Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair (23 page)

An
hour after the meeting the three ships shifted their formation with the Vomada
in front, the Avoni just behind it and the Meche in the rear. Grigon remained onboard
the Avoni and controlled the Talons remotely from the bridge. The Talons were
deployed around the Vomada while the Raknas were around the Avoni. When the
ships moved to the exit they found it was partially blocked. The Vomada and
Talons in front fired and unveiled the space outside. When the three ships
emerged their radars picked up six carriers and nearly three hundred attack
ships.

Zae
bit her lip. “That’s more than we predicted,” she said.

“Don’t
worry,” Grigon said. “I’m clearing a path.” Three of the Talons activated their
shields and scattered. Each flew in a different direction and detonated their
gravity drive. Each exploding Talon took a number of smaller attack ships with
it as well as two carriers. A third carrier was severely damaged. The remaining
twenty Talons formed a defensive shell around the Vomada as the smaller Grey
ships opened fire. Each shifted their form to match the Malcovin mobile suits
before charging with suicidal intent.  The carrier flew at the Avoni and fired
its pulse cannons. The ship rocked as Baed steered away from most of the
damage.

“Our
shields are still at seventy percent,” Jesela reported.

“The
Meche is prepared to jump out of the battle space,” Baed reported.

The
Meche wavered and flickered before disappearing.

“Alright,”
Zae said before turning to Grigon. “Now that they’re out of here it’s time to
let loose.”

“I
like your attitude,” Grigon cawed.

His
cube shaped ship flew close to the Avoni to combine their shields. Using six
more Talons, Grigon had the first three make a path to the remaining carriers.
The three trailing Talons each targeted a carrier. Two of the three succeeded
and blasted into a carrier. The third damaged the sixth carrier. All that
remained of the Grey forces were two damaged carriers and a little over a
hundred smaller attack vessels.

“Brace
for their counterattack,” Zae said. “We may have destroyed most of their battle
power but they’re still in this fight.”

* * *

The
Avoni and Vomada were under constant assault as the Greys desperately tried to
break through their defenses. The Talons and Raknas remained close to their
respective ships and attacked with their pulse rifles. They only attacked in
melee when the Grey ships flew too close.

“This
attack is brutal,” Meldi said. “But now that we know their plan we can counter
it.”

“Have
you figured out their plan?” Myli asked.

“Their
goal’s to wear us down and crash into us,” Meldi said. She pointed to the
damaged carriers as they moved towards the battle. “I think they’re about to
use the same trick we’ve been using.

“The
Greys are the strangest enemy we’ve ever fought,” Myli said. “It’s like they
don’t have any regard for their lives.”

“That
stems from their hive mind mentality,” Meldi said.

“I
don’t like it,” Myli said as her Rakna slashed though a Grey ship. “Even an
Ick-Tckt has more individuality than that.”

“And
we think they’re strange,” Meldi said as she narrowed her eyes. “But we know
what these beings are all about now. They don’t care about morality or
individuality. We’re just an object in the way of their mission. Our lives
don’t matter to them. All they want is for us to be destroyed.” Meldi slashed
through a pair of Grey ships.  Her eyes flickered between normal and blue glows.
“That’s why we can’t give up. Brian wouldn’t forgive us for it.”

“I
feel the same,” Myli said.

* * *

Zae
watched as the battle progressed. The two carriers started flying towards them.

“How
long until they reach us?” she asked.

“Less
than two minutes,” Baed answered.

“We’ve
only got a few left,” Grigon said.

He
programmed two of the damaged Talons to fly straight for the carriers. Once the
carriers moved close enough the two mobile suits detonated their gravity drives
and blew them up. The remaining Raknas, Talons, and the two ships held their
ground until every Grey ship was destroyed.

“All
enemies have been silenced,” Baed reported.

“Good,
let’s get out of here,” Zae said. “All pilots return to base. Grigon, call back
you’re Talons.”

“Already
done,” Grigon said.

After
all the mobile suits were loaded onboard the two ships gravity jumped to the
next solar system.

“Are
the Braiden here?” Zae asked once the light cleared and the scanners
reactivated.

“I’m
detecting their signal nearby,” Jesela said.

Zae
sighed. “Good,” she said. “Let’s get over there as quickly as possible and figure
out what to do next.” She looked over the battle plan before smiling. “He
really is something. We may have lost a number of the unmanned suits but no
causalities.”

