Episode IX
The Ancient Gift. (Part III)
 

 “Oh shit…” Dove said as he looked into the spinning piece of the moon.
 “Dove, get out of there! Now!” Kate yelled into the small mouthpiece. Dove hurriedly switched his weapons on. He charged up the forward lasers as fast as he could. The piece of debry was still coming. He fired a volley into the spinning rock, no affect. It would strike him in just a few seconds. He squeezed off another volley and the rock was blasted into a thousand charred rocks. The dust enveloped his ship with what little inertia it had left.

 David began to breathe again. “Call him in.” David said slowly. David turned. “Let’s see it.” The door to the bridge slid open, and in walked Sam. The image of a large floating sphere with cracks along its surface as if a thousand earthquakes had rocked it. “That’s it?” David asked. He turned to Sam. Sam was smiling as if he had just vanquished the in tire Shivan navy.
 “That’s it.” He repeated slowly. David looked around skeptically.
 “Then how do we activate it?” Kate spun around in her chair.
 “Sir. Dove is secured.” David nodded. Sam walked over to the comm. station.
 “We need to generate a signal eight thousand years old.” Sam stood away from the console. “Better go in blind from here.” David nodded. The view-screen shut off. Sam fell back over the station. He typed in a few keys and then hit the send button. A chirping noise that no human ear had ever heard filled the speakers on the bridge. The sound ripped through David, Kate pulled off the headset in pain, she threw it to the ground. The chirping grew louder, David clutched his ears.
 “Can you shut that off?” He yelled. An ensign flung his chair across the room, and started working on the panel. All but Sam seemed to be affected by the chirping. The ensign tried to shut off the feed to the bridge, and then it was quiet. David released his ears and shook his head. The rest of the bridge crew began to wake up. “Good going ensign.” David said, the ensign shook his head.
 “It was not me, Sir.” David looked around the bridge, he was about to say something when the navigation officer spoke up.
 “Sir, we’re being pulled towards that thing.” David sat down in his chair.
 “All engines, full reverse.” The ship powered up its massive engines, they began to pull against the strain of the alien device. A hideous metal scream filled David’s ears. Sam suddenly spoke up.
 “Belay that.” David ran over to the console. “we must let it pull us in.” The Navigation officer fell backwards and away from Sam. David jumped up out of his seat, and walked up to Sam.
 “Sam, what’s wrong with you…” Sam was muttering under his breath.
 “We must get in, we must make it, have to get in, have to…” He kept going, over and over again, constantly, quietly, as if his whole life had been heading for this moment. David reached out and grabbed Sam’s arms. Sam flung him across the room as if David had been a rag doll. “Must get in. Work Damn you, work!” The bridge was suddenly bathed with a light, Time seemed to stop. Kate was halfway out of her chair, coming across the bridge to Sam. David was trying to get up of the floor. Sam’s fingers rested on the console, he looked up at nothing in a silent daze.

 Out in space, the ball exploded into a million tiny pieces of metal each spinning in a direct pattern, as if a sentient tornado had ripped them from the ground. The Requiem was pulled into the spinning storm, giant tendrils of light shot forth and enveloped the mighty craft. Its brown hull was seized in the brightness of a thousand stars. Each piece of metal exploded out with it’s own tendrils. The ship changed under their power, they ripped and tore at the hull, coating it with a thin layer of silver. Each tendril changed the hull, altered it, and coated it. The power surging through the device was massive, it had lay dormant all these years, and now, in a massive blaze of glory, it had struck forth to give light to this ship. The bridge was bathed in the voices of a thousand screams, the device exploded around them. Consoles erupted in fire, time began again. The light on the bridge exploded and they were bathed in darkness.
 “Emergency lights!” David yelled. The bridge was hit with red lights. “report.” David yelled as he stood. Sam had collapsed unto the floor. Kate rushed over to him.
 “we need a medic up here.” Kate yelled, someone moved behind her.
 “Sir. All decks reporting no damage.” David looked around. “Engineering reports some minor damage to engines. It’ll take a few hours to repair.” David nodded.
 “We don’t have a few hours.” He turned. “ETA of the Shivan battle group.” An ensign shook her head and looked up at a large display screen.
 “Sir.” She began. “They’re here.” David gasped.
 “Screen on, rear view.” There on the screen was a sight worse then death. A massive Shivan destroyer loomed in the depths of Space, shinning and bright it had an evil glare in its hull. David swore.

