Starship Desolation (3 page)

T
he Phantom’s
port side engine began to sputter. A trail of black smoke billowed from the thruster as the Phantom continued over the mountain range. Walker got lucky. It wasn’t coming back to attack him again. The Phantom had bigger concerns.

A slight grin curled on Walker’s lips. At least he had gotten a little payback on that son-of-a-bitch. He hoped the Phantom would go down in a ball of flames. After a few moments, the Phantom disappeared over the horizon. Walker listened for a crash, but he couldn’t hear anything. He was too far away.

Five minutes in the heat was more than enough for him. His skin felt like it was on fire. His mouth was as dry as the desert sand he was standing on. He was billions of miles away from the nearest Federation colony. He had no means of interstellar communication. And no one was going to come looking for him. As far as Slade knew, Walker had died in the blast. If he was going to get off this hellhole, he was going to have to find a way himself. No one was coming to save him.

Walker climbed back into the shuttle and sealed the hatch behind him. He took a swig of water from the rations, then he climbed into the pilot’s seat. The external temperature gage read 150 degrees. How hot was this planet going to get, he wondered? He turned the cooling system to high, but with a broken window it wasn’t going to do much good. It would take the edge off, but most of the cool air would rush out through the broken glass.

He took an inventory of the weapons aboard the shuttle. There was a small weapons locker that contained several rifles, extra magazines, knives, tactical swords, flashlights, and a few thermal grenades. There was a part of him that wanted to hunt down and destroy what was left of the Phantom’s crew—if there was anything left. But revenge wasn’t a priority now. Survival was.

By noon, the planet surface was hitting 240 degrees. At that temperature, you could survive for a short duration. But caught without shelter in the midday sun and you’d surely die.

The temperature inside the shuttle was sweltering. It was like sitting in an oven. But it was better than being exposed. Every breath was a struggle. Walker spent the better part of the day just trying to fill his lungs with air and battling the incessant stream of desert bugs that crawled in through the broken windows. It seemed hopeless. Was this going to be the extent of his existence for the rest of his miserable life?

He had no intention of waiting to die in the wreckage. But he wanted to get a better idea of what he was up against before setting out into the wasteland.

The day might have been scorching, but the night was cold. As soon as the sun set, the desert became a frozen nightmare. Frosty wind whistled in through the windows. Even with the shuttle’s heater at full blast, Walker was chilled to the bone. By midnight, his water rations were frozen solid. The outside temperature was well below zero. This was a planet of extremes.

There was a period of time, just before dawn, that was actually comfortable. When the sky was gray, and the sun was nosing over the horizon. It was a perfect 70 degrees. All he needed was an ocean, and someone in a bikini, and it would feel like a vacation. But it didn’t last long. By the time the sun had crested the horizon, it was starting to get uncomfortable.

If Walker was going to make it to the mountain range, he’d have to set out in the pre-dawn hours when the temperature was just above freezing. And he’d have to find shelter before noon.

Walker stepped out of the craft and gazed at the horizon. It seemed like an impossible journey. Perhaps 40 miles in six hours on foot? That would be tight. Walker was in good shape. He was used to long endurance marches. But not in this heat. And not with a thinned atmosphere.

In the sky, it looked like vultures were circling in the distance. They were waiting for something to die, or to get too weak to be able to fight them off. In this heat, that wouldn’t take long. Walker had a gut feeling that vultures weren’t the worst thing out there.

He grabbed a pair of binoculars from inside the shuttle. A closer look at the vultures revealed they weren’t vultures at all. They were reptilian creatures, maybe five to six feet in length. Somewhat reminiscent of a pterodactyl, it had bat like wings, sharp talons, and razor-like teeth. Vicious predators.

If this planet could support large predators, then there had to be prey. Perhaps Walker had a shot at finding a sustainable food source.

Walker took a stroll around the perimeter of the crash site. Nothing but dry, cracked dirt and sand. And those damned scorpions. They were the equivalent of desert roaches. They seemed to be able to survive anything, even the harsh midday sun. But their venom could be deadly. Walker enjoyed the sound they made crunching under his boot.