“I
still have fourteen left,” Grigon said. “I don’t mind because if I can get the
Aegis working it won’t matter how many ships the Greys throw at us. They won’t
be able to penetrate its shields.”

“How
does it work?” Zae asked. “I’ve looked over the specs for the Aegis and still
don’t know how its shielding system is going to work.”

“The
system is a lot like the black box system installed on the Mjolnir,” Jesela
explained as she checked over the Avoni’s systems once more. “We won’t actually
know how it works until its launched into battle.”

“Has
the Mjolnir’s black box system ever been activated?” Baed asked.

“Not
yet,” Grigon said. “Although it’s A.I. system is advanced at this stage. The
machine can probably fight independent of a pilot soon enough. The real black
box can only work if Brian or any other Terran can finally pass the muster to
activate it.”

“What
does that mean?” Zae asked.

“When
the time comes, you’ll know Zae,” the old birdman cawed. “If he should master
the Mjolnir’s systems you’ll see why the older races fear his kind so much.”

“The
more you talk about it the more excited I get waiting for it,” Zae said. She
turned back to her work at the captain’s chair computer.

Celi
sat with her head in her hands in frustration. She was surrounded by screens of
data. Her eyes were hollow with black bags under them while exhaustion showed
on her face.
I don’t get it, what am I missing?
She thought to herself
as she looked up at the data once more.
If he could crack this puzzle, then
why can’t I?
She pressed the button on the computer and ran through another
simulation.
I’ve tried everything I know to beat this thing and nothing
works. What is the critical element I’m missing right now?
The simulation
concluded with the same ending. Zae stood outside the lab and saw Celi’s
condition. She buzzed the door before entering.

“Hey,”
Celi said flatly as she tried another simulation.

“From
your response and appearance I take it things aren’t going well,” Zae said as
she sat down next to her.

“Sorry
for making you work double shifts lately,” Celi said. She turned from the
screens to face Zae. “Well, more like triple with Brian in the condition he‘s
in right now.”

“It’s
tiring carrying the burden for the two of you,” Zae said. “But not nearly the
same as the burden you carry right now.”

“It’s
that obvious huh?”

“Yes,
it is Celi,” Zae said. “What’s the hold up?”

Celi
put an image on the monitor in front of them. “The algorithm in the infected
nanomachines always adapts to whatever it is I try to use to treat them,” she
said. “I can’t destroy them now.  The resulting shock to Brian’s system would
kill him.”

“But
if you destroy them he has a chance, right?” Zae asked.

“Perhaps,”
Celi said. “There’s a high probability Brian will die if I attempt it. But at
the rate he’s going it won’t be much longer.”

“How
long does he have left?”

“A
few days at most,” Celi answered. She had despair in her eyes.

“Even
if there’s only a one percent chance of it working, you must have faith in his
desire to live,” Zae said.

“Alright,
I understand,” Celi said. “It’s going to take me another night without rest to
finish the program. Hopefully it will work.”

“Have
faith Celi, have faith,” Zae said.

* * *

Baed
stood outside Brian’s room with uncertainty in her eyes.
What should I do?
What am I doing here?
She stared at the door and went to open it. She
stopped and pulled back.
Why am I hesitating like this? He needs someone to
comfort him. Everyone but me is needed at the moment. I feel so useless I have
to do something. All I can do is make his last moments better. If that’s all I
can do than so be it. Better to be useful to one person than feel like you’re
of no use to anyone.
She opened the door and saw Brian lying quietly on his
bed. He opened his eyes to see who it was.

“Who’s
there?” he asked weakly.

Baed
sat on the bed next to him. Without any hesitation she took his hand in hers.

“It’s
me,” she said.

“Strange
to think the last person to come see me would be you,” Brian laughed. “But then
again I don’t even know if this is real.”

“I
came because I had to do something,” Baed said.

“You’re
selling yourself short,” Brian said before cringing in pain.

“No,”
she said. “A navigator doesn’t do much these days.”

“You’re
wrong,” he said. “If you hadn’t been the navigator our journey home would’ve
taken longer than it has. You shaved a month of time off.”

“Anyone
else could’ve done it,” Baed responded.

“True,
but because you were the one who did it you deserve the credit.”

“Alright,”
she said. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Brian
sat up slowly and looked at her. “You’re not doing this because you’re Seles’s
cousin, are you?”

“I
thought the same thing before coming in,” Baed said.

“You’re
not Seles,” Brian said before smiling.

“I
know I’m not her, but still…” She sat in silence and blushed. After a moment of
quiet he surprised her by leaning forward and delivering a long kiss. After
they parted she sat back. “I’ve always loved you.”

