Warhawk’s Sacrifice (The Amnesty’s Adventures #3)

30. Sacrifice

30 SACRIFICE

“ S eb no!” Eni screamed. She pounded her hands against the door, but they soon faded into the distance.

“Eni, what’s wrong?” Vi asked.

“He jumped off the elevator! He stayed behind!”

A collective gasp emanated through the comm. Before the others could say anything, Seb sprinted forward. “This may be our only shot, and I can’t give up this chance. As we said at the start, this is bigger than any of us. I have to end this today. I love you all too much not to do this.”

Nalla’s voice cracked as she screamed with frustration. “This isn’t love! This is foolishness!”

“Seb, be smart about this,” Vi said, taking a more direct tone. “This isn’t necessary. We can always try again.”

“It’s not that simple,” Seb exclaimed, slamming into the wall. “Just look outside. Look at how many have escaped into our galaxy in just a few hours. They are endless . If we don’t stop them today, we never will.”

“Then let me do it,” Mischa said weakly. “It’s my purpose. If Nimora grants me another life, so be it.”

“I’m not taking that chance. This is my only opportunity to save you all. I’m the captain. This is my decision, and that’s final.”

“I’m with you, Seb,” Roja said in agreement.

Nalla’s pain radiated across the comm. “Shut up, Roja! Please, Seb! Don’t do this! Don’t force your child to grow up without a father.”

Seb clenched his jaw as his nose burned. “I’m sorry. Take care of each other. I know I’ll see you all again.”

“Seb!”

He cut the team comm as a machine screech echoed from the side hallway. The captain peeked over the edge and saw multiple Songless soldiers marching down the hall. After holstering his weapon, he retrieved the last two grenades from his belt.

Once activated, he tossed them around the bend. Fire and smoke filled the surroundings, giving him enough cover to run forward. He pulled his revolver and jumped across the opening as laser fire shot behind him.

While he sprinted forward, he opened a direct comm to his virtual intelligence. “Syn, do you read me?”

“Of course, Captain.”

“I’m sorry to put you in this position, but I’m going to need your help to direct me to the reactor to shut this off.”

“Affirmative, Captain. Unlike the others, I understand your reasoning. This is the best chance to limit the damage the Songless can do to the galaxy.”

“Thanks Syn.”

“I’ve updated your HUD with new markers.”

Seb sprinted through the power plant’s control room and exited a door on the other side. Gone were the slick white paneled floors, replaced with the metal grates of the maintenance shaft. He followed the yellow line of his HUD, along with the twisting pipes and electrical conduit that guided his path. Dimly lit lights cast harsh shadows along the wall, causing Seb to trigger his night vision.

“You’ll be coming up on a maintenance elevator in the next turn,” Syn exclaimed. “That will take you down to a hall with a sealed door. Beyond that door will be the core room with the active reactor.”

“Got it.”

As Seb rounded the next corner, he slid to a halt. A Songless soldier stood away from him. Its angular head turned, flashing three of its red eyes. Its body spun on a dime and raised its rifle. Seb fired two suppressing shots as he dove around the edge.

The hail of laser fire slammed into the nearby wall, filling the hall with white smoke. The robotic thump of the creature’s footsteps echoed closer to him. Seb leaned over the edge and fired two more precise shots. The first blew a fist-sized hole in its chest. The second ricocheted off its head, snapping it back and halting its advance. For a moment, Seb thought the combat was over. But it slung its head back forward, half of its face missing.

Seb’s heart pounded as it charged forward. He reloaded with practice speed, but by the time he snapped the cylinder in place, the beast was already on top of him. It slammed him into the nearby wall. It used its weapon to pin his neck, while its two free hands delivered blow after blow into his torso.

Seb gasped for air as he struggled to breathe. In his panic, he fired shot after shot. The final shot pierced the machine’s knee, sending them both to the floor. Seb coughed and tried to regain his breath, but his foe didn’t stop.

Its mouth clamped down on Seb’s leg like a rabid karasaur. The metal teeth pierced his suit, causing him to scream. As the adrenaline held off his pain, his hands fumbled to reload. After ejecting the spent cartridges, the captain slid one bullet into the chamber. He closed the cylinder, pulled the hammer, and aimed at his enemy’s head.

With a deafening crack, the threat’s remaining head exploded. Its red eyes flickered until they went dim. It slumped to the ground, immobile.

Seb fell on his back to catch his breath. Once he felt like he could breathe, his leg throbbed. Pain and heat radiated up his leg. When he looked down, he could see blood pouring from around the machine’s teeth.

Seb leaned forward and grabbed the beast’s jaws. He pulled with all his strength until the clasp snapped open. He rolled his injured leg from its mouth and crawled backward. With a tap on the side of his helmet, it retracted from around his head.

