ship. It was then, though, that there were many flashes of white light. "The Venrul are jumping out," Mary reported.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. They've just started to leave all of the sudden."

Laurants watched as Venrul ships passed right over them without firing and disappeared in a burst of white light. He stopped the ship and activated the comm, "All units, disengage. The enemy is on the run."

Laurants heard a familiar voice reply on the comm, "They're not running, they're moving the attack."

"To where?"

"They've never been after Earth. They were only doing that to fulfill their bargain with S'Uftril (explain that above). They're really after Rygan. We've got to get there at once."

"We can't follow them! We've taken a lot of damage already."

"Damn it, Jack, just do it!" Laurants finally recognized the voice and he thought his heart would jump out of his throat.

"Lisa, is that you? I thought you were dead. What happened?" He stammered excitedly.

"Let's just say I've grown up a little. Just follow me and don't worry about anything," her voice was icy and even, not anything like her voice when she had left. What had happened to her? He would have to find out later. For now, there was a job to do.

"Where are you?"

"Right above you."

He looked up and saw a Venrul fighter overhead. It dipped to the left a bit and he knew that it was her in it. How she was able to fly it he didn't know. Then the fighter shot away and pulled in front of the Avenger, moving at nearly the speed of light. It vanished in a tiny flash of yellow light. Laurants was shocked when a second later the scene had changed and Rygan was below the ship instead of Earth. He could see hundreds of Venrul ships above the planet, firing their weapons into the surface. "What do we do now?" He asked over the comm.

"Just sit tight. As long as you don't attack them, they won't care about you. I'll be back in a few minutes," Lisa signed off and Laurants was left to wonder what the hell was going on.

Lisa flew the fighter down the entrance to the underground Rygan city and through the tunnel. She looked around the city and landed near a large, octagonal building. She climbed out and dashed inside the building. She climbed three flights of stairs and was then on the top floor. She looked around her and saw a large, clear cylinder that looked a lot like a TDJ drive.

Inside the cylinder were many strange machines, the likes of which Lisa had never seen before. She went up to the cylinder and looked for a way in. Not seeing anything she stuck her hand up to it and pushed. Her hand pushed through and then she pushed her body through. She looked around her and tried to decide how to reactivate the machines. The hell with it, she thought and went to each one and put her hand to it. The machines groaned to life one‑by‑one until they were all activated. Then the cylinder was filled with a blue light which shot upwards in a focused beam. Lisa was thrown backwards through the cylinder and landed in heap on the floor. She picked herself up and then slowly walked back to the fighter.

Laurants was watching the bombardment curiously, wondering what the Venrul hoped to gain by pounding the uninhabited surface. Suddenly there was a blue light that hit inbetween the Venrul ships and dissipated. Laurants wondered what it was and what good it had done. To his amazement, the Venrul stopped their attack and jumped in groups. A minute later the Avenger was alone over Rygan. A black shape burst out of the planet's atmosphere and headed for the ship.

"What happened?" He asked Lisa over the comm.

"The ancient Rygan weapon was a kind of sound that is a frequency only the Venrul can detect. It disrupts their liquid forms and renders them unable to function in minutes. They jumped back to their space to escape."

"How did you activate that weapon?"

"Don't ask," came the wry reply.

***

Fujimori looked over at Valohev in surprise. "They're dead? What do you mean they're dead?" He asked.

"All fronts are reporting that the Venrul forces suddenly keeled over. Closer inspection revealed that they are all dead," Valohev replied, not really believing it.

"That's unbelievable."

"I know, sir. Their fleet has left orbit as well. It looks like Earth is safe for the moment."

"For the moment. I want someone to find out what the hell happened. In the meantime, have all units stand down to yellow alert and dispose of those bodies. I don't want any of them to spring back to life."

"Yes, sir." Valohev left to carry out the orders and Fujimori activated the comm.

"Private Whittaker, are all things secure?"

"Yes, sir. The Venrul were ready to make a last‑ditch charge when they all suddenly pitched forward. Weirdest thing I've ever seen," Private Whittaker replied. He was in command of the 5th Platoon since Garren was wounded.

Fujimori sat down and smiled. He didn't know how, but somehow the Alliance had survived the Venrul onslaught. The Earth had been hit hard, but he knew that humanity would rebuild. Fujimori went to the station's infirmary and checked with one of the doctors on the casualties.

"Not too many, sir. We lost one soldier, but the rest made it through," the doctor replied.

"Which soldier died?" Fujimori asked.

"I believe his name was Private Smith, sir." Fujimori knew it was cruel, but in a way he was glad it was Smith. He had heard what Sergeant Garren had done on that battlefield and he didn't want to lose him.

"What's the status on Sergeant Garren?"

"He's in bad shape, but he should make it through. You can see him if you want." Fujimori nodded and went into Garren's room. It was completely dark, but the soldier turned his head when Fujimori entered. Garren even moved one bandaged hand up in a salute.

"At ease, soldier, God knows you've earned it. I heard about what you did out there. You're a brave man, Sergeant."

"Not brave, just stupid," Garren bit out. "I was careless and put myself and my platoon in jeopardy."

"Nonsense. You did what you had to do to keep the enemy from flanking your unit. I'll make sure you get honored for what you did."

"Thank you, sir," Garren replied slowly.

"So what do you plan to do now? I'm sure the 5th Platoon would love you to remain in command."

"No, sir. This was my last battle. I'm going back to my father's range in Wyoming and take it over. It's about time I took things easy."

"I understand. You're a good man, Sergeant. I just wanted to thank you for all that you've done."

"Just doing my job."

Fujimori nodded and left, smiling. He hated to lose Garren, but he could understand that the man would want to retire after all this. He just hoped there were more like Garren that would remain in the Alliance military, because it was going to take a lot of work to rebuild it. At the moment, though, Fujimori didn't care. All that mattered was that the Alliance had won the day an the war.

Chapter Sixteen

2007-06-12T12:28:00.001-07:00

Chapter Sixteen

Fujimori looked over at Valohev. Then he activated the comm. "Launch all missiles," he commanded. There was a rumble as sheets of ice began to part as old machinery ground to move them. Once the ice was out of the way rows of missiles were visible. Technicians punched a few buttons and then the missiles began to lift off, trailing fire that melted the ice around them. Hundreds of missiles, some nearly a century old, roared into the sky and towards the Venrul fleet.

Modifications had boosted the missiles's ranges so they could break free from the atmosphere. Fujimori and Valohev watched tentatively as the missiles headed for the Venrul. They crossed their fingers as the Venrul turned to blast the weapons. "Activate shields," Valohev barked. The technicians controlling the missiles activated shields on the lead missiles as the Venrul opened fire. The shots were absorbed, protecting the volatile missiles. "The missiles are a safe distance from Earth now."

