The Last Flight of the Argus (53 page)

The Independent felt a rumble.

It was as if the corpse of the long dead ship was coming back to life. Asteroid dust kicked up several feet before B’taav. The dust enveloped Balthazar and spread out for what seemed like many kilometers into the distance.

Balthazar spun around, confused by the vibrations. He released the metal spike and it floated off. Metal fragments lying on the surface of the
Argus
jumped up and shot past him. The tinsel glass that made up the hydroponics shield was, for a second, fully exposed. Balthazar saw the field of withered vines and plants below him. Each and every one of them shook. Fiercely.

Air hissed out from cracks and blew past the Merc and into the vacuum of space.

B’taav could do little more than sit back and watch. He lay on a solid metal surface, and not the tinsel glass. Even so, the rumbling grew so strong he feared the
Argus
itself would shatter.

And then the tinsel glass exploded.

Millions and millions of jagged pieces shot directly upwards, like an erupting volcano.

In less than a fraction of a second, Balthazar’s body was ripped to shreds by the shattered glass. His pulped remains along with the entire tinsel glass shield shot straight up, hurling many kilometers in seconds, before colliding against a giant asteroid floating above the
Argus
.

Just as suddenly as it began, the area around the Independent was calm. The ejection of tinsel glass and atmosphere was complete and all energies were spent.

B’taav, though he lay only feet away from the edge of the blast, had nonetheless escaped uninjured. In the zero gravity conditions, all shrapnel was hurled up, and away, from the Independent.

B'taav let out a breath. His body was growing rigid from the cold, but he survived. B'taav heard a beep within his suit. The timer on his wristwatch was signaling the ten minute notice. In the distance, he spotted movement.

The
Xendos
gracefully exited the super-juggernaut’s landing bay, made a sharp turn, and floated his way.

“
Just in time,” the Independent muttered.

B’taav closed his eyes and, as he drifted into unconsciousness, managed a very relieved smile.

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

Oscar
Theodor checked the fighter craft’s internal systems for what had to be the thousandth time since parking his fighter within visual range of the
Argus
. He wondered how the other two members of his group, as well as all the members of the Blue Rogue squad, were doing down below.

Start and stop. Hurry up and do nothing.

It made no sense. The other Tango fighter crafts arrived shortly after the discovery of the super juggernaut. They knew where the ship they were pursuing landed. If the order was given, they could fly down in force and neutralize any potential hostiles. If there were any.

Of course there are. You've been ordered to keep your weapons hot, your communications silent, and await the arrival of the Dakota. Once it arrives, all hell will break loose.

Won't it?

Oscar Theodor, and the rest of the ships lying in wait, had a little less than two hours before finding out.

“
Do as you’re told and don't ask questions,” Theodor muttered.

He wasn’t the only one growing irritated with this wait. Even the usually stoic Richard Loo had a look of exasperation about him.

Theodor felt his eyes glazing yet again.

“
How’s it going up there?” Karina Wilson called from the compartment below.

“
How do you think?”

“
Tell us when it gets exciting.”

“
That should be any day now.”

Theodor's gaze drifted from his ship's monitors and back to the juggernaut. The massive ship’s stern was closest to his spacecraft and her bow was hidden behind a wall of asteroids. He could only guess at her exact dimensions. He could only guess why Lieutenant Daniels made it so important to find her, only to then order everyone remain far away.

Don't ask questions.

Easier said than done.

Theodor shrugged. He followed the super juggernaut's visible lines from bow to stern and admired the craftsmanship. Halfway through his latest gaze, he stopped.

Theodor spotted what appeared to be a puff of smoke rise from the middle of the ship.

“
What?”

He leaned forward and adjusted the magnification on his goggles.

“
I'll be damned.”

A plume of dust and debris rose from the ship and violently collided against an enormous asteroid floating just above. The asteroid slowly spun up and away.

Theodor hit the intercom.

“
We’ve got activity!”

Richard Loo was up the stairs and at Theodor’s side in a microsecond.

“
What did you see?”

“
Exhaust. It came from the center of the ship.”

Richard Loo put on his magnification goggles on and adjusted their settings.

“
I see it. You think the hostiles somehow got the ship’s directional thrusters working?”

“
No. It looked more like a sudden decompression, like when a ship’s walls crack and the atmosphere leaks out.”

“
The ship had atmosphere?”

“
It would appear so.”

“
Was this done on purpose?”

“
It had to be. You don't have atmosphere trapped for all these years in a space craft only to have it shoot out accidentally right here and right now. You know, we could take a closer look.”

“
We'll need permission to break formation.”

“
Yes sir.”

“
We'll have to break communication silence.”

“
It's your call, sir.”

“
Yes it is.”

Richard Loo pulled the spare headphones from beside Theodor’s chair and placed them over his head. He looked at his wristwatch. The timer had run down to ten minutes. Ten minutes before they were supposed to act. Ten minutes before the
Dakota
would fire her long range Lancer torpedoes at the super juggernaut. He was ordered to wait the full four hours, and they were damn close to being spent.

