‘Are you an imbecile?’ shouted Servalan, leaning over her desk as she screamed into the comm-unit. ‘I said all pursuit ship squadrons to converge on Space Command, all pursuit ships.’
‘Yes, Supreme Commander,’ blurted the terrified voice over the comm-unit.
Alert klaxons blaring out all across the station, Servalan turned to where Rontane stood at the viewport, staring out at the Liberator. She was pleased to see a note of fear reflected in those usually emotionless eyes.
The Liberator was truly an impressive beast and, despite the situation, Servalan couldn’t help but be transfixed by it. She had seen intelligence reports, blurred images from mission logs, but nothing quite prepared you for the sight of the ship up close.
And she wanted it. Even now, as the Liberator’s neutron blasters trained on the station, trained on her, she wanted that ship.
‘You could give the order to evacuate.’
‘I could. But I have every faith that any second now we will receive a transmission from Travis, informing us of his success in overcoming Blake and his crew.’
Rontane gave her a sideways look, but she continued. ‘And do you believe the President would have allowed either of us to live had we left Space Command a burning hulk among the stars? I will not abandon my station.’
Rontane smiled thinly. ‘An impressive dedication to duty. And I take your point.’
‘There is a fine line between heroes and martyrs, Secretary. This way, we get to be both.’
Was that a look of admiration in Rontane’s eyes? Whatever it was, no more words seemed necessary. They stood side by side, looking out into space.
*
‘Blake, those pursuit ships are just over one minute away, we need to get moving now.’
Blake jabbed at the comm-unit on the teleport console. ‘Understood, Jenna. Stand by.’ He turned back to the room, where Travis stood before the teleport pad, Avon covering him with a blaster. The Null Wave detonator had been removed but the Federation officer was still bound tight.
Travis regarded Blake coolly. ‘What now? Are you going to kill me?’
‘If I was going to do that, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’
‘You’re a fool, Blake.’
‘So people keep telling me.’
‘You’re going to have to kill me. It’s the only way to be sure, the only way you’ll be free of me.’
Blake stepped up close to Travis. ‘I hate you, Travis, be under no illusion. Every day I think about killing you, I think about beating you to a bloody, smashed wreck of a man. But knowing you’re out there and coming after me will always make me run faster, and fight harder. And every victory I have over you, every humiliation, I want you to remember.’
‘Your day is coming, Blake. And I’ll be there when it does.’
‘While I’m finding this reunion touching,’ cut in Avon, ‘things are rather pressing. What are we going to do with him?’
‘I think it’s time we sent Space Commander Travis back to his masters.’ Blake smiled. ‘One last job, Avon.’
*
‘Pursuit ships one minute to intercept.’
Alert sirens clamoured for attention around Servalan’s office. The Liberator just hung there, unmoving. What were they were waiting for? In less than a minute the pursuit ships would swoop in and smash her from the sky.
A low hum began to fizz around the room, and the hairs at the back of Servalan’s neck stood on end. The hum became a buzz, causing both Servalan and Rontane to turn as a bright light shone around the room. The light coalesced into a needle-thin outline and, a second later, Space Commander Travis appeared, hanging in the air above the office floor, causing Servalan to raise an eyebrow quizzically.
The halo glow around Travis’s body vanished and the hum receded. Travis dropped like a stone, smashing painfully onto the office floor.
‘Travis!’
Travis’s hands were bound behind his back, and he struggled unsteadily to his feet. ‘Get it off me, get it off me,’ he growled, turning his back to them. Encircling his wrist was a grey bracelet, adorned with hieroglyphs and controls—one of Liberator’s teleport devices. ‘Get it off!’
Rontane looked to Servalan questioningly. ‘What is the meaning of this?’
‘You heard the man, Secretary,’ said Servalan with a curt gesture towards the wild-eyed Travis. ‘Get it off him.’
Rontane sighed. ‘Very well.’ He moved awkwardly towards Travis and unhooked the bracelet, looking in confusion back to Servalan. ‘And what am I supposed to do with this?’
‘Throw it!’ shouted Travis. ‘It’s live!’
Rontane looked in sudden panic at the object held distastefully between his fingers and immediately hurled it into the far corner of the office. Travis turned away, and Rontane ducked back towards Servalan, closing his eyes. Servalan just watched wearily as a second later the bracelet erupted into flame with a gentle fizz.
As smoke wafted around the office, Travis rose to his full height and walked the few steps to stand before Servalan and Rontane at the desk. Dried blood caked his face, his eye was swollen, the skin around it purple and bruised. But he stood to attention, his back ramrod straight.
‘Space Commander Travis reporting in.’
Servalan subjected him to an icy stare. ‘I hope you have a good explanation for this, Travis.’
*
‘PURSUIT SHIPS WILL INTERCEPT LIBERATOR’S POSITION IN 30 SECONDS.’
Blake and Avon pounded onto the flight deck. Jenna stood ready at the flight controls, while Vila had already slipped into the comms station, Gan taking up position at the forcewall. Cally was with Alexa and Mikel on the lower deck, the boy holding both their hands. Lant’s body was where it had fallen, but Blake noticed that Alexa’s long jacket was draped over his head.
As Avon moved to the weapons station, Blake stepped into the centre of the flight deck, looking up at his crew, all standing ready.
‘Jenna, get us out of here, speed, Standard by nine.’
Jenna grabbed the control arms. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
‘Wait, Jenna.’
‘Avon?’ Blake frowned.
‘Zen,’ commanded Avon, ‘clear the neutron blasters for firing.’
Zen hummed into being. ‘NEUTRON BLASTERS ARE CLEARED FOR FIRING.’
‘What are you doing?’ demanded Blake. ‘Those pursuit ships…’
‘We may never get this chance again,’ said Avon, looking up at the image of Space Command on the viewscreen.’
Blake stared up at the screen. Pull the trigger. Become the man you really are… Blake was aware that all eyes were on him. He looked straight at Alexa, into her sad, but dignified eyes and made his decision.
‘One day, Avon. But not today.’ He turned, placing his hands on his hips. ‘Zen stand down neutron blasters. Battle computers to full evasion strategy.’
‘CONFIRMED.’
‘Jenna, take us out of here.’