Epilogue

Epilogue

The Rygan shuttle set down on the icy cliff next to the ExoArmors transport, Davis emerging from his ExoArmor to meet Rosaro and the other Fifth Platoon members as they dismounted from the shuttle. “I thought you were all dead!” Davis shouted.

“We almost were,” Cromwell replied happily, nearly crushing Davis in a grateful bearhug. Rosaro was silent, staring out at the ocean sadly.

“So what do we do now?” Thornton asked Shaw.

“From what the shuttle’s sensors have shown, the S’Parnians have left orbit, but we can’t tell where they’re going,” Shaw replied.

“They are heading to Earth to wage war on your entire population,” S’Tallen said quietly.

“How do you know that?” Laurants demanded to know.

S’Tallen motioned to Klein, who was leaning unsteadily against the side of the shuttle. “He gave us the location of Earth, there is no doubt that is where S’Olonny will go.”

Rosaro turned, her entire body trembling with rage. Before any of the others could react, she grabbed Klein and held him over the cliff. “You traitor!” She spat.

“I’m sorry,” Klein wheezed. “They…tortured me!”

“Lieutenant, let him go!” Shaw commanded. “He will atone for what he did later. Right now, we need a helmsman if we’re going to get out of here!”

Rosaro’s grip tightened on Klein, for a moment he thought she was going to hurl him to the ground below, but then she set him back on the ground. “Betray us again and I will kill you,” Rosaro hissed. Klein scurried away from Rosaro, cowering next to Laurants by the shuttle.

“How are we going to get to Earth? We can’t make the trip in this tiny thing,” Thornton motioned to the shuttle.

“Don’t worry, the mother ship is close by. We can leave the ExoArmors and retrieve them later. We’d better get going now, though, it will take a little time to get all of the ship’s systems activated.” Everyone began to file back into the shuttle, Rosaro waiting at the end of the line, pulling Shaw aside.

“Captain, I’m sorry what happened before,” Rosaro began.

Shaw raised an eyebrow, asking, “What do you mean?”

Rosaro, flustered by the question, floundered, “Well, um, when I let you and Ensign Laurants separate...” Her voice trailed off, an awkward silence prevailing when Rosaro saw the look of confusion on Shaw’s face. Laurants jumped out of the shuttle, taking Rosaro aside. “What’s wrong with her?” Rosaro asked.

“There were some…problems, she’s had some short term memory loss. I’m afraid she doesn’t remember anything that happened on the surface,” Laurants explained.

“I see. I just wanted to apologize for letting you two go off on your own. It was an error in judgment on my part.”

“It’s all right, Lieutenant. You were just following your orders.” Rosaro nodded, brushing silently past Shaw as Rosaro boarded the shuttle.

“What was that about?” Shaw asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Laurants answered, following her into the shuttle. Shaw took the controls again, flying through the mountain range to a hidden entrance in the side of one of the mountains. The Rygan ship was plunged in darkness as it wound through various passages, finally emerging in the cavern where the Avenger waited.

“That is the ship?” Thornton asked in awe.

“That’s the Avenger, built by an extinct alien race called the Rygans that used to inhabit this planet,” Shaw explained, hovering near the ship to allow everyone to take a look.

“It’s beautiful,” Davis breathed. “But will we actually be able to fly it?”

“Don’t worry, it’s already taken care of,” Shaw answered cryptically as she took the shuttle into the Avenger’s hangar. “Ensign Laurants will provide you all with maps of the ship, I’ll expect everyone to take the same positions on the Avenger that they did on the Explorer, although there may be some slight alterations in your duties.”

Rosaro looked to the back of the shuttle, where Veranda, S’Amleng, and S’Tallen were seated. “Captain, I think there are a few things we need to discuss first.”

***

“You did what?” Shaw shouted, slamming S’Tallen against the wall of a former Rygan crewer’s quarters.

“I had to, it is the only hope for S’Parni!” S’Tallen squealed.

“How dare you experiment on my first officer!” Shaw shoved S’Tallen into the wall once again. “She’s my best friend, you son of a bitch!”

Rosaro pulled Shaw away, asking S’Tallen, “Is there any way you can make her fully human again?”

S’Tallen shook his head. “It is impossible. Her genes are no longer human or S’Parnian, they are a hybrid of the two, there is no way to separate one from the other.”

“You said that she has no idea who she is?” Shaw asked Rosaro.

“No, she’s lost all of her memories.” Shaw shifted nervously, thinking of her own unexplained memory loss.

“I guess we can’t use her on the bridge then,” Shaw sighed. “What about S’Amleng?”

Davis, who had remained quiet until now, answered, “Sam wants to join the Fifth. He’s been trained as a foot soldier, I’m sure it won’t be too much of an adjustment.”

“Do you agree with this?” Shaw asked Rosaro.

“If Sergeant Davis says he won’t be a problem, then I’ll take him. Sam has already proved his loyalty, I don’t think my troops will have hassle him too much.”

Shaw nodded, turning to S’Tallen. “Now, what about you?”

“Throw him out an airlock when we get into orbit,” Davis snarled.

Shaw shook her head tiredly. “Unfortunately, we’re going to need someone to oversee the engine room. Once you’re familiar with the Rygan technology there, I’m sure you can help us there.”

