by Chris Fox
Both sides have been taken savage casualties, and Dryker can't do anything but watch. He's pretty butthurt about it, but we don't blame him because we are also a little butthurt.
The Primo take more time than the frigging Ents in Lord of the Rings, debating whether or not they should talk about doing something. It's like the American political system, basically. They call a moot, with every Primo vessel attending.
Dryker's all...so guys, you realize the Void Wraith are just going to wait until you're all here, and then attack right? And the Primo are all Psssshh, there's no way they'd be bold enough to attack us. Dryker preemptively prepares his 'I told you so' speech, which comes in handy when the Void Wraith *gasp* attack the moot. Most of the Primo are wiped out, and the survivors retreat to a hidden system to lick their wounds.
Nolan and Fizgig finally reach a Helios Gate, and head to a human mining station in an out of the way system to get access to a Quantum transmitter. The weasily guy running the place is horrified when he hears that Nolan has Tigris on his vessel. That makes Nolan a traitor. He claims there's a war on, and tells Nolan to leave. Nolan docks anyway, and we find out that he's been to the station before.
It's like he had a whole other adventure, one the author wants you to be curious about so you'll read the prequel Exiled. Anyway, we meet Annie, a tough as nails miner who used to be a soldier. She and Hannan become fast friends, and Annie joins the crew. They take the transmitter from poor administrator Bock, and finally reconnect to the Quantum network.
So like I said, the war between humanity and the Tigris was caused by doctored footage of the battle in the Ghantan system. The footage shows humanity wiping out the Tigris, but conveniently leaves out the big ass Void Wraith bomb and factory. Nolan knows he doesn't have the political clout to use the real footage. No one will listen to him. But they may listen to war hero Dryker. Nolan tries finding him, but there's been no word of the captain's whereabouts since the fight in the Ghantan system.
Nolan is dismayed that he can't reach Dryker, but he's received a message from Kathryn. He doesn't know that she's been infected with a Gorthian larva, but he's also not a total dumbshit. He agrees to meet her in a public place to exchange intel on the last four months, knowing there is a chance it's an ambush.
We've already seen Kathryn's perspective, so we know it's a trap set by Reid. Nolan and Kathryn get into a scuffle, and Kathryn is amazed that Nolan can fight (talk about a montage). Nolan and his squad narrowly escape, and they now know that Kathryn has been compromised. They also know there's a war on, and that they have to find a way to prove that the war was started with a lie. But how?
Cut to Dryker. The Primo are all, like what just happened? Somebody kicked our asses. Dryker gives his 'I told you so' speech, and the Primo realize they're not all that good at fighting. Since they consider humanity incredibly militaristic, they figure Dryker is an excellent commander. The Primo put him in charge, committing their remaining fleet to his service.
Nolan finally links up with Dryker and the Primo, and we get the happy reunions we've been waiting for. They bring each other up to speed on how lame the war is, then come up with a pretty terrible plan. Fizgig and Khar will expose the Void Wraith, and try to oust Admiral Mow. Dryker will gather the 11th fleet, since he knows they don't give a crap about command and will actually listen when he presents the evidence from the battle of Ghantan.
Nolan heads to a Primo library, where they hope to learn more about the Void Wraith's origins. Kathryn gets there at the same time, and manages to sneak a cloaked harvester past the Primo's absurdly scary defenses. She and about two hundred Judicators (I just made that up, I have no idea how many I actually said in Void Wraith) brawl with Nolan's crew. Edwards gets to fight another Alpha for the first time, and he kicks its ass. It's pretty cool.
Hold on, I'm going to go back and read that chapter. Okay back. Yeah, that chapter rocked. Annie, Hannan, and Edwards all had some cool roles to play in the library fight.
Anyway, Nolan gets ambushed by Kathryn, Delta, and two other cybermarines. Reid remains behind on the Sparhawk. Kathryn gets the drop on Nolan, and it looks like he's screwed. Then Delta unexpectedly defects. He and Nolan take down Kathryn and her goons, then successfully flee the library. They put Kathryn into suspended animation, hoping they can find a way to safely remove the larva.
