Eradication (The Void Wraith Trilogy Book 3)

by Chris Fox

  Nolan snapped his rifle up, gunning down a bug that had been trying to get the drop on him. Its stinger passed inches from his face as the body plummeted past him to the rocky floor. Nolan took a deep breath. "Good luck, everyone."

  Chapter 70- Attack Run

  Khar was elated. He lounged in his captain's chair, a special one made to accommodate an Alpha. He would die this day, but his sacrifice would buy a future for his people. There was no better way for a Tigris to end his life. No higher honor. He was fortunate indeed.

  "Leonis, Jaguara, Fizgig," Khar roared into the comm. "I speak to all. Any aboard a harvester willing to take up the call. The Eye now has a weakness, one we can exploit. We must cut a path to the coordinates I'm sending you. Once there, we will overcharge our fusion reactors. Our drives must be set to go critical as we impact with the Eye's weakened iris. Our sacrifice will create a hole, and our people will strike. The Eye will die, and the Tigris will live on."

  "Mighty Khar," came back a chorus of roars, mostly from Leonis captains he recognized. Most of Pride Fizgig took up the call as well, though few of Jaguara.

  "To victory," Khar bellowed, then deactivated his comm, moderating his tone. "Ship, I want you to plot an evasive course to the coordinates provided. Proceed cautiously, and make sure we do not get separated from the main body. We are stronger together."

  "Of course, Mighty Khar," the vessel responded in a pleasant male voice.

  The ship accelerated, bringing up the holodisplay of the battle without Khar needing to ask. Dozens of Tigris vessels, mostly harvesters, had gathered for the assault. Even a few Jaguara joined, though the bulk of that pride still hung back. Khar considered taunting Carnifex, but if his speech hadn't roused the cat to action, nothing would.

  Khar focused on those vessels that had responded, tapping furiously on his console. Commanding this way wasn't much different than handling gunnery for a single vessel. The harvesters themselves handled most of the math, so all he needed to do was move ships to an evenly distributed cone pattern.

  That pattern pierced the Void Wraith line like a spike; supporting fire from the Forge drove it deeper into enemy ranks. They began pushing toward the Eye, but the closer they came, the more furious the battle. Eventually things were so chaotic that Khar could only focus on his own vessel.

  The ship rolled around plasma fire, narrowing dodging another ball as a trio of enemy ships tried to end him. His ship returned fire, but the lead opponent dodged. Another Tigris harvester capitalized on the move, adding a plasma ball of its own. That knocked out their enemy's shields, and Khar's ship finished it off with another blast.

  Deeper and deeper they pushed, though the cost was staggeringly high. Khar tried not to focus too much on the red casualty list scrolling up the side of the holo. If they succeeded in creating a hole no sacrifice was too high.

  Their lines began to falter, and the Tigris fell back slightly. The Forge had lost most of its cannons, and the support fire was now anemic. The Void Wraith were turning the tide, and there wasn't a damned thing Khar could do about it.

  "Mighty Khar," Carnifex's voice came over the comm. "I owe you the deepest of apologies. You are more than a fitting leader for the Leonis. You are an exemplary warrior, and I am pleased to fight at your side."

  With that, dozens of Jaguara harvesters sailed into the fray, pushing back the Void Wraith once more. Khar gave an exultant whoop over the comm, his ship veering around an exploding harvester. He could see the scar below, the Eye growing larger as his ship approached it.

  The fire grew even thicker, and his harvester shuddered from multiple impacts. He heard screams in the distance as the left wing of the ship sheared away, spilling many of his troops into space. Khar grimly patted the arm of his chair. "Keep it together, ship."

  They could no longer fire, but the ship itself was still a weapon. Khar smiled, rising from his chair. He spoke over the open comm. "Mighty Nolan, Mighty Fizgig, it has been an honor. Carnifex, I will clear the last of the ships in your way. Save our people."

  Khar ordered the ship to impact with the closest enemy harvester, the enormous force of the blast tearing his ship apart.

