CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

PHOENIX arrived just outside the Ni star system without incident. There was no Screen armada waiting for them. The senior staff was assembled on the command deck. The air was thick with tension. Long range scanners had not picked up any large Screen fleet. It did little to ease the captain’s worries. He knew the Screen were coming.

“We’re holding position, captain,” reported Alex’sis.

“Launch fighters,” ordered John.

“Issuing orders,” as Alex’sis relayed his order to the fighter groups. “Fighter groups Theta, Virgo, Aries, Omega, Taurus, and Beta are launching. Automated control groups Delta, Leo, Cancer, Zeta, and Libra are standing by.”

“Captain, control interface for the automated groups has cleared all diagnostic tests,” announced Private Tim Richardson, who was standing next to Alex’sis. There were insufficient pilots to fly all the fighters housed on the ship. The remaining Interceptors were reprogrammed to fly remotely under the control of the private. The captain knew they would need all the firepower they could muster and automated fighters were better than none.

“Have three of the pile-driver groups launch when the Interceptors are in position,” ordered John. He looked over at his communications officer. “Any luck with the Ni?”

“Negative, sir,” replied Bret. “Sensors don’t show our transmissions being bounced back. Without scanning the system, I can’t verify if the Ni are receiving our messages.”

“Maybe we should scan the system,” recommended Kevin.

“No,” replied John. “They were clear about us not scanning their system. I don’t want to risk making an enemy out of them. We’ll just have to hope they’ve detected our presence and choose to respond to us.”

Julie approached John in his command chair. “Captain, with your permission, I’d like to take an Interceptor and join our fighters out there.”

“Absolutely not,” John blurted out. He didn’t care that everyone heard his outburst.

“Sir, we’re going to be entering in a potential large battle engagement,” said Julie. “A senior officer should be out there with the fighters.”

John jumped down from his command chair and approached his executive officer. “I don’t want you out there.”

“I’ve been doing fighter training for months,” explained Julie. “I’m just as good as any of the pilots out there.”

“I’d sooner go out there than you,” replied John.

“Your fighter skills suck and we all know it.”

“Julie…”

“I need to be out there,” insisted Julie. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”

The Yearden’s warning was still fresh in John’s mind. He wanted to do anything he could to protect his friends from harm but Julie was right. One of them needed to be out there to rally the troops. He reluctantly nodded his head. Julie wasted no time and headed out of the pit.

“Commander,” called out John. He went up to her and gave her a hug. To hell with proper military protocol, his friend was putting herself in danger. “Promise me you’ll come back here,” he whispered in her ear. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t, I promise,” assured Julie. “We’ll see each other again.”

The captain released his hold and watched her leave the command deck.

“I’ve monitored her training,” said Alex’sis. “She’ll be fine.”

“She’s the best,” muttered John. He turned and looked at the rest of the command deck staff. “So are all of you. I expect every single one of you to make it through this.”

“Yes, captain,” replied the command staff.

“Captain,” said Bret. “I just got a coded message from the Quix Protectorate. Twenty-three of their ships are now free of the nebula and are heading our way. Their engines are powering up faster than they expected but they estimate they won’t arrive here for another three days.”

“We’ll just have to hope that the Screen don’t show up until then,” said John. Somehow, he felt that wasn’t going to happen. His gut was telling him they were out of time.

********

Most of PHOENIX’s corridors were empty. Those not assigned to duties were sent to designated shelters areas that were guarded by well-armed security teams for protection. But one crew member was refusing to leave her quarters, despite the dangers being explained to her.

“I won’t leave my home,” cried Betty Christen as she held her baby. “Jeffrey said this is the safest place for us.”

Professor Harthy tried to reason with her. “Security teams have been assigned to shelter areas and provide the best protection if the Screen should board PHOENIX. Who’s going to protect you if you remain here?”

“Jeffrey will protect us,” sobbed Betty. “He promised he would.”

“Professor, should we remove her?” asked the waiting security officer.

The professor knew taking Betty by force could permanently scar her psychologically. Could he approve of such an action that could harm the only remaining parent the child had left?

“Officer Ased, do you have a spare firearm?” asked Harthy. The officer pulled his spar pulse gun. The professor grabbed it and checked it over. “I’ll remain here with Ms. Christen and lock us in.”

“You sure, professor?”

“I’m sure.”

The officer nodded and left them. Harthy locked the doors as Betty sang a lullaby to her baby.

