Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair (18 page)

Lumiar
held the pole in the Mjolnir’s cockpit with Celi to her side. Another cloaked
Rakna flew by them with a number of Kalaidians to visit the surface and pick up
supplies. She watched the planet below from the monitor.

“So
that’s what our planet looks like from space,” she said with awe.

“You’ve
seen pictures before, haven’t you?” Celi asked.

“Of
course, but it’s not the same as seeing it like this,” Lumiar said.

Brian
flew the Mjolnir into the Avoni’s launching bay. Grigon and Jesela were hard at
work below.

“Is
that the bird person?” Lumiar asked excitedly.

“That’s
Grigon, also known as Grigon the Thunder from his days as a pilot,” Brian
explained. “His ship, the Vomada, is about the same size as the Avoni. He’s the
only living crew member.”

“That’s
right; he’s the one who uses a large number of intelligent droids,” Lumiar
said.      When the Mjolnir landed Brian opened the front hatch. He was the
first down the elevator cord with Lumiar coming second. Because of her cloven
feet it was a bit difficult for her to stand on the cord right.

Brian
pointed to the foot hold. “Sorry about that, I’ll have someone look at fixing
for you.”

“It’s
alright,” she said while studying everything.

Celi
was last down the cord. Around them the engineers were busy working on the
Phase Raknas.

 “I
should get back to my duties,” Celi said. Brian nodded in response. She took
Lumiar’s hand. “Thank you for allowing us to visit your beautiful world.”

“And
thank you for allowing me to come here,” Lumiar said as the two parted ways.
Celi headed out the door to sickbay.

“Where
should we start?” Brian asked.

Lumiar
looked at the mobile suits. “So these are your fighting crafts?”

“Yes,”
he answered. “The Mjolnir is the prototype for all of these mobile suits.
Grigon and Jesela over there know much more about their specifics than I do.”

“I
wouldn’t mind speaking to them,” Lumiar said. “But it looks like they’re working
right now.”

“Better
to not disturb them?” he asked.

“Yes,
show me the basics of this ship Brian,” Lumiar said.

“I’d
be more than happy to.”

* * *

Jesela
and Grigon watched as the pair left the launching bay.

“What
do you think of her people?” Jesela asked.

“I
think much of them,” Grigon said. “They’re far ahead of any race I know as far
as maturity is concerned. Instead of warring over resources and energy they
banded together and formed a unified world. Such a thing is sadly rare amongst
even the most cultured of our species.”

“Agreed,”
Jesela said. She sent some schematics down to the Ministry of Technology. “The
first colony class ship has been sent down.”

“You’re
an amazing engineer,” Grigon said. “It would’ve taken most a few days to write
up the basics for that type of ship. It took you only a few hours.”

“I’m
not that amazing,” she said with a smile. “When I was training as the Kein
University I first looked into colony construction, that’s all.”

“It’s
still amazing considering the scope of the colony,” Grigon said.

“The
trickier thing is how we can get this mobile suit to manifest the shielding
system you’ve specified,” Jesela said while stopping to look up at the Aegis.
“Right now it’s just like the Raknas.”

“The
shielding system uses the gravity drive in a very precise manner,” he explained.
“It’s going to take several more weeks of testing to get it tuned right.”

“I
have a bad feeling about this situation,” Jesela said before turning back to
her work.

“But
what else can we do but try our best?” he asked.

“If
what we’ve seen is true, nothing can stop the Greys.”

“No,
we can if we must,” Grigon cawed.

“I
hope you’re right,” Jesela said.

* * *

Celi
resumed working when Zae stopped in.

“Any
luck at all?” Zae asked.

Celi
shook her head. “No, and it’s getting more and more hazy,” she said. “No matter
what I attempt it always fails. It’s as if this plague shifted in some
unexpected manner when Brian contracted it.”

“Here’s
a question for you Celi.”

“Go
ahead.”

“You’ve
been looking at this as the Grey plague that infected us, right?” Zae asked.

“Yes,”
Celi answered.

“What
if he didn’t contract it from us in the first place?”

“If
that’s true, then how could he have come across this type of illness?” Celi
asked. “His people don’t even have nanomachine technology?” She looked at the
readouts, “Wait,” she pressed a few buttons and changed how the scanners saw
the illness. “So that’s it.”

“Was
I right?”

