Empire Burning (Emerilia Book 11)

by Michael Chatfield

  From the portals and the bastion’s onos, shield spell formations appeared and covered the entire fleet. Jukal fire rained down on the shields; however, their missiles were becoming less and less effective, as they just wasted ammunition.

  The teleportation points which had already been failing, destroying what was passing through them with the fluctuations of the spell formation, now finally collapsed.

  Across the fleet, power poured into the soul gem constructs. Techs went about fixing their ships while Devastator-armored personnel moved through areas that had been damaged, searching for survivors, collecting them up and getting them to safety or back to Ice City and the healing center there.

  “Have the ships that teleported out return when they’re ready. I want us to be stocked and ready to fight. In four hours, we’ll hit them again,” Forsyth broadcasted to the rest of the fleet.

  Now that the Jukal were reeling and they had the bastion, they needed to keep them off-balance and grind them into nothing.

  Dave and the people of the bastion talked to one another, focusing on areas to repair and reporting any issues they had. Techs from the asteroid base flooded the bastion and used its portals and teleport pads to bring shuttles through, exiting into space and moving to aid the rest of the fleet that was in close to the bastion.

  All of the ships showed signs of battle damage. They had lost seven ships; some thirty-five had needed to teleport out.

  The Jukal had suffered for clashing with the Pandora fleet.

  Forty-seven ships had been destroyed. Five more of them were so badly damaged that they were barely able to fly, nothing more than moving scrap. Twelve ships had battle damage that would take days to repair; multiple ships had their weapons smashed, or their hangars open to space.

  Many of the ships had been mauled, but some were still perfectly fine. They’d been hiding behind their fellows in order to stave off disaster instead of being part of the fight and trying to attack the Pandora fleet and help their allies.

  “I wonder just how much ammunition and supplies they have left,” Dave said.

  “We’ll just have to test them and see,” Malsour said.

  The Jukal had been able to wrestle control of some portals back to them. However, now Ice City and the people aboard the Datskun were working day and night to hack them. They didn’t think they would get control of the portals for more than a few hours, but it made it so that the Jukal portals were unstable, making their use nearly impossible.

  The Jukal fleet only had the parts, fuel, and ammunition that was stored within their hulls. They hadn’t brought any support vessels; such things had not been a part of the Jukal Empire for decades.

  With the three massive battles the Jukal invasion fleet had gone through, they’d expended thousands of missiles and rounds. They might also have items of holding, but there was a limit to how many even those types could hold.

  The Jukal poured in all the speed that they could to try to get away from the demons that were the Emerilians.

  “I wonder if they’re even thinking about the fact that they’re fleeing toward Emerilia.” Dave’s cold chuckles were enough to make people’s skin prickle.

  “It seems that Forsyth is determined to stop this here,” Malsour said.

  “Well, we’d best get this fleet in fighting shape!” Dave said with vigor. He knew that a number of people had died in the last battle, but he couldn’t let himself focus on that now. After the fighting was done he could; thinking of the losses now would only make him useless to the people around him.

  Dave bent over his console and submerged his mind into the soul gem constructs of the ship as Blood Kin appeared through a portal and started to repair the damaged areas of the bastion. It didn’t need much in the way of fixing before they moved to help the other vessels throughout the fleet.

  Three hours later, the ships that were in the best condition poured power into teleportation spells. The bastion rumbled as a spell formation appeared around it. It was one of the only spells that was actually built into the runic lining of the massive sphere. The others all dealt with moving power and keeping the portals active, as well as their control run back to the command center.

  Fifty-nine ships disappeared from where they were, appearing off the bow of the Jukal fleet that was limping away.

  The portals roared into life as missiles shot out. These formed together into missile snakes, darting into the Jukal fleet that erupted with fire.

  Those of the Pandora fleet who were broadside to broadside with the Jukal unleashed needles and spell formations from the portals that were above and below their ships, as well as fire from their cannons.

  The Pandora fleet let out several barrages. The Jukal were sent into chaos before the Pandora fleet surged with power and teleported away. The bastion was the last to do so, covering their retreat.

  They hadn’t been able to do it before, for fear that one of their ships would be left behind. Now that the bastion was there, it could withstand being hammered and cover the Pandora fleet as they shot off into the distance.

  Penetrator spell formations shone with Mana as they punched holes into the Jukal fleet. Barriers, gravity missiles, two-stage missiles, needles, and more tore at the Jukal. Teleport point missiles activated their grand working.

  The bastion activated its portals, becoming a bridge between the teleport points and Gunboat Isle.

  The teleport points around the Jukal fleet and inside it was spewing fountains of fire and spell formations, the Jukal fighting against what emerged while the Pandora fleet was well out of range.

  Two hours later, the Pandora fleet did it again, transitioning in again and unleashing hell before teleporting away. Teleportation point grand workings were hidden in the snake-like grouping of missiles, allowing the bastion to once again act as a bridge.

  This wasn’t a battle; it was an extermination as they ground down the Jukal as if they were nothing but simple mobs.

