Tag: Sci-fi

Pegasus (Part 141)

The rest of the crew broke into hugs, kisses, and high-fives, too. We had achieved the incredible; the Emperor was gone. I imagined impromptu celebrations breaking out throughout the solar system. The riches of the Empire could now be shared with the destitute. Democracy could be brought back. My eyes welled with pride.

After a few minutes, Leanne, who had finished kissing her woman, asked, “Where next?”

It was such an obvious question, but one I had never given any thought. I looked at Tabitha, but she raised her shoulders. “Well, let me see if there is somewhere safe close by. Here, T451, only forty minutes away. It’s a hotel habitat. We can lay low for a while, make sure we’re not being hunted before returning to whatever you call home.”

There were no objections, so I took it as a go.

The joyous atmosphere continued till we were close to our new destination.

The ship’s onboard computer tried to initiate the docking procedure but was blocked. Instead, we received a voice communication from what sounded like an anxious woman. “We have no record of your reservation. Please state your business and where your origin point is.”

I look at the rest of the crew holding my finger up to my mouth. I examined the map of habitat locations, trying to determine a plausible origin point.

Pegasus (Part 140)

I brushed past him shouldering him to the ground. “Come on! We don’t have much time.”

The other ran around the frail man and after me.

Another explosion, this time much bigger. I glanced back to see the palace in ruins. The devastation was only going to increase. My heart skipped a beat when I saw troopers under one of the pyramids but they scuttled.

It took another six minutes of hard running before we reached our ship. I was never so happy to see it. The ground shook violently from a further blast. I knew that the habitat would not maintain stability for much longer.

I went straight for the controls, my eyes fixated on the rear camera waiting for my last comrade to board.

A moment later, the ship was lifting off. A blast from the rear pushed the ship forward. I pulled the lever back hard as it skimmed over the surface before rising up through the thin at atmosphere and into space.

Cries of joy erupted. Then a huge piece of space junk flew in front of the ship. I looked into the rear view camera to see the Emperor’s Habitat being blown apart.

We did it. We actually did it.

Tabitha threw her arms around me and planted a kiss.

Pegasus (Part 139)

The corridor turns left, then right. All the time, I could hear the pounding feet of our pursuers. Then an explosion goes off behind shaking the building and knocking us off our feet. The ceiling has fallen in behind us, covering everything in a white dust.

I struggle to my feet knowing that we are now racing against the clock. Tabitha does likewise, her jaw clenched.

A lift is only a few feet away. We get inside knowing there’s no chance we would leave our comrades behind.

I press the button to go down a floor and we go back in the direction from which we came.

As the lift opens, there is another explosion. ab

We run. In front of us are the enemy troops who pinned us down earlier. We start firing hitting them in the back. Only one of them manages to turn around, his eyes wide open as his body is riddled.

Charging down the stars I roared, “Everyone to the ship. It’s going to blow!”

Then came out of their cover positions and followed. Then we all came to an abrupt halt. The Emperor, now a sickly yellow stood in front of us. Barely audible he said, “Whhaat have you done?”

Pegasus (Part 138)

I looked Tabitha straight in the eyes, “You keep them back, I’ll prepare things in here.”

She turned and started returning fire. Her muscles bulged as the heavy weapon went back and forth in her arms.

“Hurry,” she yelled. There are too many.

Sown into the inside of my jacket was the critical device. I took a blade from my side pocket and cut it out. It was a long wire with a circuit connector on each end. I put one side on the mechanical device and the other on the cylindrical device.

A few seconds later, it flashes yellow.

They have to keep it connected for another two minutes for the reaction to become self-sustaining.

I watch in horror as Tabitha falls to the ground, a line of blood coming from her shoulder.

Immediately, I take up her position and return fire. The bodies of dead troops lie on the floor.

“Are you okay, Tabitha?” I shout over the din of my fire.

She gingerly gets back to her feet. “Yes, I’ll live.”

I glanced back at the wire. It flashed purple.

We need to get the hell out of here.

“Are you able to run?”

“Yes, I think so!”

“Okay, on the count of three. One, two..”

I step out into the hall. “Three.”

Tabitha runs. Then I turn and do likewise.

Pegasus (Part 137)

Our pace now quickened. I thought back to those plans I had seen all that time ago. The Emperor’s habitat and the palace on it had been constructed many generations ago. But even then, there was resistance to the autocracy.

One of the contractors had built a flaw into the palace’s emergency shield. A power line for the habitat runs very close. If they are connected, it triggers a massive explosion in just minutes, which ultimately reverberates throughout the entire habitat, destroying everything. A secret that the resistance had managed to keep.

The Emperor would finally be no more, and peace and freedom would finally prevail. Or, at least that was what I hoped would happen.

The hallway led to one room after another. All full of ornate wooden furniture. The tables were golden.

We were close now. I could feel it.

Tabitha grabbed my hand. “We’re being followed.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Damn”

The next thing we heard was shouts of “Stop!”. Then the firing started.

