Chapter 40
Miles prayed quietly to himself as the shuttle flew closer and closer to the enormous warship and portal in the distance.
“God, please get me through this. You’ve protected me thus far. Keep me alive, watch over the Convoy. Please.”
Miles had never been one for faith, but of all the things he has experienced thus far nothing was as frightening as facing an unknown enemy, with thousands of lives at stake. The Callos and Aurrus both feared the Yau Tang; both placed their fate in Mile’s hands.
“Fortunately my hands are glowing.” Miles thought to himself.
The console in the shuttle lit up:
“Miles! Turn around now! You are almost within firing range!” Garth ordered loudly.
“Garth, no. I need to do this. I need to save you all, I need to go home.” Miles refused.
“Don’t be a martyr, we have soldiers getting prepped. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself. This is foolish, Lalia’s calculations aren’t tested, and you could end up spaced forever!” He warned.
“Garth. You were a good friend; you helped me more than I could ever say. But, you forget sometimes that fate calls us to do things we don’t think are possible.” Miles assured him: “I will be fine. You were my best friend, take good care of them. Someday, I think you would make a great Admiral.”
Miles deactivated the communication device. The scanner alerted him that he was in firing range. He preemptively pressed the square red button Lalia had pointed out earlier. He pulled back on the throttle as Terk had lifting the shuttle at a sharp angle right as a wide red flash cut below where he had been. The Yau Tang’s cannon jutted out of the rest of the warship, like a human cannon it was long with a large round opening at the end. Miles could see it even at a distance because it glowed red with heat; it gathered light in preparation for another attack. Miles pushed the shuttle sharply to the side, holding at the steering column with all his strength, the shuttle stubbornly refused to turn sharply enough and the immense red beam of light tore through the shuttle’s small wing.
Miles reactivated his communication device to hear screaming:
“He was hit, he was hit!” Miles could hear Yelric screaming in the background,
“Shh. He turned his comm back on!” Garth shouted over the chaos in the background.
“How badly was I hit?” Miles asked Garth, “I am missing most of the wing on my left side, but the shuttle remains stabilized.”
“You won’t immediately lose stability, especially since you are banking to one side; it compensates.” Garth explained, “But once you straighten out, you won’t be level anymore.” He warned.
“So, that means I just shift my seat, right?” Miles asked.
“Yes. As long as you maintain your thrusters and your right wing you should be fine.” Garth assured him.
Another flash of red narrowly missed Miles’ shuttle, Miles could now see individual lights on the warship; he was close.
“They won’t be able to aim quickly enough, you’re too close. You made it.” Garth exclaimed with a sigh of relief, the bridge was silent in the background; static began to garble the transmission.
“Then here we go.” Miles said, adjusting his helmet, it loudly snapped on.
“Was that your helmet?” Garth asked with concern, his voice barely audible.
“Yes. I am boarding the warship to disable it.” Miles explained.
“What? You are going on?” Garth screamed, the bridge began to panic; Miles was unable to pick up their transmission.
“Lalia, he can’t hear us. He can’t find his own way around.” Garth yelled, his words quickly pouring out.
“Shh!” She hissed, she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.
“What are you doing? Miles is in trouble!” Garth panicked.
“I’m trying to open a telepathic channel.” She explained, keeping her eyes shut.
“Miles, listen to me.” She pleaded.
Miles lowered his shuttle’s belly against the razor sharp edge of the Yau Tang ship. He took an electro-grafter as he had seen done before, and welded a hole through into the warship. He was certain he heard the hiss of whispering:
“Yes. Miles, you must board the warship, their shields will protect them. You must be within their shields for your pulse to disable their electronics.” Lalia explained telepathically, he could clearly hear her voice.
“Don’t. Stay where you are, I have troops mobilizing as we speak. You don’t need to do this.” Garth pleaded Lalia to relay.
“Garth is worried about you; he says you don’t need to do this.” Lalia relayed.
“I am sorry, tell Garth. I do.” Miles bore into the warship’s hull, and kicked the molten metal into the room below. “I’m going in.” Miles said, attaching the communication device to his helmet as he jumped down into the Yau Tang ship.
The corridors were filled with steam, orange clouds floated along the top of the room and the corridors; they provided an orange glow by which Miles was able to note the jagged barbed-wire edges the lined the doorways.
“Where am I?” Miles asked.
On the other end of the telepathic channel Lalia shuffled through holo-foils:
“You are in the bunk room; be quiet. Through the door and at the bottom of the staircase is the entrance to the engine room.” She directed him.
Miles crept quietly through the room, empty web-like hammocks hung vertically from the ceiling; an orange cloud light followed Miles through the room.
“Is this orange thing alive or a camera?” Miles asked.
Lalia’s thoughts became a flurry of activity, causing Miles to flinch:
“No, those are bioorganic; they work as personal lights. The Yau Tang are nocturnal, but over time their night vision has weakened. They now rely on low intensity light to see.” She explained.
Miles held his breath as he tip toed past a sleeping Yau Tang; it was hard to discern what it was. The creature appeared to have a black exoskeleton; but also secreted from orange bulbous pockets clear fluid that bubbled down the pointed bone ridges. The Yau Tang had slits for its nose, but Miles couldn’t tell whether it had eyes or a mouth; it did however have long arms with talons for fingers.
Miles entered the corridor, which was also empty and quiet. He slipped through the doorway to the engine room; the engines were also quiet.
“I don’t think the engines are even on. It is like everyone is asleep.” Miles reported.
