Descent: Aries Wing

“Admiral Thompson to Ensign Jacobs, are you there?”

Bryan stirred from his sleep to the sound of the comm. His first thought was that this was not the best way to start the morning. Then he realized that Natalie’s beautiful, naked body was in his arms, and quickly changed his assessment.

Natalie also stirred, groaning as her rest was being interrupted, and muttered to Bryan, “God, what does he want?” Bryan smiled as he kissed Natalie softly on the forehead. Sleepily, she called out, “Yes, Admiral?”

“I was looking for Commander Chambers,” he stated calmly over the comm. “He apparently is not in his quarters. Despite my warnings, I assume you know something about this.”

The Admiral’s dry sarcasm was appreciated by both as they chuckled to themselves, embracing each other playfully before Bryan spoke. “I am here, Admiral. What can I do for you?”

“Ah, as expected,” stated the Admiral, whose smile could be heard through the comm. “Good for you two! A transport has arrived with your wingmates, Lieutenants Rubeck and Wilson. Their news is disturbing, and, for now, classified. I would like for you and Ensign Jacobs to report to my office immediately… er, as soon as is convenient… and I will include both of you in the security protocols of their report.”

“Yes, sir, we will be there shortly,” responded Bryan, relieved at the news that Sydney and Andrew were still alive.

“Very well,” the Admiral replied. “Thompson out.” With that, the link went dead.

“You know,” Natalie said slowly and deliberately. “I don’t think right now is a very convenient time.”

Bryan looked into his lover’s eyes, filled with passion. A wicked grin crossed her face, and the message she was giving him was clear. “And you know,” he replied with an equally wicked grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever lost a better bet.”

It was about an hour and a half later that Bryan and Natalie reported to Admiral Thompson’s office. Standing just outside was Sydney, Andrew, and Jared.

“You sure know how to keep people waiting,” Jared said to Bryan with a smile. “I mean, you waited a week to bring me back, and now what, an hour and a half standing here?”

Bryan smiled and retorted, “Good things come to those who wait!” He then pressed a button on the terminal next to the door and called out, “Aries Wing reporting, sir.”

The door opened automatically, revealing Admiral Thompson behind his desk. “Gentlemen,” he called out, also directing, “Ladies,” to Natalie. “Please, come in.” Sydney entered, followed by Andrew and Natalie. But before Bryan could enter, Jared stopped him.

“Bryan,” he started before providing a scolding, “Really?”

“What?” came Bryan’s confused response.

“Ten to one,” recalled Jared, causing Bryan to cringe at the drubbing of last night’s challenge between him and Natalie. “Really? Haven’t I taught you anything?”

Bryan sighed. “You taught me how to dodge fusion, avoid vauss fire, and counter a well-placed frag missile. I know how to dogfight because of you.”

“And? Did you suddenly forget how to dodge a missile?” Jared quizzed with a playful look in his eye, jokingly referring to the one that Jared dodged back at Apparition.

Bryan shook his head before speaking in a lower voice. “Oh, no, my dogfighting is fine. It’s just that she’s a damned tunnel rat!”

Jared couldn’t contain his laughter, and Admiral Thompson noticed. “Something funny, Commander?” he stated in his usual flat demeanor.

“Always, sir, when it comes to Bryan,” he quipped as him and Bryan entered his office.

Bryan sighed again. “Ignore him, sir.”

“Gladly,” Admiral Thompson replied as the door closed behind him. “Okay, first, Lieutenant Wilson, please provide the Commanders and Ensign Jacobs a debriefing from Fieradia.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Andrew. “Shortly after you were escorted from the ship, there was another attack, except it was different than the other attacks. This one was huge, literally hundreds of ships, attacking from several angles at once. I thought there was no way we were surviving this.”

Sydney continued the story. “It was insane! At first, they began attacking the Sirius, but I noticed something odd about their attacks. For instance, none of their weapons fire was hitting any critical systems, just giving the ship a good old shake for the hell of it.”

“Yeah,” Andrew nodded. “It was as if they were provoking the pilots to get off the ship. Well, that’s what we did. Once we were out in space, they quickly turned their attention to the wings. While the vast majority of these pilots were terrible, they made up for it in numbers. They must have taken out at least a dozen of us.”

Sydney nodded. “About five minutes after we departed, I saw one of the black pyros that was not taking part in the battle approach the S.S. Sirius. Amazingly, they opened an air lock and allowed it to dock!”

“What?!” Bryan blurted out.

“They just let him on board,” continued Andrew. “We thought that Admiral Gonzalez had something to do with it…”

“He probably did,” interrupted Bryan.

“…but then we also realized that while we were fighting, the Sirius dropped their shields. Not lost them, but dropped them. I think they were boarded.”

