Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (41 page)

Everyone looked at the site like it was the most beautiful
thing they’d ever seen.

“I don’t believe it,” Jack said with a smile, looking from
his ship to Anna.  “We actually made it.”

Anna smiled, too, and nodded.  “We’re getting out of here.”

Suddenly, Anna threw herself at Jack, giving him a big hug. 
At first, Jack’s brain didn’t know how to process what was happening.  Then, it
kicked back into gear.

Hug her back, stupid!

Jack returned Anna’s embrace.  Despite everything they’d
been through, her hair somehow smelled like strawberries.  And for a brief
second, it felt like the adventure was over.  The good guys had prevailed.

At least, it felt that way until a loud
CRACK
echoed
through the hanger.

The group froze and looked around as the sound bounced off
the walls, as though an invisible whip were being violently lashed somewhere.

“That can’t be good,” grumbled Scallywag.

Jack and Anna broke off their embrace, looking around as
they felt the entire room begin to reverberate, as if someone had put thousands
of massive speakers against the walls and had turned the bass all the way up.

“Everyone on the ship!” cried Ganix.  “NOW!”

Jack and Anna’s eyes met, each filled with surprise.  They
turned to move, everyone just barely starting their rush toward the ship when
the explosion happened.

WHA-BOOM!!!!

The large circular door leading into the hangar bay suddenly
exploded, sending chunks of metal, jagged black rock, and shrapnel flying
through the air, riding a powerful shockwave that knocked all of them off their
feet.

Jack was thrown back a few feet and hit the ground hard, his
ears ringing from the explosion.  He looked up, his vision blurry, eventually
focusing in on Anna’s face.

She had been thrown to the floor, too, dazed.  She gazed at
him, her blue eyes meeting his for a split second before they widened in
terror.

Her body jerked as if she’d been stabbed, and before Jack
knew it, Anna was reeled back violently into the air, flying across the expanse
of the hangar bay and into the clawed hand of Zarrod.

The Deathlord Supreme stood menacingly behind the hole he’d
blown in the wall of his ship, rubble strewn about his feet, as Anna wriggled
helplessly in the smokey air before him.  His eyes burned fiery red, and behind
him an army of Deathlord soldiers stood, waiting to be unleashed.

“Anna!” Jack cried, sounding dull and distant as the ringing
in his head from the explosion still lingered.  Jack tried to stand back up and
saw Ganix and the others recovering, too.

Ganix was the first to get to his feet, seeing the Princess
he had sworn to protect in the hands of the Deathlords.  The sight of Anna in
the enemy’s clutches pierced his heart with anguish.  They had been so close to
escape… so close…

Ganix’s eyes moved to what remained of his men, now just
four in number.  They no doubt saw the same thing he did.  He looked at each
one of them in turn, their eyes meeting.  In those moments, their resolve took
hold, and each one of them – to a man – embraced his solemn duty, even though
they all knew what it ultimately meant.

“To arms, men!” he shouted, gripping his rifle.  “Protect
the Princess!”

With a final battle cry, his men got to their feet and
charged toward the Deathlords, unleashing a volley of blaster fire in their
last-ditch attempt to rescue Anna.

Zarrod stood motionless as the plasma blasts rained down
around him.

“Your orders, Supreme?” asked Abraxas, standing at his side.

Zarrod gazed out at the remnants of the Regal soldiers,
scrambling in their suicidal effort to free the girl he held firmly in his
grasp.  To Zarrod, there was something so desperate and pathetic to the whole
scene, as though it were bad theater for which he no longer had the stomach.  With
a tilt of his head, he gave the order…

“Kill them all,” he commanded.

“As you wish,” replied Abraxas gleefully, stepping forward
and swinging his arm into the air, sending a porcupined wave of spikes
railroading across the floor toward the men.

Ganix and the others dodged as best they could, but the
force of the blast achieved its purpose, throwing them from their charge and
allowing time for the Deathlord soldiers to flood into the hanger and to
unleash a volley of blaster fire.

