Wednesday, October 31, 2012

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.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

War Angel: part seventy-eight



“Okay, so we get onboard and spread the bug. Then what? No way we can manufacture enough to take out the entire ship quickly.”

“You’re right, Richard, but we don’t have to. We just have to get it to strategic spots. The bridge. The infirmary. The kitchen. We just need to get the ball rolling so we can escape.” Jack smiled. “If we’re to have any chance of saving the damn planet, we have to knock that ship out.”

“Sure, I think we all get that,” Gina chimed in. “But how? Even if we kill everyone on that ship, the Omegans will just crew it with others. And then they’ll probably open fire on Earth with it.”

“No question,” Jack replied, “We have to destroy that ship. Completely.”

“Once again, I hate to be a killjoy, but even as good as our weapons are, they won’t make a dent in the RGC, Jack. That hull is just too strong. It’ll take something a lot stronger than what we have to break it.”

The War Angel’s captain let out a laugh. “Oh, I know. But there is a weak spot that we can exploit. It won’t be easy, and the risk is completely ludicrous. On the bright side, they will be completely unprepared for it.” He wiped his hand across his brow, moving sweat away from his eyes. “How many of you read The Odyssey in Classic Lit class?”



Kate could hear the brutal sound of weapons fire from ahead. She stopped running, slowing her pace to a jog, and began checking her corners with more caution. It would not do to get shot now. The doctor needed rescuing.

As did the Drakes.

It had been a kindness for Sarah to not mention Ben when sending her off, but deep down, she knew that he could be just as vital as the doctor. Personal feelings aside, he did know his way around the comm. equipment like no one else on the ship. Plus, this was war, and in war, every soldier was necessary. With such a small crew on the War Angel, every person counted. Even a man she hated. Even a man she tried to kill with her bare hands.

She peered around the next corner and discovered the nearest source of gunfire. Four Omegan warriors were at the next bend, using the branching of the corridor to give themselves cover. Fortunately for Kate, their absolute focus was on her shipmates. Unfortunately for Kate, there was no cover for her once she started moving in their direction. She closed her eyes and played out various scenarios in her head before deciding on a plan of action.

Then she took off at a full sprint towards the Omegans.

Halfway to their position, one of the warriors caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. As he turned and bellowed, Kate threw her legs out forward and went into a slide. Gliding across the floor, she opened fire before the Omegans could completely turn around and aim their guns at her. With guns in both hands, she pulled the trigger relentlessly, watching blast after blast tear through the enemy. By the time she came to a stop, the four warriors were dead, their blood forming small pools on the deck.

Popping up off the floor, she peered around the corner the warriors had been defending, and she saw the junction where Dr. Gray and the Drakes were trapped. She could also see the far end of that corridor, and could see more Omegan warriors were entrenched there. Her mind went into analytical mode. “Maybe 30 meters to their alcove. Call it twelve to thirteen seconds for them to make it here. Cover fire from me maybe buys them eight seconds at most. Not good,” she thought.

Not good at all.



“Hime to Clover, do you read?”

The comm. crackled. “This is Clover, I read.”

“How’s my girl? Ready to fly home?”

“Scoop re-attachment almost complete. Three minutes, Hime.”

“Clover, it looked from the outside like cannon three is back in place. Is it online?”

There was a short silence, and then he responded. “I think so. Haven’t had a chance to test it, though.”

Gina cocked her head and closed her eyes. “Seems like this would be a good time. Free to go weapons hot?”

“Umm… okay.”

“Are you within the shields perimeter, Clover?”

“I am. Why?”

Gina activated the War Angel’s shields. “Because there’s a great big sitting duck sitting across the docking bay,” she replied, looking at the ship Richard had attached himself to in order to get inside the Kan’Tar. She swiveled around to Sarah, who was standing at the weapons station. Sarah punched up the targeting system and picked six points on the B-class cruiser and plugged them in. She then took a long, deep breath and fired cannon three.

The now repaired cannon exploded with raw firepower, sending massive energy beams across the Kan’Tar’s docking bay and into the ghost ship. The bolts tore massive holes in the Omegan cruiser’s hull, rocking it with explosions. Fireballs and debris rained down across the landing bay, and Richard could only watch in horrified awe as the War Angel’s shields bounced pieces of the craft away, harmlessly. Just as he thought it was done, the engine block exploded as well, sending a shockwave powerful enough that he felt it through the shields.

“Spot on, Clover,” Gina’s voice echoed through the comm. You may have just saved us all.”