  Chapter 71- Opening

  Izzy took a deep breath, calming herself. She'd never been in charge of anything this important, but if she faltered, everyone she cared about would die. Worse, Fizgig would be disappointed. She turned to her bridge crew, such as it was. Lena sat at the Helios Sphere's comm station, a bright yellow wall set with gems, dials, and a screen.

  Atrea sat at another station, running numbers for the final explosion. Her goal, she'd said, was to find a way to kill the Eye without them dying in the process. Izzy didn't see how that was possible. She accepted that they were likely to die today, win or lose.

  Izzy seized the piloting controls in a death grip when she heard Khar's words. She'd always liked him, enough that she would have tried to catch his eye had he not turned himself into a robot. His death, if it came today, would bring her a great deal of pain. In his honor, she would endure it stoically.

  "Attention, all vessels currently sheltering within our sphere," Izzy began, speaking to hundreds of captains, mostly human. "The Helios Ship is needed in the fight, and it will not be safe for you to be with us. As you can see, the Tigris defense platforms have exited your sun. Make for them as a group, covering the human defense platforms until you link up. You should be safe, as long as you stay near the platforms."

  The comm erupted with chatter. Lena looked panicked for a moment, but Izzy walked over and flicked the comm off. She rested a hand on Lena's shoulder. "We have important work to be about. We can't deal with their protests. I need you to keep me updated on Khar's progress while I pilot us into the hole they create."

  "Of course, Mighty Izzy," Lena said, giving her a warm smile. Izzy could only blink at the title, smiling back when she realized it was true. She was, for however briefly, a real captain.

  Izzy caught herself, returning her focus to the battle. She relaxed her grip on the controls, guiding the Helios Ship toward the Eye. It accelerated rapidly, reducing the massive sphere to a tiny shield that just barely covered the ship. Oddly, that ship was quite small, no more than two or three times the size of a harvester. She'd expected it to be much larger, given how large the Gate was when inside the core of a star.

  It eased into the wake of Khar's passing, and she watched as he and the Jaguara blew apart the opposition. Their casualties were hideous, and only a dozen or so ships looked like they'd reach the Eye. Two defending vessels remained, and Izzy's heart nearly leapt from her body when she saw Khar's vessel move to intercept. He was missing a wing, but he charged them anyway.

  The force of his accelerated ship caused a massive detonation when he collided with the first vessel, and debris was flung in all directions. Some of that debris, most notably Khar's other wing, sailed into the second ship. It slammed into the wing, causing a second explosion. When the plasma fires had cleared, all three vessels were gone. Only a cloud of debris remained.

  Izzy's tail dropped to the floor, but she forced herself to keep watching. Carnifex and his ships accelerated. Her sensors detected that they'd begun the process of overloading their drives. They streaked toward the valley at the center of the wound in the iris, the first vessel slamming into it with a white flash. A second vessel did the same, then ten more in rapid succession.

  When the light had cleared enough for Izzy's sensors to relay data, she let out a joyous little laugh. "They did it! There's a hole. It's large enough for us to pass through. We can end this, right now."

  Chapter 72- Redemption

  Nolan moved more swiftly, now that the distraction of talking to Manda and the others had been dealt with. He understood why the call had been necessary, but surviving in this place was proving challenging enough as it was. He ducked past Edwards, taking aim at a larger bug than he'd seen before. This one was the size of a cow, and seemed to have evolved from the earlier critters. It too had a stinger and cl
aws, but unlike the others it had a glowing blue hole between its eyes.

  He drew a bead on it, firing just as light began to gather around the glowing hole. His shot caught it right in the face, and the entire creature exploded, bathing the walls--and the party--with gore.

  "Eww," Edwards said, wiping off a giant handful. "This stuff is gross."

  "Suck it up, Marine," Hannan said, wiping some from her cheek. She turned to Nolan. "Captain, any idea how close we're getting?"

  "The scanner says we're almost right on top of it," Nolan said, frowning suddenly. "I was expecting an army of these things, but for the most part it looks like they're falling back. I don't want to walk into another trap."

  "I have a theory that might explain that," Kathryn said, smearing goop from her hair. "While I was part of, I guess what you might call the collective, I could sense a lot of the memories through the larva. I remember complex beings, things far beyond any human ability to comprehend. I didn't sense anything like this. The few other operatives I could feel were sentient races."

