A New Divide

Desperate men do desperate deeds, and men who act in desperation are the most dangerous of all. Silas, Virgil, Helena, my father, and I were being forced to an escape pod—by the very soldiers we were ready to fight alongside. Mark’s stubborn decision had turned the Remoran soldiers against us, like we were the enemy. Or, at least, it certainly felt that way.

We were all feeling very mournful and disappointed. Being as stubborn as I was, I refused to accept the fact that Mark was going to sacrifice himself to kill Arcoh. So I set a plan of escape into motion as a squad of four soldiers had brought us to an escape pod. We were all furious, and aggravated, but we managed to keep a cool disposition.

“Well. Here we are. Get in,” the Remoran squad leader barked while he opened the door to the escape pod.

“So y’all force us out of the bridge, let my boss go ahead with his dumbass plan, and you don’t even lemme evacuate with my own damned ship! The hangar is just a quarter of a kilometer away! Do you have any idea how much me and that ship have been through together?”

The squad leader, feeling confident, looked at Virgil and thought to lecture him. “They are orders, Captain. You should try following them once in a while. You might actually get somewhere in life.”

“Oh. Ya mean like spending my entire life as a squad leader, instead of a captain? I ran an entire battalion four hundred years ago! Long before you became your momma and your poppa’s favorite accident. Show respect for your elders.”

“All right, in! Now!”

I stepped in between the two and interrupted Virgil’s argument with the squad leader.

“I have one request if I could.”

“You don’t get requests, gravball boy.”

Silas was extremely offended by the arrogant squad leader’s remark towards me, and he spoke out in my defense. “This is Commander Wyman’s guest of honor! You will grant him one request, Sergeant!”

“Humph. All right, what do you want?”

“A cigarette.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Could I please get a cigarette? I could use a little break. Hell, we all could. Am I right or what, guys?”

The squad leader looked around to his five other troops, who seemed convinced by my request. Our group then slowly began moving away from the open escape pod. The squad leader grabbed a cigarette from one of his crew, and handed it to me. I took the cigarette from him and placed it on my lip. I tilted my head up and smiled at the sergeant, making the gesture as if I needed a lighter.

“Can I get a light?”

“My god. You want me to smoke it for you too?” The sergeant then grabbed a light from the soldier behind him, and lit my cigarette. I took a deep puff, and lightly blew the smoke out. This distraction allowed the others to rotate around the soldiers, safely, and away from the door to the pod.

“Come on, don’t make me feel alone here! If you got ’em now’s the time to smoke ’em.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, kid,” Virgil said as he began to light up, along with three of the other soldiers. The squad leader continued to stare blankly at me.

“Come on, I know you smoke.”

“Never on duty.”

“Well, you’re not on duty now. Your squad mates are smoking.” I smiled at him and he nodded his head completely straight faced. The squad leader glanced up at me as he lit his cigarette.

“So are you ready to enter the pod?”

Just as the flame from his lighter almost went out, I quickly snapped my finger. This only lasted but a second. My skin began to glow as I grew a manifestation of energy in my hand. I could feel time slowing around me, or maybe that was my focus.

Once I got the sergeant’s flame, the fuel from the other lighters quickly followed behind it. I created a fireball, and flung it directly into the sergeant. This very mild explosion sent him, and his squad mates, flying into the wall behind them. Some landed on the surface of the escape pod’s door, and some just barely outside. Virgil quickly dodged the squad leaders flying body, and grabbed the TNC stunner on the floor.

My father, Virgil, and Silas quickly rushed towards the temporarily incapacitated soldiers, and began stunning them, in order to place them in the pod.

“Fell for the oldest trick in the book!”

“Great job, kid. I hope you have a plan,” Virgil said, helping my father place the squad leader’s limp body in the pod.

“I’m working that out as we speak. Dad, come on! We have to get to Mark now! Before he leaves!” My father continued to shock the squad leader as he and Virgil placed him inside the pod.

“Yeah! Doesn’t feel too good, does it, asshole!”

“John, calm down, man. He’s down.”

Virgil stepped out, and slammed the eject button just left of the pod door. The escape pod rocketed down, then shed its protected armor, and was safely on its way to the surface of Rayden. The bombardment of molten rock and minerals had stopped. Now, Remoran drop pods rained from its golden red skies.

“All right, y’all, grab these stun guns they dropped. We’re gonna have to fight our way to the bridge if we want to save Mark.” We gathered the equipment the soldiers had dropped, and made our way into a maintenance room down the hall, where we could further formulate our plan.

