Young Writers Society

Whose stupid idea was it to fight the Rebel scout?

Oh right, it was mine.

“Major damage to the shield systems captain, we can't take much more!” Sargon shouts over the intercom.

“Rebekkah, I need a report on our weapons systems right now.”

“Intact and firing with everything we've got, sir, their engines are down.”

“Good, keep it like that. Sargon, relay all shield power to the front of the ship and hope like hell they don't notice it.”

I grab the control sticks and yank hard to the left, coming around to face the enemy ship head on. We must be less than 800 standard meters away from them.

This is gonna be a close one.

“Commander Flynt, fire all port-side weapons on my mark.”

“Yes sir.”

I throttle up the impulse engines, bringing us closer and closer to to the Rebel scout with every second.

Boom. A laser crashes into our forward plating, but the shields hold up.

Come on, almost there.

Closer.

Closer...

“Now!” I shout as I give a final burst of energy into the engines and fly past the enemy. A firework erupts to the left of me as the other ship is filled with missiles and explodes into millions of tiny fragments, taking it's crew with it. Suddenly the ship shakes and careens off to the right, spinning out of control as the engines fail.

“Oh no” I think to myself as my universe spins round and round, I had forgotten that all the shield power had been diverted to the front, leaving the back part completely unprotected to the explosion. A major mistake for a captain, and if Rebekkah or Sargon are hurt, I'll never be able to forgive myself.

“Situation report, now!” I frantically yell into the speaker.

For a moment, silence, then both of their voices come onto the speaker, confirming their well-being.

“That was quite a hit, Cap'n, you sure know how to mess up a girl's world.” Rebekkah answers.

“Our engine systems have taken some minor damage and had to be shutdown sir, but nothing I can't fix.”

“How long?” I reply to Sargon.

“30 minutes and she'll be good to go, you should scan the debris for any useful wreckage while you wait.”

“Good idea, Rebekkah, get the exo-suits ready.”

I have to stay strong, because if I don't, countless numbers of different species will die, just because they support the Federation.

“But can I?”

I calm down as I start the scanner and wait for a reply on useful materials.

What I get makes my day.

“A weapon? A completely intact laser? You gotta be kidding me, Cap'n! This is my birthday come early! And I have the perfect place to install it too!” She sounds like she just got the best present in the galaxy.

45 minutes later and everything is set to go. All repairs are done, and the new laser's functioning without a hitch. Rebekkah and I are just testing it on some rocks in a nearby planet's asteroid belt when Sargon comes in.

“Captain Reinhardt, may I have a minute?”

“Sure, lets step outside.” I leave my weapons officer to her fun and walk out into the corridor with Sargon.

“What's wrong?” I ask. He seems hesitant, so I also stand there, unsure of what to do. What's a captain supposed to do in a situation like this anyway? Do they have a psychic sense of knowing what's wrong with their crew members?

He finally speaks. “It's my father, sir. A report came in over Federation channels. He...he died in a recent battle with the rebel fleet, down in quadrant A-221.

This shocks me. You always know people are going to die in war, but you never really expect it to happen to anyone you know. I remember Sargon's father from when I visited his family home a few years ago, an ace pilot who loved nothing more to spends hours flying in a small rent shuttle with his son.

“I'm...so sorry. He was an amazing man. I respected him.”

He looks up to me with tears in his eyes. “We all have our missions to accomplish, and he died while fulfilling his, I'm proud to be his son.”

I'm amazed on how strong Sargon is, with how much courage he must have not to break down. But we can't, not while we have this task to fulfill.

“I know what. We haven't named this cruiser, so I think you should name her.”

He blinks in surprise. “Well... how about 'Saviour'? To reflect our mission.”

Saviour. That's a nice name for a ship. “Sounds good to me, and I'm sure 'Beks will be love it too.”

Saviour.

I like the sound of that. It gives me hope.