“Yes!”
Celi shouted excitedly. “This is the breakthrough I was looking for! Thank you
Zae! I know I should be a genius when it comes to things like this but I must
have been so focused I didn’t see it right in front of me. The plague is
similar to ours, but based completely on the Terran DNA.”

“Then
how did he contract it?” Zae asked.

“Perhaps
because he was a regular abductee for the Greys they laid it into his system,”
Celi said. “Even without the technology to take effect it would have acted as a
sleeper disease.”

“If
that’s true, then how long until the entire Terran population is infected with
this?” Zae asked.

“Several
centuries, perhaps sooner if they advance faster than anticipated,” Celi
explained.

“Then
finding a cure is even more important,” Zae said.

“Yes,
and I’ll do everything I can to save him,” Celi said before turning back to her
work. “And I’ll do everything I can to save his people.”

* * *

Brian
and Lumiar entered the bridge. The only one there at the moment was Baed. As
she did with Celi, Lumiar went and greeted her by taking her hands into her
own.

“Greetings,
I’m Lumiar Wavecrest.”

“I’m
Baed Daevon,” Baed responded with a smile. “I’ve seen much of your people’s
culture and have yet to see one bad thing about it.”

“If
you go back to the times before unification, there were many instances of war
and terrible violence,” Lumiar said. “In those times the greed of few trampled
on the majority of the population. That changed with the discovery of the
Strangers taking residence on the fourth planet.”

“We
have detailed pictures of their planet if you wish to see them,” Brian said.

“I’d
like to see them then,” Lumiar said.

“Please
join us Baed,” Brian said.

“Of
course,” she said. “Since the Avoni isn’t moving anytime soon I have little to
do.” The three headed into the planning room. There, Brian called up a
holographic image of the fourth planet. Lumiar circled the table while gazing
at the image closely.

“How
did they create an atmosphere out of nothing?” she asked.

“If
the planet had any amount of water and or carbon on it the process wouldn’t be
very difficult,” Baed said. “Of course, most of the younger races of the
Confederation are trying to make more planets livable in a similar manner. But
the truth is it’ll take us centuries to do what the Greys are attempting here.”

“Then
do you live in colonies in star systems with no planets suitable for your
species?” Lumiar asked.

“Yes,”
Brian said. “That’s why we brought you here. We wanted to show you what we can
do to help rather than just tell you.”

“There
are many questions I have,” Lumiar said. “I hope you don’t mind me asking
them.”

“Ask
away,” Brian said.

“Anything
we can do to help your people we’re willing to do,” Baed said.

“I
thank both of you and all your crew for this,” Lumiar said. She looked at the
image of the fourth planet once more. “What is this?” She pointed at the ring encircling
the planet.

“A
solar power generation system,” Baed explained. “Many of the homeworlds in the
Confederation use such a system for nearly unlimited power generation for the
people of their world.”

“Our
engineers have proposed such a system but didn’t think it was possible,” Lumiar
said.

“It
takes almost a century to finish building them,” Brian said.

“I
doubt we have that long,” Lumiar said. “What can your people do to help us?”

“Jesela’s
sent the schematics for a colony class ship to the Ministry of Technology,”
Brian answered. “The other thing I’m having her send down is schematics for
pulse cannons. You may not have gravity drives to power them, but our estimates
say that if you pull all the available energy from the power grid on your
planet you should be able to operate several hundred of them.”

“I
was hoping for something more defensive then that,” Lumiar said. “I suppose a
good offense is better than nothing though. Another question, how many can live
on this colony class ship?”

“About
two hundred and fifty thousand,” Baed answered. “That’s assuming your people
consume a like amount of food to Kalaidians.”

“That
number is much better than my people estimated,” Lumiar said. “I’ll make sure a
lottery system is used to determine who will be put onboard first.”

“Will
you or any in the government go onboard?” Brian asked.

“Only
if we’re chosen via the same system as everyone else,” Lumiar answered. “The
Braiden pride themselves on fairness and equality. I will only board this ship
if I draw the lot to do so.”

“That’s
quite admirable for a leader such as you,” Baed said.

“It’s
my duty to see justice is served,” Lumiar said. “I serve the people first and
foremost. Hopefully the Greys will grant us enough time to complete a number of
these ships.”

“We’re
hoping for the same,” Brian said. “I give my word that we’ll do everything in
our power to aid you.”

“Again,
I thank you and your crew from the bottom of my heart,” she said.