"Good," Fujimori nodded. At that moment one of the missiles was hit. Fortunately there was a fail‑safe mechanism that prevented it from setting off the warhead. Several more missiles were hit, but then it was too late for the Venrul. The nuclear missiles reached the point they were programmed to detonate at and exploded in a burst of fire. The technicians cheered as the missiles went off, their jobs complete. "How did we do?"

Valohev turned and examined the sensor readings as the blasts finished. "We've got good coverage. Any Venrul ship that is hit should be disabled in no time."

"Excellent. Launch all units," Fujimori ordered and then turned to the comm. "Attention all Alliance units, this is President Fujimori. I know how hard it has been for all of you to wait in hiding; the anger and frustration at watching as your world was taken apart bit‑by‑bit."

"But we wait no more. Now is the time for action. The Venrul must pay for their invasion of Earth, and now we will get the retribution we have all been waiting for. We will no longer hide in our holes like a hibernating gopher. We will strike back and kick these aliens off of our planet!" Fujimori finished his speech and added quietly, "May whatever god you believe in be with you and may you all return home safely."

Fujimori turned the comm off and Valohev said, "Sir, the fleet is jumping in. Also, we've detected a large contingent of Venrul units heading for our position. Looks like we got their attention."

"Yes, as we anticipated. Signal Sentinel to be ready for action."

"Yes, sir," Valohev responded.

Garren stood on an icy ridge and looked out over the tundra and smiled grimly. The Venrul were coming for them. Now he would take his revenge against them for killing Manny. "Heads up, everyone, we've got bad guys coming in. Lots of them. About twenty minutes until they get here."

"Great. Let's kick some ass," Whittaker said.

"Easy, Private. We've got twenty minutes until they get here. Get some of those trees down and we'll build up some fortifications. The rest of you use your lasers and carve some trenches. This isn't going to be easy, but we have to hold them."

Garren saw his troops moving out in their ExoArmors and only hoped that they could hold the Venrul. If not, then everyone in the Ice Fields station would be dead, including the president. He wasn't about to let that happen. He grabbed the trunk of a tree and pushed it to the ground. They were going to hold or die trying.

***

There were many flashes of white light and the human‑S'Parnian fleet jumped in. Laurants looked at the holoprojector and saw that everything was going as planned. "Ensign Rockwell, take us in," he said slowly. Then he turned to Terraz and said, "Commander, fire at will."

The Avenger's weapons appeared and Terraz targeted the nearest Venrul ship. They had caught the enemy by surprise and it would take the Venrul a while to adjust. The human ship's weapons opened fire and the Venrul frigate was blown in half. The Dauntless, on the Avenger's port side, blasted a Venrul ship and then the two swept into the Venrul formation together, weapons pouring out fire mercilessly.

The Venrul were beginning to react, some of the smaller ships moving to pursue the human and S'Parnian craft. Rockwell broke the Avenger hard to the right to avoid shots from a cruiser on its tail. The Venrul ship moved to follow the human vessel, but the Dauntless's weapons raked it, opening large gashes in its hull. The radiation in the area disabled the ship seconds later and Rockwell rejoined formation with the Dauntless.

Laurants watched the holoprojector as his plan unfolded. He could see that the Darkstar was moving out of its low orbit and up to deal with the new threat. In another minute it would be right where Laurants wanted it. The ship rocked as it was hit and Laurants could see that a Venrul battleship was firing at them. Rockwell rocked the Avenger back‑and‑forth to avoid most of the shots, but the amount of firepower being launched from the battleship made it impossible for every shot to miss.

Laurants turned to his sister and ordered, "Tell the Dauntless to move up and draw that battleship's fire. Then we'll hit them with everything we've got."

Mary nodded and sent the message. The Dauntless rocketed away and pulled up sharply. The Venrul battleship fired at it, and while it was busy the Avenger darted underneath it, blasting it with all of its weapons. Pieces of the ship's hull flaked away, but not enough to disable it. Rockwell kicked the ship into a loop to do another run. The battleship trained some of its weapons onto the Avenger and shots rained against the ship's shields. Laurants gripped his chair tightly as the bridge was rocked from the hits. "Pull out!" He shouted to Rockwell. She nodded and brought the Avenger out of the loop and shooting down towards Earth. Laurants looked at the holoprojector and told Mary, "Order the Heatherworth to hit that battleship."

Moments later the battleship was hit, distracting it long enough for the Avenger to make good it's escape. Laurants sighed with relief and was grateful to see the Dauntless drop into formation. "Sir, the Darkstar has left orbit and is in position," Shellowitz reported.

"Great. Signal the Avalon and the Vindicator to jump in." Laurants leaned back in his chair as the Avenger and Dauntless turned and headed back into the fighting.

***

S'Uftril gazed at the holoviewer, watching the battle unfold. The humans and S'Parnian fleet was using new tactics which he had not anticipated. The nuclear missiles were a first surprise. He knew what all the radiation in the area would do, but there was no way he could move the fighting. Besides, there was no way for the humans and their allies to win.

S'Uftril had already deployed forces to the area where the missiles had launched so that no more could be launched. That problem dealt with, he had to determine how to get rid of the attackers. He studied their formation and complimented the enemy commander on their cunning. By attacking in pairs, they were not only able to team up against his ships, but it was much harder for the Venrul to press them with sheer numbers. He could see that some of the larger human and S'Parnian ships were riding out the battle on the fringe, firing only when needed.

Those ships were the key to breaking the clever strategy laid out by the enemy. If he pressed towards them, the enemy would either have to abandon them or shift their forces that were in the fight to help. It would be good for him either way. He turned and activated the comm. "All units, I want you to engage the enemy's perimeter forces. You are to destroy them at all costs."

S'Uftril turned the comm off and turned back to the holoviewer. Now he would see what happened. He sat down in his chair to wait when the entire ship rocked. "What was that?" He shouted.

"Sir, there are two ships jumping in near us. They appear to be fairly large."

"Destroy them!" S'Uftril yelled. He could see on the holoviewer that one of the ships was the Vindicator, his father's vessel. The other ship looked like a much larger version of the human flagship. It was sleek and white, and from all appearances it was loaded with weapons.

The communications officer looked at S'Uftril, puzzled by something. "Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the enemy."

"Play it."

S'Ufril looked at a monitor and saw a the face of a human woman. She smiled at him tightly and said, "Greetings, S'Uftril. I am Captain Susan Sanders of the Avalon. We're here to take our planet back. So you have two choices: you can fight us and lose or you can surrender right now."

"Should we respond?" The communications officer asked.

