The Argonautis cut through the black vacuum of enemy territory toward the haven behind the great schism. The control room was panicked as the remaining United Planets soldiers worked double time to cover the positions of their fallen comrades. They formed a tornado of dread, swirling around the room as the reality of their defeat sunk in. And in the eye of the tornado were Carter and Lev, staring at Aelia working tirelessly on Daisy's wounds!

  "Aelia, remind me again, why aren't you doing this in sickbay?" Carter wiped nervous sweat off his brow.

  "After the siege, there was only space for one more in sickbay. And Damara refused to take it away from a soldier!"

  Carter rubbed his temples, stressed."Of course, she did!"

  Soon, the tornado stopped spinning as all the eyes pulled toward one direction. A crowd gathered around Daisy's operating table. They gazed at her with eyes filled with the most potent fear. An existential fear, growing despair for the future, seeing Daisy's blood spread across the table. If she were to perish, their defeat would be complete. Their comrades would have died in vain, and freedom would follow her to the grave!

  As Aelia soon stopped, the soldiers led by Carter hurried to her."Well?" The time she took to answer was the most agonizing of their lives. A few seconds to open her mouth felt like a century as their panic hit its zenith! But the answer finally came!

  "I believe she'll make it!"

  With Aelia's words, it was as if Atla's burden became lighter. A widespread sigh of relief washed over the soldiers. But Lev, in particular, dropped to the floor, crying. The warrior woman had finally reached her limit as Ollete and Kinana ran to console her.

  "General Carter, I must warn you of something else!"

  "What is it?"

  "Damara has some internal bleeding! I fear it may worsen unless treated!"

  "Well, do it!"

  "I can't! Our medical supplies are either damaged or depleted!"

  "So we have to get back over the schism fast!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Carter, I'm so sorry for putting you through all this!"

  "Damara, please do not speak unless spoken to! You must conserve your energy!"

  "Yes, ma'am!"

  An alarm flashed through the air as red lights flooded the room.

  Carter rubbed his temples, stressed."This mission never ends! What is it now?"

  A holographic image of the sector appeared before Carter. And his eyes widened with shock, looking at it. Nemesis ships, represented by numerous purple triangles, traversed vast distances, crowding around the figure of the Argonautis. They swiftly blocked every possible route to the great schism!

  "It just keeps getting better and better," Carter said.

  "I've never seen troop movement like this before! They're even abandoning the battle with Favian to come after us," Lev said.

  "I sure hope General Favian is okay," Kinana said.

  "Worry more about yourself! There's no way we'll get over the schism now!"

  "No! There's still a chance!"

  Everyone hastily turned their gaze to Daisy.

  "What do you mean, Damara?"

  "Well, have we passed by that hyper-gate yet? The one we came across when the ship first broke down!"

  "No! We're coming up on it now, but why?"

  "I-I think I have a way we can pass through it, and we can escape to some other part of the galaxy!"

  "You think!" Carter gazed worriedly.

  Daisy took a deep breath."Carter, I know I let you all down. Please, give me one more chance to fix it!"

  "Say no more, Damara!"

  Carter, of course, would give Daisy a thousand chances as his faith in her was unshakable. If given the choice, he would always place his life in her hands. But still, a part of him knew this was just as much a weakness as a strength because it wasn't just his life that hung in the balance. So he turned his gaze to Lev, waiting to hear his fellow general's counterargument. He wanted her to give some rationale that his desperation and blind faith had overwritten!

  "I'm with Damara!"

  "I guess we have no choice! Let's do it!"

  Later, the Argonautis neared the hyper-gate, readying to venture into the rift in space and time. As they grew closer to the multicolored phenomenon, fear flickered across Carter's heart, fear for his soldiers' lives! But he knew they had no other options. So he turned his gaze to Daisy for reassurance.

  "Damara?"

  "I just need a second to gather my strength!"

  "What exactly are you going to h-"

  Without warning, the vessel shook violently! Carter assumed it must have been another solar storm, but the answer soon appeared on a screen before him."Enemy ships!" As they gathered behind the Argonautis, bombarding the vessel!

  "It's those new ships again! If they hook us like before, they'll destroy the vessel instantly," Athena said.

  "No choice then! Kainus, full speed ahead!" Carter grabbed Daisy's hand tightly.