“I’m
glad we’ve had a chance to try these,” Baed said while eating a fruit resembling
an apple. Zae smiled while working on something

“The
rations were getting pretty boring,” Zae said before sighing. “This is a lot of
work.”

“What
are you working on?” Baed asked as she turned. “I’ve seen you, Brian, and Celi
taking turns. This project must be big.”

“Are
you telling me the other two haven’t mentioned a thing?”

“Pretty
much,” Baed paused, “Although with Celi it looks like she’s stressed out and
Brian, well…he’s getting worse. I can see he’s putting up a brave front. But
deep inside his eyes I see something.”

“Is
it fear?”

“No,
resignation,” Baed answered. “I don’t think he’s afraid of dying. There’s
something deeper eating away at him. He’s holding all of the pain inside, along
with the knowledge he may die any day now.”

“I’ve
had the same feeling for a while now,” Zae said. “Brian’s strong, there’s no
disputing that, but he’s also a loner. The only ones who know what he’s like
under the guise are Seles, Mira, and possibly Valis. I wish he’d open up to us
a little more.” Zae saw something behind Baed’s words. “You love him, don’t
you?”

Baed
laughed with tears in her eyes. “Always,” she said as she touched the symbol of
the maiden on her chest. “Maybe it’s the fate of all those who carry this mark
to feel that way. For a long time I denied it, and for longer still I’ve
carried those feelings without saying them to anyone.” She paused. “I feel the
same kind of emotions towards you, but he and you are different.”

“I’d
hope so,” Zae said with sarcasm in her voice. “I’m a lady. If ever you feel the
need to act on those feelings I won’t be jealous. If he’s only got a short time
to live I’m betting he wants to savor every moment.” Zae went over and brushed Baed’s
face. “And I’d think he wouldn’t pass up the chance to spend some time alone
with a woman as beautiful as you.”

“You’re
just saying that because I look like Seles,” Baed said.

“No,
I don’t think Brian looks at you like that,” Zae said.

Baed
took her hand and then hugged her. “Thanks for hearing me out.”

“Anytime,”
Zae said.

Something
activated the automatic alert system. They returned to their consoles.

“What
is it?” Baed asked.

“I
was hoping we’d get more time than this,” she said while frantically working at
her console to gather the information on everything detected. “Our long range sensors
are picking up a large amount of activity occurring at the fourth planet.” Zae
put the image on the screen. At the equator a fleet of ships was assembling.

“Do
you think we’ve been detected?” Baed asked.

“Likely
by the looks of it,” Zae said. “If the Greys were paying attention they’d have
seen the construction of pulse cannons all over the surface of Braiden Prime.”
She pressed the button to alert the ship. “This is Lieutenant Commander Zae
speaking. As of right now our long range sensors are detecting a fleet of carrier
class ships assembling at the fourth planet. All crew are to report to battle
stations. Senior officers report to the bridge.” Zae ended communication before
looking to Baed. “Earlier you asked what all of us were working on.”

“Yes.”

“To
tell you the truth we’ve been working on a strategy to defend this planet from
destruction,” Zae said. She looked down with frustration in her voice. “We
still haven’t found a scenario that gives us a chance.”

* * *

Brian
sat up and fought the lethargy plaguing his every movement. Celi finished
putting her uniform on before going to him.

“Are
you up to this?” she asked.

“I’ll
make it,” he said. “They need me to lead.” He walked into the exoskeleton
armor. “At this point we’re down to thirty Raknas and the Mjolnir. Every
fighting craft we have at our disposal is needed.”

Celi
injected him in the neck. “That should help you focus,” she said. “I’d like for
you to not push yourself too far but I know that isn’t possible.”

“No,”
he said. “We’ve gone over every situation we could think of and victory still
eludes us. But desperation and the desire to live are strong. We can find a way
out of this.”

“Let’s
get to the bridge,” Celi said.

“Sure.”

* * *

The
senior officers assembled in the meeting room. Displayed on the side monitors
were Grigon on the Vomada as well as Lumiar and her top military officials. On
the center table was a three dimensional copy of both the third and fourth
planets of the Braiden system. The fleet of Grey carriers was currently
stationed in orbit of the fourth planet. All of them looked in horror at the
numbers.

“Considering
there are twenty carriers capable of holding fifty smaller ships, we have to
assume they’re numbers are near a thousand attack ships,” Brian said.

