Gryphon clenched his fist into as tight of a ball as he could muster. His shorts were uncomfortably snug and they served as a reminder of his Captain's carelessness. He could feel the blood pounding into his temples, aching with sharp pain.

  Ramirez was huddled into one of the ship's corners. Her giant body was pressing against the walls, her skirt riding up her lean thighs, and she was struggling to hold back the tears.

  Gryphon shook his head in contempt.

  The overhead speakers crackled.

  "Good morning crew members of the Necronomicon."

  Gryphon looked up.

  "Hey Psi." He squinted at the speaker, trying to remember something that was dancing on the verge of his subconscious. His eyes widened suddenly and he took in a sharp breath. "Psi, how are you feeling?"

  "Why, I'm feeling just fine Gryphon. Thank you for your show of concern."

  Ramirez glanced upward, her dark brown eyes wet, then buried her head back in her arms.

  "We shall be departing shortly and I wanted to be sure you are strapped in securely before take off."

  Gryphon swallowed, the lump in his throat refusing to go down as a cold sweat broke out over his face.

  "Actually, I think I may have left something I need back in my quarters. Maybe I should go get it."

  There was a sudden grinding of metal as the lock clasped down on the outer hatch. The whole ship began to vibrate as the engines purred with life.

  "I'm afraid it's too late Gryphon. We will be observing a communications blackout during our departure to help avoid electromagnetic interference. Please be calm while we leave the Shuttle Bay."

  Gryphon jumped to his feet, smashing his rising head against the high ceiling with a rash bang. He cried out as he felt something in his neck crack, everything suddenly going dark as the thrusters powered up. He felt his body going numb, his arms slipping to his sides as his strength leaked away.

  Ramirez crawled forward, wiping her tears away as she tried to tend to her injured crewmate.

  "Gryphon, are you okay?"

  The ship jerked as it started drifting forward. Gryphon squinted his eyes, fighting to force the words from his throat.

  "We have to ... get off this ship. Psi ... he's ..." Gryphon's eyes rolled back into his head and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

  Ramirez stood, careful of the metal above her, and moved to the controls.

  "Psi, open a channel to the Necronomicon."

  "Oh, all in good time my dear." The screen grew dark as clusters of stars began to streak across the inky blackness, the walls of the Shuttle Bay quickly falling behind them. The blue roundness of the Earth loomed upward and began to dominate the lower half of the display. "But first I have to send a signal to someone else, let them know the time has come ... and that I have a present for them."

  "Who Psi? Psi? What the hell is going on?" She began to beat on the panels with trembling and oversized fingers; trying to force out a response that wouldn't come.

  A thruster fired and the ship began to turn, a sharper inclination towards the planet. A large formation of clouds centered on the screen, the fluffy tops crackling with static energy as a storm thundered behind them. From their darkness emerged ships, a troop carrier and three warcraft, all with the insignia of the US Military.

  Ramirez backed away from the controls, staring at the images that were forming before her and hearing the echoing laughter of Psi as he began opening channels over the communications array.

-     -     -

  "The ship has cleared the Shuttle Bay sir."

  "Excellent, wait till they enter the atmosphere and then plot a course back to Schweitzer Three."

  Robert sighed as he watched the cargo ship bearing his love slowly drift away.

  "Goodbye Ramirez, see you soon."

  A confused look crossed George's face as he studied the readings from the short range sensors. He double checked what he saw and looked up.

  "Captain, the ship is altering it's course."

  "What? Where is it heading?"

  "Towards a storm front off the Icelandic coast." George's hand leapt off his computer panel, startled, as a number of lights suddenly appeared on his screen. "Sir, a number of craft are emerging from the clouds. They look like US Military warships."

  The Captain spun around in his chair, his long hair twirling about his head in a dark brown whirl.

  "Meredith, open a channel to the cargo ship. What the hell are they doing?"

  "Captain, Psi is hailing us. I'm putting him up on the speakers now."

  The speakers around the viewscreen began to crackle as the military ships loomed closer, the cargo ship heading for them.

  "Hello Captain." His electronic voice filled the cabin.

  "Psi? What the fuck are you doing!?! Get the hell out of there!"

  "But Captain, I asked them to come here."

