Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair (3 page)

“Captain,
it looks like both the Daevoni and the Reinkar are standing by at the agreed
meeting point,” Zae reported as she put their image on the monitor.

“I’m
glad,” Valis said.

“They’ve
seen some fighting,” Kivi remarked. She pointed out the damage on both the
ships. “It seems your theory on Grey encroachment is true.”

“Yes,”
Valis said. “Are all of the Reiki ships safe?” she asked as she walked over to
Zae.

“It
looks like all but one of the Reiki ships has survived,” Zae said after running
a quick scan.

“Hail
them, I think it’s time we talk about what to do next,” Valis commanded.

“Yes
captain,” Zae said. A moment later the monitor showed a split screen of Esra on
the Daevoni and El Kar on the Reinkar.

“You’re
looking well Valis,” Esra said.

“Have
both of your groups been attacked by Greys?” Valis asked.

“Yes,”
El Kar answered. “Although my ship suffered minimal damage the Daevoni is
another story.”

“We’ve
lost a number of crew, including our chief engineer,” Esra added. “I’d really
appreciate it if you could send someone over.”

“I’ll
do so immediately,” Valis said. “What about your mobile suits?”

“We
still have thirty five Raknas left,” Esra answered. “But our shielding systems
are functioning at only forty percent, not to mention the gravity drive is
acting up.”

“We
have ten mobile armors remaining,” El Kar answered. “The main ship suffered
little damage. Our warriors outside were the ones who paid the price.”

“I
can tell that both of you have suffered numerous of losses,” Valis said. “I
think it’s time we make good on our contract and get the out of this place.”

“Agreed,”
El Kar said. “Although our plan was to continue for another few weeks, I
believe the information we’ve obtained on the Greys is more than enough to
pacify our employers.”

“I‘m
with both of you on this issue,” Esra said. “The Degan authorities and the
Reiki are going to have to accept what we give them.”

“They
will,” Valis said with confidence. “Our lives can be bought, but not on such a
hopeless quest. We’ll begin our return in twenty two standard hours.”

“Agreed,”
the other two captains answered.

* * *

Celi
and Mira watched over a number of the wounded pilots as they were taken into
sickbay, none of which had life threatening injuries at the moment. The two sat
quietly in the side room where the experimentation was conducted, enjoying a
quiet moment.

“This
is difficult,” Mira said. “We’ve been away from home for many months now. I
really want to see the sky from the surface of a planet.”

“That
would make many of us feel better,” Celi said before standing up to stretch.
“The Avoni is a big ship, but after four months away from civilization its
feeling rather small.” She sat down again. “By the way, have you given thought
to what the commander asked you?”

“About
leaving the Avoni for her ship as the chief medical officer?” Mira asked. “I
still haven’t made a decision yet.”

“You’re
more than qualified Mira,” Celi said with a smile. “When you first came to the
Avoni I didn’t think you had it in you. But you’ve proven me wrong.”

“Did
I seem that inexperienced?” Mira asked.

“Yes,
you were. Saying that, I’ve seen you grow in so many ways,” Celi said with
praise. “No matter what decision you make I’ll stand by it.”

“Thanks
Celi.”

* * *

Seles
brushed away the sweat from her brow. She took a break and got out from under a
panel inside one of the damaged mobile suits. Brian poked his head in, seeing
her exhaustion.

“Do
you want to rest?” he asked as he handed her a bottle of water.

“We’ve
been at this for eight hours,” she said before taking a gulp of water. “One day
and we’ve almost finished repairs.”

“It’s
amazing how much work we’ve done since yesterday,” Brian remarked. “I’ll take
over for the rest of the repairs.”

“Thanks,”
Seles said. He went under the panel to finish repairs. “What do you want to do
when we get back to Dega Jul?”

“A
lot,” he answered. “Most of it involves relaxing with you.”

“You’re
not very creative today,” she said. “Normally you’d say something romantic or
foolish, or both at the same time.”

“It’s
been so long since I last saw the sun I’m not feeling it anymore,” he clunked
under the panel, “Ouch!”

“Are
you alright?”

“Just
hit my head, that’s all,” he answered.
This headache just won’t go away.
He thought as he continued his work. “What do you want to do Seles?”

“I
suppose I’m in the same mind set as you. I can’t think of anything to do other
than relax for the first week. Then party, that’s about all I can come up
with.” She kicked her feet forward as she spoke. Brian slid out to look at her
for a moment. Her blue silver hair hung down far past her shoulders, glittering
in the low light inside the mobile suit cockpit. Her white skin seemed to glow
in the ambient light as her purple eyes shined brightly. She turned, noting his
strange gaze. “I know that look,” she said before crawling over to him and
granting him a passionate kiss. “It’s been almost a month since we last spent a
night together.”