Dryker and Juliard terrorize Ceres station using a Primo carrier, which gets the immediate attention of his old buddies in the 14th (since they protect the station). He arranges a meeting with the most influential captains in the 14th, and convinces them to join him. In exchange, Dryker will have their vessels outfitted with Primo weaponry. They're reluctant, but Dryker has the real footage from the Ghantan system. He proves they've been lied to, and that convinces them.
Meanwhile Admiral Chu is being disgusting. The larva is slowly transforming his body, and the Admiral realizes it will hatch soon. Since he's got time to kill, he decides to be a dick and wipe out the Tigris homeworld. Chu leads several of humanity's best fleets, including the vaunted 11th. Normally, the Tigris orbital defense platforms would make short work of any human attack, but the Tigris admiral Mow 'mysteriously' ordered them away. Tigrana is defenseless, and humanity bombs the shit out of it. This couldn't come at a worse time, almost like the author planned it that way.
Fizgig has finally tracked down Mow, and challenges him for leadership. The attack on Tigrana forces her to withdraw that challenge. Most of the Tigris follow Mow to Tigrana to battle the humans, which is exactly what the Void Wraith want. Both militaries will be wiped out.
Fizgig, tired of Mow's bullshit, does something unprecedented. She founds her own pride, Pride Fizgig. Fizgig takes in all the nameless Tigris, her ranks swelling with the castoffs other prides won't take. There's like, some real symbolism here and shit. Fizgig is taking the untouchables, and Dryker has already done the same with humanity's castoff 14th fleet. It's soldiers of the line circumventing their messed-up command structures to pull out victory in spite of the tools at the top. I think that's like a theme. If you're in school, check with your English teacher. Maybe they'll know.
Anyway, Fizgig, Dryker, and Nolan come up with a plan. Admiral Chu is in charge, and many of his captains have been implanted with the same sort of chip that Delta has. Now that Delta has defected they're able to study the chip. They figure out how to send a jamming signal to the chip. All they need to do is wait for Chu to use the transmitter, then they can trace the source. They'll jam his signal, which will stop him from controlling anyone. Once they do, Nolan's cloaked harvester will find him and take him out.
Fizgig and her new pride head to Tigrana. Dryker grabs the 14th, and they head there too. There's a massive space battle with all sorts of pew pew, even though you can't hear pew pew in space. Every race is getting chewed up. Things are looking really bad, and our heroes will only get one shot at this. Do they pull it off? Of course they do. Heroes, remember?
Dryker convinces humanity to join him, which forces Chu to use the chip. They then block the signal, so the captains remain unaffected. All human fleets join Dryker, pulling back from the Tigris home world. Fizgig takes the opportunity to attack Mow's flagship.
She boards, and in an absolutely epic battle fights her way to the bridge for a final confrontation with Mow. They duel, and Mow proves to be freakishly strong. Fizgig is badly wounded, but Mow underestimates her and she tears out his throat. The Tigris fall into line behind Fizgig, and she orders them to pull back. The battle stops.
Meanwhile, Nolan's cloaked harvester attack's Chu's ship. Nolan, Hannan, Delta, and Annie make for the bridge. Nolan's montage serves him well, and he's now kind of a badass in combat. Not like Fizgig badass, but more of a 'Hannan is proud of him' kind of badass.
They find Chu on the bridge, but his transformation has already begun. He's now covered in a mass of ropey flesh tendrils forming some sort of cocoon. Nolan, in a scene John Carpenter would be proud of, fights his way inside the cocoon. They kill
whatever Chu was going to turn into, and find the transmitter. They've won.
All three surviving governments now know about the Void Wraith fleet, and their tattered remnants are ready to fight for their lives. Their only hope? Nolan has learned of an ancient Primo vessel called the Forge. It was the only weapon the Void Wraith and their Gorthian masters ever feared, and if Nolan can find it they have a chance.
Ready to find out what happens next?
Prologue
Dryker had never seen a worse situation, not even the battle of Tigrana. Thousands of ships dotted the Ceras system, clouds of them rising from each of the three habitable worlds. The largest cloud came from the furthest planet, Vega, an island resort world which was a getaway for anyone with the means, both from the periphery and the core worlds.