I opened the next door. It was what we were looking for. It was bare except for a mechanical device in its centre that took up most of the room, and a large cylindrical tube on the left side. They were what I needed to connect.

Pegasus (Part 136)

“Let’s go!” I roared.

We ran into the palace, my pulse racing.

Immediately, we ran into fire from the floor above. We took cover behind some of the pillars. I sensed the threat of us getting pinned. This was not something we had time for.

There was a screech of pain. Jeanne had been hit in the leg.

I shouted to the others. “We don’t have time for this. On the count of five, provide cover fire for me and Tabitha. We’ll come back for you once the mission has been completed.”

They nodded, and I began to count. On reaching five, we darted across the large room to the lifts. I pressed the button to go down multiple times.

Tabitha placed her hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. They can’t target us here.

The lift door opened, and we stepped inside. There was space for many more. I looked into Tabitha eyes. She didn’t blink. A couple of seconds later, the lift opened. We stepped onto the fine carpet that bore images of battles into a wide corridor.

An alarm sounded, and the lights took on a red hue.

Tabitha smiled. “Guess they know we’re here.”

“Apparently,” I replied.

Pegasus (Part 135)

In less than a minute, battered bodies were strewn across the ground. A minute later, they were cuffed and bound with their own equipment.

“Come on, hurry, there will be more of them,” Tabitha frowned.

“Yes, come on, everybody,” I added.

We jogged out from under the pyramid. I could see other troops in the distance but they seemed disinterested in security.

“What the hell is going on?” I said.

Leanne was beside me now. “It’s the Emperor. I got one of the communication devices from one of the troops. He’s critical. If he dies, it sounds like fighting could break out.”

This was the time. We had to take advantage.

Leanne pointed to a megastructure in the distance. “That’s the palace. It’s huge.”

With that, we went into the vegetation and went straight for it.

It glistened with gold, and the main pathway was cut in emerald diamond. The opulence was there on view for everyone to see.

We went right up to the entrance undiscovered and peered out at the tourists and two heavily armed guards.

Tabitha looked at me knowingly, and we raised our acquired guns. The two guards collapsed in a hail of bullets as panicked onlookers ran in every direction.

Pegasus (Part 134)

“Let’s do it,” Leanne shouted. The others all nodded.

This was my moment. I could feel it in my racing heart. “Follow me. The first priority is to try to get some weapons. Otherwise, we’re toast.”

We go back out and along the corridor before we reach a stairwell.

“Come on,” I whisper back to them as I wave. It takes several minutes to get to the bottom.

Leanne, who had gone ahead of me, abruptly stopped. I went in front of her, and glanced around the corner.

There were some of the men in red uniforms who had captured me earlier. In intense conversation, they seemed oblivious to what was happening around them.

I knew we only had one choice. A sneak attack, we needed to get into hand-to-hand combat, before they drew their weapons.

In whispers, I told the others that I would go first. They were to follow in a line behind.

With care, I placed one foot in front of the other till I got within striking distance of the closest soldier. I put my arm around his neck and began to squeeze. Then all pandemonium broke loose as the rest got involved, punching and kicking the soldiers into submission.

Pegasus (Part 133)

Moments later, she sat at the side of the bed, her mouth ajar.

“You were being drugged by a tube inserted into your neck. They did the same to me. I’m sure all the others are the same. Come on, help me with the others. We don’t have much time.”

She nodded in agreement and went to Leanne, while I went to her Mum. Within a few minutes, they were all back standing up and ready for action.

For the first time, I could see steely determination in their eyes,

Leanne was the first to speak. “What now?”

I knew she wasn’t talking about escaping. They were all looking in my direction.

“The Emperor has taken ill. Now is the time for us to strike. If we run, it is only a matter of time before we are all captured once more. We keep to my original plan. Except we’re all in it now.”

“And what is that?” was murmured from the rear.

I replied with gusto, trying to keep their spirits up. “A nuclear blast inside the Emperor’s chamber can blow the whole habitat. That is what I have been trying to achieve since Tabitha and I left the dinosaur habitat. And we are now so close to achieving our objective.”

Pegasus (Part 132)

But which way to go? I tried to remember my time with the Emperor for any little hint. Then I remembered that he had looked in a particular direction when he had mentioned my friends. I thought back to where my bed was positioned at the time. I needed to go to my left.

Without hesitation, I quickly walked in that direction. The next door was over twenty meters away. There was a circular red button to the left, which I pressed. The door opened to reveal a darkened room. I stepped inside, careful not to make any noise. I could make out that several people were lying in what looked like hospital beds.

I searched the wall for a light switch and pressed it. The glare briefly closed my eyes. I reopened them to see Tabitha and the rest of the crew lying in the beds, shouting for my help.

Tabitha was closest.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Tears were flowing down the side of her face as her eyes darted from place to place. “I can’t move, love.”

I guessed what the problem was and lifted her head with care, searching for a tube, which I pulled out.

“What are you doing, love?”

I rubbed the side of her face with my palm. “Give it a minute.”