Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (49 page)

             
“
Did you know what day we will be returning to Earth on? I mean the significance of that day?” asked Evan as they walked.

             
“
No, what?” asked Liam.

             
“
It’s the end of the Mayan calendar. According to the Mayans, it’s the end of the world.”

             
“
That isn’t entirely accurate,” interjected Crystal.

             
“
Oh? How so?” asked Evan.

             
“
The Mayans never said the world would end, only that there would be a world-changing event that would transform the Earth as we know it. At least, that’s the most popular interpretation.”

             
“
Well, I would say an alien invasion qualifies for that. The only question is, how will this change it, for the good or for the bad?” said Liam.

             
They all moved in silence for the next several minutes until they reached the hangar bay.

             
“
Evan, Crystal, wait,” Liam said suddenly.

             
Evan and Crystal stopped and turned to face Liam.

             
“
Evan, you are my best friend, and I haven’t seen you happy like you are now in a long, long time. Both of you, please be careful. Don’t sacrifice yourselves. No matter the outcome, I don’t want you two throwing your lives away. If the battle goes bad, then I want you to land your fighters on Earth and go into hiding. By all estimates we have seen, it will take the Shenkar years if not decades to completely find and wipe out the human race. I want you to go into hiding and establish a resistance. Do what you can to keep the human race alive.”

             
Evan looked seriously at Liam for a moment before answering.
              “
Liam, but what about you?” he asked.

             
“
Yes, Liam, you can’t expect us to hide while you sacrifice yourself,” said Crystal.

             
“
I am going to do what I have to. If I die, then so be it, but I don’t want you two doing the same thing. Besides, I think the Earth will need someone who knows and understands the Shenkar to lead the resistance, so I order you both to do as I say. Do you understand me?”

Both Evan and Crystal plainly didn’t like what Liam had said, but neither argued
. Instead, they both saluted.

             
“
Yes, sir!” they said in unison.

             
“
Now get to your ships!” Liam commanded.

             
Both turned and ran to their waiting fighters. Liam watched them go for a few seconds, then turned and jogged to his fighter. Scrambling up the ladder, he jumped down into the cockpit. Quickly, he locked his flight harness in place. Pulling a picture of Leah out of his pocket, he then secured it to his flight board. He had managed to retrieve the picture from his personal effects that had been taken before the enhancement process. Once his preflight was complete, his hands quickly moved about his flight board, cycling up his fighter.

             
As his fighter hummed to life, he sat back and looked about the hangar. Six of the ten pilots he had started with in his squadron now sat with him, awaiting the order to launch. He could see Steve. By the looks of it, he was speaking to someone over the comm system on a private channel. Crystal and Evan, each in their own fighters, looked at each other, smiling. Dimitri seemed to be double-checking his systems, and Tim looked to be lost in thought. How many would be left when this was all over? He hoped they would all pull through. But most of all, he wanted his friend, Evan, to live on with Crystal.

             
How things had changed in less than a year. Just about eight months ago, he had been sitting in his apartment with a gun to his head, wanting to end it all. Now the Earth was on the verge of destruction or could be under assault as of this very moment.

             
His thoughts were broken as his comm unit came alive with the order to launch. Keying the squadron frequency, he spoke.
“
Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

Battlecruiser
Tryliene,
Hangar Bay

              Evan looked over at Crystal as she looked back, love in her eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment. Smiling, he mouthed the words “I love you,” and waited for her to reply in kind. Then he turned to look over at Liam.

             
His commander and best friend looked to be deep in thought. He thought of Liam’s last command--not to throw their lives away if things go bad but to go into hiding and lead a resistance. He struggled with this command. How could he leave his friend to die--and he knew that would be Liam’s fate--and go into hiding? How this war had changed so many lives, including his own. He had wanted to die; he had tried to kill himself, in fact. But now everything had changed. Now he wanted to live. He had found love again and a possibility of a new life with Crystal. Things like this made him believe he was somehow cursed.

             
His thoughts were cut off abruptly as Liam’s voice came over the comm unit.
“
Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

             
Well, here goes everything,
Evan thought to himself as he slowly pulled back on the throttle and the low hum of his fighter’s engines whined to life.

Battlecruiser
Tryliene
, Hangar Bay

              Steve had just locked in his harness and completed his preflight when a voice came over his comm unit on a private frequency.

             
“
Steve, it’s me, Kimino. I just wanted to wish you luck and tell you to come back to me. I love you more than I think I could ever express, and I can’t imagine my life without you,” she said in a quiet voice.