The ships rising from Vega were mostly transports and luxury yachts. There wasn't a military vessel among them, other than a few dozen police cruisers. That left them naked before the Void Wraith. Harvesters darted in, tearing into the ships like piranha into a school of fish. It pained Dryker to see it, especially knowing he was almost half an hour out. He couldn't help them, at least not yet.
The second world had a much smaller cloud of escaping vessels, mostly mining ships. New Mars was a mineral-rich rock, and had built the infrastructure for both the Ceras system and most of the surrounding periphery worlds. The Void Wraith seemed to realize this, and had correspondingly few attacking ships. Dryker's fleet could reach New Mars in seventeen minutes, and might be in time to save some of them.
The third world was also surrounded by a large cloud of ships, maybe half the size of those around Vega. Some were transports, but the bulk were cargo ships stuffed full of grains, corn, and other foodstuffs; it was enough to feed millions for months, making those ships the most important objective in system in that moment. Supplies were already running short.
Coming from the 14th, Dryker knew how quickly shortages could escalate.
"Admiral," Juliard called from the comm station. "The First Light is hailing us."
"On screen," Dryker said, moving to sit in his new captain's chair. Maintenance had done a hell of a job retrofitting the harvester they'd salvaged from the Battle of Tigrana--the ship he'd christened the Steadfast--and he finally had something resembling a real bridge. He still found it a little troubling that maintenance, and the rest of his crew, were made up entirely of Judicators. But manpower was in too short a supply to afford him even a single marine squad.
The screen filled with the First Light's spacious viewing deck, where Celendra stood surrounded by a knot of colorfully dressed advisors. Hers was the only Primo vessel in system, the rest having been dispatched to see to their own people's evacuation. Dryker had been surprised she'd asked to remain with the human fleet, and it had only fueled his growing distrust. More and more he suspected that Celendra had been infected, though he had no proof as of yet.
What would he do if she was? The Primo followed her, and were unlikely to listen to any accusations he made. Even if they did, Celendra was his only real ally among the Primo. Without her the Primo would go their own way, denying humanity the Primo's superior firepower. Should he risk that? Or was he being overly paranoid, and jeopardizing the survival of the human race over Celendra having had the human version of a cold?
"Hello, Celendra. You have a question?" He kept his tone neutral. "I have a battle to attend to, so I need to keep this brief."
"What will you do?" Celendra asked, her words clipped. She was obviously angry, a perpetual state these days.
"Whatever I must to win the war. We don't have time for a tactical debate. You agreed to follow my orders, and we're in combat. Take the First Light to the star's nadir. Intercept any Void Wraith who try to attack our convoys." He nodded to Juliard. She pressed a button, terminating the feed.
"Miss Prim and Proper isn't much going to like that," Juliard said, rolling her eyes. "Orders, sir?"
"Have the 14th spread out around Ceras, use their scans to isolate Void Wraith and pick them off," Dryker said, hating himself for it. "Protect the cargo ships first, civilians second."
"Sir," Juliard asked, hesitatingly. "What about Vega, and New Mars? They have millions of people trying to reach the Gate. None of them will make it without our help."
"I have to think about billions, Lieutenant," Dryker said, surprised she'd spoken her mind. That was rare, but welcome. "This food will keep people alive, and allow them to hide anywhere. Without it we're tied to agricultural worlds, and if I were the Void Wraith that would be my first target. If they control our food, they guarantee we have to come with them."
"Relaying your orders now, sir," Juliard said, avoiding his gaze.
Dryker couldn't blame her. Thinking about the bigger picture required a callousness he wouldn't wish on anyone. Decisions on this scale changed a man.
He watched as the 14th deployed. They moved with a skill and precision they'd been unable to muster even a few months ago. The war with the Void Wraith was hardening them, and everyone knew the stakes. No longer a group of malcontents and slackers, they took their work seriously now.
