'Living section, floor eight-nine-five please,' she commanded.
The elevator rose into the air on its rail and as it disappeared into the body of the ship, the emergency lighting activated, turning everything into a shade of red. Flashing yellow lights animated on every corner of the fighter deck and a bellowing klaxon echoed through the vessel. The Vidar was on battle stations.
CHAPTER 13.
Creation of the Infinite.
'Cut the klaxon,' Khan Hayreddin ordered as he walked onto the command deck of the pirate flagship, the Wing of Vidar. 'What have we got?'
'New vessel appeared from the sun, Sir, its holding position,' one of the crew members replied as he brought an image up on the viewing display that stretched the entire length of the forward bridge.
'Holding position? Interesting, get me a magnification on that, soldier,' the Khan clasped his hands behind his back as he watched the display flicker and zoom in. A smile crept its way into the corner of his mouth before he put the crew's curiosity at ease.
'Keep nanite shielding active but drop the active response level.'
'Sir?' the man operating the visuals replied, surprised.
'This ship is no threat to us. I've waited a long time for this.' The Khan sat in his command chair and ran his fingers through his beard.
This has to be it, he thought, after so many years.
The golden ship reflected light rays from behind and shone like a beacon in the black backdrop of endless night. The curvatures of the vessel were sleek and smooth, armor plates with sharp edges created a fire of illumination. No weapons were visible on the display.
'Ping a communication to that ship,' ordered the Khan.
The crew busied themselves with the coms before they signaled the mystery ship on the display.
A face appeared as a three-dimensional image in front of the viewing display. A man, battle worn with a scar running down his face, stared out onto the command deck of the pirate flagship. He brushed his messy brown fringe aside and began. 'My name is Arcilous Draethus, Commander of the Dawn Eclipse. We are here on behalf of one of your own Commanders, Xain Raeson of the Arvernus.'
The Khan motioned the soldier in charge of the display to move the lens in closer to the golden ship's port side.
'I see you have our corvette tethered, have you captured my vessel Draethus of the Eclipse?'
Draethus smiled, 'We rescued it from the Heridian flagship near the tear you sent it to monitor. Raeson and his crew are safe and we wish to deliver them under an agreement we have bargained.'
The Khan lifted an eyebrow, 'What agreement might that be?'
'We return the Arvernus and its crew back to your fleet and you help us reach Tiberous so we might locate the Heridian home-world.'
'Heridian home-world,' laughed the Khan. 'That's a children's story. You possess our crew, however, so I will grant you tethering rights to the Vidar. Proceed to the route presented to you and we will talk further.'
'And the agreement?'
'That is between you and the Talon Commander of the Arvernus, though I will respect it for the moment. Besides, anyone wanting to go to Tiberous won't be a threat for very long, regardless of your motives.' The Khan had the communication cut and the viewing screen returned to the image of the exotic vessel.
*
On board the Dawn Eclipse, Tremon looked through the holographic scope that protruded from his console. 'That pirate vessel is massive, I mean I can't even see it all on zero magnification.'
'Bigger than the Heridian carrier, I bet,' Spect replied, sitting at the console directly across.
Tremon adjusted the display with a twist of his fingers, trying again to get a full visual. 'Commander,' he said, 'are you sure we can trust these people? Using the trail to find the location of the Rid home-world is one thing, but you heard that bearded guy, he doesn't even believe it exists.'
Static buzzed on the coms for a moment, 'We still have the message sent from that carrier as proof.' Draethus paused for a moment as he moved the ship along the path laid out by the pirates. 'It sounds to me that these pirates have been fighting the Rids for as long as the SOV, if not longer. If the SOV are looking for just the location of the link where the next Heridian wave will appear, imagine how important the location of the Rid home-world would be to the pirates. This gives us massive leverage and a platform for negotiation.'
'Unless they torture us for the information,' Spect laughed nervously. 'Although they would need us to fly the Eclipse, as that's what the Rids are after.'