  "What are you saying?" Nolan asked, intrigued. He nodded ahead of them, and Hannan made a motion for the squad to continue.

  Kathryn fell into stride with him as they proceeded down the tunnel, which sloped more sharply into the darkness. It seemed to be curving to the west, as well.

  "I guess what I'm saying is that the creatures that live on the Eye aren't minions, not in the same way Reid was. They're not an outgrowth of the Eye, and it doesn't control them. I think the Eye has these creatures like a dog has fleas. Does that make sense?" The barrel of her rifle set up a firing arc that overlapped with his.

  "Perfect sense." Nolan nodded, pausing as Hannan raised a fist at the head of the squad. That meant hold, the most basic non-verbal command. He remembered not even knowing that much when he'd first started. "The Eye is making use of these creatures by using them as guards, but they're just normal animals, however gruesome. We've threatened them, and they've chosen to retreat. They won't mindlessly throw their lives away trying to protect Mendez."

  "As long as we avoid more bug goo," Edwards said, lumbering ahead of them a ways. He paused to look at Nolan. "We almost there?"

  "Yes," Nolan said, quietly trotting up beside Hannan. He crouched next to her, peering carefully into the room she'd found below.

  "Looks like its unguarded," Hannan whispered, clearly disbelieving.

  Below them lay a pool of slimy green ichor. In the center was a device that looked like a Primo command console. Mendez lay in that pool, inhuman tendrils extending from his body into the fluid. His face was fixed on the screen, which Nolan could almost make out. It looked like a view of the battle raging above, focused on the Forge.

  "Yes. Yeeeesss," Mendez croaked, leaning closer to the screen. "There goes the cannon. That's what you wanted, isn't it? That ship can't hurt you now. So why aren't they retreating?" Mendez continued to mutter to himself.

  Nolan caught Hannan's eye, nodding down into the room. Hannan nodded back, turning to the squad. She started with Edwards, miming him putting down the medbed. Then she gestured Kathryn forward.

  "I'll go first, to trigger any trap," Hannan whispered. "Edwards, if I go down, you lay waste to that thing."

  "That thing," Kathryn hissed back, "is my father. And we stand to gain a lot if we can cure him. We have to at least try."

  "We will, if the opportunity arises," Nolan interjected, knowing this would become an argument otherwise. "Hannan, approach the pool. If all is as it seems, we'll follow."

  Hannan crept forward, her rifle sweeping back and forth as she approached the pool. She made no noise, and stayed in Mendez's blind spot as she approached. No aliens dropped from the ceiling. The ground didn't erupt. Nearly a minute later, she reached the side of the strange bed Mendez was resting in, withdrew her plasma knife, and placed the edge against Mendez's throat.

  "Seems safe to come on down, Captain," she called, though her eyes never left Mendez.

  Nolan trotted from cover, Kathryn right alongside him. Behind them came Edwards, carrying the medbed. He approached Mendez, who was watching Hannan calmly. At his approach, Mendez shifted to face him. "Ah, Nolan. I was so hoping it would be you. You've come to kill me, I hope."

  "We're going to keep you alive, if possible," Nolan said, moving up beside Hannan. He ignited his plasma dagger, slashing at one of the ropey tendrils attached to Mendez's skin. The material was tough, but he cut through it. It spurted brackish green ichor, which looked like it had been pumped into Mendez. Kathryn ignited her own blade and started severing tendrils too.

  "We're awfully chummy with the guy who destroyed thirteen fleets, and sanctioned the bombing of Tigrana," Hannan said, pressing the dagger closer to Mendez's throat.

  Nolan rose to his feet, putting a hand on her arm. "Hey. We have a chance to make some of this right. Now isn't the time for revenge. We don't have the luxury."

  "He killed Mills," Hannan said, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "They blew up the Johnston."

  "It was under duress. He isn't the enemy; the Eye is," Nolan said. He leaned closer, meeting Hannan's gaze. "I need you to stand down, Sergeant."

