Anderson didn't leave without fulfilling his duty. As he left the Betelgeuse with his strike team, a message was sent out from his mission watch that connected to the tether, into the wormhole, and on a course back to Earth, though in this case, it reached the Kainian fleet in transit two weeks away from Pandema.
Reynolds stood resolute and stern at the base of the bridge. Two dozen monitors full of Kainian commanders sat in conference, while on the top screen, live combat footage inside of Rialga palace took place. Lengthy groans and furrowed brows punctuated what quickly became an act of war. Their disappointment and frustration was immeasurable.
"This mission is a bust." one officer said. "We'll never live this down."
"The planet isn't lost." Another said. "But we could be in dire straits if this nation is of high reputation amongst the planet dwellers."
"No, the containment breach will do all of the work for us," said a third. "If this goes on any further, we'll have a complete decimation of the Pandemian population. We could be facing a ninety percent depopulation."
"We don't have immunity records. We won't know for sure."
"Never mind that! We've just become the invaders!"
The board continued their ramblings while Reynolds turned to his crew. He couldn't watch the footage anymore. It was like a knife stabbing through his heart as he was face to face with the consequences of his own actions. His crew wasn't faring better. Zelda and Park turned away when the shooting started, unable to handle the flashes and falling bodies. Ritz kept tabs on the bug footage while Zoldyck, more rigid than the rest, watched without blinking. After a moment, a singular screen took control of the call, and the Kanian Admiral took the stage in full regalia.
"I hope you know your career is over, Captain Reynolds." He boomed, his voice rattling with a deep bass tone. "As soon as the fleet arrives, we'll make sure to put you in a cell where you can't obstruct us anymore."
"I don't care," he replied, his voice shaking. "I'm not going to sit by anymore and let this injustice continue. I'm not letting my daughter die down there."
"And so you'll kill the Pandemians instead?"
"We're not here to kill anyone!"
The Admiral slammed his station. "You incompetent, pathetic Earthling! You should've never been Captain of this expedition!"
"I have been battered and questioned ever since I was assigned to this role, and yet I have performed my duty to the highest standard, and for what!? If I'm going to do everything wrong, I'll at least do the right thing! I'm not going to apologize for saving my daughter. I'm solving the issue myself, my way. If you have a problem with that, then take me!"
The Admiral stared back and took his time, ensuring the other officers gave their full undivided attention. Despite his middle-aged, hearty appearance, the Kainian was much older and, by extension, a higher class of human than anyone aboard the Betelgeuse. He let the situation stand for a minute while Reynolds sweated, while the gravity and continued battle footage slowly ate at him. There was more to his punishment than a jail cell. The Admiral would make an example of him to show why Kanians should've handled the mission.
"This is a dark time for humanity, Captain," he sighed. "We've had a similar incident happen on a planet known as Wora. The resulting massacre led to a war that took decades to resolve. We managed to invoke compliance and find forgiveness with the Weregos because we are Kainians, but even now, our friendship is stained with the blood of five million souls. For the price of one girl, you've doomed the Pandemian species, and as a result, you'll-."
The feed froze and sputtered for a second before cutting out entirely. Reynolds didn't react to this at first, as he was trapped within his own mind when Zelda snapped him back into action."Captain!" she cried. "Long-range communications have been lost."
"It's just an error. Run systems diagnostics."
"Negative. It's external. We're being jammed."
"By what? The Pandemians don't have the technology to jam our relay. They barely even know we're here unless-...Check the wormhole. What's its status?"
"Checking," Ritz brought it up on the main screen, and the results were harrowing. "Wormhole is unstable… it's collapsing!"
"No doubt about it. It's a distortion probe. Call an evac immediately."
Zelda put in the order. "Sir, if the EVO are in system, we'll need to go into stealth mode immediately. The Albatrosses won't arrive in time to dock with the Betelgeuse."
"Sir," Ritz added. "Outer probes are detecting enemy recon scans."
"Should we launch the fighters?"
Reynolds slapped himself to change mindsets. Everything was happening too fast. He kept thinking the Kainians would reappear on the screen any second, but that was no longer possible. In fact, it was even worse. They were trapped in the wormhole, stuck drilling through space for years like they did. They were the only ship left, and only he was left in charge. "Tell them to stay low. Get the Captain below to call for a ceasefire. We'll make amends with the Pandemians."
"Sir, Captain Anderson is dead."
"Then get someone else!"
Once the evacuation order was given, Park, Zelda, Ritz, and the other operational officers on the ship hunkered down as the Betelgeuse went into high alert. All functions on the boat went into low power, and the tether was cut off completely, left as a small space rock floating in the asteroid belt. Until they knew the exact odds they were going against, they were never here. Minutes passed, and an eerie calm fell over the vessel. Then hours came, and the sun hid away behind the planet. The Betelgeuse did the same and disappeared behind the dark side of the moon, like a rat waiting for the cat to pass them by, and in that darkness, the crew remade themselves.
The Betelgeuse went on this mission for peace, to contact far-flung species and come together as brothers for a higher purpose. They were the crew of an expedition vessel, scientists and diplomats, but that privilege had been revoked. Despite the morals that he stood for and the sins he committed against Pandema, Reynolds stood at the helm and waited. He could not be his grandfather after all. He could not be Sam's father. For the sake of Pandema, he had to be a warrior.
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