Odyssey of War

Chapter 11: Solace

We docked at the rendezvous and made our way to the bridge, while Phillip was rushed off by several doctors before I could follow. The corridors leading to the bridge were packed with crew members, celebrating the victory. Upon arriving on the bridge, the celebrations turned to tension and disarray.

Over the comms I could hear chatter across multiple channels, attempting to regain communication with everyone. Communications satellites had been either disabled or destroyed sometime after we received data from them, so only military networks were working.

Captain Browning stood silently, looking out from the bridge at the ship graveyard outside. "Captain," Martin said, walking up beside her and saluting.

"At ease Lieutenant," Browning replied.

I followed the Captain's gaze and asked, "How many did we lose?"

"We're yet to receive casualty data from the landing groups, but we lost at least half of our vessels. The Empress is one of our few surviving flagships," she explained, "We have multiple relief groups coming in from the Mars, Titan and Pluto colonies, they should be arriving soon."

"I'm glad this is over," Sam said, relieved.

"I would be glad too Sergeant, however it is far from over. The Dytari will realize soon enough of their loss, and if the Dytari empire is as large as they claim it to be, then I suspect they'll send a force ten, maybe a hundred times stronger than what we've seen." She turns to Martin, "Lieutenant, although I admire the actions of your regiment, it will not be enough to save us on your own next time."

Dozens of ships arrive in orbit, principally huge transport vessels. Some begin to rendezvous with the fleet while others made their way to Earth. "Captain, now we have their technology, we can find a way to defend ourselves from them," I say.

"Time, sergeant. Time is key to everything, and the more I think about it, the more I believe that humanity's is starting to run out."

"So what will you have us do?" Martin asked.

"Our current focus is in restoring everything, reestablishing communications mainly, so perhaps your regiment can make a start on searching their ships, look for anything of interest. I'm sure Dr. Rivera will be glad to help you."

"Roger that, Captain," Martin replied.

We saluted and began to walk out, "Martin. You and your regiment saved us, and we won't be able to thank you enough. You shall receive a ceremony when things stabilize, and your fallen comrades will be properly memorialized."

"Thank you Captain."

We followed Martin back through the ship to the medical bay. I rushed ahead, making my way through crowds of panicked doctors and suffering patients alike. My body froze as I glanced into a side room. Phillip lay on a small bed in a maroon uniform, beside a rectangular window overlooking Earth. The edge of the bed projected an energy shield that surrounded him. His chest was wrapped up in surgical fiber, which slowly closes wounds. He appeared lifeless as I knelt next to him.

"Phillip?" I murmured softly. Most energy shields used in medicine allowed sound waves through. He partially opened his eyes and turned his head toward me, "It's me buddy, it's Kyle".

"We...we won?" He mumbled, traces of blood still on his teeth.

"Yes, we won, for now at least."

"It's good to see you're okay Lindsey," he said with a light smile. Lindsey and Sam were kneeling beside me.

"You too champ, you're gonna be okay," Lindsey said, trying hard to hold back a tear.

"No...no my time's almost gone," he coughed, "blade punctured enough to let the spores in. Quickly kills human cells, hence my quarantine. It won't be long now."

"No...no, no there's gotta be something!" I trembled, "What about the suit? That might protect you!"

"Kyle, there are some battles that even you cannot win". It was at this moment where all my psychological training was thrown out the window, tears slowly crawling down my face. I was left kneeling there, not knowing what to say. Phillip shed some tears as he said, "I can't let you watch me die. Kyle we've been through a lot together, but this I have to do alone."

"Phillip, th-," I whimpered, "this can't be right, it ca-".

"Go Kyle. I know this isn't over, and they're going to need you, all of you," he cried, "I know the lives lost won't be in vain. Go be the soldier we need you to be. There's nothing I'm more proud of than being your friend Kyle. Now go."

I was still struggling to find the right words, managing to get out a sentence, "I'm gonna miss you buddy. May you sleep in solace among the stars".

"Until we meet again. Goodbye Kyle, goodbye to all of you, it was an honour to serve among you". And with that we all hesitantly left, Lindsey and I breaking down, emotion overcoming the training we'd had.

We met up with Dr. Rivera in a hangar, taking a shuttle. We strapped ourselves in and accelerated towards the nearest Dytari ship. Looking out the viewport I watched as the cluster of ships slowly become smaller against the bright Earth. I don't know what the future of this war will bring, but I know for sure that we will fight till our last breath, and that this is just the beginning of this odyssey of war.

~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~