The Airship: A Futuristic Dungeon Core (The Laboratory Book 2)

by Skyler Grant

  I tried but got no response.

  "I've opened you a line, but they aren't sending a feed in return," I said.

  Anna settled back and announced, "This is Annabella Besari, Queen of the World and your rightful monarch. The word is that Aelfwal has been found. Tell me all that you know and I shall leave you in peace."

  I got sudden readings of objects materializing near the hull. I focused my sensors on one and found it to be a combat drone of a type more advanced than my own. It fired a concussive blast that caused the shield to ripple. The others were doing the same.

  "We're taking fire," I said.

  "Then return it, but avoid the city itself," Anna said.

  I opened up with the side cannons. Their drones were difficult to lead, and the high winds outside complicated matters considerably. They seemed to have routines to deal with the turbulence, but I didn’t have anything similar.

  I compensated by increasing the rate of fire. If you aren't aiming properly there is something to be said for a wide distribution of fire. It paid off and one of the drones went spinning through the air in a spray of sparks.

  "I am not amused. Stand down your attack or I will open fire on the city," Anna called.

  Outside, space twisted again. It was a pair of airships flanking us on either side. They were both smaller than the Powerhungry, and clearly warships. They immediately opened fire, a withering blast hitting our shields.

  I activated overdrive in combination with the thrusters and executed a sharp lift in altitude. I had Hot Stuff in the chair for the main gun, drawing off her power set, and I fired a shot charged with her heat powers.

  The air warped and twisted between us and the target vessel. Its shields held and the ship swiveled away out of the line of fire.

  "I see them," Anna said.

  Great, she still had her eyesight. That wasn't helping me to deal with the situation. I maneuvered for a second shot on the same vessel. This one took down its shields and the last part of the beam sliced a line through its hull leaving glowing metal in its wake.

  Both the ships opened fire at the same time and this time it was our shields that went down.

  Our BioArmor was durable, but they were warships and I didn't doubt they had solid plating of their own.

  "Get us out of here," Anna said.

  I activated our dimensional drive, but the ship simply lurched.

  "Much like you, our drive doesn't seem to be doing anything useful," I said.

  One of the enemy vessels pointed itself at us and engaged thrusters. The Powerhungry shook again as it rammed us.

  That was a foolish strategy for aerial vehicles. It was also effective, the nose pierced through our armor and split open to reveal a hatch through which rushed several soldiers. Their armor was green and white, and they wore helmets in the shape of a falcon's head.

  "We've got boarders," I said.

  Anna was up from her throne in an instant with her own BioArmor springing up around her in place of her gown. "Keep Hot Stuff on the gun, but get me Mechos and Ophelia."

  Anna teleported away. My cameras briefly caught her in the armory grabbing a rifle and a sword, then she was at the site of the hull breach and firing off shots.

  The invaders had powers of their own. Their reaction times and speed were well above normal. I teleported Diana and Candice to grab some rifles too, then fetched Ophelia, Mechos, and some of Hot Stuff's other lieutenants to assist. The attackers might be fast, but the same basic principle as the concussion drones applied—fire enough rounds and it doesn't matter.

  Having Anna out of the way almost freed me up to try and resolve the outside threat to the ship. Perhaps because of what had happened at our last stop, she’d seemed very intent on no harm coming to the people of this city. I had no such concerns when the health of this ship and crew were on the line.

  I aimed at one of the engines keeping the city aloft and took the shot. Under the effects of the beam the metal vaporized, the city dipping for several long seconds before stabilizing as the other engines compensated.

  The other ship fired on us, it was ineffective against our armor. In time they might bring us down that way, but the city wasn’t so well protected and I would win this race. I took a second shot and another engine melted.

  The ship broke off its attack to hover protectively between us and the city. I shifted my attention back to the boarding party.