“I
know,” he said. “I’ve seen it in your eyes. And that’s the difference between
you and Seles. She’s a doer and you’re a thinker. I should know because that’s
how I am.”

She
laughed. “You’re right about that,” she said. “I wanted to give you a small
amount of comfort if these are your last days. It’s better than leaving you to
brood alone in the dark.”

“I
welcome your company,” he said. “But if you’re looking for more than a kiss I
can’t deliver on it.”

“I
know,” she said before laughing again. “I can live with this.” She sat closer
to him on the bed.

“This
isn’t a bad way to go,” Brian said.

“I
kind of figured that,” she said after another quite moment.

“In
a different world we would’ve been lovers,” he said. “You have a different way
than Seles. But, are you sure about this? Shouldn’t you be comforting Zae?”

“She
can handle herself,” Baed said.

“That’s
good,” he said. “I can’t believe I’ve only been here for six years.”

“I
completely forgot we passed the anniversary of your arrival,” Baed said. “Sorry
I didn’t bring something to celebrate.”

“That’s
alright. Your being here is enough.”

“I’m
glad,” she said.

They
embraced as a tear showed through his attempt at staying strong. “Baed, I need
to tell you a few things before my end comes. I know you may not want to hear
this but I have to tell someone.”

“Whatever
it is I’ll listen,” she said.

“When
I’m dead I want you to read my journal. I’ve left behind some plans for the
future. I trust it you and Seles.”

“What
plan are you speaking of?” she asked.

“When
the time comes you’ll understand,” he said. “Soon, Heaven’s Light will shine
upon the races of the Alden, led by the toning of the Freedom’s Bell.”

Baed
returned to the bridge the next morning and found Zae and Jesela there. She
quietly went to her console and checked the navigation systems. The three ships
were in deep orbit of a gas giant.

“How
is he?” Zae asked.

“Not
so good,” Baed answered after a moment of silence. “He was sleeping soundly
when I left. But from what I saw last night he doesn’t have much time left.”

“We
have about one week until we return to the part of space where all this
started,” Jesela said. “I know it doesn’t matter right now, but…”

“It’s
alright Jesela,” Baed interrupted. “You’re not the type to dwell on the
negative and prefer dancing with optimism.”

“That’s
true,” Jesela said. She looked up from her scans. “I’m sorry Zae, but I’m not
detecting any signals in this system.”

“I
didn’t expect any,” Zae said. “I figured once we reached the border region we’d
have a chance to find them.”

“Are
you talking about the Raulno?” Baed asked.

“Yes,”
Zae said. “It should’ve been completed a few months ago. If they were going to
search for us they’d start where we were last seen. If our timing is right we
should find our friends soon enough.”

On
the radar a number of blips appeared in the space around the three ships. Zae
quickly turned the shield and weapons systems on as the Grey ships fired pulse
blasts onto Avoni. The entire ship shook. More Grey ships appeared on the
radar. Around them the Greys positioned their ships a pincer formation. There
were ten carriers with an additional five hundred smaller ships. Zae bit her
lip.
This isn’t good. The odds aren’t in our favor and we can’t run in this
part of the planet’s orbit.
Zae pressed the com to contact Lumiar on the
Meche.

“What
is it?” Lumiar asked.

“No
doubt your radar has picked up the enemies engaging us right now,” Zae said. “I
want you to take the Meche away from the battle immediately and hide until you
can gravity jump out of this system.”

“What
about your people?” Lumiar asked.

“I
know you’ll worry even if I tell you not do so,” Zae said. “But we’re prepared
to give our lives to save what’s left of your people. A hundred Kalaidians can
be replaced but the last of the Braiden can’t. I pray Kali shows the way to the
Confederation.”

Lumiar
made a prayer sign. “I pray the gods watch over you and the Avoni,” she said. “We’ll
never forget the courage your people displayed in our favor Zae.”

“Should
you meet a ship named the Raulno tell them what happened,” Zae said.

“I’ll
make sure of it,” Lumiar said. “I pray we meet again.”

“As
do I,” Zae said.

* * *

Grigon
opened the com line to the bridge of his ship. “Alright guys, it’s time to
prepare for the worst,” the old birdman said.

“We’re
ready,” Droid A said.

“We’ve
been prepared for this from the beginning,” Droid B said.

“As
much as I don’t want my existence terminated I’ll do what must be done,” Droid
C said.

