by John Walker
“My bad. I’ll be right there.” Meagan twisted her controls and engaged in the fight again, taking her mind off the high level problem and focusing. She rocketed closer, just in time to watch a blast of cannons cause Mick’s shields to flare.
Pulling the trigger, she perforated one of the enemy ships, tearing through its shields and littering the cockpit with weapons fire. That craft spun out of control and went spiraling toward the planet. She redirected her attention to the other one who pulled an outrageous maneuver, practically flipping in place to take some shots back at her.
Meagan disengaged, diving to avoid the attack and hitting her afterburners to gain some speed but the enemy remained tight on her tail. Going full evasive, she veered around his shots, narrowly avoiding a full blast several times, even as grazes caught her shields and nudged her with their impact.
“Need some help!” Meagan called into the com. “Anyone available?”
“I’ve got it,” Flight Lieutenant David Benning said. He flew in Panther Three. “Mick’s a little busy, I stepped in for him. Please bank left, ma’am.”
Meagan felt a hint of annoyance at how casual he sounded but she complied, moving the direction he requested. When nothing immediately happened, she wondered what he was doing but just as she decided to say something, an explosion behind her explained. The enemy blip disappeared from her scanner.
They formed up together and headed back toward the main fight. “Thanks,” Meagan said. “Appreciate the assist.”
“No problem. Looks like they launched another ten.”
“They have to run out some time,” Meagan replied. “Listen up, Panther. We’re putting in some overtime on this one but if you need to reload, let us know and get back to the ship. They’re prepared for hot transfers. Just don’t let yourself run out completely. Getting back won’t be fun. But as we’re in for the long haul, good luck and keep reporting in. We’ve got this.”
***
Gray watched the first battleship go up, leaving three behind. They were barely putting up a fight. I bet that one was going for a self destruct. I wish I could say this was predictable behavior but in this case, they’re hardly putting up a fight. Even in numbers, they have to actually use their weapons to win. What’s going on?
As if to answer his question, all three enemy cruisers opened up, firing volleys of cannon fire. Shields flared on their ship and he noticed The Crystal Font was experiencing the same fate. He frowned, wondering what suddenly changed. Why didn’t they do this before we took down their companion?
“Olly,” Gray leaned forward. “Try Protocol Seven on target number three. The one on the starboard side. Redding, target and fire on his mark.”
“Sir?” Olly glanced over his shoulder. “We…we know it doesn’t work anymore.”
“Try it anyway.” Gray shrugged. “What’s it matter either way?”
“Okay…” Olly began tapping away. “Shields holding at eighty percent but they’re really pounding us…too heavily in fact. I thought they had to refresh their weapons more often.”
A moment later the enemy barrage ended.
“Weird…they’re recharging.” Olly shook his head. “Protocol Seven ready. I’m sending it now.” He watched his scanner and his eyes widened, jaw dropping. “It…worked! Redding, fire!”
Redding opened up, letting everything they had go. She coordinated with The Crystal Font who also gave them a full blast from their cannons as well. The combined force against an unshielded ship caused catastrophic damage. Massive explosions marred the hull and the core went up in a spectacular light show.
But the ships nearby didn’t so much as have their shields flare up and the Behemoth didn’t feel any shockwave from the destruction.
“I have a feeling that won’t work again,” Gray said. “Though you’re welcome to try on the next ship.”
“Why wouldn’t it work?” Adam asked. “That thing couldn’t have transmitted information to its buddies. These ships must’ve been off the network for so long they didn’t get any update about our weapons.”
Gray shrugged. “A hunch. I’m starting to piece together the puzzle but it’s still the same damn color. Agatha, how’s the buoy? Can we get a message out?”
“There are people performing maintenance,” Agatha said, “still working through it despite what’s going on. It needed serious maintenance and they took it offline to do so. We can’t send anything yet.”
“Fantastic,” Gray muttered. “Keep checking. The second they get it back so we can call for help.”
“Sir,” Olly said, “I’ve got another six enemy battleships incoming and they’re leading with their best foot. They’re opening fire!”
“I hope Clea figures this out soon.” Gray stood up. “The odds just got terrible. Agatha, work with The Crystal Font on an evacuation plan. If we can get them over here, we can jump out of here and avoid further conflict. Make it fast and efficient. We can’t handle the odds if they continue to multiply like this.”
***
Clea joined Paul in the tech lab and used several of the computers to run simulations, trying to identify the signal and see what exactly it was doing. The planet seemed to be emanating more power than it had when they initially arrived. Comparing it to what The Crystal Font sent them upon their arrival, it had been pumping out only a low level of energy then.
Something’s pushing it now. Some kind of operation. If the enemy’s down there, they must be using more and more to fight us off.
Tapping the com, Clea brought up The Crystal Font. “This is Tathin An’Tufal of the Behemoth. I need to contact your ground crew on the surface. Can you please give me the frequency?”
“This is Zanthari Wena Fi’Devo,” the response came back, “and yes, I’m sending it over now, ma’am. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
“Thank you.” Clea sat back in her chair and turned to Paul. “Keep monitoring the signal and check whether or not it is somehow being cast into space or if it’s localized. At first I thought it might be surrounding the world only but maybe I was wrong. The sheer magnitude of it is overwhelming our sensors so we might have to take down the fine tuning.”
