They Answered The Call

RSS John Cabot, Magellan-Class Explorer

7,138 light years from Earth, 2175 A.D.

The three-kilometer-long survey vessel slipped into orbit around the rogue gas giant and deployed the extraction system, skimming the atmosphere as the harvesters sank into the upper thermal currents of the planet.

The harvesters, attached to two hundred-kilometer-long cables, opened their ram scoops to let in the atmospheric gases that were funneled through the filters as the survey vessel orbited against the gas giant’s rotation.

Hydrogen and Helium-3 were abundant in the atmosphere, and the John Cabot would be able to collect enough fuel to replenish the tanks and reserves, as well as several other rare gases needed for the ship.

Captain Navarra smiled to himself as the readouts from the extraction process were continually updated, and he saw the virtual fuel tank gauges finally turn from yellow to green as they were being replenished.

This was a major boon for the ship and the crew and a sign of good fortune for their return trip back to Republic space after almost finishing their two-year survey mission.

The government of the Republic had put together a proposal for the survey mission and asked for volunteers. Captain Navarra jumped at the chance to lead such an important expedition and added his name to the candidate pool.

He was selected and given free rein to assemble his crew of volunteers as he saw fit. The official objective of the mission was to circumnavigate the quadrant, scout the unexplored regions, and collect scientific data.

The unofficial objective was to scout the unexplored regions for potential colony worlds that could be claimed and settled by the Republic.

The main body of the Republic was in a sparse stellar region, 2/3rds of the way in along the inner edge of the Orion spur. They were effectively hemmed in by numerous other powers that had long-standing territorial claims to most avenues of potential expansion.

Further expansion towards the edge of the Orion spur behind the Republic was blocked by the Kilthek Dominion, an extremely xenophobic interstellar power controlled by a technologically advanced avian species.

There were still many potential solar systems in the quadrant that could still be claimed and colonized, but the Republic was hesitant to form isolated islands of territory separated from the main body of Republic space.

Doing so would present numerous logistical and defensive issues for the Republic, requiring significant resources to sustain isolated colonies that would constantly be at risk of being cut off or blockaded.

Four years ago, the Bureau of Colonization broached the idea of creating a second republic beyond the established territories of their interstellar neighbors.

This new territory would govern itself as a mirror entity to the first Republic, and humanity would be able to open a new frontier of expansion without restriction.

The government commissioned a shipbuilder to construct a long-range, self-sustaining exploration ship capable of operating for a period of five years before having to return to the Republic for refit and upgrades.

They designed the Magellan-Class Explorer and built a prototype in six months. After conducting extensive shakedown cruises, any issues with the prototype and the new highly advanced proof-of-concept technologies installed were resolved.

A second keel was laid, and five months later, the John Cabot left the shipyard in Luna orbit and embarked on a series of shakedown cruises as she navigated all around Republic space.

The John Cabot returned to Luna orbit and was fitted out for a three-year mission as Captain Navarra finished hand-picking his crew out of tens of thousands of highly qualified personnel.

He filled out the crew roster with scientists, specialists, and retired Republic military personnel. He also selected citizens with extensive farming, civil, and industrial engineering capabilities for their real-life expertise.

The mission was almost scrapped due to the Insectoid invasion of the Commonwealth, but he was able to use the event to emphasize the need for mankind to expand beyond the region and ensure that the species would never be able to be exterminated.

His statement to the Bureau of Colonization was unorthodox and offensive to some, but he made his point eloquently enough to convince them to let the mission proceed.

“We are already an interstellar species, but this is not enough. A humanity that cannot expand beyond one region will always be at risk of being exterminated.

We need to become the roaches of the galaxy so that no matter how many of us they kill, there are always more of us coming out of the galactic woodwork somewhere else to continue the species if we were to be conquered or exterminated.”

Two days later, he got the go-ahead, and the John Cabot flashed into null space to begin the historic mission. Bypassing the periphery border regions of Commonwealth space, they continued towards the unexplored regions.

One of the first missions they had was to chart the known boundaries of Insectoid space, and it was a rough beginning to their survey mission.

The Republic needed to know the true size of the Insectoid Empire in case of open conflict with them. They had very little information about them, as they were on the other side of Commonwealth space and they never had direct contact.

Republic civilian and trading ships were not allowed free passage beyond the centrally located Core Worlds of the Commonwealth interior, and Republic military vessels never ventured outside of Republic territory to prevent potential enemies from gathering intelligence on them.

The Commonwealth government refused to share any information about them, and the Republic was forced to make assumptions based on hearsay and rumors.

Republic agents also paid large sums of credits to procure questionable astrometric charts from smugglers and other unsavory characters brave or desperate enough to operate along the border regions between the Commonwealth and Insectoid space.

For four months, the John Cabot played a cat and mouse game with Insectoid patrol ships as they charted a path around the Empire to map out the actual extent of their border.

The John Cabot had the latest stealth technology installed, and Captain Navarra was grateful the new tech worked as they repeatedly found themselves being hunted by Insectoid patrol ships.

They were forced to evade numerous interdictions by patrolling ships as they probed the known borders of the Insectoid empire according to the charts they had procured, quickly finding out that they were either severely out of date or just made up.

