******
Julius had to find a spot inside the landing deck that was not filled with rubble. Once landed, he instructed Haylek to fly out of there. Julius could use one of the other shuttles to escape with Laina if he found her. Haylek protested at first, but when he threatened to shoot him, the conversation was over.
Julius made his way to an elevator, praying that it still worked. To his surprise, it not only worked, but the voice recognition responded to him. He arrived at the stateroom deck, and as soon as the doors opened, he had to duck. A discharge of energy flew over him, striking the inside of the elevator and showering him with sparks.
Ignoring the burn, he leapt out of the elevator and rolled to the ground. Keeping his body flat, he stared up to see Laina’s quarters at the end of the corridor.
The doors were smashed open, and a pile of rubble blocked most of the entrance—leaving only a small opening at the top. From that hole, sporadic discharges of energy flew out, hitting the walls and ceiling of the corridor—some traveling all the way to the elevator.
There was a connecting hallway ahead on the right that was shielded from the discharges. If he could make his way there, it would put him closer to her quarters and perhaps he could find a safe way inside.
Julius crawled ahead unharmed, and then finally stood up when he got to the connecting corridor. He kept his back against the wall, as he dared a peek at Laina’s quarters, he heard footsteps to his left. He turned to find an unwelcome guest. Before he could draw his pistol, a rifle was already trained on him.
“Well, well,” Sergeant Premley said. “Look who I’ve caught skulking about. Drop the guns.”
Julius started to reach for their hilts.
“No no!” Premley said, training the rifle higher. “Unfasten the whole bandolier, and let it drop to the ground.”
Julius hesitantly did as instructed. The pistols and bandolier fell to the ground, and Julius kept his hands in the air.
“Listen, Premley—Laina is in there, I just want to get her out. Then if you want to arrest me, go ahead.”
Premley snorted, adjusting his grip on the rifle. “Who says I want to arrest you?”
Julius tried to calculate how quickly he could knock the rifle out of his hand—the chance was pretty low he would be able to.
“Who do you work for?” Julius asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
Premley smiled. “Who do you think, pirate?”
“Well, it’s not the Confed.”
“You’re stalling aren’t you?” he said, a smug smile on his face.
“You work for the UEP—a double-agent maybe?”
“I’ll work for whoever pays me the most—yeah, it was UEP this time.”
“I guess we’re not all that different then,” Julius said. “I do what I do for profit as well.”
Premley put the barrel of the rifle on Julius’ forehead.
“I’m not a fucking piece-of-shit pirate!” Premley yelled. “We are nothing alike. Oh and yes, I’m the one who gave the UEP the coordinates to your base. You should make sure your pilots don’t drink and fly, by the way. I learned everything I needed—”
Julius took advantage of his talk. He turned his head and deflected the barrel with his hand at the same time. Premley got a shot off, but it hit the wall.
Julius grabbed the rifle, and they both wrestled for it, but Julius was stronger. He ripped it out of Premley’s hands and tried to level it, but the marine was quick, kicking it out of his hand. It flew into the corridor and landed on the ground.
Without weapons, the marine charged him, pushing him into the corridor. An energy discharge grazed Julius, burning his leg as they flew to the floor.
Premley landed on top of him, his hands wrapped around his throat.
Julius grabbed his face, trying to push him up off. While they struggled, Julius tried to look for anything he could use as a weapon: the rifle was too far away, but there was a piece of metal plating almost within his reach.
Premley managed to get a better position, and the grip on Julius’ throat was starving his air—he could not breath.
Julius managed to twist his head enough to bite his hand—enough of a distraction to give him the chance to roll the marine off of him.
Julius scrambled to grab the metal sheet, just as Premley grabbed the rifle.
Premley fired the rifle at him, and Julius reflexively used the plate as a shield. To his surprise, it blocked the shots.
An energy discharge flew down the corridor and grazed Premley’s side, momentarily distracting him.
Julius took advantage of this and charged at him, knocking the rifle out of his grip. He landed on top of Premley this time, and they had each other’s throats.
The marine took his free hand and drew a blade. Julius grabbed his wrist just as he attempted to stab him with it.
