Vengeance Lost_Ardent Redux Saga_Episode 1 Page 3

  Howard grunted his disapproval at the buckled hallway and the sparks thrown by the damaged lighting.

  Dani dreaded showing him the extent of the damage. He had been the mechanic on Alaska’s Vengeance as long as she could remember, longer than she had been captain, and before that he had served under her father.

  Jag turned over another chair for Howard to rest on as he and Dani collected food and more supplies from the kitchen.

  “Grab everything you can, everything we can use. We may have to restrict life support to just the bridge. I don’t know how long we’ll be out here.”

  Howard’s face was a blend of confusion and disgruntlement as Jag placed a bag of dried food on his lap.

  “Do you think you can carry that?” Jag nodded to the bag.

  “I’m injured, not frail. What else ya got?” Howard set his jaw as he got to his feet.

  Dani caught the slight wince in his expression but didn’t dare comment on it. Instead, she passed him another bag of kitchen supplies.

  “That oughta do it.” Jag hefted a large sack over his shoulder before lifting a good-sized crate with his free arm.

  Dani picked up the bags of food she had packed and glanced around the room once more. “Alright, let’s move.”

  Jag led the way, overriding the automatic doors that had sealed once more after their journey through the first time.

  Dani watched Howard closely as he hobbled down the hall. She couldn’t quite make out his mumblings as they passed the ice-coated doors. The frost had thickened and spread considerably. She hoped they had enough supplies to last until help arrived. Her biggest fear was the lack of water. They grabbed the few jugs that remained intact from the galley, but they’d have to ration carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was to watch what was left of her crew wither away. She silently resolved to take fewer water rations for herself to ensure the others were well taken care of.

  “And we’re back,” Jag announced as the trio re-entered the bridge before sealing the door behind them.

  Howard dropped the items he was carrying when he caught sight of the mangled holographic ship. “No, no, no!”

  Dani rushed to Howard’s side and steadied him as he wobbled next to the holograph.

  “What did you do?” His eyes widened at the destruction.

  “I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you.”

  “Well, whatever it was... I can’t fix this.”

  “Be grateful, old man. She saved our asses,” Jag piped in with a wink.

  “Did she? Did she really? From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like we’re saved at all.”

  Dani stared at the holograph version of Alaska’s Vengeance. She felt the urge to defend herself, but didn’t know where to begin. She swallowed the lump in her throat, the reality of the situation getting to her.

  Howard rubbed the red and silver stubble on his chin and peered at Dani. He read Dani in the way he had done since she was a small girl, and his features softened. “Well, I suppose it could be worse.”

  Jag laughed and thumped Howard on the back. “That’s the spirit! Now, I think we’re all in need of a celebratory meal.”

  Dani returned to her console to reroute life-support systems to just the bridge while Jag dug through the supplies.

  Cassia laid out a cloth for them to dine upon picnic-style.

  “Great job on the stitches, Cruz.” Dani angled her head to see Cassia’s freshly stitched wound. “Can you tend to Howard’s leg next? I’m not sure how deep the cut was, but it was bleeding pretty good.”

  Cruz nodded in acknowledgement as he sat on the floor next to them and removed his prosthetics, rubbing the ends of his legs.

  Howard eased himself down next to Cruz and allowed the combat veteran to inspect his wound. “So, where are we? This doesn’t look like PS683.”

  “Have you had any luck figuring out our location, Cruz?” Dani asked as she passed out packages of dehydrated fruit.

  Cruz pressed his lips together and held out his hand toward Jag to collect the portable screen. Once in his possession, the main screen filled with thousands of stars.

  The crew watched and munched on their snacks while Cruz zoomed in on PS683.

  “Okay, so this is where we entered the wormhole,” Dani spoke for him as he focused the three-dimensional map on their last known location.

  “Wormhole?” Howard choked on a piece of dried apple.

  “I told you that you wouldn’t believe it.” Dani smiled halfheartedly as she stared at the screen. She loved when she could catch the old man by surprise, but she wished the situation hadn’t been so dire.