A curious aspect of the charting mission was the unusual behavior of the Insectoid ships. There were clearly defined borders that they adhered to, and there were several times when the John Cabot was in real danger of being intercepted.

Every single time, the Insectoid ships would stop at a certain point and refuse to pass it, regardless of how close they were to catching the ship. It was almost as if they were leashed and unable to pass that imaginary line.

Testing his theory out, Captain Navarra had the John Cabot skirt the estimated border in plain view of the Insectoid patrol ships, and they would not do anything except mirror his course.

With a fully charged null drive, he passed the border, and the waiting patrol ships reacted, swarming towards the vessel. He immediately flashed the ship into null space and exited right back on the other side of the border, ready to flash out again.

The patrol ships stopped less than 100,000 kilometers from the John Cabot and maintained their position, refusing to cross the newly confirmed border separating them.

Captain Navarra was now able to use their reluctance to cross their borders to map them with certainty as the patrol ships unwittingly confirmed them by mirroring his course on their side.

Unlike all the other species, there were no marker buoys or automated drones broadcasting maps of their borders.

The Insectoid borders were also extremely confusing and illogical, with several instances of borders cutting solar systems in half.

There were also large, empty areas that jutted out from the main body of insectoid territory that were devoid of solar systems, resources, or any stellar phenomena.

The xenobiologists and the exobiologists on the crew could not come up with a reason or theory for why they would claim large regions of empty space or claim half of a solar system. They attributed it to an unknowable aspect of Insectoid motivations.

There were almost two dozen times when they had unwittingly crossed the Insectoid borders because of such circumstances, and the advanced stealth technology was the only thing that saved them from being captured or destroyed.

The Insectoid empire was also not contiguous but rather was in three large sections in close proximity to each other, with multiple corridors of unclaimed space between them that were typically several light-years wide.

These corridors were repeatedly confirmed and carefully mapped as they offered a potentially viable path for Republic ships to travel through instead of having to take the long way around Insectoid space.

The Commonwealth was almost four times the size of Republic space, and the John Cabot was able to determine that the Insectoid Empire was almost double the size of the Commonwealth.

After four months, the John Cabot finally stopped torturing the patrol ships and flashed back into null space, continuing their journey after sending multiple spy drones back to the Republic with the now-confirmed borders of the Insectoid Empire.

For the next three months, the John Cabot headed deeper into the Orion spur, mapping the unexplored regions as they headed towards their final destination, the Gum nebula.

They charted hundreds of star systems and numerous stellar phenomena. They also discovered the presence of eight space-faring civilizations, all of whom were far less advanced than the species of the quadrant they had come from.

Captain Navarra avoided contacting them as they were all using primitive FTL drives, and he did not want to expose them to the advanced technology of the Republic and entice them into attacking the ship.

Finally, in the third month, they reached a cluster of stars that met the conditions required for the establishment of a second Republic 12,000 light-years from Earth.

The travel time from the Republic was reasonable, as civilian null drives could make the trip within eight weeks and the colonist could be placed in suspended animation for that length of time with negligible side effects.

Military-grade null drives could make the journey in four weeks at normal travel speeds and within two in an emergency, though their null space capacitors would need to be completely overhauled.

The star cluster had almost a dozen habitable planets, as well as an additional eight planets that could be terraformed and made habitable within a few decades.

It was also incredibly resource-rich, abundant in most of the necessary rare earth elements and common minerals needed to sustain an interstellar civilization.

There were no dangerous stellar phenomena, impending supernovas, black holes, or sentient species within the cluster, and the stars had an average distance of less than ten light-years between them.

It was exactly what they were looking for, and they spent the next fourteen months carefully charting the forty-eight-star systems of the local cluster as the crew specialists determined the feasibility of colonization.

Science teams landed on the habitable planets to take samples, while survey teams hunted for minerals and ores that could sustain new colonies and allow them to be self-sufficient.

Farming specialists spent months developing strains of food crops that could be grown in the alien soils and figuring out what types of fertilizers and symbiotic bacteria would have to be added to the potential arable farmlands.

The civil and industrial engineers worked together to select the initial landing sites based on local resources, geographic conditions, and water availability.

The mission was a resounding success, and after fourteen months, the John Cabot left the star cluster and headed back home, taking a different route as they explored new regions along their course.

The science officer had discovered the rogue gas giant on her scanners, and after confirming the presence of the fuel and gases they needed, Captain Navarra had the ship change course and intercept the unique interstellar traveler.

They could refuel the ship while the science nerds geeked out over the first rogue planet ever catalogued by the Republic. It was a win-win in his book and a good omen as far as he was concerned.

As the ship continued refueling, Captain Navarra leaned closer to his XO sitting next to him and activated the privacy field around them before speaking.

“How’s crew morale, Jim?”

The XO looked up from the status display and shifted in the seat to face him.

“Well, they are obviously happy with the success of the mission. I think knowing that they will be home in less than two months has made everyone a little impatient to finally get this over with.”

Jim quickly tapped on the status screen before continuing to speak.

“I’m hearing that at least half of the crew has expressed a desire to be part of the first colonization wave, so that’s good news for the Bureau since it means they will have people who have been in the cluster with them.”

