by Aer-ki Jyr
The small ‘sun’ was thrown forward, expanding as it went into a cone that hit the drones that held position, and when it did the drones dropped off the battlemap. The energy discharge had swatted them like insects, leaving nothing behind but very small rubble…and that rubble was being propelled outward along with the energy wave through more and more drones.
The pilots did a good job and got a lot out of the way of the ‘slow’ moving attack, but Pro’lec’s command ship and the other warships had to move eventually, or the expanding attack would have eventually got to them. The energy cone continued to expand until it got to about 63,000 miles where it suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a curtain of debris that was heading towards Mars.
Pro’lec didn’t worry about that, knowing the planetary shields would shrug off what the Sentinels didn’t chew up first, but if this enemy…whoever they damn well were…got that weapon within range of the Sentinels or the planet itself, he wasn’t sure what would happen. He just knew he couldn’t let them get that close.
The fleet sprung into action, abandoning their wall defense and aggressively going after the enemy as the big ships were suddenly surrounded once again by their escorts…but not before a few small holes began to show where weapons damage was finally getting through from a nearby Mach’nel that was too far away to fire anything but it’s Tar’vem’jic. The massive beam had been defeated 6 times already, but the 7th got through, in small part, and burned a hold into the center of the enemy super ship, but it didn’t go very deep.
Then some of the escorts broke off and raced towards the Mach’nel. Pro’lec wondered what they were doing, sending drones after them because he didn’t like the idea of them being beyond stupid. They had to have a plan, and that might involve another big ship hiding somewhere.
Then right on cue, another super ship popped into existence near the small ships and began to charge up, but with blue energy instead of yellow.
The Admiral immediately ordered the Mach’nel to run, and thankfully the Calavari commander didn’t hesitate. It got out of Mars orbit entirely, then the first two super ships fired another set of weapons, blowing apart drones one at a time but without the telltale discharge. At least he assumed they were, for there was no visible weapon tracks, and he was fairly sure this was the same disintegration weapon the Lurker had used.
Which meant these attackers used Essence or something like it, and that was something he was ill suited to dealing with. Thankfully there were some Archons on Mars that possessed Essence, and he began getting orders from them on how to proceed. Caution was the name of the game, and putting the drones in harm’s way while avoiding close range with any manned ship like a plague…as well as keeping the enemy away from the planet and the manned orbital installations.
That he thought he could manage, for the escorts were dying quickly, then all 3 super ships disappeared again, along with most of their escorts, leaving a few behind to continue to fight and quickly be destroyed, though Pro’lec disabled a few of the ships so he could ask questions of the captives.
But then he saw the truth of the attack, for while the other Star Force fleets were on their way here, a single ship had come out of another jumpline and headed straight for Earth. The defense fleet there was moving out to intercept it, but before they could another enemy fleet popped into existence around it…and this one had better than 30,000 ships in it.
The attack on Pro’lec’s fleet was nothing more than a distraction meant to get a portion of the system defenses moving away from their true target. They were heading for Earth, and the Bsidd bet anything that the super ships were repositioning there, or there were more hiding and about to be revealed.
He took most of his fleet and made an emergency jump in Earth’s direction, or as close as he could get without repositioning around Mars for a proper jumpline. He didn’t know what was about to go down, but he was going to get there before this was finished. As were most of the other defensive fleets spread around the system that were halving themselves and sending the extras towards Earth.
Someone was actually ballsy enough to attack Star Force’s capitol…and that meant they were either insane or capable of carrying it out. And if they had Essence skills, and were ‘the others’ that the Knights of Quenar had warned about, he was worried it was about to be the latter. But no matter how this ended, it was going to be one hell of a fight, especially considering those 30,000 ships were outnumbered 10,000 to 1 by drones. But all those drones were not at Earth, yet…and it looked like the enemy was going to get first strike at the planet if they could get through the on-site defense fleet.
Pro’lec didn’t like this one bit, but whatever the enemy had planned, it would go down in the next 12 minutes or so…one way or another.
10
Davis was in his office when the enemy ships arrived, and he got notified immediately as the system went into defensive mode. As for Atlantis, his tower office retracted down into the city while large armored domes rotated up and over other buildings in addition to the primary defense shields covering the city with multiple layers. Meanwhile his entire office lit up with holograms detailing the system, the defense assets, and the attacking fleets.
They were unidentifiable, but the moment they started using Essence, Archons in the field were able to see it and report it, for Earth was too far away for Davis to pick it up directly until the super ship let loose one of its discharges. That Davis was able to see all the way from Earth as a tiny pinprick of invisible light showing beneath his feet, for Mars was on the other side of the planet and he could sense the Essence through that mass, given how it seemed to defy matter at every opportunity.
He knew these had to be ‘The Others’ finally showing themselves, and they had to be beyond bold to strike at Sol. It made him wonder if they had more power than he suspected with such a small fleet, but when the planetary defenses started hammering the enemy with long range Tar’vem’jic hits and he saw their smaller ships disappear in one shot kills, he questioned what they were up to.