             
Steve smiled, feeling a tear roll down his cheek.
“
I love you too, Kimino. Try and convince the Admiral not to smash the
Tryliene
against any Shenkar warships. I can’t possibly get another girl as beautiful and wonderful as you,” he said in a joking manner.

             
“
You didn’t know?” Kimino asked.

             
“
Know what?” Steve asked more serious now.

             
“
I was ordered to stay behind on the base. In fact, almost the entire crew was ordered to stay behind. The
Tryliene
has a skeleton crew aboard.”

             
“
But a skeleton crew won’t be enough to properly man a warship of that size and effectively take her into combat. Did he say why?”

             
“
No, even Commander Dunklin is in the dark about it--and let me tell you, he is not happy about it. All I know is they have been loading crate after crate on board. I did manage to get a look inside, but all I saw was some green paste-like material. I inquired about it, but I was informed to keep my nose out of it. Even that little Meshtrell Reeta is acting funny.”

             
“
Funny? How so?” Steve asked.

             
“
Well, normally the little guy, or girl . . . you know I really wish that question would be answered. It is really annoying not knowing their sex. But, anyway, Reeta is quite talkative, always wanting to know about human habits or like and dislikes. However, now Reeta is awfully quiet as he/she goes about overseeing the loading of the crates. If I were to guess, I would say Reeta is sad . . . if that is at all possible.”

             
“
That is strange. I wonder what is in those crates?”

             
But before Kimino could answer, Liam’s voice cut across the comm system.

             
“
Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

             
Steve pulled the throttle back on his fighter, its engines whining to life. Keying the comm unit again as he did so, he spoke a few final words.
“
I love you, Kimino,” he said simply.

             
“
I love you, too” was the reply. Kimino’s voice sounded as if she had tears in her eyes.

Battlecruiser
Tryliene,
Hangar Bay

              Tim cycled up his fighter and then sat back, awaiting the launch order. Reaching into a side pocket, he withdrew a picture and the handkerchief he always carried. Securing the picture to his flight board, he then wrapped the handkerchief around his hand. As he secured the handkerchief in place, he gazed at the picture of his daughter. How he loved and missed her. He only hoped she had somehow found it in her heart to forgive him. He continued to stare for a long time until the crackle of his comm unit broke his thoughts.

             
“
Necro Squadron, this is Arch Angel. We have a go for launch. All fighters, launch and form up.”

             
Tim reached forward and pulled on his throttle until he heard the sound of his engines coming to life.

             
“
I do this for you, my Sabrina,” he said softly as he ran the fingertips of his free hand down the photo.

Battlecruiser
Tryliene
, Command Bridge

              “
All fighters have launched and are in position, sir,” said the young ensign.

             
Admiral Kelvin nodded at this. Looking around, he gazed at those who had chosen to remain behind. They had been the ones he had privately sought out and spoken with. He had been sure of all of them, but the question he had asked them still hadn’t been easy. They were probably all going to die, but if they accomplished what they were setting out to do, then it would be a price well worth it. Without any more thought, he spoke loud and clear.

             
“
Is the energy field properly aligned?” he asked of a nearby engineer.

             
“
Yes, sir,” answered the engineer.

             
“
Initiate fold sequence on my mark in three . . . two . . . one, and mark.”

Terran System, Inbound Past Saturn

              Stephen Jinsin yawned as he sat in the cockpit of his Banshee fighter as it cruised through space. He really hated these long patrols: hours in the cockpit, constantly seeing the same boring view. Sure, the first few times he had been on a long patrol, it had been fascinating. But now it was just the same old routine. He wondered how he would do when the Shenkar arrived, if they arrived. The Shenkar were now a month past due according to the earlier reports. He wondered if the Shenkar would in fact ever arrive. It had been several months since they had any word from Admiral Kelvin and the crew of the
Sacrifice
. Looking over at his wingmate Burnson, he keyed his comm unit.

             
“
Have you heard any news on the
Sacrifice
?” he asked.

             
“
No, they are pretty tight-lipped about it.”

             
“
Do you think they are dead?”

             
“
I don’t want to think about it. I knew a few people on the
Sacrifice
.”

             
Not knowing what to say now, he remained quiet as he thought of a new subject. Remembering that Burnson liked hockey, he keyed the comm unit again.

             
“
Hey, Burnson, did you catch the Red Wings game last night? They really lit up the goalie for the Bruins.”

             
“
Damn it, I had money on the game. What was the final score?”

             
“
Eight to four,” Stephen said smiling as he could just imagine the pained look on Burnson’s face.

             
“
Christ, well, so much for the Bruins making the play-offs this year. This will be the third year in a row they miss the play-offs.”