He grunted in response. “We’ll see what happens, I guess.”

Jim looked at him with a confused expression before responding.

“Don’t you think this mission was a success? You pushed for the Republic to launch this mission when they almost cancelled it.”

Leaning closer, he lowered his voice as he answered his XO.

“This mission was a success, and I still believe that humanity needs to expand. I just don’t know if I believe the colonization effort should be focused on creating a clone of the Republic.”

Jim looked around quickly at his words, verifying that the privacy screen was up and operating correctly before leaning in closer and lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“What do you mean, Tony? How else would the colonization efforts be set up if not made into another republic? Isn’t that the whole point? Citizens would have the benefit of operating under the same conditions they are leaving, which would make the transition smoother.”

He sighed tiredly before looking Jim in the eyes as he responded.

“Jim, I am loyal to the Republic, and I have given seventeen years of my life to the Navy. I just feel like it would be a mistake to create the exact same system of government 12,000 light-years away. The Republic government was created after World War III, and it was exactly what was needed to get humanity back on its feet.”

He paused as he formulated his thoughts before continuing to speak.

“That was over a hundred years ago, Jim. I think it is time for humanity to change a little bit and to have the freedom to figure out other forms of governance if they choose to do so. Colonists should be allowed to discover other ways of living and thinking without being forced to emulate the Republic.”

Jim’s facial expression became thoughtful as he ruminated on what the captain said. After a few moments, he spoke again.

“Do you feel like the Republic government has outlived its usefulness, Tony?

“I don’t know if it has outlived its usefulness.” He responded. “I do know that there have not been any major modifications to the constitution, nor has there been any real change in our society since it was formed. We have become stagnant, Jim.

Think of the basis that the Republic was built on, specifically the old nations of the western world. They were constantly changing and adapting to the needs of their people as the world changed around them.

Their ideas, cultural values, and societies changed, and the governments changed with them as their citizens added amendments to their original founding documents.”

Jim responded quickly.

“That’s true, Tony, but they also kind of screwed themselves up with some of those changes. They forgot what their ancestors intended, and they became weak and impotent, which led to the worst war in human history.”

“Yes, that is true, Jim.” He responded. “Look at us now, though. We have become a militarized society, and now we are embroiled in an interstellar conflict because we have decided that it is our responsibility to become the protectors of the quadrant.

We barely had six decades to recover from the war before we became aware of the existence of alien species. And how did we respond? We turned the Republic into a goddamn fortress and built over ten thousand warships.”

He stopped talking, looking down at the photo of his ex-wife and his twin eleven-year-old daughters that was taped to the console next to his chair, before continuing.

“It seems as if we have forgotten what it means to be a normal society, and I am tired of seeing our kids deprive themselves of a real childhood because they want to grow up as fast as they can to join the military, just like their parents.”

He trailed off, not caring to hide the bitterness he was feeling as he continued to look at the photo. He wasn’t there when they were born, and he missed seven of the eleven birthdays they had.

His ex-wife divorced him three years ago, not willing to continue to share a bed with a husband who was never in it or pretend to be a family with an absentee father.

She had done her six years of service after high school and wanted him to retire, but the Navy was all he knew ever since he got a special dispensation to enter the Naval Academy at sixteen years old.

He kept promising her that he would retire “next year," and he never did.

He had been made captain, and he had a very promising career ahead of him, well known to Fleet Command as one of the rising stars of the fleet. He thought the major increase in pay and benefits would make things easier for them, but it didn’t.

The last straw for her was when they were supposed to go away for the twin’s eighth birthday. He had purchased an all-exclusive pass for all of them to go on a two-week tour of the moons of Epsilon Eridani B.

The girls had been ecstatic about the trip, and even Evelyn seemed to warm up to him again. Their relationship got much better in the weeks leading up to the trip, and he felt like things were almost back to normal between them.

He put in for three weeks of leave, and it was granted. His replacement would arrive to relieve him five days before the trip, and he would arrive back home two days before they were supposed to leave.

Six days before he was supposed to return home for the trip, his ship and ten others were diverted to the border to deal with multiple incursions by the Kilthek Navy.

The Republic and the Kilthek Dominion were in the early stages of an interstellar cold war as the Dominion considered the Republic an obstacle to their further expansion.

Thinking it was the usual chest-thumping exercises that the Kilthek Navy periodically engaged in to hone their forces, he assumed that he would still be able to return home in time for the trip when the Kilthek ships finally left, like they always did when the Republic Navy responded.

This time, however, the Kilthek squadrons refused to leave Republic space, and his ship was forced to stay on station to prevent them from penetrating deeper into the Republic as more ships from both sides came.

It almost turned into a shooting conflict before the Kilthek and Republic governments were able to diffuse the situation, and the Kilthek squadrons finally withdrew.

What they really wanted was a corridor for their trading vessels to be able to navigate through Republic space so they could open trade routes with other species to stimulate their stagnant economy.

It never occurred to the bellicose Kilthek to just ask, and they had expected to have to go to war with the Republic to get the concessions they wanted.

The Republic graciously granted them two corridors on the condition that embassies be opened in their capitals to prevent any further misunderstandings, which they readily agreed to.

