Free Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair by Marcus Johnson

please show everyone we existed. Language, culture, history, religious
practices, and scientific discoveries, all of it’s here. All that we once were
I leave behind for other intelligent species to see. I hope one day justice is
served. The Old Ones came and destroyed us, for what reason I can’t surmise.
But they’ve violated a fundamental right of all living creatures, the right to
exist. Please avenge us. That’s all I can ask of you.”
    A
loud banging sound began off screen. Nardin cocked his pistol and aimed it at a
door off camera. Screams of a malignant nature came from behind the door. He
fired three gunshots at the snarling creature banging against the door. Before
the camera went black the banging stopped.
     
    * * *
     
    After
the video ended Brian sat down in a chair in deep thought. The other three in
the conference room did likewise.
    “Knowing
it was him we found makes me feel a little better,” Meldi said.
    “I
wish we could’ve appeared at a time when we could have saved them,” Brian said.
Jesela entered the room with a strange smile on her face.
    “You
guys really need to lighten up,” she said before sighing heavily. “What’s done
is done, that’s all there is to it.”
    “How
can you be so flippant about this?” Zae asked.
    “Because
pouting and feeling sad won’t get us anywhere,” Jesela said. “If we don’t hurry
up and fix the Avoni we may have the same scene here in a few months.”
    “Jesela’s
right,” Brian said. He stood and looked out the window. “The Mardok are dead
and there’s nothing we can do about it. What we can do is record everything we
can and get back to the Confederation. If their stance on the Greys isn’t clear
now, let’s force them to choose one.”
    “Agreed,”
Zae said. She turned to Jesela. “What’s your report?”
    “Our
main drive is out and has lost most of its particles,” Jesela said. “The
secondary drive is solely for recharging the Raknas, so I don’t really want to
use it. The Avoni has no offense or defense against the Greys other than our
mobile suits, so the default answer is the Mjolnir’s drive.”
    “But
it wasn’t meant to transport or power a ship of this size,” Baed said.
    “No,”
Jesela answered. “But we can hook it to the Avoni’s systems for now. It’s not
the best method, but it’s better than the alternative. At our current pace it’ll
take us two years to reach home. That’s if we don’t find some Aldenite. The
good news is we can get home, it’s just a matter of when.”
    “Start
preparations immediately,” Brian ordered. “Also, make sure to install a Q-Drive
into the Mjolnir. I know I’ll be commanding from the bridge, but I want every
available resource at my disposal should we need it.”
    “I’ll
get right on that,” Jesela said.
     

Chapter 10 - What to Do Next
     
    Brian
stood on the stage in the Avoni’s meeting hall. With him were Zae and Celi,
while Baed and Jesela stood to the side with Meldi and Myli. The hundred and
twenty two remaining crew quickly made their way to the front of the hall to
hear their commanders speak. Once everyone was assembled Zae waved for them to
quiet down.
    “As
you know, our ship is now stranded far away from Confederation space,” Zae
said. “What we’re here to talk about today is the general situation and listen
to anything you may be concerned about. Before I go further, are there any
questions?”
    An
ensign from the engineering crew raised her hand to speak. “How long will it
take us to reach home?”
    “Two
years at our current speed,” Zae answered. “We can cut it down to six months if
we can obtain some particles for the main drive.”
    “Do
we have enough supplies?” another ensign asked.
    Celi
stepped forward. “At the current half ration we can last for over a year.
Fortunately for us we can grow some of our own food. It’s not a lot, but enough
to supplement ourselves for a while. As given to each of you in the