“Good
to hear,” Grigon said. “We’re going to combine our shields like last time to
hold as long as we can. We may not survive this battle but we won’t go down
without a fight.”

“Yes
sir,” the three Droids said. Grigon looked at the Aegis. “Just a few more
minutes, that’s all I need.”

Meldi
and the other twenty six pilots ran to the launching bays and boarded their
mobile suits. But before going to hers Meldi went to the Mjolnir. She put her
hand on the switch to start up but the suit didn’t respond. She tried a few
more times before Grigon came over.

“The
Mjolnir’s locked us out,” Grigon explained.

After
he spoke the Mjolnir’s eyes lit up strangely as a ghostly echo came from the
suit.

“It
sounds like its crying,” Meldi said.

“It
probably senses his life nearing its end,” Grigon said. “You’d better get
going.”

“I
will,” Meldi said as she ran to her Rakna.

As
she started the mobile suit up Meldi felt another wave of attacks hit the
Avoni. Her and the other pilots launched outside the ship and powered their
shields to max to give the Avoni and Vomada some shielding.

“Myli,
we’ll split into the two squad system we used last time, alright?”

“I
got it,” Myli said.

The
fourteen remaining Talons flew from the Vomada and added more to the defensive
barrier.

“How
long can we hold out for?” Meldi asked as she watched a wave of Grey ships
swooping in for an attack.

* * *

“The
Meche has pulled away from the battle zone,” Baed reported. “It doesn’t look
like the Greys are going after them.”

“No
surprise there,” Zae said. She pressed the com to speak with the entire ship.

“This
is Lieutenant Commander Zae speaking. I don’t think at this point any of you
are worried about putting your lives on the line to save others. In this case,
it’s the Braiden onboard the Meche. The reason I’m speaking to you right now is
I must be honest in saying we won’t likely survive this battle. Our enemy
consists of ten carriers and five hundred smaller ships. With our present force
we can hold them off for a short period of time. We’ll stake our lives on
saving the Braiden again. That is all.” Zae ended her communication before
switching over to speak with only the pilots outside and Grigon. “We’re going
to assume formation C-11.”

“We’re
going to do a fighting retreat?” Meldi asked. “Where are we fleeing to?”

Zae
pointed at the gas giant. “We’ll put our backs to the planet and hope the Greys
don’t have the ability to pop in and out of the planet’s atmosphere or
gravity,” she said. “I know there’s a good chance they’ll drive us into the
planet but we need some kind of cover.”

“Understood,”
Meldi said.

She
and the pilots outside barraged incoming attack ships and destroyed a number as
they closed in for another pass. The Avoni and Vomada started flying to the
nearby planet. The carriers moved into a half sphere formation to block any
escape for the two ships. The smaller ships continued battering the Avoni and
Vomada with their pulse cannons. Each time a small amount of energy was drained
from the shields and each time the mobile suits fired back to destroy a few
enemies at a time with each pass.

“How
long do we have until the carriers are close enough to fire on us?” Zae asked.

“A
half an hour at the most,” Jesela answered.

“That
gives us a little time to consider additional methods of escape,” Zae said as
she paced around the bridge. “Wait, could we fly the Avoni into the planet’s
atmosphere at the right angle to bounce off to somewhere else?”

“That’s
pretty risky,” Baed said. “But I’m sure if we did it right we could make an
escape.”

“I’m
already on it,” Jesela said as she frantically worked the calculations.

“We
must be willing to try everything to survive this,” Zae said.

* * *

Lumiar
watched on the monitor as the Meche made its way away from the battle.
Is
this all I can do? Fran, I wish you were with me. I need your guidance at a
time like this.
She stood up and looked outside at the spinning interior of
the colony ship before closing her eyes in prayer.
They’re willing to give
their lives so we can live. Is it selfish to leave them to die? Or is it more
selfish to die with them? I don’t know the answers to these questions.

“You
must live Lumiar. That’s our only desire. The Braiden and their story must not
be erased from the universe. The message you carry is vital to the future of
all intelligent races. I wish you the best of luck in the coming days and
happiness to your people.”
Lumiar heard what sounded like Brian’s voice in her
mind. She turned around and saw a ghostly image of him standing behind her.

“He
must be nearing his time,” she said. She looked down with sadness in her eyes
before looking to her people in the colony. “If it’s your final wish than I’ll
do as you ask Brian. We’ll live on for time immemorial. And we’ll never forget
the kindness and courage you showed us. I’m glad we met.”