His replacement arrived after the situation was resolved, and he almost burned out the shuttle’s null drive trying to make it home as fast as possible.

The incursion was being kept under wraps, and he was not able to explain what happened to Evelyn over the communication channels.

He returned to Earth three days later than he was supposed to and sent repeated messages as he rushed through port processing, submitted his reports, and then hurried home.

He knew he was in the doghouse when Evelyn still didn’t respond, but she would understand after finding out about the incursions when he was finally able to tell her what happened in person.

He came home to an empty house, and Evelyn and the twins were gone, as were all their clothes and personal effects. On the kitchen counter was a note addressed to him, next to a thick sheaf of documents.

Anthony,

The girls and I are staying at my parents’ house for now. This was the last time I would allow the girls to have their hearts broken by you because of your job. I don’t care what it was this time; I am done with it all.

Look over the papers I left on the counter and sign them. I have already added my signatures. Please make this as painless as possible for the girls and just sign them; the lawyers can work everything else out.

-Evelyn

He put the note down and picked up the stack of documents, his shaking hands barely able to flip through them as his numb fingers refused to work. They were divorce papers, and Evelyn had added her signature to every single one.

He spent the rest of the day trying to video call her and the kids, as well as his in-laws. Nobody answered, and he sat in his chair in the living room all night long, blankly staring at a wall as the silence of the empty house taunted him.

The next morning, the doorbell rang, and he sprang out of his chair and opened it, hoping it was Evelyn coming to work things out.

It was his father-in-law, Javier, and the look on her father’s face made him breakdown as he realized that it was truly over. Javier made it worse by hugging him and gently leading him back to the living room to sit him down.

After returning from the kitchen with a glass of water and making him drink it, Javier commiserated with him as he tried to think of a way to fix things.

Javier had served in the Republic Navy for twenty years before retiring, and he knew firsthand what his son-in-law was going through, having been divorced by two ex-wives himself before marrying Evelyn’s mom.

Pulling his chair closer, Javier took a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m sorry, son. I know what you are going through, and I can’t help but think that Evie’s experience with me being gone all the time has colored her expectations for your marriage. I warned her, but she loved you and thought she would be able to convince you to retire early.”

“Thank you, Dad. I appreciate you being here for me, and the truth is, I am afraid of becoming a civilian. The Navy is all I know, and if I wasn’t such a selfish coward, I would still have my family,” he replied as he tried to stem another wave of sobbing.

Javier stayed with him for a few hours as he came to terms with the loss of his family. Before Javier left, he got up and walked over to the kitchen counter and signed every single piece of paper before handing the documents to Javier with trembling hands.

After a long hug, his father-in-law left, taking the divorce papers with him. He was once again alone in a house that no longer felt like home to him. He packed a large duffel bag with what little personal effects he had and left the house.

He went to the nearby base and started the process of securing himself living quarters, ignoring the understanding look of the Bachelor Officer Quarters liaison who was processing his request.

The liaison had seen this happen dozens, if not hundreds, of times and had perfected the appropriate facial expression meant to convey a blend of sympathy and optimism as he hummed and periodically tsk'd to himself as his fingers deftly played across the holo keyboard.

He had never seen a more punchable face than the one the liaison had, and he was proud of his self-restraint as the guy repeatedly told him about how nice the quarters his rank qualified him for were, as well as how wonderful the base recreational facilities and food were.

After three hours, he finally entered his new quarters and sat down at the computer terminal. He sent a message to Evelyn, telling her that the house was hers and that he was now living on the base.

He emptied out his half-full duffel bag and put away what few belongings he had before heading to the nearest officer’s club to get shitfaced.

For the duration of his leave, he went there every day at exactly 0900 after working out and started drinking, ignoring the looks of his fellow officers as their expressions turned from initial sympathy to outright disgust at his pathetic behavior as he binge-drank for exactly eight hours every day.

He stopped going there five days before he was supposed to return to his ship and sobered up in preparation for resuming his duties. He returned to his ship and fell back into his old routine as he tried to bury his pain.

He corresponded regularly with Evelyn, their relationship becoming more cordial as time went on. She had sold the house and moved to a nearby town so that he could easily see the twins while he was home, and he had weekly video calls with them whenever possible.

A year later, he heard about the survey mission and spoke to Evelyn about it, who was surprisingly supportive of his desire to volunteer and lead the mission if he was selected.

“The girls are older now, Anthony. They have gotten used to our new reality, and I would talk to them about it, but I understand why you would want to do this.” A few weeks later, he returned home, and he spoke with Evelyn and the girls about it.

The girls seemed both excited and sad, and Evelyn pulled him to the side after they had finally gone to bed, chatting excitedly about their dad finding new aliens to make friends with.

“Anthony, you know that I still love you. I also know you better than anyone else, and I think you should take the mission. It does you no good to continue to patrol Republic Space and go home to your empty quarters on base.”

She looked down at the floor, avoiding his eyes as she continued speaking.

“I miss you, Anthony. I married the man, not the rank. Maybe after this mission, you’ll be ready to finally retire and leave the Navy. If you choose to do so, let me know.”

She quickly stepped forward and kissed him passionately. He was stunned at first, and then he instinctively tried to wrap his arms around her, his heart hammering in his chest at the sudden affection he so terribly missed.

