Twin Stars 1: Ascension

by Robyn Paterson

  There were twelve people in his assault team, five behind him, and another five crouched down behind Mister Ulstead on the other side of the darkened corridor. With the exception of Esther, who was behind him, these were the eleven people aboard the ship with the most combat training. All of them, again with the exception of Esther, who didn’t need one, were equipped with battle arrays like the one he’d just put on. He’d offered one to her, but she’d refused on the basis that Squires were already superhuman combatants, and that the array would be of more use enhancing one of the other crew members for the coming melee.

  Tysen hadn’t been able to argue with that, so he’d just told her to be careful.

  He glanced over at Mister Ulstead, and his array told him the man’s pulse and respiration rate were extremely high. He could see the heat pouring off of Ulstead’s uncovered face.

  “All set?” Tysen asked, trying to refocus the man.

  “Ready as we’re going to be.” Ulstead’s usual joviality was gone, and his tone was serious now.

  There was a distant clanging noise, and a shudder ran through the hull around them. Behind him, Tysen heard the crew members whisper, and heat began to pour off most of them as they readied themselves.

  “Docking tubes,” Tysen told the other man. “They’ll be across shortly.”

  “They will,” Ulstead agreed.

  “Ever used a Battle Array before, Mister Ulstead?”

  The mercenary shook his head. “Can’t say I have, mate. Your man put me through the basics, though, so I think I can handle myself.”

  “You have my complete faith,” Tysen told him. And he meant it, the man was incredibly adaptable and Tysen had little doubts in his ability to use such an intuitive system well.

  “You had much experience in these kinds of actions, Captain?”

  “Some,” Tysen said, then decided to add- “Although I admit to them being training exercises. Just stay with us, Mister Ulstead.”

  “You got it, mate.”

  Up ahead, the array let Tysen hear the sound of the airlock cycling. They were coming in.

  “Everyone, wait for my signal.” He told the assembled. “Remember, don’t move until I tell you to.”

  That got a round of “Yessir!” from the crew and the sound of weapons being readied.

  Ulstead glanced behind Tysen, looking unsure.

  “The Shelia’s coming with us?”

  “Esther is my Squire, and I think we might need her.” Tysen said, then smiled and added. “Don’t worry, I’ve asked her to keep an eye on you.”

  “Gee, thanks!” The other man snorted, then his gaze snapped forward. “Head’s up!”

  Tysen heard the airlock door draw back, and there was the sound of electrical buzzing from far up ahead of them. Then suddenly the dark corridor was alive with light as the invaders began to pour in, their own battle arrays covering them with a bright blue blue aura in the darkness as they flew around the corner and right at Tysen and his crew.

  Plasma shots began to fly down the corridor at them, forcing the crew to flatten behind the bulkhead flares they’d chosen as their cover. Thanks to the array, Tysen could still see them, though, and he saw them confidently rush down the corridor, heedless with the power their arrays gave them.

  “Master?” Esther asked from behind him, concern in her voice.

  “Not yet, Esther.” Tysen said as a tiny ball of hot plasma detonated against the flare near his head, showering him with stinging sparks. He needed to wait until they were all inside before he acted, but they were coming so fast he wasn’t sure they wouldn’t be overwhelmed before he…

  Then what looked to be the last of them come into the corridor, and he knew it was time.

  “Esther, now.”

  There was a brilliant orange and yellow flash of light in the corridor as Esther triggered the detonator crystals that she and Tysen had attached to the capacitors inside the walls along either side of the hallway. Brilliant arcs of energy exploded out from either side, ripping through the air and catching the assault troops right in the middle of an electrical storm. Arrays designed for small-scale attacks were suddenly overwhelmed and shorted out, leaving their wearers to bear the remaining surge of energy that coursed through metal webs that now attracted the energy to them.

  What had been their greatest asset was now the invader’s greatest enemy, and the air was filled with the sounds of screaming and the smell of charred flesh.

