Eradication (The Void Wraith Trilogy Book 3)

by Chris Fox

  It enraged her, more than any of the recent atrocities she'd been forced to face.

  "Captain," Izzy said, sending the message to his entire squad. "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."

  "Noted," the captain replied, the transmission staticky. "Don't worry about us. We'll find a way off this rock. Godspeed, Izzy. I know how crazy what you're about to do is."

  "If we survive, you can treat Lena, Atrea, and me to a proper dinner," Izzy said. She smiled at the pair, trying to show a confidence she didn't feel. That's what leaders were supposed to do, or at least what she thought Fizgig did.

  "Done," Hannan said over the comm. "I'll buy, Izzy."

  "Atrea, have you completed those calculations?" Izzy demanded. "We've got to fire this thing right now."

  "I need a few more moments," Atrea snapped, without looking up from her console.

  "Izzy, the harvesters are beginning to follow us through the hole. There are dozens of them, and they look quite upset," Lena said, grabbing her tail firmly in both hands. "What should I do?"

  Izzy thought quickly, something she'd gotten much better at during her time serving under Fizgig. They had no weapons to speak of, but they were aboard the finest defensive creation ever conceived.

  "Atrea, raise the defensive matrix to full strength, just around the ship," Izzy ordered. She could see the other ships now, flashing toward them. They were beginning to charge their weapons.

  "Done," Atrea snapped. "No more interruptions, or I will never finish these calculations."

  A flurry of blue-white plasma balls shot in their direction, but they washed harmlessly over the shield. There was no shaking, no sparks from overloaded consoles. No sign that they'd been struck at all. The shield was perfect and total.

  Izzy smiled. "Take your time," she said, folding her arms as she continued to watch the enemy squadron on the screen. More harvesters were slipping through the same hole they had, one at a time, like wasps emerging from a hive. Had the hole been larger, they could have approached in overwhelming numbers, but because it was so small they could only move inside at a trickle. That bought her time.

  "I've got it!" Atrea shouted, giving a very un-scholarly whoop. "I'm feeding the algorithm to the ship. It requires us to use the shield as it is, at the lowest setting. Then we'll rapidly expand it, feeding it energy more quickly than the emitters can process. That excess buildup will make the shield unstable, and when it collapses the energy contained within it will expand outward. If we are very fortunate, that energy will be forced away from us, and won't rebound back at us when it hits the Eye. I cannot accurately calculate our odds of survival, but I wouldn't place a wager on it."

  "Even if we die, it's worth it. Brilliant work, Atrea," Lena said, releasing her tail and moving to hug Atrea. "You've done it, sister."

  A high-pitched whine began, deep within the vessel. Izzy's paws shot to her ears, but the motion was in vain. There was no way to block out the awful ringing. Lena had her ears likewise covered, but Atrea was staring at them like they were mad, apparently mystified.

  Izzy opened her mouth to say something, but the ringing vanished. In that instant, light welled up from the shield outside them, washing outward in an incredible wave of power. It moved far more slowly than she'd expected, rippling over the now-fleeing harvesters one by one. They popped like bubbles, expanding into superheated gas as they were consumed by the wave.

  The survivors clustered around the hole, now struggling to get out. Unfortunately for them the flow of harvesters into the Eye hadn't stopped, making escape impossible. The wave burned into the ocean of ichor, boiling it away. Then it burned away the harvesters, finally slamming into the wall's inner lining. Izzy moved her hands from her ears, covering her eyes instead.

  She silently counted to five, finally peeking through her fingers. The wave was gone. The ocean of ichor was gone. Everything inside the Eye, except them, had been burned away. The inner surface of the Eye itself was charred and blackened, the living forest of optic nerves now a smooth, barren surface.

  The Eye was dead.

  Chapter 74- Free

  Dryker lurked near the moon, using the planetary mass to shield his presence from most of the combatants in the fleet. He and Juliard stood silently on the bridge, both refusing to sit, as if denying that comfort would somehow atone for their actions. She had converted him, and he had given the order that had wiped out most of the 11th Fleet.

  The fact that the 14th hadn't obeyed was some comfort. His order had done damage, but--thanks to Nolan's intervention--not nearly as much as it could have. Dryker had been particularly relieved when the tattered fleets made it inside the strange glowing energy shield Nolan had brought with him. The larva recognized it, referring to it as a Helios Ship.