[-<Commander Mark Wyman>-]

-The Bridge-

Mark stood there on the balcony of the bridge, overlooking the Crusader fleet, and the crushing hold they had on his current slice of the Remoran Expeditionary Force. For the first time in his career, he had no one advising him, and no one protecting him. He was all alone.

“Computer?”

“Yes, Commander?”

“Connect me to the Hammer’s interface. I want to speak to Arcoh.”

“Yes, Commander.”

After a moment Arcoh appeared. The projection manifested him on the windshield of the Alexandria once again. He sat in the same place as before; it seemed that he had expected Mark’s favorable reply.

“Ah, Commander Wyman, where is your crew?” Arcoh asked as his eyes scanned the empty bridge of the Alexandria.

“I have a request, Arcoh.” Arcoh tapped his hand on the arm of his throne and he nodded to him. “Go ahead.”

“Collin is awaiting me in the ship. When we meet, I need your word that you will not harm my soldiers, or the people still recovering on Rayden. I have been led to believe—that you are a man of your word.”

“I most certainly am.”

“Grant me this request and I will do anything you ask.” Arcoh smiled and leaned forward in his throne.

“Of course, Commander.” Mark turned away and prepared to leave the balcony of the bridge, but Arcoh spoke again.

“Oh, and Mark?” Arcoh made sure he had Mark’s attention before he finished his sentence. “I don’t think I need to remind you. If I don’t see Collin on the ship I will lay waste to your fleet. It will fall down with the rest of the trash on the surface of Rayden. But I have been led to believe that—you are a man of your word as well, so I have no doubt that you will not disappoint me. See you soon, my friend.”

Arcoh swiped the transmission away and the projection dissipated. Mark then removed the cloth on the command table. It revealed a bomb that was attached to a combat vest he had laid out on the table.

“I usually am a man of my word but today, today is very different.” He took the bomb-coated vest, and began to put it on, underneath his other garments. He latched the sides of the vest, and weaved the wired detonator down through the side of his suit, to the couplet of his right wrist. The button he tied to his hand.

He sighed and took one last look at the Alexandria. All that he had built, and all that fought at his side over his 500-year-old life. He took a short time to remember the good times he had, not only in war, but in life as well. I doubt he had ever felt so fulfilled or nervous about anything in his entire life.

He never needed much time, so shortly after, he bid a final farewell to the ship’s computer.

“ALI?”

“Yes, Commander?”

“It has been an honor serving with you over the years. My only regret is that you could not enjoy your new home as long as I had hoped.”

“I would happily go down with any ship you decide to integrate me into, Commander. Goodbye, and good luck.” Mark released a faint smile, and stared down at the inactive detonator tied to his hand. He put on his coat over the vest, as he spoke one last time to ALI.

“I have just one more request of you, ALI.”

“Of course, Commander.”

“You must do everything in your power to make sure all of my people have made their way to Rayden within the next twenty minutes.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Farewell, ALI.”

“Again, good luck, Commander.” Mark left the bridge, and walked towards his personal dock, where he would board his ship, and complete one final testament regarding his selfless loyalty to his people, and the safety of their future.

We sat there, the five of us, in that small maintenance closet, dodging the waves of evacuating soldiers. A few minutes earlier I had just pitched a plan, and we began relaying it between each other.

“So, Silas, you think it’ll work?” my father asked. “If this ship’s half-light reactor is overheated, it could very well destroy an entire planet. Crashing it into the Hammer would decimate everything. The might of their shields, or the Hammer’s arc-lite armor wouldn’t matter at that point.”

“And the mighty Alexandria, the most beautiful and glamorous ship in the known universe, then became its most feared weapon. One single fiery weapon striking down Arcoh, with a flaming sword of vengeance!”

“Very poetic, Virgil,” I said.

“Damn right, brother.”

“Definitely better than Mark’s suicidal plot, no doubt in my mind. I say we go with Collin’s idea,” my father said. “I only see one flaw in your plot, kiddo.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Mark placed the bridge on lockdown, and he’s the only one who has the codes to get back into the command center.”

“That’s not entirely true, Virgil,” Silas replied.

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“My sister has the codes.”

My father stood up and pitched in his word. “No, man, no way. Did you see her back there! Plus she is a traitor! If you all want to use this ship’s reactor as a flying nuclear weapon that’s one thing. But working with that lying bitch? You are out of your damn minds!”

“Watch your mouth—that’s my sister you’re talking about!”

“Your sister is a liar and a worthless thief, Silas!”

Silas and my father began shouting at each other in the small room. It was proving to be quite obnoxious listening to their rabble. Then Helena spoke, after remaining quiet for the last hour. “Desperate times require desperate measure, boys.”

