Titan Fleet: The Invictus Part 16

Chapter Eighty-Three.

Eves eyes open and she can breathe again for a moment. She thinks to herself that it was all just a bad dream, but as she tries to lift herself up, she feels the restraints again. She steadies herself with her stumpy arm, which is the only limb she has left, and looks down at her belly. It has grown so much that the skin has stretch marks all over it, and her belly is moving around. She feels sick and her skin is pale white. She can see clumps of her hair on the floor, which had just fallen out, She can hear other people screaming and crying out, but no one is there to save them either. Her stomach begins to convulse over and over again. No one is there to comfort her or help her, and as she wails out in pain, she spits blood across the room, almost choking on it. The things in her stomach were eating her insides now, to help themselves grow, and she drifted in and out of consciousness several times before she began to realise that they were trying to eat their way out through her swollen belly.

Stephen and his father returned to the room with a large transparent container on wheels. They pushed it along-side Eve and opened the door, and she could see where her legs and arm lay in the bottom of the container, acting as bait for the young ones when they hatched out. Stephens father leaned in once again, bones sticking out of his face from the blow Eve had made. He grabbed around her neck with his clawed hand, gripping just tight enough so as to not cut her air off, and then small sharp teeth began to eat their way out of Eves belly, tearing her flesh, wasting none of it in an eating frenzy, their teeth sharp like a piranhas, breaking out of her skin.

The pain was now over and Eve gave out her final scream of terror that echoed all around the s.h.i.+p. The alien younglings dashed across her broken body into the container, to feast on her limbs, and were secured inside by the lockable door. Stephen dragged Eves torn body, still on the table, into the dark room next door. The giant dog-like creature could not miss the b.l.o.o.d.y smell and warm flesh, and devoured his meal quickly, as it had not eaten in some time.

The leader of the Oakthian vessel ordered the pilot to return to their home planet, to gather more troops and a new vessel. He had under-estimated the human race, but also learned from it. Their next meeting would have a very different outcome.

Chapter Eight-Four.

Pace thought he had only been asleep for a couple of hours, but when he woke up, he was no longer in the canteen surrounded by people, but he found himself in a room. It was a nice room, not a hospital room, but a living quarters type of room. He opened his eyes and felt the soft bed underneath him. He felt so tired, but sat all around him at the side of the bed were all his close friends and family, looking at him with smiles.

"Whats going on? Where am I? Did we make it?" So many questions were running through his head. Padley was stood next to him, taking his pulse.

"Captain, you are fit for duty again, sir. You have been asleep for three days, but now you are now as fit as can be." Ca.s.sy and Nova stand up and give Pace a kiss on both cheeks.

"Brother, this will make you smile, look!" Ca.s.sy holds up a mirror and Pace looks into it, and tears well up and emotion gets the better of him.

"Im me again." whispers a happy Pace. The green nanites had done what had promised, but they could not return to their master, so stayed dormant in Pace, helping him to rest, and repair other parts of his body, including his cuts and bruises.

Climbing up onto the bed, little Lily grips around Paces neck for a hug. "Love you, uncle." Pace is filled with joy. This little girl was not frightened anymore, and now he could be a proper family again.

"Hey Lily, I love you too!" Pace gave Lily a hug back, and everyone sat around his bed chatting about stories and laughing, and a few hours pa.s.s. It was still early in the day, so Pace asked Padley if he could walk around a bit, which she agreed was a good idea to do.

After everyone had gone back to their jobs and left Pace, in a happy mood, began to think where everyone will settle this time. He walked down a corridor and worked out that he was on board the t.i.tan s.h.i.+p, Fahrenheit. He gazed out of one of its large viewing windows into s.p.a.ce. He was glad he was off that horrid planet, but began to remember the good times he had with each of his friends. He was trying to block out the bad that had happened, but could not help but think about his one and only love, Megan. His mind was just wondering about her when his gauntlet flashed. It was Ca.s.sy.

"Joseph, get to the bridge, you need to see this!" Pace began to make his way to the bridge. It was the same layout as the broken t.i.tan on Foloss, but the bonus this time was that the turbo lifts were working, and the s.h.i.+p was brightly lit, and so he made it to the bridge in good time. He entered the bridge, and it was full of lights and activity, with people working and walking around busy. Sat in the middle was Ca.s.sy, smiling at Pace with a grin wider than the s.h.i.+p itself.

"What have you broke this time, or should I say, who do I have to fight this time?" Ca.s.sy beckons Pace to her view screen.

"See for yourself, brother. You do know what this means, dont you?" Pace looks down at Ca.s.sys screen, at a distress signal automatically bleeping its location to the Fahrenheit.

"Is that the ... No, cant be, can it?" Pace begins to doubt what his eyes can see. "You have checked this, have you, and you are sure?"

Ca.s.sy sits Pace down in her chair. "Look, its right there, and yes, you are awake and alive." Pace looks once again. It was the homing beacon of the Robur. The s.h.i.+p had crash landed but the best news was that there were four life signs on board. Pace jumps up out of his seat. Was Megan alive, or was it just picking up something that had found her gauntlet and was wearing it now, or was she dying? The life signs were not moving.

"Ca.s.sy, you know I have got to go and find out, but I will be back, I promise." Pace looks for approval from Ca.s.sy.

"Well, what you waiting for? Go get her!" Pace needs no second words. He hugs Ca.s.sy and gives her his necklace, that his father had given him many moons ago. He places it in her hand and kisses her goodbye.

"This belongs in the family now. I am so proud of you, squirt."

Ca.s.sy yells at Pace as he is half way out the door. "Your s.h.i.+p is in bay two. Be safe." Pace runs as fast as he can and the sign for bay two is a blur as he reaches the Invictus. Rusty is outside repairing a small jet bike when Pace approaches.

"Hey, Pace. How ya doing?" Pace is out of breath, but walks up onto the loading bay ramp.

"Come on. Megan could be alive, we need to blast off, now." Rusty moves fast, knocking the jet bike off its stand, and closing the ramp behind them. Rusty and Pace take the lift up to the bridge, looking for Nova, but Nova is not on the bridge, she is in her room and Pace has no time to wait to knock. He opens her door to see Nova dressed in a ballerina costume, dancing on her tip-toes. She had such a smile on her face, until Pace barged in.

"Whoops! Sorry, Nova, but its Megan. She might be alive. We need you to fly the s.h.i.+p." Nova is embarra.s.sed. She has not danced in years and always hid the fact.

"Let me change first." This is not the answer Pace wanted to hear.

"Change later, when we are up. Anyway, its good to see you dance again, you should be proud of yourself." Nova, happy to hear the encouragement runs to her seat on the bridge in her costume, and after a systems check and a head count, the s.h.i.+p and its crew are ready to tackle the challenges of s.p.a.ce once again, not knowing what adventures lie ahead of them.

THE END ...

... FOR NOW.

About the Author.

Jason J Black was born and still lives in Bristol in the United Kingdom, with his wife, Sara.

Jason has always enjoyed writing short stories throughout his life, but began this book after the sad pa.s.sing of his mother, Jean Black, which drove him to achieve his dream of having a published novel.

Jason is currently working on Book II of the t.i.tan Fleet series, ent.i.tled t.i.tan Fleet: The Robur.

end.