by J Porteous
Hawke looked out from the view-port. Ships of every size and make bristled down each arm of the War Goddess, waiting in anticipation. The sleek Harathdan ships positioned themselves alongside the gathered mercenary fleet, adding their elegant designs to the assembled horde. The collective display of power was formidable. Hawke could not help but smile to himself. Look at what we've achieved, Hawke thought, Sherlock and Watts would never have believed this.
The Faceless Man continued his brief. 'We have no name for the planet which will greet us on the other side, and neither do we care. We know that it is small, but tightly packed. We've been told that it is a glistening metropolis of gleaming high rises. Don't get distracted. Get the Harathdan carrier there and get out. Good luck to us all.' High above the ring of stones, two Harathdan ships slowly pulled the final stone into position. 'Ships, prepare to advance.'
Hawke glanced down at Carl, who sat breathing heavily, his knuckles whitened around the controls of the ship. Hawke placed a soft hand on his shoulder. 'Don't worry, Goban. If any pilot can handle it, it's you.'
Light exploded from the ring of stones, blinding them. The auto-tint of the cockpit fought hard to catch up, slowly dampening the brightness of the glow. Steadily, the white-hole came into view. A circle of intense white light blazed against the darkness that surrounded it. It bubbled and swirled like an oily liquid, mesmerising Hawke as he stared helplessly into it.
The communication system buzzed again. 'Mercenaries, this is it. Make this moment count. Protect the Harathdan ship until it can release its payload. Advance now, and good hunting.'
The ships that surrounded the War Goddess burst into life. Engines burned hard in the darkness, illuminating rows of ships. The War Goddess accelerated, keeping pace with the ships at the forefront of the group. The Harathdan fleet advanced with them, their gleaming hulls becoming blinding as they reflected the light of the white-hole. Hawke studied their formation. A protective circle of Harathdan ships surrounded a small, but sturdy, ship. Something was attached beneath it, easily matching the size of the ship itself. Must be the bomb ship.
The ships in front of them disappeared, hitting the light of the white-hole that lay ahead of them. Hawke braced himself, as if expecting a great impact. He looked down at Carl. 'Punch it, Goban.'
The War Goddess accelerated quickly, hurtling towards the white-hole, keeping pace with the front line of the assault. Hawke kept an eye on the console next to him. Fifteen hundred metres. One thousand metres. His sat next to Carl and quickly strapped himself in. Five hundred metres. Impact.
The War Goddess shook violently, the white-hole disappearing as an endless darkness appeared to consume it. The console instruments flashed wildly, their readings increasing and decreasing in a violent fashion. Hawke held on as hard as he could, the rumbling of the ship throwing him around and threatening to rip him from his seat. Hold on, just a bit longer. Carl shook violently in his seat, attempting to wrestle back some semblance of control. Hawke reached over to him, joining Carl in grabbing onto the controls, in a vain attempt at trying to steady the ship.
The edge of the ship disintegrated. It became nothing but a fine dust, which was quickly blown away in the darkness. It crept towards Hawke, consuming Carl as it approached. Hawke held a hand out to grasp him, only to see his own hand broken down to nothing more than grains of sand. Darkness consumed him.
Light returned through the view-port, the darkness succumbing. The War Goddess fell steady again as they dropped out of the white-hole. Hawke patted his legs, torso, and face, then the console in front of him. Everything was as it had been before they had entered the white-hole. He unclasped the strap of his seat and scrambled to the view-port. He eyes grew wide as he drank in this strange new universe. It was as the Grand Researcher had said. A small planet, with a brilliant glow coming from the crust, waited for them. So did an armada of ships.
Their hulls glinted in the bright light of the white-hole. Hawke had seen part of one before, jutting out from behind the Valkyrie, but that brief glimpse did them no justice. They were shaped like a three-bladed claw, violent by design. They waited, motionless in the void. They were countless. Fear thundered in Hawke's gut. They knew we were coming.
Mercenary and Harathdan ships carved their way through the void, dancing around each other in a savage ballet. Bright explosions blossomed in the darkness. Vessels from both sides were being ripped apart, spluttering their contents and crew into space. Hawke grabbed the intercom. 'Justinia, Bjarke. Fire at will. Rip them to fucking shreds.' He grabbed Carl's shoulder. 'Get us the fuck out of here, Goban!' He did not need to ask him twice.
