Fall of Icarus

“Why are you doing this to me?” Keryn bemoaned. “This isn’t fair!”

“This isn’t about equality and fairness,” the elder Wyndgaart of the High Council said, his voice coming from the speakers within the furnished crew compartment of the transport ship. “This is about you finding Cardax and locating out the information we seek. The Oterian is a threat that must be eliminated before he can do any more harm.”

Keryn crossed her arms and sulked, leaning back heavily against the upholstered chair. “You’ve just told me that we’re going to attack Earth, one of the greatest assaults that will ever be recorded in history. But instead of me leading my Squadron, you’re asking me to give that up to pursue some Oterian smuggler? I don’t give a damn about this Cardax person or what he knows. I care about my team and I want to stay in command. I want to lead my Squadron during the assault!”

“This isn’t about what you want, Commander Riddell,” the Oterian Councilmember interceded. “You have repeatedly reiterated that you are genuinely concerned about your pilots and members of your Squadron. You act as though your concern for the Fleet is your top priority.”

“That is my priority,” Keryn replied curtly.

“You watched the Vindicator be destroyed, did you not?” the Avalon Councilmember interrupted, her musical voice soothing Keryn’s raw nerves. “The Terran Fleet used rockets filled with the same Deplitoxide that Cardax sold them. It ruined the engines and left them helpless to the Terran attack. Thousands of Alliance crew, pilots, and soldiers died in that attack. Cardax will not stop, and neither will the Empire. If we do not find this smuggler, thousands more will die from his betrayal.”

Keryn ground her teeth together. She understood the concept of betrayal. It was the same emotion she felt burning inside her. There had never been a time when Keryn had not strove to be the best. Now, she was watching the culmination of all her hard work disappearing as she was stripped of her command in order to lead a different mission. Looking at the console’s monitor, she stared into the eyes of the wizened Councilmembers, sitting around the semi-circle table. Their stern visages let her know that she truly did not have an option of whether or not to accept her new mission. Against her better judgment, Keryn knew that defying the will of the High Council simply wasn’t a choice she could make.

Sighing, Keryn responded. “Explain the mission to me again.”

“Interrogations of the surviving Terrans revealed the startling information,” the Lithid Councilmember answered in a gravelly voice. “Nearly a year ago, the Oterian smuggler named Cardax had a fairly insignificant organization, mainly moving equipment, supplies, and weapons around the Demilitarized Zone. His operation was supplying armaments to dissidents living around or on the contested planets. Though he ran a fairly small organization, his group grew in popularity almost overnight after he began advertising a new chemical weapon. The weapon, the same Deplitoxide that was used against us, brought him too far into the spotlight for him to continue working in the shadows.”

“Once we were aware of his operation,” the elder Pilgrim continued, “we had no choice but to send a team after him. If half of what he claimed was true, then the Deplitoxide was too dangerous to remain on the open market. Unfortunately, Cardax discovered our plans before we had a chance to apprehend him. He fled, hiding among his clientele and remaining off our radar. We continued to pursue him, but to no avail.”

Keryn furrowed her brow in confusion. “If that’s the case, then how did the Terran Empire wind up with the Deplitoxide?”

“Cardax became careless,” the Uligart responded. “In his overzealousness to elude capture by Alliance forces, he was driven too far into the Demilitarized Zone. A Terran patrol came upon his ship and captured him. For the next few months, Cardax was tortured by the Terrans while the small samples of Deplitoxide were examined by a Terran scientist named Doctor Solomon. In the end, the Empire realized the limitless potential of the chemical and demanded more from Cardax. In a moment of cowardice, Cardax agreed to become the supplier for the Terran Empire.”

“The Terrans have made Cardax both very wealthy and very dangerous,” the Wyndgaart said. “He is openly supplying the Empire with Deplitoxide now, though neither the Empire nor the Alliance knows his source for the unusual chemical. We would require you to discover the source by any means necessary.”

“What is this Deplitoxide?” Keryn asked, feeling the weight of helplessness settling over her.

“We were able to analyze some of the chemical that was retrieved from the captured Terran Destroyer, though there was too little to do any in depth research,” the Lithid explained. “It’s an organic compound that absorbs large amounts of heat. The individual cell membranes allow heat to be trapped within its nucleus and, as a result, created a thick, black byproduct. The internal heat also causes cellular mitosis, resulting in an exponentially expanding number of the organic cells.”

Keryn remembered the engines on the Vindicator sputtering and dying. “So fire a rocket full of this Deplitoxide into a plasma engine, and these little buggers won’t quit multiplying until they’ve absorbed all the fuel cells?”

“A crude but effective description,” the Avalon replied.

Clenching her fists, Keryn looked away from the monitor. She felt split, her anger focused on two separate targets. On one hand, she hated being used. The High Council knew her skills would be invaluable against the Earth defenses. But instead of leading her Squadron, she’d be relegated to a lesser mission. She felt as though, inadvertently, she had done something wrong; that she had somehow wronged the High Council and this was her punishment. Cardax, however, infuriated Keryn. Not only was he a traitor to his own kind, to all of the Alliance, he was also directly responsible for the destruction of the Vindicator. The buckling hull and the screams of the dying that had echoed across her radio channel had haunted Keryn ever since. If there was a way to bring retribution for all their deaths, Keryn wanted to be the harbinger of his death.

“I have more questions,” she stated flatly.

“We have answers,” the Pilgrim stated.

“Where do I find Cardax?”

The Pilgrim smiled, his face cracking into a web of wrinkles. “So you’ve accepted our mission?”

Keryn frowned. “I don’t see that I have much choice in the matter.”

“There’s always a choice,” the Oterian explained. “You just wouldn’t like the alternative. Cardax has already established a neutral meeting location in the Demilitarized Zone. It was from this planet that he made the delivery to his Terran agents. The small, desert planet is called Pteraxis. Go there, and bring back the information.”

“And Cardax?” Keryn asked.

“He is of little consequence once you have the information,” the Uligart said coldly.

Keryn smiled softly at the news, though it did little to warm her feeling of being punished. “When do I get my team?”

“They are being assigned to you as we speak,” said the Avalon. “They will be joining you on the Revolution tomorrow. For the majority of your trip, you will remain on board the Revolution as you train your team. Once you are ready, you will take the Cair Ilmun and depart the Cruiser. Your ship has been outfitted with extra weaponry and the interior has been modified for extended living conditions.” The Avalon unfurled her wings and leaned back in her chair. “If there is nothing else…”

“I have one more question,” Keryn interrupted, staring defiantly at the screen. “Who takes over my Squadron?”

The Councilmembers turned to one another inquisitively. Keryn realized with a sudden heartache that a decision on her Squadron was of miniscule importance to the Council, regardless of how important it was to Keryn.

“You know the Squadron better than anyone,” the Wyndgaart answered. “Therefore, it only makes sense that you get to decide who takes over your Squadron now. We trust in your decision.”

But you don’t trust me enough to lead the assault on Earth, Keryn thought sourly. Without the formal dismissal from the High Council, Keryn reached up and turned off the console. She didn’t want to face any more of their questions, nor did she want to ask any more of her own. Whatever happened from this point on, Keryn was on her own.

Her mind full of chaotic thoughts, she exited the private transport and stood in the now empty causeway leading into the Farimas Space Station. Thoughts of her few nights within the station warmed Keryn’s heart and left