  The map of P683 wasn’t a real-time view of the area. Her smile melted into a frown as she saw the mining planets glowing with life. For the first time in her career, she had failed her mission. All those lives, gone. Men, women, children, her pilots, and those aboard the Louisiana were now casualties of war, statistics that would roll along the bottom part of the screen on the news feed in an endless parade of names, ships, and planets.

  “I’m sorry,” Dani mumbled softly, staring at PS683. She wished her words meant something but knew they’d provide no consolation to the survivors back home.

  Howard gently patted Dani’s shoulder. “I’m sure you had a good reason. You wouldn’t have left unless you had no other choice.”

  The crew sat in silence as Cruz zoomed out and panned across several star systems. He finally settled on one at the edge of Galactic Conglomerate territory. The map shrunk down to half screen, the other half changing back to the view outside. Cruz matched up the views on either side of the screen, aligning the celestial bodies.

  “A lack of well-formed planets, no apparent signs of life... if I had to wager a guess, I’d say PS703. Essentially the desert of space. Not ideal.” Dani sighed and looked to Cruz for confirmation of her guess.

  Cruz nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

  Dani stood and returned to her console. “Good work, Cruz. Please replace the map with the aft cam.” She wanted to see as much of her surroundings as possible. She massaged her fingers into her neck behind her ear as she tried to think about which GC bases were nearby. The Galactic Conglomerate Headquarters was at the center of several resource-rich star systems. Their location was strategic for both supplies and defense. The farther one ventured from the oasis making up GCHQ, the more barren and desolate space became. Fewer resources and colonies meant fewer patrols. There was nothing out here to mine or farm, nor did this area offer any strategic benefits for the GC. It was essentially a barren buffer of sorts.

  “Cassia, is it possible to send out a long-range communication?” Dani asked as she looked at the map on her console once more.

  Cassia returned to her station and brought up her screen while Dani scanned the area around them for other ships.

  “We can try.” Cassia sounded uncertain. “Logs show GC ships patrol this area occasionally, but there’s no telling how long before someone’s in range again. Not to mention the possibility of interception by... less savory types.”

  “You mean pirates,” Jag said casually as he tossed another bite into his mouth. “It’s not a bad word, you know.”

  “Of course, I just didn't want you to...” Cassia trailed off, shifting uncomfortably.

  “It’s fine. The past is the past. Besides”—Jag stood and approached the main screen—“if they do come calling, that may work to our advantage.”

  “Would Talon and his crew even be out this far?” Dani inquired, her hopes rising slightly. Their last run-in with Talon had been a bit rough, but he owed Dani a favor and this would be an optimal time to collect on it.

  “Not likely, but you never know.” Jag grinned. “What’s the plan, boss?”

  “I don’t think we have much of a choice. If we don’t send out a communication, then we may be out here forever.” Dani displayed the ship’s systems on her screen at her station. “Life support will give us a few weeks at best, provided there aren’t any leaks
we aren’t aware of. The engine and thrusters will allow us to make minor adjustments to our trajectory, but they aren’t enough to get us anywhere fast. Our best bet is to conserve their energy for our life-support systems.”

  “Not to mention that Howard said he can’t fix the ship this time.” Dani winked at the aging mechanic.

  “I probably could if there was anything left to fix.” He chuckled in return.

  “So really,” Dani continued, “we sit here and hope to get lucky, or we try to do something about it. Downside is that we could attract pirates instead of the GC, but that’s still better than having a Vaerian ship track us down.”

  “Cassia.” Dani turned to her. “Send out a simple S.O.S., and focus the message back into GC territory rather than out there in no man’s land.”

  “You got it, Captain.”

  “We’ll need to take turns watching the screens. Let’s do overlapping shifts. I’ll go first. In two hours, Jag will join me. I’ll stop two hours after that, and Cassia will watch with Jag for two hours, then Cruz will replace Jag two hours later, then it’s Howard’s turn before I start up again. Hopefully we’ll stay fresh this way. Use your down time to catch up on rest and relax.

