ROYAL LINE (War In The Void Book 3)

by Anthony Thackston

  “The range should be just sufficient enough.”

  “Worst case, we port in open air and try again. But just in case.” Irons grabbed Hannah and Durham by the collars. “You stay here,” he told Haddron. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait. You’re not—”

  Durham’s question was cut off as he and Hannah were lifted into the air. The thrusters had some difficulty hitting max velocity with the added weight of two passengers but they still managed to get all three of them higher than Durham and Hannah were at all comfortable with.

  The HUD in Irons’s helmet sighted on the moving Slagschip and began running calculations he didn’t have a full handle on. Just gonna wing it, he thought. “Durham, press that lens when I tell you!”

  Durham’s eyelids fluttered under the air current surrounding them at such a speed. He glanced at Irons’s hip and watched the lens appear as if rising to the top of a pool of water.

  Hannah did her best to keep her eyes covered by her hands as the sound of cannon fire grew louder the closer they got.

  Irons deactivated the jet thrusters. The inertia continued carrying them upward for fifteen more feet. The HUD showed Irons their velocity was slowing.

  Just as they reached the apex of their ascent, Irons shouted, “Now!”

  Durham pressed the lens and the white light enveloped them just as they began to fall back to the ground.

  It was a crazy plan and Hannah was sure it wouldn’t work. But then she felt solid footing beneath her and the sound of yelling from voices she hadn’t heard in far longer than she liked.

  “Captain!” Lindsay shouted.

  “I knew you’d make it back, you old—”

  “We’ll celebrate later, Hill.“ Irons released Durham and Hannah. “I need you to take this fight off planet.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Syracuse saluted. “Xuyen, help Brooks get the weapons systems back up.”

  “Haddron?” Sitasha asked.

  “I’m going back for him.”

  “To do what?” Lindsay asked.

  “We got a planet to save.” Irons stepped back. “You take the Catters out there.” He pointed up. “We’ll take them down below.”

  Out of nowhere another strobe of light filled the bridge.

  “Haddron, I told you to—”

  Irons turned around to stare into the eyes of the largest Catter he’d yet to see.

  “So this is the Slagschip,” King Tar’libon stood at the door to the bridge. “I suppose it will suit my needs. Until my galaxy is complete, anyway.”

  Twenty-Eight

  World Leaders Meet

  The Ka’traxis Brood warrior stood several heads above those on the bridge. He looked at each of them with as much regard as any of them would an ant. Catter warriors were a fearsome sight regardless of how many there were. Those on the bridge had faced enough of them in their battles that another should have been no more a threat than ever. But this one was different. It wasn’t just his overall size. It was the way he looked at them, as if they were truly beneath him. His entire demeanor was different. Irons and Lindsay recognized it as a similar air of superiority as Queen Ju’ T-leen. Only this one was even greater.

  All on the bridge felt as though they were in the presence of the final word of the Ka’traxis Brood. To Hannah Xuyen it was terrifying.

  “I realize, on Earth, manners are severely lacking. So I will teach you,” Tar’libon said. “It is customary, when in the presence of royalty, to bow one’s head.” He locked eyes with Irons. “Low creatures such as yourselves know how to bow, yes?”

  As fast as he could think it, Captain Irons’s jet boots activated, launching him straight for the King. The human collided with the big Catter and disappeared in a flash of white.

  “That was…” Hannah said.

  “King Tar’libon S-dahl,” Sitasha said.

  The bridge shook as it was shelled by Catter tanks.

  “No time to dwell.” Syracuse turned back to the wheel. “We got orders. Hannah, get those guns online. Brooks, be ready to fire. We’re taking this fight to them.”

  “What about the Captain?” Durham asked.

  “He’s on his own.”

  * * *

  Haddron averted his gaze as the flash of the teleport light reflected off the metallic structures. He opened them just in time to see Irons streaking around the corner, carrying the biggest Catter he’d even seen. The two flew straight for the ground vehicle.