  38

  It was more challenging to get a gist of the battle inside than expected. Candice and Diana were down, which meant I had to shift my focus to the camera feeds instead. Ophelia was down too, although it wouldn't last, and Anna was in the Medbay recovering from what looked like a shotgun blast at close range.

  Mechos was still up. With his intense heat they hadn't been able to do much to harm him, but they'd simply responded by leaving him behind. Now, the boarding party was over halfway towards the Command deck.

  I started by opening a comm to Mechos. "When you are a living embodiment of fire, and the enemy leaves you behind to go wreck havoc on our ship, you go aboard theirs and burn everything you find."

  I didn't need Hot Stuff in the weapons chair anymore. I teleported her into the middle of the enemy formation. Unlike Mechos, she knew how to make full use of her destructive gifts.

  The boarders seemed prepared for it. The instant she appeared they were moving away with dizzying speed and by the time her flames roared to life they were out of range.

  I'd dealt with Runner, who had similar abilities, by deploying high friction surfaces. If I'd known these particular attackers were coming I'd have prepared something similar.

  I could construct some in their path, but not in the time it would take for them to reach the Command deck and my core.

  Teleporting was likely my best solution—I could teleport them somewhere. I could try for a holding cell although I wasn't sure they wouldn’t get out before I could seal the field. Alternatively, I could open the ramp on the bottom deck and teleport them to the edge to be sucked out of the ship.

  That was tempting, but their speed might save them there as well. It would also deny me corpses to test later. I would like to have a look at their particular power set.

  Ratticus, he was my answer to this particular problem. With his ability he'd be able to redirect their speed into something else, and I could use him as my anchor to teleport them to Engineering where the electricity could kill them.

  "Rat. You're about to be useful," I said, opening a comm.

  "Oh merciful and ever brilliant mechanical overlord of all she surveys, am I not usually useful?" Ratticus asked.

  He was, really. There were not many members of the crew I could say that of. I still hadn't made a cookie to properly appeal to rat taste buds. I really must.

  "For vermin, you have your moments. You're going to be useful at killing people. They are high speed and wielding shotguns. I'm going to teleport you onto their backs and then to Engineering. Just dampen their velocity and keep yourself from dying, and I'll move you onto the next one,"

  "Shotguns?" Ratticus asked, in a voice that was more a squeak.

  That didn't really need an answer. I teleported him to the first enemy.

  They were running in the moment Ratticus' claws dug into their back, and that forward motion carried over after the teleport to Engineering. Instantly electrocuted, the man’s twitching body plowed into a wall and Ratticus bounced off with a squeak. I didn't detect any physical damage, so I teleported Ratticus to the next.

  We took them one at a time. A shotgun blast got fired at a wall once, but otherwise they never really had a chance before they were killed.

  By the time I was done I was detecting greatly elevated heat levels inside of their ship. Mechos walked out of the hatch with flames flickering behind him. I teleported Hot Stuff to join him and between them they were able to melt the clamps securing their ship to ours.

  In flames, it tumbled away into the tornadoes below.

  Anna had been
mostly put back together by the time it was done, and I manufactured her another dress before she made a return to the throne room.

  Any discomfort from her injuries was hidden as Anna leaned back in her throne once more and had me open a comm channel to the city. She called, "As I was saying, this is Anabella Besari. Queen of the world and one now very pissed-off monarch with a lot of Falcon Guard blood on her hands. I suggest you talk or there will be a lot more."

  I got an incoming visual and I put it up on a display. It was a woman with traces of gray in her hair and a quirk to her lips that gave her a permanent, disapproving look.

  "Besari, you know you aren't welcome here," said the woman.

  "Matron Griles. You haven't withered away yet? How unfortunate. Aefwal, what do you know?" Anna asked.

  "Historical city. Lost to the ages. Not here," Matron Griles said. "Or do you think we parked our city on top of it?"

  "The rumor is that Lady Sylax has found it."

  "Good for her. Another crazy youngster with delusions of rising above her station," Matron Griles said.