 “How long until we have a firing solution on that destroyer?” The Shivan lord asked. A Shivan officer turned.
 “Thirty seconds lord.” The Shivan said. The Shivan Lord’s second in commander looked around dryly.
 “That ship, there is something about it. Why is it silver?” The Shivan lord looked closely at the screen. “And wasn’t there a moon there before?” he asked. He suddenly grew ecstatic. “I do not believe it was a good idea to go on alone Lord.” The Shivan lord laughed quietly.
 “You fool, the moon is simply on the other side of the planet, and just because a ship as a new paint job, doesn’t mean it can defeat us.” But the Shivan Lord knew something was up, he knew that the moon wasn’t just around the planet, but something strange was going on. The Shivan gunner turned.
 “Sir. We have a firing Solution.” The Shivan lord smiled.
 “Let us show them what a Shivan destroyer can really do! Open fire!”

 David grabbed the back of his chair. “All hands, brace for impact.” The Shivan laser cut at the Requiem. The ship barley shook. David looked down at his hands, and then looked back at the screen. A beam was shooting out from the destroyer, passing over the top of the screen, and out of view. “report!” David yelled when the barrage had been completed. The captain looked up.
 “Sir. No damage reported!” David turned to her. The med. crew finally arrived, they put Sam on a gurney and silently moved him of the bridge.
 “What did Sam say? That this only worked on non-moving parts?” The Captain nodded.
 “The beam cannons, flack turrets, and missile bays. The beam cannons have a targeting array, the flack cannons are on rotating stands, and the missile bays have doors. The coating might have skipped over them.” They smiled. David walked back. The  Ravana class destroyer unleashed a second volley unto the Hecate. The Requiem shuddered a bit with the force. David had to steady himself.
 “All hands to battle stations. Charge main beam turret banks, load missile bays, prepare flak cannons.” The bridge was a mess of action, people turned and ran about. All throughout the ship people turned, yelled, and went back to something else. The halls were full of people running through the hallways carrying ship-killer missiles destined for the missile banks. Missiles were loaded into banks, turret operators were helped into their seats.
 Fighters screamed as crews began to refuel and check the fighters. Pilots ran about fitting on helmets and jumpsuits. Vo’rant yelled at someone in the distance on the landing deck, he waited for a reply, nodded, and began to refuel another wing of Vasudan fighters. Cranes lifted fighters out of the docked slots, and seated them on the deck. Ridow was talking to the officer on duty, setting up weapons and firearms. A crew of armed army personnel stood waiting for them. He motioned with his arm, and they began to run across the flight deck. Their boots clanging nosily on the deck.
 The GTD Requiem looked deep into the eyes of the Ravana. David smiled quietly to himself. The words left his mouth. “Fire.” He said. The dual beam cannons on the front of the Hecate fired, they bit deep into the flesh of the Revana. They dragged along the hull of the ship, their bright green beams pulled the sheets of hull plating away from the ship, the Hecate struck the weapons systems of the mighty cruiser, sending it’s targeting systems to zero. “Missile batteries, fire!” David yelled, missiles sprung from the destroyer and crashed into the Shivan destroyer, another volley from the beam cannons struck the engines of the ship, leaving below thirty hull intensity and engines destroyed. David turned in his chair. “Navigation. Get us out of here!” David yelled. The nav. officer smiled.
 “I’d be happy to sir. Engaging, now.” The Hecate turned sharply, and accelerated into the bright white light that was subspace.

