Far From Home: The Complete Series (62 page)

Her father lay in the casket before her, as if he were asleep.

“Dad . . .” she started to say. Her voice cracked with emotion. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”

The room was too quiet, though it didn’t feel as though she was alone. She’d found it never does when you view a person’s body. It’s as if their presence lingers around, letting itself be known.

The tears came hot and fast, rolling down her cheeks, hanging off her chin. She couldn’t help them, she couldn’t stop them and she didn’t attempt to, either. It felt like her heart was open, leaking salty tears in place of blood. Grief, bottled up for all that time, flowed freely from her and she found herself sobbing like a child, her nose streaming.

“Dad . . . I miss you so much,” she said. “I love you.”

There were tissues in the far corner for precisely this reason, and she made use of them to wipe her face as she fought to regain her composure.

Jessica stood over him for a while, studying his peaceful face and trying to see her own features in his. Then she removed the shiny new pin from her uniform and exchanged it for his.

“The big wheel turns,” she whispered. Then she leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. She straightened up and patted the pin on her lapel. “Whatever happens, I deserve to have this at least. I’ve earned it at last.”

She left before she could get caught there, and was back on the
Saratoga
before either Hawk or the Commander knew she’d gone.

And that was exactly as she’d wanted it.

6.

Alone in the spare Captain’s quarters, Jessica accessed the terminal and started to record a video message.

“Jess, I know you must be surprised to see me. Believe me, if this were as strange as it was going to get, you’d be lucky. I have a lot to tell you, and I’ll be brief as possible…” she began, talking directly into the camera.

An hour later, she was finished. She’d not covered everything, but she realized while relating their adventures that she had no need to. Only the important stuff, and a general overview, were needed. Enough to clue her in.

Enough so her counterpart would understand why what was about to happen had to happen. She finished things on a good note, almost an act of whimsy on her part.

“. . . I have taken our Father’s pin. It’s the least I deserve, to take it with me. And I had another reason for taking the pin. It was to test whether or not I could alter history. It worked. You did not receive the pin, and it possibly altered how you reacted within the chapel. My doubts assuaged, I can now proceed with my plan. Whether I succeed or fail, you will likely never meet me. That’s how it should be. We each have our own path.”

She was about to close the recording off when she remembered she’d left out the most important information she had a duty to hand over to her other self.

“Before I go I need to tell you something about a medical condition you may, as yet, be unaware of. This revelation will shock you…”

That done, she finalized the file and transmitted it to the
Defiant
as a delayed message. It would show up in the other Jessica’s inbox a week from then.

Plenty of time,
King thought.

* * *

With everything taken care of, she took advantage of the hours they had before the Draxx were due to arrive. A strange sense of calm washed over her, as it does to all who’ve done everything they possibly can in a given situation. Now there was just the wait for what was to come.

Jessica lay down on the bunk and closed her eyes.

Sleep came quickly to her exhausted mind, and she found she dreamed of jungles… and the black pyramids that towered over them, their dark tips touching the stars.

7.

Hours later, aboard the station, the memorial service for Captain Singh was in full swing. The
Inflictor
dropped from Jump and began its full frontal approach. The massive vessel did not attempt to mask its signature. It did not attempt to hide its presence from them. The
Inflictor
simply arrived, a Draxx behemoth hell bent on their imminent destruction.

“Slow a little,” Prince Sepix said. General Carn stood behind, his arms folded, watching as they approached the station. “Let them fear us.”

Behind his mask, Carn smiled.

* * *

As the station sensors were just announcing the arrival of the
Inflictor
, Jessica, Commander Greene, and Hawk were already preparing to disembark.

“Reactor operating at full power,” Greene said.

“Good. Full power to the hull plating. Hawk, disengage the clamps and back away from the station,” King ordered.

Even if the station had noticed their escape and wanted to make contact, they couldn’t. Commander Greene had already disabled the communication circuits.

As Jessica had said at the time, “Why not do what we have to do in peace?”

The
Saratoga
uncoupled from Station 6 with a jolt, then backed away much faster than regulations usually allowed.

“Good, now bring us about. Let’s look them right in the eye,” she said.

Hawk did so, turning the little ship on her axis to face the incoming Draxx giant bearing down on them.

Jessica got up, laid a hand on Hawk’s shoulder. He looked up at her.

“You ready, Ma’am?” he asked.

She slapped his shoulder once. “Go.”

He got up and walked to the exit. He hesitated at the threshold and turned back to look at them both. “Yuh know, meetin’ you lot has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

“And the same to you,” Greene said.

Hawk looked to Jessica.

“All our hopes, Captain,” she said.

He nodded curtly, and then he and his trademark lop sided grin were gone.

Jessica turned back to the helm console. “Right. Let’s do this thing. You ready, Del?”

“Yep,” he said from behind her.

She brought the
Saratoga
up to full thrust and aimed her straight at the
Inflictor
.

8.

“Lock all weapons and prepare to fire at my command,” Sepix said, pacing the bridge while the crew scurried to see to his orders.

The small
Saratoga
barely registered on the
Inflictor
‘s sensors. At least, until she was close enough for her to appear on the viewscreen.

“My lord! A ship approaches!”

Sepix’s head snapped about. “What!?”

Up ahead, the Union ship closed the distance between them – fast.

Carn stepped forward, head to one side as what was happening registered with him. He had thought for only one word.
King…

“Target that ship and blow it from the sky!” Sepix ordered.

“Yes my –” the weapons officer stopped short as the Union vessel opened fire, unleashing every Duotonic warhead in its armament.