********

The coilquin was designated a shelter area and was filled with Aldarians, humans, and the aliens recently rescued from the Onixin freighter. Chris Anne was part of the security detail assigned there. He helped to push security barriers in front of the coilquin.

Chris noticed a young man getting in position at his station behind one of the barriers. “Hey sweetie, if you arrange your rifle clips to the side you’ll have an easier time getting to them for reloading.”

“O...Ok, thanks,” stammered the young man.

“Chief Davers gave me that tip when he taught me how to use these things,” explained Chris. The singer watched the young man nervously arrange his clips. “What’s your name, sweetie? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Calvin. I work down on the farming deck.”

“I’m Chris.”

“I know. I love your music.”

“Everyone does but thank you,” as Chris winked at the young man.

“I like your jumpsuit. But don’t you think wearing high heels is a bad idea?” asked Calvin.

“Sweetie, if we’re going into a firefight, I want to look good,” as Chris looked over his sparkling green jumpsuit. “Besides, I have no intention of being cremated. I want the last outfit I wear to make a statement about my greatness and sense of fashion style.”

Calvin chuckled. “I wish I wasn’t scared like you.”

Chris leaned over and whispered in Calvin’s ear. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m scared shitless.”

“Really?” Hearing Chris’ admission made the young man feel better.

“Chief Davers told me to focus on the task at hand and you won’t be afraid,” advised Chris.

“Ok,” said Calvin. He felt better getting such good advice from the ship’s resident celebrity.

“After this is all over, how about we sit down to a nice bottle of wine?” offered Chris.

Calvin smiled. “I would like that.”

Chris winked at the young man. “So would I, sweetie. So I guess we’ll need to get through this.”

********

Inside the coilquin, Drix was helping Thresha and the other Aldarians get everyone situated. The Cresorian noticed the Yearden was still sitting in his spot at the center of the altar.

“Excuse me, Thresha,” said Drix. “But should the Yearden be relocated to a less exposed position?”

“He has refused to move anywhere else,” replied Thresha. “I have explained the risk for remaining there if the Screen should invade the coilquin. He has chosen to remain there.”

“Perhaps he is trying to show strength for your people,” speculated Drix.

“It is possible but I worry for him. I cannot imagine losing him. Our people need his spiritual strength, now more than ever.”

“I am confident that John Captain will repel the Screen,” said Drix. He didn’t say that just to make Thresha feel better. The young captain had already done so many remarkable things: unifying races, defeating the Screen at every turn, stopping a minor insurrection on the ship, locating the Cresorian homeworld. There was no doubt in Drix’s mind that the captain would lead them to victory.

********

Up on the command deck, John tried to relax in his command chair. He paced around the pit after Julie left. He was worried about the danger she was putting herself in piloting a fighter. He had to have faith she would be alright. He realized he was making the other officers nervous walking around the pit aimlessly.

“Captain,” said Alex’sis as the operations table beeped. “I’m picking up a massive energy signature. Multiple ships coming out of a jump. I can confirm they’re Screen.”

John looked at his command display and saw it light up with ships registering on the sensors. His instincts were right. There would be no support from the Quix or Onixins. They were on their own. “How many?”

“Sensors are still accounting for them,” replied Alex’sis. Her heart jumped seeing the final number as it flashed across her console. It was unimaginable.

“Alex’sis!” said John.

“One hundred seventy-two ships,” she announced.

The command staff looked at each other nervously. The captain knew they would be facing a lot of ships but never expected the number to be that high. He cleared the lump in his throat. “Put the image up.”

The holographic display showed the fleet of Screen vessels heading towards them. “We’ve got one hundred twelve fighters, forty-seven cruisers, and twelve battleships,” reported Alex’sis. PHOENIX eclipsed them all in size by a wide margin but combined they’d be able to take on the massive human starship.

“Tim, launch all remaining Interceptors and pile-drivers,” ordered John.

“Yes sir,” replied the private.

“Roberts to hangar bay. Looks like we’re going to need those transports.”

“Already on it, captain,” replied the senior hangar bay officer. “We’re loading the last of the containers onto the transports.” The transport shuttles were loaded with a combination of containers holding plasma and quadrin with the intent of turning the transports into flying bombs.

“Launch when ready,” said John. He looked at Alex’sis. “Activate all weapons and raise shields.”

“Yes, captain,” as Alex’sis activated the systems.

He then turned to Lieutenant Jacobson. “Kevin, position PHOENIX so our starboard side is facing the Screen. I want as many as our weapon ports facing them.”

