Annihilator emerged from the spatiotemporal sphere. Right behind the shining silver giant, the rest of the fleet appeared. Inside the machine, light suborbital fighters, bombers and corvettes formed up ranks near the hangar gates. Their crews got into positions and waited for the signal. The throb of engines and communications given by the control reached the Celestians’ ears. They sensed tension, but they did not let their doubts overwhelm them. Despite the outbalancing Union forces, they believed in victory as long as Antares was their leader.
Charon Antares was just heading towards his tiny gunboat, synchronising his brisk step with the vibrations of the engine. Usually, in moments like that, he marched proudly, admiring the warriors and their lethal machines surrounding him, but that time he wished to weave as fast as he could between ships and officers, running up to him every second. He stared at his LiqBoard, examining the data and statistics almost obsessively. He had to be sure that everything went according to Devi Kali’s plan. He’d received an updated statement which informed that the enemy had not taken any action against the rebel fleet so far, and all the ships executing the operation had arrived safely and were on standby.
Antares looked towards the small fighters, standing right in front of the gate. They had to start as the first ones and break through the ground defence to allow the corvettes to descend.
You’ll be heroes, the thought came along with regret and respect for their pilots’ valour. You believed in me from the beginning and you believe in me right to the end, even though I know I’ve thrown you at the enemy firing line and made you think it’s a great privilege.
He folded the LiqBoard in half and kept it in his hip pack. He reached his cargo ship and took a seat next to Nadee. The Kehrian woman nodded, but she did not take her eyes off the console with the data bars. She’d served as a support and guide in Antares’ ranks for several years, so she was prepared for every possibility. She had on a bulletproof vest, a patched, pale green uniform with a band with the logo of three circles on her arm, and a helmet. A thin cable connected her goggles and was attached to her belt device where she had stored all the necessary information.
Quirinus did not say a word too. He sat behind Nadee, turning his gun around in his hands. He pretended to check once again if his weapon was functional and loaded, but actually, he wanted just to focus on the battle instead of thinking about his talks with Smuggler and Antares. His Commander’s words along with his last look full of anger and compassion were stuck in his mind. He did not stop his activity even when his Commander’s steps reverberated in the cockpit. He pulled the dark goggles on to hide the violet tinge of his eyes and avoid everyone’s gaze.
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Antares noticed the change in his captain’s behaviour anyway. He still wanted to believe that he’d just imagined it, but he knew what he saw. Quirinus had lied to him once again. Antares looked away from the young Celestian and propped his head.
He had taken Waves of Lethe again. And because of me at that time. If only I could listen to him…
A low alarm roared through the entire ship, and gates lifted with a screech. Light fighters took off right away and with a howl of their engines, they shot ahead. Like a swarm of metal hornets, they headed towards the surface of the ruined planet just to be slammed by an enemy strike, the same as insects.
Antares stared at the control panel, not bothering to think about lives that would end soon. He could not let remorse unnerve him in moments like that. He put a helmet on and tapped the icon on the screen to activate the machine. Lines of blue numbers, informing him about altitude, pitch, velocity and other parameters and gauges glowed on the console. “First wave on the way,” he announced on his communicator.
“Understood,” replied Devi Kali. Due to the distortion caused by static, her voice sounded even harsher and stern.
The second signal resounded, and right after it, the heavier machines that resembled a bluster of colossal waterfall lifted off with a blast that tore the vast hangar space. Spurts of pale blue flames shot out of the jets of larger and better-armed fighters. Swamping the frozen void, the machines disappeared from the range of sight a few seconds later.
This short, elusive moment felt like endlessly prolonged hours for Antares.
Waiting for the adrenaline to fill his veins and give him the strength and courage, he bored his eyes into the control panel and concentrated on the objects shifting on it. He counted every beat of his heart to calm himself down, hearing only the silent hum in his head. He loosened his mind from the thoughts of the past mistakes, guilt and fear of the future, and he focused on what was there and then.
The alarm howled for the third time. Antares straightened out his fingers. He closed his hand on the blue rectangle. Nadee did the same and the start button got unlocked. Antares tapped it, and a gut-splitting vibration shook the entire vehicle. He sat in a save position, leaning his body against the shock-absorbing seat, and breathed in slowly before the machine took off and smashed out of the hangar. The G-force winded him, and the blurred, sandy-yellow spot on a black background presented itself in front of his eyes.
He knew that death awaited him somewhere on those sands. Like every animal with a survival instinct, Antares feared it, but he was ready to embrace it with dignity.