S'Uftril nodded and activated the comm again. "Attention, human scum. We are not intimidated by your ship or your threats. And as soon as your fleet is pulverized your planet will be destroyed and your people wiped out. Your day is over."

On the bridge of the Avalon, Sanders's First Officer, Commander Dave Dundee, looked over at her with an annoyed look on his face. "Is there some reason to all this?" He asked.

"It's in the script," Sanders told him. Has the shuttle left the Vindicator yet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent. Patch me through to S'Uftril once more. Be prepared to open fire when i give the word," Sanders ordered. Dundee nodded and wondered what the devil his captain was doing. They were right in the middle of a battle, why was she chatting with the enemy commander? Sanders could see the look of concern on his face and thought, I hope you're right about this, Jack.

The shuttle bucked once, but S'Olonny was able to control it. Lisa watched the battle intently, tightening her harnass as though the act would protect her from harm. I've got to be crazy to be doing this, she thought. "Doesn't sound like they've seen us yet," she commented to S'Olonny.

"S'Uftril is busy dealing with other matters at the moment. It should keep him distracted enough so that he will not notice us," S'Olonny rumbled. Lisa had still not gotten used to the big alien, but by the way he looked at her she could tell that he had known her before. S'Olonny sidestepped a stray blast and a Venrul frigate cut past them, oblivious to their presence. The Avenger and Dauntless were on its tail and Lisa wished that she could see Laurants on the ship to make sure that he was all right.

They were close to the Darkstar and Lisa heard a woman's voice over the comm say, "If you will not surrender, S'Uftril, then we have no choice. We will have to destroy you." There was a long pause and the woman barked, "Fire!"

The entire univere seemed to light up as the Avalon and Vindicator both pounded the Darkstar. Chunks of armor flaked off the enormous ship and floated past the shuttle. Lisa gasped in horror as bodies flew out of the ship and went past. S'Olonny didn't seem phased at all and merely swung the shuttle past the debris. Then he steered it towards a large hole that had been opened up by the onslaught. The shuttle was small enough so that it was able to fit inside the hole and land in what looked like a cargo bay. S'Olonny magnetically locked the ship to the deck so that it couldn't move and then motioned for Lisa to unstrap.

"We must go now. I will escort you out of this area and then you will be on your own," he growled. Lisa nodded and moved back to the hatch. The Darkstar's emergency systems had sealed the hole so that they wouldn't need any environmental gear. Lisa cautiously left the shuttle, keeping the laser rifle she had been give at her hip. S'Olonny followed her and Lisa was surprised to see that the only weapon he had was a large green sword that was made of some crystal. They walked across the empty cargo bay and to the door. Lisa peeked out the door and then darted into the corridor. There were no guards nearby and she hoped that she wouldn't run into any.

She took out a compad that showed her the route to where the Great Matrix was suspected to be. She stopped at an intersection and said, "I guess this is where we split up. Good luck."

"Thank‑you. It has been an honor to serve with you," S'Olonny replied. Then he moved quickly away from her, continuing straight down the corridor while she took a left. She heard something and flattened herself against a door. The noise faded and she continued on her way.

***

"Heads up, here they come!" Hastings called out. The fifty or so fighters of the Phantom Strike Force were just coming out of the atmosphere and Hastings could see a swarm of Venrul fighters heading for them. The human craft paired up and then the formation broke. The two Coronas broke hard to the left, about ten Venrul following them.

"Damn, there are a lot of them," Gage mused.

"Yeah, well, there's going to be a lot fewer now," Hastings replied flippantly. He abruptly pulled around to face the Venrul and opened fire with his laser weapons. He pulled up just as quickly before the Venrul could get a lock on him. He saw one of the Venrul fighters explode and smiled. These things got a hell of a lot better weapons than my Eclipse, he thought.

Meanwhile, Gage banked away to the left, Venrul on her tail. She jinked to try and shake them, but they stayed with her. She swore to herself and then pulled up as hard as she could. The Venrul followed and she quickly pulled back on her thrust so that she actually began to fall back to where she had been. The Venrul flew past her and she was able to blow two of them away before they came back around to face her. She broke to the right and looped back around in time to trap shoot another of the enemy fighters. The last one trying to get her exploded suddenly and she saw Hastings's Corona fly past quickly.

"Now let's get back to the action," Hastings called and they headed off to help their comrades. Gage wondered grimly how long they could hold up against the hordes that the Venrul could throw at them.

***

"The Venrul are breaking to attack the ships on the perimeter," Shellowitz reported. Laurants turned to him in surprise.

"How many?" He asked.

"I can't tell for sure, but it looks like any and all that can are trying to."

Laurants sighed and looked at the holoprojector. There was no way that the ships on the perimeter could survive a direct attack. There was also no way that he could divert forces to their aid. He turned to Mary and ordered, "Order all perimeter forces to remain in position and all other ships to harass the Venrul heading that way as best they can." The perimeter ships would probably be destroyed, but the Venrul would pay for their assault.

"Any word on the shuttle yet?" Laurants asked Mary.

"It was last known to have left the Vindicator. It's assumed that it's inside the Darkstar," she answered. There was no way to know for sure if it was inside the massive enemy ship, but if things had followed according to plan than it should be.

That meant that everything was pretty much out of Laurants's hands. He had done all that he could; all the pieces were in place. All he could do now was to sit back and let everyone do their jobs. The Avenger shook from a hit and then it climbed sharply in order for the Dauntless to blast whoever was on their tail. Another Venrul ship was hit and the two Alliance ships kept moving on.

***

S'Olonny sliced the throat of one guard to the bridge of the Darkstar and brought his blade around to slash the other across the chest. Both of the S'Parnian guards fell limp to the deck and S'Olonny opened the bridge doors. Heads turned towards him and he thundered, "S'Uftril!"

S'Uftril stood up and stared at his father, standing just inside of the door with his S'Zai at ready. "I knew you would come eventually," S'Uftril said quietly. "You are a fool if you think you will ever leave here alive."

S'Olonny smiled and for the first time in years he laughed, which sounded like a guttural rumble. "The only way you can kill me is to use those Venrul troops of yours. You can never beat me in single combat."

S'Uftril nodded, knowing that his father was baiting him. "I know what you are trying to do. You want me to fight you to the death in a duel. Ordinarily I would refuse and have you killed where you stood, but you are my father, I owe it to you to kill you myself." S'Uftril pulled his orange S'Zai out and pointed it at S'Olonny.

"Now we begin," S'Olonny growled and lunged at S'Uftril. S'Uftril turned his father's lunge aside and snapped back at him with his blade. S'Olonny ducked and tried to cut at S'Uftril's arm. S'Ufril was able to move his arm back and block the blow with his S'Zai. Their swords locked, but S'Olonny used his strength to push S'Uftril's blade up and then took a swipe at him.