“Far
too long,” he answered, brushing his hand through her hair. “You’ve grown
Seles.” He smiled as he looked over her body.

She
closed her eyes and turned away with mock annoyance. “Is that what you were
thinking a minute ago?” She smiled afterwards.

“Maybe,”
he answered. “It feels like we’ve been together forever.” He kissed her once
more. “You’ve become more beautiful as time’s passed.”

“Would
you expect differently? But to be truthful, I wish you’d shave this off,” Seles
said as she brushed his beard. “I know you like it, but I don’t.”

“You’re
wiser now as well,” he said. “I can tell Valis has had an influence on you.”

“I’m
not the same little girl you met four years ago Brian.”

“No
you’re not, but I’m glad you are who you are today.”

“The
same goes for you,” she said as they embraced. They held for a long while, long
enough for Daes to look in and see them.

“Really
you two, can’t that wait until the repairs are finished?” Daes asked. Brian and
Seles parted their embrace as he returned to work. Daes smiled when she noticed
neither was embarrassed by the scene. “You two have figured it out, haven’t
you?”

Seles
took the water bottle and went out to leave. “Yes we have Daes,” she said while
leaving the mobile suit via the elevator cord. Seles went to her mobile suit to
check for any issues.

“So
what do you want to talk about Daes?” Brian asked.

“I’m
glad that you two have things figured out.” Daes said, sitting down next to
him. “None of us were sure how a relationship would work out between a man and
a woman, especially since we’re different species.” Daes brushed back her
crimson hair before blinking her blue eyes. “As for what I came to talk about,
the captain has asked me and a few of the engineers to head over to the
Daevoni. Apparently, their chief engineer and a number of their crew were
killed in an attack like ours.”

“Who’s
going with you?” Brian asked.

“I’ll
be taking Dreka and the Malcovin engineers with me. I figured I’d leave the
Avoni in the hands of Jesela and yourself.”

“I’m
honored to be nominated,” he said sarcastically. “There’s something else that’s
bothering you though.”

“You
can tell without even looking at me?”

“Remember,
I did take a peek before going back under this panel.”

She
laughed. “You’ve got me pegged.” The look on her face changed. “I know this may
sound crazy, but just before the attack on the Avoni; I’d swear on Kali’s name
I saw a Grey staring at me in this launching bay.” She started shaking. “But I
was the only one who noticed. It just stared in silence at me, as if it was
seeing into my soul. I don’t know if it was real.”

Brian
stopped and remembered what had happened to him in the elevator yesterday.
“You’re not crazy Daes, because I saw the same thing.” He slid out from under
the panel and saw the distress on her face as she stared at the floor.

“Its
eyes…it was as if they creature had no feeling at all. It was like looking into
a vast emptiness without end, a void that even Kali herself couldn’t see…” Daes
trailed off before looking at Brian, seeing his concern. “How did you endure
it? How did you not go insane looking into those eyes?”

“For
a long time I didn’t think it was real. I remember seeing the first Grey from
my tiny bed when I was around three years old. It peered into the window and
stared at me with those empty eyes. I denied it to myself for years, trying to
believe the abductions weren’t real. I convinced myself it was only a scary
dream that kept on happening.” He paused. “It wasn’t until the time I managed
to break free from them I realized it was actually happening.”

“You
endured their torture for that long?”

“Seventeen
years to be exact,” he answered. “Although I can’t be sure they didn’t find me
sooner.”

“I
can’t imagine what it must have been like for you,” Daes said. “Years of such
terror, and yet you could tell no one around you.”

“Because
none of them would’ve believed me,” he said.

“What
does it mean?” Daes asked. “If we saw them, what were they?”

“Scouts,”
he answered.

“Why
do I feel this way?”

“Their
eyes have no light in them, and that’s the most terrifying thing about them
Daes. It’s not just that their eyes are black, but it’s the expressionless look
that comes with it. Whatever makes us what we are they don’t have it any
longer,” he explained.

“Is
it like not having a soul?”

“That’s
a good way to put it. In any event, you’re not crazy Daes.”

She
sat silent for a moment before composing herself. “Thanks. I appreciate the
chance to talk with you on this.”

“Anytime
Daes,” he said.

“We’re
ready to go!” Dreka shouted up at the two.

“I’ll
be down in a second,” Daes answered. “It’s time for me to go.”

“Take
care of yourself while you’re over there.”

“I
will. Brian, take care.”

* * *

Kivi
entered the bridge while usual crew was taking a break. Valis sat back in her
chair half passed out.

“You’ve
been working too hard lately,” Kivi said as she went to her chair to take over
the duties.

“All
of us have,” Valis answered before yawning. “When we get back to Dega Jul
everyone’s going to have a few months off.” She looked at Kivi. “Well, except
for you of course.”

“I’ll
be taking a few months off, that’s for sure,” Kivi said.