“Yes, captain,” replied Kevin.

“Alex’sis, I want to fire the Quix weapons first. Maybe that’ll give them a second thought about attacking us.” Although they couldn’t get the Quix weapons hooked into the ship’s plasma network, they did hook them up to quadrin generators.

“Yes, sir, but we’ll only get two or three shots before the quadrin is depleted,” reminded Alex’sis.

“Understood,” acknowledged John.

“Five minutes to engagement,” reported Private Kathleen Mallison, who had taken Julie’s place at the operations table and was standing next to Alex’sis. “Screen fighters are moving in to attack first.”

“Virgo, Libra, and Aries Squadrons, engage the Screen fighters and try to break up their groups,” ordered John. “We want to prevent them from concentrating on any one part of PHOENIX’s shields.”

“Copy that, PHOENIX,” replied Martin Everold.

“This is Commander Olson assuming lead of Theta Squadron.”

“Commander, have the rest of the manned pile-driver groups focus on the fighters. The automated Interceptors and shuttles will focus on the cruisers. PHOENIX will provide auxiliary support but will be focusing on those battleships.”

“Confirmed PHOENIX,” replied Julie.

“Fighters incoming,” announced Alex’sis.

The Screen fighters went full speed, concentrating their attack against PHOENIX. The Interceptor groups opened fired and managed to break up the Screen fighter groups relatively quickly. But many of the fighters regained their formations and refocused their attacks on PHOENIX. They passed by the human starship with all their weapons firing on it.

The cruisers got within range as the fighters attacked. They fired their opening salvos and PHOENIX rocked from the numerous impacts. The automated fighters began their counterattack against the Screen but the cruisers ignored them and remained focus on the PHOENIX.

“Shields approaching maximum absorption,” announced Mallison. “They’re targeting multiple locations on the starboard side. The engineering section is taking a lot of hits.”

“Transfer power from port shields to reinforce the starboard side,” ordered John. The Screen fighters completed their first pass and turned around to attack the port side. Even with reduced power the port shields easily repelled the fighters’ attacks.

“Fire Quix weapons on closest battleship and follow up with particle bursts,” ordered John. Alex’sis initiated the attack and six red energy bursts fired from the mounted Quix weapons and hit the first battleship. Its shields crumpled under the attack and the particle bursts that followed up finished it.

“Battleship destroyed,” reported an elated Alex’sis on taking out a battleship so quickly. But her joy was quickly soured. “The quadrin generators have been depleted. The Quix weapons are offline.”

The battleships now had come within range to PHOENIX and didn’t waste the opportunity. They opened fired and, along with the cruisers, inundated PHOENIX with continuous energy impacts. The ship rocked violently from all the impacts. John had to brace himself as the officers at the operations table held on.

“Captain,” reported Bret. “Fighter groups are reporting that several cruisers have targeted them. Delta Squadron is gone and Theta Squadron is under heavy attack.”

“Provide firing support to them,” replied John. “Tim, get your fighters to provide support and send the transports to crash into the nearest cruisers.”

“On it!” replied Tim as he entered the orders into the computer.

“Shields down to sixty percent,” reported Alex’sis. “Six cruisers have been destroyed and moderate damage to one battleship.”

Suddenly, the exterior ports opened on several Screen cruisers. Numerous pods fired from them towards PHOENIX. Most of them passed through breaches in the shields and impacted the hull.

“Captain,” said Kevin. “I’m showing numerous objects that have attached to the hull. I’m reading hundreds of Screen life signs.”

Boarding parties. So that’s how they were going to assault the ship. They were going to be sorely mistaken for making such an attempt. “Computer,” said John. “Activate program Defend Mother.”

“Program initiated,” replied the computer.

All over the ship, storage containers burst open and out came the remaining maintenance bots that had sat dormant in their containers during PHOENIX’s travels. Hundreds of bots dispersed throughout the corridors with one purpose, to locate any Screen life signs. As battalions of Screen soldiers, dressed in their black armor, came into contact with the bots, they were surprised. The bots, now armed with energy and pulse weapons on their appendages, fired at the soldiers. Before long the corridors were raging with fights between hostile aliens and machines.

As the battle raged inside PHOENIX, the armada outside continued their assault on the ship. The launch of the boarding parties gave PHOENIX the chance to take out more cruisers but the battleships were too numerous and well-armed. PHOENIX simply didn’t have the firepower to take them all out.

