War Angel: part sixty-five

2142 – Approaching Phobos

“Putting them on screen,” Sarah’s voice echoed softly through the silent bridge. She took a deep breath and held it for as long as she could, exhaling slowly. “Visual confirms two B-class ships orbiting Phobos.”

Jack slid forward in his chair, leaning his elbows against his knees. “F.A., you reading anything else?”

“Negative, Captain. We have ourselves a devil’s threesome.”

“Sounder,” Jack’s said, his tone deepening, “Any chatter?”

Drake took his time, maneuvering every button and dial in front of him. “I’m picking up nothing unusual, Captain. Except for the fact that they have to have seen us by this point and haven’t hailed us.”

“Maybe they’re waiting on us to break the ice?” Sarah asked. She stood from her station and walked over to stand next to the Captain’s chair. “What do you think? Should we say hello?”

The War Angel’s captain leaned back in his chair. “I don’t want to seem too eager. They need to buy this.” He looked down to Gina at the helm. “Hime, how long ‘til we rendezvous with them?”

She swiveled in her seat to face him. “Eight minutes. Unless they start moving towards us, of course. Or they decide to open fire and kill us right now. Which they would probably succeed at. Which…”

Jack cut her off. “I know, I know… I get it. Okay, two minutes. If we haven’t heard from them, we’ll send the first hello.”

Gina pushed a button and a countdown clock appeared on the screen, just below the looming sight of the two Omegan battle cruisers. It showed seven minutes and twenty three seconds, then began counting down. Silent tension returned to the bridge, as the five of them watched, transfixed, as the enemy grew nearer and nearer. Ben found himself absently biting his nails, while Sarah began to gently tap her foot against a nearby railing. Finally, as the clock his 4:40, Jack broke the quiet. “Sounder, open a channel to the Omegans.”

Drake pushed a button and then gave Jack a thumbs up. “This is Captain Jack Keys of the EAD ship War Angel. We have arrived under flag of truce to be escorted to the Kan’Tar.” He paused and looked around the bridge. The crew looked back at him blankly. He shrugged and continued. “I bid you greetings.” He gestured to Drake to cut the channel. “Now we wait, I guess,” he said, exhaling.

A minute later, the comm. activated. “Captain Keys, this is J’rwa R’ybt, commander of the vessel Rea’Cerb. You will place your ship between our vessels and be escorted to the Kan’Tar. You will maintain speed and comply with all commands, or you will be destroyed. Understood?”

Jack smiled. “Charmingly so. Lead the way, commander.”

Gina and Kate worked quickly, analyzing the tactical data and moving the War Angel into a parallel course between the two Omegan ships. “We are in the corridor, Captain,” Gina said, her teeth gritted. “Coming up to position between them.”

“Right into a perfect ambush point,” Kate added.

Ignoring her, Jack turned to Sarah. “Is the package ready to be delivered?”

She nodded. “Timing is crucial. But everything is in place.”

Kate spoke up. “Captain, they are revving up their engines and starting to move.”

“Helm, match them!” Jack said with gusto. “Keep us on plane with them!”

The War Angel lurched forward as Gina kicked the engines back into speed. The three ships began moving towards Earth at a slow but steady pace. It almost felt, Jack thought, normal. As normal as could be, anyway. He stood from his chair and walked over to watch the tactical readout. The numbers spun and spooled their way across the screen, and he knew that the critical moment was coming. Suddenly, he looked up and over at Sarah. She gave him a subtle nod and turned to a nearby workstation. “Steady as she goes, Hime,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She started to respond, but before she could, the red alert system kicked on throughout the ship.

The bridge crew’s intensity levels hit maximum, but there was nothing they could do about what came next. A massive explosion tore through the port side of the ship, sending chunks of the old battlecruiser flying through space and bouncing off of the Omegan escort on that side. Fire blew out of the War Angel, aided by an oxygen supply that had not been shut off yet by the ship computer. Finally, the ship’s systems began to compensate for its wound and the engines screeched to a halt.

After a moment, the fire suppression equipment, combined with the vacuum of space, extinguished the blaze. But the result was still the same: the War Angel was dead in the water and surrounded by enemies.