  "It'll be okay, Carter!" Daisy summoned the remainder of her strength to crack a smile.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The Argonautis pulled forward at full speed, heading to the mouth of the gate. The Nemesis ships followed only a few meters before stopping as they neared the deadly energy streams. But even as they flew wildly in every direction, the Argonautis continued undeterred! They maneuvered through their arcing holes, dodging instant disintegration through luck and skill.

  The vessel conquered the energy streams, moving to the gate with no obstacle. But still, a dire question loomed over the United Planets. A question they had no time or ability to answer since retreating from the gate meant certain death. How could they possibly survive entering the gate?

  Kinana hugged Ollete tightly."Letty, I want to say I've always loved you like a sister!"

  "Same!" Ollete hugged Kinana back.

  The Argonautis swiftly lay inches from the hyper-gate. The United Planets readied for death. But as they did, Daisy readied for salvation. Daisy summoned all her remaining strength, calling upon the Divinus' powers and summoning its flames. They swiftly devoured the control room, spreading across the ship as they entered the gate!

  "I'm on fire! I'm dying," Kinana shouted.

  Kinana's panic vanished as she realized the fire wasn't hurting her.

  "Hold the holophone! I'm not dying!"

  "I can tell that they're hot. And yet they don't burn my flesh," Ollete said.

  All eyes swiftly turned forward, looking at the bowels of the hyper-gate. Its immense gravitational force pulled the ship forward at a speed that surpassed its full thrust down its corridor in a seemingly endless march. It was a long tunnel of multi-colored light pepper by jagged white breaches in space and time. A sight of vast beauty and terror!

  Lev looked in bewilderment. "We're inside the gate, but why is the ship not disintegrating?"

  "It's me, General Lev! I coated the ship in my special flames!"

  "Your flames?"

  "They're harmless to those not ruled by malice or evil and act as a protective shell. I did something similar to survive the explosion on planet Aqua!"

  "Incredible. But how were you sure everyone here would fit that criteria?"

  "I guess you can say I've always been an optimist!"

  Without warning, Daisy coughed blood. As Aelia ran to treat her, the protective coating of Daisy's flames weakened in response to her failing health. A portion of the Argonautis became exposed to the gate, and a bolt of energy swiftly struck!

  Athena checked her holophone panel."General Lev, sickbay's losing air fast!"

  "Can you reroute it?"

  "Trying, ma'am!"

  "Forget that! Kainus, pick one of those holes and get us out of here," Carter said.

  "But, General Carter, I don't know where these let out. Anyone could mean death!"

  "Staying here will mean death! Just pick one!"

  Kainus swiftly picked the nearest breach, steering the vessel towards it. Again, the United Planets readied for death, not knowing what was beyond it. But as Daisy's flames continued to fade, they had no choice but to venture toward it, being sucked in.

  In less than a second, the crew of the Argonautis burst from the hyper-gate unharmed. As they readied for more trouble, expecting enemy forces, Lev gazed at a planet before them."Rancisis!" Propelled forward by the force of escaping the gate!

  "Isn't that a world in United Planets territory?"

  "Yes, it is! We made it!

  Ollete tightened her grip on Kinana."Thank the lawgiver and Damara!"

  "Okay! Kainus, ready our approach and send a landing code!"

  "Yes, General Carter!"

  As Kainus began his work, another alarm rang! As Carter heard it, he angrily kicked a machine, exasperated and enraged by the disastrous odyssey!

  "What is it now?"

  "Rancisis's gravitational field is pulling us toward the planet, and there's something wrong with our thrusters, so I can't correct our approach!"

  "And let me guess, we'll burn to ash on reentry!"

  "Well, no! We're on a safe trajectory. It's just that we're going to crash land!"

  "Better than nothing, at least!"

  The Argonautis fell into Rancisis's atmosphere. The ship cut through the air downward at increasing speed! Unable to slow their descent, the crew of the Argonautis was at gravity's mercy as they neared the ground. They prepared for a meteoric impact, more devastating than their crash landing on Zeemos. But instead, they hit the curd of a titanic cauliflower plant, breaking their fall.

  Rancisis was one of the primary food baskets of the United Planets, so massive plants like the cauliflower were common across its surface. They were the lifeblood of the army in more ways than one. Because on their most dire hour, they functioned as more than sustenance, but as a cushion of salvation. The ship bounced from plant to plant, losing the kinetic energy that would have destroyed the crew. Landing, still somewhat roughly, but alive!