M’isti moved toward the door and activated a comm. “T’reen, report!” A second shockwave, more powerful than the first, rattled the room. “T’reen! Bridge! Report!”

“They… probably need you… on the bridge…” Jack said, slowly sitting up.

The Omegan Supreme Commander wheeled around, his eyes full of righteous fury. “Whatever you have done, boy…”

Jack pressed his back against the wall and took a breath. He wiped blood out of his eyes, and spit some out of his mouth. “I’ll tell you exactly what I’ve done, F’ath.” He exhaled slowly. “I’ve beaten you.” Jack steadied himself. “You ever read any Earth literature? Don’t answer, I’m sure you probably haven’t. Well…” he coughed, “there was an old poet named Homer, and he wrote this thing called The Odyssey. Great book.”

M’isti looked at him, angry and impatient. Blood began to flow out of his nose at a faster pace, and he felt his knees weakening. Suddenly, he knew what he had been denying since the symptoms had begun: he truly was going to die. And with that knowledge, his anger began to fade. Keys would die with him, of course, and the circle that had opened over a hundred of Earth’s years ago would finally close. It was, as he slumped against the door, poetic. “All right, Captain. I am listening, and neither of us is going anywhere. Tell me how.”

Jack held up his hand in a “stop” motion. “There was also a writer named H.G. Wells, wrote probably our most famous novel about Earth being invaded by aliens. Know how we won in that story? The bad guys got sick from our planet’s germs and bacteria.” He shrugged. “Sometimes the classics just work.”

F’ath M’isti’s limbs weakened, and he eased himself to the floor, sitting next to the door. “How does this Homer fit in?” he asked, weariness creeping into his voice.

“Oh!” Jack looked surprised. “Right! There’s an incident mentioned in The Odyssey called ‘The Trojan Horse’…”

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

War Angel: part seventy-seven



“I hate to be the killjoy,” Wilma interrupted, “but there is no way we can manufacture enough of the bug to kill everyone on that ship. Not in the timeframe we have. A small ship, maybe. But not that one.”

“True,” Jack agreed. “But we don’t need it to kill everyone on that ship. We just need to get the ball rolling so we can put phase two into action.”

“Phase two?”



Gina, Sarah, and Kate walked through the carnage created by the makeshift grenade. Omegan body parts were strewn through the corridor, and blood spatter coated the nearby walls. “Nicely effective, Sarah,” Kate said, admiring her aim. She picked up two more guns and checked them over. They had nearly full charges.

“I’ll try and remember that when I’m vomiting later,” Sarah replied. She winced and worked to keep her gag reflex from kicking in. It was one thing to shoot at a ship from a distance, but seeing this much gore and death up close was at the limit of what she could bear. Was this what their lives were going to look like from now on? “I don’t know if I can keep doing this,” she thought. “I don’t want to be this person. I don’t want any of us to be this person.”

They turned down another corridor, and fifty meters ahead, they found what they were looking for: the entrance to the landing bay. “Well, here we are,” Gina offered. “What’s behind door number one? A massive amount of killer aliens, or a massive number of dead aliens and our ship back in working condition?” She smiled at the other two and reached for the control panel next to the door. “Shall I?” Kate raised her weapons and nodded, standing in front of the door, while Sarah moved to the other side. Gina pushed the button, and it slid open.

A dead Omegan warrior slumped across the doorway. Kate cautiously moved forward, looking for signs of movement. Gina and Sarah watched her move through the doorway, and then she ducked her head back through. “Clear. Better than clear, actually.”

The three of them walked into the bay and saw a beautiful sight: the War Angel was hovering above the deck, her engines running. Floating along the top of the engine capsules was the shuttle, and it was busy re-attaching the tachyon scoop to the ship.

“Incredible,” Gina whispered. “He actually made it.”

“Let’s get onboard,” Sarah said, slapping Gina on the shoulder. “Let’s sure she’s ready for you to fly us out of here.”

Kate grinned. “Looking at the port side, it looks like Richard has made my part in this a little more fun, too. Let’s go!” As they entered the landing bay, a nearby comm. port chirped. They stared at one another for a moment, and then it chirped again. Kate toggled the switch. “This is F.A. Go ahead.”

The line crackled with static for a moment, and then Wilma’s voice came through. “F.A? Kate? Yes! Kate, we’re trapped! They have us pinned down in a corridor not too far from the infirmary. We managed to get our hands on a weapon, but it’s almost out of power. And our supply of the bug is spent. Can you assist?”