S'Uftril blocked the S'Zai and tried again to hit S'Olonny. This time S'Olonny moved his sword back and block the attack. Their blades locked once again and S'Uftril retreated a step. He raised his S'Zai high and lunged at S'Olonny. S'Olonny moved to block the sword, but at the last second S'Uftril brought the S'Zai down and sliced S'Olonny's side. Blood gushed from the wound, but S'Olonny hardly noticed. Instead he swept his blade into S'Uftril's shoulder. S'Uftril howled in pain and went down to the deck. "I'm sorry, son," S'Olonny said as he poised the S'Zai to deal a killing blow to his son. S'Uftril knew he was finished unless he did something. He shifted his S'Zai to his other hand and then blindly slashed at his father. S'Olonny stepped aside to avoid the attack, but by then S'Uftril was on his feet and running past, blood oozing from the wound to his shoulder. He opened the bridge doors and bolted. S'Olonny ran after him, screaming "Coward! You cannot escape!" He looked around the empty corridor, but he saw no one. He snarled in frustration and then began to look for his son.

***

Lisa carefully emerged from her hiding place in a doorway and then ran down the corridor. She was near the Matrix, but she didn't want to be stopped short of her goal. She stopped at an intersection and peered around the corner. Seeing no one she dashed across it. Then she could see the door to the Matrix.

There was a full squad of troops guarding it, too many for to take on by herself. She flattened herself against a wall so they couldn't see her and thought of what to do. God, what do I do? Her mind screamed and sweat dripped down her face. As she wiped it away she touched the visor of her helmet. She stopped and a plan came to her. It was reckless and nearly suicidal, but it just might work. She took her helmet off and shouldered her rifle. She cocked her arm back and hurled the helmet down the corrdior, away from her. The noise of the helmet skittering down the corridor echoed throughout the area and Lisa could hear the guards by Matrix moving.

She saw four of them run towards the helmet to investigate the source of the noise. Meanwhile, she unshouldered her rifle and ran towards the Matrix. She fired wildly at the remaining guards, taking two down instantly. The others shot at her and she weaved to avoid their shots. She blasted another one and then closed with the rest of the guards. She kicked the weapon away from one of the remaining guards. She spun back around and kicked him squarely in the middle, sending him crashing into the door. Before the other guard could shoot her she shot him in the head. She turned to the door and looked for a way to open it.

She couldn't simply shoot it, the lock was too sophisticated for that. It required some kind of computerized card that she didn't have, and neither did any of the guards. She knew the rest of the guards would be back soon, so she had to hurry. She examined the slot for the card and smiled. She reached up to her head and unclipped the pin holding her hair back in a ponytail. She bent the pin until it was suitable and stuck it into the slot. She typed a few keys and waited. The pin had reached in and hit a reset mechanism inside the lock so that the code she typed in would open the door. The door opened slowly and she pulled the pin out. She stepped into the room and the door slid shut behind her. The guards would not be able to get in without somehow tampering with the lock because she had changed the code, so she would have some privacy.

She took a step forward and stared at the Great Matrix in awe. The clear sphere glowed with multi‑colored light, the only light in the room. It rested on a metal pedistal and all sorts of wires and tubes were connected to it. Lisa raised her rifle and began blasting the wires and tubes in order to sabotage the weapon so that it cold not be used against the Alliance and S'Parnians. After she was finished she stepped up to the Matrix and set the rifle down. She remembered what S'Tallen had said and knew that she had no choice one she touched the sphere.

There would be no going back from here. She closed her eyes and thought of everything that had happened since she had come from the Matrix. She thought of the Avenger and its crew and their mission. Most of all she thought of Laurants and the love they had shared. The love she would probably never feel for him again. For a moment she hesitated, not wanting to do it. But then she rested her hands against the Matrix.

There was a flash of white light and then Lisa disappeared from the Darkstar. She was swept into another world where there was no ground or sky. There was only a white substance all around her. She remembered her dreams and carefully took a step forward. Something came towards her and she readied herself for anything.

Her older self crawled into view, writhing in agony. "You're...here!" She gasped.

"Yes, I'm here," Lisa replied. She was about to reach out to herself when something glided into view. The monstrous figure from her dreams appeared, her eyes glowing red.

"You're here at last. I told you what would happen," Arsa hissed.

"I've come to help you," Lisa said.

"Help? You're the one who will need help." Arsa flicked a finger and excrutiating pain cascaded through Lisa's body. She screamed and dropped to her knees. She looked up and saw Arsa smile devilishly. Then Arsa's foot crashed into her jaw.

There was no blood or snapping of bone, only raw pain coursing through her face as the blow landed. She flew backwards and landed flat on her back, her body still filled with agony. Arsa moved over to her and picked her up by the throat, her fingernails digging into Lisa's skin. She lowered Lisa a bit and her knee smashed into Lisa's middle. Then she hurled her with extraordinary strength.

Lisa landed far away from Arsa or her other self. She didn't know where she was and merely lay where she was, panting and trying to overcome the pain. She tried to sit up but couldn't make it. It hurt her too much. She heard an ominous voice rumble, "You'll be sorry you ever came back to this place."

Chapter Fifteen

2007-06-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Chapter Fifteen

Admiral Shaw looked around at the starship captains assembled in the conference room and said, "Even with that disk from the Ice Fields Station, we still do not have a way to defeat the Venrul. I need a plan."

Everyone looked around silently, searching for an answer. No one had any idea what to do to stop the Venrul. It seemed hopeless. The Alliance didn't have the firepower to beat the fleet over Earth, and neither did the S'Parnians. One captain raised his hand and said, "We could use the missiles to make them think we're going to take Earth and then hit S'Parni. They'll have to pull back to secure it, which would at least buy us more time."

"But we would lose ships in the process. And we wouldn't have nearly enough time to retake Earth and prepare any kind of defense," Shaw retorted.

It was then that the doors to the room burst open and Laurants briskly walked in. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he entered.

"I didn't think you would be here, Captain," Shaw bit out, her eyes narrowing at the sight of him.

"I have a plan to submit to you." He stuck a computer disk into the holoprojector and told them his bold plan.

Shaw leapt to her feet immediately. "Your plan is suicide!"

"My plan is the only thing that will keep humanity alive!" Laurants shouted back.

"How dare you!"

"Captain Laurants is right," Doural said as she entered. "His plan is the only one that even has a chance of working."

"Who are you?" Shaw asked.

"Commander Rachel Doural, captain of the Dauntless. You have to listen to him, Admiral. I trust him and I know that he would never put so many lives at risk if he didn't think it would work."