Zae
turned as something came up on her console. “It looks like Daes’s shuttles are
on the way.”

“Good,”
Valis said.

Another
blip appeared on Zae’s console. “Captain, we’re detecting something coming out
of a space time distortion.”

 “Everyone
report to battle stations!” Valis commanded to everyone onboard. A Grey saucer
appeared above the Avoni and fired a blast into the center of the ship.

The
blast was so strong it knocked Brian to the ground in the launching bay. Looking
around as he stood up, he saw that the situation was not good. He ran to
Jesela. She had a panicked look on her face.

“What’s
wrong?” he asked.

“I
don’t know.” She tried her best to use the console. “I’m pretty sure the Avoni
has taken heavy damage.” A look of shock came across her face. “The bridge…”

“I’ll
go!” Brian shouted. As he ran by Seles’s Zero he shouted up to her. “Seles,
deploy all of the mobile suits in a close defensive formation!”

“Alright!”
she shouted back. Seles jumped back into her seat and activated her com system.
“All pilots report to their mobile suits!”

Brian
left the launching bay and ran as fast as he could to the bridge. Everything
appeared normal until he reached the center of the ship. Checking the elevator
to the bridge and finding it unusable, he jumped up and bashed the ceiling
inside the elevator. He climbed up the shaft as fast as he could. Finding smoke
coming from the bridge as he came to the door, he drew his
rakna
and
forced the door open. Once inside, he saw the back area of the bridge was on
fire while both Valis and Kivi on the ground. Zae started coming back to
conscious, sat up and saw Baed and the others unconscious. A look of fear and
panic came across her face. It subsided once she saw Brian coming towards her.

“Check
Baed!” he shouted as he started checking Valis and Kivi. Zae did so and found
that other than a small cut on her forehead, Baed was alright. Brian could tell
by the injuries that both Valis and Kivi needed immediate attention.

“Is
she alright?” Brian asked.

“Yes,”
Zae answered. She looked at the captain and commander. “Are they alive?”

“Yes,
but they need attention now.” Brian went to the captain’s chair and activated
the com. “Sickbay, we need a medic on the bridge immediately. Both the captain
and commander are seriously injured.”

“I’ll
be up there in a moment,” Mira returned over the com.

He
ran up to the top of the bridge and activated the fire extinguishing system.
The room was filled with gas and smoke for a moment, until the air filtering
system cleared the bridge. Brian ran down to check Valis and Kivi once more
before going to the captain’s chair and turning on the battle plan Valis had
been working on.

“Zae,
run a diagnostic,” Brian commanded.

“Of
course,” she said while focusing on the task on hand. Baed started waking up
and noticed what was happening.

“Baed,
steer the ship into the nearby moon,” Brian said. “The Daevoni and Reinkar have
already moved inside.”

“Yes,”
Baed said before turning the Avoni in the right direction.

Outside,
Seles and the other Rakna pilots put up a defensive formation as the Avoni
retreated. They blasted a few Grey ships into stardust as they fled inside the
moon. A few moments later the ship and her defenders entered the safety of the
moon. They flew deep inside to a cavern of rock and ice where the other two
ships, along with the Reiki vessels, were hiding. Mira and three medical
officers entered bridge and ran to Valis and Kivi to attend to them. After a
few minutes of work with regenerators and scanning the two over carefully, Mira
went to Brian.

“Both
of them will live,” Mira said. “Unfortunately, neither of them will be ready
for action for at least two weeks.”

Brian
looked at Valis as she slept peacefully. Kivi had the same look on her face. He
activated the com to make an announcement.

“This
is Lieutenant Commander Peterson with an announcement to the crew of the Avoni.
In the last attack, Captain Valis and Commander Kivi have been injured. With
rest they will recover, but as of now, I’ll be taking command of the Avoni.
Prepare to send all of our injured over to the Daevoni. That is all for now.”
After turning off the com he turned to Mira. “Please do the same for the
captain and commander.”

“Okay,”
Mira answered. She motioned for the medical officers to get a pair of
stretchers.

“Do
we have a plan?” Zae asked as she turned to speak with Brian.

“Valis
left one behind on her computer,” he answered. “I’ll be sending it to the
pilots and allied ships in a few minutes.”

“You
kept your cool,” Zae remarked.

Brian
looked over at Valis and Kivi once more. “As much as I want to shout and cry
out it won’t do them any good. Until further notice you’re the first officer
Zae. I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes,”
she said.

* * *

Seles
and the other pilots landed on the Avoni. She left her mobile suit and saw
Jesela in a frenzy of work. She quickly made her way from the launching bay to
the bridge and found Brian there, along with Zae and Baed.

“Where’s
the captain?” Seles asked as she surveyed the bridge.

“Her
and Kivi were injured and are being transferred over to the Daevoni,” Baed
said.

