Lifting his eyes, Euphretes answered. “Yes Sir. But can I ask something?”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you think the Galactic Group would be missing out on?” The words were mumbled and lacked any sort of conviction.
Knowing that Euphretes truly didn’t want an answer, “If you can’t imagine yourself doing the impossible, then you’ll never do it. Stop asking for others to tell you what you already know,” Lesos scolded.
“But,” Euphretes started to speak just as Lesos cut him off.
“Listen, let’s leave that discussion for another time, alright? I simply ask that you please learn from this. There is no such thing as a cheap thrill without the possibility of something going wrong. You must always plan for the worst, in anything and everything you do. Equipment breaks down. People betray you. It’s just the nature of the beast. But the one thing that you cannot allow to be broken, is your passion for others. Do not let your personal desires ever interfere with the safety and livelihood of those around you. You have a gift unlike anything I’ve seen, young man; do not let pride or selfish ambition take that away from you.”
“It’s about time you hear it from someone else.”
Euphretes was unsure how to respond to the Emperor’s words. “Sir, I won’t let you down again, I promise.”
Lesos leaned back in his chair as his expression once again turned grim, “Unfortunately, your time here has come to an end. I contacted Carpathian, I’m sending you home.”
“But why?” Euphretes blurted out, worried that it was because of his stupid behavior that he was being separated from Lani.
“The trade agreement is working flawlessly and it is time you start growing to your potential. Please say goodbye to Lani in a way that will not break her heart; she has grown quite fond of you.”
Euphretes’s jaw literally dropped at the news while Lesos concluded. “I love you Euphretes. It has been a joy having you here. Should you find yourself in need, you will always be welcome in my family.”
TING! TING! TING!
The three rings, indicating that the communications request to Lani timed out, jolted Euphretes from the trip down memory lane. Somehow, however, the smell of Emperor Lesos’s musty office was still fresh in his mind as if it was the very air giving his lungs life. “Really hope everything is ok,” Euphretes half whispered apprehensively within his mind space.
Lani’s tear before exiting his Test’s transmission still haunted Euphretes. So Neuma swooped in to provide some comfort.
“She’s the daughter to an Emperor, who knows what sort of obligations she has going on. Also, just keep in mind, she made the effort to see your promotion when basically everyone else didn’t. So I wouldn’t sweat the situation.”
“Yeah, true. Thanks, I needed that. Besides, it’s probably a good thing I missed her anyway. Carpathian wouldn’t appreciate being stood up.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Neuma teased.
“Whelp, let’s see what assignment it is this time,” Euphretes jested, bracing himself for the bad news that was sure to come. The thought of another long series of rotations brought bile from the pit of his stomach to the top of his throat. For the last four years, Euphretes had been on tour as the 20th Fleet Commander, a small unit with eight Fleet Vessels and a brigade sized element of ground forces. Carpathian had pulled him from his previous Special Operations Unit to assist several Yare Territories facing terrorist organization threats. Created only when all three Empires agreed, Yare governments were not under any Empire’s Authority. They were independent.
Before becoming the 20th Fleet Commander, Euphretes was sent to the Battle of Merope where he conducted covert operations to assist the Merope System against the Baikal Empire. It sat on the outskirts of Indus’s domain and had more in common with the Yare Territories than its home Empire. Both Carpathian and Emperor Lesos jumped at the opportunity to assist Merope and therefore, hurt the Baikal Empire in the process. Lesos provided a combat team, twenty two Fleet Vessels in total, to try and persuade Indus to grant Merope Yare Status. At the same time, Emperor Carpathian added nine of his far superior Fleet Vessels to assist.
Small skirmishes broke out but ended quickly, neither side wanting to start a War over an insignificant territory. In the end however, it was Euphretes’s precision ground strikes taking place behind enemy lines, while the Natron and Huron Empires built up a heavy military presence at Indus’s front gate, that convinced Indus that the fight was no longer worth it. Merope was free from the Baikal Emperor.
The previous years weighed heavily upon Euphretes, who nervously typed in the command to call Emperor Carpathian. Within seconds, Carpathian’s face appeared, taking up ninety percent of the holographic projection above the desk. A slightly altered image of his father’s office appearing on the borders between Carpathian’s face and the end of the projection told Euphretes that Carpathian was using a Classified Message Display System. A device built like a helmet, the CMDS was the most secure form of communication within the Galactic Group.
Immediately, Euphretes could tell that his father was exhausted, the stress almost permeating off the Emperor who was light years away.
“Something isn’t right.”
Carpathian’s unshaved face and down cast expression were a clear indication that the situation was truly serious. “Yeah, he hasn’t frowned during a cyclic training event since I can remember,” Euphretes responded to Neuma, assuming whatever was disturbing Carpathian was his next assignment.