The other assembled captains looked at Laurants and Doural and one stood and said, "Admiral, I trust Captain Laurants as well. He was First Officer of the Avenger during the Battle of S'Parni. He knows what he's doing. His plan is risky, but it's the only one that could actually let us win." There were murmurs of agreement and Shaw stared hatefully at Laurants for a moment.

"Who is this agent you want to send in to recover the Matrix?" She asked.

Laurants swallowed and steeled himself. "I do not wish to disclose that information."

"What? Tell me, that is a direct order!"

"The agent in question is attached to the S'Parnian armed forces. Therefore, I do not have to reveal their identity."

"Fine," Shaw snorted. "Even if we do recover the Matrix, how will this help us destroy the Venrul?"

"We could use the Matrix's power to crate a weapon on the Avalon similar to the one on the Darkstar. That would turn the tables in our favor."

"I see. I'll consider your plan and let you know in one day. Everyone is dismissed." The room cleared, but Shaw stopped Laurants before he left. "You son of a bitch, you played me for a fool in front of everyone."

"I'm sorry, Admiral, but I had no choice. I cannot reveal the identity of the agent, not even to you. It is a secret that must be maintained at all costs."

Shaw nodded and took a few steps away from him. She turned and said softly, "Your plan is well thought‑out. In fact, it sounds like something my daughter would come up with. I guess she trained you well."

"She was a very good teacher. So, are you saying you will agree to the plan?"

"I don't have any choice. We have no alternatives. However, I do have to keep up appearances. It would look bad if I just caved right in to you in front of everyone."

"I understand," Laurants nodded and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry," Shaw called before he left. "I'm sorry about what I did to Lisa."

"I know," Laurants replied and left. He hated to deceive Shaw by making her think Lisa was dead, but it was the only way. Of course, if things worked out, she would be back to normal once more. Then, Laurants thought, her mother can apologize in person.

***

Sam looked at S'Telma and smiled. "They have postponed the mission for now. The humans have come up with a better plan that may allow us to recover the Matrix."

"That is great news," S'Telma responded.

"You still look concerned."

"You will still have to go on that mission. I do not want to lose you S'Amleng."

"I don't want to lose you either. I will come back from that mission safely. I promise."

"I know you will try. But things could still go wrong."

"They could, but we have to hope that you won't. At least I can go into battle knowing that you and the children will be safe here."

"Unless the enemy finds us."

"Even so, you will be protected. If not, then I will come back for you."

Her tongue caressed his hood and she whispered, "I love you, Sam."

Sam was surprised that she used the nickname the humans had given him, but he quickly recovered and replied, "I love you too."

They made sure their children were all asleep and then went into the bedroom. Sam knew it was the last time he and his wife would have any time alone for quite some time, and they would have to make it count. He only hoped that he made it back from the next mission, but he wasn't sure that he could. It was going to be extremely difficult and against nearly impossible odds. He had heard the humans's plan and thought that it could work, but it was highly dangerous.

Of course, if it worked, the Matrix would be recovered and S'Parni would be retaken, at least temporarily. Without the power cells for their environmental suits, the Venrul would be unable to oppose the S'Parnian forces and they could easily take back their home. The question then was how long they could hold it. Sam promised himself that he would get his family on the firs shuttle off the planet, knowing that when the Venrul came back, there would be a lot more bloodshed. He looked at S'Telma, and in her eyes he lost his train of thought. All that mattered now was spending this last night with the one that he loved.

***

Laurants woke up to the sound of his computer terminal beeping and went to see what was going on. He turned it on and saw Terraz's face on the screen. She looked as tired as he felt and said, "Admiral Shaw wants to see you right away."

"I'll be right there." He hurriedly threw on his jacket and buttoned it up to cover his bare chest. Then he left his quarters and to the conference room on the station. He opened the door and found her sitting at the head of the table.

"Good morning, Captain," she greeted him coldly. "I've decided to approve your plan. Here's the details that I've worked out."

Laurants read the revised plan on the holoprojector and nodded, "It sounds good. I just hope that it works."

"Everyone is hoping that it works. The fate of the galaxy is on your shoulders, Captain."

"I know."

"It's a lot like the Battle of S'Parni, I'm sure. A big gamble that if it pays off will bring peace to the galaxy and the eliminaiton of the human race if it doesn't. The only difference is that then the responsibility was Lisa's. Now it's yours." She stopped and looked at him sadly. "I know you can pull it off, though. Lisa had a lot of faith in you, and so do I."

"Thank‑you Admiral." Laurants was starting to worry about the tone of her voice. It was so sad and depressing. "I assume you'll be leading the attack?"

"You assume wrong. This is your show. I'll be here on the station, watching everything from here and S'Parni. The Avenger is still the fleet's flagship and you are its captain. That means that you will lead the attack."

"I understand, sir. Is there anything else?"

"Just one question: did you ever figure out why you were promoted to commander?"

"No. I just assumed that it was because the Battle of Mars had killed so many officers that there weren't any to spare."

"Actually, it was because of what Lisa told us about what happened on Rygan. You stuck with her when the rest of the crew mutinied and you devised the plan to beat the aliens invading that city. That showed you had the potential to be a great leader. I wanted to give you your shot to unlock it. So far I haven't been disappointed in you. You may be the youngest captain in the fleet, but you've proven to be the best. I'm sure that if Lisa were still around, she would be proud of you too."

Laurants was dumbfounded and silent for a few moments. He finally stammered, "Thank‑you." Then he left the room and went back to the Avenger. After all the mean things he had said to Shaw she was still able to be proud of him. Perhaps, he thought, my yelling at her made her proud by showing I could stand up to her. He sighed and came onto the bridge.

"Well, what did she say?" Terraz asked.

"The plan is a go in 36 hours."

"Captain, the station is requesting that we pull in to take‑on the crew and to finish repairs," Mary said.

"You heard her, Lieutenant Klein, put us into dock," Laurants said and sat down in his chair. As he did, he could almost feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. God help us all if I'm wrong, he thought gloomily.

After the Avenger docked the crew began to board once more and just about every repair crew on the station set to work on repairing the flagship. Rockwell and Shellowitz came onto the bridge and Klein stood up. "I guess it's time I go back to my cell," he said.

"Only for a little while," Laurants replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm having you board Captain Kane's ship. You'll be the Alliance's liason to the space pirates. That means that you have to keep Admiral Shaw informed about what's going on."

"Why me?"

Laurants looked him in the eye and smiled, "Because you're expendable." Klein gulped and Terraz led him back to his cell, winking at Laurants on her way out. He sighed and took a compad Rockwell handed him that was from Farley. Before the Avenger launched it would be fully operational once more. He smiled and hungrily thought about getting back to Earth and beginning to get back at the Venrul.