  "Yes," Dryker said, pumping his fist, when the Forge plowed into the enemy ranks. The Void Wraith were paying a bloody price as the allied fleet worked inch by agonizing inch toward the Eye.

  He watched with a mixture of pride and hope as the Tigris began their final attack run, breaking apart inside even as Khar's vessel did the same. Khar had been his closest friend among the Tigris, his only real companion when they'd been imprisoned by the Primo what felt a lifetime ago.

  Then something impossible made him rise from his command chair, taking a half-step toward the hologram. Harvesters were accelerating into the Eye at maximum speed. At first, Dryker wondered if they were Tigris. But as more and more vessels slammed themselves into the Eye, it became clear they it was in fact the Void Wraith. Their entire fleet was breaking off, sacrificing themselves like lemmings.

  "I have no idea how you pulled it off, Nolan, but I am impressed," Dryker said, turning to share a smile with Juliard. She returned it, but the joy was short-lived.

  Blinding pain seared up every nerve, knocking Dryker to the deck. He twitched and thrashed, flopping about as the fire spread through his entire body. When the fire reached his brain he learned just how much worse it could be, and in that moment he would have given anything for the release of death. How long the pain lasted he couldn't have said, his mind assailed by countless images from the larva.

  Then the pain was gone. With it, the presence of the larva also vanished. Dryker raised his head weakly from the deck, looking at Juliard. She lay several feet away, still panting. A sheen of sweat plastered her blond hair to her forehead.

  "Is--is it over?" she whispered, hoarsely.

  "I think so," Dryker said, rising unsteadily to his feet. "Can you feel the larva?"

  "No," Juliard said, eyes widening in understanding. "It's gone. Sir, I think we're free!" Juliard rushed forward, seizing Dryker in a fierce hug. He returned it just as fiercely, laughing. "They did it. They killed the goddamned Eye."

  They released each other, Juliard blushing slightly as she moved to her console. Dryker was still smiling when he settled into the captain's chair. He ached everywhere, but the pain didn't bother him in the slightest. He was free. The Eye was dead. At great cost, yes, but it was dead.

  "Sir, I'm picking up a priority one distress signal," Juliard said, eyes snapping up to meet his. "You've going to want to hear this." She pressed a button and the audio engaged.

  "--to wait until you killed the Eye, in case the Void Wraith came for me," a voice rumbled. A Tigris voice. Khar's voice. "I know you had your doubts about the usefulness of these Judicators, Mighty Fizgig. But I was right. Had I been a Tigris I would have died in that explosive decompression. Instead, I am merely missing a leg. A leg that can be replaced, so I can continue fighting." It was the most told you so tone Dryker had ever heard.

  "It's good to hear your voice, Khar," Dryker said, activating his comm. "Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we've won. As far as I can tell the larva died alongside the Eye. Those of us infected are free."

  "We're going to want to test that, sir," Nolan's voice came over the comm.

  "Of course, I'd expect nothing le
ss. Juliard and I will turn ourselves over for questioning."

  Epilogue

  Nolan rubbed the collar of his freshly pressed uniform, a glittering array of medals now decorating the lapels. It was odd being back in uniform, even though he'd only stopped wearing it for a few months. Still, he understood what the UFC now signified. He was a symbol, just as Dryker had been at the end of the Eight-Year War.

  That didn't bother him in the slightest, maybe because he remembered what Dryker had meant to him. People needed heroes, whether those heroes wanted to fill that role or not.

  Nolan walked briskly up the corridor, the Tigris guards flanking the door snapping their fists over their hearts in a traditional Tigris salute. He returned the gesture, then strode past them into the conference room. He was, by design, the last person to arrive. The instant he crossed the threshold the clapping began. Nolan found himself flushing, overwhelmed by the sudden attention.

  He met Dryker's gaze, and Dryker gave him a crooked smile. The admiral mouthed the words. "Glad it's not me this time."

  The clapping continued until Nolan took his chair, the empty one right next to the president. Gregg was a handsome woman, despite her age. She rose as Nolan sat, gathering the room's attention without needing to say a word. Even the Tigris quieted, turning their attention to her.