The War Goddess dipped and swerved to avoid a mercenary ship which came through the white-hole next to them. Enemy fire ripped it to pieces before its crew could react. More of the fleet came through, pouring countless rounds down upon the Kalindros, and receiving even more back. The War Goddess pulled up sharply, chasing after a Kalindros ship that fell into its view. Rounds poured from the turret positions, gouging out holes from the enemy ship and sending debris spinning. It tried to maneuver away from the steady fire only to pile into a Harathdan ship, both of them exploding on impact.
A searing pain burnt inside Hawke's head. He fell to his knees, only just managing to catch himself on the console beside him. He grimaced, the mark on his face throbbing painfully.
The voice had returned. You dare come to us? To face us in our own domain? You will be wiped from this universe, then we shall follow your remains through to your own. Hawke clutched his head. Your thoughts have betrayed you, we knew you would come.
'Hawke?' Carl yelled over the roaring engine of the War Goddess. 'Hawke? What's wrong?'
Hawke stayed low to the ground, fighting back for control of his own head. He gritted his teeth. 'Don't worry about me, Goban, just get to that planet. Make sure that bomber gets there in one piece.' He did not hear a response, but felt the War Goddess twist and turn, amending its trajectory. The pain subsided slowly. Hawke pulled himself to his feet as it allowed. The War Goddess began to rumble as it entered the atmosphere of the Kalindros home-world, diving straight down towards the glow emanating from the crust of the planet.
'Hawke? Are you okay?'
Hawke nodded a lie. 'I'm fine. Let's just get this done.'
Some of the Harathdan and mercenary fleet had broken free from the iron grip of the Kalindros armada. They pushed alongside the War Goddess as they broke the atmosphere and moved closer to the surface. Hawke stared out of the view-port. The Harathdan carrier had lost most of its escort. The three ships that were left fanned out, in an attempt to fill out the vacant spaces. They descended further, punching through the cloud level.
Hawke looked out on the world below. Darkness and decay ruled. Endless tall structures of degrading metals reached towards the sky. Decrepit ships limped across the sky, meandering to their destinations. The air was dirty and thick. Pollutants billowed out from large pipes which protruded from ground level, creating a grim smog. The only brightness and colour came from the sickly glow of the central warp-hole. Their world was nothing like the Faceless Man had described. 'Something isn't right,' he muttered.
'What's that, Hawke?' Carl called out.
Hawke shook his head. 'Nothing. Just make sure that carrier gets through.'
Carl nodded. Something caught his attention as he deftly maneuvered around the stacks of rotting metal. 'I'm detecting something on the scanners,' he said in a panicked voice. 'Something heading towards us.'
Hawke tried to make out anything against the bleak background of dust and brown. Something moved ahead, coming at them at quite a speed. Fuck. Hawke grabbed the intercom. 'All ships, make evasive action now.'
There was no time for a response. The War Goddess rolled to its side as the enemy ships ploughed towards them. Rounds ripped towards them through the tall structures that dominated their view. A mercenary ship careered past the War Goddess, smashing into one of the tall structures and wiping out its base in a colossa
l explosion of unspent fuel and ammunition. Carl was quick to respond, flying the War Goddess low enough to avoid the tower as it fell. Two of the other ships were not so lucky. The tower crushed one of them, its payload exploding and ripping apart the other ship and another tower next to it.
Hawke frantically scanned the view-port, trying to see the Harathdan ships. The dust kicked up from the falling tower, mixed with the already thick air, made it impossible to see beyond fifty metres. The glow of the warp-hole grew close, the intense light and heat starting to burn away the thick atmosphere. He grabbed the intercom. 'Harathdan bomb carrier, do you come in?'
No response.
'Any ships, do you respond?'
Nothing.
Hawke licked his lips tentatively. 'I repeat, Harathdan bomb carrier, any ships, do you respond?' Something crackled distantly, a dim response. Hawke turned to Carl. 'Take us up, see if this atmosphere is blocking out comms.'