Jack ducked and covered as the deadly red bolts shot by
overhead.  Not far away, he saw Professor Green lying on the ground.  He’d been
hit by a chunk of the wall from the blast, pinning his leg under some rubble. 
Jack called out his name and saw Green’s eyes flutter open.  He was still alive.

He tried to crawl toward the Professor, but suddenly he felt
a hand grab the back of his jacket.  At first he struggled, fearing it was a
Deathlord, but he was yanked up and into the face of Scallywag.

“We gotta go, lad,” said the Visini, dragging Jack along as
he fired his blaster at the encroaching Deathlords.

“NO!” protested Jack.  “Anna – the Professor–”

“They’re gone,” sneered Scallywag.  “And we need you to fly
us out of here.”

Scallywag kicked Grohm who was lumbering to his feet.  “Get
on the ship,” Scallywag ordered.  “Those Regals ain’t gonna hold ‘em off
forever.”

Heckubus scrambled past them, his skinny legs creaking as he
moved.  “Barbarous!” he cried.  “An explosion?  So brutish.  No artistry at
all…”

Grohm looked behind him, seeing the Deathlords flood into
the hanger.  His eyes settled on Zarrod, and for a moment, it looked as though
he were going to rush forward and take on the Deathlord Supreme himself. 

“Battle…” he grumbled.

“Not now, ya bloody Rognok!” snapped Scallywag as he kicked
him again, throwing him Jack.  “That Earthman is our only way outta here – now
get him on the blasted ship, or we’re all gonna die!”

Grohm hesitated for a heartbeat before his massive hand
clamped down around Jack’s arm.  Jack struggled to get free.  “No!” Jack
cried.  “We can’t leave them!  We have to do something!”

Jack tried to pull away from Grohm’s grip, but it was
fruitless.  Grohm picked up Shepherd, who was lying unconscious on the ground
nearby, and swung him over his shoulder.

“Hurry, blast it!” yelled Scallywag as he rushed into the
Ancient ship’s boarding bay next to a cowering Heckubus.  Scallywag gave Grohm
cover fire as the Rognok lumbered into the ship’s opening, dragging Jack along
with him as he did so.

“No!  STOP!” screamed Jack.  “We can’t – we’ve gotta help
them!  We—”

The back of Scallywag’s hand slapped Jack across the face
hard.  The pirate grabbed Jack and looked him deep in the eyes, more serious
and urgent than Jack had ever seen him before.

“There
is
no helping them!” sneered Scallywag. 
“They’re all dead!  And we will be, too, unless ya get us out of here!”

“The Visini is correct, Earthman,” piped up Heckubus.  “Now
seal off the ship before we’re overrun.”

Jack looked at the Deathlords closing in on them, his heart
sinking.  He knew they were right.  With a thought, he closed the entrance to
the forward boarding bay, and said “Bridge.”

Instantly, they were teleported to the Bridge of the ship. 
Grohm, Scallywag, and Heckubus looked around startled.

“Well, that was… fancy,” muttered Scallywag.

“Fascinating,” said Heckubus, twiddling his fingers.

Jack began jerking at Grohm’s grip, hitting his arm.  “Let
go of me!” he demanded.

Grohm released Jack, who immediately ran to the front of the
bridge, looking out of the viewscreen into the hangar below, just in time to
see the end of the battle.

Yeoman Porter, Ensign Ash, and Navigator Dumac lay dead on
the ground, victims of the unyielding Deathlord onslaught.  Major Ganix was the
last one standing, taking cover behind some rubble, his leg badly burned from
enemy fire.

Jack saw Abraxas hurl a ball of energy at the rubble,
catching Ganix off guard and slamming him onto his back.

Abraxas leapt into the air, landing on top of the fallen
soldier.  His clawed hand wrapped itself around Ganix’s throat, as the other hand
readied itself to tear the life from the Regal’s body.

“You’ve failed, Regal,” said Abraxas, glaring into Ganix’s
defiant eyes.  “And now, you die.”

Ganix grabbed onto Abraxas’ arm, holding the Deathlord in place.

“You first,” he muttered, before activating his last thermal
grenade with his free hand.

Abraxas looked at the grenade with mild surprise before it
blew up, evaporating the Deathlord and Ganix in a brilliant explosion.