  As crews got tired, they switched out with fresh crews in the asteroid base. Emerilia didn’t have many ships, but they had plenty of trained people who stepped up.

  With every attack, the overseer mages talked on every channel, giving the Jukal terms for surrender.

  With each attack, more of the Pandora ships would be cleared for action and join in, while more of the Jukal ships were destroyed.

  The Pandora fleet evolved a strategy that allowed them to only teleport in for a few seconds, dropping off a salvo of missiles before disappearing once again.

  After three attacks, there were more broken ships than there were functional. The remaining ships didn’t have the room for all of the Jukal. That was when they started to surrender. After the fourth attack, the Emerilians held position; destroyers moved in toward the Jukal that were surrendering. Teleportation spells pulled them into the destroyers, where Devastator-armored ground forces secured them with sealing magic and sent them through a portal back to Emerilia.

  With the events of Myths and Legends and the portals opening on Emerilia, the planet had been thrown into disarray. However, with the Jukal, they now gained new helpers. But the Jukal weren’t used to hard labor and they hadn’t undergone nanite enhancement like the people of Emerilia and the players. They were about the same strength as the children after Bob raised everyone to be his champions.

  The Pandora fleet paused their efforts, recovering their lost strength with satisfaction and not a little relief.

  Dave looked over the fleet, and felt the auras of those within the command center with him. They were like a pack of wolves, licking their wounds and looking at their wounded prey as it limped away, the last of their strength fading.

  “It might be cheap as hell, but I’m here to abuse the system,” Dave muttered to himself. As if hearing his words, notifications started to appear.

  Quest: Friend of the Grey God Level 8

  Free Emerilia

  Rewards: Unlock Level 9 Quest

  +10 to stats (stacks with previous class
levels)

  +800,000 EXP

  Class: Friend of the Grey God

  Status:

  Level 9

  Effects:

  +90 to all stats

  Access to hidden quests.

  Access to the Imperial Carrier Datskun

  Quest: Friend of the Grey God Level 9

  Defeat the Jukal Empire

  Rewards: Unlock Level 10 Quest

  Increase to stats

  Quest Completed: Bleeder Level 7

  Free Emerilia

  Rewards: Unlock Level 8 Quest

  +10 increase to stats (stacks with previous class levels)

  +700,000 EXP

  Class: Bleeder

  Status:

  Level 7

  Effects:

  +70 to all stats

  Ability to use Jukal Link

  Quest: Bleeder Level 8

  Defeat the Jukal Empire

  Rewards: Unlock Level 9 Quest

  Increase to stats

  ***

  The Jukal emperor was raging around his room. He had accidentally killed three of his concubines; the others cowered away from him. The first person to enter the room he’d simply gestured to—their body exploded into gore that covered the floors and doors.

  It had taken five subsequent attacks from the Emerilians, over the space of two days, to sap the fighting spirit of the Jukal invasion fleet.

  The Jukal officers had been only using the fleet as a way to give rise to their position within the empire. Seeing so many of their fellows die and being hounded by the Emerilians, not knowing when they would die, they’d surrendered.

  The destroyers had moved in under the cover of the entire fleet as they moved ship by ship, having the Jukal exit the ships and then teleport them away, never to be seen again.

  Once the ships were cleared of Jukal, the ground fighting forces of the Pandora Initiative got to work, being dropped onto the ships by the destroyers they moved through, making sure that there was no one left and then taking command of the ships. A ship-sized portal was pulled out from a battleship and was under construction when the feeds to the Jukal ships were cut by the Devastator ground forces in the ships.

  The emperor, for the first time in a long time, was actually on his feet. His body contained power that was many times greater than the members of the Pantheon.

  With his power and AI, he was unstoppable.

  “Nephew,” the emperor’s uncle said softly.

  The emperor let out another roar and punched out at a wall. The force of his fist moving through air turned into a tempest that tore through the wall. The emperor looked to his uncle, his eyes red as his upper chest/neck pulsed in and out and his tongue moved wildly in anger.

  The room had been cleared of everyone else, his uncle dismissing them and the door being closed behind him.

  “How did this happen! I ordered them to win!” the emperor barked.

  “Now is not the time to focus on the battles that have been had, but the ones that are to come,” the emperor’s uncle said.

  “We’ve lost dozens of systems.” The emperor waved his hand casually. A screen appeared in the air, showing videos of the Terra Alliance’s and Pandora Initiative’s ground forces crushing the defenses and the fighting forces that were in their path as Deq’ual ships controlled the orbitals and the arks rested in the air, dropping off more and more ground forces. “Why won’t they just stop! It’s so annoying!”

  The emperor went on to wreck other priceless heirlooms that were thousands of years old.

  “The next battle will be within the Jukal system,” the emperor’s uncle said.

  “When?” the emperor demanded.

  “I don’t know. We need to do something to force their hand so that they will attack faster rather than later. Do something that will make them have to come fight us here. If they come here, then we have all of our defenses and your army to defeat them,” the emperor’s uncle said.