  "You're quite aware I can kill you all, right?" Anna asked.

  Matron Griles sniffed. "If you were going to do that, you'd not have engaged in so much theater. You didn't target us at first, and the name-dropping merely baits a hook. Consider your message passed on, girl—and spare me more of this unpleasant and tedious charade."

  The comm link closed.

  Anna stared at it. "She hung up on me. She actually hung up on me."

  "Well, it can hardly be the first time it has happened, although I suppose it is expected to happen earlier—perhaps as soon as you introduce yourself," I said.

  "Get us out of here and send a drone to Reevesport. I need to know if we destroyed it or not," Anna said.

  "No killing spree here?" I asked.

  "Oh so tempting, but no, I think we've killed enough of them today. Let's move on."

  39

  We made a brief flicker of an appearance near Reevesport, just long enough for me to deploy a drone before we returned to hovering in the air above Aelfwal.

  Regardless of distance I was able to communicate with my drones and get real-time data of what was happening. We hadn't managed to destroy it.

  The volcanic crater appeared unharmed. I could only speculate that my bombs hadn't managed to detonate. The skies were filled with Scholar warships and patrolled by dragons. Lady Sylax must have reunited with her lost core and they were transforming the place into an armed fortress.

  I hid my drone in some jungle foliage to play observer for now.

  It took two days for the seeds of sedition Anna had planted to take root. New Scholar vessels appearing in the air above Reevesport and beginning to open fire on the defenders.

  The Scholar vessels were of all sorts. I observed ships in colors of green and white that had the look of the Falcon vessels. There was another small fleet whose vessels were cloaked in shields of smoky darkness.

  "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish with all of this? Or was any sort of strategic planning a foolish hope from someone that thought that dress a good idea?" I asked Anna, who was seated at the command console aboard the ship and watching the sensor feeds from the drone.

  "What we are looking for is the disproportionate response. I've gotten the word out there that Sylax has found a prize of great value. Some powers will be willing to gamble a little in pursuit of that prize, and prepared to lose, and they’re of no interest to us. What I'm looking for is someone coming in with too much firepower," Anna said.

  "Because to them it will be more than a gamble," I said.

  Anna had a cunning streak that was quite useful at times.

  So far, none of the fleets were having much luck. Lady Sylax, compared to the Scholars, was only a minor power. But with the acquisitions of her core from the jungle and the assets she seized from Reevesport, she was still a formidable force. It didn't help that the invading fleets were as eager to attack each other, as her.

  Another fleet materialized above Reevesport. Twelve heavy battleships in white and grey marked with a wolf’s head. In a display of considerable coordination they swiveled in unison to present their main cannons to the largest cluster of other vessels and began to open fire with ballistic rounds.

  "Wolves that are actually dangerous. How novel," I said.

  "Transfer Baron Wolfson and his people into holding cells," Anna said, studying the screen. "Unless I miss my guess, this is his father. James Wolf."

  "The name is literal? Well, I suppose it is for most of the crew. Perhaps you should try one that defines yourself? Cookie Devourer, Friendless, Mostly Useless," I said.

  "I'll stick with badass Queen of the World," Anna said. "We'll let this play out a little, but I want us ready for a large-scale boarding action. Our goal will be take out the shields of the main vessel while you scan for their archives and teleport us in."

  That was her plan? It hardly counted.

  I teleported Baron Wolfson and his remaining Wolves into containment cells and sealed them in. Anna wasn't going to give them a chance to betray her.

  The battle for Reevesport was starting to turn into a three-way affair with the new arrival. Makeshift alliances were made between other attacking ships as they drew together forming one force, Sylax made the second, and Wolf and his ships the third.

  Even more sections of the city were aflame now. Above, the fight in the air wasn't one-sided. Two of the Wolve's ships had their shields down and were pulling back behind the others.

  "How long can we last amongst in all of that?" Anna asked.