One of the larger super ships appeared when the fighting was going the wrong way for them, and it began to soak up some of the Tar’vem’jic shots while killing swarms of drones. Davis knew it was acting as a blocker, and so did the Archons leading the defense, for they were deploying a lot of assets to flank the fleet as it charged towards the planet despite numerous IDF traps deployed by orbiting stations.
The super ship destroyed several of them, opening up some holes that the smaller ships scattered through and spread out. They didn’t last long, but they were getting within medium weapon range of the orbital defenses as the swarm spread out in a rightward path around the planet. It didn’t become clear instantly, but the enemy was trying to rotate around to get above Atlantis, and when one of the smaller ships got within proximity two more super ships suddenly popped into existence beside it a moment before it was skewered by a Tar’vem’jic and erased from the map in the subsequent explosion.
Secondary weaponry on the surface painted the two new targets in Ardent beams, more Tar’vem’jic, and a score of missiles and rail guns. The physical attacks passed right through the ships while the energy weapons hit a shield that Davis could see was either composed of sheer Essence or the Essence was enhancing something else. Sensors were inconclusive on that part, and both super ships were charging up their points, one with white and the other with orange.
Davis couldn’t believe the ships were withstanding the torrent of firepower flowing into them, and when the white one was partly charged he saw the first Tar’vem’jic beam get through. It didn’t do much damage, but more and more there were bits of firepower hitting the hull and tarnishing it, but no large explosions. It looked like the beams were being ineffective, but the hull of the smooth ship with glowing spikes was showing what looked like sunspots wherever damage was occurring.
The other ship was taking no visible damage, for the gunners were wisely focusing their firepower on one of the ships since they didn’t
know how much it would take to get through. The escort ships that had popped into existence with them had scattered to attack the nearest orbital platforms, but they’d all been destroyed within 40 seconds. Only these two massive ships were withstanding the assault, and both were glowing with Essence so brightly Davis knew that was the reason.
As he’d suspected, the Others had inferior technology augmented by Essence, and they’d come directly here to strike at the heart of Star Force. He didn’t know what those weapons could do, but with full planetary shields up they were either going to be able to get through them or have one massive letdown. Davis didn’t assume for one moment this attack was foolhardy, but there was nowhere he could evacuate to in time and Atlantis was the best defended position on the surface.
And if Essence didn’t care about matter, going deep underground into the magma cities wouldn’t protect him. His personal guard knew this as well, which was why they didn’t try to rush in and get him to evacuate. But out of habit, he reached into the pocket on his uniform and pulled out his stylist. It was little more than a pen-shaped object he used to gesture with and interact with the comms when telepathy alone wouldn’t work, as well as a few other gimmicks. He’d always had one throughout his career, even back before Star Force was created, but now it was more than just a stylist, and when he mentally keyed it on it expanded over his hand and the rest of his body, giving him a very light suit of armor that would probably do nothing to protect him against a weapon that could get through the planetary shields and city armor.
Which was why he togged his ring, which was not decorative and actually his own personal Magicite that he had been trickle charging for as long as he could remember. It didn’t hold nearly as much as the ones the trailblazers’ used, for his skills were infinitesimal to theirs, but he’d saved up a decent amount over the years and if he was about to get hit by an Essence weapon they he’d at least try to throw up his own Essence as a shield against it. He didn’t know how to do that, so when he felt the Essence in orbit coalescing into what he knew to be similar to his own discharge patterns, he pressed the top of the ring and mentally linked to it, requiring both activation mechanisms in order to release the stored Essence.
He poured it into the air around him and hardened it, not knowing if that would have any effect against whatever he was about to get hit with. He was an Archon, and he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. But if he was killed here, the others would avenge him. No matter how long it took, they wouldn’t let this pass. They’d find and kill the Others, even if it meant ignoring the Hadarak.
Davis’s mind was racing as it searched for options, but he had none if their weapon could get through the planetary defenses, so he held his solid Essence around him, far thicker than he’d ever managed before, and kept adding layers to it as far as he could control. That didn’t exhaust the Magicite, but he forced as much as he could into the egg-like shield as he looked upwards through the ceiling towards the two glowing stars visible to only those with the Essence eyesight to see them.
Then one of those stars went nova and a massive surge rushed down towards the planet directly over him. A few seconds later…blackness.
On the edge of the Deep Core…
Kara knew nothing about the attacks on the Ysalamiri, Epsilon Eridani, or Sol. She was beyond communications rage of the relay grid, Urrtren, or even the couriers that were extending the temporary grid through the Hadarak Zone. The Hail Mary and its Zak’de’ron stalker were now beyond the invasion area and traveling through systems the V’kit’no’sat had never been before as they came up on the most heavily fortified Hadarak system Star Force had ever seen.