  “We’ll need to use long-range scanners intermittently to conserve power. Same with communications. Keep your eyes open on the forward and aft screens to look for anything out of the ordinary.” Dani sat back into her captain’s chair and kicked her feet up on her console. “Grab some sleep while you can.”

  Dani dimmed the lights in the bridge and glued her eyes to the screen as the crew settled into makeshift beds. Cassia curled up in her seat, legs draped over the arms of her chair. Cruz wadded up a towel and propped it under his head near their picnic. Howard leaned into a dark corner away from the screen and began snoring softly.

  Jag stood and approached Dani on his way to his seat. He placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in. “There was nothing you could have done differently.”

  Dani opened her mouth to speak, but Jag was already sitting down and kicking back in his own chair. Instead, she closed her mouth and stared at the screen again. She knew he was wrong. She could have waited to go after the Vaerian ship and attempted to take out the one that had warped in. Her breath caught in her throat as she thought about how many lives were lost. The muscles in her neck tightened, trying to stifle her emotions. Peterson, the other pilots, Captain Winston and his crew, everyone living on the sixteen mining planets and moons in PS683... they were all dead.

  Dani bit her lip as she studied the planets and stars surrounding Alaska’s Vengeance. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye. She quickly wiped it away and looked around the bridge. Satisfied no one saw her moment of weakness, she sat back in her chair once more and took in their surroundings.

  Chapter 3

  Dani woke to Cruz gently shaking her shoulder. As soon as her eyes fluttered open, he gave her a thumbs-up and smile.

  “Thanks, Cruz,” she said as she pulled her aching body out of the corner of the bridge.

  Dani stretched, her joints popping as she stood. The floor was not nearly as comfortable as her captain’s chair, but she wasn’t able to close her eyes long enough to rest decently with the screen displayed before her. She grabbed a small package of nuts and plopped down on the floor next to Howard, staring up at the massive screen. Both the forward and aft cameras still featured the stillness of space, just as they had for a few days now. With each passing shift, her hope diminished slightly and maintaining her positivity became more of a chore.

  “Must have been quite the nap.” Howard turned toward her. “You’re smelling a bit ripe.”

  Dani laughed and punched Howard in the arm with all the love of a granddaughter. “Look here, old man, you were a bit ripe when we found you a few days ago, so I don’t want to hear it.”

  Howard returned with a chuckle.

  The pair sat in silence a while until Cruz had settled in back at his station.

  “Have you ever been stranded like this?” Dani whispered.

  “Mmm, a few times.”

  “How did you keep hope alive? I mean…” Dani looked around the bridge at her sleeping crew. “I don’t want to let them down.”

  Howard stared at the screen, lost in his own thoughts for a moment. “Well, I can’t say that I’ve ever had to keep hope alive for others. I also can’t say I’ve always been able to keep it alive for myself, so I’m afraid I’m not much use there.”

  Dani nodded, staring into the vastness of space.

  “But,” Howard continued, “we just do the best we can at that time, understanding that our best changes constantly depending on what’s going on. Right now, other than keeping watch, there’s not a lot that any of us can do.”

  “I hate that I can’t do more right now,” Dani mumbled.

  “Me too.” Howard sighed, looking toward the location of the ship’s holograph. He had asked Jag to turn it off after the first day, no longer able to bear looking at his broken home for the past decade. “Were I a better mechanic, I’d have us on our way home by now. Alas, this isn’t a quick patch job. I reckon she’ll be decommissioned if we’re ever rescued.”

  “You’re the best mechanic I know. That’s why I wanted you on my crew.”

  “I appreciate that. And, knowing where we ended up after it was all said and done, I still would have accepted the job. It’s been an honor serving with you, just like it was an honor serving with your father.”

  Dani's entire body tensed. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “Your father was a good man. A good captain. You’d have made him very proud, I imagine.”

  Jag plopped down on the other side of Dani, startling her.

  “He’s right, you know. You’re the best captain I’ve had the pleasure of serving with. And that’s saying something, considering...” Jag gestured to the screen and winked.