“NO!” Jack screamed.

More Deathlords were flooding into the hangar, firing upon
the Ancient ship.  Alarms on the bridge started to sound and Jack’s companions
joined him.

“Fire this ship up, lad!” ordered Scallywag.  “We gotta move
before they blast us to pieces!”

Jack stood, immobile, looking down at Zarrod below him.  The
Deathlord Supreme gazed back up at the ship, tall and ominous, Anna still
hanging helplessly at his side.  Jack looked at her, his heart tearing in two. 
He knew he had to escape, but the thought of leaving Anna behind was too
terrible a choice for him to comprehend.

Jack could hear Heckubus running around the bridge trying to
start up the ship himself, to no avail.  He could hear Scallywag yelling at him
to do something before it was too late.  But all Jack could do was gaze down at
Anna, helpless and afraid.

He saw her face, tears streaking down her cheeks as she
looked up toward the ship, as though she could actually see him looking down at
her.  She moved her lips, and though Jack was too far away to hear her, the
word was clear.

“Go.”

Scallywag grabbed Jack and turned him face-to-face.

“WHAT ARE YA WAITING FOR?” the pirate screamed.  “HURRY UP
AND GET US—”

Suddenly, Jack’s fist flew out and struck the Visini in the
face.  Scallywag jerked back, more surprised than hurt, and rubbed his mouth as
Jack looked up at him angrily.

Without a word, Jack turned and hopped into the control
chair.  Instantly, the bridge of the starship came to life.  Jack pulled up the
Entanglement Engine screen.  Outside he could hear the onslaught as the
Deathlords fired upon the ship.

He called up Anna on the holoscreen in front of him and
choked back tears as he took one last look at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

And with that, he jumped the ship.

"Do something!” Jack cried over the
alarms of the vital sign monitors.

“And what would you have me do?”
muttered Heckubus.  “I’m a doctor of evil, not medicine!”  The robot was
furiously tapping away at the main medical console as Jack, Grohm, and
Scallywag tried their best to hold down Shepherd, who was convulsing violently
on the table in the middle of the medical bay.

The problem had started almost immediately after they had
jumped away from the Deathlord mothership.  They had rematerialized somewhere
in the relative safety of empty space, with no Deathlords in sight, much to the
amazement of Jack’s passengers, who’d never experienced a quantum space jump
before.

“Blimee,” breathed Scallywag, looking out at the
viewscreens.  “What just happened?”

“Fascinating,” said Heckubus, tapping away at the ship’s
navigational console.  “The entire ship has teleported!  Instantaneous space
travel from one point to another… why, imagine the possibilities!”

The robot twiddled his fingers.

“The
evil
possibilities!  Mwuahaha!” he said.

No sooner had the robot’s processors set about plotting
numerous nefarious schemes using Entanglement Engine technology than a scream
pierced the air.  Jack turned, snapping out of the fog that had assaulted his
head at leaving Anna behind in the grasp of the Deathlord Supreme.  Up on the
teleportation platform, still in the grip of Grohm, Shepherd was writhing and
screaming in pain.

Jack leapt out of his chair and rushed to the Paragon’s
side.

“Shepherd?” Jack said.  “Shepherd, what’s wrong?”

Shepherd’s eyes were rolling toward the back of his head and
his jaw was clenched so tight Jack was afraid he might crack his teeth. 
Suddenly, the man began to convulse.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jack cried out to no one in
particular. 

Scallywag knelt by Shepherd.  “Hold him steady, Grohm,” the
pirate ordered.  Grohm put his massive hands on Shepherd to keep him from
flailing around.  Scallywag turned to Jack.  “He must’ve been injured worse
than we thought in his fight with the Deathlord Supreme,” Scallywag said.  “Do
ya have a medical bay on the ship?”

“I – I don’t know…” replied Jack.

“Well, go find out,” said Scallywag.  “In the meantime,
we’ll just try and keep the bugger from hurting himself further.”

Jack nodded and rushed out of the bridge and into the
hallway of the ship.  There were many doors lining the corridor, and Jack
prayed one of them would be the medical bay.

