Morrison laid out his plan for the War Angel’s extra-solar journey to the group. “So again- we should find water and other potential life-maintaining chemicals and foodstuffs once we’re there. Should we find potential allies, so much the better.” They nodded assent. “Look, I know this is a leap of faith. There are no guarantees about anything. But the one thing I’m sure of is that we have nowhere to go here.”
Jack raised his hand. “Are you sure, Captain? What about Titan and Europa? Water there…”
The Captain held up his hand to cut Jack off. “A couple of the Omegan ships are still in the outer reaches of the system, including ones near Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. Looks like they left them behind to clean up any EAD resis… us. They’re looking for strays.”
“We can take down a B-class with the War Angel, Captain” Jack replied.
“And some day we will, Mr. Keys. Many of them, I hope. But not today.” Morrison pulled the details of their journey up on the screen. “Now, I have to tell you: this will not be easy, and by the time we get there, none of us will feel very good. We’ll be slightly malnourished, and lack of muscle activity due to slowed metabolism will be dragging us down. Over the last thirty-six hours, we’ll resume normal feeding and sleeping schedule, because we’ll be heading into the unknown on that end and will need to be at our best. But once we get past the heliopause, we’re all going to have to shut it down. Understand?”
“Can we really do this, Captain?” Gina asked. “Is this ship capable of surviving the trip through the interstellar medium?”
Sarah felt a surge of excitement. “You bet your ass we can. The new shields we’ve installed should cut through that radioactivity like a hot knife through butter. If you’re going to sail into the wind, you’d better have a boat built to last. And this old tug, thanks to all of us, is exactly that.”
“Okay. You all know the plan, and you all know your parts in it. Let’s get this ship ready to make history. Finish all preparations, and meet on the bridge by 0100. Dismissed.”
The group filed out of the mess, no one uttering a word. Each set off to tackle their assigned duties meant to get the War Angel prepared to leave the solar system. Sarah, Gina, and Richard each felt slightly giddy about the prospect, Park in particular, as his first thought upon learning of the invasion had been precisely this: run. Find safety. See if the Omegans had enemies willing to join the fight.
Jack Keys did not join the others in their enthusiasm.
“Only cowards run,” he thought. “Only cowards abandon the helpless. Four billion people are on that planet, a gun pointed at them, and we’re just leaving them there to die.”
That was what bothered him most, Jack realized. If the Omegans did indeed want something, and they did manage to get it, they weren’t going to bow politely and take their leave of the planet. No, they would make sure that Earth suffered for its previous victories against them. They would destroy every building, salt every field, burn every man, woman, and child… there would be nothing left. The crew of the War Angel, so desperate to go home, would find there was no home to return to. It could happen in three years. Or it could happen tomorrow. Time, Jack pondered, is not something they were blessed with in abundance.
“No,” Jack thought, his anger rising, “I do not like this idea of running. At. All.”
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