S’Tallen made a short bow. “Of course, Captain. I will do whatever you require of me.”

Shaw pushed S’Tallen back into the wall. “I doubt the captain of your last ship trusted you any more than I do. I’ll keep my eye on you, and if you so much as breath on Arsa again, I’ll let Lieutenant Rosaro gut you like the worm you are.”

S’Tallen nervously scurried out of the room, Rosaro and Davis following him. Shaw turned on a compad, saying into it, “Ensign Laurants, I need to see you.”

Laurants nervously stepped into the room, wondering what Shaw needed to see him for. Maybe she’s remembered something, he hoped, but doubted it. Shaw motioned for him to take a seat, sitting across from him in an oversized Rygan chair. “In talking with Lieutenant Rosaro and S’Tallen, it’s clear that Commander Veranda will be unable to assume her duties. I can’t order this, but…I want you to be my first officer.”

Laurants was shocked, stammering, “Me? Captain, I’m…I’m honored, but I’m only twenty-three, you need someone with more experience!”

“No one was ready for what happened here, but we all have to pitch in and share responsibilities.” Shaw stopped, her face turning dark. “All of the ranking officers are dead, it’s between you and Ensign Thornton and I think you are better suited to the job.”

Laurants was quiet for a long moment, thinking back to when he had graduated the Academy. Back then he had thought he would be sent to some remote place to quietly finish his tour of duty, but here he was now, asked to serve as first officer for a ship more advanced than anything ever built by humans. He remembered what Shaw had told him in the city of Telle, about why she had chosen him for the mission. Even before they had fallen in love, she had great faith in him, in what he could become. Now, he knew, was the time to prove to her that she had been right about him all along. He nodded slowly, “I’ll do it.”

Shaw smiled wearily. “Good. As of now, I’m exercising my right as an Alliance captain to give you a field promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. As your first official duty, I want you to make sure everyone has quarters before we blast off.” Shaw stood up, saluting Laurants. “Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander Laurants.”

Laurants returned her salute in shock, not sure of what to say. “Thank-you, sir.” He stumbled out of the room, feeling a mixture of things. He still felt sadness for the loss of his relationship with Shaw, he felt joy at his promotion, and he felt anxiety about whether he was ready to handle the responsibilities of command. Maybe, he thought, maybe this is what I need to get close to her again.

***

It took two weeks of constant work and drilling before the crew of the Avenger was ready to lift off. In that time, everyone had been assigned a role and instructed in how to use the advanced equipment of the Avenger. The crew had also grown accumstomed to the Rygan food rations aboard the ship, which still tasted bad despite the Rygans’ technological abilities. Now it was time to get the Avenger under way to pursue the S’Parnian collection vessel.

The bridge of the Avenger, unlike that of the Explorer, was arranged in an X-shape in a single room. The helm and navigation stations were in the front of the bridge, the offensive and defensive operations terminals were in the rear, with the command chair in the center. Klein, despite his forced cooperation with the S’Parnians, was allowed to take the helm while Laurants took defensive operations and Thornton manned the offensive operations station. The navigation terminal was empty, the controls routed to Klein’s console.

Shaw came onto the bridge, sinking down into the large, comfortable command chair. She silently typed something into the computer display to her right, the Avenger shaking as its engines came to life. “The Rygans programmed a very specific course to get to the surface, no one is to touch anything until I say so,” Shaw commanded. The bridge crew slid back in their chairs so they would not accidentally disturb the process.

The front of the bridge, which until now had been a blank silver wall, suddenly turned clear, similar to the windows in the city of Telle. The crew was able to watch as the Avenger made its way out of the cavern, into an enormous dark passage that wound its way to the surface. A tiny island in the middle of the ocean near the planet’s northeastern continent suddenly dissapeared as the Avenger emerged, its engines glowing red while atmospheric thrusters pushed the ship up through the gray sky.

The sleek Rygan ship hardly vibrated as it clawed its way through the atmosphere and into space. The Avenger’s engines turned blue, the main engines coming on line to take the ship away from the planet. Once it had cleared the planet’s moon, the Avenger came to a complete stop. “Ensign Klein, set course for Earth and take us into hyperspace,” Shaw commanded.

Klein nodded, his fingers gingerly touching the computer displays in front of him, knowing that once he finished, the ship would begin to take him back to face the aliens who had tormented him. Thornton turned away from the planet, thinking of all that had happened to her on the planet. She thought of Ramirez dying in her arms, Flanders sacrificing himself so that she could escape, S’Amleng risking his own life to save her. She had come to Rygan as a starry-eyed girl, seeking an adventure, but she was leaving the planet as a mature woman, changed by the horrors of war. Laurants gazed longingly at the planet, then at Shaw, thinking of the love he had found on the Rygan world. He had thought coming to Rygan was a punishment, a curse, but it had led him to the greatest joy in his life, a joy that now had been taken from him. The woman he loved, who had loved him, now seemed like a stranger. Shaw took a last look at the Rygan planet, silently thanking the Rygans for leaving the Avenger for the humans. It may be our only chance to stop the S’Parnians before they wipe Earth out, she thought, then the brown planet vanished in a burst of blue light as the Avenger went into hyperspace. I just hope we aren’t too late.