  Hannan nodded, removing the dagger from Mendez's throat and taking a step back. Mendez looked...disappointed.

  "I made it as easy as I could for you to find me, leaving breadcrumbs wherever I could," he said, his voice cracked from disuse. He looked like a pale shadow of the man Nolan had known, clearly nearing the end of his life. "The Eye never tried to stop me. I think it was overconfident. It didn't make me put more defenses around this place."

  Nolan wanted to believe him, but in that moment he couldn't even weigh the words. He had work to do. "Kathryn, pick him up and put him on the medbed."

  Kathryn severed the last tendril, then heaved her father into the air. Kathryn managed to deposit him atop the bed. Nolan bent to the control panel, pressing the gems Manda had shown him.

  The bed began to hum, and after several moments the screen lit up. It showed a figure representing Mendez, his skeleton and nervous system in great detail. Overlaying it was a forest of red tendrils, far worse than had been in Kathryn. These had spread to every part of Mendez's body. Nolan looked away, pressing the purify button.

  The process began, a white light bathing Mendez as it hummed. A red icon with a Primo skull appeared on the screen, and the process paused. There were two buttons below it.

  "Why did it stop?" Kathryn asked.

  "I think because using it is going to kill him," Nolan said, as kindly as he could.

  "Yes," Mendez croaked. "Do it. Either I'm free, or I'm dead. Please."

  Nolan considered for one more second, meeting Kathryn's agonized gaze. She couldn't decide, so he did. He pressed the Confirm button, and the process resumed.

  The light bathed Mendez, repeating the procedure Kathryn had undergone. They stood in silence, waiting the nearly sixty seconds for the process to finish. When it had, Mendez had all but wasted away, his skin sagging around his bones. There was almost no muscle remaining.

  "Oh, Kathryn," Mendez said, smiling up at her. "You did it. You got free, and you've freed me. I'm so proud."

  "Dad," she said, smiling as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. This was costing her, but Nolan was impressed with the bold face she put on her words. "I hate to be all business, but we need you to stop the Void Wraith fleets."

  "I'll do what I can," Mendez said, stretching a trembling hand to the console. He touched a blue button, then slowly moved his hand to a red. The process continued, and he spoke as he worked. "This morning I ordered an assault of twenty-five key worlds. Those assaults are underway even as we speak. I'm ordering nearly two-thousand vessels to suicide themselves. They'll crash into asteroids, or moons. Whatever it takes to end themselves. The Eye gave me absolute control. It seemed to feel a human mind running things unfettered was more efficient, because we're unpredictable."

  Mendez pressed a final key, and the console sent a pulse of lig
ht toward the ceiling. It disappeared into the rock, presumably aimed at a some sort of satellite. He turned to Nolan, giving him a weak smile. "I'm proud of you, too."

  "It's possible we can still save you. Our new allies have incredible technology," Nolan offered. Kathryn's eyes filled with hope.

  "No," Mendez snapped. "You have to let me die. My body will never be the same, and even if it was I can't live with what I've been forced to do, with the things I've seen. Death is a release. I've earned this, Nolan. You have to let me go."

  "I love you, Dad." Kathryn said, then calmly drew her pistol and shot her father in the temple.

  Nolan flinched, unsure what to say. There had been a time when Mendez was like a father to him, and he felt the man's death keenly. It must be even harder for Kathryn.

  "Captain." Izzy's voice echoed over the comm, aimed at all of them. "If you're still on the surface of the Eye, you might want to get out of there. We're about to microwave it from the inside."

  Chapter 73- Microwaved

  Izzy forced herself to keep her eyes open as the Helios Ship passed through the still smoking crater, into the horrible Eye. The repeated blasts had created a smooth finish, sections of rock vaporized by each blast. They flew deeper, the walls of the crater narrowing as they approached the bottom. There was a moment of claustrophobia, and then the ship burst through the hole into the Eye itself.

  She hadn't really been sure what to expect. The outside was certainly terrible; the inside was infinitely worse. An ocean of green liquid filled the bottom third of the Eye, secreted from every wall in the place. It continued to fill the pool, which was full of tiny bodies--billions of them, all taken from the human homeworld for digestion.