“We
can barely hold off one or two of those carriers with our present numbers,”
Meldi said. “How in Kali’s name are we expected to fight that?”

Jesela
patted Meldi on the shoulder. “We don’t have to fight all of them alone, just a
few at a time,” she said as she pointed to Braiden Prime. “They’ve had a month
to build pulse cannons on the surface in large numbers. I’m not sure how many
Lumiar and her people have crafted, but I’m guessing a few?”

Lumiar
turned to her general and nodded. “As of today we’ve built four hundred and
twenty eight pulse cannons. We also have several hundred nuclear missiles in
reserve. We can take care of the smaller ships and possibly some of the
carriers.”

“Our
mission is to locate and destroy their planet killing device should they have
one,” Brian said. “We’ll engage any ships flying within our zone of the battle
space.”

“So
about this planet killer, where is it?” Meldi asked.

“We’re
not sure,” Zae said. “But given what we saw a few months ago, it’s bound to
appear. The Greys weren’t expecting much of a fight and the technology we’ve
given to the Braiden has increased their defense greatly.”

“According
to the data we gathered in the last few months, it would require an immense
amount of power to fire a beam with enough energy to fry a planet,” Grigon
added. “Something like that would need an incredible amount of energy and is
likely to be massive. We should be able to tell it apart from the other ships
with ease.”

“I
know this battle will be fierce and the odds are not in our favor,” Brian said.
“But our backs are to the wall and we have no retreat. If one can’t go back
then they must move forward. We’ll push through their fleet until we’re behind
them.”

“What
formation were you thinking for us?” Meldi asked.

“Grigon,
how many Talons do you have working?” Brian asked.

“Forty
as of now,” the old Malcovin answered.

“Good,”
Brian said. “We’ll take a defensive formation around the two ships using our
mobile suits. With the surface batteries aiding us the Greys won’t be able to
encircle us. Meldi, you and Myli will take a squadron of ten each. I’ll lead the
other ten.”

“Alright,”
Meldi said.

“The
key to this operation’s success will be communication and coordination between
our forces,” Brian said before turning to Lumiar and Grigon. “At all times
leave the channels open.”

“Of
course,” Grigon said.

“As
you wish,” Lumiar said.

* * *

“What
are those?” Myli asked as the engineers loaded a few missiles onto the back of
their mobile suits.

Brian
poked his head out from the inside of the Mjolnir. “Those are nuclear warheads
the Braiden have provided us,” he explained. “Given our enemy’s numbers and
strength of their shields it’s the best thing to use against them.”

Meldi
looked at Myli as she nodded in agreement. “We’d rather not use such weapons,
but if you believe they’re necessary we’ll do it,” she said.

“Use
them only on carriers or the planet killer,” Brian said. “And don’t worry about
them going off because your suit takes damage. I’ve had Jesela work them over
so they’ll only have a reaction when they hit their programmed targets.”

The
engineers finished loading the missiles.

“Everything’s
good!” Jesela shouted.

“Let’s
roll out,” Brian said before closing the cockpit. Outside, Meldi, Myli, and the
other twenty eight pilots did likewise. “All mobile suits activate stealth
cloaks. We want to keep the enemy from seeing us until we‘re right on top of
them.

“Yes
commander,” each of the pilots answered.

The
Mjolnir and thirty Phase Raknas launched with their stealth cloaks activated.
Once they were outside the cloaked Avoni, Grigon contacted Brian.

“I’ve
sent thirty Talons to start the battle,” Grigon said before cawing. “I want to
keep ten in reserve in case we need to use that special trick once more.”

“Good
idea,” Brian said. “I have a feeling we’re going to need them very soon. Did
everyone get that?”

“Yes,”
Zae said.

“We
read you,” Meldi said.

“We’re
ready,” Lumiar said.

“Alright,”
Brian said. “Our mission is to save as many lives as possible. Remember that.”

After
Brian finished speaking a number of ships began appearing on their radars.
Surrounding the planet were twenty carriers. Each launched fifty smaller ships.
The Greys approached the planet in a spread formation all around the near side
of the planet. As they crept closer to Braiden Prime a massive number of pulse
blasts cleared the atmosphere and pounded their ships mightily. A number of them
exploded. The Greys aimed their weapons towards the surface cannons and returned
fire.

“Let
the battle commence!” Brian shouted as the cloaked ships headed straight into
the thick of the Grey formation.