******
Julius stormed down the hall, nearly knocking down the hackers that were huddled outside Laina’s door. His blood was boiling and it was all he could do to keep from really hurting someone. Laina had gone too far. To withhold telling him about Daryl for the sake of completing her agenda was a heartless betrayal.
He took the elevator down and walked the corridor to the infirmary. Many of the beds were now vacant, the patients either healed and returned to duty, or fatal casualties. He would get a report later to confirm whether the death toll count under the Sea Wolf’s flag had indeed increased. The notion nauseated him.
Julius scanned the room, trying to identify which patient was Daryl. He had to remind himself that Daryl would no longer be a teenager. He would be a man now. How would he recognize him after all these years?
Doctor Lankey spotted him and rushed over.
“Julius!” he began, wide-eyed as usual. “Tell me, how goes the war effort? Another engagement, right? Soon? Please be soon.”
Julius ignored the question. “Which one of these is Daryl?”
Lankey looked away, touching his head in thought. “Daryl?”
He darted over to a cluttered table, rummaging through the stack of bottles and containers until he emerged with a datapad. He scanned through it then shook his head.
“No, Captain. No Daryl here. Must be a mistake. My staff keeps very detailed notes. Are you sure his name is Daryl?”
Julius tried to keep his cool. “Was there a patient in here that had brain damage? Someone that Laina had an interest in?”
The doctor smacked his forehead. “Of course! Yes, my spirit animal tried to help me cure him, but it was even beyond her power. We did manage to slow the progression though, which at least keeps the bed filled for a while. Unfortunately, I give it another three days before he expires.”
“Show me where he is!” Julius growled.
Lankey jumped back and then silently pointed to a bed in the center row.
Julius brushed past him and walked over.
The occupant was a strong-looking man: dark hair, brown eyes, and a chiseled face—it was like looking at a reflection of himself. His heart sank when he noted the pale skin, bandages, and the tubes that sprawled out of him: an image that betrayed the visage of a strong Verndock and revealed the truth of his condition.
Daryl was dying.
Julius slowly took his hand in his. The skin was cold and dry.
“I’m sorry, Daryl,” he whispered. “I wish I could have been there… to help you.”
Julius paused, listening to the sound from Daryl’s breathing tube. He wondered if he could hear him, understand what he was saying. If only he could talk to him one more time—or better yet, save him. Laina said Chorus could help him, but even if that were true, they would not even know where to look for her.
He squeezed Daryl’s hand.
“Those years apart—I should have been there for you, brother.”
At that moment, alarms pierced the air with battle drums raging in the background. Something was happening.
Julius reflexively tugged his ear-link. An image of the bridge instantly materialized.
“Captain! Need you on the bridge!” Ramey said, his voice uncharacteristically frantic.
“Calm down, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“Hostiles. UEP battle cruiser. They’re about to scramble fighters.”
“Enemy count and position? Have they detected us?”
“Sir, they jumped right on us. And we’re out of the stealth shroud. They’re projecting a gravity well.”
Julius tensed up and he felt the rush of adrenaline hit him. With one generator still out, they were in no position for a fight, especially inside their secret home base, which was not so secret anymore.
“Prepare to launch fighters and activate the weapons grid. I’m on my way.”
Julius gave Daryl one last look.
“See you at the family reunion in the Milky Way Farm, brother.”
He ran down the corridor with deft speed, squeezing in between the elevator doors before they even fully opened for him. He pressed the manual control to the bridge and waited for the doors to reopen.
How did the UEP find us? How did they jump to this exact spot? he thought.
It had to have been Xanthus… or that sergeant… or maybe …
The doors opened and he took in the scene as he walked over to his command module and sat.
The tactical display showed a Battlecruiser class UEP vessel—larger than the Sea Wolf, and probably with twice the fighters. It was probably the smallest vessel in the UEP Navy that housed a fighter wing. They obviously needed to use something small enough to fit in the empty pocket between the Sea Wolf and the debris field. Even so, Julius noted that it had taken some hull damage from nearby debris in the process of jumping in.
He opened a conference to Engineering.
“Murdock, erect a null field around the Confed shuttle. Warn them to remain inside the shuttle under penalty of death. If anyone tries to come out, shoot to kill.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Garval, status of Wolf Squadron?”
“They’re lined up for launch, sir.”
The screen lit up with new hostile contacts emerging from the battlecruiser: twenty-four Z-44C fighters launching, all more heavily armed than their own Z-40s, but not as maneuverable—thanks to the Z-40’s hummingbird boom.
Julius could only hope that Wolf Squadron had developed enough skills from their practice runs to use the boom effectively. It was their only chance. The tactical showed less than three minutes before the hostiles would be in weapons range of the Sea Wolf.
“Get Reece on my channel,” Julius ordered.
“Done, sir,” Garval said.
“Reece, the Z-44Cs are going to outgun you, even one on one. You’ll need to outmaneuver them and use the debris around here to your advantage. They don’t know the lay the of the land like you do. We’ll try to engage the cruiser ship-to-ship to draw their attention.”
“Aye, sir. Don’t worry. Me and the boys have plans for them.”
Julius paused a moment, then activated a broadcast channel to the entire ship and all pilots:
“Crew and pilots of the Sea Wolf, this is your captain. I don’t have time for a long pep talk, so I’ll keep this short. We have been engaged by a UEP battlecruiser that is projecting a gravity well. This is going to be a fight to the death. We cannot jump out while that battlecruiser is functioning, and we cannot charge our capacitor for a jump while engaged in combat. So it’s either them or us.
“If this is our last engagement, then let us make sure that the Sea Wolf’s name lives on forever in tales of its infamy and gallant crew. Let’s see how much luck this old girl still has left in her. Wolf Squadron… launch!”
The bridge crew cheered, and he could hear the pilots join in.
Seconds later, Wolf Squadron was in play, all four of them… against twenty-four fighters.
“Jessen, come about, 45 degrees to port, Z-minus 20. One-quarter propulsion. Let’s look our adversary in the eye.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Ramey, target the incoming fighter squadron. Full spread on the guns. Cease firing once Wolf Squadron engages.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Julius took in a breath. He hesitated to give the next order, but if the ship was abandoned and some of them could get away, it was the right thing to do. He looked down at his command module and keyed in his secret code words that, in conjunction with the DNA scan from his fingers, unlocked the ship computer.
“Garval, I have given you full access to the ship vault. I want you to initiate the plunder transfer program… while we still can.”
Garval cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. At once.”
The plunder now divided, Julius focused on the battle about to begin. The notion of freedom, and the deal they had with the Confed, was neve
r going to be a reality. Fate had a different destiny for them—a different destiny for him. And there was no deal to be made with fate.