Titan Encounter (23 page)

They stepped through
the open hatch into a large storage bay.

Justin gave a wry
smile.  “I knew you were following me….”

“But I didn’t get
you. The imperial navy hunted me down, boarded my ship, killed my crew, and
captured me.” He shook his head. “You’ve really messed up my life.”

“Messed up your
life? You tried to kidnap Naomi and Mara and I think you would have killed me
to do it.”

Together they
reached the next hatch.
Ferren
smiled, “How is your
sister?”

Fine now that she’s
safe from you and the Empire.
Justin walked away, letting
Ferren
, and others, work on the hatch ahead. Scanning the
ragtag group of former prisoners, Justin estimated they numbered about
forty.  He noticed the woman that had used the guard’s pistol as a hammer.
Walking up to her he asked, “Do you know how to use the weapon?” Since she had
tried unsuccessfully to shoot the guard before beating him with it, he was
certain the answer was, “No.”

With a shake of the
head, she confirmed it.

As they walked down
the passageway to toward the next hatch, he showed her how to release the
safety and turn on the targeting mechanism.

Almost at a whisper
she said, “I saw you do things. People are whispering. Are you a…” Her voice
trailed off. 

“A
Titan?
Yes.”

“They taught us that
all the Titans were killed in the years after the Battle for Earth, that you
were all evil monsters.”

“They lied.”

She nodded.
“About a lot of things.”

Tearing a rag from
his torn trouser leg, he wiped the gun clean of the guard’s blood and returned
it to her. “What’s your name?”

“
Prisca
,”
she replied staring at the weapon.

“I’m Justin.”

Several people
worked to open the hatch just ahead.
Ferren
had
gradually moved toward the back of the group and was now just a meter away.
Justin turned to the pirate, “Where are we going?”

“To
the cargo bay.
That’s where they have my vessel.”

Justin started to
object, but reconsidered. If the temple ship was at battle stations, no one
should be in the cargo bay.

Another boom seemed
to confirm the pirate’s thinking that they were in a battle. He shook his head
wondering what the chances were of flying a ship to freedom in the midst of
combat. 

As the pirate
stepped through the hatch he asked, “Are they fighting your people?”

He was about to say
he didn’t know when he realized he could find the answer. Slowly Justin opened
his mind. He sensed marines and sailors nearby, but none approaching their
location. Gradually he widened his mental search until his mind touched someone
familiar. “Naomi?”

Justin? Where are
you?

He did his best to
tell her as they opened the next hatch.
We’re headed toward the cargo bay.

Is Jon with you?

No. The
Nephilim
killed him. I’m with
Ferren
and some other prisoners.

She cursed both the
Nephilim
and the pirate.
Kill
Ferren
when you get to the cargo bay.

Justin ignored her
anger.
Where are you?

Onboard the temple
ship with a company of shadow warriors. Fighters from a nearby carrier have
damaged the vessel’s engines so they shouldn’t be going anywhere until we can
retrieve you.

“Yes,” Justin said.

Ferren
, working on another
hatch, looked puzzled. “Yes? Yes what?”

“Yes, this ship is
fighting Titans.”

Guarded glances led
to an agitated murmur amongst the former prisoners.

The pirate shook his
head.
Great, stuck between the
Nephilim
and the
Titans. What do I do?

Justin smiled as he
easily read
Ferren’s
thoughts and vowed to keep a close
eye on him. Turning toward the crowd in the passageway he called out, “Listen
to me.  The
Nephilim
who imprisoned you lied.
Yes, I am a Titan, but you are now free. If you wish to leave, do so. However,
other Titans are fighting to reach me and, if you are with me, they will help
you.” His eyes moved from face to face. Only
Prisca’s
appeared calm. “We need to move quickly toward the cargo bay.” Fear and
confusion still etched their faces, but they followed.

Dread from imperial
marines washed over Justin as they approached the next hatch. When they opened
it, he heard the rapid blast and ping of gunfire. 
Naomi, if other
Titans are onboard, why
am
I only sensing you?

We do not want the
Nephilim
to gain information from our thoughts.

They can’t read them.

Are you sure?

I read
Enki’s
mind and I heard the voices of the things,
spirits…whatever, that controlled him, but they could not hear my
thoughts. 
Justin
projected the memory of his epiphany to Naomi.

She laughed in
delight.
That is why the
Nephilim
kept their
distance from me. They didn’t want me to know their powers were limited.
Again, she laughed and passed on the news.

Waves of fear,
fright and terror came to Justin from every direction. Many Titan soldiers were
afraid, but the imperial troops were near panic. As Titan units telepathically
reported their exact positions, naval units increased fire.  Booms
reverberated as the ship shuddered. 

In addition to the
fighter carrier, Naomi advised him that two Titan battleships were off the bow
in the blind spot he had created. 
We have a troop transport in a
launch bay we captured, but we cannot carry all of you. I hate to admit it, but
Ferren
has a good idea.  Get to the cargo bay.
We’ll block the imperial troops from the area.

In a loud whisper,
Ferren
called ahead to
Prisca
,
telling her to turn right at the next junction.  “We’re almost
there.” 

