Jon Messenger: Purge of Prometheus

“Commander Decker,” a familiar voice called over the radio, “this is Captain Xiao of the Revolution . We have eliminated your immediate threat. Sit back and we’ll be there to pick you up shortly.”

Adam allowed himself a sigh of relief. He had found safe refuge. Everything was going according to plan so far. He only hoped Keryn’s luck continued.

With the majority of systems powered down, the control room was bathed in darkness. Keryn, Wyck, Iana, and Tora sat huddled together on the floor, staving off the cold that permeated the walls. With life support systems running only nominally, the internal heating system had been shut down.

“Did you have to blow up the missile so close?” Wyck asked, his ears still ringing from the explosion.

“I had to make it believable,” Keryn replied. “If the Terrans didn’t think we were severely damaged, they would have just blown us up on the spot instead of chasing the other two.”

Above their heads, a faint glow was cast from the tactical display. The five red triangles were slowly disappearing behind the sun, still in pursuit of the two Alliance Cruisers. Until they were out of radar range, Keryn didn’t dare begin recharging the engines. Should they be detected, they’d be defenseless until the systems all came back online.

Though they sat mostly in silence, faint radio transmissions continued on the Fleet-wide net. As Keryn leaned her head against the large control console, she heard a familiar voice sending a distress signal.

“Any Alliance vessel,” Adam called faintly over the radio, “this is Squadron Commander Decker. My fighter has been badly damaged and I require immediate docking for repairs.”

Keryn scrambled to her feet and began altering the tactical signal to search for the signal from Adam’s fighter. In the distance, far from the dark sun and the Ballistae , a small blue dot appeared on the map. Its movements were random, confirming that his ship was damaged and incapable of defensive maneuvers. While watching the map, a second transmission called over the radio, filling Keryn with dread.

“Commander Decker, this is Captain Xiao of the Revolution . We have eliminated your immediate threat. Sit back and we will be there to pick you up shortly.”

Keryn spun, locking eyes with Iana. Her own fear was reflected in the Warrant’s eyes. Still, Iana shook her head disapprovingly.

“I have to let him know,” Keryn begged. “I can’t let him land on the Revolution .”

“There’s nothing we can do for him now,” Iana stated, emotion thick in her voice. “I’m sorry, Keryn, but if we warn Adam, we risk the lives of everyone on this ship.”

“And we risk failing in our mission,” Wyck added sternly. “We’ve worked too hard to jeopardize this mission.”

“Yen is dangerous,” she pleaded. Her throat felt swollen and she found it hard to swallow. “You’ve all fought beside Adam. We can’t just leave him with that monster!”

Iana walked to her side and placed her arm around Keryn. “If what you told me about him is true,” Iana said, “Adam seems more than capable of taking care of himself. You have to trust that he’ll be fine. Right now, we have other priorities.”

“They’ve reached the back side of the sun,” Tora said, pointing toward the tactical display. The five red triangles had disappeared from the map. “They can’t detect us anymore.”

Wyck moved past the two seated women and began reactivating the major systems onboard the ship. The lights above them flickered back to life and a low rumble shook the ground slightly as the massive engines began their ignition process. Once seemingly out of commission, the Ballistae rose from its own ashes, eager to complete its mission.

Adam’s fighter slammed into the ground of the hangar bay, breaking free the already damage right wing and sending sparks spraying from behind it as it gouged the thick floor. As it finally slid to a halt, Adam threw open the cabin and climbed out, coughing from the thick smoke that poured from around the ruined ship. Wiping the sweat and soot from his face, he watched fire consumed his fighter.

Turning toward the exit to the hangar bay, Adam coughed once more and rubbed his chest. Between the smoke and the crash landing, his ribs and lungs now ached every time he tried to breath. As he walked slowly toward the doorway, it slid open and a medical team emerged. They rushed to his side as a second team came in, spraying fire retardant chemicals over the wreckage in the middle of the bay.

“I’m fine,” Adam said as he waved away the medical personnel who tried to check his vital signs. “I need to see Captain Xiao.”

“Doesn’t that work out well,” Yen called from the doorway. Leaning against the doorframe, Yen reminded Adam of the young soldier whose life he saved years ago. As Adam got closer, however, he saw that the young psychic soldier was long gone. In his place, an older man stood. Yen’s eyes had sunken from stress and overuse of his powers. His already yellowed skin looked waxy and thick creases had appeared around his eyes and on his forehead. Even his fine dark hair had grown matted from sweat and unkempt.

“You look good, Yen,” Adam lied, embracing his old friend.

“You’re a piss-poor liar,” Yen replied with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I didn’t even need to be psychic to know that. But it’s a good lie, so I’ll let it slide.”

Breaking away from his friend, Adam gestured toward his still smoldering fighter. “I’m going to need a new ship. There’s still a lot of fighting to be done.”

“Later, later,” Yen insisted, dropping the fake smile. “First, join me on the bridge. We can catch up while we walk.”

“No offense, Yen,” Adam said, “but we can catch up after the war is won.” Something seemed wrong with Yen, but Adam couldn’t place his finger on it. Still, Adam couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, a feeling only reinforced by the shivers running up his spine.

“It wasn’t a request, Adam,” Yen replied darkly. “I was irritated before, so I didn’t want to hear the details of your miraculous plan. Now I’m being told that the Ballistae was destroyed. I think it’s about time you shared the rest of your plan with me.”

Adam begrudgingly stepped into the hallway and followed Yen’s lead. Cautiously, he placed a comforting hand on the pistol at his hip. “This is a pretty poor way to treat an old friend,” Adam chided. “After all, I did save you life once.”

“Ancient history,” Yen replied. “I just saved yours, so you can stop using that excuse to try to get me to be more cooperative. Let’s quit the small talk and get down to business. Tell me about your plan.”

Yen walked a few more feet before he realized that Adam was no longer following. He turned and stared into the eyes of the angry Pilgrim. “Is there a problem, Adam?” Yen asked dangerously.

“You’re not the man I met years ago,” Adam said cautiously. He automatically grew defensive as he stared at the husk of his old friend. “There’s a darkness in you now that didn’t exist there before.”

“Spare me your childish rhetoric,” Yen sneered. “You’re not the same either. Our experiences shape who we are. While you were joy-riding around the outskirts of known space, the rest of us were putting our lives on the line to bring down Earth. It changes a man!”

“I can see that,” Adam replied. “It makes you dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Yen mocked. “You have no idea about dangerous.”

“But I’m willing to bet Iana does, doesn’t she?” Adam said.

Yen froze in mid sentence. Reaching out with his power, Yen scanned Adam’s mind. Images of Iana arriving onboard the Ballistae , scared and crying, jumped to the forefront of Adam’s thoughts. Suddenly, Yen was even more interested in finding out what was happening aboard the Ballistae .