***

Hastings and Gage hurriedly entered the command center and saw Fujimori and Valohev waiting for them at the holoprojector. Garren came in on their heels and they gathered around the device. "We just got a priority message from Admiral Shaw. They've come up with a plan that will recover the Great Matrix and give us an edge against the Venrul," Fujimori said and activated the holoprojector. A map of Earth came up showing the Venrul fleet above. "The plan is that we will launch our missiles out into space, creating a zone of intense radiation around the Venrul ships. Seconds later, a combined human‑S'Parnian fleet will jump in and attack the Venrul."

The map changed to show S'Parni. "They expect that the ships above S'Parni will be recalled as reinforcements. Once they leave, the S'Parnians will hit Venrul supply facilities on the planet, crippling their ground forces. That should allow them to retake their planet and evacuate the remaining civilians."

The map changed again to show Saturn. "The Venrul reinforcements will be pulled back into realspace near Saturn by a group of space pirate ships. The space pirates will then take cover in the planet's rings to make it harder for the enemy to destroy them. That should keep the Venrul reinforcements from arriving until the Matrix is recovered."

"How is the Matrix going to be gotten back?" Hastings asked.

"Two agents are going to be inserted to get it back."

"That sounds like a really dumb plan."

"I don't understand it either, but if the admiral approved it,then there is probably something that she knows and we don't. At any rate, our mission after we fire the missiles is to give the fleet whatever help we can. Colonels Hastings and Gage, you'll be going up there. Sergeant Garren, your troops will remain here to defend the station from reprisal."

"What? Sir, I demand that my troops be allowed to fight against the enemy!" Garren shouted.

"I understand your frustration, Sergeant. However, once we launch those missiles, the enemy is going to send troops down to make sure we don't launch more. With the Phantom Strike Force joining the fighting in orbit, you'll have more action then you'll ever want." Garren nodded and decided to let the subject drop.

"Now then, we launch in 24 hours. That should give you enough time to familiarize yourselves with your aircraft," Fujimori said to Gage and Hastings.

"What do you mean, sir?" Gage asked.

"General, take these two to the lab to give them their vehicles."

Valohev nodded and led the two pilots away. Garren was left with Fujimori, wondering if what he had said was right. His unit wanted to be able to strike back at the Venrul for killing Manny, it was going to be hard to tell them that they were assigned to guard duty during the attack. Still, he had his orders, it was his duty to carry them out. That didn't mean he had to like them, though.

The doors to a massive laboratory opened and a scientist wearing a lab coat over a gray jumpsuit approached them. "I'm Dr. Terry Packard, Ice Fields Aerial Science Division. You two must be the pilots the president told me about."

"Yes, sir. I'm Colonel Scott Hastings, and this is Colonel Allison Gage. The president said you had aircraft for us."

"Yes I do. Take a look," Packard pulled out a remote control from his pocket and tapped a button. The ground shook as machinery opened up two doors carved into the ice. Hastings and Gage moved forward and saw a fighter inside each door. Both were painted a dark gray and green camouflage and shaped like a triangle with swept‑back wings and twin canted tails. They looked sleek and deadly, far more so than Hastings's old Eclipse. "Now then, let me show you what they do."

"As you know, we already tested ExoArmor reconfiguring technology on S'Panrian escort ships. The result is a very powerful infantry support ship and anti‑aircraft unit. We took that once step further and put the same technology onto a fighter frame. What we got are the only two prototypes of the X‑91 Corona Multi‑Task Fighters in existence. President Fujimori has authorized you two to take these aircraft into battle. Before that, though, I'll have to brief you on how they work."

He led them to one of the fighters and hopped up into the cockpit. Gage and Hastings watched him from the plane's ladder. "What the Corona does that no other fighter can do is to switch between being a bomber and a fighter. Not just in payload, but in maneuverability. Right now the Corona is in an intermediate mode. This switch on the control stick is what can switch it between modes."

Packard flicked the switch up and the plane began reconfiguring. The wings moved back until they were tucked against the fuselage, the twin tails merged into one, laser cannons appeared below the wing roots and on the nose, and the engines slid back. "In fighter mode the Corona becomes more aerodynamic and much faster. The only drawback is that it loses a lot of weapontry." He flicked the switch all the way down and the plane began changing again. The tails unfolded, cowls swung out over the engines, missile racks appeared on the top of the Corona, and the wings swung out until they were perpandicular with the fuselage. "This is the bomber mode of the aircraft. It's slower but better armed. We also made it so the engines are modified to lower its heat and engine signature so it isn't as easy to detect. Of course, the intermediary mode is the best of both worlds. However, if you're going up against Venrul fighters, then the fighter mode will work best. If you're strafing an enemy ship, then go to bomber mode."

"What I don't understand is that even with all the reconfiguring, we're still carrying around all that weight in fighter mode. How are we going to be able to tangle with Venrul fighters?" Gage asked.

"We've done everything we could to minimize the weight of the plane. You're right, though, that even in fighter mode it will be dragging around some weight. There is one last thing I need to show you. If you get in a fight with their fighters and you need to dump some weight, there's a red button on the left side of the cockpit. Go to bomber mode and push it. That will jettison all of the missiles and some of the armor. Just be sure you need to do that, because there's no going back after that."

"Thanks, Doc. These are some nice little fighters," Hastings commented. "Can't wait to take them up against the Venrul."

"I'm sure you can't. Of course, you're just part of Phantom Wing. They have about fifty fighters, all prototypes or customized jobs. Mostly there are Eclipse‑Xs, Nova‑Bs, and Neutrons."

"What's a Nova‑B?" Gage inquired.

"It's a Nova with Eclipse engines and made of a prototype armor that is lighter and tougher. Makes them faster and thus deadlier. Only five in existence though."

"Aren't you worried about losing all this stuff?" Hastings asked him.

"Well, it won't matter if we lose. Besides, we have the schematics still. We can build more."

"Great. I'm sure we're going to need more," Hastings commented and Gage nodded, each feeling a chill run through them.

***

Laurants sat alone in the conference room, displaced since Farley had insisted to check the bridge for any problems. He sat at the head of the table and looked around the empty room. God, what I wouldn't give for her to be here right now, Laurants thought. He wished that he could have Rear Admiral Lisa Shaw back for this mission. It wasn't that he couldn't handle things, he just didn't like the burden.

The doors hissed open and Terraz stepped into the room. "There you are," she said. "I thought you'd be in your quarters."

Laurants leaned back in his chair and smiled, "I thought so, that's why I'm in here."

"Besides, Lisa's in your quarters, right?"

Laurants stared at Terraz for a few moments and nodded, "Yes. I'm not sure what to say to her about the upcoming mission. I feel like I'm serving her up to the Venrul on a silver platter by sending her onto the Darkstar with only S'Olonny to protect her."