  When blackness resumed, Tysen peered back around the flare and saw that the corridor was littered with the moaning, twitching bodies of the wounded and the dead. Forcing himself to think of them as just the enemy, he pushed the sight out of his mind and looked back at his people.

  “Now people, activate your arrays!” He ordered, and his own flared to life around him, lifting him up into the air slightly as he gained the ability to fly as long as there were nearby objects for the field to push off. Then, without waiting to see if they were following him, he shot off down the corridor towards the airlock.

  Everything relied on speed now, they needed to get aboard the enemy ship before the enemy had time to respond or react. Elsewhere, Kip was leading a team doing much the same at another airlock, and, if that had gone off as this had, they too would be rushing aboard the enemy ship.

  Shooting through the airlock and into the boarding tube, Tysen readied his plasma rifle and prayed that Mister Ulstead’s flowers had done their work.

  * * *

  “Master! I’ve lost contact with Major Garret’s unit!”

  Cole dropped the cup of tea he’d been pouring himself and spun around, staring at the tactical display. Ashe was right, where there should have been many blue dots on the display where was only a few, and no tactical feeds were coming in from the men at all.

  What had happened? This whole situation had been sewn up, how had it turned so quickly?

  “They had just entered the enemy ship and were proceeding to the…” Ashe reported, then she stopped and gasped. “Master! I have unauthorized personnel aboard our ship! They’ve entered B-deck and G-deck through the docking tubes!”

  A new display flickered up over the one of the Crystal Leaf, now it was a tactical map of his ship. Red spots were spreading out like a virus from the two docking tubes and rushing throughout the ship. But, this shouldn’t have been possible- “Ashe, what about our internal defenses?”

  “Checking,” echoed the voice of his Squire. “Internal defenses seem to be offline. Master, someone has broken into our shipboard network and is subverting our systems.”

  The red dots suddenly began to disappear from the tactical display, and Cole’s stomach suddenly felt cold.

  “Sound battlestations!” He screamed. “Intruder alert! Activate our security robots!”

  “That system has already been disabled, sir.” His Squire reported regretfully. “I have lost shipboard communications and external communications with the Firethorne as well.”

  Colonel Cole stared at the now empty displays, unable to believe he had found himself in such a situation. He had been a soldier and officer for nearly sixty years, and in that time nothing like this had ever happened before. He had thought he had seen almost everything, and now he knew he was wrong.

  Still, he would persevere, as he always did.

  Standing, Cole turned and began to walk for the door. “Ash, find a way to communicate with the Firethorne- let them know we need help. I’m going to go get this situation under control. Seal the bridge after I’m gone.”

  “As you wish, master.” Came a concerned reply, then “Please sir, be careful.”

  Cole was almost out the door when he heard that last part, and he paused at the open door, looking back into the empty room. “That’s the first time you’ve said that to me, Ashe.”

  “It’s the first time I felt you needed it, Master.”

  * * *

  Tysen threaded his way through the corridors with his team flying behind him and Esther running at the back of t
he group. So far the assault was going almost as planned, and except for a few small pockets of resistance they’d been able to sweep through the ship fairly easily.

  Despite this, he was still uneasy. He wouldn’t allow himself any feelings of confidence until he was standing on the ship’s bridge.

  “Kip,” he sent through his now reactivated link system.

  “Al!” came the surprised reply. “Good to hear you!”

  “Kip, Ulstead’s war robots have control of the ship communication grid and internal sensors. We’re on our way to the bridge.”

  “Great to hear! Al, we’ve already taken engineering and I’ve got people heading for the armory.” Then he added. “And, you know, for someone who doesn’t like guns that old lady is pretty scary in a firefight. We couldn’t even hold her back!”

  Tysen suppressed a laugh. “Just keep an eye on her, Kip. We’re on our way to the bridge, and as soon as we’ve got it we’ll need to be ready to fight. Get people manning as many positions as you can.”

  “On it, Captain!”