“Their highly technologically advanced; their equipment runs on little energy and even less sound.” Lalia explained, “Be careful, they won’t leave the engine room un…”
A Yau Tang soldier interrupted her, pouncing on Miles; its claws dug deep into Mile’s arm. Mile’s felt the pressure of the attack, and the shielding system gave out; his suit lost its integrity and the claw drew blood. Miles repulsed it with a blast from his arms; the creature recoiled but then charged again. Miles raised his gun and fired rapidly, the creature took three of the hits and maintained its charge, and the fourth hit dropped it. The creature squirmed as it died, curling into a near perfect ball, its skeletal plates offering it protection in death.
Miles heard the clacking of footsteps; there were many more working their way down the stairs.
“I need to focus; I need to get the job done.” He told himself.
Miles pressed his palms against the engine; it was cold to the touch. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate as he had with Braes. His world went dark; he could sense nothing but the cool of the engine he was touching. Around him he sensed the translucent figures from his and Braes’ memories, they surrounded him;
“Finish the job. Come home.” They urged him.
“I will, I’m coming home.” Miles assured them, and himself.
Miles was unaware to the dozen Yau Tang that had surrounded him, several of them hissed as they tried to swipe at the glowing being in front of them. Mile’s glowing shield prevented them from even disturbing him.
Miles thought of La
lia, Garth, Braes, Barras, and each of the unique creatures he had encountered. He channeled all of his thoughts into one:
“Save them all.” He allowed his energy to close in, he felt his lungs constrict and his breathing stop. He didn’t care. Miles remained still.
The Yau Tang now numbered about fifty, the whole dark engine room was filled the shuffling movement of curious Yau Tang scurrying about the mechanical pieces and stairs of the room.
“I use this power to save lives, not take them.” Miles told himself silently.
The light around Miles vanished, several of the creatures shrieked in surprise.
The room was filled with light, the Yau Tang screeched, but all sound faded as the light ebbed away. Miles alone remained in the room.
“Their engines are offline!” A voice called through his communication device, Miles was brought back to the present situation.
“Miles! Get out of there!” Garth called.
Miles turned and ran out of the engine room, up the stairs. He ran as quickly as he could. Garth was shouting orders and updates to the crew around him:
“Their engines won’t be disabled for long. We need to attack now. This is our only opportunity!” He called.
Miles ran down the corridor, Yau Tang stood in his path screeching at him. Miles interlocked his fingers and shot a pulse down the hall. But they dug their feet into the floor, unmoving. Miles turned the other direction as they chased him.
“Garth! I can’t get back to my shuttle.” Miles exclaimed as he ran.
“Sir! The shuttle has been sheared off! The Yau Tang removed it from their hull.” A crew member alerted Garth.
“Miles, you can’t go back to your ship. It is gone.” Garth told him, “We have been firing upon the ship, but the shields are still up.”
“My shield is broken, by suit isn’t pressurized. I can’t leave the ship.” Miles explained exasperated.
Lalia’s voice came on the communication device:
“Miles, if we don’t attack now. Their engines and weapons will come back online, we are closing in for our guns; we will definitely be within firing range.” She informed him.
“You need to attack then. Do it.” Miles told her, “I’ll find a way.”
“We can use CLERGY 1 as a battering ram; if we use the Idinium Repulsors at their highest performance level we can hyper freeze the hull. We can crash through the warship.” Garth exclaimed, “Their shields will give into our collision. Without their artificial gravity generators, they will fall into the portal.”
“Do it. I have an idea.” Miles told them.
“What? What is your plan? Wait for a shuttle.” Lalia directed.
“Goodbye guys. This is a leap of faith I need to make.” Miles said, tossing his communication device aside, he stopped running. He turned to face the Yau Tang closing in on him.
There were ten of them closing in, their claws rapped against the floor, Miles roared and attacked with pulses of light. He crushed one against the wall, and blasted two through a doorway. One was impaled by another’s spine. The rest were crippled as they were flung to the end of the corridor.
CLERGY 1 was a glimmering icicle spear, it glistened a reflection of Phlasia as it cut towards the Yau Tang warship. Its nose bore through the rippling blue shield of the ship, a static explosion formed around the hole. CLERGY 1 sheared through the warship, tearing it in two halves.
Miles raced up the hall, the corridor began to lift, Miles was running up the slope. The corridor’s angle rose sharper and sharper, Miles sprinted to the hole where his shuttle had been. The corridor was nearly vertical and Miles held his breath and jumped as the shield broke around the warship, the artificial gravity of the corridor was lost. Mile’s momentum carried him as he dove through the hole and into space; he held his breath to maintain a light aura around him; coating the hole in his suit and maintaining pressure. He drifted from the devastated warship as it exploded silently, he could hear nothing in space except the throbbing of his arm and his lungs.
“Here goes nothing.” He thought to himself as he drifted towards the Phlasian Portal alongside the wreckage of the Yau Tang warship.
“You need to go faster.” He felt as though Lalia whispered in his ear, he turned to see the bridge of CLERGY 1. Unsure if the silhouettes he saw were Garth and Lalia. He waved goodbye. The swirling darkness of the Phlasian Portal was before him; he closed his eyes and decided to go the whole way.
Had the hole not swallowed light, Garth and Lalia would have seen a final pulse as Miles shot himself into the portal at a higher velocity. Miles was on a pilgrimage of a different sort, the stories of a human savior would be passed on for ages.
“The portal is fading.” Acting Admiral Barras exclaimed.
“Which means opportunity is rising.” Lalia observed as the Yau Tang warship melted into the black hole.
“We aren’t going through the portal.” Garth assumed.
“Exploration and discovery await us. We finally move forward.” Lalia stared into the distance.
A bandaged Tovar Latarr was wheeled into the bridge by a female crew member, he turned to face Lalia.
“He was the best Callos I ever knew.” He confessed, reaching with his hand for hers.
“Yes. Yes, he was.” Lalia finished, as she took his.
The Phlasian Portal closed, the Convoy moved on.
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