“Oh please, now we’re listening to the mute. This is ridiculous,” my father said.

“You don’t talk to her like that! She will be more important to my life than you will ever be from this point out! Why did you even come back? You have been nothing but a pain in the ass since you got here!”

My father was struck by what I had said and he bowed his head in grief.

“Dad, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean that. I’m just so frustrated!”

“No, I’m sorry, kiddo. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry, Helena.”

“Can I finish please?” Helena had captured our attention. “Victoria may not be the most pleasant person, but she has the same accessibility as Mark does in this armada. She also knows things about this ship that nobody else does. It may be Mark’s army, but this is her ship.”

“What if she tries to turn on us?”

“Well, you boys may disagree, but I find it very suspicious that she was caught in her act so easily. She is capable of much more than you realize, and in all reality, she is probably more intelligent than all of you. People like that, they don’t leave evidence behind. She is too smart to do that.”

“What are you saying? That someone set my sister up?” Silas asked.

“I don’t know but we have to get moving. She is our only option if we want this plan to work. If you all are still worried about her betraying us again, then keep an eye on her, and keep her restraints on.”

“Why would she want to help us?” I asked.

“She may seem selfish but trust me, if my sister knew what Mark was about to attempt she would do anything, even give her own life to save him. You see she is in love with him.”

“Oh god,” my father remarked in disgust.

“This plan will work,” Silas said with a smile.

Virgil stood up and opened the door of the maintenance closet and the bright light of the hallway spilled in on us. “Well, y’all, we ain’t getting nothing done standing here. Let’s go!”

Silas and Virgil peaked out into the hallway. My father stopped Helena, before he left the large closet. “I’m sorry I disrespected you, Helena. You got a damn good head on your shoulders, sweetheart.”

“It’s quite all right, John.”

“You picked a good girl, son.”

“Uh, thanks, dad. We have to keep moving though.” He nodded and left the room.

Helena whispered in my ear behind me as she perched up on my shoulder, “For what it’s worth, I am really glad we met, Collin.”

“Weren’t you the one who said that everything happens for a reason?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t fully believe it until now.”

“Let’s go, Helena, we got a commander to save.”

Victoria sat against the wall directly next to the bars of her cell. She ran her hands across the bars, and ached for freedom. She became startled when she heard a noise: it was the moaning of two guards who were about to transport her to an escape pod. She tilted her head, the furthest she could towards the bars of her cell to get a better view, when another unconscious guard flew across the floor in front of her cell.

She could hear a group of footsteps echo through the cold hallway, and she was intrigued, until she saw that it was us.

“Oh great, the righteous idiot brigade. Feel like beating up some guards to blow off some steam, huh? Not that I give a shit,” she said as she slumped back against the jail cell wall. Silas kneeled down to her cell door and jingled the key against the bars. “Hello, sister.”

Victoria diverted her eyes to the wall of the cell straight ahead of her, avoiding eye contact with her brother. She scoffed at his remark. “You accuse me of being a traitor and you need my help? Why the hell else would you be here?”

“We need your help to get into the bridge.”

“Now why the hell would I do that?”

“We are going to overload the Alexandria’s reactors and crash it directly into the Hammer, destroying Arcoh and his fleet.”

“So wait. Not only do you imprison me, the captain of my own ship, now you need my help to destroy it? You are ridiculous, brother. I mean, what good am I to Arcoh and his crusade, if I kill him in a fiery inferno? Sure, I’d be thrilled to lend a hand to you brother.”

“I see the sarcasm runs in the family,” I said.

“I’m not helping. Especially this kid you have put all of your faith, and time into. What a bunch of bullshit. Get the hell out of here, and leave me to rot. This army is dead to me. I’m surprised Mark isn’t here to share in the ridicule.” Silas looked at her, a shade of grief quickly swept over his face. Some of us looked away, and Helena had tears in her eyes. Our silence, and our facial expressions, immediately revoked a response from her. “Where is Mark?”

Silas said softly, “Victoria.”

Victoria jolted up to the bars and screamed at her brother, “WHERE IS MARK!”

“He is going to sacrifice himself in an attempt to kill Arcoh.”

She stepped back from the bars. The thought shattered her, and she began to pace, and pout, all around her cell. “No, no, no! Why Mark! That stubborn bastard!” She dropped to her knees, and Silas crouched down and looked upon his emotionally disturbed sister, and again pleaded for her help. “Will you help us?”