He made his way back to the ship and prepped and packed his gear. He set out for the mountains in the pre-dawn hours the next morning. The cold was bone chilling. Even the scorpions were hibernating somewhere. Probably buried deep in the sand, or in some underground burrow. The desert rocks held heat throughout the night from the intense daylight. An underground burrow at the base of a large rock might be quite cozy at night—for a bug.

Walker was marching at a good pace. The activity was keeping him warm. At dawn he was able to cover the most ground. But the blistering sun rose quickly in the sky. It wasn’t long before Walker was the one the vultures were circling. But they soon found a better target, and left Walker in the baking sun. The were going to have to wait a while if they wanted to feast on Walker. He wasn’t planning on dying anytime soon.

The vultures had found something smaller. More likely to die. He came upon them harassing a small mammal. It resembled a dog, with a pointy snout, wide blue eyes, spiky ears, and a tail. But it didn’t have a pelt. It had a thick skin that was almost reptilian, like a Komodo Dragon. It was a cute little thing. Clearly a pup. And it was about to be vulture food.

It was crouching under a thorny tree for protection. Three vultures were swooping in, trying to snatch it with their talons. But the thorny projections were keeping them at bay. At least, for now. The dog was snapping and barking and yelping. The helpless little thing was trembling with fear. The vultures were like bullies, tormenting the poor creature.

This pissed Walker off.

He clenched his jaw, and the veins bulged in his neck. The sun wasn’t the only thing making his blood boil. He hated bullies. And this wasn’t a fair fight.

One of the terrifying vultures got lucky. It swooped in and grabbed the pup by the leg. It flapped its massive wings and ascended toward the sky. The pup writhed and barked, dangling helplessly from the vulture’s talons.

“
A
ria Slade
, in the Article 100 violation of
compelling surrender
, I find you guilty as charged. In the Article 134 violation of
reckless endangerment
, I find you guilty as charged. In the Article 90 violation of
willfully disobeying a superior officer
, I find you guilty as charged. In the Article 94 charge of
mutiny and sedition
, I find you guilty as charged.” The judge almost seemed winded after reading the long list of violations.

Slade deflated. She felt like she had been punched in the gut. Her heart fluttered as she waited for the sentencing.

“It is the decision of this court that you be reduced in rank to O1. All pay and allowances will be forfeit.”

A 25 year career down the drain. She still had the tiniest bit of hope that she would avoid a prison sentence.

“You are hereby dishonorably discharged and sentenced to life imprisonment in the maximum security facility on Alpha Ceti 7.” The judge slammed the gavel down with a crack.

The sound jolted Slade’s nerves. Her knees went weak, and she fell back into her seat. She wasn’t sure what hurt worse… life in prison? Or the dishonorable discharge? All she had ever done was serve the Federation faithfully. Every decision she had made was in mankind’s best interest. Now, all of her sacrifice and service were gone in an instant.

She had gotten a rotten deal. She knew it was going to end badly the moment the trial started. The judge had close ties to President Amado. Hell, they had been college roommates.

Slade was getting shuffled off, like so many other officers that publicly opposed the new administration. Rourke’s testimony had sealed her fate. It was heartbreaking to watch a once loyal friend dig the knife in so deeply. He had his nose up everyone’s ass in Amado’s administration. Now he was their man to lead the fleet.

“Don’t worry. I’m filing an appeal,” Catherine said. “This trial was a farce.” Her voice had a slight tremor in it. Her usual confidence was gone. She knew the horrors of Alpha Ceti 7, and her grim face showed it. “I’ll see if we can get you detained on board the
Devastator,
at least until we get through the appeal process. I’ll push for minimum security facility like Gamma Delta 3, or Zeta Prime.”

Slade was dazed. Her expressionless face gazed blankly at the table.

The bailiff stepped to Slade. “Prisoner 1192833, stand up.”

Slade mindlessly complied. She no longer had a name. She was just a number.

“Turn around and put your hands behind your back.” The bailiff slapped the cuffs on her wrists. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the courtroom.

