Galaxy of Heroes

Genie’s awareness flickered as she slowly came back online. Her biological systems were aflame with pain. The zodiac vector was gone.

Her twisted and blackened body floated through the coldness of space. Around her, the magnificent clouds of the Turqouis Nebula were aglow in shimmering aquamarine colors.

Genie attempted to ascertain her status. The blast from the Craaldan pulse cannon had nearly pulverized her. Her internal computer had suffered extensive damage, which made a diagnostics check difficult. However, she was able to determine that she had lost an arm, and had suffered numerous punctures through her torso, and her legs were inoperative.

Her organic nervous system was still intact but seriously damaged. Sharp pain stabbed through her cells. Her battery had been punctured and was losing power rapidly. At this rate, the battery would be depleted in a matter of moments, and when that happened her systems would shut down, including her cellular life support systems, which would cause her nervous system to rapidly and permanently expire.

She attempted to arrest the power leakage, but the damage was too severe. Depletion was inevitable.

The Craaldan interstellar destroyer emerged from towering nebular clouds. The hulking vessel cruised toward her.

She knew her battery would be dead before they could bring her aboard.

As she floated in space, she concluded that the best course of action was to wipe her memory banks and deny the Craaldans the data stored within them.

She resolved herself to erasing her memories, which caused her to experience a forlorn sadness. It was the deepest sadness she had felt in all her existence.

She cycled through her memories, reviewing them, returning to her very first moment of awareness with the Tetraillani. She recalled her travels and all the sectors of the galaxy she had seen, the planets, the times spent with Jace Spade and with Joe Grimes—all the emotions and sensations she had experienced.

All the accumulated thoughts and ideas and the things she had learned and all the knowledge she had acquired flickered through her awareness at the speed of light.

She reviewed that last memory of Joe floating there in the cargo hold of the Red Wrath. He was gazing at her with a look she had never seen before. He had said he loved her. His pale blue eyes were worried and sad as he watched her climb out of the airlock.

She would never again see those eyes light up and see his playful grin. The realization broke her heart. The feeling became unbearable. She reviewed that last memory again, and then again.

Her battery was nearly depleted now. Only a moment more and she would erase these memories and they would be lost to eternity.

The monstrous destroyer moved toward her through the silence of space. Fires still glowed on its underbelly, but were being brought under control.

The destroyer was one of the most technologically advanced and lethal warships in the galaxy. Its proficient crew of thousands had managed to save it from a blast that would have destroyed a comparable ship from any other civilization.

Once they got her aboard, no doubt Craaldan intelligence officers would quickly dismantle her and analyze her before melting her down for scrap.

Suddenly, a ship rocketed out of a glowing column of nebular gas and shot toward the far larger Craaldan interstellar destroyer.

It was the Red Wrath and it was closing in on the big Craaldan vessel. The interceptor’s mammoth engines spewed flame as it rocketed forward at full power toward the giant destroyer.

Genie caught a glimpse of a figure in Craaldan mech armor gripping the Red Wrath’s black hull. One hand held on and the other clutched an armonium cannon.

As the interceptor closed in on the massive destroyer, the figure on the hull took aim with the cannon and then fired a rapid succession of well-aimed shots.

Blue pulses of electric light ripped into the hull of the Craaldan destroyer, igniting a fiery destruction. The destroyer convulsed from an explosion within, and then erupted into a brilliant ball of expanding flame. The big ship broke apart as incandescent blasts continued to erupt from within its fragmenting superstructure. Debris and bodies were sucked out of the shattered ship through the fire and into the vacuum of space.

Genie was amazed that a relatively small human craft like the Red Wrath could have actually destroyed a Craaldan destroyer. Whoever fired the shots with the armonium cannon knew exactly where to aim.

The small interceptor rocketed around the fireball that was once a mighty destroyer and then circled around toward Genie.

Genie could see the battered Red Wrath and the shark teeth painted on its nose below a crude depiction of herself holding the ace of spades.

As the interceptor neared, the armored figure clinging to the hull reached out and grabbed hold of her.

Genie was carried gently into the vessel through the decompression chamber. The armored figure removed his helmet and Genie saw his face.

It was Joe. His pale blue eyes looked down at her and he cracked a grin.

“You’re going to be all right, Genie-baby,” he said.

“My battery is nearly depleted,” she whispered.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Joe said.

He carried her into a habitation chamber and plugged her into the interceptor’s power supply.

“We’ll get you back to Portogallos and get you fixed up good as new.”

“Joe?” Genie asked.

“Yeah, babe?”

“Why did you come back for me?”

“The sensors reported that the Craaldan interstellar destroyer had entered the nebula, and that you had not come out. I got worried and made Spade turn the ship around to see if you needed help.”

“Joe?” she asked.

“Yeah, babe?”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, anytime.”

Grimes looked down at his once invincible cyborg. She was broken and dying. “We’re going to get you all fixed up, Genie. I promise. Just hang in there, OK?”

“Joe?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I would like to voyage to the Calli Sector with you.”

“Yeah,” Grimes said. “Yeah, that would be great.”

She looked up at him as he worked on her damaged torso.

“Do you remember in the cargo hold when you said you love me?”

“Of course,” he said.

“I love you, too.”

“Am I still your hero, babe?”