“Hmmm,” thought Bryan. “What had accompanied the black pyros?”

Sydney looked right at Bryan, and very pointedly stated, “Absolutely nothing.”

“Wait,” said Jacob. “You said you thought they were boarded. What brings you to that conclusion?”

Admiral Thompson spoke up immediately, as dry as ever. “The Imperial was fired on and destroyed by the Sirius.”

“Oh my god,” Natalie said aloud, suddenly overcome with the reality of what had happened.

Bryan just sighed. “And I bet everyone on board that ship is dead, excepting good old Gonzalez.”

Andrew finished their story. “The remaining wings immediately retreated aboard the Independence. They got out of there as fast as they could.”

“This isn’t good,” Bryan stated. “There is no technology that I’m aware of that would allow for any kind of transportation on the scale of what Andrew’s suggesting, let alone any kind of technology that would be able to teleport someone over a distance larger than a few thousand kilometers.”

“And that’s what we’re struggling with, Commander,” the admiral concluded. “Unless that entire ship was involved in Admiral Gonzalez’s scheme – and having known a good portion of the ship’s officers on a personal basis, that seems unlikely – then we’re potentially dealing with something beyond the CED.” He then tapped some information into the computer in front of him. “And, we have proof.” He turned the computer’s screen towards the wing.

Andrew, Sydney, and Jared looked blankly at the screen, not sure what they were seeing. Bryan and Natalie instantly recognized what they were looking at. “That’s a D’mandrian ship,” said Bryan.

“Indeed,” returned the admiral. “It was first detected flying past the Syrman system shortly after you arrived on the ship. This high-resolution image of it was taken by one of our outposts there.” The admiral then shot Bryan a curious glance. “Your familiarity with the D’mandrian fleet is astounding given this is the first and only time one of their ships has been spotted by the CED.”

“Of course, D’mandrian is my second language,” Bryan joked, although he wasn’t exactly lying, either. “I’ve spent some time doing research on the PTMC since this whole incident started.”

“Mmmm hmmm,” he replied. Bryan was pretty sure that Admiral Thompson saw right through him. “Then perhaps you have some insight into the message that they sent.”

“Uh oh,” Bryan stated aloud as the admiral played a recording.

“My name is B’lar Andon’de of the world D’mandria.” Bryan instantly recognized the voice, but it did not carry the calm, relaxing tone with it that he remembered. “To anyone that can receive this transmission, please deliver the following message to the human known as Bryan Chambers. They have found us, and they are in control of my ship. Please, secure the Orb! If they find it, there is no telling wh…” The transmission was abruptly cut off.

“That was as much as we received,” stated Admiral Thompson. “Their ship was directed straight into Syrma, and it is presumed that there were no survivors.”

“Into a star?!” Natalie exclaimed in disbelief.

“That is correct,” he replied.

“Oh no,” said Bryan, saddened by learning B’lar’s fate.

“And so,” the admiral continued dryly, “D’mandrian really is your second language, isn’t it?”

Bryan sighed, confirming the admiral’s suspicions.

“Then I guess I can’t write up a reprimand for lying to me.” The group all shared a good laugh at Bryan’s expense before Admiral Thompson got serious again. “I trust, Commander Chambers, that you know a fair bit more than the CED about the D’mandrians at this point. Is it safe to say that they have the power to board a ship such as the Sirius en masse from an undetectable distance?”

Bryan searched for the words to best answer the question. “That would be akin to asking if humans have invented the light bulb.”

“I see,” stated Admiral Thompson, clearly concerned. “Why don’t you tell us what they are capable of?”

Bryan was clearly uncomfortable with the question. “They are capable of destroying entire galaxies. We are talking about a race of people that have existed for over ten billion years.”

“Good god,” replied Thompson. “Can you stop them?” Bryan paused before answering the question. “Please don’t say no,” the Admiral pleaded, sensing a pending answer he didn’t want to hear.

“It depends, really,” explained Bryan. “You can’t just tell the Orb what to do. It’s difficult to characterize the interaction that takes place without actually experiencing it first.”

Thompson muttered something under his breath as he stood up and paced the area behind his desk slowly. He was clearly thinking long and hard about what to say next. The silence was quite disturbing.

What the Admiral said next was even more so. He turned to the wing and said quietly, “Everybody, leave. Except you, Bryan.” The tone of the Admiral’s voice relayed the seriousness with which the command was issued. This was no joke.

“Yes, sir,” came the muffled responses of Bryan’s four wingmen as they all hastily exited the office.