A mixture of frigates and cruisers moved in first, fanning out around the edges of the fleet. The capital ships moved up the middle, the Steadfast in the vanguard. The strategy was simple: Their smaller ships would protect the flanks, moving to deal with any incursions, while the larger, more capable ships would guard the main body. Then they'd escort the civilians back to the Gate.
"Sir," Juliard said, "enemy harvesters are appearing off starboard. I'm counting four."
"Move to engage. Have the Judicators on standby," Dryker ordered. "Ship, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Admiral Dryker," the ship's VI answered in a pleasant male voice. "Do you have orders?"
"Engage the lead harvester," Dryker ordered. "Target their engines."
They accelerated, drawing a bead on the lead harvester. The Steadfast rumbled from deep within as the main weapon powered up. Dryker had been on the receiving end when the Johnston bought it, but this was the first time he'd seen the awesome power from the other side of combat. A tremendous ball of blue-white energy gathered between the Steadfast's wingtips, built for several seconds, then launched toward the Void Wraith.
The shot slammed into the enemy ship's engines, rippling along the shield as it impacted. The right engine sputtered, then died. The harvester broke off from its own target, a light cruiser. It turned toward the Steadfast, aware that it was the greater threat.
"Shift target to the next harvester," Dryker ordered.
The Steadfast smoothly targeted the next vessel, launching a shot at their engine. This one caused no real damage, but that vessel also broke off from the civilians to deal with them. Both enemy ships powered up their weapons and fired identical balls of blue plasma. Dryker braced himself against his chair, knowing that this was likely to be bad.
The first shot caused the ship to shudder slightly, but did no real damage. Their shield bled off nearly a hundred percent of the shot, but doing so depleted their defenses. They were naked against the second shot. It blew through the harvester's left wing, leaving a trail of plasma and debris floating out into space. Thankfully, the area was unoccupied, since Dryker had little more than a skeleton crew.
"Fall back to our ranks," Dryker ordered.
"Yes, sir," the VI answered, pivoting smoothly to veer back to the 14th. They accelerated away, streamers of plasma fire leaking from the shattered stub of their left wing.
The pair of Void Wraith vessels gave chase, and ran right into the vanguard. Capital ships began launching a mixture of conventional railgun fire and newly installed plasma weapons. The two harvesters withered under the fire. The first exploded before it could even return fire; the second launched another shot aimed squarely at Dryker's vessel.
The shot slammed into the engines, and something big detonated deep within the Steadfast. Dryker tumbled to the deck, missing his chair as he fell. He rolled back to his feet. "Ship
, damage report."
"The aft engine is now offline," the VI said. "Stern engine damaged. We can still maneuver, though our speed is significantly reduced."
"Move to the rear of the fleet," Dryker ordered, breathing a sigh of relief when the ranks of the 14th closed protectively around them. The second pursuing harvester had been dealt with, exploding spectacularly as the 14th moved to engage its companions.
Dryker's little stunt had severely damaged his ship, but it had kept the Void Wraith from their targets. Ships could be repaired. Food was more precious than gold right now. "Ship, punch up a feed of the battle."
The Steadfast complied, using composite data from every fleet vessel. The holoscreen shifted to an accurate 3D representation of the battle, UFC ships surrounding and destroying Void Wraith. There were casualties, but in every case the 14th was overwhelming their opponents. Removing the stealth advantage meant that the Void Wraith were merely a slightly more advanced foe, rather than the bogeyman Dryker couldn't see or predict. The addition of Primo weaponry evened the odds still further.
"Pass the word, Juliard," Dryker said. "Once we're done mopping up you'll be dividing the civilian vessels into convoys. Each convoy will be guarded by a capital ship, and either a cruiser or two frigates. I'll let you make the assignments." Dryker sat again. He was far more tired than he probably should have been despite how short the battle had been.
Yeah, he was getting too old for this.
"Sir, destination for the convoys?" Juliard asked.
"Let the captains of the capital ships choose," Dryker instructed. "They are not to share those coordinates with anyone else, including command. We can't predict who's been infected, but spies can't reveal what they don't know. Tell them to check in every twenty-four hours. We'll pass orders as we have them, but in the meantime...keep safe."
Chapter 1- A Thousand Degrees
