Sword of the Gods: Agents of Ki (Sword of the Gods Saga)

by Anna Erishkigal

  He glanced at the holographic image of the planet the scout drones had sent back, a bright blue world obscured by clouds. Around the planet circled eleven Sata’anic naval carriers and 42 assorted smaller naval vessels, less than an armada, but a sizeable battalion to defend a planet. He'd only mobilized enough ships to take on the Sata'anic fleet, wary of leaving the inhabited Third Empire planets they'd just liberated completely undefended. The inhabitants of those planets had celebrated their liberation by picking up arms and shooting at their Alliance saviors.

  No wonder Lucifer had handed them over to Shay'tan…

  Abaddon caressed the floor beneath his palm and grimaced. He would only burden the ungrateful bastards just long enough to determine whether they had information about his wife's homeworld, and then they could go rot in Hades for all he cared! So far none of the prospects looked promising, but he'd be damned if he'd disgrace the memory of the men and women who'd lost their lives ripping those planets out of Shay'tan's claws by handing them back over to the old dragon.

  Who knows? Maybe Parliament would hand them right back again as a peace offering before the old dragon got himself worked up enough to really go after them. Abaddon frowned. Something wasn't right about Shay'tan's response to any of this. The Sata'anic navy should have assigned far more ships to defend his border.

  "We're about to exit hyperspace, Sir," Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt said. "Ten … nine … eight …"

  Abaddon closed his eyes and pictured he pushed his own strength into the Jehoshaphat's wounded 'wing.'

  "Just a few more moments, gorm beag," Abaddon whispered to his ship. "Just hold together until we get out the other side, and then we'll use your impulse engines and your wing won't hurt you anymore."

  The Jehoshaphat trembled like a virgin about to be deflowered. The jump out of hyperspace was always the most dangerous moment, even for a ship that didn't carry considerable damage to her starboard engine. Even if they missed the obvious targets such as planets, suns, and other ships, the tiniest space debris, too small to pick up on a long-range scan, could tear through the hull and cause far more damage than even a Sata'anic torpedo. He caressed the deck with his long, strong fingers, reassuring her, this ship which had been his first great love.

  "Five … four … three … two … one," Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt said.

  The deck of the bridge buckled as the ship exited hyperspace. For a moment it felt as though the Jehoshapat's wounded hyperdrive would tear right out of her back, but then the sensation subsided.

  The entire crew let out their breath.

  "Get that flagship in your sights!" Abaddon shouted at Valac. "Fire the moment you get a weapons-lock on it!"

  He pointed at the hologram as the old image disappeared and it began to build a new image based on what the Jehoshaphat could see outside her bow in real-time.

  "Not yet … not yet … not … THERE!" Valac shouted. The weapons officer hit the launch button moments before the holographic table had even finished building the image.

  All around them, two more command carriers and dozens of battle cruisers materialized out of hyperspace and opened fire on the Sata'anic ships orbiting the planet. Several ships on the holographic table blinked out of existence. Others were still there, but he could see fires shoot out and become extinguished as explosive decompression sucked out all the oxygen they needed to burn.

  He counted the seconds he'd computed they'd have to launch a surprise attack before the Sata'anic lizards could launch a retaliation. Six … seven … eight seconds. Abaddon frowned.

  "They're firing back at us, Sir!" Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt shouted.

  Abaddon's lips curved up into the sinister grin of an Angelic in the throes of bloodlust. Just a minor delay. Two seconds. Nothing to be worried about. A Sata'anic naval carrier pulled out of the pack of damaged ships and turned towards him, nose-to-nose the way two warriors were meant to fight. Good. Most lesser admirals ordered their fleets to get the hell out of there the moment they realized they were facing down the Jehoshaphat, but Hashem had kept the Judgment of God in her nest too long. The lizards had gotten bold. It was time to remind them there was a reason the Alliance had maintained Hashem's half of the galaxy even after their god had abandoned them to fend for themselves.

  "This ain't no chew-and-screw," Abaddon said to the Sata'anic naval carrier which turned to engage the Jehoshaphat.

  "It's the SRN Besat, Sir," Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt said.