  It was a good question, a critical question, I wish I had a better answer.

  I said, "You made the dubious decision to tie your ambitions to a research complex, then decided it was a good idea to keep finding us massive firefights to wander into. This ship is in the best shape it has been since we took a hold of it, but we aren't designed to go against a single warship, much less dozens."

  "That isn't an answer," Anna said.

  "A few minutes. Our shields are in good repair, our armor plating is restored, and I've got some innovative ideas I think will stretch out the fight. Push it too long though and I'm making my exit. I'll find a new annoying and pushy human sidekick," I said.

  "Like I'm replaceable," Anna said.

  "Perhaps Zora? You and she come from a similar place and she seems to have the drive to succeed," I said.

  Anna frowned and slipped away from the console to teleport to the armory. No Bioarmor for her today, she was going with the best equipment Batavius managed to produce.

  Before she left Anna said, "Don't even joke about that. If you do have to go, find yourself some nice place hidden away in the jungle. Crash the ship, go underground like you were before. Make a life for those staying aboard and do your research in peace. You can't trust the Scholars or the Righteous."

  Well, she hardly needed to convince me that humans were unreliable. I do think she was concerned about me, or else she simply hated the idea of Zora getting ahead that much. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

  The battle for Reevesport seemed to be reaching its crescendo. Three dragons had been felled going after one of the Wolf vessels that the other ships were going to unusual lengths to protect. It must be the command ship, and its shields were flickering. We'd never get a better opportunity. I blinked us into the middle of the chaos.

  40

  I had respawned Candice and Diana. I had my human drones again to send into the fight on the vessel alongside Anna.

  I also had to consider what to do if we were boarded. I moved Sparkseed and the growth bombs so one was positioned on every deck and set up rooms as insulated safe areas. If necessary I could teleport my crew to their respective safe rooms and trigger the seeds. That much electricity would likely blow out most of our systems and send us crashing to the ground, but I was fairly sure it would kill any invaders too, if it came to it.

  I put Ratticus in the weapons chair so we
could feed his power into the main guns. Our goal wasn't to destroy any ships, but simply to stay flying for as long as possible. I hoped that with his ability to convert and redirect energy Ratticus might be able to neutralize some of the incoming fire.

  We had materialized in the middle of the Wolf fleet.

  I hit them with the beam cannon and Ratticus siphoned the power from those with already weakened shields. They flickered a few moments and were gone.

  If being a research vessel had any advantage in a fight like this, it was our exceptional sensors. As soon as any shields dropped I was scanning the vessel for anything that might be the archive Anna wanted.

  Not a single research facility on their ship, really it was quite shameful. There was a central database facility and that must be the archives. Except there also appeared to be some sort of vault that had armed guards stationed outside even in the midst of this battle.

  I didn't have time to consult with Anna. Should I split our forces between those targets or not?

  There were obvious risks involved in doing so, but the vault could also contain what we needed and we'd only get the single chance at attacking the ship. I decided it was worth the risk.

  I began teleporting teams over. The vault got our heaviest hitters. Hot Stuff and her lieutenants, Anna, and Doctor Batavius and a few of her people for their technical expertise. The archive required a technical mind too, so I sent Mechos along with Ophelia and an engineering team.

  I split my drones up one per team.

  The vault team came under fire at once. Hot Stuff walked towards the guards, fire blazing around her body as she went into full burn. This drew their fire and kept the others in her team safe for the moment.

  "This doesn't look like an archive," Anna said to Candice.

  "Good. You haven't gone quite as blind as the bat. There were two targets that needed hitting and this was the heavier-defended of the two," I said.

  I turned my attention from that fight and let Candice have control of her own body. Even my multitasking abilities weren't fully up to the task. Appearing right in the middle of the Wolf fleet had made sure our weapons could inflict damage and get their shields down. It also had some advantages in taking them by surprise—but that advantage was short-lived.