Orders are orders. Even if there are only ten minutes left.

Was the atmosphere purging cause enough to break the communication silence?

Reluctantly, Richard Loo activated the communicator. Theodor was surprised by the man's hesitancy.

The higher ups must have made radio silence an absolute imperative.

“
This is Officer Richard Loo of the Blue Rogues. We have a—”

“
Sir,” Theodor interrupted. He pointed to a small ship exiting the juggernaut. Richard Loo again adjusted his magnification goggles.

“
It’s the ship we were following,” Theodor said. “They’re moving away from the juggernaut. They’re picking up speed.”

“
This is Officer Loo,” Richard Loo repeated. “The craft we were pursuing has left the juggernaut. What are your orders?”

Lieutenant
Daniels and General Jurgens stood on the bridge of the
Dakota
. They, along with all the officers on the bridge gazed at the central view screen. Despite the asteroids and distance from their target, they could see the ancient craft. They also heard Richard Loo's message.

“
All
Tango
crafts, you may now break communication and sensor silence,” the General said. “Get a full scan on the derelict.”

Oscar
Theodor hit several buttons in the panel before him. Dormant monitors came alive with long-range sensor information. He locked in on the juggernaut and, after examining the data, drew a sharp breath.

“
All levels of the juggernaut's internal compartments show energy spikes,” Theodor said. “They're expanding. She’s—”

Theodor faced Richard Loo.

“
Sir, she’s going to blow!”

Richard Loo grabbed his microphone.

“
All
Tango
fighters,” he yelled. “Surround the escaping craft and lead her to the
Dakota
. Let’s get the hell out of here before the juggernaut takes us with her.”

It
was impossible for Inquisitor Cer not to notice the sudden, blinding sensor activity surrounding the
Xendos
. She counted thirty fighter crafts appear out of the emptiness of space and move on an intercept course toward them.

“
This is Inquisitor Cer of the Phaecian Empire calling all unknown crafts,” she said over her communicator. “I’m on board the cargo vessel
Xendos
and present no threat. Please be advised that the derelict juggernaut’s self-destruct mechanisms are engaged. She will explode within five minutes. You must maintain a minimum three hundred kilometer distance from the derelict or risk grave damage or destruction to your craft. I repeat, you must maintain…”

CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN

For
two hundred years the
Argus
laid hidden deep inside the Erebus asteroid field. She was the last remnant of a war that most in the Epsillon and Phaecian Empire would rather forget.

When the five minutes was up, she erupted.

Her blackened hull blew outward as her guts were ripped open by the charges hidden in every one of her levels. For a brief second the darkness that filled the asteroid field was bathed in a stark white light. For a brief second it appeared this lonely, forgotten place had gained a new sun.

And then everything went black again.

The remains of the
Argus
, small, twisted pieces of metal, drifted off in all directions. Asteroids remained the only testament to the destruction caused by the Erebus War.

CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT

When
B’taav came to, he was lying in a bed within the
Xendos
.

The room was small and dreary and could fit only two small cots side by side. The other bed, B’taav found, was enclosed in a germ free stasis container, the type used for people who suffered grave injuries. Within the container, however, was someone long past suffering of any kind. Within the stasis container was the body of Captain Nathaniel Torin. The asteroid dust was removed from his face and body and he looked like he just passed away. The only things that suggested otherwise were the missing fingers on his right hand and a missing left leg.

Sitting before the body was little Nathaniel. His eyes were stained with tears. When B’taav rose from his bed, the boy barely noticed.

B’taav’s right arm was in a splint and his midsection was wrapped. Despite the pain that lingered from his encounter with Balthazar, he felt remarkably good.

Why not
, he thought.
You’re alive.

“
How do you feel?” Nathaniel asked.

“
Not bad,” B'taav replied. He noticed the boy had a heavy wrap around his left hand. He was missing his pinky finger. “Yourself?”

“
Could be worse.”

“
You really aren’t him,” B'taav said. “Despite what you may think.”

“
You knew? When?”

“
Before I left the
Xendos
and entered the
Argus
I searched Francis Lane’s room. I had to know who you were and why you were here. In one of her suitcases I found the download box and the medication she used to keep you under control. In my...travels, I heard about efforts to imprint memories. I put the Geist Cube together with the items in Francis Lane's possession and guessed she figured out a way to do this. On you.”

B’taav sat on the edge of his bed.

“
It sickened me when I realized what she was up to, but there was little I could do to stop her, at least at that moment. The best course of action was to make things harder for her. I took the medication she used to keep you sedated.”

“
Then I have you to thank for all the things she did to me afterwards.”

“
Sorry,” B’taav said. It was clear he meant it. “But if I allowed her to continue using the medication, she might have tricked you into giving her all the access codes.”

“
You're probably right,” Nathaniel said. “The medication made me more pliant. Had she shown me the
Argus
operating system while I was under the meds, I might well have given her everything she wanted. In spite of all I went through, you saved me nonetheless. I had to return the favor.”