They erupted in front of the
Inflictor
, against its energy shield. Everyone on the
Inflictor
‘s bridge turned away from the blinding flashes before them. The ship shook as the energy shield failed and died, allowing several of the warheads to penetrate the hull at the bow. The sucker punches knocked both Sepix and Carn off their feet as the
Inflictor
stumbled, listing to the side.

“Damage report!” Sepix screamed as he took hold of a console to pull himself back up. “Stabilize the ship.”

* * *

Jessica’s voice issued from the speakers in the little hangar, barely large enough to house the single shuttle he now climbed into.

“Better hurry, Hawk, we don’t have any more warheads,” she said.

“Understood.”

He dropped into the pilot’s chair and activated the hatch. It closed in around him.

“Good luck,” King said.

“You too,” Hawk called as the shuttle sealed itself. The hangar door parted seconds later, and Hawk took the craft out into space at full speed, his hands tight against the controls and his jaw set.

* * *

“He’s away,” Greene noted from his console.

Jessica took the
Saratoga
beneath the
Inflictor
, careful to avoid any watchful defensive turrets that may have been tracking their progress. As it was, the bigger ship seemed to be caught off guard by their attack. Exactly how they’d planned it. By unleashing everything they had – apart from the single gun mounted at the front of the
Saratoga
, and a special surprise loaded into the aft garbage chute – they risked hitting the
Inflictor
and not leaving any punches aside for later. But there had never been any plans for later.

“You know,” she said as she piloted the ship. “He never questioned the need for him to go over there and challenge Carn directly.”

“I know. I think he wanted to do it anyway,” Greene said.

She shook her head. “He needs to do it, Del. If the General is going to die, it should be by his hand. Not ours.”

“We never told him the rest of the plan,” the Commander said. “Do you think he still would’ve gone if we had?”

Jessica shrugged. “I don’t know. And I guess we’ll never find out,” she said.

She took the
Saratoga
out past the
Inflictor
, then took a tight turn and double backed on the Draxx monster. She imagined that if it had a mouth, it would’ve been gaping wide open, waiting.

I might have something to ram down that throat of yours,
she thought.
But I’ve got to hold out – give Hawk a chance to do what he needs to do first. This ends here.

9.

Hawk located the main hangar and took his opportunity to hail the
Inflictor
on an open frequency.

“If yuh readin’ me, this is Captain Hawk Nowlan. I’ll be landin’ in your main hangar in half a minute. I know you got General Carn on board,” Hawk said into the comm. “If he wants to settle this once and for all, he knows where I’ll be.”

He closed it off and checked his course, ready for capture, ready for death, ready for a final confrontation… ready for whatever came. The
Inflictor
seemed to swallow him up as he drove the shuttle toward the hangar bay. When he was starting to wonder if the doors would ever open for him, they did.

“Well, here we go,” Hawk mumbled under his breath as he settled the shuttle on the deck and shut down the little ship.

* * *

“We will detain him,” Sepix said. “We can torture him later.”

Carn shook his head. He had his blade out already. “No, my lord. He is mine. I must deal with him myself.”

Sepix regarded him with respect. “History does not lie, you are a true warrior.”

Carn bowed his head and walked away, the sound of his brisk footfalls receding down the corridor outside.

Sepix turned back to the bridge officers. “Fools! Every second you waste, the Union scum are using to their advantage!”

The station lay not far in front of them, almost within reach.

“Prince Sepix, we will have all systems restored in moments,” a bumbling officer told him.

Sepix grabbed him around the throat, lifted him into the air and shook him with powerful movements of his right arm until the small Draxx’s neck snapped in two. Then he tossed him to the side as if he were a piece of garbage.

“MOVE!” he bellowed, incensed with rage and frustration. “I want that station destroyed! NOW!”

10.

“They’re powering back up,” Greene reported. “That was quick.”

Jessica’s hands flew over the controls. “Taking us back. Get ready to fire the gun.”

“Aye,” Greene said.

The
Saratoga
swooped in over the
Inflictor
, her front gun firing non-stop under the masterful control of Commander Greene. The ammunition was like firing a pellet gun at a raging bull, but where it did connect, it impacted systems fitted to the exterior of the ship. They blew out below the
Saratoga
as it passed, miniature explosions.

“Multiple direct hits,” the Commander said. “But it won’t be long until they have their shields back up.”

“I know.”

She piloted the
Saratoga
across the blocky surface of the
Inflictor
and swung quickly out of the way when several of the Draxx ship’s gun turrets opened fire. A couple of shots hit their flank, diminishing the power of the hull plating.

“Looks like they’re already getting their systems back,” Jessica said. She swung the ship to port, tilted her over to her side. At the same time, Commander Greene rotated the forward gun to target the turrets. He managed to disable one of them before the
Saratoga
swept past and the others were firing again.

Shots raced past them, but the
Saratoga
cut through their path without getting hit.

* * *

“Systems are coming back online,” the weapons officer reported.

Prince Sepix pointed toward the viewscreen, at the Union ship that had caused so much trouble. “Take them out.”

“Yes, your highness.”

* * *

Greene looked up. “Jess, they’re targeting warheads at us. Getting ready to fire.”

She looked back over her shoulder. “Get ready to release the trash, Del.”

He managed a smile. “Aye.”

King steered them back around, then dipped them beneath the edge of the
Inflictor
‘s hull. It rushed past as they hung close, racing downhill. Beneath the
Inflictor,
where the behemoth’s huge reactor exhausts fumed invisible plasma, they jutted from the hull like the open valves of a heart.

“Ready?”

Greene’s hands braced against the release controls. “Check.”

“RELEASE!”

He yanked the levers down. The
Saratoga
jolted slightly as their secret cargo – every ounce of combustible material they could find, stuffed into a cargo container along with a warhead fitted with a remote switch – floated away from the back of the ship toward the
Inflictor
‘s exhausts.