  "I'd like to welcome all of you to the most historic conference in our galactic history," the President began. She rested a hand on Nolan's shoulder. "Thanks to this man's courage and determination, we have finally killed the Gorthian Eye. We have awoken the Ancient Primo."

  The President used her free hand to gesture at Manda and her companions, who were clustered around Atrea's much larger form.

  "For the first time in centuries, the Tigris have united into a single pride," the President continued, nodding toward Fizgig and her delegation. Khar's huge metallic backside sat atop a specially made chair to her right, while Izzy sat in a more normal-sized chair on the other.

  The President dropped her hands, turning to Dryker and Kathryn.

  "We have even recovered those we'd thought lost, those claimed by our enemy. The cost of our victory was high, but we paid it willingly, so that those who survived could continue to fight."

  Last, she gestured at Nolan.

  "I give you the man behind it all, Captain Nolan."

  The room exploded into applause, and the president raised a hand for silence. It was several moments in coming, with Khar the last to subside.

  Nolan rose to his feet, licking his lips. Public speaking had never been his thing, and he hadn't had time to prepare a speech. So he spoke the facts as he knew them, as if reporting to Dryker and Dryker alone.

  "I think I'm supposed to talk about victory, or about sacrifice. I'm supposed to make the war we've fought okay, to somehow let us reconcile the billions of deaths that happened on our watch." Nolan shook his head. "I won't do that. I won't cheapen the battles we fought. Instead, I'd like to talk about going forward. I have no doubt that we will rebuild. There are dozens of uninhabited worlds rich with wealth. It's all there for the taking. That means, for the next generation, there's no need to fight. Every survivor is rich, at least materially. If we follow that line of thinking, it would lead to a much more peaceful galaxy. After what we've been through, I know that's tempting."

  Nolan paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. They were, even Khar.

  "We cannot allow that to happen. That's what the Primo did, after the second Eradication. They wanted to put the war behind them, and in the process their descendants forgot why being prepared for war was necessary."

  Nolan paused for a long moment, considering revealing his big idea. This was as good a place as any. "The Judicators were created for a reason, the fleets of harvesters clearly intended for a war. Either an intergalactic war, or a war in a corner of the Milky Way that we haven't yet discovered. That's a war we are completely ignorant of, and if we expect to have a future, then we need to find out what that war is, and what role we play in it. If the Gorthians are fighting someone, that someone might make a powerful ally."

  There was total silence for three long heartbeats, and then Dryker rose to his feet. He cleared his throat, hands balled into fists at his sides. "Nolan is right. During my time connected to the larva, I sensed many things. In the end, in the very instant it died, I believe it pulled every memory from me it could. Those memories were broadcast by the larva to the Eye. Why do that, if you're about to die? The Eye transmitted that data to something else, something it reported to--a bigger Eye, maybe, or something worse. It's still out there, and we can't leave it to our children to deal with."

  "I couldn't agree more," Manda said. "Now that the Eye is dead we can take the offensive for the first time." Her hoverchair floated several feet higher. "The Primo will send the Forge to find these answers. We will take a crew, and investigate."

  "We need time to mourn our dead, but after that I will lead a contingent of Tigris," Fizgig said, pausing to lick the fur on her wrist. She groomed her neck as she spoke, shooting a sly look Izzy's way. "Mighty Izzy will make a fine leader in my absence."

  "This seems a rash decision," the president said, rising and attempting a diplomatic smile. "We're hear to discuss the treaty--"

  "Respectfully, a treaty is meaningless if another Eradication begins," Atrea snapped, nothing respectful in her tone. "It will not help our descendants, if the Gorthians someday return." She took a deep breath. "That said, we don't have to sort all this out today. I'm going to bed. The rest of you should table all this stuffy talk until tomorrow, and spend the rest of the evening celebrating the fact that we're still alive. The Eradication is over."

  So they did. The president adjourned the meeting, and Nolan moved over to join Kathryn and Dryker.

  "You know," he said, smiling down at her. "Before this all started we had a date set up."

  "I'm free this evening," she said, giving him a wink.

  "Admiral, will you excuse us?" Nolan asked.

  "Yes," Dryker replied, clapping them both on the shoulder. He gave the broadest smile Nolan had ever seen. "I believe I will."