Kate looked at the other two. A moment of silence passed between them, and then Kate gave a slight nod. She flicked the comm. switch. “Doctor, hang tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The comm. closed, and she turned back to face Gina and Sarah. “Whatever you’re going to say, I’m already thinking it. But I have to go anyway.” She walked across the bay and opened a weapons locker, withdrawing two more guns. “Now I have four. That should get me through to the doctor and the Drakes.” She detached a portable unit from the comm. port and put it in her ear. “I’ll call when I’m on my way home.”

Gina cleared her throat. “I’d tell you to be careful, but I know you won’t.”

“Count on it.” She cocked her head at Sarah. “No wise words from you?”

Sarah straightened her back and smoothed her hair. “If we’re going to have any chance at surviving as a group, we need the doctor. Bring her home in one piece, Lieutenant Commander.”

“Aye aye.” Kate made her way down the ramp and out of the ship.

“We have work to do,” Sarah said to Kate. “Let’s get to it.”



Jack crawled away from M’isti, but it was no use. He did not have the strength or speed to evade the Omegan, and thus he was only killing time before his inevitable demise. “You want to know… a secret… F’ath?” Jack asked. “I’ll tell you… a secret,” he said, trying to catch his breath. The broken ribs were making even the slightest intakes of oxygen extremely painful, but he had begun to reach a point where he was getting accustomed to it.

M’isti wiped the back of his right hand across his nose, and saw that the flow of blood had increased. “I have lost interest in anything you have to say… boy.” He advanced on Jack’s prone body.

“No… no… this is good, I promise…” Jack said, sputtering blood across the floor. “Really… good.” He rolled over and looked up at the Omegan. “Here… it is…” The War Angel’s captain wiped the blood out of his eyes. “I’m not dumb.”

F’ath raised an eyebrow. “That’s your secret? Pathetic. And stupid.” He reached down and lifted Jack from the floor. “Goodbye, Captain Keys.” His arm reared back to throw one last punch, a punch that would surely be Jack’s end.

“No no no… you don’t get it,” Jack muttered. “The bug wasn’t supposed to kill you all.” M’isti, confused, lowered his fist.

“What?”

Jack turned his head and spat blood to the side. “Two words… Supreme Commander…” he paused, trying to catch his breath, “Diversionary. Tactic.”

Suddenly, the room shook violently, as a shockwave moved through the bulkheads, followed by the sound of an enormous explosion. M’isti dropped Jack’s limp body to the deck, and staggered backward against the window. Looking down at the foe he thought defeated, he saw that the human was smiling contentedly. “What have you done, boy? What have you done!?”

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

War Angel: part seventy-six



Richard flew across the Kan’Tar’s landing bay astonished by what he saw. Dozens of dead Omegans littered the floor, blood seeping out of their noses and ears and soaking the deck. It was difficult for him to actually see the floor in some spots, the gory results of the War Angel’s plan so prevalent before him. He had been spared that sight in his own efforts; the canister of the disease that he was carrying had been shot into the Omegan ship’s air exhaust system once they were in the sealed landing bay. He was aware of the act he was committing, but it held little reality for him since he could not see inside the ship and see the results.

These results? These he could see, and they were terrifying. “We’re war criminals,” he thought to himself. “No civilized society uses biological weapons. We stopped that over a hundred years ago. And now…” He paused to think about it. “I wonder if we will go to prison,” he thought. “If there is ever a real truce, they’ll want us to go to prison.” Richard felt mortified.

“Enough of that,” he thought, docking the shuttle with the War Angel. “I have a job to do.”

As he exited the shuttle, he walked through the cargo area and saw the crate lying open. Inside were the dummy biogel packs full of the concentrated version of the bioweapon. Sarah’s instincts had been right; the Omegans went straight for the fancy technology, and they had gleefully cut open one of the gel packs to study it. The bodies outside on the ground showed just how poor a decision that was for the crew of the Kan’Tar.

He grabbed a loader and packed the materials from the shuttle aboard it. “First things first: get the main computer back up and running. Can’t count on my little jamming trick to last forever…”



The energy blast just missed hitting Gina in the face. “Will you pay damned attention?!” Kate asked, kicking her friend’s legs out from under her and sending her crashing to the floor. Kate returned fire, Omegan pistols in both hands. “Hey, guys,” she said, moving back around the corner for cover as their foes unleashed a return volley. “I don’t suppose either of you has a grenade?”

Gina cocked an eyebrow and patted her uniform pockets in exaggerated fashion. “I must have left mine in my other uniform.”

“You’re a riot, Hime,” Kate sneered, peeking around the corner and shooting another barrage.