“Captain, the battleships are concentrating fire on the engineering section,” reported Alex’sis. The ship rocked again and several explosions rippled throughout the ship.

“Damage reports coming in,” announced Mallison.

“Forget the damage. Remodulate shields to protect engineering,” ordered John.

“I can’t, shields are down to thirty percent,” said Alex’sis. “I can’t remodulate or redistribute shield power.”

The Screen armada continued to fire. Their efforts collapsed the shields in the rear of the PHOENIX. A barrage of energy blasts struck the rear and the engineering section was severed from the ship. PHOENIX rocked violently from the attack.

Down in Central, the security team defending the coilquin got back on their feet just as the first wave of Screen soldiers approached. As soon as they were spotted the team opened fired and the Screen responded in kind. Their armor provided them protection against the security’s team pulse weapons. It took numerous shots to take down one Screen but the Screen soldiers only needed one or two shots to take out their enemy. The lights in Central flickered on and off as power began to fail throughout the ship.

As the Screen soldiers neared the coilquin, many of the security officers switched to hand to hand combat in an attempt to slow the enemy. Chris retreated to the entrance and fired his rifle as fast as his finger could pull the trigger. Suddenly, he felt an intense pain on his side from a Screen energy weapon and collapsed.

Within minutes a group of soldiers stormed the coilquin. Several civilians attacked them with bare hands but their efforts were futile. They were cut down by the Screen’s weapons fire. Many of the Aldarians, unwilling to stand by and see their human friends harmed, stood and acted as shields against the Screen.

As he repositioned himself to get a good shot against the Screen, Drix was separated from Thresha. He didn’t realize she wasn’t with him for a few moments. Once he saw they were separated, he looked around for her as he fired shots at the Screen soldiers. He spotted a Screen pointing its weapon at botanist Elizabeth Montablo. The Cresorian jumped and tackled her to the floor, trying to dodge the soldier’s weapon’s fire.

Thresha was on the other side of the coilquin, pinned to the floor by the four security officers protecting her. She watched helplessly as the Yearden, still up on the altar, was cut down by a barrage of Screen energy weapons. There was no scream, no tears from her eyes. She watched frozen as the spiritual guide of her people was violently gunned down.

On the command deck, everyone remained at their posts despite the realization that PHOENIX had incurred major damage. The lights flickered on and off as power fluctuated. Many of the computer stations fought to maintain power.

“Engineering’s gone,” reported Kevin. “Main power is lost and auxiliary power is at sixty percent.”

More impacts struck PHOENIX’s hull. “Status of shields and weapons?” asked John.

“Shields are gone. We’ve lost power to all weapons except launch tubes,” reported Alex’sis.

“Fire all our missiles,” ordered John. Just then a Screen fighter passed over the command deck and opened fired. Its attack tore a hole through the hull. Multiple explosions ripped through the deck. John instinctively jumped down from his command chair onto the pit floor. His timing was perfect, as a large support beam crashed down onto his chair and crushed it.

Despite the pain of hitting the floor so hard, John turned over and looked around. His eyes tried to pierce the smoke that now filled the air. Auxiliary power must have initiated the force fields; otherwise, they would have been sucked into space. He crawled over towards what remained of the operations table. He spotted Alex’sis on the floor and moved towards her. Most of her body was buried under some rubble. He crawled up and felt her neck but there was no pulse.

He wanted to mourn but there was no time. More blasts struck PHOENIX which shook the ship as more explosions ripped through the interior. John got up to check their situation but there was no power to the remaining portion of the operations table that was still intact.

“Damage report,” said John. No response, so he yelled. “Damage report!”

“Most of our fighters are gone,” replied Kevin, who was still at his station. “The remaining fleet is concentrating on us now. All weapons are offline.”

John saw Tim stirring on the floor and went to help him up. “I sent all remote fighters and shuttles on kamikaze runs against the nearest ships,” reported the private.

That was it. With no fighter groups and no way to defend the ship, they were left with one option. “Notify all personnel to abandon ship,” said John.

“All internal communications are out,” reported Bret as he came up to the captain. “We can’t reach anyone.”

So this was how it would end. No mercy or demand for surrender. The Screen intended to obliterate PHOENIX, a ship that took over twenty years to build. The only remaining hope for humanity was about to be destroyed. For John, this was the moment he regretted coming here. They should have never tried to help the Ni. But it didn’t matter anymore. Soon they would all be dead.