  "I thought that ship was decommissioned?" Abaddon asked.

  "Looks like he's throwing everything he's got at us, Sir," Shzzkt said.

  The Besat was one of the older models of Sata'anic naval carrier, built, as the Jehoshaphat was, in that era when the two empires had waged constant battles for territory. Last he'd heard the Besat had been acting as a transport vessel to bring trade goods to the colonies bordering the Tokoloshe Kingdom, but from the shiny new rail guns mounted alongside her hull, either the Free Marid had fed Abaddon a bunch of crap, or Shay'tan had pulled the vessel out of mothballs and retrofitted her.

  Why? Why was the old dragon pulling old ships out of retirement when all of their intelligence said the Sata'anic Empire was flush with Alliance 'free trade' cash?

  The Besat jolted him out of his uneasy musings with a full barrage of her brand-new shiny rail guns.

  "Polarize the hull plating!" Abaddon shouted. "Aft engine reverse, three-quarters power. Starboard…"

  He hesitated. How badly was the starboard engine damaged from his risky trip out here? They were using impulse power, but part of the apparatus was housed in that exact same wing.

  Screw it. Better to be bold than dead.

  "Starboard engine, forward, full speed," Abaddon finished barking orders. "Re-route everything from the inertial dampeners and hang on! It's going to be a rough ride!"

  The ship lurched as one engine firing forward, the other backwards, caused her to spin and, at the same time rear upwards as though she was a falcon readying herself to leap off a cliff. Sata'anic weapons-fire slammed into the hull, but most of the impact was absorbed by the polarized hull plating which reversed the magnetism and slowed down its velocity much the way two magnets pushed each other apart.

  The Besat came after them; bold, hungry, eager to collect the bounty the old dragon had put on Abaddon's head. Abaddon laughed and grit his teeth in a smile akin to a predator about to attack as he ordered the volleys back and forth. He relayed orders for the two other command carriers in his group to go after the other naval carriers which surrounded the planet they were here to see.

  "Fire at will, fire at will!" Abaddon shouted. Everywhere on his ship, men and women representing every species in the military made sure the robots which kept the rail guns filled with shells kept loading fresh ammunition. The rail guns fired. The Jehoshaphat shuddered like his sweet Sarvenaz whenever he brought her up to ecstasy.

  “Sir … a second naval carrier has broken out of the pack and is moving to join the Besat." Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt shouted. "They've got about a dozen destroyers in their heels."

  "Where's my other ships?" Abaddon shouted.

  "They're busy, Sir," Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt said.

  "Bring the pulse cannons back online," Abaddon ordered. "It's time to remind the lizards why this ship is named the Judgment of God."

  Pulse cannons took several seconds to recharge from the engines after a full discharge. It felt like an eternity as the ionization in the air dropped as the weapons rebuilt their power by drawing power from every non-critical function on the ship except for the oxygen they breathed.

  "They second ship is armed with a laser weapon,” Lieutenant Valac shouted. “Sir! They're targeting our hyperdrives!"

  "Focus on that flagship!" Abaddon jumped up out of his captain's chair.

  "But the second ship…"

  "Focus on the Besat, damantia!" Abaddon shouted at the man. "Use the railguns to hit the second ship. Engineering! Reverse thrust, fifteen degrees to port!"
>
  "Fifteen degrees to port, Sir!"

  "The second ship is opening fire!” Lieutenant Valac shouted.

  Abaddon was nearly tossed from his commander's chair as explosions rocked the ship. Polarized hull plating did little to deflect a laser weapon or a pulse cannon.

  “We’ve got a hull breach mid-ship on decks 9 through 11!!!” Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt shouted.

  "Pulse cannon … where's my pulse cannon?" Abaddon shouted. "Is that damned pulse cannon recharged yet?"

  "Three seconds…" Lieutenant Valac said.

  “Move 45 degrees to starboard," Abaddon shouted. "Full impulse power!”

  The Besat fired a full barrage of rail guns which were only limited by the length of time it took for the crew to shove the next shell into the barrel. So did the smaller destroyers which escorted the aging naval carrier. Old, the Besat might be, but like him the old warship was full of piss and vinegar.