“I can maybe make one,” Sarah volunteered. “Can I have one of the guns?” Kate looked at Sarah for a moment, wariness in her eyes. Finally, she handed the weapon to Sarah as laser blasts passed behind Kate’s back.

Kate checked the other gun and saw that it was down to 50% power. “Make it count, Supersonic.”



“Time for us to go,” Wilma muttered, looking at her hands still shaking. She walked across the lab to a towel dispenser and began cleaning the Omegan’s blood off of her body.

The elder Drake, shocked by what he had seen, spoke up first. “I assume that there is a plan? To get us out of here alive, I mean?”

“Strangely enough, yes,” Ben replied. “And right now it requires us to get back to the landing bay and to our ship. The doctor is right; it’s time for us to go.”

“But won’t they be waiting for us? There have to be hundreds of them on this ship. Thousands.”

Wilma closed her eyes and took a long breath. “Fewer and fewer by the minute if we’ve done this right.”



F’ath M’isti’s fist made solid contact with Jack’s abdomen, lifting him off the floor and sending him through the air. He landed with a bone-jarring thud in the middle of the room, bouncing twice before coming to a stop.

“That… all you got… Supreme Commander?” Jack croaked out, blood seeping from both lips. “You’re getting… weaker.”

The Omegan licked blood off his knuckles. “You are a ridiculous little man,” M’isti sneered. “I did not become Supreme Commander by being ordinary or weak. “I am the greatest of our warriors!” He advanced on Jack slowly. “I will not die easily. Not from your little disease.” He reached down and lifted Jack up by his uniform. “And you will die, regardless. Boy.”

Jack sailed across the room and impacted the window on the hull, then dropped to the ground with a sickening thud.

“Were those ribs I heard cracking?” M’isti asked, amused. “Please. I would enjoy knowing just how painful this is for you. So confident in yourself. So confident in your plan.” The Omegan walked around the desk and looked down at Jack. “You are going to die. Your friends are going to die. Your planet is going to die.” F’ath M’isti smiled. “But let it never be said that I am not civilized. Do you have any last words?”

The captain of the War Angel used his left arm to push himself against the hull, and he took agonizing seconds to sit up and look at his foe. Jack knew then that he had miscalculated. That he was overly arrogant. He had led his friends – his crew – into a death trap. What if the rest of the Omegans had M’isti’s immune system strength? He was so sure. So very sure. And he had been wrong.

He looked up through a swollen right eye and saw the instrument of his entire planet’s destruction smiling at him. Jack nodded slowly, and F’ath M’isti paused to see what Jack was going to say. Jack beckoned M’isti to come closer, and the Supreme Commander crouched down next to his fallen foe. “I am listening,” the Omegan said. “Speak.”

Jack nodded. Then he swirled his tongue around his mouth, gathered all the blood that had gathered there, and spat it in F’ath M’isti’s eyes. As the Omegan’s rage exploded, the War Angel’s captain began laughing uncontrollably.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

War Angel: part seventy-five



2142- In Orbit Around Pluto

Wilma injected herself last. “You’ll all probably feel nauseous for an hour or so, but this will keep Kate’s little bug from killing you.”

“Excellent work, Doctor, Kate,” Jack replied. “And once this stuff does its business, are we contagious? Or just immune?”

“Immune. We won’t be carriers.”

“What would it take to change that?” He mulled it over for a second. “How could we spread it quickly if we needed to?”

Richard answered. “Aerosol. Or something like it. Something that moves it through the air quickly.”

“I have another way,” Sarah said, her voice dropping. “If your plan really gets us where we want to be, I think there’s a way to give it in a concentrated dose.”

Jack nodded. “Get to work.”



Richard attached the devices to everyone’s uniforms. “Okay, you guys. This is pretty simple. Press on the pip, and it releases a small mist carrying the bug. It’ll be so subtle that it’ll barely be noticeable. I hope. Probably ought to be careful, just in case.”

“I’m filled with confidence,” Ben said, rolling his eyes.

“Good work, Richard. When Omegans win a battle, it increases their standing in the ranks. M’isti will see that I’ve promoted you all and won’t think twice about it. He’ll think I’m just playing his game. He won’t expect the uniform itself to be a weapon. They’ll never see it coming.”

“Mine is essentially ready, too,” Sarah added. “They’ll rifle the hell out of the cargo bay, and this will be too tempting to pass up.”

“Time to put it all into motion, then,” Jack replied with a nod. “Let’s take the bastards out.”