As
Prisca
did so, shots rang out and she threw herself back
around the corner and against the bulkhead. The man behind her froze at the
edge of the passageway then fell to the ground, as more shots were fired.

Justin stepped
around the wide-eyed
Prisca
to the corner.  The
dead man was at his feet. He peered down the passageway and saw only two
marines firing from the wide hatch that was the entrance to the cargo bay.

Naomi reached out to
him.
We are coming from the aft, but we have engaged at least a company of
marines and they are not retreating or surrendering. 
She paused.
We are going to have to kill them all.

We’re at the forward
door. 
There’s
only two marines. We’ll be in the
bay shortly.

Leaning up against
the bulkhead, Justin turned to the others. “I have a plan. I’ll fire then run
for the other side of the passageway. As I do,” he pointed to
Ferren
and
Prisca
, “both of you
shoot.” He looked at the woman. “Okay?”

She nodded.

Justin took a deep
breath and projected his thoughts toward the marines. 
Look high.
He thrust the point of his rifle around the corner at shoulder height and fired
a single shot, then immediately dropped to a crouch. As shots pinged high above
him he fired low at the marines and raced for the far wall.

Ferren
hesitated.

Prisca
stepped into the
open and fired two shots. One marine fell and the other ran. “Come on,” she
shouted as she ran down the passage.

Justin shook his
head.
That was too easy.
“
Prisca
.
Wait.” She paused and together, with
Ferren
, they
approached the cargo doors. At the entrance, he explained to them what Naomi
had told him about the fight just aft. “Why are we meeting light resistance and
they are fighting soldiers to the death?”

“Just be thankful,
friend.”
Ferren
waved the others forward. “Come on
let’s get to my ship.”

Emergency lights
revealed the line of transport ships that stood thirty meters from them. 
Cargo bins were stacked beside many of the vessels creating a partial wall down
the middle of the bay.

Ferren
pointed forward. At
the head of the line, ten ships forward and closest to the launch bay doors,
Justin spotted the Acheron,
Ferren’s
ship. He looked
about. Although he could sense the presence of hundreds of Titans, and even
more Norms, the vast place appeared empty.

As
Ferren
hurried toward his vessel, Justin stifled a chuckle.
The fat pirate’s gait was more like a pregnant waddle than a run. Two meters
behind the brigand, Justin was more cautious as he continued along the bulkhead
of the dark, cavernous, compartment.  Looking over his shoulder, he
signaled
Prisca
.

Still clutching the
pistol, she crept forward. The other
prisoners
s all
but surrounded her, apparently finding comfort in either her or the pistol she
held.

Justin moved
cautiously ahead. Emotions ranging from apprehension to outright terror deluged
him.  He followed the pirate at a guarded pace, looking left and
right.  Intuition shouted caution.  Could it merely be the frightened
people around him? There were so many, so near.  He shook his head.
So
near.
He stopped and stared at the line of cargo bins and ships. No,
something was very wrong.

Light filled the
compartment.

Armed imperial troops
poured from several transports and appeared atop nearby cargo bins. 
Justin stiffened and the others froze.  Within seconds, a company of
marines surrounded him and the other captives. 

A major stepped
forward. “Lay down your weapons.”

Justin’s eyes
remained on the troops before him, until he heard a rifle drop onto the metal
deck. Looking left, he saw
Ferren
, twenty meters
away, with marines on either side.

The officer repeated
his command.

With his eyes fixed
on the major, Justin slowly and deliberately placed his gun on the
ground.  The major then order them to kick the weapons toward him. 
Justin and
Ferren
complied.

The line of marines
behind the major parted. Even before he could see
Enki
,
Justin knew the
Nephilim
was approaching because the
demonic voices preceded him.

We are legion. We
are strong. We are victorious.

Through the opening
in the line of marines
Enki
stepped forward, followed
by
Remee
. A smug smile grew on
Enki’s
face as their eyes met. 

Your plan failed. We
have killed you once before! We have defeated you again.
  

Justin knew the real
thought and power came not from the man before him, but from the unseen voices
he was hearing.  He wondered how the demons knew him and why they hated
him.   

“Great
Enki
,”
Ferren
proclaimed in a
proud voice as he walked toward Justin, “as I promised, I have brought you this
Titan.”

Enki
and
Remee
looked at him incredulously.

Justin didn’t bother
to even look at
Ferren
. He never expected anything
else. The pirate had been true to his nature. 

Something hard
touched Justin’s back and he glanced over his shoulder. The other captives were
closely behind him now, but
Prisca
stood right behind
him.

Can you hear me? I
still have the pistol.

Prisca’s
thoughts came
through clearly to Justin. He gave a slight nod, but wondered how the one
weapon might help.

You hid your
presence from us in the cell, but we watched in the passageways. We knew your
plan.

Justin tried to
block out the unseen voices.  

The ship shuddered
with another explosion, but
Enki
casually smiled.
“Did you think I would not watch the passageways of my own temple?”

The Enemy has
established rules in this universe. You should not be here. We killed you
centuries ago.

A soldier ran up to
the Major and
Remee
. Justin couldn’t hear his words,
but he could read his thoughts. The Titans were seconds away from entering the
cargo bay.