  Abaddon flared his grey wings and grinned even though, at the moment, he had unfavorable odds. It had been a long time since he'd come up against a worthy opponent. He'd sure like to know what lizard the old dragon had put in charge of the aging vessel and if it was one of the admirals he'd come up against before … in the old days when they'd matched wits against one another constantly.

  “Sir … the second ship has targeted their laser at our bridge,” the weapons officer shouted. "Should I aim the pulse cannon there?"

  Damn eager Sata'anic lap-poodle! The laser was a much more powerful weapon, but by the way the second naval carrier maneuvered, it was a newer rear-admiral, a youngster who like so many of the soldiers on both sides of this war had never seen real battle the way whoever was in charge of the Besat had. The second ship … it was a ploy. He could feel it all the way down to the barbules of his gunship-grey pinfeathers.

  “No," Abaddon grinned. "Take out the Besat."

  Lieutenant Valac fired. That familiar shudder as the pulse cannon discharged the full force of her charge momentarily ionized the air and gave them all an ecstatic thrill similar to standing too close to a lightning strike. A substantial blast took out a three-thousand meter long chunk of the Besat's hull, along with most of the rail guns mounted along that side. Chunks of debris, as well as the bodies of squirming Sata'anic crewmen whose lives were stilled as explosive decompression imploded their organs, flew out of the ship.

  The crewmen cheered.

  "Full reverse thrust, both engines!" Abaddon shouted. "Deploy counter-measures!"

  "Reverse thrust employed!" the engineer shouted.

  Abaddon stumbled forward and flapped his wings to keep his balance as the Jehoshaphat jerked into reverse.

  "Deploy counter-measures!" Lieutenant Valac shouted.

  "Hull plating fully polarized," Lieutenant-Captain Shzzkt said. His gossamer under-wings hummed with nervous energy.

  The second ship fired its laser weapon at the Jehoshaphat … and missed … not expecting her to jerk back instantly after firing her pulse cannons. Technically he wasn't supposed have the power to move that fast, but during the years he'd been sent out to pasture twiddling his thumbs, Abaddon had made a few black-market improvements. Including…

  "Fire the antimatter torpedo at that little yappy bastard," Abaddon whispered with almost feral glee.

  With a grim expression, Lieutenant Valac released the antimatter torpedo. The other crewmen stared at the video monitor with curious silence, to see what Shemijaza's weapon they'd all heard whispers about, but nobody had ever seen, would do. With an almost imperceptible 'pop' that was not an explosion, a putrid green vortex opened up where it had hit, taking that part of the enemy ship with it.

  The vortex grew larger. Total silence reigned on the bridge as the vortex continued to grow. Funny. Abaddon didn't remember the weapon acting that way the one and only time he had ever seen one fired … against them. This weapon, it seemed, was far more potent than the ones the rebel leader had outfitted his own warships with to wage a guerrilla war against the Alliance.

  They stared in silence as the enemy ship buckled as though it was being crushed by the Dark Lord's hand. It bent, then stretched, and gradually its was sucked into the hole. Putrid green tendrils of energy licked out of the hole like a hungry animal licking its face in the hopes it had missed some crumbs, and then it disappeared.

  "What the hell was that, Sir?" Lieutenant Valac asked. As the weapons officer, not even he knew.

  "A gift from Lucifer's father," Abaddon said. He stared at the place the second Sata'anic naval carrier had been. That feeling of victory he should have felt, of right action on behalf of their god, sat emptily in his gut.

  The other crewmen sensed it too. His secret weapon? It did a lot more than his black market intelligence sources had said it would do and somehow that knowledge didn't feel very good. At least with a planet-killer everyone knew what the result would be.

  “Several escape pods are separating from the Besat, Sir,” the communications officer said.

  Abaddon stared at the mortally wounded ship, an old-timer like him.

  “Raise that channel to that commander," Abaddon ordered. "Tell him to surrender immediately and his crew won’t be harmed!”

  "On it, Sir," the Communications Officer said.