 Sam awoke to the smiling faces of Kate and a strange little doctor. “Oh great, now he’s alive.” The Doctor said half jokingly, he turned and walked away. The door spun open and David walked in followed by Ridow. The bed changed pitch, and Sam found himself sitting up. The room was white, very white. “out of my way.” The doctor said, pushing Ridow and David back. He shone a little light into Sam’s eyes. “Now this may hurt a bit.” The doctor said. Sam nodded. “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Sam didn’t smile.
 “To get to the other side?” The doctor nodded.
 “He’s alive.” Ridow smiled.
“Ah the miracles of today’s medical system.” David smiled, and walked to Sam.
 “What happened up there?” David asked. “You went crazy.” Sam shook his head.
 “I don’t know.” He began, shaking slowly. “I just had to get there, no matter what the cost.” Sam suddenly spun out and grabbed David’s arm. “Did we make it? Did it work?” David brushed off Sam’s hand, and nodded.
 “We destroyed a Revana.” David said slowly. “It was glorious, just like the old days.” Sam smiled, he closed his eyes and then reopened them.
 “I would have liked to have seen it.” David nodded.
 “I have to go see how the bridge is doing.” Sam nodded, David walked out of the room. The Doctor began to mutter under his own breath.
 “Eventually the Shivans are going to beat you people, and when you die, who do you think will be scraping you off of space? Me, that’s who.” Ridow nearly laughed, the doctor walked out of the room, probably to check up on some other patients.
 “What now?” Kate asked. Sam half got out of the bed. The doctor yelled from the other room.
 “I never said you can go.” Sam ignored the man and stood, he was a bit unsteady on his feet, he fell back unto the bed. “Told yaw.” The doctor said. Sam looked behind his shoulder.
 “And we get stuck on the only destroyer with a doctor that wants to reinvent bedside manner.” Kate smiled. Sam spoke again. “Now we go back to GTVA Space.” Kate looked around, as if to check if there was anyone listening.
 “But how?” She asked.
 “You know about black holes.” Kate nodded, Ridow spoke up.
 “Oh, no.” Sam smiled. “We’re all going die.” He said slowly. Kate didn’t understand what was going on.
 “There is a way of riding the event horizon of a Black hole in such a way that it will shoot you into subspace towards the closest node. Which we will be aiming for one in GTVA controlled space.” Kate gasped.
 “Just like a Knossos portal.” Now it was Sam’s turn to be puzzled. “We’ll tell you all about it later.” Kate said smiling. But the Black Hole will rip us to shreds before we even get a chance to ride it.” Sam shifted in his place.
 “What do you think this tin skin is for?” he knocked on the small bed. The doctor yelled from across the room.
 “Don’t hurt the equipment, or you’ll wish you had died thirty one years ago.” Kate laughed. David looked behind his shoulder.
 “You’d better leave.” Kate and Ridow nodded, they walked out of the room. “What do you think?” Sam asked the doctor.
 “I think you’re crazy.” The Doctor said walking back into the room. “You didn’t listen to me thirty one years ago, what makes you think you’ll listen to me now?” Sam smiled. “last time I save your but as one of the Black Sparrows.” Sam laughed, he stood.
 “You’ve always been a good friend Extinguisher.” Sam began to leave. The doctor shook his head.
 “Don’t call me that Sam.” Extinguisher said smiling. Sam turned and open his arms up wide, Extinguisher fixed his bright white uniform and watched Sam leave.
 