Despite the unkempt face, Carpathian had a regal presence about him. Mesmerizing emerald eyes with golden flakes were matched by a kind, wise countenance. A smile of perfect white teeth showed the vitality still in him while the wrinkles forming by his eyes showed his many years of experience. Carpathian’s scruffy brown hair fell down past the base of his neck. Despite his age, not a single thread of grey was to be found. The Huron Emperor’s facial features were slightly asymmetrical; with his right eye sitting slightly higher than his left by a millimeter. A small scar along his left jaw line was still visible underneath the facial stubble. Caused by making a careless mistake in the ring, Carpathian refused to treat it, knowing the reminder would keep him from making the same mistake twice.
“So, what now?” Euphretes blurted out to the Emperor, hoping to get right to the point.
Emperor Carpathian looked at his son with the most serious expression Euphretes had ever seen. “We’re about to be in Total War conditions. After all our efforts to stay clean, Indus finally found a way to drag me in.”
“It was only a matter of time.”
“What happened?” Euphretes asked out loud as he shook his head, his heart dropping to his toes.
“At roughly twenty-two hundred hours Custos Time, a group of six Baikal Super Capitals and Emperor Indus’s Flagship attacked a convoy of authorized Diplomatic Natron Cruisers outside the Casseopian System.”
“Your ceremony was after that,” Neuma reminded him, in an attempt to turn Euphretes’s thoughts away from worrying about Lani’s safety.
Euphretes’s mind settled back down, “Thanks for letting me know,” He replied in his mind space while his Emperor continued speaking.
“Indus ended up destroying all five of the Cruisers. Unfortunately, search teams have still been unable to find any survivors among the wreckage except for one Life Pod. Recovered Indexes told investigators that two Baikal crafts of unknown make and type left Dawn of Creation and boarded the Cruiser holding Emperor Lesos.”
Euphretes continued to listen with stone cold seriousness, now itching for the fight he was anguishing over just moments ago.
“This was a calculated move, and a massive one. Something offline has to be driving him to make such bold moves so early on.”
Carpathian’s firm tone droned in the background. “A Shuttle managed to enter jump before the Super Capitals began their destruction. Sadly, Emperor Lesos was not on board. He did, however, manage to force Admiral Sentago and
several of his Staff to escape. They ended up cutting their jump short in order to send out a distress signal with all of the information about the attack. Without them, it’s possible rescue teams could have just now been showing up on site. What’s really bothering me, however, is Lesos sent a coded message to me during the attack that we can’t unscramble.”
“What do you think is in there?” Euphretes asked, intrigued by the mystery.
“Not sure, but I am hoping it can shed some light on what provoked Indus to make such a stupid move. I’ll let you know when they figure it out,” Carpathian answered.
“What does Indus have to say about all of this by the way?” Euphretes remarked. “I’m actually curious to see what excuse he has for us this time.”
“Same here,” Carpathian sighed, “but unfortunately, he’s gone silent while also managing to get most of his Royal Fleet Combat Team hidden from my agents. Not only that, we are starting to get reports of Natron civilians disappearing out into the fringe territories, taken by marauders using Baikal equipment.”
“This just doesn’t add up. I know for a fact that Indus isn’t dumb, but nothing he is doing makes any sense.”
“I know, it’s like we’re missing half the picture,” Euphretes replied to Neuma before continuing his conversation with Carpathian. “Sounds like we don’t have a choice on multiple grounds. What I don’t understand is that yes, he’s been pushing his luck for a while now, but there’s nothing to indicate that he is ready for a two front war. What’s the sudden change?”
Carpathian lowered and shook his head, “I don’t know, but we’re in a world of mess right now. My Fleet Combat Team is going to have to scramble to get home and refit for a war against an enemy who has tossed the Galactic Group’s Rules of Engagement into the incinerator. On top of that, my Ally has just lost their best leader and tactician and was replaced by an inexperienced kid who is in way over his head.”
“Yeah, Broye wasn’t my favorite either.”
“What would you have me do?" Euphretes asked, knowing full well that the position he had just worked so hard to attain was about to be vacant again. Carpathian didn’t say a word for a few moments as he stared past Euphretes’s head.
“As much as I hate to say it, Emperor Indus gave us a huge advantage with his little stunt today,” Carpathian finally exclaimed, his tone more reflective than conversational.
“Sir?” Euphretes quizzically replied.
“You see, by deciding to not only play dirty, but ultimately break from the game altogether, Emperor Indus opened the door for me to do the same.”
“Still not exactly following Sir,” Euphretes responded, hoping his Emperor was not about to ask him to do something that he would have to refuse. While his father had never jeopardized his integrity and was the most honorable person Euphretes knew, he also knew that the burden of leadership could twist anyone’s mind. “Let me rephrase. Emperor Indus opened the door for us to start targeting soft objectives deep within his precious Empire before I’m ready to officially declare War.”
“Well this will be interesting.”
“I like it. Start taking out their Logistics now before they even think that they need to start protecting it.”
“Exactly,” The Emperor fired back.
“How does he already have objective locations?”
Euphretes paused momentarily to think over Neuma’s comment before speaking, “Do you have confirmed targets yet?”
Knowing what the polite question was really implying, Carpathian answered, “That’s where you come into play. What I need you to do is get inside the Baikal Empire, gather as much information as possible, and if there is time, wreak as much havoc as you can.”