  Then, as the link closed, Tysen started to turn to Ulstead flying beside him to give him an order, only to see the mercenary suddenly come hurtling at him with a look of panic on his face.

  “Captain! Down!” The man screamed as he impacted into Tysen, and there was a bright flash as a huge plasma arc caught the mercenary in the side and sent him flying back down the corridor.

  Tysen bounced off a nearby wall, and tried to reorient himself as the sound of weaponsfire suddenly raged around him. When he finally got his bearings, he looked to see what was happening.

  A large man in a great blue-gray smartsuit was standing in the corridor ahead of them, his bodysuit partially covered by a studded white chest-plate connected to a white metal codpiece, boots and gauntlets. He had coiffed brown hair, a large nose, and a short pointed beard that accentuated his already long face. Around him there was an amber aura that flared white as the plasma weaponsfire of the crew impacted harmlessly against it.

  The man, who to Tysen’s eyes looked to be a Noble in his late thirties, raised a gauntleted hand and another rush of plasma streamed down the corridor, downing a crewman who had been too slow.

  “Esther, see to him!” Tysen sent to his Squire, and then jumped forward to stand in the corridor between the two sides. “Stand down, people!” He ordered his people, and then turned to face the giant.

  Before he could speak, the attacker looked down at him.

  “You must be Captain Tysen.”

  Tysen bowed. “I am. And may I have the honor of knowing your name as well, sir?”

  “Colonel Rodrick Cole,” the giant announced. “Fleet Intelligence- Special Operations.”

  “That would explain your array,” Tysen noted. “I’ve never seen one like it before.”

  Cole smiled menacingly. “I had it specially made. I use it for cleaning up the messes that others make.” He showed Tysen his teeth, but it wasn’t a smile.

  “Ah,” said Tysen, understanding. “So we’re outclassed and outpowered, is it? Nice to think the Grand Admiral thinks so highly of us.”

  As he said this, he was also using the link system to talk with his people. “Team”, he sent to them. “On my mark, I want you to open fire on his head with your sidearms.”

  “But Captain,” came Ensign Helgi’s worried reply. “You saw what happened- that’s not going to penetrate his array.”

  The Colonel laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself, Captain. The Grand Admiral only wants Whitcombe.” Then the giant extended his hand, and his array generated a shock-sabre, a long orange blade of focused energy. “Now, how about we settle this like gentlemen? You and I for control of this ship?”

  “On my mark, people.” Tysen sent as he faced the warrior. “Honor is for those who can afford it, Colonel. I have don’t have that luxury. Stand aside and we’ll treat you fairly.”

  “I believe we both know the answer to that, Captain Tysen.” Cole said, raising his blade before him in a salute posture. Then he lunged forward at Tysen, bringing the shock sabre down on the smaller man in a sideways cut designed to cleave a man from shoulder to hip.

  But as he did Tysen dodged back and out of the weapon’s arc, then yelled “NOW!” through his link. At his command, the rest of the team opened fire, focusing specifically at Cole’s head and upper chest. The torrent of fire turned the upper half of the man’s array nearly a solid white, blinding him and making him stop his advance for just a moment.

  That moment was enough, and Tysen generated a shock sabre of his own, which he then plunged through the weakened field and right into the giant’s unarmored stomach- passing out the other side. Tysen looked up and saw the man staring down at him in surprise, his mouth shaped into an “O” as the realization of what had just happened struck him. Tysen pulled back to avoid any counterattack, and the giant stumbled forward and fell to the deck, his aura flickering and fading away.

  Dispelling his sabre, Tysen turned to his people- “Manuez, Toberson, check him.” He gestured at the enemy officer, and looked to see how Ulstead and the other man who’d been stuck were doing. He was pleasantly surprised to see Esther helping the mercenary come limping forward. He looked weak, and there was a large burn mark on the front of his smartsuit, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. His array was gone, likely vaporized by the attack.

  “Array took most of it, Cap’n.” The man said, trying to smile. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

  “Thanks to you, Mister Ulstead.” Tysen said, clapping him gently on the arm. “You can stay here if you want.”

