Mutant Space People: Part 3

This isn't my own picture. I wish. But I really liked it, so I added it anyway.

Part 3:

“Battle stations! There’s only one thing that can stop that ship! Charge the reactors! We’ve only got one shot at this!”

Simkins swallowed hard and turned toward his mapping station. He’d never even been assigned a real battle station. He was almost glad, though. When facing a scythe ship, he was just as helpless as any of them.

“Simkins! Where do you think you’re going?” The Fleet Admiral had arrived on the bridge. Just the sound of his voice made Simkins cringe.

“To my station, sir?”

“Get over here! Captain Flauke has informed me that you knew about this scythe ship. That you charted it even when the scanners read nothing. Tell me everything you know, Lieutenant, and I warn you that if your explanation isn’t satisfactory, you’ll be an excellent candidate for court martial!”

In a wavering voice, Simkins recalled the events of the last several hours, starting with the vision of Ensign Baxter on the robot command ship. He tried to include every detail, whether it seemed to matter or not, in the hopes that Fleet Admiral Carson would believe that he was telling the truth.

“You charted a ship based on a vision? A hallucination?”

“W...well...”

“Speak up, Simkins! We haven’t got all day!”

“Yes sir. I don’t understand what these visions are, or where they come from, but I thought it better to chart it and be wrong, than to ignore it and be right." he paused to take a breath, and then hastily added, "Sir.”

“I suppose that is sound logic.” Carson growled, and Simkins was surprised to hear anything so agreeable come from the Fleet Admiral. “But I just don’t understand these visions. What are they? Could they be related to your talent?”

“I’m not sure, sir. Until now, the only thing I’ve ever been able to do is sort of assess the aura of something. The truthfulness of a story or the warning I get in a potentially dangerous situation. Just like how I mentioned that the robot army is being controlled by a human influence, and not android intelligence.”

“And you’re getting these warnings now, I presume.”

“Off the scale sir.” Simkins confirmed, and he wiped some sweat from his face. In fact, the warnings he was getting were so strong that he was quickly losing the ability to keep his knees from buckling.

“Well, you were right about the scythe ship. Somehow they were hiding it from us. A new technology, perhaps. And if you were right about that, it’s possible that you were right about... where is he? Where is Ensign Baxter?!”

They looked around, but there was no sign of the teleporting officer. As if in answer to the question, the screen suddenly transformed into Baxter’s face. He was smiling an evil grin that perfectly matched the danger warning Simkins felt from him earlier.

“It’s coming from the scythe ship, sir.” The communications officer announced.

“The back stabbing... Baxter! I’ll see you court martialed!”

“Somehow I doubt that.” Even his voice had slipped into an evil sounding sneer. “After all, you’ll be disintegrated. Only I shall escape, thanks to my special powers. I’ll bring back the tragic news, be hailed as a hero, and do it all over again, until I rule the galaxy. Good bye.”

His face disappeared from the screen, and once again they saw the scythe ship with its cannons aimed right for the bridge.

“Reactors are primed sir!” Shouted the melded tech officer.

“Excellent. Fire! We don’t have a second to lose!”

“WAIT!” Simkins shouted, silencing the entire bridge. He didn’t know what made him do it.

“This had BETTER be GOOD Lieutenant!” Carson screamed, face turning purple.

In a moment, Simkins was looking down at the fleet, just as he had before. He looked for the scythe ship, but it wasn’t where it should have been. The reactor cannon was aimed at a completely empty patch of space. Frantically Simkins searched the area and noticed a shimmer to the far left. There it was.

He was back on the bridge, with Carson about to explode.

“They’re sending a false message to the scanners, sir!” He explained as he dashed to his mapping station. “We couldn’t pick up the ship before, and we still can’t. If we fire, we’ll hit nothing, and then we’ll be helpless. But I know where it is.”

“If you’re wrong, Lieutenant...” Carson threatened.

“I know, sir. But you’ll just have to trust me. I know where it is.” He finished adjusting the coordinates. “Fire now!”

“I give the orders around here!” Carson growled. “FIRE! NOW, YOU MORONS!”

The reactor cannon fired, causing everyone on the ship to stumble with the vibrations. Simkins watched the screen closely. To everyone on board, it looked as though their one weapon had just sailed right past the threatening ship. Simkins’ stomach turned over, and he crossed his fingers.

Three seconds later, there was a blinding flash. The screen lost sight of the original scythe ship and suddenly picked up a second one, far to the left, which was now spouting orange and green flame. With an explosion that rocked the entire ship, the threat was gone. Completely disintegrated except for the pitiful form of Baxter, who had appeared on the bridge.

“Please, sir! They made me! They made me! Don’t hurt me, sir! I can explain everything!”

“Save it for the trial, Baxter! Mandy-and-Paul, get this scum to the brig! And you, Simkins..,” Simkins gulped, expecting a reprimand. “As for you, congratulations, Lieutenant. Or should I say Lieutenant Commander. Job well done!”

A cheer erupted from the crew, and Simkins stood there, awestruck. For the first time in his life, he had done something truly great. For the first time, things were just how he had always hoped. He allowed himself a small smile, and said weakly. “Thank you sir.”