Seb leaned over and pulled out the stims in his pouches. The ones that Nalla had given him and the ones that she shunned.

“Not like it matters now,” Seb mused as he pierced his neck one-by-one. The pain relief was immediate, and he felt like he could breathe easier. His leg stopped bleeding, allowing to push himself up off the floor. He tapped his helmet closed before a rush of energy filled him.

Seb continued on. He reloaded his revolver before sliding it into his holster and marched toward the maintenance elevator. After pulling the door closed, he tapped the button listed as Core Room.

Syn failed to hide the worry in her voice when the elevator lowered. “Captain, I see you’re making your descent. I must warn you, once you enter the core room, there will be no coming back.”

“You have that little faith in me?” Seb jested.

“It has nothing to do with faith. Without the safeguards in place, you’ll be exposed to extremes no human can withstand.”

“What are we talking about?”

“Temperatures in the thousands, unyielding radiation. Even with your suit’s protection, you will only have minutes before you succumb to the dangers inside.”

Seb nodded in acceptance. Even though he knew this was a likely one-way trip, there was a spark inside of him that held out hope that he would find a way to survive. But his life no longer mattered. This was for the survival of his galaxy and his companions—a required sacrifice that only he could do.

“Then I guess I need to know how to shut this down,” Seb said, accepting his fate.

“There will be four valves around the base of the platform that control the flow of coolant for the reactor. You’ll need to cut off the flow to?—”

Syn’s voice filled with static and became completely inaudible.

“Syn, do you read?”

“Se—”

“Syn, I can’t hear you. Please respond.”

Only dead air filled Seb’s helmet as the elevator stopped at the bottom floor. He faced a thick pill shaped door with a large dog wheel that kept it closed. After exiting the elevator, he marched with purpose. A low rumble emanated from all around him. When his fingers touched the latching mechanism, his entire hand vibrated, feeling the raw power hidden beyond. His suit’s HUD clicked and alerted him of the surrounding radiation.

Seb took a deep breath and exhaled. “For them.”

He grunted and used his entire body to turn the wheel. The metal groaned, but eventually gave way. When Seb pulled open the door, his suit’s alarms screamed like a heavy-metal orchestra.

He stepped around the door, causing his temperature and radiation gauges to peak. The heat pierced his suit, and even though his whole body was numb, he was certain the sun was cooking him. His visor attempted to filter out all the light, but even it struggled to do so. Seb held up his hand as he took his first step inward.

The holo-feed didn’t do the scale of the room justice. The miniature sun was nearly the size of a dreadnought. As he eyed his walking platform, he guessed it was nearly a half a mile long. With only minutes to spare, he needed to move.

Seb pushed himself forward and ran as fast as he could. The stims gave him a temporary advantage. He felt none of his injuries or any muscle pain. With nothing but his destination ahead, he filled the time with his thoughts.

He smiled as he remembered meeting Mischa in the bar on Inoi 3. How she was the first woman he’d flirted with in ten years. How she told him to have faith that they’d meet again. And they did. He remembered the night they sat in her room just talking. The recent night they’d shared together, and the way that she looked up at him when she called him her captain.

Nalla was the pink-haired sweetheart who taught him he could love again. And when she was taken from him, it kicked off his journey to find her. She was his rock and true love. The one that always stood by his side and told him what he needed to hear. It was the journey of finding her that led him to meeting Eni and Vi.

The hacker was the ball of chaos that he always wanted. She pushed his boundaries of lust and desire. They always shared an intensity to explore each other, yet that wasn’t everything. She was the ride or die type of girl, who no matter how crazy things would get, he knew she would be there for him.

Vi was in some ways her opposite. She was the calm and collected demeanor that balanced Eni’s crazy antics. She kept things stable, but unleashed her true self when in the cockpit. He remembered the night she opened up to him, when their bodies twisted and floated as one. They connected in a way he’d never shared with any other. Their love of fast ships couldn’t be taken away.

And while Syn was artificially created, her knowledge of all things and willingness to sacrifice herself for the others made her more than just a machine. She taught him the knowledge he lacked after ten long years. Their nights spent “training” always left him learning something new. She was a critical part of the crew, and he loved her just as much as the others.

Zara was complicated. She was the first woman he loved with all his heart and the first one to break it. After prison, their relationship was shaky at best, but deep down he still held that love for her. While their relationship had its difficulties, she finally started showing him she actually cared about something other than herself. It saddened him he wouldn’t be able to see that through.

His relationship with Roja treaded a similar path. Ever since they’d met, they’d flirted and shown interest. But her arrest and transformation into the Huntress put them at odds that they’d only recently gotten over. It was hard to start a relationship with someone trying to kill him. But once he’d saved her, she was slowly becoming another part of a crew.