  Dani laughed. “I’ve been blessed to have you all aboard. What are you doing up anyway? It’s not time for your shift.”

  “It's damn near impossible to sleep with all this yammering.”

  “Uh, guys...” Cassia mumbled from her station, rubbing her eyes.

  “Looks like just about everyone is up,” Jag noted.

  Ding.

  “I stand corrected. Everyone is awake.”

  Dani’s cheeks took on a red hue. “So you all heard everything?”

  “Guys!” Cassia shouted, her eyes wide.

  The entire crew turned toward her, silencing themselves.

  “We’ve got something,” she said, pointing at the lower left corner of the main screen.

  Dani’s heart raced as she and Jag jumped to their feet and sprinted to their stations.

  “Let’s hear it, Cassia.” Dani gripped the arms of her captain’s chair and held her breath.

  A woman with icy blue skin appeared on the screen. Vibrant yellow hair cascaded down her unusually long, slender neck. Two navy horns budded just below her hairline on her forehead. Her delicate features barely moved as she spoke. Her whispered melodic voice carried through the transmission and was translated across the bottom of the screen.

  This is Captain Dev’ya Veron’k of the Triak’gue and we’ve received your S.O.S. As members of the Galactic Conglomerate we are compelled to reply. If you’ve received this message and are still in need of rescue, please respond with your approximate location.

  End transmission.

  The crew of Alaska’s Vengeance breathed a collective sigh of relief.

  “Looks like help is on the way.” Dani smiled, sinking back into her chair. “Cassia, please send a response.”

  “On it!” Cassia’s cheerful disposition had returned.

  “Who wants to celebrate?” Jag grinned as he pulled a bottle out from under his station.

  “Jag! What are you doing with that in my bridge?” Dani eyed the bottle.

  “Oh, relax, I nabbed it from the galley on the way back. One of the pilots mus
t have snuck it onboard. It was hiding in the soiled linens. I thought we may want a drink, for one reason or another.”

  Dani relaxed and laughed softly as she joined the crew in the picnic area.

  “I did a quick scan and the long-range sensors didn’t pick anyone up nearby, so it may still be a while before they get here.” Cassia passed out small telescopic cups as she spoke.

  Jag poured a little of the amber liquid into each of the cups.

  Howard sniffed his cup. “Smells like a mighty fine whiskey. I’d say it’s top of the line. You should be thanking whoever snuck that on the ship.”

  Dani eyed him suspiciously. “Howard...”

  “To Captain Devereaux and Alaska’s Vengeance.” Howard raised his cup and winked at Dani.

  She shook her head, making a note to talk to him about his smuggling habits in the future.

  The crew clicked their plastic cups together before gulping down their small portions of whiskey. Dani hesitated, staring down into her cup before holding it up once more. “To those lives that were lost, both in PS683 and in the wormhole.”

  Somber expressions quickly spread across the crew as they lifted their cups once more.

  Jag quickly refilled the cups. “Peterson and I always had a lot of fun. He was a great guy and shared my enjoyment for blasting Vaerian scum back to the dawn of time.”

  “Dr. Lombardi was helping me expand my medical knowledge. He was a great mentor,” Cruz signed after setting his cup down on the floor next to him.

  “I once worked under Captain Winston. He and his crew were always so thoughtful. I wasn’t surprised when they handed him the Louisiana. If anyone could handle a Class-A warship and the responsibilities that came with it, it would be him.” Dani sipped her drink.

  “I just keep thinking about all the children on those planets,” Cassia mumbled quietly, swirling her drink. “They didn’t deserve what happened.”

  “Lots of lives were lost. It really helps us remember why we’re fighting the Vaerians. Their disregard for life is sickening. Their whole species is deplorable.” Howard frowned as he looked down at his wrinkled hands.

  “All I know is that I’ll do whatever I can to end this war. It’s out of control. Too many good people are dying.” Dani gulped down the rest of her drink and sat back, taking a deep breath as the liquid warmed her belly. Again, she replayed the scenario in her mind, running through a series of ‘what ifs.’