Harry eagerly tapped away at his tablet, putting the finishing touches to the first mission report, which would make up the bulk of their first transmission back to Earth. It had been three weeks so far and as of yet, there had been nothing of interest. Four planets so far had yielded no life, and insufficient minerals and conditions to support human life. Still, the chance to set foot on an alien world that wasn’t a part of his own solar system had captivated Harry’s attention each time. He had felt like one of Earth’s ancient mariners, sailing on the oceans with no idea what they would come across next. The freedom it had presented them, was something that Harry was grasping for now. But it was tainted. The constant threat of Drusilla and her presence had soured the experience thus far. He knew she was nowhere near him or his ship, and yet he felt her presence all around him. She had entered his mind so often, that it was as if part of her lived there, holding him back, and pulling on his strings.
“You know Sir, for someone who was so excited to get under way, you’re not exactly showing it.”
The voice of his first officer, Commander Kelly Dresden, broke him out of his micro-trance and as he looked up, he saw her leaning on the door frame to his quarters. He hadn’t even heard the door chime, such was his focus.
“Trust me Kelly, this means everything to me. I just have… other things on my mind.”
Kelly gestured to a nearby chair, looking at Harry for permission, to which he nodded, and she sat.
“You know, Admiral, whatever she said to you, she’s not here. There’s no way she can control the mission from this distance. This is your adventure. The Odyssey is your ship. Not hers.”
Kelly was one of the few people who had seemingly picked up on the tension between Harry and Drusilla, and had seen first hand some of the dismissive comments she had thrown his way during tense arguments or discussions. As First Officer, she had been present at many of those meetings, and had needed to bite her tongue hard on more than one occasion.
“That’s just the problem, Kelly. She’s always here.”
He tapped the side of his head, and while at first slightly confused, Kelly began to understand.
“You can tell me to mind my own business, Sir, but how long have you been seeing her?”
Harry wasn’t surprised Kelly had figured it out. She was the highest rated officer across the board in the aptitude tests and military training leading up to this mission. It was the reason he had requested she be posted to him. He had watched her throughout her academy days, and saw something special in her. If he was honest to himself, with his crumbling marriage, if it hadn’t been Drusilla, it probably would have been Kelly Dresden.
“A year. Give or take. To be honest Kelly, it’s more like I’m not seeing her. I mean she’s there, and in the moment I am present physically, but after that, I’m pretty sure she’s running the show, and I’m just a bystander.”
Nobody onboard the Odyssey knew about Drusilla’s abilities besides Harry, but given the war on Jupiter with the Darla, there had been rumours surrounding the telepathic abilities of that race in particular. Kelly had not fought on Jupiter, but was present in the aftermath, and she too had heard the stories. It was not beyond the realms of possibility that there were other species with similar talents.
“Harry,” she began, placing a hand on his knee and softening her official stance, “don’t let her control you. Whatever it is she wants, she’ll have to get it herself. Humanity is not her private army.”
Trying desperately not to reciprocate Kelly’s gesture, Harry smiled and nodded in resignation.
“Yes. We are.”
Kelly removed her hand, and her expression turned to one of despair. She hadn’t gotten through to him. Either that, or he had been so dominated by Drusilla that he really believed what he was saying. There was no time for further debate, however, as the ship was rocked violently by what felt distinctly like weapons fire. Harry and Kelly exchanged a momentary panicked glance, before leaping to their feet and rushing back to the bridge.
“Report!” demanded Harry.
“Disruptor fire Sir. Unknown origin.”
“Helm, full stop. Tactical, shielding to maximum and standby weapons.”
“Aye Admiral!”
Commander Dresden slid into her seat at operations, relieving the duty officer there.
“Bringing up the viewscreen now, Admiral,” she said.
The large bowed window at the front of the bridge fizzled away from its standard starfield view and gave a live view of directly ahead of them. There was no sign of an attacker.
“Shift to aft view, Commander.”