She pulled away from him before he could finish embracing her and walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. He stood there in her living room for almost twenty minutes as long-suppressed emotions screamed to be let out.

He finally left the house, quietly closing the front door behind him and letting his autocar take him back to the base.

He got to his quarters and sat on the edge of his bed, staring at a small, barely noticeable stain on the carpet for hours as he thought of what happened and what Evelyn had implied.

He knew retiring the very next day, as he wanted to, would not work. Evelyn would feel guilty about it, and she knew he would secretly resent it. He had to retire on his own terms when he really had enough of it all.

He finally undressed and laid down on his bed, reaching over to feel the empty space next to him. Before he drifted off to sleep, he made up his mind. He would take the mission and retire when he returned.

His dedication to the Republic had cost him his family, and he wanted them back.

He snapped his attention back to the XO, realizing that he had drifted far away from the bridge as he got lost in his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Jim. I kind of got sidetracked. What did you say?” He asked, embarrassed by his momentary lapse of attention.

“I said our reaction to first contact with the Commonwealth might seem to have been excessive, but it was also correct. The Insectoids would have steamrolled over the entire quadrant, and instead of returning to the Republic, we would be returning to glassed worlds and an exterminated humanity.”

Jim was right, and he knew it. He responded, still trying to get his point across.

“I’m not denying that, Jim. All I’m saying is that humanity is so much more than what we are now. We have become a monolithic culture, molded by the horrors of our past, and we need to reclaim our heritage before we forget what it means to be truly human. We have always fought wars, Jim. But we never allowed war and our readiness to fight to be our only defining attributes until the Republic came into being.

I mean, for god’s sakes, Jim, do you remember what it was like when the mail drones finally caught up to us? This ship turned into a frigging funeral home for weeks afterwards when the crew found out how many relatives and friends died in the Eliani system. And then again, after the battle of the Jellini system.”

He quickly looked at the fuel gauges to confirm that they were still being filled before continuing.

“We are only a few generations away from becoming like ants ourselves if we don’t break out of this way of life. We have become regimented, militaristic, and far too willing to sacrifice ourselves. Quite frankly, we have become boring, Jim. Aren’t you tired of everyone acting and thinking the same way?”

Jim leaned back, thinking about what he had said.

“I can see what you are saying, Tony. I do find it a little weird sometimes. When I go home on leave, it seems like everyone I know is either serving or a veteran. It does get a little boring.” Jim responded as he started laughing, finding the admission to be a little ridiculous now that he had thought about it.

“That’s exactly what I am saying, Jim. This is why I think creating a sister republic would be a mistake. We have other qualities besides our ability to fight and die well. Maybe if we learned how to be normal humans again, we would continue to be able to save not only our friends but ourselves.”

He felt his cheeks getting red from embarrassment as he bared his soul to his best friend. He was a man of few words, and he always kept a tight lid on his thoughts and emotions. Opening himself to Jim like this was hard for him.

Sensing his thoughts, Jim punched him lightly in the arm and smirked.

“Look at you, Tony. Badass Captain Navarra is a smartypants after all. I thought only greasy mouth breathers came out of Brooklyn." Jim said as he spoke in an overly exaggerated Brooklyn accent, poking fun at the captain's hometown.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation at Jim's ridiculous accent before finally laughing. He felt a lot better after having been able to share his thoughts and worries about the future of humanity.

Jim’s face took on a contemplative expression before he asked a question.

“So how do we go about doing this, Tony? I’ll back you up all the way if you want to try coming up with a plan of action for the colonization attempt.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering.

“I have spent the last ten months working on a proposal that I want to submit to the Bureau of Colonization. Maybe look at it and let me know what you think about it. We can go from there after you do that.”

“I’d be more than happy to, Tony. Send it to me, and I’ll go over it.” Jim responded.

“Thanks, man. That would mean a lot to me.”

“My pleasure. Should we get back to business, Captain? I’m sure by now the crew is dying to know what the hell we have been talking about behind the privacy field.” Jim answered, raising an eyebrow as he held a finger poised over the icon to drop it.

“Yeah, let’s finish fueling up and get the hell out of here, XO.”

Jim tapped on the icon, and the haze around them dissipated as the sounds of the bridge came back to life around them.

The crew failed miserably at trying to act like they didn’t care about the conversation, but he was an ensign once too.

He knew they would gossip like a bunch of fishwives as soon as their shift was over, trying to figure out what the Captain and the XO were talking about.

He tapped on the comm icon. “Engineering, get ready to pull the harvesters back up as soon as-“

“Captain! Null space emergence waves all around us!” The sensor tech yelled out in panic, interrupting him.

The bridge AI took over the ship, dimming the bridge lights and then turning them red as it activated the engines and started turning the three-kilometer-long vessel as fast as possible.

He winced as he heard the harvester cables being ripped out of the keel of the ship as the AI continued to accelerate at emergency speed away from the planet, alarms blaring as multiple hull breaches formed along the ventral hull.

Snapping out of his momentary inaction, he yelled out for the bridge crew to get a hold of themselves as they continued to call out to each other in a confusing babble of panicked voices.