Carl nodded and pulled the War Goddess into a steady incline. The static grew louder, quiet words leaking through. Carl pulled up higher again.
'Any ships, come in,' Hawke said. Feelings of failure started to take root within him.
'This is the bomb carrier,' a voice said. 'Only two ships remaining. We have taken fire and are going down.'
'Fuck!' The roots of failure soon blossomed into panic. He slammed his headset against the weapons console. 'This can't be happening.' He took a deep breath. Make them pay, he reminded himself. No matter what the cost. He snatched his headset up once more. 'Carrier, where is your current trajectory taking you?'
'Right next to the warp-hole.'
'It might do the trick,' Hawke said. 'You just need to set it off.'
The voice came through, clearer this time, as the gap closed between the War Goddess and the bomber. 'No can do, the detonator is shot through. We will need to blow it manually.'
Fuck. 'Bomb carrier, we will keep close. That thing is going to go off.'
'Acknowledged.'
Hawke threw his headset down. 'Carl, keep close to that ship. We can still win this yet.'
Carl nodded, and the War Goddess burnt a trail through the haze. The Harathdan ship slowly came into view, its outline ghostly in the fog. Fragments of armour plating tore from the Harathdan vessel as it descended. They flew towards the War Goddess, bouncing off of the hull with loud clangs. The other ship next to it kept close, weaving to dodge the debris.
'Any ships, come in. This is Pront Havan with the remnants of the mercenary fleet. We have no eyes on the bomb carrier.'
Hawke snatched the headset back up. 'Pront, this is Hawke. Follow our signature. The bomb carrier is going down.'
'Say again?'
'The bomb carrier is hit. We're going to need to set it off manually. How many ships have you got?'
'Hawke...' His voice was bitter. 'We've got a third of the fleet here. The rest are junked or still fighting near our white-hole.' Pront paused for a moment. 'These deaths are on you.'
'And if we didn't act, everyone in universe would be on you. Just be ready to provide some covering fire.' He slammed the headset down.
'We're doing the right thing,' Carl shouted above the rumbling engines.
Hawke looked back and grunted. 'Keep on that bomber.'
The bomb carrier dropped suddenly, falling quickly towards the ground below. The War Goddess swooped after it, the glow of the warp-hole now shining bright through the fetid atmosphere. The bomb carrier hit the ground violently. It rolled to a crushing halt, wiping out a portion of the crowd that had gathered on the planet surface.
'Get down there,' Hawke called out, as he watched the chaos from the view-port.
The War Goddess circled around as Carl attempted to locate a suitable landing area on the cluttered ground below. The bomb carrier had scraped and clawed at the earth as it had smashed into the surface, and now it teetered precariously on the edge of the warp-hole, threatening to fall in at any second. A crowd had gathered around the ship, looking up at the sea of destruction that swamped the skies above them.
The gathered bodies below were unlike anything Hawke had ever seen. Some of them were similar to the creature that had managed to make it to the Winter Dawn. They stood bedraggled in the swirling dust, their waif-like appearance exposing their long and slender bones. Other, indescribable, creatures stood nearby, watching the War Goddess with captivated interest. Something crawled to the front of the crowd, two muscular arms dragging what looked like a fleshy sack behind it, two bulbous eyes glaring up at them. Other creatures towered over the crowd, their bodies hoisted up on metal frames after their thin legs had long ago buckled under their own weight. 'What the fuck is this place...'
The other Harathdan ship appeared into view and hovered nearby, preparing to land. The ship began to descend upon an impact crater, knocking back the creatures that had gathered beneath. With no warning, the ship exploded into a shower of fragments, crashing beside the Harathdan carrier.
Hawke looked up as Kalindros ships descended upon them, firing rounds indiscriminately. Rounds ripped through not only the Harathdan ship, but into the crowd surrounding it as well, leaving only smears of gore plastered across the ground. Hawke glanced at the weapons console to see their turret ammunition fast depleting. He watched through the view-port as Justinia and Bjarke rained hell on the Kalindros ships that darted between the tower stacks. Some of the rounds tore a blade like wing from one of the enemy ships, sending it spiraling into the central warp-hole. It disappeared without a fuss.