  The King roared as his back slammed into the vehicle. The force of the impact pushed the ground car forward but the King dropped his feet to the metal surface and dug them in, combining his considerable strength and the weight of the vehicle to slow Irons’s push.

  Tar’libon grabbed the Captain’s shoulders and forced him back. Even with the jet thrust of the battle armor, Irons was losing ground.

  “Captain!” Haddron shouted as he sprinted toward the two fighters, taking sight of Irons’s difficulty, he knew right away, who they were dealing with.

  The Nordic leapt into the air, his velocity launching him far and high enough to propel himself all the way to the combatants. His foot hit the King’s shoulder which he used as a stepping stone to land on the vehicle. Haddron put his arms around the King’s neck and tried to pull him back, giving Irons enough leverage for whatever he had in mind.

  Tar’libon laughed at the futility of their attempt. “Not very sporting of you. I shall level this battle field.” His hand dropped down to his hip where he pressed the lens of his teleporter and in an instant all three of them were gone.

  * * *

  The three individuals, all alien to one another, reappeared in the cold and stone space of the King’s throne room. Tar’libon grabbed Haddron’s arm and flipped the Nordic over his head.

  Haddron reoriented himself and landed on his feet just in time to see the Catter King strike the Captain’s helmet, shoving the human back before leaping upwards into the dark rafters above the floor.

  “Where is he?” Haddron asked.

  Irons looked up but the HUD in his helmet was a mess of static and digital artifacts. “I’m blind.” He tried to pull the helmet off but couldn’t. “Get this thing off me.”

  Haddron turned the dial on the vest just enough, making the helmet collapse while still leaving the rest of the armor activated.

  “You leave your most important part exposed?” the King’s voice echoed throughout the room. “A tactic you will soon regret.”

  * * *

  “This is for the beam on top and the…” Hannah trailed off as she scrolled through menus. The words were still a combination of Nordic and English but the basic military terms were recognizable. Her only confusion came with the commands sub-sections that had changed from their typical sections. It was a small matter but one that took her that much longer to figure out.

  The ship shook, taking another hit before finally breaking free of the gravity of the planetoid.

  “There!” Hannah yelled. “You have full control.”

  Lindsay dropped the visor over her eyes and was flooded with battle data. It was more than she was used to but it was also what she lived for. Enemy movements were all over the display in front of her. The bottom of her visor showed all of the Slagschip’s weapon information. The integration of the two vessels had changed so much of the Lucky Liberty’s systems. Every offensive measure was improved. The heavier weight of the two ships made the Slipstream Regulator less efficient but was the only real drawback. Private Brooks finally understood the full purpose of the Slagschip. And it wasn’t for the kind of flying they were going to have to do. She cracked a small smile. With her behind the guns, they weren’t going to have to fly very fast, anyway.

  “Ready, Commander!” Lindsay yelled.

  Syracuse turned the ship around to face the Catter tanks coming their way. “Weapons free, Private!”

  “Mowing the lawn, sir!” Her fingers went to work, firing at the nearest tank.

  * * *

 
Haddron and Irons stared up into the darkness. Irons aimed the arm cannon at the pitch black above them. There was no targeting system this time. He wasn’t even sure if the arm cannon would fire.

  “Can you feel it?” the King’s voice boomed from the dark. “The end of conflict? Of battle? Can you feel the end of this war? It’s what you want. What we all want.”

  “This war ends when you and all yours are dead,” Irons said.

  Most laughter from Catters was annoying. Piercing. The King’s laugh sounded nothing like the others. It was full, almost roaring. To Irons it was more unsettling than what he was used to.

  “Why not join me in my birthright? Better slaves than extinct, yes?” The King’s voice was coming from various directions, keeping Irons and Haddron in constant motion, making it hard for them to hold a solid defensive position.

  “Birthright?” Haddron scoffed. “You stole it from my friend, Kar’libon S-Dahl.”

