The Agathon: Reign of Arturo (39 page)

What was the old saying?
he thought to himself,
kill two birds with one stone?

28

The Unity

“I
’m not able to establish a connection, Aron. We’re still too far away from the first relay buoy,” Vishal said from the comm panel in Aron’s flight chair.

“Try again, you incompetent fool,” Arturo suddenly said.

Aron looked at him and frowned. Vishal turned around.

“I don’t think you are in any position to be giving me orders anymore, all due respect,” Vishal said.

Arturo smiled a crazed grin at him. Aron was about to intervene when he was suddenly thrown head first into the bulkhead behind where Arturo was sitting.

“Weapons lock, hold on!” shouted India.

Aron’s head began to spin as everything darkened. The impact had not rendered him unconscious, but the warm trickle of blood down his face had told him it had been a serious enough cut. He could feel the sudden force of the ship as it pulled a hard turn. It must not have been a direct hit, otherwise they would not be here to talk about it. He suddenly realised he was lying on Arturo. He looked down to see the chancellor’s crazed face. He looked to his right and saw Florence lying on the deck. She looked unconscious.

“Report!” he shouted at India.

“He’s firing on us, the fuck!” she shouted back.

Her hands were on the flight controls and moving quickly. Aron looked out at the stars and saw them darting about in every direction, telling him India was engaged in evasive manoeuvres. He picked himself up and wiped a line of blood away from his eyes.

“Vishal, get out of that seat,” he shouted at the doctor.

Vishal responded immediately and vacated the seat. Aron pushed himself off the chancellor, made his way over to the chair and collapsed into it. His sense of balance was all over the place, as India flung the ship around the cosmos.

“What the hell is he doing?” India said.

“Calling our bluff by the looks of things,” Aron said, then turned to Arturo, “looks like your popularity has diminished, Chancellor.”

Arturo looked at him furiously.

“You did this,” he said through gritted teeth.

Florence began to move on the ground. She looked up slowly and pushed herself up from the floor.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

She was about to lean up when Arturo suddenly kicked out hard from the chair landing his leg squarely in her stomach. Florence screamed and crumpled back on the floor.

“Vishal, secure him!” Aron shouted as Arturo started to flail wildly in the chair.

Another hard turn saw Aron grip the sides of his chair, as he was thrust to one side. Through the window he could see the bright lights of a pulse cannon beam as it flew past the side of the ship.

“That was close,” India said swearing under her breath.

Aron could see beads of sweat as they made their way down her forehead. She was fighting for their lives at the helm of the small ship, while chaotic scenes from behind the flight chair unfolded. Vishal was on Arturo trying to subdue him, as he kicked wildly out in all directions. Aron was about to intervene when a sudden impact threw him off kilter. There was a sound of an explosion from somewhere deep inside the ship.

“He’s got us!” shouted India.

It was game over. Aron knew that Escat had just scored a direct impact. His console lit up with damage reports and warning lights. He could feel the air in the cabin begin to thin. He knew that in a matter of seconds Escat would finish them off. The stars outside spun wildly out of control as the ship lost its altitude controls.

“I’m losing her!” India shouted as she struggled to regain control, “flight controls unresponsive.”

Aron looked behind him and saw Vishal on the ground. Arturo had broken free of his bonds and was sitting on the doctor’s chest with his hands around his neck. He reacted quickly. If they were about to die, he was going to make sure that Arturo Verge would not harm anyone else. He leapt from his seat and dove on Arturo’s back. The pair tumbled off Vishal whose face was red and swollen up. Vishal gasped for air and rolled onto his side as Aron and Arturo wrestled on the ground. Aron was surprised at the chancellor’s strength, as he suddenly found himself lying on his back holding both of Arturo’s arms. They rolled from side to side as the ship’s direction changed. He felt the forces weaken and suddenly realised that India had stabilised the ship somehow.

“Flight deck, this is the engine room, we have a breach down here. I have to get out,” said Oliver’s voice.

He sounded like he was struggling to breathe.