Then there was Iris. The superweapon who was bound to him by fate. He was her Inhibitor, there to help her on her journey. And while their contention brought them at odds as of late, that didn’t change how much he cared for her. Their connection was unique and special. He just wished he had more time.

The galaxy was at stake. She, him, and the Amnesty ’s crew were the only ones who could stop this. They were here for a reason. And while he didn’t accept that everyone had a predefined destiny, he knew he was there because he was meant to be. It had to be him. There was no one else that could do this.

A coughing fit brought Seb’s sprint to a shuffle. When he looked down, blood covered the inside of his visor.

I’ve got to hurry, he thought. I don’t have much time.

Seb sprinted the remainder of the way, but each breath only aggravated his throat. He quickly found it difficult to breathe and soon found himself trying to hold his breath in between strides.

When he reached the base of the platform, he scanned his surroundings. The brightness of the light made it difficult for him to see any detail more than a few feet from him. However, he caught a glimpse of a mechanical wheel near the corner of his eyes.

Seb sprinted over near it and read over the warning label which presented caution of cutting off coolant flow. “This has to be it,” he said. He gritted his teeth as he turned the wheel, which gave way after a few seconds of effort.

Once he’d closed the valve, an alarm rang throughout the room. “Alert. Alert. Coolant valve four closed. Flow limited. Core reactor temperature rising.”

The entire complex shook as the metal rings spun faster around the sun. Seb sprinted over to the next coolant valve that was opposite of where he stood. He put his entire body into turning the valve, and eventually it closed.

A heavy thud rolled through the complex and pressurized hisses filled the room. Seb held onto the wheel as the facility shook. The alarm rang more urgently.

When Seb sprinted to the next lever, he tripped and stumbled. He pushed himself up to his knees, but when he tried to stand, his legs gave out. He couldn’t feel any pain, but when he looked back, he noticed melted footprints behind him.

He panicked and crawled on his hands and knees to the next lever. He grunted as he pulled himself up to it. As he leaned back, he pulled on the valve with both hands and used his weight for the only leverage he had. When it no longer moved, he fell back as the alarm rang again.

“Alert. Alert. One coolant valve remaining. Flow extremely strained. Core reactor temperature approaching critical levels.”

Seb pushed himself back up to his knees, but spat up additional blood. Every breath he took was filled with fluid. He fought the urge to cough, trying to manage a full breath. But the smell of burning flesh filled his nose.

Come on. You can’t die yet.

With every crawled step, Seb reminded himself of who he was doing this for.

Nalla. Eni. Vi. Syn. Mischa. Zara. Roja. Iris.

After repeating the chant, his head tapped something metallic. When he looked up, he was at the final valve. When he reached up, his coughing fit pulled him back down. Blood and mucus swirled in his helmet, threatening to drown him in his own fluids.

In a last-ditch effort, he held his breath and climbed to the edge of the valve. By the time he reached it, his hands could no longer grip it. His heart pounded and his vision dimmed, yet he did not waver. He slung his arm over the edge and threw his body backward. He fell back and slammed into the ground as the valve spun freely.

The metal rings spun so fast they looked like a blur. They exploded from the velocity, slamming into the nearby walls. The electricity from the rods faded, replaced by eruptions of flame and metal. All Seb could do was smile.

But as he watched the room around him burn and accepted his fate, fear washed over him. He didn’t know what would happen after his death. Would he be reborn like Mischa? Would he transcend into a higher plane like the Maker had taught, or would he fade into nothingness? As he lay there dying, Seb felt more alone than ever.

He tried speaking into his comm, but a wet cough was all that he could muster. His breathing waned, and he knew he didn’t have long, but he didn’t want to die alone.

Seb reached down into his belt pouch and pulled out the HIM device. He placed his burning hand into it, allowing it to wrap around his melted glove. He expected to feel the overwhelming pain and anger that he’d felt before, but he felt nothing.

Worry consumed him about what that could mean. But with no time left, he wanted his last words to mean something.

Iris… I’m so sorry for everything. You were right. There is more to this galaxy than just us. I realize that now. It was my fear that held me back. Fear of losing my loved ones. Fear of losing you.

Seb took in a weakened breath. I’ve done all that I can. I hope it was the right thing. I have few regrets. But one of my biggest was not getting to spend more time with you. Perhaps if I’d understood you better, I could have prevented all of this from happening. I hope you’ll forgive me.

The captain took in a final breath and closed his eyes. Goodbye, Iris. I hope I’ll get to see you again one day.

As the explosions cascaded around him, Seb felt pressure tighten around his body, and just before he lost consciousness, he heard the frantic melody of his companion.

“Hold on, my Inhibitor. I’ve got you!”