  Lev panted heavily, clutching her chest as her heart beat like a drum."Saved by cauliflower!"

  "And after all these years of me hating cauliflower!" Carter dropped face first on the floor, his great strength finally exhausted.

  Later, on Planet Hachiko, the Argonautis landed in Camelot Alpha, a shell of itself. An army of medical staff surrounded the vessel, diving inside it at top speed with abandon toward any hazards. Time was of the essence as they gazed at the contorted, burnt metal! It was easy to surmise the dire condition of the crew. They soon emerged from it, proven right with the legion of injured soldiers.

  Favian hurried to the chaotic site with Yaira, but as they went, he spotted Daisy and Carter lifeless on the hover stretchers.

  "Lieutenant, I need you to shadow Damara and General Carter! Keep me informed on their condition!"

  "Yes, sir!" Yaira ran off after Daisy and Carter.

  As Yaira left, Favian continued forward, hurrying to the ship. But he stopped as Lev landed before him.

  "Lev, I came as soon as I heard! Are you-"

  Lev hugged Favian, crying in his chest."Oh, Favian, it was so awful. All my planning was meaningless. We lost Captain Ros, Lieutenant Rogers, and even Norn!"

  "By the gods! They're dead?"

  "I don't know! That's the worst part!"

  Lev's crying intensified, and not knowing how to quell her misery, Favian only hugged her back.

  A week later, on Planet Earth, Daisy returned to Liberty City. Carter drove through the streets at top speed, carrying his beloved. And only slowing down to obey the stop lights and navigate the debris from the Nemesis attack. But soon, they arrived at the general hospital with Daisy diving out of the car the second it stopped.

  Carter chased after Daisy, fearing for her well-being as she increased speed. Her wounds were still fresh and throbbing from her terrible defeat. The Injuries would reopen and exasperate with too much movement. But Daisy, wrapped with bandages around her chest and torso, ran into the hospital with little regard for her health!

  "Red, slow down! You're still hurt!"

  "There's no time to lose. I have to know if Belle's okay!"

  The couple ran inside the hospital, seeing it flooded with patients. The critically injured, both human and off-worlder, covered every room, hallway, and even floor of the hospital as the staff raced up and down to treat them. Daisy scanned through the hundreds, possibly thousands, for Belle. With her anxiety growing, fearing Belle may have perished. But Carter Calmed her down, pointing to Belle sleeping in a bed.

  Daisy ran to Belle crying, hugging awake."Belle!"

  "Sissy? I didn't expect you back so soon!"

  "I came as soon as I was free from you know what. Belle, I'm so sorry!"

  "For what?"

  "For how I've treated you! I was too harsh before. I shouldn't have invited the Mulvanas over until you were comfortable!"

  Belle looked Daisy in the eyes."What brought this on?"

  "I'll tell you the details when we're alone. But to keep it short, I now understand trauma tends to linger!"

  Belle took a deep breath."You weren't wrong! What I did was cruel and disrespectful to Pa!"

  "Belle-"

  "Daisy, don't try to sugarcoat it. We promised him we would never lose hope, but I still let my hatred and despair rule me. And I projected it onto an innocent child!"

  The two sisters swiftly hugged again, crying, remembering their beloved father. But they separated as Mary, Aisha, and the Mulvanas came.

  "My child, your home," Mary said.

  "When did you get back?"

  "It was a little while ago, Aisha. But it's good to see you all s-"

  Daisy spotted the bandages wrapped around Rohan with horrified eyes.

  "This is awful! Rohan, look at yourself!"

  "It's okay!"

  "How?"

  "Miss Belle and I have been playing fun games while the doctors treat us!"

  "Games?"

  "The ones Pa would always play with us when we were sick! Come here, sweetie!"

  Rohan ran to the bed, jumping into Belle's lap. Belle lovingly wrapped her arms around her, fitting her fingers between the spaces of Rohan's hands. And Daisy gazed at her as Belle guided her hands in a rhythmic motion."Patty cake!" Making her cry again as the happy memories of her father flooded her mind.

  "Yep!"

  "And I can almost do it by myself!"

  Rohan tried to do the correct motions by herself, but as she got confused, Belle helped. She moved the young girl's hands, putting a smile on her face. And Daisy again cried both tears of joy and sorrow, seeing them. The moment of sheer happiness, tainted by the threat of the evil Nemesis empire with Everton's flesh and blood as one of its most loyal enforcers!