Kelly entered the command and the tip of the rear engines were visible on screen, and out behind the Odyssey, a medium sized vessel was banking around, seemingly preparing for a second run.
“Any identification markers?” Harry asked.
“Negative Admiral. Nothing matches any ships in the database. It’s not of the Sol System, that much I can tell you.”
Kelly was frustrated that despite a wealth of information taken from both Mars and Jupiter during the wars, they had no idea what they were facing. She was always a battle ready warrior, and as the second in command, felt particularly troubled at the lack of knowledge before her. She tried to remind herself that this was part of the deep space experience, but it was hard to break a well drilled habit.
“Tactical, do we have weapons lock?”
“Almost Admiral. We should have confirmed target in fifteen seconds.”
Harry nodded and rubbed his chin, the stubble already forming a five-o-clock shadow, despite having shaved just that morning. Must be the stress, he thought.
“As soon as they’re in range, target their engines only. I want to find out who the hell they are.”
“Aye Sir. Ten seconds.”
The tension on the bridge was palpable. The only noise was that of the consoles beeping, and commands being input. Even the alert sirens which echoed throughout the whole ship had gone quiet. The glowing red emergency lights were the only sense that a threat was imminent.
“Five seconds.”
Harry felt himself leaning forward in his chair as he saw the ship get ever closer to his own engines. He only hoped they would get their shot off first.
“Three seconds.”
Harry noticed there was something familiar about the vessel now he could see it more clearly.
“Two seconds.”
There may not have been a match in the database, but somehow, he knew that ship.
“One… in range now Sir!”
“FIRE!”
A beam of blue light burst from the rear of the Odyssey, and sliced through the darkness of space, leaving a glow across the hull as it struck the enemy vessel’s starboard engine. They attempted to break off, but were too slow to react, and despite the majority of the hit being absorbed by their own shielding, the enemy vessel took a direct hit.
“Damage report?”
“Direct hit to their starboard engine, their shields are down to eighty-six percent. They’re breaking off, Sir.”
“Breaking off?”
“Yes Admiral. Their engines are powering up. Looks like they’re gonna make a run for it.”
Not on my watch, thought Harry. Nobody attacks the flagship and leaves without an explanation.
“Lay in a pursuit course, Ensign.”
“Aye Sir!”
The viewscreen switched back to a fore view, and as Commander Dresden attempted to take as many scans as she could, a bright light burst from the back of the enemy vessel. Briefly dazed by the brightness, it took a moment or two for her to figure out what had happened.
“Oh shit.”
Harry looked up and squinted just enough to see the small dark projectile heading directly for them.
“Ensign, evasive manoeuvres!” Harry screamed at his pilot.
But between changing from the previously inputted pursuit course and taking evasive action, too much time elapsed. They weren’t gonna get out of the way in time.
“All hands, brace for impact!”
Harry’s cries travelled around the entire ship through every speaker on board. The attempt at moving the ship had turned the Odyssey to a forty-five degree slanted angle, and when the torpedo finally struck the ship, it broke through the shielding, tore a hole in the hull, and blasted right through to the other side. The impact blew out several consoles on the bridge. The tactical station erupted in a furious display of shattered glass and broken circuitry, sending the officer flying through the air, landing at Harry’s feet. Ripple explosions rumbled throughout the ship, and in the areas exposed to space, dozens of soldiers were sucked out into the cold vacuum. Cracks shot along the hull on both the dorsal and ventral sections around the point of impact, before what seemed like hours later, the emergency forcefields sealed off the breaches.
As things began to calm down on the bridge, Harry’s eyes were still transfixed on the young man laying at his feet. His eyes were wide open, one of which was white and glazed over. The right side of his face was gone, bone clearly visible amongst the charred flesh. The hair on that side had been all but vapourised and blood coated both the soldier’s uniform, and the deck plate on which he now lay.
It was only Kelly Dresden’s voice which brought him back to the moment.
“Admiral,” she said, gesturing at the viewscreen. “They’re gone.”