War Zone-Part Five: Triumph

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



Author's Note:   Takes place during late S2.



**********



Martin aimed her rifle over the ridge, sending a round blasting across the algae-green metal of the Jaridian complex. In the corner of her eye, she saw Liam and Sanchez scampering into the door. "Good," she mumbled, firing again to distract the guards.

The Jaridian sentries ducked, then fired in her direction. Martin felt as though an anvil had struck her shoulder, and realized that she couldn't move her arm. Her legs buckled, and she fell to the ground.

"Roberta!" screamed Al from his ledge, jumping down. He touched her burned shoulder and chest, then aimed her weapon over the rocks and slashed the Jaridians to shreds.

****

Sandoval bit his lip. "Are any of the ships operational?" he asked, already knowing part of the answer.

Lili checked the sensors. "Only two or three. Most of the rest are still being fitted with engines, but they have weapons."

Da'an seemed to consider this, then stated, "We must destroy it."

"How?" Lili asked. "We're a hundredth of its size, not including the ships. They can still rotate and fire at us even if we try."

Sandoval looked grim. "There is a term, Captain. Fire ship."

Lili stopped, feeling shock wash over her brain. "Fire ship? You're insinuating that we should rig the shuttle to blow and then run it into the shipyard?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Captain," Sandoval snapped, getting up out of his chair. "That shipyard is preparing battlecruisers to attack Earth. The loss of three people and a shuttle is a small price to pay."

Lili ground her teeth, thinking hard. "There may be other ways to destroy it."

****

Liam felt his gut contract as he heard someone scream. Roberta Martin. Sanchez spun, horrified. "That's Roberta. We have to go back." He began to run, but Liam caught his arm.

"We can't go back," he snapped, holding tight to Sanchez's wrist. "We've been given an assignment, and we will ALL die if we don't fulfil it!"

"You heartless little son of a-" Sanchez snarled.

"You insult me one more time and I'll snap you into next week," Liam said intensely. "Do you think Roberta would want... wants us to stop and turn around?"

Sanchez stopped, then lowered his head. "Let's get this over with."

****

Stella knelt down beside her friend and began running a scanner over her torso. Martin's eyes snapped open and fluttered madly. "What the..."

"You got hit with Jardie weapon fire," Stella soothed. "Just lie still!"

Stella began to wriggle. "I've got... to get back... to fighting... Liam and Pablo..."

"You get up, you'll die and not do them any good!" Stella said, pushing her commander down. "Al's taking your place for the time being. I'll sedate you if I have to!"

Roberta Martin let her head fall back, tearing up from frustration and pain.

****

The two monitoring officers had not made much of a struggle before Sanchez shot them. The dark young man glared hatefully at them as Liam began to access the sensors. "I can't communicate with the Taelons," he said, frustrated.

"Why not?" Sanchez asked in a threatening voice.

"Because the transmissions are being monitored by another source.... somewhere in orbit..." Liam began to frantically work the controls. A giant, spidery shape appeared on a holographic viewer. Liam's jaw dropped open. "Oh man. It's a shipyard..."

"They're going to invade?" Sanchez asked, stunned.

"Looks like it," Liam said tensely. "There's a small fleet up there, partially constructed. Only a few are really operational."

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Sanchez shouted. "We're never going to get off this rock!"

"Shut up and let me think!" Liam said, shutting his eyes and concentrating. The he began to shift the scans away from space. "There's a Jaridian fighter not too far away. If we approach them in that craft, crash into them, it ought to disable the fleet."

"Yeah, well what about us?" Sanchez demanded.

"I presume the Jaridians have escape pods. If not," he glanced at the Volunteer, "it's been nice, but not that nice, knowing you."

Sanchez bit down the words that he wanted to say. But Liam was still thinking, his forehead wrinkled with concentration. "You lost a hundred men in these past few months. Was Martin always the commander, or was she lower down?"