Terraz sat down next to him and responded, "You've got to remember that even after all that's happened she still has had Alliance training. She can handle herself. Besides, S'Olonny is helping her train. She'll be able to deal with it."

"Maybe." Laurants was silent for a few moments and then asked quietly, "Do you ever think she felt guilty about planning the S'Parnian campaign?"

Terraz looked at him, sensing what his problem was. "People die during any mission, Jack. It's the nature of the beast. You can't let yourself feel too guilty about sending them to die. Feeling a little guilty is only natural, but you have to understand that they're doing their duty. You are not personally responsible for them."

"But I feel like I am! Admiral Shaw put me directly in charge of this. If we fail, it will be my fault. It will be my fault that Earth is destroyed, S'Parni is overrun, and that the Venrul rule the galaxy."

"No it won't. This is your plan, but no one would have approved it if they didn't think it was sound. Everyone is behind you. They believe in you, but even if your plan doesn't work, we'll all have done the best we could. That's all that we can do. And even if we fail, at least humanity will have gone down fighting. That's what you've done for everyone. You've given them hope that maybe they can beat the Venrul and retake Earth and S'Parni. No matter what happens, everyone will know that it's not your fault."

"Thanks," Laurants replied. "I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"You survived for five years without me, I think you could go on."

"You're probably right. Anyway, what do you think I should tell Lisa?"

"That you love her and that you don't want her to go, but that she has to. She'll understand that."

"I hope so. I really don't want to lose her. There's some selfish part of me that doesn't want her to go, because if she comes back there's the chance that she'll be back to normal. And if that happens, she won't love me anymore."

"That's a possibility. If that happens, then you should tell her that you do love her. Maybe she'll come around."

"I doubt it. She's never felt anything for me, not until now. Even after all that time we spent together she's never loved me."

"You don't know that. Look, I'm sorry about the rotten things I said to you earlier about that. Sure, she still wasn't over Nichols before she interfaced with the Matrix, but that doesn't mean that she couldn't have had a place in her heart for you. Just because she wasn't ready to move on doesn't mean that she wouldn't eventually."

"Why would she love me? She didn't know me other than as a fellow officer and she was nearly fifteen years older than me. There's no way..."

"Captain, we've finished with the bridge. It's all yours."

"Thanks, Commander. We'll be up in a few minutes," Laurants replied. He turned to Terraz and said, "Once we get back, get a hold of the entire command staff. I want to run a simulation as soon as possible. The station should have the facilities for something like that."

"Just the captains, or the First Officers too?"

"Everyone. The offense and defensive ops officers, navigators, helmspeople, everyone. We're going to have to work together, may as well get a little practice at it."

Terraz nodded and they left the conference room and headed for the bridge. She knew that the other crews weren't going to like what Laurants had in mind, but she could see the reasoning in it. The Alliance rarely ran group exercises, so it would be good to run one before the final battle for Earth. Besides, it would key the crews up a little bit; get them hungrier for battle. She smiled to herself and wondered how well the Avenger would do in a simulation. Hopefully not as well as in real life, she mused and sat down at her station to send the messages.

***

The lights came up and Laurants faced the nearly fifty computer screens, each showing the crew of an Alliance ship. He put his hands on his hips and said gloomily, "Well, that was quick. The entire fleet was eliminated in forty minutes. The last ship, of course, being the Avenger. Some of you were taken down in under a minute."

"We couldn't help it," one captain bit out. "There were too many of them and too few of us."

"No," Laurants replied sternly. "They destroyed us because we were sloppy and disorganized. It was every ship for itself, so they easily were able to press us and take us apart one at a time. And now that this simulation is over, we're going to do things right."

"The reason we are beaten is that we think of space battles as following the rules of the old naval battles on the high seas. Two ships near each other and hurl broadsides at each other. Whoever is left sanding moves on. That was how most of you were trained to fight. What we have to do, though, is to think of it as a land battle. We have to stay organized like any platoon or company."

Laurants brought up a map on a holoprojector showing the entire Alliance fleet. "What we're going to do now is organize. All the ships of Relentless‑class or newer are going to pair up and take on the Venrul fleet. This includes the Avenger herself. What we're going to do is to go in and fight them. We're going to stay mobile and dogfight with them. The older, less maneuverable ships are going to remain at the edge of the fighting. These ships will be our artillery support. They're going to chip in fire as needed to help us eliminate the enemy. And, should it come to that, they'll help cover the routes of retreat."

The map changed to show the Venrul fleet. "The Venrul are clustered around the Darkstar, which is cruising over Earth and blasting cities at will. Our plan of attack is going to be that the artillery group will form a perimeter around the Venrul, surrounding them. That may only be fifteen ships, but it should be enough, especially with the S'Parnians helping out. Their Destroyers will also be part of this group, so we'll have better coverage."

"The jumps in are going to be tricky, but we should be able to do it. The artillery group will jump in at different points to surround the Venrul. The rest of us will jump in inside the perimeter in pairs so that they won't be able to blast us as easily. Then we engage them as I described above. Our goal is to keep them busy long enough to recover the Matrix. Then we pull back to the station with our prize. Understood?"

On the screens, Laurants saw people glare at him for a moment, but everyone understood the plan. "Good, then we'll run this again. I've got the ship assignments made up already, so I'll have those sent to all of you. Let's see if we can do better this time." Terraz sent the assignments out and the monitors went dark. The simulator Laurants and the bridge crew of the Avenger were in went black as the simulation began once more.

After the simulation was over and everyone was gone, Terraz looked at Laurants and smiled. "Eighty minutes, that was a hell of a lot better time. We might even have a shot now to win this thing," she said.

Laurants shook his head defeatedly. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but we suffered sixty percent casualties within thirty minutes. By the time one hour was gone we were down to five ships. In the last three minutes it was just us."

"It's better than it was at least. You and I both know that despite your strategy things are bound to fall apart. People are going to panic and everything will become complete chaos. But at least we have a better chance than we did."

"I hope you're right. The problem is that there are just too many variables; too many wild cards to accurately simulate things. Before the Battle of S'Parni Captains Shaw and S'Olonny told me that they didn't have a plan because it would be too chaotic to try and make one, so they decided to play it by ear. This time, though, we have a plan, but with all the variables it probably won't work."

"Maybe. It's still better than nothing. It's better than a suicidal charge or an attack that would only buy us some time." She stopped and commented, "By the way, I liked how you paired us with the Dauntless."

"I figured it would work best if we worked with another ship that I knew could keep up. Besides, they didn't get destroyed until sixty‑five minutes into it, so they aren't that bad of a wingman."

"You're right, they weren't too bad. Let's just hope that they can keep up."