Hawke tore his eyes away from the carnage and picked up his headset. 'How's it looking down there?' He squinted as an explosion ripped through the other crashed Harathdan vessel. 'You're running out of covering fire up here.'
'I am trying to arm it.' This time the voice was clear. Arrathnar.
'Arrathnar? It's Hawke. You're other ship just got taken out, you'll need to hitch a ride with us.'
'Hawke?' she said, in a moment of surprise. 'Good to see you are still alive, but the lift will not be needed. The timer is dead on the bomb. It will go up the moment I activate it.' She paused for a moment. 'Is Carl there with you?'
Hawke did not dare look back at him, not wanting to see the look on his face. 'Yeah, he's here.'
'I know you can hear this, Carl. I just wanted to say, thank you. For everything.'
Hawke forced himself to face Carl. The pilot's skin almost matched the pallid white of a Harathdan, his eyes brimming with tears. An image of Daria flashed in Hawke's mind, a picture of her the day he was sent into exile. You know what it is like to be torn away from someone you care about, he told himself. Don't let someone else know that feeling too. Hawke grasped his headset as he stared at Carl. 'Stay put,' Hawke said to Arrathnar. 'We're coming down to get you.'
'I've just told you, Hawke, the timer is dead,' she said in protest.
'We'll take care of that.' He tore the headset off. 'Carl, get this thing landed. Now.'
Carl looked at him hesitantly. 'What about the crowd beneath us? There isn't an open landing zone.'
'Fuck it,' Hawke hissed. 'Drop this thing on their heads if you have to. We came here with a job to do, let's do it.'
Carl looked at him open mouthed, then nodded with grim resolve. 'Got it.'
The War Goddess landed with a crunch, shaking Hawke from his feet. He steadied himself and grabbed Carl firmly. 'No matter what happens down there, you stay here until I tell you to. Understand?' He did not wait for a response. Pain shot through his body as he bolted down the corridor towards the drop bay. He grabbed his rifle from the weapon rack and hit the ramp release mechanism. The brightness of the warp-hole jumped through the cracks of the ramp as it opened, filling the drop bay with bright light. Hawke held a shielding hand up and stepped out onto the surface.
Bodies led crushed at his feet, broken like stick figures, their bones splayed at odd angles. Hawke lowered his hand and saw the crowd stood before him. They watched him silently.
'Are you here to end it?' asked on
e of the creatures. It looked similar to the one which had made it to the Winter Dawn. It stumbled towards Hawke, its translucent skin barely stretching over its lengthened frame. Its legs could hardly hold its own weight as it staggered towards him. 'Are you here to end it?' it repeated.
Hawke nodded defiantly. 'Yes.'
'Then we will not stop you,' it said. The creature turned and pointed to the Harathdan bomb carrier. 'Is this what brings death?'
'Yes.'
'We will not stop you,' the creature repeated. The creature and the others in the crowd did not dissipate, but instead gathered nearer the bomb carrier.
Hawke nodded grimly, looking around at the other deadened faces that stared at him. Looks like we'll be doing this lot a favour. The crowd parted before him as he made his way towards the downed Harathdan ship. Debris rained down around him. High above him, the mercenary fleet fought hard to keep the Kalindros from wiping out the bomb carrier. A Kalindros ship glided overhead, fire pouring from its engines as it crashed into a building, flattening it and the crowd around it.
Hawke clambered across swathes of debris, ducking to avoid more scraps of metal that fell abruptly around him. The drop bay ramp of the Harathdan carrier vessel had been ripped off on impact, leaving a gaping hole into the drop bay. He pulled himself inside, willing his body forward as much as it screamed at him to stop.
'Arrathnar? Where are you?' A muffled cry came from up ahead. Hawke made his way deeper into the ruins of the ship. The corridor opened up into the bomb bay. A large core took up most of the room, as shiny and as polished as the rest of the ship. Arrathnar was crouched to the side of it, struggling with a panel on the side. 'Arrathnar? Where's the bomb?'
'Hawke?' She grunted as she tried to prise a panel away. 'We had to jettison the casing and bring the core inside to protect it. It was damaged in the crash.' She looked up at him. 'I told you not to come, Captain.'