Once everyone was gone, Admiral Thompson walked slowly from behind his desk to stand less than a foot from Bryan. He placed a hand on his shoulder and began. “Bryan. I like you. You’ve made some questionable decisions over the past few days, but I can see right through you, Commander. You’re heart is as pure as they come. I am proud to have served with you.”

Bryan did not like where this was going. “Thank you, sir."

“‘Allen,’” the Admiral replied. “You call me ‘Allen’ now, you hear?” The seriousness in his voice was almost betrayed by the emotion with which he was delivering with.

Bryan was now more nervous than ever. There was only one reason the Admiral was now demanding to be on a first name basis with him.

“You and I both took up the same oath when we joined the CED. We are here to protect the Earth and all of its civilizations across the galaxy. And these bastards chasing down the Orb represent the single biggest threat that the CED has ever encountered. Know that if I could, I’d rip that orb from your grasp and fly this damned mission myself.”

Bryan was stunned at the Admiral’s emotional admission. Half the time, admirals in the CED would just be paper pushers, wearing the rank as a badge of honor more than a symbol of responsibility. Compared to someone like Admiral Gonzalez, Admiral Thompson was a breath of fresh air.

The Admiral narrowed his eyes at Bryan as he issued his next command, “Now, I order you to take that orb, take the fastest transport ship on this station, fly as far away from here as you can, and get their attention. Find Admiral Gonzalez, and find Emperor T’baxla, and finish them.”

Bryan only nodded.

“And then, please, do something with that orb before someone else finds it. Whatever it takes, Bryan.”

Whatever it takes. This amounted to a suicide mission if the slightest detail went wrong. “You know,” Bryan said as he looked down for a brief moment before returning the Admiral’s gaze, “at least Admiral Gonzalez didn’t let us know what we were getting into.”

“And you know,” said Thompson, “I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see you back in my office when you’re done, no matter how unlikely it seems.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” responded Bryan.

The Admiral repeated, “‘Allen.’”

Bryan took a slight step back, and then gave the Admiral a full salute. “Sir,” he said defiantly.

“Suit yourself,” he said, smiling and extending his hand. “Give ‘em hell.”

Bryan met the Admiral’s handshake firmly. “I’ll do my best, sir.”

As Bryan walked out of the Admiral’s office, everybody crowded him, asking him different questions about what was going on.

“What now?” asked Natalie.

“Well,” Bryan began, “first thing’s first.” He turned to Jared. “Commander, the wing is yours. It’s been a pleasure serving with you.”

Jared was stunned. “Wait, what? You’re leaving?”

Bryan nodded. “I have orders to put an end to Gonzalez’s and T’baxla’s business for good.” He paused before continuing. “I… may not be back.” Shock was the prevailing emotion expressed by his wingmates.

“I can’t believe this!” exclaimed Natalie. “He can’t just send you off to die!”

Bryan tried his best to calm her. “First of all, no one said I’m going to die. And I’m going to do my damnest to make sure that doesn’t happen. And second, if the Admiral hadn’t ordered me to do this, I would have done it myself.”

“Bryan…” said Natalie quietly. The rest of them just stood there stunned.

“Now, I need to take care of them before they decide to blow up another ship, or god forbid this station. Good luck, you guys.” Bryan then quickly made his exit.

Before he could get far, Natalie came running up behind him. “Bryan, wait!” she yelled. Bryan kept walking, but Natalie came running around him to get in his way. “Bryan,”

“Natalie,” said Bryan sadly, “I need to do this. Please understand.”

Natalie looked up at Bryan, not with pleading eyes, but with defiance. “Then understand that I am coming with you.”

Bryan blinked incredulously. “What? No. This isn’t your responsibility.”

Begging Bryan, Natalie continued, “Remember what B’lar said. I hold some power over the Orb, too. If it comes down to it, you know I can help.”

Bryan looked at Natalie as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle. This wasn’t her emotion talking, this was the confidence in her ability that was pleading with him. She didn’t want to come with him because she was afraid of losing him, she wanted to be there to make a difference.

So, it was with emotion that Bryan looked back at her eyes, knowing what the right decision was, but fighting it with every piece of his being. His command decisions were always logical, even at the height of adversity, and he always had a knack for fighting off his feelings for the sake of the CED.

This time, however, he couldn’t do it. With everything that had happened in the past week, Bryan had learned that sometimes the right decision must involve emotion. Bryan looked down for a moment.

“Bryan?” asked Natalie, hesitant.

“Get us a transport,” he said as Natalie’s expression changed to joy. “But I swear to god,” he warned, “if you get yourself killed, I’m going to use the Orb to bring you back to life, and then I’ll kill you myself.”

Natalie gave her trademark playful giggle and jumped into Bryan’s arms. The two shared a quick embrace before getting to work.