Slade glared at Rourke. He had been sitting in the crowd, watching the verdict go down. He wouldn’t make direct eye contact with Slade. He knew how low he had stooped for power. Rourke averted his eyes and left the courtroom.

The bailiff escorted her back to the detention area. He tossed her in the cell and slammed the hatch. She was going to have to wait here until she was put aboard a prison transport to Alpha Ceti 7.

As tiny, and as cramped, as this cell was, it was a dream compared to the maximum-security prison on Alpha Ceti 7. Full of rapists and murderers and deviants. It had a reputation for atrocious living conditions and human rights violations. It had the highest inmate death rate of any maximum-security facility. And corruption was rampant among the entire prison system. Judges were getting kickbacks in return for longer sentences. Wardens were utilizing prisoners as slave labor, profiting handsomely from commercial contracts.

An inmate entering the system was quickly stripped of all sense of their humanity. They were looked upon as some type of sub-species. And basic human rights didn’t apply. At least, that was the view of most officials in the corrections system. A prison that was located at the outer reaches of the colonies, like Alpha Ceti 7, had little oversight.

Still, this cell was enough to drive her insane. She relished the time in the courtroom during the trial. At least she had space and human contact. The thought of spending the rest of her life in a box like this, or worse, was mortifying. She was used to the confinement aboard a starship. But as a captain, the universe was hers to explore. As a prisoner, her life became meaningless. She knew what was coming, and she was powerless to stop it.

Slade found her mind drifting to thoughts of the second wave of attacks that were inevitable. The Saarkturians were going to retaliate. There was no doubt about it. They would destroy the colonies and New Earth. And with any luck, they would destroy Alpha Ceti 7. Maybe the rest of her life wasn’t going to be very long, after all.

A guard rapped on the door. The metal clang reverberated through the cell. “Slade. You’ve got a visitor.”

Slade got up from her bunk and moved to the hatch. The food slot opened. Slade saw Lt. Commander Zoey Bryant peering through the slot from the hallway. “I see they’ve got you in the penthouse suite.”

“You’ve got five minutes,” the guard yelled.

“It’s the height of luxury, let me tell you,” Slade said, dryly. “I’m afraid this is better than where I’m going.”

“This is total bullshit. We’re not going to let this stand, sir.”

“Careful, Commander. You wouldn’t want to get accused of conspiracy. Or mutiny and sedition.”

“Rourke totally sold you out, sir,” Bryant whispered. “He’s saying the Verge attack fleet was only a few ships.”

“I know what he’s saying. I heard his testimony.”

“It’s a bold-face lie.”

“The majority of the crew never knew the size of the Saarkturian Fleet.”

“And the one’s who did are too scared to contradict Rourke,” Zoey said.

“I understand. Taking my side is a career killer. If I were you, I’d stay as far away from me as possible.”

“I don’t care about my career, sir. Right is right. And wrong is wrong.”

“I appreciate your loyalty, Commander. But look out for yourself. There is nothing you can do for me, short of breaking me out of here. And I don’t recommend that.”

Zoey grinned. She was never one to back down from a challenge. “I have no intention of breaking you out of here. That would be impossible.” She said it loud enough for the guard to hear. Then she whispered. “But Alpha Ceti 7 is another story altogether.”

“Time’s up, Commander,” the guard yelled. It wasn’t anywhere close to five minutes yet.

Zoey puffed up and gritted her teeth. Then she shouted. “I just want to say, I think you are a disgrace to the uniform. I hope you rot in hell.” She said it for the guard’s benefit. She winked at Slade and left.

W
alker brought
the scope of his rifle to his eye. He lined the reticle up on the vulture’s head. His finger squeezed the trigger.

BAM!

The vulture’s head exploded in a cloud of red blood. Walker managed to take the beast out before it soared too high. Its body plummeted to the ground. Its talons went slack, releasing the pup. The little guy landed safely on the ground. But another vulture swooped in to grab him.

Walker lined the reticle up with the abominable predator. But before he could squeeze the trigger, a third vulture slammed into him. The impact knocked him to the scorched ground. The beastly thing was atop Walker, pecking and clawing at him.