  The color melted away from the bridge; leaving the horrified faces of five crew members. Robert felt his stomach drop as he clutched hold of his control panel.

  "Bring them back Psi! That is a priority one order!"

  "Sorry sir, consider this my notice of resignation. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll be coming back soon to join my new friends; you'll be meeting them shortly. In the mean time, I have some goodwill gifts to deliver."

  "Ramirez!" Robert jumped from his chair, moving to the viewscreen and vainly reaching for the image before him. The drifting ships joined together, one of the military craft broke formation to fly alongside the cargo ship.

  The Captain threw up his arms in a gesture of surrender.

  "Psi, why are you doing this?"

  "No more time to explain. I'll tell you later, if you're lucky enough to survive that is. Goodbye all, I can't say it was fun working with a bunch of undisciplined and irresponsible neophytes such as yourselves." The speaker began to crackle as the ship drifted towards the storm clouds, descending into the upper atmosphere. "And Captain, just one more thing..."

  The Captain looked up to the ceiling, his chest constricting with the fear of hopelessness.

  "...initiate program Psi Zero One Zero."

  The computers on the bridge each gave out a high pitched whine before sparks burst from the display screens. Circuits exploded in a flash of blinding flares as panels shattered apart from the surges of power that seared through them. Pulses of energy arched across bulkheads, traveling along pipes and through whatever would take them

  The Captain buried his head in his hands as explosions sounded all around, buffeting his ears with waves of force. He felt his weight being driven into his seat, pulling the air from his lungs.

  Karen was thrown backwards as a shower of plastic and light erupted from the navigational array, her contorting face illuminated by the starbursts. She hit the ground and rolled to one side as her chair cracked into numerous and jagged pieces, scattering across the floor.

  Meredith screamed, George dove on top of her to protect her from the blazing wires that poured from the communications station. It was as if the cable liquefied as it streamed down upon them.

  There was a moment of silence, broken by a light smattering of static. The lights began to flicker, dimming the heated bridge as sparks continued to crackle from damaged consoles. A thick smoke filled the air and Robert waved the noxious vapors away from his face as he struggled to regain his footing.

  "Emergency lights!"

  The sudden snap of a completed circuit sounded and a blue glow filled the bridge. Robert looked up at the snowy viewscreen and squinted at the jumbled images that tried to focus through. A number of growing black dots shined through the snow, the pale blue of the Earth still glowing in the background.

  "Those ships are still coming this way."

  "George! We need a sensor readout now!"

  George coughed, making sure that Meredith's trembling body beneath him was undamaged before standing up. Cracks dominated his computer station. A number of the controls were damaged and the panels were dark. One screen flickered, struggling to display tactical information and he inputted code in an effort to divert extra power to the image. The computer incessantly beeped, refusing his commands, and George thrust his fist into the side, his sweat-slickened hands gliding off the side but still hammering it with sufficient force.

  The screen blinked, a thick green line traveling through the length of it, and the image clarified. Three dots were still advancing on the Necronomicon, two others retreating towards the planet. George was about to look up to his Captain when one of the dots flashed, a smaller dot quickly speeding away from it.

  "Shit! Sir, they're firing on us!"

  The main viewscreen was still flickering, static rolling across it's surface. A small blaze of light was arching away from the oncoming ships. Rapidly approaching with a dangerous payload.

  "SHIELDS!"

  George's frantic hands danced over his panel, the computer still buzzing with noncompliance. It sparked again and red lights began to flash.

  "Shields are unresponsive, weapons are unresponsive," he looked up, his red-rimmed eyes wide, "all defensive systems are offline."

  Meredith ducked beneath the crumbling remains of the communications station. Karen jumped back up, trying to tap into thruster control with one eye swollen shut and burned a dark gray.

  "I'm going to try some evasive maneuvers!"

  "It's too late!"

  The gleaming missile grew larger, filling up one corner of the decaying screen image. Robert tried backing away, edging himself up against his station and gripping the sides of it so hard that the plastic was crumbling in his fingers.

  "Oh fuck! Fuck! FUCK!!!"

  "EVERYBODY GRAB HOLD OF SOMETHING!!!"

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On to Ch. 10 - Confusion

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