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped PHOENIX and all the Screen vessels. It came from somewhere inside the Ni star system. PHOENIX and its remaining support craft were untouched by the light but every Screen ship disintegrated from it. It was as if they were being erased from existence. The Screen soldiers on board also disintegrated from the light that somehow permeated the interior. The PHOENIX crew were left unharmed by the light.

The light’s intensity did not hurt. Everyone looked around, not sure of what was going on. Suddenly, a voice spoke.

“Human vessel PHOENIX. You are now safe under the protection of the Ni. You risked yourselves to protect the whole who rejected you. Your actions reflect the nobility we have observed in your race these past months.”

The ship shuddered for a moment and power came back on. “We offer you sanctuary within our borders. Your vessel and support vehicles are being brought to our homeworld. You are now safe with us. Contact us again when you are ready to speak.”

The light remained on outside but its intensity lessened when the whole stopped speaking.

Kevin was the first to check his console. “Captain, some unknown energy source is providing power to the ship. The main energy grid is broken and we still have a lot of sections without power.”

“What about internal communications?” asked John.

“It’s sporadic,” replied Bret who returned to his station. “I might be able to get some repairs done.”

“Contact who you can to begin repair and rescue operations,” ordered John. “Tell them to spread the word.”

“Yes, captain.”

John made his way out of the pit, heading to the lift he didn’t even know would work. He never once looked back at Alex’sis. He couldn’t. He wasn’t ready to face that reality just yet.

Kevin left his station and approached his fallen comrade. He knelt down by Alex’sis’ body and gently touched her arm. Despite dying during battle, her face looked as if she was at peace.

Bret came up behind Kevin and gently squeezed his shoulder. “Come on. There’s nothing we can do for her.”

Kevin nodded and got back up. With a heavy sigh, he went with Bret to try and get communications back on throughout the ship.

********

John made his way to the hangar deck through a ladder shaft as the ship’s lift system was offline. As he emerged from the floor and onto the hangar he saw people everywhere in a chaotic mess. Crew members were helping each other, attending to wounded or moving the dead to the side. It seemed there wasn’t one part of the ship that wasn’t damaged. Holes and scorch marks littered the corridor walls. The captain moved through the area and saw complete disarray. Most of the support craft were turned over or smashed against the walls or other vehicles. Apparently, the Screen had made some direct hits to this area.

The hangar was full of people. Some were helping injured comrades, others were looking around in a daze and trying to take stock of what happened. Among the crowd, one individual stood out to John. He watched as Julie, bloodied and dirtied, hobbled over to him. The two said nothing. No words were necessary They embraced and held each other as tears streamed from Julie’s eyes. John refused to cry. For this one moment, he was grateful one of his friends had survived.

********

Down in Central, Chris Anne was being escorted away from the entrance of the coilquin. A Screen had shot him in his hip. A security officer and Aldarian had managed to stop the bleeding to move him to medical. As they helped him down the steps, Chris caught a glimpse of Calvin lying on the ground. The dinner Chris promised would never happen. The singer began to cry. He promised they would both make it through. How could he let his young friend down?

********

Inside the coilquin, Thresha helped to turn Drix on his back. The Cresorian gave his life to protect Elizabeth when a Screen fired on her. His last act as the life left his body was to embrace Elizabeth and protect her from any harm. As the botanist was helped off the ground, Thresha remained at her dead friend’s side. She held his hand and caressed his furry arm. His last act was to protect those he cared for. Now Thresha sat by him to give him company in death. She didn’t shed a tear for him. She simply smiled as she looked upon her friend, focusing on how he positively impacted everyone he befriended during his time on PHOENIX. She would miss him but chose to celebrate him.

Several Aldarians were at the altar, standing over their fallen Yearden. They mourned the loss of their spiritual leader. Despite his attendants offering their bodies as shields to protect him, the Screen still managed to get to the elder Aldarian. Never in the history of the Aldarians had they lost a Yearden so violently. None of them knew how to handle such a loss.

********

In Betty Christen’s quarters, Professor Harthy watched from the bedroom door as Betty put her baby down for a nap. He put the pulse gun on the table, never having fired it once. The Screen never breeched the door. Betty never seemed to react to the attack on the ship. During the entire ordeal she smiled as she played with her baby.

********

In medical, Doctor Myers worked to establish priority for triage treatment. In the back of his mind he feared for those friends who would be brought in body bags. He knew the losses would be terrible. Medical was already filled with injured and dying patients with more being brought in. All he could do for the moment was to continue his duty as chief medical officer and help those he could.