  Abaddon waited. A moment later a grizzled green face came onto the flatscreen, his uniform heavy with metals and his dewlap still burgundy despite his age. It was a familiar face, though one he hadn't seen in almost a century. Lizards only lived to be around 350 … if service in the military didn't kill them. Admiral Saladin had to be at least 385 years old.

  "General Abaddon," the old lizard said. "I hear congratulations are in order, that your own people elevated you above the woman?"

  "They did," Abaddon said. He tucked his wings against his back, a gesture of respect this grizzled old lizard deserved. Admiral Saladin did likewise, tucking his tail up tightly along his right side. This was one of the few lizards who'd ever whupped Abaddon's ass.

  "You did not go for the more heavily armed ship," Admiral Saladin said. Behind him, the bridge was filled with smoke and sparks shot out in the darkness.

  "I knew better than to underestimate the more experienced admiral," Abaddon said. His expression softened. "I only made that mistake once in my life, and it cost me the battle and very nearly my life."

  "Yes, it did." The old lizard's fangs protruded in a pleased grin as they both knew who had administered that spanking. "And they say you can't teach an old Angelic a new trick."

  "Surrender and let me bring your crew on board my ship," Abaddon said. "You'll be given full quarter. You and your crewmen. You have my word."

  Admiral Saladin tasted the air and spoke something in the Sata'anic language to a crewman who was just out of sight. Abaddon understood what the old lizard said. He was ordering the crew to use the one remaining engine to turn the ship so they could lob a full barrage of rail guns from the undamaged side.

  "You know I can't do that," Admiral Saladin said. "There is only one way old warriors like us can leave this world and keep their dignity, General Abaddon? And it's not in bed, surrounded by our offspring."

  Oh, goddess! He prayed it wasn't true. But he knew it was.

  "Yes," Abaddon said.

  The old lizard gestured to his forehead, his snout and his heart. "Shay'tan be praised."

  "May your god guide your spirit into the Dreamtime," Abaddon said softly.

  With a fatalistic grimace, Admiral Saladin cut off the video feed.

  "Sir! He's diverted all power to his impulse engines!" Captain Skzzht shouted. "I think he means to ram us!"

  Abaddon closed his eyes.

  "Target the bridge with the pulse cannon," he said.

  "It's not done charging," Lieutenant Valac said.

  "He'll wait."

  Four … three … two … one…

  "I've got full power, Sir!" Lieutenant Valac shouted.

  "The Besat is firing on us!" Captain Skzzht shouted.

  "Fire," A
baddon said to Valac, almost a whisper.

  The Besat's rail guns slammed into their polarized hull plating, causing damage, but nothing catastrophic because they'd been given enough time to recharge during that small conversation.

  The Jehoshaphat shuddered almost as if in ecstasy as the ionized charge moved through the ship as she let the Besat have it with both pulse cannons.

  The Besat ignited and was no more.

  "Go with your god, old adversary," Abaddon said softly.

  Tucking his enormous grey wings against his back, he sat back down into his commander's chair and listened to the damage reports come in from the other ships. The old dragon had made him bleed, but not as much as he'd feared. At last the call came in that he'd been waiting for. Not Earth, but the reconnaissance party had found something extremely interesting.

  "Captain Skzzht," Abaddon said, "you have the bridge. Lieutenant Valac … come with me. Let's go see what Shay'tan didn't want us to find."

  ~ * ~ * ~

  Chapter 37

  December, 3,390 BC

  Earth: Village of Assur

  Namhu

  It wasn't easy being the younger brother of the 'Savior of the Champion.' All everybody talked about was how brave his sister was, how many men she'd fended off, and how important Pareesa had become now that Mikhail was laid up at Immanu's house. And now he, Namhu, was expected to take up the slack by doing all of his sister's chores!

  He carried the bucket full of kitchen scraps out to the goat pen. Twice per day she needed to be milked, especially now that her kids had been sold. She was an older goat, reliable with her milk, light brown with shorter, hazelnut-brown fur around her head and legs. The poor creature had suffered far past her morning milking time and her milk-bag was so swollen that the she waddled bow-legged, chastising Namhu with expectant brown eyes. Pareesa had skedaddled before sunrise, and it had happened enough times that the goat now associated him with alleviating her discomfort instead of his sister.