'Exactly,' said Draethus, 'these pirates will do anything to annihilate the Rids and we can help that happen. This is a win, win situation provided of course they believe the evidence I will put forward. They don't really have anything to lose, yet, anyway.'
The Eclipse side shifted into the invisible passageway lit up by the Vidar's docking lasers off the pirate flagship's starboard side. A tunnel of light, circular, shot out from the pirate vessel's hull showing the ship was to fly inside it and through the open outer doors.
'Into the mouth of the beast,' said Spect, almost cowering as their vessel passed through. The docking lights on the screen created a green hue on the command deck, then vanished as the pirate flagship swallowed their ship. For a moment the viewing display over the liquid lake was blank and then filled with the outside world.
A myriad of metal bulkheads, girders, scaffolding and levels stretched far into the distance. The Wing of Vidar, being the flagship of the Cygnian Pirates, was a floating city of a vessel containing not only a defence force of fighters and corvettes but the main population of the fleet.
The Eclipse cut its engines and floated in the large wide open space of the docking area before using its manoeuvring thrusters to position itself near the required bay. Tethering cables extended down from a multitude of directions and attached, keeping the ship stable and motionless.
The golden ship's own tethering, as lasers, extended outward and clamped themselves onto the side of the docking bay. A group of repair ships floated over to the port side, detached the Arvernus' own cables, grabbed hold of the large corvette class vessel and drifted further into the body of the Vidar.
'There goes some of our leverage,' Tremon said, sitting back in his chair. 'Not feeling great on this one.'
Raeson's face appeared on screen. 'Eclipse crew, a small group of our soldiers will escort you to meet the Khan. Our agreement still holds and we will give you the opportunity to present yourself to the fleet. You are to be unarmed and we will tolerate no form of aggressive behaviour. Do we have an understanding?'
Draethus' voice from under the metallic liquid lake sounded over the loudspeakers, 'We do Raeson, just remember our agreement and everything will go smoothly.'
The platform from under the liquid levitated and Draethus stepped off onto the top level of the bridge.
Until your return Commander, the ship is on lockdown, the Eclipse said in his mind.
Draethus gave a mental acknowledgment and turned to his crew. 'I'll meet the two of you at the docking doors.'
The Commander of the golden ship followed the ship's directions through the winding corridors to the living section of the vessel. Small doors sealed either side of a suspended walkway with the end finishing in the Commander's own personal quarters. The large door phased out of existence as Draethus walked up to it. The room was large, sunken into the floor to give a larger impression of size, and contained a small amount of furniture. Once inside, he walked over to the desk and drew his vibration sword. The blade shimmered with electricity and he could feel the minute vibrations from tip to hilt. He placed it down on the desk, after clicking the switch to turn it off and pulled his pistol from the holster.
This better be worth the risk, he thought to himself.
It's your best chance, came the words from the Eclipse, words so warm and reassuring.
He took one last look around his private living quarters before leaving, then followed the directions to the do
cking portal without getting lost.
So what exactly are you Eclipse, an artificial Intelligence or a life form maybe? Draethus asked in his mind as he made his way through the winding corridors.
There was a long pause, like the ship was deliberating before it replied.
Sentient would be the best explanation to help you understand.
Sentient, right so you could be a robot mind, alien or both, will I ever fully understand?
You will Commander Draethus, certainly.
The Commander was reaching the end of the corridors and could see the docking entrance.
And what of your age? Who built you?
Again the ship took its time to answer.
Infinite, built by the same.
Draethus entered the dock area, his two crew members looking nervous.
That makes no sense, Eclipse, he thought as the ship fell silent.
'We are unarmed and ready to get captured by blood thirsty pirates that would love to torture us and steal our ship,' Tremon announced with a smile on his face.
Spect, with a terrified expression, said, 'Please don't give them any ideas.'
The Commander put his hand to the wall as the docking door phased out of existence. 'Let's go then. Keep your eyes sharp and stay together.' He clasped a hand on Spect's shoulder, 'Stay together, no getting lost exploring, right Spect?'