“Seal it up as best you can, Ollie,” India said over the comm system.

Aron and Arturo continued to struggle as the chancellor’s strength pressed down on Aron’s arms. He looked into his crazed eyes.

“You’re just dead fucking weight, you hear me, you were not the chosen ones. I should have killed you all. You will never see your daughter again. I’ll drown her. I’ll pull her plug and let her suffer,” Arturo said through a vile rage of saliva drenched mouth.

Aron saw red. The mention of Maya made him lose it completely. A rush of adrenalin surged through his veins. He screamed and launched his whole body upwards, letting the weight of the chancellor fall on his body as he smashed his head full force into Arturo’s face. He heard a crunching sound as he made contact with Arturo’s
nose. It exploded like a water balloon. Blood went everywhere, as he collapsed beside Aron.

“Life support failure!” India shouted from the flight chair.

Aron wiped the blood off his face and looked at the unconscious Arturo beside him. He was about to turn and snap his neck when India spoke again.

“I have an incoming transmission,” she said looking behind her, “it’s The Kandinsky.”

Aron tried to control his racing heart as he sat up and looked at India. He pulled himself into his flight chair leaving the bloodied chancellor on the ground. They were still alive. He did not know why, but he had to respond to any chance that came his way.

“Let’s hear it,” he said trying to catch his breath.

The comm system bleeped.

“Kandinsky to The Unity, respond,” said Escat’s firm voice.

Aron looked at India and nodded for her to activate the channel.

“This is The Unity,” Aron said calmly.

“Mr Elstone, I am going to make this simple. I was going to just blow you out of the stars, but my readings indicate that you have lost life support and your ship is crippled. I have decided to let you all suffocate. I just wanted you to know that,” Escat said.

Aron looked at India and then back at the chancellor. Florence was suddenly sitting up looking at Aron. She had a nasty cut over her right eye which had swollen shut. There were tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Escat, I have the chancellor,” Aron said.

“Yes, I know,” Escat replied.

Aron suddenly realised that this was Escat’s chance to take out the garbage and make his move. Clever.

There was a moment of silence on the comm system. Aron could feel how thin the air was becoming. He had to think fast. He muted the comms system.

“Is the sub light drive still operational?” he said to India.

India checked her control panel and looked back at Aron nodding. He activated the comm system again.

“You’re a soldier, Escat, spare my crew,” Aron said.

“Sorry, Aron, collateral damage. Nothing personal, you realise. Strictly business,” Escat replied.

He could hear a smugness filtering through the transmission. He frowned and felt a vengeance creep into his soul.

“Fuck you, General,” he said without thinking and deactivated the comm system.

“Nice,” said India.

Aron smiled at her. The door to the flight deck opened and Oliver entered. He was covered in black smut and bruises.

“Ollie, we need to get everyone in the escape pod. Quickly,” Aron said.

“It only carries three, maximum four” Oliver said.

Aron looked at India. Her face dropped. She suddenly realised what he was thinking.

“Now, just hang on a second,” she said.

“India, get everyone on board the escape pod. The chancellor and I will be staying to give a small present to the General,” Aron said.

“All due respect, but fuck that. I’ll do it,” India said turning towards Aron.

“That’s an order, India!” Aron said forcefully, “we don’t have time for your crap now, do as I say!”

India recoiled and looked behind her at the group.

“Ollie, tell me the sub light is okay,” Aron said.

“She’ll fire alright, but don’t count on her for a long journey,” Oliver replied.

“I’m not going on a long journey,” Aron said turning to the flight controls and activating the engines.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Florence looking at him softly.

“Please, let me do it,” she said, “I am begging you. You have a daughter who needs you, Aron. She needs her father. I have been dreaming of this moment my whole life. I implore you. Please don’t take this away from me.”

Aron looked into her broken eyes and felt the same need for sacrifice he had felt from the letter left to him by Thomas Greenly. The air was getting thin. He had to act quickly. There was a tenderness in her touch and serenity that she had come to her end. He looked at India who just stared at him. He took a breath and looked back at Florence. He nodded looking back at his flight controls. He set a course and prepped the engines to activate.