“I’m on it.” Paul worked quickly but it would still take a few moments. Clea sat back and waited to connect up with the ground forces. Their perspective might well answer a lot of questions. Depending on how dangerous it was down there and what they were facing. As the ship shook from an incoming attack, the urgency of the situation amplified.
Sorry, Gray. I’m going as fast as I can.
***
Deva and the others arrived at what her scanner suggested was an elevator. Another panel blocked their way but once again, the universal code got her in quickly enough. She tapped away and the doors opened, this time with far less noise than the front area. As they stepped inside, she marveled at how massive it was, once again nearly fifty feet high and vast in each direction.
They must’ve hauled some serious gear down here. Deva turned to the panel. They couldn’t have been giants or that would be a lot bigger…and higher.
The elevator began to move but it was subtle enough that they could only tell by the tiniest vibration in their feet. Lhar and the others took the best cover they could and held their weapons at the door. Deva moved behind them, aiming her weapon toward the floor with her finger off the trigger.
This thing is a last resort.
“Deva.” Wena’s voice in her helmet made her jump. “Do you copy?”
“I’m here,” Deva muttered irritably. “I’m a little busy down here. What’s going on?”
“I’m patching in Tathin Clea An’Tufal from the Behemoth. She needs to talk to you urgently.”
“Oh! Wait, the Behemoth’s here?” Hope gripped her heart and she felt a sense of excitement rise in her. “That’s fantastic news! Patch her through! Quickly!”
“Did you just say the Behemoth’s here?” Lhar asked. “And how far are we going down anyway?”
“They’re here,” Deva nodded. “Give me a moment.”
The connection established and Clea spoke first. “Hello, Vinthari. We don’t have a lot of time so forgive my lack of greeting. I need a better understanding of what you’re finding down there. Do you have any more data about the energy readings we’re picking up? Do you know what’s causing it? What’s creating it?”
“I have some information,” Deva said. “I’ve scanned one of the bodies we killed that disappeared and it proved to be pure energy. No organic material whatsoever. Furthermore, the energy has been increasing as we’ve pressed closer to the core. Whatever’s controlling it might be working harder to protect whatever we’re about to find.”
“Understood. We’re finding a similar pattern with the battleships up here.”
“Wait, battleships? As in more than one?” Deva swallowed hard. “How many?”
“Eight right now,” Clea replied, “which seems rather impossible. However, they are causing damage when they shoot and our ordinance is definitely hitting something when we fire back. We need to know what they are and how they’ve been made. The key must be down there where you’re going.”
“I agree…and we’re getting closer.” Deva checked her scanner. “We’re on an elevator going deep into the planet. I’m guessing the power source isn’t the core of the world itself but it might have access to it.”
“Let me know the moment you find something.”
Lhar immediately began questioning Deva and she did her best to answer his questions but they primarily revolved around the attacking forces. He believed if they could leverage the kind of numbers against them that those starships represented, they could land a number of troops and outnumber them with ease.
In fact, he expressed confusion as to why they hadn’t done it yet.
“If this facility belongs to them, they should’ve already taken us down,” Lhar said.
“We have killed quite a few,” Trias said. “Maybe they didn’t have that many people down here to begin with.”
Deva allowed the military people to talk about the odds and numbers, devoting her attention to her scanner. The power output had increased considerably and as they got closer, she realized that they were standing on more directed energy than she might’ve measured in six battleship engine cores.
This place could take care of the entire capital back home without running out. Clean power forever.
The elevator slowed down and stopped, bringing her back to the moment. Stress gripped her as the soldiers aimed their weapons at the door. Deva took up a position between Trias and Lhar, pointing her gun outward as well. She kept her finger off the trigger, to prevent a mishap but knew the second the door opened, she might need to fire.
This is the moment of truth. If this place is protected, we may well not survive the next sixty seconds. Fates, I hope you didn’t lure us down here only to die. We’re too close to escape. The door began to open and she held her breath. Here we go.
***
Chapter 8
Gray gripped his seat as the ship shook violently, a reaction to a series of blasts from several enemy vessels. Shields held but he knew they wouldn’t last long. Not under that punishment. Worse, there was nothing he could do to make any of their plans move faster and everyone was already doing their jobs.
Evacuating The Crystal Font would take time and they’d have to risk a lot of people trying to make the trip over to the Behemoth. This wouldn’t allow them to save those on the surface either. With eight enemy warships, they technically should’ve cut bait and run but Gray couldn’t do it. Not when they came so close to their objective.
At a certain point, I’ll have to do so. If only to get some backup out here and stop the enemy from whatever they’re doing.
A flash on the screen caught his attention. Two of the enemy went up, exploding in a spectacular burst of light. He took a deep breath, unable to feel much enthusiasm for their success. Two down, six to go didn’t mean much in this situation. He turned to his tablet, checking for reports but nothing new had come in.
Adam leaned close, keeping his voice low. “Our pilots report additional units are joining the fray. Our bombers are returning for reload. It’s getting worse.”