2142- Aboard The Kan’Tar

T’reen strode down the corridor, his thoughts wrapped in anger. Those… humans… the enemy… being allowed on the Kan’Tar was almost more than he could stand. His entire life had been dedicated to the war arts, and his training had assured him that Earthmen were little more than slightly intelligent Idvall, ready to be led to slaughter.

But the Supreme Commander was instead showing them respect. Why? What did F’ath M’isti know that he did not? If he was to be next in line for this ship, it was a mystery he was going to have to solve.

Was it vengeance? Vengeance could have been served by simply blowing the War Angel to pieces once it arrived. Perhaps it went deeper than that. T’reen pondered what he knew of the Commander’s personal history. “Perhaps this is… nostalgia?” he wondered. “Whatever it is, I do not trust this man Keys. He is a slippery one.” Absently, he scratched his hand across his nose, and as he did, he felt moisture. Looking down, he saw his own blood smeared across his knuckles. “Odd,” he thought. He gave a cough, then entered the bridge.

“Status?” he barked, striding to the command chair as the door closed behind him. “I want an update on all ships in the fleet. Combat readiness, troop counts, all of it.”

The crewman at the comm. station spoke first. “We’re experiencing some tech difficulties, and comm. traffic is currently unreliable.”

T’reen whirled around. “Explain yourself!”

“Chatter on the comm. went quiet about an hour ago. This time of day, it tends to be quiet as it is, so it was not unusual. But after prolonged silence, I began running diagnostic scans of our equipment. There are no signs of equipment failure on the Kan’Tar. I was just about to start… sir?”

T’reen coughed and blood splattered across the floor. The warriors of the bridge crew jumped out of their seats. He coughed again, doubling over and spitting more blood onto the floor. “Fools…” he croaked out. “Fools. We are all fools!” The coughing began again, and T’reen’s blood spilled across the deck. One of the warriors flipped the internal comm. and began yelling for the ship’s physician. T’reen crawled to a nearby computer station and pulled himself to his feet. He rose unsteadily, slipping twice because of the blood coating his hands. He turned to look at the comm. officer. “We are being jammed you fool…” He then vomited, chunks of blood and Idvall spewing across the bridge floor. “It was… a trap… for us.”

The Omegan bridge crew stood around T’reen’s body, bewildered by what had just happened. They looked at each other in turn, noticing one by one that they had all started developing nosebleeds.



Jack tried with all his might to pry M’isti’s hands from around his throat. “What… do you… want?” he said, gasping for air. “Why… are you here?”

F’ath M’isti smiled. “You really believe, boy, that I will tell you that?” Jack squirmed and wriggled, trying to loosen the Omegan’s grip.

“Yes.”

The Omegan supreme commander turned and threw Jack across his desk, the War Angel commander bouncing off of the desk and into the inner hull of the Kan’Tar. “You aren’t going to survive our encounter, so why does it matter?” Jack started to reply, but M’isti cut him off. “No human has ever divined our purpose here. No human ever will.” He began a slow move around the desk and stood over Jack’s prone body. Keys looked up at him wide-eyed, then pushed himself backward across the floor slowly.

“Then why play along? Why bring us here?”

“Why waste resources hunting for you? Far easier to open the gate and let you in. You had nothing. You never did.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“You thought to outwit me, boy, and that amused me.” He watched Jack pick himself up and then brush at his Captain’s pip. Keys made his way to his feet, wobbling and trying to right himself. “I wanted to take your measure. I met your ancestor.” M’isti smiled. “I tortured your ancestor. For days. When I was a young warrior. I cut pieces off of his body, and he did not break. He was impressive, a true warrior. And then, I shot him down and crashed him into the moon, and he still survived.” The Omegan smiled in memory. “I wanted to see what the family lineage had produced. I was… curious.”

Jack stared in mute horror. “You… you…”

M’isti made a brushing motion with his hand. “Please spare me your outrage. This is war, boy, and it always has been.”

“Then let’s end it! Let us give you what you want!” Jack wiped sweat from his forehead, and fell backward into the wall.

The Omegan raised an eyebrow. “Can you give me the tomb of Prince S’agas T’horoth? Can you help me eradicate a genetic mistake that has haunted my world for centuries?” Jack opened his mouth, but said nothing. “Then I am afraid all you can do is die.”

A smile crossed Jack’s face. He righted himself, using the wall to stand up straight. “You first.”

M’isti let out a belly laugh. “Really? You are nowhere near my physical match, boy! I am stronger, faster, more experienced. You have no weapons. How do you expect to kill me?”

Jack saw a small trickle of blood form under the Omegan’s nose. “I don’t expect to, Supreme Commander…”

“I already have.”