The scientist flushed red, 'Did the ship tell you I got lost? I totally knew where I was…'
Both soldiers gave a chuckle before walking through the door and onto the dock. A squad of pirates were waiting at the bottom of the walkway, armed with assault rifles. Their black armor was uniform and Draethus could make out close combat weapons on their back. He looked over his shoulder as the Eclipse sealed the ship, phasing back in the door.
A woman walked in between the pirate guards, brown hair cut at the shoulders outfitted in the same gear.
'Welcome to the Wing of Vidar,' she said with a small bow of the head, 'the flagship of the Cygnian Pirates, home to our small craft and our race.'
'Greetings again, Nash,' Draethus replied. 'I hope your crew fared well.'
'Indeed, Commander Draethus, we thank you.' She ran her fingers over the grip of her holstered automatic projectile pistol. 'Raeson has briefed you to what will happen now, I believe?'
Tremon stepped forward, 'As long as you keep your weapons to yourself, everything will be fine'.
Nash laughed and spun on her heal, 'This way.'
*
'Xain!' Rel yelled as she ran over to the Talon Commander of the Arvernus, 'where have you been?'
Raeson took a step back as the fighter mechanic flew into his chest and gave him a big hug. Some nearby dock workers laughed, which quickly vanished after receiving a death stare from the pirate Commander.
'Someone told me you got captured by a Rid lord and tortured, you didn't even tell me!' She punched him in the chest, 'and now I find out they nearly destroyed you at that tear thingy.'
Raeson looked away with a shrug of the shoulders, 'It's what I do, and it's a dangerous life.'
Rel was angry, her face red with fury. 'You could at least have told me, we're supposed to be best friends, right?'
'We are Rel, I just don't want you to worry and…' he cut off his sentence, 'excuse me…'
Raeson ran off the docking area to the disgust of his childhood friend, yelling at him from behind.
'Stark!' Xain yelled, sprinting through the corridor.
Stark, the member of his crew who vanished during a previous battle, stopped and spun around, ducked the oncoming fist and returned Raeson's punch. Raeson tapped the fist aside before launching an elbow, only to miss as Stark side stepped and jumped back.
'The Khan told you leave the subject alone, Xain.'
Raeson, now even more furious, launched himself forward with a flurry of strikes. Ducking and dodging, Stark parried again and finished with a spinning kick that caught Raeson off guard. The pirate Commander staggered for a moment, caught his composure and readied his next attack.
'Someone taught you to fight well, Stark.'
It was Starks turn to strike. He was fast, too fast for Raeson to parry or counter as knife hands landed around his head and neck. Xain bounced off a wall and hit the ground hard. He took a moment to catch his breath and said, 'That Rid lord could have killed us, Stark and for what? So you could steal Rid tech for yourself?' He slowly got to his feet, 'How much did you make, a small fortune?'
Stark fixed his charcoal dark uniform, 'The Khan told you to leave the subject alone, Xain,' he repeated. 'We needed something on that Heridian destroyer.'
Raeson wiped the blood from his forehead and readied himself before being interrupted by the coms in his ear.
'The crew of the Eclipse are five minutes out, please proceed to area seven five, training section level nine.' The coms went silent as the announcement finished.
When Raeson looked back at Stark, the warrior had vanished.
*
They primarily used the training section as a conference location when meeting with other races in a civilian part of the Vidar, away from any sensitive systems. The area comprised a higher and lower tier where diplomatic discussions could take place surrounded by a multitude of plants, twisting trees and greenery.
As he stood on the lower tier, Draethus understood the use of the forestry to create a calming atmosphere, although he didn't enjoy being on a lower level. On the higher tier stood the pirates, people known to him, with the addition of some unfamiliar faces.
He ran his fingers down the scar on his face and glanced at his two crew members. Tremon, as always, looked stern and unimpressed. Spect, his scientist, had a look of terror and curiosity that only he could have even made possible.
Raeson and his crew, all of which were on the top tier, stood to one side of the bearded man the Eclipses' crew had seen before.