“Just press here when we are clear,” he said pointing to the controls, “thank you, Florence.”

She leaned in towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

“No, thank you, Aron, from all of us,” she said.

He nodded, getting out of the flight chair.

“Let’s go,” he said to the group. They gathered themselves and began to leave the flight deck. He stepped over Arturo who was still lying on the ground.

“Goodbye, Chancellor,” he said as they all left.

He took one final look at Florence and smiled at her as the doors of the flight deck closed.

Florence was feeling lightheaded. She watched the control panel, waiting for it to inform her that the escape pod had been launched. She leaned against the chair and looked at Arturo. He suddenly moved and groaned, turning onto his side. She saw his bloodied face and smiled at him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the large shape of The Kandinsky as it floated past the window. It would not be long now. She tried to imagine what it would feel like to have no pain. She looked at Arturo who was staring up at her.

“Good morning, Chancellor,” she said.

“What are you doing?” Arturo groaned.

There was a bleep from the console behind her telling her that the escape pod had been launched. She only had a few seconds before
The Kandinsky would see it and lock on its weapons, but she wanted to look into Arturo’s eyes one last time.

“I am taking us on a little trip, my love,” she said reaching behind her and activating the sub light engines.

Arturo looked around and saw that they were alone. He sat up slowly.

“This is my gift to you,” she said hearing the sound of the engines vibrate below her.

She knelt beside the chancellor and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, and by the way,” she said looking into his disoriented eyes, “FUCK YOU!”

The stars began to distort as the sub light engines activated. For a moment she saw a flickering of light as the ship launched itself towards The Kandinsky engaging its last voyage. She suddenly heard the sound of a brief explosion as the flight deck was filled with an intense fireball. She felt a burning sensation all over her broken body and then a white light. And then nothing.

29

Targlagdu Core

“I
t’s got some sort of shielding!” Carrie shouted as she continued to circle the cube ducking and diving to avoid the bursts of energy that kept firing at her.

She had been at it for nearly fifteen minutes now. Her back ached, she had taken a direct hit when she had hesitated the second time, which sent her spinning into a protruding beam.

“You have to disable its energy matrix, Carrie,” Jack said in her ear.

“The last one didn’t have one!” Carrie shouted as she narrowly missed being hit again by a pulse of light.

“It probably wasn’t expecting you, now it does,” Jack replied.

Carrie sighed and looked around trying to get her bearings. All she could see was a storm of energy forming over the cube’s surface. She would not last much longer if she could not get a decisive shot at it. She looked around at the surrounding mechanical cave walls. It all looked the same. Miles and miles of twisted cabling and strange metallic shapes, strewn over a mangled surface.

“Go under, Carrie, it will be near its base,” Jack said suddenly.

Carrie changed her direction without thinking and dove for the base of the cube. It looked like more of the same, but she decided that maybe she would get lucky. She took a breath and began firing powerful bursts
of energy out in all directions. She fired wildly at anything that looked like a separate mechanism that could hold a power source. Explosions erupted all along the length of her firing pattern. Arcs of electricity lit up the surrounding vista in a cold blue light and then she saw something. Like a thin shimmer of light that coated the entire cube. It buzzed and then flicked out. Maybe she had got lucky. She flew outwards, away from the heat of the fireballs and faced the large cube once more. Then she heard the voice again in her mind. As if it had forced its way through.

“Tar … Gla … Gdu!” it said, as a large cloud of energy formed all over its surface.

She recognised it and knew it was about to attack.

“Oh no you don’t,” she said.

She raised her hands and screamed letting out everything she had in one burst. Her focused electrical energy struck the cube straight on. She heard a crumpling sound, followed by a large popping noise. Then the whole structure erupted from the inside out and blew apart, spouting huge chunks of metal debris in all directions. The fireball began to expand. In her direction.

“Shit!” she shouted turning her back and trying to get away from it.