  “You,” the King hissed. “You were the Nordic he joined forces with. This is quite the surprise. And where is my weak-willed brother?”

  “Dead.”

  The resulting silence was more torturous than the invisible King in the dark above.

  A chain rattled and both Irons and Haddron glanced around to find the metal links swaying but no sign of who moved them.

  “You?” the King asked, accusingly.

  “Neither of us ended his life. Not that it would matter to you who was responsible.” Haddron feigned defiance. The truth was that his anxiety levels were just as high as Irons’s.

  “You are correct, little Nordic. It matters little to me who is responsible. With Kar’libon gone, all threats to my reign have been extinguished.”

  Irons gritted his teeth. “Ain’t you forgetting about someone?”

  “You’re right, there was one other who challenged me.”

  Irons’s eyes darted around in the dark, trying to spot some level of movement. A rustling was all that accompanied the King’s statement.

  From the dark ceiling, an object fell to the stone floor. It had no signs of wounds or damage but lay limp and lifeless.

  Haddron’s defiance shifted to shock as he stared at the open, dead eyes of Elit.

  “Elit?” He rushed to his former companion. Haddron crouched down and placed a single hand over the dead Nordic’s eyes. “You fool,” he muttered.

  “Fool?” the King reiterated. “A fitting title for all who oppose me. Would the two of you share in such a fate or might you come to reason and do as your fellow Nordic?”

  “Explain your meaning.” Haddron stood.

  A figure stepped out from behind one of the pillars. “It means join him.”

  “Naura?” Haddron asked. “Why are you here?”

  The Nordic woman ran to Haddron and placed both hands on his chest. “Haddron, please. For the sake of Erra and our people, give him what he wants.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Irons asked.

  “The Slagschip,” Naura said. “That’s all he wants.”

  “Why are you here, Naura?”

  “Haddron, please. Our people—”

  “I will not ask again.”

  “The King…” Naura started. “He promised that he would take care of the Earth in return for the Slagschip. You would not have to lift a finger and your revenge would be—”

  “My revenge is mine to enact! Not to be traded with those who not so long ago were my enemies.”

  Irons lowered his arm, suddenly unsure of who he could trust. It had been some time since Haddron had even mentioned revenge.

  “He promised. He promised in exchange for the Slagschip, that he would destroy Earth for you.”

  “I did not seek Earth’s destruction.”

  “Our people. He will leave our people and finish what you started. You only have to—”

  “Enough!” the King roared, dropping from the rafters. “Your people will make excellent workers for my galaxy.”

  “But…” Naura protested. “But you promised.”

  “Then it would seem we have both broken our deal.”

  Irons swung his gun to bear at the Catter while Haddron stepped away from the same menacing figure.

  “You have betrayed me, Naura.”

  “I never meant—”

  “It is always those with the best intentions that are the biggest disappointments.” The King smiled, viciously. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

  He stepped toward Irons and Haddron, unconcerned about the Nordic woman at his back. She did nothing while dealing with Elit. He had no reason to concern himself with her now. His steps were slow and methodical. Irons could see his legs tense with each move. Legs ready to pounce or take back to the dark. Which path hinged on what Irons or Haddron did next.

  “Regardless,” Tar’libon continued. “Erra will be added to my Orbital Galaxy. Soon followed by Earth.” He gestured upward. “You have visited the first planet in my galaxy. Even half complete it is more than your paltry Earth Fleet can stand against. Once the Terraformer is done altering it, the same will happen to Erra. It won’t be long until the Ka’traxis Brood Empire will control the largest single battle station the universe has ever seen. When my galaxy of weaponized planets is complete, all will bow before me.”

  “You lied!” Naura dashed forward with a blade in her hand. She leapt into the air and buried the knife in the King’s shoulder.

  His pained roar filled the throne room as he swung around at his attacker. Naura held onto the knife, her body jerked side to side as the King fought to reach for her.

  “Release it, Naura!” Haddron yelled.

