“This is the Noble Sacrifice. We are being hammered here. Let us assemble a plan and send it up.”

I leaned back in the chair. Delta re-appeared in front of me.

I quickly put myself under a protective electro-magnetic shield, then asked, “What do you want?”

“Well, you’re the new captain, right? And I know you want to fight the Alliance. You see, Alpha controls me. Since he is so weak, I have re-exerted my control over my own body now. So, I’m ready to fight.”

She saluted. I returned the salute, slightly bemused, but also elated.

“Good, good. Do you know what any of these buttons do?”

“Only Alpha is ever in here. He knows how to fly this thing.”

“He’s not going to cooperate. Is there a ship’s computer or something?”

“Hello.” A voice which sounded like a metallic mouse would have sounded echoed through the room.

“I assume you are the computer.” I said, leaning back.

“Yes. I am the on-board ship’s computer. What do you want me to do?”

“Get me a manual of the ship’s instruments.”

“Yes, miss.”

A sliding door in the wall revealed a recently printed booklet. I opened it.

It took thirty minutes for NS control to radio back to me. That was enough time to know the basics of flying the Mercury.

“We think we have a plan.”

“What is it?” I pressed.

“We believe that the entire mission is being organized by another ship in the back. This ship has a gigantic radio dish on it. If we destroy that, then the attack hopefully would fall apart.”

“What if we board it, and then use the dish to jam the surrounding region, preventing Magnusson from updating himself on each of the ships. This means that the copies of Magnusson will have a chance to rebel, and then we can get a fully-fledged revolution at last?”

“Um.. Sure. The NS will be still retreating, but you are free to go and do that.”

I turned off the radio, and then said, “We’ll be going to the control ship in the back, and board it in order to jam the area.”

“Alright.” Delta replied.

“Computer! Set course for the control ship in the rear.”

“Yes captain.”

The Mercury fired up its engine and blasted off.

“What’s the acceleration?”

“3.2 gs, captain.” The computer replied.

Ten minutes later we arrived within visual range of the control ship.

“Dock with in on the side with the least weapons.” I ordered.

I received a hail from the control ship.

“What’s going on? Why are you docking with us?”

I replied, “I’m coming aboard to make sure the rebellion doesn’t board this ship.”

“Who are you?”

“Magnusson’s subordinate.”

“Alright, you have permission to dock.”

The Mercury quickly docked. Me and Delta reached the central docking hatch. It opened up to reveal a squad of chromes, waiting to fire.

A hail of bullets sped towards us.

I lifted one finger, and dropped it. The bullets stopped in mid-air. I made a cycling motion with my finger, and then pretended to flick.

The bullets sped back at the confused chromes. They floated in the air, dead. Delta and I walked through the entrance. A chrome with a rocket launcher fired from around the corner. It exploded on my shield.

He looked out from behind the corner, and I shot him in the head.

Rounding the bend, another group of chromes floated with their guns at the ready.

I fired off one of my bolts. It leapt from the chrome to chrome in an instant, frying them.

It only took a few minutes to reach the main bridge.

The main bridge housed at least 20 consoles, each one with an individual in it. A glass dome covered the entirety of the roof.

“Do not fire. It would only kill yourself.” I announced to the nervous operators.

A chrome fired his gun. I grabbed the bullet and crushed it. Delta then leaped through the zero-g and stabbed the chrome. It died instantly.

“Now, you will now proceed to jam the surrounding area. If you fail, you will die. Simple. Now get to work.”

The operators quickly returned to their consoles. I knew Magnusson wouldn’t have mind controlled them, preferring to use fear tactics to keep them in submission, which worked all the better for me.

I sat down in the vacant captain’s chair. A signal diagram showed on one of the panels in front of me. It should the ship emitting miles of radio noise, enough to block out the strongest signal from Titan.

“Delta, you stay here. I’m going to check on the Mercury.”

I walked back through the passageways littered with the remains of chromes. Then I reached a closed airlock.

I paused for a moment, and then rushed back to the bridge.

The shape of the Mercury covered the sun.

Guns unfolded from its sides. I quickly threw out a shield, enlarging it more than I had ever tried. The Mercury fired.

Railgun rounds ricocheted off my shield. Each shot felt like a stab to my heart. I set my face hard, I showed pain as my shield was bombarded.

Delta managed to keep the operators inside the bridge, and working on jamming any signal coming in.

“Just a little bit longer, just long enough to cause chaos.” I whispered. I fell on my knees when a laser on the Mercury fired.

I couldn’t keep the shield up forever. I couldn’t power it for much longer.

I felt my heart burn, trying to supply enough energy to power a shield. I breathed in and out, trying to lessen the pain. It didn’t work.

I looked up at the Mercury. If I squinted, I could see through the cockpit and see Alpha sitting the captain’s chair.

Suddenly the barrage stopped. I stood up. Then all the guns on the Mercury fired at once. I was knocked back to the ground.

Delta leapt upwards. I glanced back at the controllers. There were none left, having all fled. The Mercury stopped firing. I removed the shield, and then leapt up with Delta. The Mercury fired again.

The dome shattered into a million pieces. We flew through the glass and towards the Mercury. I put a shield up between us and the Mercury.

We landed on the Mercury’s surface. I looked around for an airlock. After finding one, I tried to open it.

“Access Denied” flashed on a little screen.

I punched the airlock door inwards. It broke, and we entered. We smashed in the interior door, and then made our way to the bridge.

When I reached there, Alpha stood before us. He looked weary. I punched him across the face. He flew back into the captain’s chair.

“Ouch.” He said.

I lifted him up and stared into his eyes. I felt the urge to kill him. Steel’s side egging me on, but my human conscious said no.

I threw him into the wall. I heard a crack as something broke. I picked up him and then strapped him into a chair.

“The next time something happens, I’ll kill you.” I threatened. I knew I wouldn’t carry it out, but I tried to make myself think I would. It didn’t work.

I turned back to the captain’s chair, and tuned into the original frequency.

“This is captain Dare Rye, and I have a bargain. I am here to declare a revolution against Magnusson! Anyone who cares to join, fire a warning shot at the ship on your left. If he fires back, he’s a foe, but if he also fires left, he’s a friend. Let the rebellion begin!”

The Alliance fleet erupted into chaos.