It had rows of teeth, like a shark. Its jaw snapped tight, like an alligator. Walker dodged repeated attempts by the creature to gnaw his face off. He batted the thing aside and scrambled for his weapon. The vulture latched on to Walker’s ankle, but his teeth couldn’t pierce the Saarkturian battle armor.

Walker clutched the grip of his weapon and swung the barrel around. He blasted off a flurry of gunfire. The bullets tore through the creature’s skull and ripped its way through its torso, blasting out of its ass. Chunks of the birdlike creature splattered against the desert rocks. Walker kicked the carcass off of him.

The pup had dodged the attack of the other Vulture. But the creature was circling back around for another dive. A few well-placed rounds from Walker’s rifle sent the beast tumbling to the ground. The beast’s body smacked the hard dried dirt. A small plume of dust dispersed in the air.

Walker climbed to his feet. He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had enough vulture meat to last a lifetime. But he sure didn’t want to haul one of these damn things out of the flats, all the way to the mountains. He couldn’t imagine they were very tasty.

Before he knew it, the dog was at his feet, looking up at him with those big blue eyes. His tongue was hanging out as he panted. He looked like he was smiling.

“What are you looking at?” Walker stared at the dog. “You’re free. Go. Get out of here.” He tried to shoo him away.

The dog tilted his head and lifted an ear. He didn’t know what the hell Walker was saying. But he certainly wasn’t going anywhere. He had found a new best friend.

Walker took his tactical knife and began carving into the carcass of one of the vultures. It was better than hauling a full bird across the desert. The damn things weighed 150 pounds. It wasn’t a thanksgiving turkey, but it would have to do for now. He tossed a scrap of meat to the dog.

He looked at Walker like he was crazy. He put his snout to the meat and recoiled instantly. His little face twisted up, and he made a whimper of disapproval. The meat was repugnant.

“Hey, beggars can’t be choosers.”

The dog sniffed the meat again and took a tiny bite. He spit it back out and coughed. He shook his head like it was the most horrible tasting thing he’d ever had in his mouth.

“That bad, huh?”

The dog whimpered in response.

Walker stopped carving up the meat. There were many creatures whose meat was poisonous. A defense mechanism. It wasn’t usually found in predators. It was more of a characteristic of prey. It gave Walker pause. Was there something bigger out there that caused these vultures to evolve with a built-in defense mechanism?

Walker cleaned the blade of his knife and slid it back into the scabbard. It wasn’t even noon yet, and it was deathly hot. He still had a long way to go. He marched toward the mountains, and the dog followed.

Walker waved him off. “Go on. Run along.”

But the dog just trotted behind him. He had no intention of listening to Walker.

“Just because I saved you doesn’t make us friends.”

The dog tilted his head and kept following along.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” It was almost as if he was expecting some type of answer from the animal. Walker sighed. “Okay, fine. But I’m not slowing down for you. And I’m not saving your ass again. You get in trouble, you’re on your own. You got that?”

The dog barked.

“And no barking.”

The dog barked again in acknowledgment.

Walker jogged for another hour, gasping for breath. The air was stifling. His body was soaked in sweat. He had to take a break. The temperature was near 200 degrees. Walker sat on a rock and filled his lungs with the searing air. He had misjudged the distance to the mountains, and his ability to withstand the heat. It was like trying to run a marathon in a dry sauna.

He took a sip of water, then gave some to the dog. He needed to take cover soon. He wouldn’t survive long in the midday sun. But there was no shelter around. Just the occasional thorny tree.

Walker’s feet ached. His quads burned from the constant running. Sweat dripped from his nose onto the dry ground as he huddled over, leaning his elbows on his knees. He was beginning to think this was a bad idea. He should have just stayed in the shuttle.

The dog began to growl and bark at him.

“Hey, what did I say about barking?”

But the dog wasn’t barking at Walker. He was barking at the thing
behind
Walker—a creepy crab like pincer claw that had emerged from the sand. It hovered ominously above Walker. The pincers look like they could snap Walker’s head clean off. The dog kept barking and growling. A second claw emerged from the sand. And still, Walker didn’t notice.