Brian
went to reassure her. “Don’t worry, they’ll both survive. For now I’m taking
command.”

“We’re
receiving a hail from the other two ships,” Zae reported.

“Put
them through,” Brian said. A moment later the image of Esra and El Kar appeared
split screen again. Both saw Brian and the look on their faces changed.

“What’s
happened to Valis?” Esra asked.

“Her
and the commander have been injured,” he answered. “As stated in the battle
plan she sent you we’re transferring all our injured personal to your ship.”

“The
plan she submitted is suicide,” El Kar said while looking it over on his ship.
“There’s no way the Avoni will survive on its own, even for a short while.”

“We’ll
manage,” Brian said.

Jesela
walked through the bridge’s elevator door a moment later. She went to the
station at the top of the bridge for engineering use. After making sure the
system still worked she looked at Brian.

“We’re
going to use the remaining forty mobile suits as a shield,” Jesela said. “If
each of them grabs onto the Avoni at regular intervals it’ll create a shield as
strong as the Grey ships.”

“That’s
insane,” Esra said.

El
Kar laughed. “Yes, it’s madness indeed. But if Lady Star came up with the plan then
it’ll work. I’ll do as asked Brian.”

Esra
shook her head in disbelief. “I’ll defer this to the two of you. We’ll prepare
to leave in ten hours.”

“Agreed,”
Brian said as the other two captains left the conversation.

“What
should I do?” Seles asked.

He
turned to her. “I want you to lead the mobile suit forces from the Daevoni.”

“What?
Why shouldn’t I stay here?” Seles asked. She appeared angry.

Brian
motioned for her to join him in the meeting room adjacent to the bridge. “Zae, please
take care of everything for a moment. I need to speak with Seles in private.”

“Sure,”
Zae said.

Seles
went into the meeting room with Brian. “Are you trying to push me off the
ship?” she asked.

“That’s
not it at all.” He paused while thinking over the battle plan. “Valis’s plan
has many contingencies in case it doesn’t go as planned. When the other ships
jump out of here they’re going to need someone who can make capable decisions
on the ground. I trust Dreka to do so for the Talons defending the Reinkar, but
I’m not sure about the Daevoni’s forces. Not because they’re incompetent, but
because they took serious damage from their battle with the Greys. Since I have
to stay with the Avoni you’ll have to be the one to take charge on the other
end.”

She
sighed before closing her eyes to gather herself. “Good, I didn’t want to think
you’d do that to me.” She pulled him down to her level and kissed him. “Take
off this armor Brian; we only have a short time together.”

“Right
here?” he asked while deactivating the seal on the exoskeleton.

“Yes,
there’s no time to go anywhere else.”

He
laughed. “Both of us may not be alive tomorrow.”

“Stop
saying things like that, it’s a mood killer.”

“Whatever
you say my lady,” he said.

On
the other side of the door, Jesela and Baed had their ears to the door.

“What
are you two doing?” Zae asked as she stood up to join them.

Baed
blushed before going back to her station. Jesela started laughing silently.

“Is
something funny going on?” Zae asked before putting her ear to the door. A
moment later she blushed and went back to her station. “So that’s it.”

* * *

Valis
awoke groggy and stared at the ceiling of a transport shuttle. She tried sitting
up, but found it too painful to do so. Mira came over to her. “You’ll be
alright captain.”

“What
happened?” Valis asked weakly. She saw that Kivi was unconscious on the bed
next to her.

“Brian
found your battle plan and maneuvered the Avoni into the moon. He’s looking
over the other one you were working on right now,” Mira said.

“Please,
put me through to him,” Valis requested.

“Sure.”
Mira turned on the video monitor next to Valis’s bed and called the bridge.
Brian answered the call via the chair computer.

“How
are you feeling?” he asked.

“Like
I got shot in the back,” Valis answered.

“Just
be glad you’re alive.”

“Of
course,” Valis said. “Have you had a chance to look over what I was working
on?”

“All
of its right here,” he said while pointing to his head. “I’m be sending you and
Kivi, along with Mira over to the Daevoni. Seles will lead the forces guarding
the rest of the fleet.”

“What
about you?”

“We
have forty mobile suits to work with,” Brian said. “Our job is to attack the
Grey forces surrounding the moon and draw them away from the rest of you.”

“With
their strength you won’t survive very long,” she said.

“Jesela
has a crazy plan to keep us alive,” he said.

Valis
laughed weakly. “She’s going to use the Rakna’s shields around the Avoni, isn’t
she?”

“That’s
the plan.”

“That
really does sound crazy.” Valis paused for a moment. “I trust the Avoni to you
for now. Survive this day and come back to me soon.”

“I
will Valis, it’s a promise.”

The
message ended. Valis turned away before coughing. “Why do I feel like I sent
him to his death?”

Mira
took her hand. “Have faith in him and all the crew staying behind with him.”