War Angel: part seventy-nine

“One other thing,” Jack said as they prepared to leave the table. “I expect that I’ll be separated from the rest of you. This F’ath M’isti will want to talk to me privately, so I’ll be taken to parts unknown on that ship for a ‘chat’. So you may have to come and get me, because I’m quite likely going to have no idea where I’m at.”

Sarah swallowed a gasp. “How will we find you?”

Richard leaned forward. “I can whip up a transmitter that will allow us to track your position.”

“I suspect that we’ll be searched thoroughly,” Jack said, shaking his head in the negative.

“Not internally. I’ll make one you can take like a pill. Just…” Richard shrugged. “Just don’t go to the head and do any heavy reading, if you get my drift.”

The hand-held comm. of the nearest dead Omegan chirped impatiently. Kate realized that the crew at the other end of the corridor had not gotten a good look at her attack and they were wondering why they were getting no answer. Or any fire from this end. Again, her mind raced. What could she do? If they did not respond, the odds were good that the Omegans at the far end would simply try and advance, further cutting the amount of time that her shipmates would have to run and make it to her position.

“This,” she thought, “is getting worse every second.” She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and then picked up a comm. Kate flicked the switch and toggled some static on the line. “Warriors!” she bellowed. “Your comrades died valiantly, and they will hunt well in Erestia. Put down your weapons and back away, or you will suffer the same fate!” A long moment of silence followed, and then the comm. sprung to life.

“Human female.” The voice dripped with contempt. “I know not what trickery you used to kill my men, but it is you who will lay down your weapons and surrender or you will all die. Horribly.”

Kate cocked an eyebrow. “I’d say I’m sorry you feel that way, but that would be a lie.” She flipped the comm. off and spun around the corner, screaming. “Doctor, Drakes, this way NOW!” Kate opened fire with both hands, sending blast after blast down the corridor towards the Omegans. As she did, her three charges slipped out of their hiding place and began running toward her. Kate did her best to move her arms around and keep the Omegans guessing as much as she could. But as the Doctor and the Drakes reached the three-quarters mark, the Omegans began firing wildly down the corridor. Kate knew they were simply raising the guns over their heads and just randomly shooting, and for a moment, she felt optimistic.

That moment ended when she watched a blue blast of energy pass completely through Patrick Drake’s abdomen.

F’ath M’isti finished listening to Jack and nodded. “That’s… not bad. I underestimated you, Captain Keys. Something I told my underlings not to do. My hypocrisy is staggering.” He coughed blood. “A shame you won’t live to see the fruits of your planning.”

Jack shrugged. “I knew the risks… when I took the job.” M’isti gave a snorting laugh and opened the door. “It actually was a pleasure, Supreme Commander. In a weird way, I mean.”

The Omegan staggered into the doorway, silhouetted by the bright corridor light. “May whatever afterlife you believe in receive you with honor, Captain Keys.”

“Hunt well in Erestia, F’ath M’isti.” The door shut behind the Omegan leader. Jack counted to two hundred, then slowly started walking toward the door. “Would be nice if my ride came and got me. Yes it would.”

Richard walked onto the bridge. “Scoop is re-attached. We have fuel for one jump. Where is everyone?”

“Easy, Clover,” Sarah replied. “Sarah had to go back in to get the Doctor and the Drakes. Can you find Jack?”

“On it.” Richard plopped down at a console and began searching for Jack’s tracer. His fingers danced across the buttons, and within a few seconds, a loud beeping sound began broadcasting. “Got him. He’s pretty deep into this thing. Three hundred meters in from our position, and fifty meters to the left. Lotta bulkheads between us and the Captain. Probably a lot of bad guys, too.”

Sarah moved over to the console and stood behind Richard. “By the time we get to him, there won’t be.”

F’ath M’isti used his remaining energy to limp onto the Kan’Tar’s bridge. The bodies did not surprise him; he was certain that Keys would have found a way to disable the ship, and he had done so completely. M’isti felt his life draining away; there was very little time left, he knew that. But he could not stomach the idea of the War Angel somehow getting away with it. Keys’ plan was perfect if the Kan’Tar was stuck on her own with no help. But he had to be able to summon help. He had to. But how?

It came to him quickly. The communication systems were down, that much was true. But the humans had seen no need to disable the weapons. “I must act immediately,” M’isti thought. He moved to the weapons station and chose a nearby B-class cruiser. The Omegan punched in a command code and aimed a laser cannon at that ship’s engines. He took one last long breath and then fired. He watched as the B-class cruiser exploded into millions of component pieces, his last act as Supreme Commander to destroy one of his own ships. “But,” he thought as he slid to the floor, his heart taking one last beat, “they will come.”

With that, F’ath M’isti died.