She’d come in slowly, creeping into the system then slamming on the brakes hard to arrive in high orbit…and she was glad she did when she saw the organic infrastructure poking in and out of what looked like half eaten planets. They weren’t even round like the Hadarak more or less were. These were sticking out like roots or fungus or anything else oddly organic, and they were infesting every world on sensors in addition to others free floating in various orbits along the primary jumplines into the system.
There was even one behind her, far out into the system on the jumpline they’d entered on…or to be more precise just off it so the mass wouldn’t collide with incoming ships. Yet it began launching hordes of minions attached to its hull, and they did move out into the jumpline to block it, perhaps fearing that her ship was the first in a long convoy.
Kara was just glad they weren’t there to start with, or she’d have probably run into one of the half mile wide naval minions that were spreading out like flower pedals as her ship accelerated around the system while staying well away from the star and the massive amount of deadly stuff down there that was probably keeping anyone from passing further into Hadarak territory.
“The blockers contain high density orbs,” Pol’ake said via hologram.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk,” she said irritably.
“We are already seen, or they would not be releasing them. Communication will not betray us any further.”
“There’s still the part about me not giving you permission,” she said, but didn’t cut him off. “And I know about the blockers. I read your files.”
“They will continue to expand until they cover thousands of miles with kinetic mines, and they will do so on every jumpline around the system. We will have to run through them, bypass them, or exit on a bad jumpline. Which do you plan to utilize? I do not recommend staying here to observe.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” she admitted, for they had stuck around to gather data on other less dense Hadarak systems, but the buildup here was too much to risk, especially with millions of warship minions around the ‘planets’ and low stellar orbit. “We’re going to the far side as soon as we start to get some decent return pings on active sensors.”
“And then?”
“And then I make this up as I go. You’re free to turn back, you know?”
“I go where you go.”
“Unfortunately.”
“If you are destroyed I must document it.”
Kara scoffed, with a hint of amusement in her cough-like laugh. “Stay close then,” she said, activating the engines and slowly ramping up speed as she got better and better information of what was ahead. There was plenty of debris in the system, a lot of which looked like dead minion carcasses left to drift, but navigating through them wouldn’t be an issue for they were spread out quite far apart. As long as she knew what to avoid, she could continue to increase speed to the point where she actually had to enhance the star’s pull to keep her trajectory in a curving loop around the exterior of the system.
The travel was not fast, and it took more than two days for them to get around to the far side with minions converging on their position from almost all directions, but her ship was the faster and as long as she kept moving they were not going to catch up. The trouble was, she had to slow down to make an interstellar jump, laterally at least, and the minions were busy clogging all the best jumplines out ahead of her.
That meant trying to get beyond them and make an even weaker jump, or travel to a star too far away to reasonably hit. Kara could snag one if they flew near it, so she didn’t have to precisely hit the long jumps, but she didn’t want to risk it today, and that meant racing the minions to one they hadn’t completely blocked yet that led more lateral around the galactic curve or try for the more direct routes.
Kara opted for the latter, traveling far out into the system where the gravity was too weak for normal jumps, bypassing the blockers and lining up on the most direct route towards the center of the galaxy. The minion warships still pursued, despite the fact they wouldn’t have the engine power to return to the system, but what did the Hadarak care about minions dying? They were all expendable to them, so these didn’t need to return and apparently they didn’t care, for they keep driving hard to catch up as her ship ground to a halt and precisely aligned on the jumpline.<
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Once she had it, she accelerated at 80% power, not sure how much gravity the system ahead would have to brake on, and suddenly the minions were whisking out of her rear view. The Zak’de’ron ship made the jump behind her, but did so with enough accuracy and delicate timing that it ended up being only 149,000 miles behind her and drifting slightly forward, meaning it was well within realtime comms range.
“Figures,” Kara mumbled, impressed that that kind of navigational accuracy, and on cue the hologram of the gray dragon reappeared. “What now?”
“We are traveling slow enough that their courier minions might be able to transmit our arrival jumpline to the next system.”
“Their couriers might make it. Are you suggesting actual transmissions?”
“We do not know for certain, but we suspect they have faster than telepathic transmission of some nature. Their level of coordination implies such a conclusion. We may be jumping into an ambush on arrival.”
“That never happened according to your records,” Kara pointed out.
“We have cloaking devices that the minions cannot easily penetrate.”
The Archon frowned. “Right. We’re not jumping at max capability. If they calculate outgoing velocity and assume we’re topped out, they’ll put their ambush short of actual position. Plus we can arrive off the jumpline and swing around the star at speed.”
“That won’t allow for even minimal scans without signal distortion.”
“Staying alive is our first priority.”
“I concur.”
“How much braking power do you have left?”
“More than you. My ship will not be an issue.”
“Of course not,” Kara half mocked. “Well, as long as we’re stuck together for the next 5 weeks with nothing to do but coast, how about some games?”