“This certainly escalated quickly to the realms of impossibility.”
Carpathian paused momentarily to gather his thoughts. “Unfortunately, this mission does not fall under the Huron Military’s Rules of Engagement because we are not in an active war. Therefore, it cannot in any way be directly connected to the military or me. With that said, you are the only person I trust to make the right decisions in the absence of orders.”
Euphretes had to fight to stay silent and wait for the Emperor to finish. "So, as of this conversation, I am temporarily stripping you of your Rank and bringing you to Inactive Reserve Status. As far as anyone knows, your position as second in line to the crown has forced you to play it safe and stay home in case your brother and I don’t make it back.”
“Unless he has something up his sleeve, we won’t last twenty-four hours out there before getting detected.” Neuma exclaimed, referring to exactly one Custos day.
Euphretes was speechless. Not only had he just lost the rank he fought so hard to attain, but he was given a dream assignment that was truly a suicide mission. “Sir, don’t get me wrong, I accept your request regardless of the capabilities at our disposal. However, if I am brining others with me, then it would be wrong of me not to mention that we don’t have the capabilities to effectively run that sort of operation. We don’t have a Fleet Vessel strong enough to cause real damage inside the Baikal Empire while also being able to travel undetected to its objective.”
A sly smirk finally made its way to the surface of Carpathian’s face, “We do actually. I’ll send the schematics and particulars in a bit; but for now, start gathering your team.” The Emperor ended the communications request before Euphretes could respond, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
“They must have figured out the Delta Infiltrator issue,” Neuma guessed.
Not entirely ready to stop procrastinating, Euphretes ignored the remark that normally would have sparked his interest and allowed his thoughts to drift back to the Natron family.
“I’m sorry Euphretes. Lesos was a great Man and you were right to look up to him.”
“Yeah, he really was, which makes Lani’s loss that much worse,” Euphretes responded as he typed Lani’s name again into his Profile’s communication’s tab.
“She’s strong Euphretes. She’ll make it through this.”
Seconds later, Lani’s fiery hair appeared above Euphretes’s desk. Her reserved smile and softly sparkling cheeks showed her joy to see him while the single tear, still stuck to her skin, bore the grief of a lost father. Euphretes’s heart skipped a beat the moment his subconscious recognized her. Just the sound of her saying his name was a powerful salve. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of the future and this next assignment began to swarm and bubble in his gut.
Chapter 4:
Zeiyan’s Ship Yards
Through the Abyss tore through interstellar space, deep within the Baikal Empire, on its way to destroy two critical Ship Yards for Indus’s Military. Filled with a team hand picked by Euphretes, the Delta Infiltrator class Fleet Vessel was all but invisible to Emperor Indus’s border security. A brand new class of military vessel for the Huron Empire, one that could penetrate border security sensors and could travel through guarded space entirely undetected, the Delta Infiltrator’s timing could not have been better for the Huron Empire. However, with only one functioning Delta Infiltrator currently placed on Active Status, Carpathian was trusting Euphretes with one of his Empire’s most valuable assets.
The stealth vessel had a composite metal alloy shell that utilized dark matter as the binding agent. The shell was then coated with a thin layer of exotic particles that were held in place by electrostatic traps placed throughout the Ship. Taken from a white hole at staggering costs to the Huron Empire’s defense budget, the peculiar form of dark matter counteracted with the exotic particles in a marvelous way. Once an electromagnetic current was circulated around the Delta Infiltrator, something that was thought impossible, was created; a multiverse literally implanted inside the Fleet Vessel’s outer shell. Its stealth capabilities came from the fact that to the outside world, Through the Abyss was a Ship with zero mass, positive mass, and negative mass all at the same time. With the multiverse established, and additional camouflaging equipment running, the Delta I
nfiltrator’s technology could slip past even the best of sensors and tracking equipment.
Emperor Carpathian’s newest weapon was a perfect sphere and had a twenty-two foot thick shell, which helped stabilize the interior of Through the Abyss from the dark matter’s effects. It only carried one front facing cannon and a single bay for offensive capabilities. The small bay could snuggly fit two of the Huron Empire's new Special Operations Transports, six Hunters, and four Stalkers at a time.
Hunters were the primary deep space fighters for the Huron Empire. They utilized a pilot and a non-aviator helmsman. The non-aviator helmsman handled the different weapon platforms and assisted the pilot in monitoring the live battle space. Hunters were quick and agile on their own but were meant to work in groups in order to hunt down the enemy. The duel-crewed fighters were shaped like arrow heads, with a fixed rapid fire cannon at the tip. Its cockpit sat in the middle of a fully enclosed armored shell, utilizing exterior sensors to provide real time images of the fighter’s environment. Similar to all Galactic Group fighter class ships, the Hunter’s missiles sat in its belly while the primary engine took up most of the rear. Just enough space was left above and under the engine compartment to place two RAI controlled turrets that could be stored inside the Hunter during times of non-combat.
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