"Let's hope everyone can keep up. Well, we've got five hours left, let's make them count. Put the crew on rest so they can say their good‑byes and get some sleep before the last battle for Earth. That means you too." Terraz nodded and left, leaving Laurants alone in the empty simulator room. He leaned over and instructed the computer to replay the second simulation. Halfway through it his head slumped to his chest and he fell asleep.

***

All of the S'Parnian and pirate ships arrived at the station an hour later. S'Olonny studied the plan and looked at the inventory of the combined fleet. Less than one hundred and fifty ships battling easily over five hundred. Counting fighters, escort ships, and ExoArmors the allied fleet was outnumbered nearly four‑to‑one. He sighed and tossed the compad aside. He went to a cabinet and grabbed his S'Zai. He studied the green blade and ran his finger along it to test its sharpness. There was a tiny prick of blood and he smiled. It would be more than sharp enough to cut S'Uftril's heart out.

It pained S'Olonny to have to do so, but S'Uftril had turned evil and was bent on destroying all that the Savior's coming had built. He had to be stopped, and S'Olonny knew that he was the only one that he could do it. He knew this because from his conversation with S'Uftril he could see that his son still had his sense of honor. He would fight S'Olonny in a duel and S'Olonny knew that he could beat him. He had taught S'Uftril everything he knew about S'Zai fighting, so he knew how to counter any moves the young man made.

He looked at the picture on his desk of his family and wished that S'Uftril hadn't changed so much. The rest of his children had been killed and his wife would not even hardly talk to him. He had no one. No one to carry on his heritage, no one to talk to, no one to love.

He briefly considered turning his back on the mission and letting S'Uftril live, but he quickly tossed that thought aside. He had never turned his back on his duty, and even if it meant killing his only son, he would do it. He took an experimental swing with the S'Zai, getting used to its weight once more. He had not fought with the weapon in nearly eight years, but he was still in good form. Then he put it away and stared longingly at the picture of his family, wished he could bring them back to him.

***

Hastings stopped at Gage's quarters and pushed the door chime. A moment later she answered it and smiled at him. He went inside and the door hissed shut behind him. Gage moved to embrace him, but he lightly pushed her away. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I think you know already. In just a few hours we're going to fly a mission that neither one of is likely to come back from. I've...I've come to say good‑bye," Hastings said quietly.

"Why?"

"After the Battle of S'Parni three‑quarters of my squadron was destroyed. I never was able to say good‑bye to any of those pilots. Even though I didn't love them, I still felt a bond with them, because they were my pilots. I just want to say good‑bye while I still have time. I also wanted to say how much I've come to love you since we first met."

Gage took his hand, a tear running down her face. "I love you too, Scott. We'll come back from this, I promise you. It's taken so long for me to find someone to love and I won't lose you now."

Hastings kissed her on the cheek, sucking away the tear. "I know you'll try. Just say it anyway, in case there isn't time later."

She looked at him sadly and nodded. "Good‑bye, Scott," she whispered. She kissed him on the neck and worked her way up to his mouth. "I'll never, ever forget you."

"I won't be able to forget you either. I love you too much, Allison." He took her hand and she led him back to her bed. They fell asleep in one another's arms, never wanting to part, but knowing that they could soon be parted forever.

***

Laurants went into his quarters and found her waiting for him, looking sad. He knew what she was thinking, what she was feeling. She didn't want to go and take the chance of losing him. And yet she knew that she had to go. When she saw him she rushed into his arms. "Oh, Jack," she whispered. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. I promise," he answered.

"Even if I do come back...I might not remember what happened between us. I might not remember loving you. I don't want that to happen."

"It doesn't matter if it does. I'll still love you, Lisa. I always will. There's something you should know, though."

"What?"

"Before you interfaced with the Matrix, you...you never loved me. I was just a friend, someone who you worked closely with. But I always loved you. So even if you come back and don't remember what we had, I will still love you."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "Jack, you're wrong."

"I'm wrong?"

"Yes. I did love you once. I don't know when or where, but I can feel in my heart that I felt for you once what I do now. Maybe...maybe there's still hope for us."

He kissed her and replied quietly, "Maybe there is. No matter what, though, you'll never lose me. I'll always be with you."

She looked into his eyes and a smile spread across her face. "I know you will," she said. "And I'll always be with you. No matter how old I am or what I look like, a part of me will always be with you. Nothing, not even death, can ever extinguish our love."

"I know," he whispered. Then, for the last few hours, they slept in each other's arms. They both knew that they would never have such an opportunity again. The last thing Laurants saw before he fell asleep were Lisa's eyes. In them he saw her love and her pain as she knew that she would never be close with him again. He knew that they mirrored his own, and wished that there were some way to change things so that she didn't have to go. He knew that was futile and drifted into sleep holding her as tightly as he could.

***

The Alliance and S'Parnian fleets formed up as Laurants had assigned them and prepared for the jump to Earth. The Avenger was at the head of the fleet with the Dauntless riding next to it. Laurants took a look at his crew and smiled thinly. He could never have asked for a better group of officers to share this last battle with. Farley's voice cut into his thoughts, saying, "We're ready to jump, sir."

Laurants nodded and looked over at his sister. He wished he could have kept her on the station, but there was no way that she would have permitted it. At least now they would die together instead of being separated by light years. "Send the signal, Ensign."

Mary called over the comm, "All units, status report."

One‑by‑one the ships of the fleet responded, all of them ready to jump. The last was the Vindicator, under the command of S'First. "We are prepared to jump," S'First answered.

In the hangar of the Vindicator, one escort ship was separated from the rest. S'Olonny was at its controls and waiting for Lisa to arrive. He heard footsteps on the ramp and turned to see her enter. He climbed out of his seat and went back to seal the hatch. She gasped when she saw how he towered over her. She gave him a wide berth and took the co‑pilot's seat.

S'Olonny sealed the hatch and shook his head. He remembered the last time she had been aboard his ship. She had protested his using human drones in attacking the Grand Council's forces. Despite his size she had stood her ground and refused to be intimidated by her. He did not see this same fire in her now. This timid rabbit is supposed to get the Matrix back? It did not seem likely. He sighed and strapped into his seat. He looked over at her and only hoped she was stronger than she appeared.

Laurants took a deep breath, knowing that after he gave the orer the Alliance's forces were committed to the attack. An attack that would let Lisa slip from his grasp forever. Even as the thought to abort the mission crossed his mind he turned it away. He had no choice, this mission was the only way to save humanity. "Initiate the attack," he ordered slowly but firmly.

Rockwell hit a button and the Avenger's TransDimensional Jump drive activated. The ship was immersed in white light and everyone went unconscious. Laurants's last thought was, Good‑bye Lisa. Then the combined fleet vanished from around the station.