Looking at the view screen, he quietly cursed to himself as two Hive ships and over a dozen cruisers flashed out of null space all around the John Cabot as they tried to prevent the ship from escaping the orbit of the gas giant.

“Activate the null drive! Get us out of here!” He yelled out as the Insectoids started firing on the ship, causing it to buck under the onslaught as the bridge AI continued to try to get the ship out of the gravity well of the massive rogue planet.

The bridge AI came over the intercom, its emotionless, feminine voice penetrating through the clamor of the bridge as it addressed him.

~ Captain Navarra, Activating the null drive in the gravity well of the gas giant will damage or destroy the ship. Do you wish to proceed? ~

“I don’t think we have a choice in the matter, E-V. Hit it!” He yelled out as another barrage of particle beams slammed into the ship, ripping gouges out of the aft section as they continued to try to take out the engines and cripple the ship.

~ Acknowledged, Captain Navarra. The ship needs to travel another twelve thousand, three hundred and sixty-one kilometers from the gas giant to increase the probability of surviving the transition. ~

He felt himself slammed into his chair as the AI answered him and increased emergency acceleration to 120% of the rated maximum. A warning chime came over the bridge intercom for the crew to put on their void helmets.

The XO called out, his strong voice piercing through all the noise. “WEPS, fire everything we got at the nearest Hive ship; make those fuckers back off.”

Jim started putting his void helmet on as soon as he called out the order, and he followed suit, snatching it from the side of his seat as he fought to put it on against the massive gees pressing on his body.

As soon as his helmet was on, the seat harness deployed and secured him against any sudden deceleration.

The weapons officer targeted the nearest Hive ship, and he heard the whining of the bow quad particle beam turret as they fired deadly invisible beams at the massive Insectoid ship trying to block their escape route.

He smiled grimly as he saw the massive hull breach forming in the Insectoid ship where all four beams hit. The Republic had installed all the latest technology on the ship, and their particle beams were as deadly as the ones on Republic battleships.

“Keep firing, WEPS! Don’t let up on those bastards!” The XO called out again as the bridge AI continued to steer the ship away from the planet.

He felt the ship shuddering as dozens of anti-ship missiles were fired out of the ship towards the enemy all around them.

The sounds of the secondary weapons systems added to the cacophony as the plasma and grapeshot turrets rapidly spat death at the nearby vessels.

There was another whine as the bow quads fired again, the four particle beams passing through the massive hull breach created by their first shot and penetrating deeply into the interior of the Hive ship.

He saw the distance indicator to flash out dropping past five thousand kilometers, and he willed the ship to move faster as it seemed to barely crawl out of the gravity well.

There was another massive volley of enemy hits on the ship, and the bridge suddenly lost power.

The emergency power kicked on two seconds later, and all the bridge station panels started rebooting as he opened a comm channel to the chief engineer. “Chief, talk to me! How bad is it?”

The chief engineer responded almost immediately, and he could hear the worry in the chief’s voice.

“Reactors one and two scrammed themselves to prevent overloads, and three of the five engines are gone. The main power transmission lines are cut, and I have crews running new lines now. Captain, we’re in a bad way down here. If you are going to flash out, do it now.”

“E-V, flash out now! He yelled out to the bridge AI. The null space drive activated, and he knew something was seriously wrong as soon as they flashed into null space two seconds later.

He woke up in the dark. Disoriented and in incredible pain, he looked around, seeing nothing.

He could feel someone or something dragging him by his arms, and he tried to fight them off. His arms refused to work, and he could feel his heart slamming in his chest.

There was a metallic taste in his mouth, and he tried to open his mouth to speak when he realized that there were large, jagged gaps in his teeth as his numb tongue tried to respond to his desire to form words.

“You are almost there, Tony, just a little bit longer.” He heard someone saying. Were they talking to him?.

Oh shit, the bugs talk now, He thought to himself before his rattled brain realized that he knew the voice. It was Jim that was speaking to him.

“Thim...” he mumbled, his bloody and swollen mouth refusing to work.

“Take it easy, buddy. I got you; just relax.” Jim responded. As Jim continued to pull him, his anxiety became magnified by the darkness, and the disorientation came back as he felt a wave of nausea threatening to make him puke.

“Wet haping? Tha sthipt?”

Breathing heavily, Jim responded impatiently as he gasped out his words.

"Tony… Please shut the fuck up! We are… almost there, just please stop talking!"

The nausea overwhelmed him, and he threw up, feeling the stomach acid burning the cuts on his gums and busted lips as his breakfast spilled past them.

He heard the sudden sound of gunfire somewhere off in the distance, and his panic grew. He felt so helpless being dragged by Jim, not being able to see or speak.

Are we being boarded? Where is the rest of the crew? Why are there no fucking lights? He thought to himself as the panic threatened to overwhelm him.

He heard other voices calling out before feeling more hands grab him, causing tremendous pain to shoot throughout his body as they lifted him off the floor.

“Up ahead, sir! There are two more escape pods available.” Another voice called out as he heard others in the background.

He could barely understand what was being said as they urgently talked over each other and the sounds of the gunfire grew closer.

He heard Jim yelling loudly to be heard over the others.

“Everybody, stop what you are doing! You two, help me get the captain into the escape pod. The rest of you, get in the other one.”