Sanchez looked confused. "She was our third-in-command. Our original commander was killed almost as soon as we arrived."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"The reason you're here," Liam said, standing up. "Your original mission was kept from you, known only to your commander and perhaps a few others, all dead. Either you were meant to destroy the shipyard or you were meant to capture it, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you've been stranded here for two months, abandoned."

Sanchez looked totally confused, then furious. "Why would the Taelons do that?"

"Not all of them," Liam stated. "In this case, just Zo'or."

****

The Jaridian fighter was clunky, like green plastic wrapped around a toothpick construction. But it had huge engines, twice the size of a shuttle's, and it looked fairly streamlined. Liam pressed the unconscious guard's hand against the panel, Sanchez holding the Jaridian halfway upright, and the door swished open.

Sanchez dropped the guard and followed Liam into the shuttle, where he eyed Liam suspiciously as Liam began working the controls at the front. They seemed simple enough. "You certainly seem familiar with this sort of technology," he said sarcastically.

Liam only glared at him as the shuttle took off. "We're on a collision course now."

As the layers of atmosphere whizzed past them, an alarm on one panel began to sound. Liam checked it, and gasped. "Oh boy, there's a Taelon shuttle out there."

****

"A Jaridian fighter just emerged from the planet," Lili reported. "It seems to be on a collision course with the shipyard."

Sandoval's eyes expressed his shock. In the back, Da'an looked down. "Liam," he whispered.

****

A gutteral string of growls and hisses emerged from the computer. Liam listened for a moment, then jumped out of his seat. "They're trying to contact us. I think it's time to bail out."

The two jogged back to the rear of the fighter, Sanchez going more quietly than usual. As Liam slipped into his pod, Sanchez mumbled, "Good luck."

Liam was surprised, then smiled and replied, "You too."

****

Two tiny cylinders spun from the side of the fighter as it approached the central core of the shipyard station. For a brief moment, the hull cracked inward, then exploded in a blossom of flame. The streaks of fire began to spread, disintegrating the huge structure.

Lili, Sandoval, and Da'an watched in amazement as the shipyard broke apart into a thousand useless pieces.

****

There was a hiss of air releasing as someone hit the code outide. Liam raised his head, still curled up in the fetal position, and squinted at the person outside. Lili grinned at him, and he could barely make out the shapes of Da'an and Sandoval behind her. "Hello, Kincaid. What did you do to yourself?"

Liam crawled out, and realized that she was talking about his peculiar skin tone. "Oh, it's this awful planet," he remarked, scrubbing at his wrist. "The dust gets everywhere."

Lili grimaced. "Sanchez just ran back to greet his buddies."

"Martin!" Liam shouted, jumping to his feet. "What about Roberta Martin?"

Da'an smiled warmly, his alabaster skin turned an odd hue by the sky and sun. "She is recovering, but Doctor Lowes has assured us that she will be all right. And you, Liam? Are you all right?"

Liam nodded, then grimaced. "I never, ever want to be outdoors again, though."

****

Washed up, redressed, revitalized. Liam hardly recognized the Volunteer squad, especially Sanchez, Stella, Martin and Al. Their skin was clear of the horrible dust that had caked itself on them earlier, and their torn-apart uniforms were replaced with fresh jumpsuits. But most notable was the huge smiles on their faces.

Martin stepped forward and gave Liam a peck on the cheek. She was very beautiful, despite the fact that her arm, shoulder, and part of her chest were bandaged up. "Thanks, Liam. We'd have died out there, if you hadn't helped us." And whispered, "And you taught me something about the Taelons."

Al reached over and shook Liam's hand. "You did a fantastic job, buddy."

Stella hugged Liam and seconded Martin's kiss. Sanchez simply nodded and gruffly admitted, "You did good."

Martin burst out laughing. "That is the biggest compliment he has ever paid anybody! Cherish it."

Liam laughed. "I hope I'll see you around sometimes?" Al asked.

"You'll see me very soon," Liam predicted.

THE END... OR IS IT?