  The light in the emperor’s eyes dimmed slightly as he seemed to consider his uncle’s words.

  “Ahh!” The emperor let out another bellow. A pillar of light shot out from him, shooting through the ceiling. The light passed through several floors of the emperor’s ancestral mansion, to be seen from orbit and by those on the planet, turning the night of the Jukal home world into day.

  His uncle’s face didn’t even flicker at the destruction or power that the emperor had unleashed, as if it was all to be expected.

  “Uncle! We shall bring them to the Jukal home system and we will destroy them!” the emperor bellowed.

  “Very well, Nephew. In the meantime, do you wish to look over your army?” the emperor’s uncle said.

  The emperor let out a harrumph but the power surging through his body dimmed and a bit of excitement showed on his face.

  “If the Emerilians make it here, then I will be able to watch my army defeat them! Maybe it won’t be so bad! We should make sure that we capture it all. I don’t want to miss it!” The emperor now had a beaming smile on his face as he happily followed his uncle.

  Chapter 12: Take That, Jukal

  Josh looked out over Terra. People could be heard cheering; bars were open and people were dancing in the streets as bards and bands tried to outdo one another in spreading cheer.

  The tension that had been sitting over Terra and Emerilia for the last couple of weeks had been broken. People finally left behind that fear as information came in about the Pandora fleet’s victory over the Jukal invasion fleet. Now there was only the fleet that was hiding in the Jukal home system that could threaten Emerilia. All across Emerilia, similar celebrations were rocking the cities and nations of the world.

  There was a pop inside the command center as someone pulled out a bottle of champagne, the cork flying off as someone else produced glasses.

  Cassie moved toward Josh, receiving some champagne on the way as Josh pulled out a beer from his bag, specially brewed by Dave.

  “Cheers.” She reached out her glass toward him.

  “Cheers.” Josh tapped his bottle against her glass as they turned to look over Terra.

  The people in the command center who had been wound up tight since the beginning of the Myths and Legends event now finally let their inhibitions go as they drank and celebrated.

  “So, we’ve defeated the Jukal Empire,” Cassie said, her words carrying a note of disbelief.

  “We haven’t beaten them yet. We’ve just gained time for us to prepare for the last battle. We won’t be the only ones. The Jukal know most of our tricks now and they’re going to be ready for us,” Josh said.

  “But for the moment, there’s no invasion fleet coming our way; we have removed any Jukal influence from thirty-seven star systems. The people there are starting to come to support us. With the videos of our victory, more of them will cast off the Jukal Empire.” Cassie sipped from her champagne.

  Josh took a long draw from his beer and leaned on the balcony’s railing, taking in the moment and looking at a free Emerilia. “We did it—five hundred years and we did it,” Josh said softly.

  Cassie didn’t have any words for him and chose to rest her head on his shoulder.

  He smiled at her, putting his arm around her waist. Josh knew that this wasn’t the end, but for today, he wanted to celebrate being free.

  ***

  The Pandora fleets continued to capture more Jukal, shipping them to Emerilia. Ships covered in battle damage passed through the ship portals and entered the asteroid base, where they were escorted to empty slips to be evaluated or repaired.

  Frank looked over the asteroid base. There were more ships under construction than ever before. Ships that had been badly damaged were in parts, with automatons and techs working to get them back into fighting condition. Well, the automatons were—the techs and shipbuilders were all celebrating, waving wildly at the returning ships.

  Frank looked at them and realized they were waving at the BloodHawk, at the people inside, at him. It was an od
d thing to see and realize, but unknowingly his body relaxed as he sank back into his seat slightly.

  Navigation guided them into a slip; soul gem umbilicals reached out to secure them. Techs cast spells on the ship, getting a better idea of the damage as the teleport pads inside the ship linked up to the asteroid base.

  “All right, keep an eye out for upcoming orders. We’ll be operating in quarter-strength shifts. See your chain of command for leave,” Captain Xiao said.

  Frank got a message, telling him that he was off for the next three days, with him needing to report to the BloodHawk afterward. He quickly passed his station off to those who were staying aboard the ship, then used the teleport pad to exit the BloodHawk. As he did so, he and the other members of the BloodHawk were greeted by cheers.

  The people of the asteroid base were out in full force, cheering and congratulating all of those who returned from the fighting.

  Frank couldn’t stop a smile from covering his face as he laughed. A bottle of something was passed to him. He took a deep swig, letting out a gasp as he passed the fiery dwarven whiskey to whoever was behind him and continued onward.

  All of the bases for both Emerilia and the Deq’ual system were celebrating.

  ***

  Party Zero’s celebrating was a little lower keyed—well, except for Gurren, Lox, and Steve, who were using the hell out of the Stone Raiders’ free teleport pad pass to get to every party they could find across all of the linked systems and bases.

  They were in Dave and Deia’s home in Cliff-Hill, gathered together, eating food, having a few drinks, and falling into conversations with one another.