He suddenly felt fewer hands grabbing at him, and his weight shifted, hurting him even more. He cried out in pain as they jostled him through the narrow opening, banging his broken bones against the threshold as they shoved him in.

He could feel something stab him in the neck, and a cooling sensation spread from the area, making the pain disappear as it traveled throughout his body.

An object was inserted into his mouth, and he instinctively recoiled from the unexpected violation before he felt the tell-tale tingle of medical nanobots trying to heal his mouth as they were injected inside of it in a sweet glucose serum.

He felt brightness forming around one eye as his vision started returning to it, blurry at first before sharpening enough to allow him to see.

He reached up to touch the still-dark other eye before someone unceremoniously swatted his hand away. “Don’t touch it, captain; you ain’t seeing out of that mess anytime soon.” A gruff voice admonished him, pushing his hands back down to his chest before gently patting them.

It was one of the second-shift bridge crew members who spoke. He knew the voice, but he couldn’t remember his name right now. Lifting his head, he looked out of his good eye and saw that the pod door was shut.

Through the large transparent aluminum window, he could see Jim standing there, looking like complete crap with his hair a mess and blood on his face.

Jim smiled at him when he saw that he could finally see him, and he pressed the intercom button on the side of the hatch.

He could feel his tongue again, and he slurred as he spoke, sounding like a drunk.

“Jim, the shipt? The crew?”

Jim shook his head, his eyes welling up with tears. “I’m sorry, Captain; more than half of the crew is dead already; it was a bad flash. The ship is practically derelict, and the Insectoids quickly found us and are now boarding us.”

As if to punctuate the grim news, more gunfire sounded, much closer than it was before. Jim looked in the direction of it and then turned back to look at him.

“I got to go, buddy. I’m sorry.” Jim said to him as he started programming the pod from the outside panel.

He felt tears forming in his eyes as he tried to speak to his best friend, his only real friend in the whole world.

“There ith room. Pleasth, Jim! There ith room for you. Open the hath!” He mumbled, trying to get up to open the hatch and save his friend.

Three nearby crew members in the escape pod held him down, though he knew he would have just fallen to the floor if he did manage to stand his mangled body up.

Jim shook his head sadly. “I am not letting these bugs take the ship intact. There are still security bots and members of the crew fighting them, and I need to get them off the ship. I love you, brother. Take care of your family.”

He struggled to get up again as Jim smiled at him for the last time before slamming his fist on the ejection button.

He was pushed down, screaming in pain as the g-forces pressed him against the chair and overwhelmed the pain killing ability of the injection he had gotten.

He felt another stab in his neck, and he started sobbing as the injection took hold and the g-forces finally made him black out.

He woke up again, feeling his body press against the harness as it tried to float away in the microgravity. It was pitch black, and he looked around in panic before one of the people with him pressed a water pouch nozzle against his mouth.

He drank greedily from it, nodding gratefully when he had emptied it. The pouch was removed from his lips, and the same gruff voice as before spoke.

“I am going to place a low-light lens over your good eye, Captain. I’m sorry for any pain this causes you.”

He felt hands tugging at his head, accompanied by pain as the lens band was attached around his head.

He heard a soft click, and then he could suddenly see out of his good eye as the interior of the escape pod became bathed in the dim yellowish-green hue of the night vision lens.

Through the transparent aluminum window, he could now see the John Cabot in the distance, surrounded by a single Hive ship and multiple cruisers.

There were numerous small Insectoid landers attached to the hull, and he could see sporadic flashes of light throughout the interior of the powerless ship as they flickered in the numerous windows and hull breaches.

They are still fighting the boarders. He thought to himself, both pride and anguish flooding his heart at the tragic turn of events. They were so close to getting home.

What the fuck are the Insectoids doing all the way out here? He thought to himself as he continued to stare at their home for almost two years, dying in front of them. They were nowhere near Insectoid space.

He turned around to face the gruff-voiced crew member, realizing that it was the second watch warrant officer as he finally remembered his name. Davis. His name is Davis.

“Davith,” he said, feeling as if he had better control over his mouth. “How many oth the crew made ith?

Davis avoided looking into his good eye as he glanced down at the deck of the escape pod, shaking his head as he answered. “Last count was sixty-three, Captain, before we went dark to avoid detection.”

He suddenly felt like he was going to throw up again, and he reeled in shock at what he just heard. The crew compliment was six hundred and fourteen when they left the Republic.

They had two accidental deaths, and three other crew members had died from a silicon-based viral infection they picked up from one of the worlds they were surveying.

As sad as it was, he was proud of the minimal losses the crew suffered during the dangerous, two-year-long survey mission into the unknown.

He was just told that only ten percent of his crew was known to still be alive. He forced himself to maintain control of himself and the situation. He was still the captain, and he still had crew to look after.

Turning back to look out the transparent aluminum window, he slurred another question he needed to know. “Davith? Did tha XO make ith out?”

He heard Davis draw in a sharp breath. He already knew the answer before the warrant officer answered in a trembling voice.

“No, Captain. The XO is still on the ship.”

He nodded, still staring out the window at the John Cabot. As his eye roamed over the hull, he saw a brief surge of power in the two remaining engines. He thought it was his eye playing tricks on him when he saw another surge of power again.