  But it was too late. The King finally got hold of her and tore her from the knife. He held her up with one hand grasped around her arm.

  Irons took aim but Haddron pushed his arm down. “You’ll hit her.”

  “That was your chance.” Tar’libon pulled the Nordic woman in and sank his teeth into her neck before dropping her to the floor.

  The helmet on Irons’s armor engulfed his head and the thrusters engaged rocketing the Captain toward the King. He slammed into him, just as before, he carried the Catter toward one of the stone pillars. The effect was much better than when it was against the ground vehicle. The unmoving pillar coupled with the speed of impact shoved the knife deeper and blasted the air out of the King’s lungs, giving Irons the upper hand. The Captain didn’t let up, launching a flurry of punches.

  Haddron raced to Naura. He crouched down and pulled her into him. “Naura, why?”

  “For you,” she said, weakly. “For your cause.”

  “It was my cause. Not yours.”

  “To ensure your will was done.”

  Haddron looked back at Elit then again to Naura. “Elit, Jammin and now you. I have lost those closest to me.”

  “Erra…”

  “It is all I have left. I will not lose it.”

  A small smile crossed her mouth. “Forgive me, Haddron…” Naura’s voice trailed to silence as she slipped away.

  Haddron laid her down and stood with a fury even Irons didn’t pull out of him. “Tar’libon!” He dashed toward the two combatants.

  Even through his gasping for air and the armored punches, the King smiled at the vengeance fueled Nordic.

  * * *

  The Slagschip streaked toward Erra, its guns firing at nearby Catter LAVs, ripping them to shreds while numerous other guns tore holes in the tanks closest to it.

  The Catter tanks maneuvered away from the incoming powerhouse of a ship. Some evaded its fire but other did not. Had the Slagschip Lucky Liberty remained motionless, it might have finished off every vessel it encountered but the crew aboard had to keep it moving. There were just too many Catter ships and too much room for one of them to hit the vulnerable underside.

  To his credit, Commander Syracuse Hill was quite adept at keeping out of the line of enemy fire while Lindsay Brooks took out those ships nearest to them. The simple fact was, that for all of its armaments, the Slagschip was ju
st one vessel standing against the superior numbers of the Ka’traxis Brood. It was impossible to play defense.

  Explosions went off around the monster ship. Some Catter shells made direct contact, forcing the Nordic and Earth merged vessels to alter course.

  So far the only good to come out of the battle was that whatever the Slagschip hit was quickly disposed of. If nothing else, they were leaving a trail of obstacles and debris for the Catters to navigate through. It was the best they could do.

  * * *

  Irons hit the floor and rolled. The boot jets got him back, swiftly, on his feet while Haddron dodged the quick attacks of the King. Tar’libon was not quite as fast as the Nordic but his speed was enough to keep Haddron on his toes and unable to get in more than one hit before he found himself dodging another swipe of razor sharp claws.

  The helmet engulfed Irons again. The damaged HUD flickered between data and what was in front of him. He raised his arm and thought about the shot he wanted. “Haddron, move!”

  The swift Nordic dashed out of the way and Irons fired.

  Multiple shots blasted out from the cannon, each going for a different part of the King. They hit nothing but the stone pillar behind the flash of light.

  Before Irons could register what happened, another flash went off directly in front of him. It was difficult to see even without the blinding light. He immediately felt his arm being grabbed and the armor around it tightening.

  “We’ll have no more of that,” the King said as he crushed the gun on the armor.

  Irons growled as the weapon sizzled in its destruction, heating up his arm just enough to singe the skin underneath.

  The flash blinded him again and the King was gone.

  Irons collapsed the helmet and rushed to Haddron who held onto his mid-section.

  “You ok?”

  Haddron winced.“I believe a rib or two is broken.”

  “Now you know how I felt.”

  Another flash lit the ceiling above them. Their heads shot up, scanning the darkness. Neither of them could see their adversary but both of them felt like prey in a lion’s cage.