Premley pushed the blade closer to Julius’ face, the two struggling for control of the knife.
“You lost,” Premley said with smile. “Your bitch is dead. I already killed her before you even got here.”
Julius’ blood boiled, a sudden rage filled him. Rolling over, he flipped the marine above him and buried the blade into his chest in one swift move.
He held the marine above him, blood oozing down the knife and dripping down his arm.
Premley, still alive, looked down at him and managed a bloody smile. As if fate took notice, an energy discharge flew across the corridor, catching Premley in the head—sealing his death.
Julius rolled the body off him and stayed there catching his breath.
He stared at the ceiling, watching pieces of the Sea Wolf drop from it. As the sound of hull ruptures and explosions filled his senses, he thought of Laina.
She was gone, but he would soon join her. Julius would die with his ship—as he always expected… the way it was meant to be. Both he and Laina were destined to be claimed by it anyway, all part of fate’s plan.
Now, at least, he would see her at the Milky Way Farm and tell her how sorry he was, and maybe she would forgive him for everything.
Another explosion. Debris particles fell on him and he closed his eyes. He was going to wait for the inevitable, until he heard a yelp from Laina’s quarters. Premley lied— she was alive!
Julius rolled over and reached for the metal plate. It took a moment for him to realize what it actually was: the piece of the UES California that he had given to Laina as a gift.
He grabbed it, hoping to use it as a shield for the discharges.
Julius rose to his knees, holding the plate in front of him. He made his way toward Laina’s quarters and got to the rubble unharmed.
Using the plate to shield himself, he peeked through the opening at the top. Laina was on the ground, only a couple meters away.
“Laina!” he called to her.
Laina looked up from the ground at him. She looked the worse for wear, but she was alive.
“I’m going to get you,” he said.
“No,” she said, “it’s too dangerous. Get out of here. I need to blow it up.”
Julius caught sight of the detonator in her hand—why did Reece give it to her?
“No don’t!” he pleaded with her. “Let me get you out first—”
A discharge of energy streaked by Julius, hitting the plate, and knocking it out of his hand. His face stung from the burn.
Ignoring the danger, he looked inside at Laina.
“Julius …” She looked up at him. “I don’t want you to die with me. Go! You can have a life—”
“Not without you,” he said. “I’m getting you out of there.”
She looked at him, a strange smile on her lips.
“Good-bye, my captain,” she said dreamily, raising the detonator in the air. “Good-bye, my pirate lover.”
She pressed the trigger—but nothing happened.
Julius jumped inside through the opening, ignoring the discharges that struck
his limbs on the way down. He scrambled to her, propping her up and shielding her with his own body.
Julius counted the seconds in his head, struggling to bring her over the top of the rubble, ignoring the pain from the discharges as they grazed and struck him. Finally, she rolled over the top, landing on the other side.
At the count of nine, he jumped through the hole with all his might; landing with a thud right next to her. He scrambled to get on top of her, acting as a shield for the explosion—but nothing happened.
Julius looked at her. “Pirate lover?” he asked.
Laina brought her lips to his, forcing a kiss on him. He pulled away suddenly.
“Murdock,” he said.
She scowled at him.
“What the fuck do you mean, Murdock?”
“The detonators, they didn’t—”
At that moment, an explosion went off in Laina’s quarters—and a mountain of energy and fire flew over them—passing down the corridor, burning everything in its path. A bellowing roar followed the fire, like the dying screams of a powerful force.
Julius hugged Laina tightly—even as the burns scorched him. He would protect her, no matter what.
When it ended, to his surprise, he was alive. He looked at her and was happy to see she was alive too.
Laina squeezed him. He groaned in pain.
“Oh Julius,” she said, tears in her eyes, “you are so burned.”
Julius slowly rose to his feet—his vision blurry and his ears ringing. He offered his hand to her. She grabbed it and they stood up. Laina inspected him, a look of panic on her face. He must have looked really bad.
“I’m fine,” he said, trying to comfort her, “let’s go—”
Julius took a step forward and fell to the ground, unconscious.