The two engines suddenly flared brightly, and he gasped as the ship started moving forward, the interior lights coming back on in some sections.

A few more escape pods shot out of the ship and veered wildly as their AI controllers guided the pods through and around the enemy ships before going dark to avoid detection.

He felt a surge of hope at the prospect of more surviving crew members adding to their total. He then saw multiple drones being ejected before they accelerated rapidly to get away from the Insectoid ships firing at them.

A few where destroyed, but the rest flashed into null space, headed for Republic space to get help.

The rest of the pod occupants crowded behind him, murmuring in surprised confusion as the John Cabot continued to slowly gain speed.

The surrounding Insectoid ships did nothing at first, seeming as shocked as they were at the sudden return of life to the derelict ship.

After a few seconds, the Insectoid ship engines flared, and they started slowly maneuvering to regain their positions around the fleeing ship.

The John Cabot veered sharply to port, and now it was heading away from the escape pods as it continued to gain acceleration.

A few grapeshot turrets sprang to life and started firing at the pursuers, and the crew members behind him cheered at the sight of the John Cabot refusing to go down without a fight.

The pursuing cruisers returned fire, targeting the few operational weapons first. In less than a minute, the last two engines were turned to slag, and the ship lost power again.

The ship continued to drift on its last heading and speed, and now it was getting difficult to see the narrow rear of the powerless vessel in the distance.

The Insectoid Hive ship and cruisers swarmed around the John Cabot. Two cruisers matched their speed and course as they came up right alongside the stricken vessel on both sides, and he knew what they were trying to achieve.

The massive Hive ship assumed a position directly above the ship, its keel almost touching the dorsal section of the John Cabot.

They really wanted to capture the ship, and he could see numerous flashes of light as the Insectoid ships fired their version of grapplers to grab the ship and arrest its movement.

There was a sudden and massive blast of bright-white light, and he turned his face away, blinded by the miniature sun he was just looking at.

He heard the others grunt as they did the same. He rapidly blinked his eye, trying to restore his vision and get rid of the floating spots in it. After some thirty seconds, he turned back to look at the scene.

The Hive ship was drifting sideways, spinning rapidly out of control as massive hull breaches expelled the internal atmosphere. Its keel was gone, looking like the ship was torn in half.

All the nearby surrounding cruisers had ceased to exist, and there were only three heavily damaged cruisers remaining.

They were drifting without power, and then one of them disappeared as the core overloaded, leaving only two surviving cruisers.

Jim did it; he had self-destructed the ship and denied the Insectoids their prize.

He bowed his head, praying for the souls of all the crew members who had perished. Behind him, he heard the warrant officer speaking softly.

“Respect for the fallen.”

“Respect for the fallen.” The others intoned in response to his words.

Respect for the fallen, He thought to himself as the faces of his lost crew flashed through his mind.

He heard sobbing breaking out behind him, his own tears falling out of his good eye as he pressed his forehead against the window and thought of his friend, who was now gone. Thank you, Jim. Thank you for saving us, brother.

He ran quick calculations in his head as he tried to estimate how long it would take for the drones to reach Republic space, and for rescue to arrive. He turned around and signaled Davis to come closer to him.

“Davis, how far did we travel before dropping out of null space? He whispered.

Davis lowered his gruff voice before answering. “Just over one hundred light years closer to Republic space, Captain.”

He added that number to his calculations and decided. The drones had the fastest null drives because of their small size and could reach the Republic in twelve days.

He didn’t know if the Republic had developed faster null drives in the two years they had been gone, so he based his assumptions on what he did know. Republic light warships could make the trip in less than a month if they burn out their capacitors.

“Send out a tight-beam transmission to every escape pod and have them rendezvous with us. It is going to take at least four weeks, if not more for help to arrive. Our pods can only sustain us for two weeks.”

He saw Davis running his own calculations before nodding in agreement. “What are your orders, Captain?” He asked, a small smile threatening to appear at the corner of his lips. He knew already.

“We are going to board one of the derelict cruisers and take it over. It’s the only way for us to increase our chances of survival. If we can get it operable, we will leave the area and hide until help arrives.”

Davis came to attention, snapping a smart salute. “Aye, sir.”

He returned the salute as best he could and nodded for Davis to get started on implementing the plan. He walked over to a storage locker and opened it as he heard Davis start giving orders to the other crew members.

After confirming that the locker had a full compliment of rifles, pistols, and grenades, he closed it and went back over to the transparent window, flipping the low-light lens back down over his eye.

In the yellowish-green tint, he could see tiny flashes of light appear in the darkness as the other escape pods fired their thrusters and started heading towards the rendezvous point that Davis had sent.

As more pods received the tight-beam transmissions, they fired their thrusters as well to join the others already on their way. He turned away from the window and faced the other seven crew members on the pod.

“We are not dead yet, and we are going to stay that way. Check yourselves and each other for wounds that need to be treated, and then kit up. We have an enemy ship to board and take from them.”

A chorus of aye sirs responded to his words, and he took the comm node that Davis was offering to him and started issuing the same orders to the other escape pods. Jim had given his life to save the crew. The least he could do was keep them alive and get them home.