'Crew of the Dawn Eclipse,' Raeson started. 'Standing before you is the lord and leader of the Cygnian Pirates, Khan Hayreddin. To my left is fellow Talon Commander Amus Zekhal, of the frigate the Dying Nova and I am Commander Xain "Reaper" Raeson of the Arvernus.' He motioned to the soldiers behind him. 'You have already met my other crew, Slin Naomoka and Nashek Trian, both excellent fighter pilots.'
Draethus took a step forward, 'It is an honor to meet you and I thank you for taking the time to hear our offer, Khan Hayreddin.'
The large bearded man, attired in dark armor, stood firm. An expressionless look on his face betrayed no emotion.
'We have granted you free and safe harbour in our fleet, Commander Draethus, only so you can present your request that may favour our motives.' The Khans' voice was deep and loud, which caused Spect to startle.
'If your request is not to our motives, you may not like the consequences,' the Khan finished.
Tremon held his temper as he shot his Commander a look of disgust.
'We are enemies of the Heridian race and originate from a world called Echelon, a large jungle planet, in two instances of time,' Draethus stated. 'My two crew members are from your current time, so we believe and I from a future.' He let the words settle on the minds of the pirates, proving its plausibility would be hard.
Zekhal, a man the same age as Raeson, in his mid-twenties, spoke up for the first time. 'You expect us to believe you are from another time? What proof is there and how did you travel?'
Draethus looked over at Spect and found he was trying not to make eye contact with his Commander. 'Spect…'
The scientist looked around for a moment and ran his finger across the frame of his glasses. 'Your honors, um, highnesses.'
'Speak,' Zekhal ordered.
Spect steadied himself, straightened his back and put a hand in his pocket and without warning threw a metallic ball into the air. The pirates quickly drew their weapons and were about to fire when a hologram of the golden vessel shone out and all but filled the area.
'By the creator Spect…' Tremon said, covering his forehead with
his hand.
The pirates eased their weapons as Draethus threw a shrug toward Raeson, who returned with words assumed to be prayers or curses.
'This is the Dawn Eclipse,' Spect announced as he started his grand speech. 'Just over one year ago it appeared in the docks of our Sky-Station on Echelon, as if from know where, like a ghost.'
Zekhal holstered his weapon, 'and it is now in our docks, get to the point.'
'Well, Commander… wow, there are a lot of commanders here… ships just don't appear from nowhere. They either fly or translocate. This ship on the security cameras was absent in one frame and present in the next, meaning there was another method. So I ran a scan of the ship and could piece together part of what I thought was a drive but was in fact a time device.'
He changed the hologram to a three-dimensional blueprint of the device as the Khan nodded to his men to put away their weapons.
'I'll shorten the story. Commander Draethus activated the device I designed from the future, which then time-shifted him to his past along with the Rids he was fighting. I just made that word up I think we should use it.'
Tremon stepped forward, 'What Spect here is trying to say is we have a ship capable of shifting through time…'
'Time-shifting,' interrupted Spect.
The hologram changed to a massive red glowing vessel, the Heridian flagship.
'This abomination attacked the Sky-Station, and we followed it back through that tear in space the Rids created after they captured and repaired the displacement device.' Draethus added.
'That explains where the tear came from,' Raeson replied. 'We thought that maybe the Rid flagship had created it.'
'No, that was from our end,' Draethus smiled. 'We destroyed the device when they tried to capture it, then followed the Rid flagship through the tear.'
'So the Heridians want access to time displacement?' The Khan asked, bluntly.
'Time-shift…' Spect said before being interrupted with a shoulder nudge from Tremon.
'Yes Khan, that is correct.' Draethus ran his fingers over the scar on his face again. 'Where I'm from, the Heridian forces are close to defeat, though this is just a small force, a first wave. We believe the second wave to be much larger and know when they are coming, but not from where. If we can find this location, or Link as it's known, we can be ready and waiting.'
A Dark Oceans Descent: (Heridian Saga, Book 1) Page 18