“Sure isn’t getting better,” Gray replied. “We have to buy time…for us and them.”
“You might’ve already thought about this,” Adam said, “but we should seriously consider jumping out of here. Get some reinforcements and come back. The buoy won’t be back online in time to help us. There’s no point in dying out here. It won’t serve anyone.”
“Yes, I’ve thought about it. But I’m not ready to give up. When it looks like we’ve got no other choice…” Gray stood up and moved to Leonard. “Plot a course out of this system. Get us some good jump coordinates. We need to be prepared.”
“I’m on it.”
Gray heard the hesitation in the young man’s voice. He didn’t want to leave. Taking off at that point would mean they failed, that they lost the people they were there to save. Adam’s practicality might’ve been the right thing to do but it certainly didn’t feel like it. Another volley splashed against their shields.
The ship trembled and Gray grabbed Leonard’s chair to stay on his feet. “Shields?”
“Fifty percent,” Olly said. “Though honestly, I don’t know how we’re doing so well. Their weapons should be doing a lot more damage.”
Gray agreed. The ridiculous odds would’ve been more than enough to take out both vessels, even if The Crystal Font had been fully functional. The puzzle became more complex and Clea needed to provide the key to solving it. Maybe they’d figure it out in time to save everyone but confidence began to slip.
***
Lhar opened fire, executing two enemy soldiers waiting outside the door. The hallway narrowed in comparison to the one above and the ceiling was barely twelve feet high. The doors didn’t open as much as they could, just enough to allow them to depart. They’d have to step over the bodies to get in.
“Is this the only other floor?” Lhar asked.
“No…” Deva said. “Yes?” She checked the panel again. “Okay, there are others but they seem to be maintenance corridors. Shorter…they might not even big enough for one of us to get through. I tried to get us as close to the power reading as possible. The core of this place. My scans say we’re close. The end of the hallway, there’s a room. We have to get there.”
“Your scans show any more enemies?” Trias asked. “Mine’s coming up empty.”
“No,” Deva said. “Nothing but the core. Can we go?”
Lhar sighed. “Dying doesn’t make us faster. Trias, you and I are on point. The rest of you are with Deva. Let’s go.”
He dashed forward, keeping his weapon in front of him. If someone came out at the end, they’d be helpless. He had to be prepared to fire, to take a head off if one peeked out. The walls seemed to close in on him as he moved along, the narrow corridor proving to be a dramatic contrast to the one they’d entered through.
A silhouette appeared and he pulled the trigger, the stock of his gun biting into his shoulder. Something screamed, their voice echoing off the ceiling. Trias tapped his arm, taking his place in the lead. Lhar hoped Deva could figure out what they needed when they got to the end but despair threatened to overwhelm him.
Even if they figured out how to tap the energy, it wouldn't necessarily matter. They couldn’t swap out the crystal in the middle of a space battle and if there were more than one of them out there…the mission they were risking their lives for meant nothing. Success, failure, life, death, all came to the same end.
As they reached the second doorway, the elevator closed down the hall. Trias cried out, aiming her weapon in that direction. “Are we trapped?”
“No,” Deva replied. “The panels were working just fine.”
“Why’d it close then?” Lhar asked.
“Maybe…someone else summoned it?” Deva shrugged. “Elevators close on thei
r own back home? I don’t know!”
Trias grabbed her arm. “You really need to start putting some pieces together. We’re putting our lives on the line on your word!”
“Settle down,” Lhar ordered. He peered through the door, ignoring the fact that the body he’d shot on the way down had already disappeared. Lights burst to light overhead and he fell back taking aim. You’re getting twitchy, he thought. Relax. “Is this where we want to be?”
Deva stepped past him into a room roughly twenty by twenty. The walls appeared smooth like polished stone and there were no other exits. Illumination came from panels overhead, each glowing sky blue. The soldiers stepped inside and took position around the door, and Lhar left them to guard it as he followed the tech officer.
“Now we know the enemy’s pulling some kind of technological marvel,” Lhar said. “That guy I shot had no where to come from unless he was already in here.”
“We knew they were using a marvel when they disappeared,” Deva replied, tapping her computer. “The walls are monitors I think. We’ve come to some kind of control room.”
Lhar grumbled. “How do you know?”
“I’m getting the same readings I did from the panel by the elevator.” She hit a button and the wall opposite the door burst to life, showing a variety of messages in some foreign language. Lhar marveled at it for a moment but looked away, peering over the rest of the room. “Yes! I can access this!”
“Um…” Trias drew his attention to the door. “Looks like the elevator’s opening again.”
“Great.” Lhar grumbled. “Can you close this up? At least partially?”
“I’ll try,” Deva said. “I need to communicate with Tathin An’Tufal as well. We can figure this out, Lhar! We’ll get out of this. I promise!”
Lhar didn't have the heart to tell her his opinion. He figured he’d rather go out fighting regardless but her enthusiasm, her naivety, knotted his stomach. If she came to the same realization he had, she might well give up. They may well be facing the last moments of their lives anyway. He didn't see any reason to spend them in useless despair.