Sure enough, the first door he tried seemed to be it.  Jack
had no idea what a medical bay looked like, but the room contained an
observation table on which to lay a patient and lots of computers that looked
like they belonged in some type of a hospital.  He rushed back to the bridge
and told Grohm to carry Shepherd there.

No sooner did they lay the Paragon on the table than the
computers and monitors in the room sprang to life, showing various readouts and
vital signs, none of which Jack understood.  Heckubus quickly began pouring
over the data.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jack asked.  “Can you fix him?”

“Curious…” said the robot.  “There appears to be nothing which
would indicate he’s injured at all.”

“Yer reading the bloody instruments cock-eyed,” grumbled
Scallywag.  “There’s clearly something wrong with the man.”

“Far be it for me to argue with your vast medical knowledge,
you dolt,” replied Heckubus, “but according to these readouts, he’s perfectly
fine, barring a few minor electrical burns and bruises.  Nothing that would
explain the reaction we’re seeing.”

Shepherd screamed out in pain and his body jerked.  Grohm leaned
over him and tried to keep him from falling off the observation table.  The
monitors around the room began to beep in complaint.

“Are you sure?” asked Jack urgently.  “He’s obviously not
fine.”

“Of course, I am!” replied Heckubus, indignantly.  “As if
Regal physiology is too complicated for my massively brilliant mind to
understand.  Pah!  All scans show that physically he is fine.  No major wounds,
viruses, cancers – not even a cavity.  The computer shows he’s perfectly
healthy.”

“
Then what’s wrong with him
?” shouted Jack, his
frustration with the whole situation building.  Heckubus turned his oblong head
toward Jack and focused his large round eyes on him.

“I don’t know,” replied the robot simply.

Then, Shepherd started to convulse uncontrollably, which
brings us up to speed to where we were at the beginning, with Jack and the
others trying to restrain the Paragon, while Heckubus frantically searched for
a way to heal him.

“I say,” muttered the robot.  “There is some very impressive
equipment in this medical bay.  It’s light-years beyond anything that’s
currently available in the known universe.”

“Can any of it help Shepherd?” Jack asked.

“Hard to know what to do when we can’t diagnose what’s wrong
with him,” replied Heckubus.

“Well, do
something
, ya bloody tin can!” sneered
Scallywag.

The robot sighed.  “Fine.  I suppose I can try this nervous
system filter here.  Perhaps that will get him to stop thrashing about so.”

“Anything!” pleaded Jack.  “Just do it!”

Heckubus tapped a few keys on the medical console and from
the ceiling of the medical bay, a solid block of green light shone down,
encapsulating Shepherd.  Within the block of light, tiny blue webs of what
looked like lightning began to appear, touching down all over Shepherd’s body. 
Jack thought it almost looked like one of those weird science fair experiments
where two charged metal balls shoot electricity between them.

All of a sudden, Jack could see Shepherd begin to calm down,
and the Paragon stopped convulsing.

“It’s working!” Jack breathed.

Heckubus looked around at the life-sign monitors at his
station.  “Heart rate dropping, pulse slowing, blood pressure returning to
normal…” reported the robot.

Then, the webs of blue lightning stopped and the solid block
of green light climbed back up into its original location in the ceiling. Jack
leaned over Shepherd whose eyes were closed.  It looked like he had passed out
again.

“Took ya long enough,” grumbled Scallywag.

“How often must I say it?” said Heckubus, exasperated.  “You
cannot rush genius.”

“Looked more like guesswork to me,” replied the pirate.

“Part of being a genius is guessing correctly,” said
Heckubus smugly.  “But next time, you can be the one to decipher the advanced
medical technology while I deride your efforts, if that’ll make you happy.”

“Is he going to be okay?” asked Jack.

“Of course he’ll be okay!” replied the robot.  “The worst is
obviously behind us.”

Suddenly, Shepherd’s body tensed, and his back arched in
pain.  Electrical tendrils began to erupt from the Paragon’s armor.  Jack,
Scallywag, and Grohm all noticed them at the same time, just as they rapidly began
to spark and snake around Shepherd.

