Gabatrix: The First Peace

Chapter 12: Itrea

Kane, Ifra, and Ramírez stood in shock at what they had seen. The captain had sacrificed his life to save the Atra in the most brilliant fashion ever. They watched all of it on display. The explosion was intense, even if it was thousands upon thousands of kilometers away.

"I can't believe it," Kane said. "He's gone....."

"The Gabatrix.....the Captain.....and the Aksren," Ramírez said as he looked down. "It should have been me on that ship. He didn't deserve to do that."

Kane felt remorse as Ifra kept a good grip on his arm. He barely knew the captain, but he felt like a friend someway or somehow. Now, he was dead.

"Never have I seen an act of courage of a UHN sailor," Ramírez said. "I should have been the one to do that. I feel.....shame for him throwing his life away. I had nothing to lose."

Kane sighed. "I remember what the Captain told me awhile back. He told me about the incident where we met the Itreans for the first time. He was stuck on the Drake as his crew sacrificed their lives to save the ship he was on. The Captain on the Cabot told him that 'it wasn't his time yet.'"

"Yeah.....now I have to bear witness to it too. That was courage that Gabatrix would have applauded above all. Don't worry, Captain....this might have been a suicide mission, but we live to tell your tale. Your actions will be remembered by the UHN for as long as we live."

Kane was still shocked. The Gabatrix was a solid ship in one second, and then it was no more the next second later. The place he was talking and everything. It was a shining example of the unpredictability of the universe.

Ramírez watched the screen to see the Aksren third salvo coming in. The Aksren missiles were still coming in hot. The battle was still not over yet until the last salvo was destroyed. Missiles were again coming, but it was the last salvo they had to worry about. The Atra's missiles were homing in on the enemy munitions.

Impact.......one missile struck an enemy missile.......two more went down.......one of the missiles missed but turned and continued to home in. Four more went down in all. There were two missiles still closing in on the Atra.

The beep sound began to activate. Kane was well aware of the sound. The beeping started to intensify in rhythm as the Aksren missiles were still coming in.

"Brace for impact!" Ramírez called out.

Two missiles flew straight at the Atra's forward section. The CIWS guns refused to operate as one of the warheads hit the gate ring, blowing two of the probes up. The last missile flew between the developing ring and impacted the port bow of the battleship. The warhead hit the armor and exploded not far from the bridge section where they were located. It blew the forward torpedo tube open, but the armor held. The explosion caused everyone to stagger. The vectoring thrusters began to push the ship back to its location to keep it stable. The blast faded as a large scorch mark was left near the ship's nose. The port bow torpedo tube was offline, but the T'rintar warship had survived the attack.

"That was close....." Ramírez said as he recomposed himself. "If that missile hit any higher, we might not be talking right now. Are you alright?"

"I'm ok.....Ifra?" Kane asked, looking at her.

"I am good."

"It's over....." Ramírez said. "Space is clear of all hostile activity. The gate probe array took some damage, but it'll only delay our departure to New Olympia for a couple more minutes. I admit if the Captain didn't stop those missiles, the Aksren would have dominated the battle."

"It is because it is a dreadnought......" Tara'Talar said.

They turned to see that Tara'Talar had left her alcove. Instead, she walked up to all three that were in the corner. She overheard the conversation and interjected.