She took a moment to angrily wipe the tears from her eyes, and stood proudly to her feet. “Of course, you fools. We are going through a secret passage that leads to the bridge; it’s a straight shot.” We all smiled at each other. We felt for a moment our hope had been restored. “Well, what the hell are you all staring at me for! Let me the hell out of here!”

[-<Commander Mark Wyman>-]

-Quadrant 9, Raydenite Airspace-

Mark had already departed the Alexandria, well before we even arrived to snatch Victoria from her cell. Ahead of him was the prime Crusader dropship, lingering, in front of the mighty Crusader fleet. The dropship was engraved with the markings of the golden lion, signifying that this was—indeed—King Arcoh’s personal transport. He set the dropship to autopilot, staring at the bomb underneath his jacket. He felt strange knowing he was about to sacrifice his own life, but he knew he could not have been more right. It was truly everything Mark ever wanted: to provide for and be remembered by the Remorans.

The crew of Arcoh’s personal transport detected Mark’s ship, and docked with it, building a bridge between the airlocks. Mark stood up in an anxious manner, released the air lock, and stood in front of the blast door, as it slowly began to open. He armed the bomb under his jacket and waited for the moment of truth. Sure enough, Arcoh walked through the misty door with Ivan. Arcoh had that same evil smile on his face, until he looked around, and saw that Mark was alone.

“Where is Collin?”

“Put ’er there, you son of a bitch!” Mark smiled and closed his eyes, for he knew his valiant efforts had paid off. He knew he could rely on Arcoh’s pride to be his downfall. So he snatched up Arcoh’s hand and pressed the detonation button against his palm.

But nothing happened and Arcoh smiled his evil smile.

Mark took his hand and continued clicking the button but the bomb would not trigger. He looked shocked, as he stared directly into Arcoh’s eyes.

“How? How did?”

“I am smarter than you, Mark. I know you better than you know yourself.”

Mark’s face began to tremble furiously with anger as he needed to hear the truth. “Who? Who is it, you bastard?”

“Ah, the enemy that gets you, is the one you never see coming. So cruel and yet, so true. My agent saw to it that the bomb strapped to your chest would not blow both of us into tiny little pieces. And soon he will kill everyone on that bridge. Everyone that is trying to save you.”

Mark realized the irony of his situation. He fell for it all along, right into a trap, again. He closed his eyes tightly, severely disappointed with the depth of his failure. Arcoh punched Mark in his face and sent him to the floor with the blow. Arcoh giggled as he rubbed his hand and stared down at Mark.

“Mark. The Good Commander. I knew I could count on your selflessness to be your greatest weakness, just as you took my pride to be mine.” Arcoh grabbed Mark by his collar and raised him up to his eye level, and Mark gazed into the eyes of Arcoh the Eminent, eyes that boiled with intensity.

It was glorious for him, the feeling of satisfaction that he had beaten the greatest military commander Eden had to offer. He felt the need to voice the thoughts to his defeated enemy. Those thoughts that he contained, in that sick and twisted mind of his.

“Oh, Mark, you have made me truly great. I used you, Mark, played you like an instrument, and I must say you played your part perfectly; in fact, you should win an award for your outstanding performance. But then, I am forgetting that there is one other that deserves it even more than yourself.”

“Tell me who it is! Who betrayed us, Arcoh!”

Victoria had gained access to the terminal outside of the bridge, and once the lockdown was lifted, we poured into the bridge. We looked around, and saw that Mark was nowhere to be found. Virgil, my father, and I rushed to the balcony, above the command sphere. All while Helena and Silas, along with a subdued Victoria, searched the back wall of the bridge.

“Mark?”

“Commander!”

“Mark, where are you!” Virgil then tapped into the computer’s interface. “ALI?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Where is Commander Wyman?”

“Look! Up ahead!” Silas shouted. I pointed ahead of us, and sure enough we saw him. His shuttle had docked with Arcoh’s, several kilometers ahead of us. Then ALI answered Virgil’s question.

“Commander Wyman left to meet with King Arcoh a few minutes ago, Captain.”

“No! That stubborn bastard!”

“Mark!”

We all felt the same level of failure, much like Mark, and we expressed our emotions in different ways. Virgil threw an angry tantrum and began destroying things around the bridge, while my father and I stared into space in disbelief of our current circumstances.

I looked back and saw that Silas had bowed his head, and Victoria dropped to her knees crying while Helena ran over to comfort her. It was such a horrible day, and the worst part about it was: it was so far from over. I then said the only thing I could possibly think, bowing my head, knowing that all hope was lost. When people do not have hope, they begin to wither from their own sorrow.

“We are . . . too late.”