The crew gathered on the bridge, filing in slowly, each one full of dread, yet also curious. There was no question- the message would be from The Omegans. The War Angel had bloodied their noses, and a response wasn’t going to be quiet or subtle.
Jack looked at Richard, and the engineer walked to the comm. station. He typed in an access code, and the ship’s main video screen flared to life. In the center of the picture was the Omegan they had seen in the first communiqué they received. Only now he looked different- the Omegan seemed to almost be smiling, which sent a shiver down Wilma’s spine.
“That is one creepy bastard,” Gina said in a whisper, though the message was not live. Still, looking at him gave her a sense of omnipresence about their alien foes, which was extremely disconcerting for the War Angel’s pilot. The image remained still for a moment, and then he began to speak.
“Greetings, children. I am F’ath M’isti, Supreme Commander. I am aboard my ship, the Kan’Tar. I believe that you Earthers refer to it as ‘the RGC’. No matter. I send you this message as an offering of congratulations. You engaged one of our ships in honorable combat and emerged victorious. Impressive for such… neophytes. Our warriors live on in Erestia.”
“But there is a penalty for such a victory, and you will pay it now.” The screen flickered for a moment, and the picture changed. They were now looking at what appeared to be a cell of some sort. In it, Admiral Kelly was being held up by by two Omegans, one on each side of him. One nodded to the camera and reached around behind the old man. Kelly barely had a chance to scream before a knife plunged through his chest, piercing him just below the heart. As blood began to flow from his chest and mouth, the Omegan’s arm began moving wildly and Kelly gave one last blood curdling scream before he hit the ground. The Omegan held his bloody hand toward the camera, displaying a section of the dead man’s spine in his hand and laughing.
Richard paused the message and threw up on the floor. Jack looked away and at the rest of his crew. Gina had tears in her eyes, as did Sarah. Kate’s eyes were filled with hate and anger. Wilma was stone-faced, betraying no emotion at all. Jack looked back to Richard and saw that now his whole body was shaking. He knew he had to do something immediately, or he would lose his crew.
He just didn’t know what that “something” was.
Jack paced the bridge, his thoughts in turmoil. At first he walked back and forth, as if trying to dig a path in the floor. But after a few laps of doing so, he began walking to each of the others. As he walked past each one, he stopped and placed a hand on their shoulders, speaking a single word. To Kate: “Revenge.” To Richard: “Survival.” To Gina: “Courage.” To Wilma: “Justice.”
To Sarah: “Freedom.”
As he finished, he turned back to Richard and nodded at him to restart the message. The screen flickered again and F’ath M’isti reappeared. He now appeared smug and amused.
“You were warned about the price of disobedience before. Your Admiral Kelly has paid for it with his life. This is just the beginning, children. You will stand down, or more will die because of your actions. Indeed, I will make it simple for you.” M’isti gestured off camera, and the crew could see an Omegan push a body into view of the camera. There was a hood over the man’s head, but he was clearly alive. Jack briefly wondered if the Omegan was going to execute a second person on camera and braced himself for his crew’s reaction.
“I have,” the Omegan continued, “read a little bit about you all in your precious EAD files. Thus it was a pleasant surprise to discover that you all have more to lose with your actions than you’ve truly considered. So let me make myself clear: you will stand down. You will fly back to Earth under flag of surrender. Or the next person to pay the price for your willfulness will be Prisoner 1212.” The Omegan violently snatched the hood off of the man’s head and the camera lingered for a moment on his face. His face was scratched and bruised, and dried blood speckled his lips, but he was recognizable to everyone watching. “You have twenty-four of your Earth hours to respond and comply.”
The message ended and the screen went dark. No one spoke. Jack walked back to the captain’s chair and sat down, leaning back and staring at the ceiling for a moment. Minutes passed, then finally Sarah broke the silence. “Jack? What are you thinking?” He turned his head slowly to look at her and said nothing. They held each other’s eyes for a moment, locked in a stalemate.
Wilma, fed up, let out an exasperated groan and spoke up. “Look, let’s just start with a simple question: should I load a syringe with stimulants and wake up Ben? He might be interested to know that his father’s spine is probably going to be ripped out by this time tomorrow.”
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