“Uh-oh,” said Jack.

Then, an eruption of electrical energy shot out from
Shepherd’s armor.  The force of the blast knocked back Jack and the others,
sending Grohm smashing into some of the equipment.  Scallywag was thrown
against the far wall, and Jack landed by Heckubus, who quickly retreated from
the main console that began shorting out from electrical overload.

The medical bay went dead and all the monitors ceased to
transmit.  Jack’s head was buzzing from the shock he had received.  He looked
up, his vision blurry, and he saw his companions strewn about the room. 
Scallywag was nursing the back of his head, while Grohm lay snorting in a pile
of crushed computers.

“Hmmmmm.  Perhaps I spoke too soon,” said Heckubus meekly.

Shepherd was lying still on the table, groaning slightly.

“Jack…” he said weakly.

Jack struggled to his feet and made his way to Shepherd’s
side.  Shepherd’s hard, grey eyes were now cloudy and distant, and his skin was
pale and cold.  The Paragon wore a pained expression on his face as he wheezed,
struggling to breathe.

Jack didn’t know what to do.  He reached out and grabbed the
man’s hand, though he wasn’t sure if Shepherd could feel it through his armored
gauntlet.

“I’m here, Mr. Shepherd…” said Jack.

Shepherd’s eyes seemed to focus on Jack’s face.  “I’m…
sorry…” Shepherd struggled.  “It looks like… I won’t get to train you after
all…”

Jack felt a lump catch in his throat.  “What’s wrong with
you?” he asked.

“I… don’t know…” replied Shepherd.  “It feels… like my very
soul has been ripped apart… and it’s getting worse…”

“But, the computers–” said Jack.  “They say you’re fine. 
They can’t find anything wrong with you.”

“The Deathlord Supreme…” continued Shepherd.  “He was
harvesting my life force… when you teleported me.”

Jack thought back to the brief moment when the Deathlord
Supreme had almost ripped his life from his body, and instantly, he knew what
Shepherd was referring to.  If indeed they had interrupted the process, could
it be that half of Shepherd’s soul had been left behind when they had rescued
him?  If that were the case, the shock might be the cause of what was
happening.

“But, you’ll be okay, right?” asked Jack.  “We can fix you,
can’t we?  Just tell me how, and we’ll do it.”

Shepherd shook his head sadly.  “I… don’t think you can fix
this…”

Jack felt tears welling up in his eyes.  He gritted his
teeth and held onto Shepherd’s hand tightly.  “No,” he said.  “You’re a Paragon. 
You’re invincible!  You can kick the butts of twenty guys single-handedly!  You
can’t die.”

“How I wish… that were true…” said Shepherd, his voice
barely above a whisper.

“Just manifest something!” pleaded Jack.  “Think of
something that will save you, and we’ll use it!”

“Jack, I–” suddenly Shepherd spasmed.  Jack grabbed onto Shepherd’s
face and tried to keep the man focused on him.

“Stay with me, Shepherd!” Jack demanded.  “I can’t do this
without you!”

Shepherd reached out, grabbing Jack’s shoulder and looking
him in the eyes.  “You’re going to have to…” he wheezed.

“No!” cried Jack.  “Please!”

“Tell… Anna…” Shepherd struggled to speak, but before he
could say any more, he began to convulse.  Jack grabbed onto him and tried to
steady him.

“Stay with me!” Jack pleaded.  “Do you hear me, Shepherd? 
Stay
with me!
”

Shepherd looked at Jack, his eyes wide with pain, fear, and
regret – a look that stabbed into Jack’s very soul, and would weigh heavily on
his heart for the rest of his days.  With his final breath, Shepherd said
simply…

“Be strong.”

Jack looked on helplessly as Shepherd went limp, and his
eyes stared vacantly into the distance as life left them.

Before he knew it, Jack had crumpled onto the floor, tears
coming uncontrollably now.  Feelings of fear and sadness crashed over him,
wrapping around him like a constricting snake.  His family and friends were
gone.  Anna was gone.  And now, the one man he was relying on to save the day
was gone, too.

Paragon Shepherd was dead…

…and all hope had just died with him.