  The man shook his head. “No way, mate. I wanna see the finish line.”

  Tysen nodded, understanding. “Esther, take care of him.” Then he took a moment to check on the other man, who was in similar condition to Ulstead. Finally, knowing time was short, the young Captain turned and motioned to his people.

  “Let’s move!”

  * * *

  It didn’t take the team long to reach the bridge, and after Ulstead assured them it was clear of traps and defense systems, Tysen lead the team inside.

  “What kind of bridge is this?” Declared Ensign Helgi, as she and many of the others looked around in confusion. The room they had entered was shaped like the inside of a bubble- round with dark metal walls that curved up to meet at a rectangular strip of shining black glass above them. The only feature of the room was a single raised platform in the middle with a large padded chair sitting on it. Beside the chair was a small table with a white ceramic teapot upon it- a broken cup and saucer lay on the floor nearby.

  “Where are the control panels? It’s just a chair! Where is everyone?”

  The only one not surprised was Tysen, who took only a moment to look around, and then pointed to the black glass display above them. “Everyone, fan out and target the ceiling.” Then he walked calmly forward, looking up. “I know you can hear me. Come down from there now! Slowly!”

  The crewmen, who had done as they were told, glanced at each other in bewilderment.

  “Did the kid get hit in the head during the fight?” Ulstead mumbled to himself. “Who’s he talking to?”

  But Tysen stayed focused on the silent space above them. “This is your second and only warning. People, prepare to open fire on my command. Ready? Three…Two…”

  Just before Tysen could finish his countdown, there was a loud cracking sound that made most of the crew jump. The black strip suddenly began to split open along the middle, retracting back to reveal a large silver metal tube that began to tilt and lower itself to the floor next to where the chair sat. The tube tilted until it was perpendicular to the floor, and stopped lowering only centimeters away from touching the floor itself.

  The front of the tube, which was covered in a semi-transparent frosted glasslike material, slid open with a loud hissing sound and a cloud of vapor billowed out. From it emerged a dripping beautiful olive-skinned woman wearing the choker around her neck, and nothing else.

  Fie
rce violet eyes glared at Tysen in defiance as he approached her.

  “You do not scare me,” the Squire said.

  “I didn’t think I would,” he answered levelly. “But, you want to know what happened to your master, don’t you?”

  The violet eyes softened. “Can you…tell me what’s become of him?”

  “He’s badly wounded.” Tysen pointed at two women from his crew. “They will take you to him, but remember that we have control of the ship and its internal defenses.”

  The Squire dropped her head in acquiescence. “I will remember.”

  “Find her something to wear,” Tysen told them, and they escorted the Squire away.

  Tysen looked back to find Ensign Helgi and two of the others examining the pod from which the Squire had come. They were quietly whispering to each other, and when they noticed their commander looking at them they stopped and looked sheepish.

  “Sir,” Ensign Helgi admitted. “I’m not sure how I can fly this thing.”

  Before Tysen could answer, Esther stepped forward. “You cannot, Ensign. This is a hyperspace navigation system module, which means it can only be piloted by a Squire.” Then she looked at Tysen, “May I?”

  Tysen gave her a quick nod- “Do it quickly, that other ship will be getting nervous.”

  Esther tapped the belt on her smartsuit, causing the full-body uniform to quickly begin to withdraw across her body and into the belt. Tysen felt the blood rushing to his face and tried to look anywhere but at Esther as the uniform left her beautiful, and all too human looking body on display.

  Not noticing, or caring about her master’s discomfort, Esther casually removed the belt and handed it to the startled Ensign. Then, with a quick glance at her master, she stepped into the empty tube, which slid shut around her. If Tysen had been looking, he would have seen a mischievous look in his Squire’s eyes when she looked at him, but he’d been too busy looking at his shoes.

  It was only when Ulstead clapped him on the shoulder that Tysen looked up.