The Shivan destroyer, called the Rish’tan, revenge in Shivan, the destroyer that carried the Shivan lord Ma’krandoc, floated slowly away from the debry from a few Shivan cruisers. His battle group moved on. The Leader for the Shivans was his, and Lord Ir’akari would not stop him. His ship engaged in warp, and when it left subspace, he found the capital ship of Ir’akari’s fleet. The ship was alive, but bleeding.
 “Hail them.” Ma’krandoc said. The face of Ir’akari appeared on the screen, it was fuzzy and static danced across his face.
 “Ma’krandoc, thank the Highlord you have arrived.” Ma’krandoc nodded once. “We had a run in with the Terran ship.” Ma’krandoc nodded.
 “yes, we ran into your fleet battling with another Terran ship.” Ir’akari frowned slightly.
 “But we tracked only one.” Ma’krandoc didn’t change.
 “terrible, Terrible tragedy, there was nothing left.” Ir’akari finally realized what was going on. He knew and he was helpless. His subspace array was down, no way of contacting help, he was at the mersee of this Shivan madman.
 “no, you can’t.” Ma’krandoc turned slightly.
 “Yes a terrible tragedy, unfortunately you’re your capital ship was destroyed, and you were killed.” Ir’akari grew furious.
 “You’ll never get away with this Ma’krandoc.” Ma’krandoc motioned to the gunner.
 “The Leader for the Shivans is mine.” A blast shot out of the beam cannons on Ma’krandoc’s Ravana. The blast surged through the half dead Shivan destroyer. On the screen a thousand voices yelled, and Ir’akari yelled something at Ma’krandoc but before he could finish the beam tore the ship apart, and it exploded. Some of the smaller cruisers were rocked by the explosion, but the Revenge never felt a thing. The Terran walked unto the bridge. “So, the Leader for the Shivan has been given an Ancient gift…” The Terran smiled slowly.
 “How do you plan to defeat them now? There is not even a trace of debry from the Requiem. We must assume that the Su’avana fired on her.” Ma’krandoc nodded.
 “It is simply, I know Samuel Morrison, from my bloodline I know him. He will want to face me one on one. And when he does, he will not survive.” The Revenge moved slowly through space, it tracked the Requiem, knew it’s course, and they knew a shorter route, they would never get a chance to get where they were going. The mighty destroyer moved into subspace, the blue light didn’t judge a ship when it entered its walls, it simply opened up and swallowed whatever was there.
 The two lone warriors chased each other across the depths of time and space, their fight was much more then simply revenge. Ma’krandoc would have his prize, he would avenge his father’s lost hope. On that grim world so far away, where the original attack on the Terrans had been, a place called Ross128. He would not be defeated by a Terran so easily, he was a Shivan. The power he controlled can’t even be imagined by any Terran, he would stand, and he would win. No matter what the cost, he would win. Even if he had to push down, and climb over the limp bodies, of all the Shivan Lords, he would win. Nothing could stop him now.
 And somewhere, beyond known time, and beyond known space a battle was raging, he didn’t know how he knew, and he didn’t care. He only knew that Samuel Morrison’s death was the first step in winning that war. But something inside of him still bothered him, something still gnawed at his bones. That vision, in the corridor, what had it meant? Was it a record of what will come, or simply a possibility of what could be. Ma’krandoc threw the feeling off, and fell back into himself.

 “Ma’krandoc is acting a little out of character.” The Shivan Highlord said slowly to the Terran.
 “Perhaps.” He said. “But let him be, it is of no concern of ours.” The Highlord looked around, and then he stared into the shadows.
 “He has killed two of my Lords.” The Terran nodded.
 “He will not be around for much longer, but he must be allowed to live. Order all your remaining Lords to stay out of his way.” The Shivan Highlord didn’t move. “Now!” The Terran yelled. The Highlord moved, he turned on a small Comm. unit that was connected to several large screens.
 “Lords, Ma’krandoc is on a personal mission from me, you are to stay out of his way, or he has orders to destroy you.” All the lords nodded together and then all at once gave a; ‘yes Highlord!’ The Terran smiled.
 And somewhere, beyond the depths of space and time itself, a Shivan laughed.
 
 
 

Leader for the Shivans 3: Journey from Dunwitch Hill
Will continue with:

Season 4