Armageddon's Pall

by S. F. Edwards

  “But what about whatever it is in hyperspace? It could be another massive ship.”

  “And so, what if it is? Combat shields are all but useless in hyperspace.”

  The captain scoffed. “Battle in hyperspace is suicide. The perspective effects alone make tracking a target impossible. And what weapon could we employ? No warhead has hyperspace shields, and plasma rounds dissipate too quickly. I will not sacrifice my ship on a fool's gambit Tadeh Qudas.”

  If Tadeh Qudas’ mask could smile, it would. “Don’t say that to High Captain Roshing.”

  The captain’s massive head spikes rattled in surprise. “That psychotic Nurid Marine in command of the destroyer?”

  “Yes, read his record. Before he joined the Space Forces he used a militia cruiser to destroy a pirate ship in hyperspace. I’m sure that he’d be eager to prove it wasn’t a fluke.”

  “If this fails, we’re all dead. I hope you realize that.”

  UCSB Date 1003.230

  Monstero Nach 003, Hyperspace

  Blazer dared not close his eyes as his fighter poked out of the Mercy on its docking claw, though he would like to do nothing more. The convoluted view of hyperspace around him was the stuff of duwn terrors, throwing off all sense of equilibrium and normality. It didn’t help matters that in this position his fighter was less than a metra from the inner surface of the hyperspace shield. Any disturbance to the delicate energy shield would expose at least part of his craft to hyperspace, destroying it.

  Blazer did his best to focus on the odd Gorvian ship in the distance. It was unlike anything he’d seen before. He couldn’t even be sure that the jump point was even there, but the nav beacon still broadcasted, drawing them in. It was as if the cancerous-looking craft had swallowed the miniaturized gateway back into normal space. Blazer couldn’t wrap his head around it; the physics of expanding and then shrinking a jump point were beyond him. The possibility that the jump point might not return to its original size on its own scratched at his brain. If that proved true, then destroying that ship could doom everyone they were on their way to rescue.

  Blazer stole a quick glance over at Marda. She’d had a serious case of nerves before they’d mounted up which threatened to send her to sickbay. Blazer felt thankful that she’d managed to choke it down, but then, she wasn’t the only one having such issues. Even his stomach twisted at the thought of taking their under armed force against the whole of the Gorvian armada. The look on Marda’s face was one of wide-eyed fascination. Marda jerked back as if surprised and Blazer turned forward.

  Their destroyer was gone and a moment later two asteroids broadsided the bulbous Gorvian ship. It shuddered for a moment before the flash of twin reaction warheads lit the darkness. Blazer blinked hard: looking down, he spotted the destroyer coming in from the opposite vector of the two asteroids it fired, only to watch them launch. It twisted his stomach to watch. The physics of hyperspace and the gravitational lensing of an invisible hyperspace mass made the event seem to precede the cause.

  Blazer returned his attempt to the Gorvian ship and caught his first glimpse of the interior as the light of the reaction warheads subsided. The ship was hollow save for a pair of decks in the outer hull; Blazer spotted the captured jump point. It was tiny, but it grew with each passing moment as hyperspace matter flooded into the breach. The ship shuddered as its hull disappeared in violent flashes, each one throwing it about. Lights across the Gorvian ship blinked out and the onslaught of hyperspace ether continued, consuming the ship.

  Blazer had read about ship destruction in hyperspace, but had never seen it with his own eyes. It was worse than he’d imagined. On a dare, when he was a Buoy Boy, he’d thrown a wrench through a jump point once and had watched it disappear in a flash. This ship, however, the wash of hyperspace ether wasn’t even at all. Holes appeared at random across its hull; atmosphere venting in brilliant cascades. Soon nothing remained of the queer Gorvian craft and without the energies it imparted on it, the jump point began to spring back into shape.

  Under any other circumstances, Blazer would have to hold back his enthusiasm for the destruction, but the power of the universe around him humbled him instead. The sudden acceleration of the Mercy towards the jump point as it restored itself threw Blazer back in his seat. The concave abnormality in spacetime exploded back to its original size in less than a pulse; the Mercy’s tactical officer barked orders across the ship-wide link.

  Blazer flexed his hands in anticipation and jumped back into his prelaunch checklist. “Ready to go Arion?”

  Arion entered the shroud halfway through his response, his cold tone taking on a mechanical quality. “Engines are lit. Weapons charged, and the shields are ready to deploy as soon as we’re released.”

  Blazer saw the edges of the gateway’s concavity enter his peripheral vision. “Good. Looks like we're going through.”

  The Mercy didn’t even wait to fully clear the jump point before its multiple banks of beam cannons stabbed out at the Gorvian picket. The escorts came through a moment later, their guns tearing up the nearest Gorvian cruiser.

  Blazer’s fighter jerked a moment later as the launch arm kicked him away. The telltale purple shimmer of his shields forming washed over his fighter and he looked towards his squadron commander. Tadeh Qudas wasted no time and rocketed towards the Gorvian blockade. Blazer followed suit, sure that Arion had the shields under control. Targeting data scrolled across his display and Blazer watched lock diamonds snap into place on one of the Gorvian blockade ships. The growling tone of their shark torpedoes target acquisition echoed through his helmet a moment later and Blazer braced himself for the launch.

  “Monstero Nach Actual to all units. As one, open fire!”

  Blazer’s fighter lurched like a wild neigh and he fought to regain control as both torpedoes streaked out of their tubes. From the corner of his eye he spotted the same from every other fighter in view. Twenty-six sharks raced ahead of their squadron. Their WSOs at the reins, the torpedoes disappeared into the darkness as they bore down on their prey.

  “Break and attack!” Tadeh Qudas’ order came and Blazer vectored away; defensive fire from the Gorvian ships lighting up space around them.

  Blazer angled around to track the torpedoes as the Gorvian cruisers began to turn; it was too late. The initial onslaught stripped the cruiser of its shields along with half of its engines, the ship unprepared for the torpedo assault. Fifty metra wide spheres of light dotted the ship’s hull, geysers of atmosphere exploding out an instant later. The almost haphazard pattern of explosions brought the death of the Gorvian ship in hyperspace to mind; he shuddered that image back. The ship floundered for a moment before a plasma fountain raced through its corridors, two torpedoes shearing open the fusion core. The ship went silent, a pockmarked remnant of its former self.

  An explosion in the near distance revealed the second ship of the picket suffering a similar fate; its two halves drifting away from each other after its power core had detonated. The Gorvians were ill-prepared for the assault. The beam cannons of the two frigates and destroyer carved away the shields of the remaining picket ships before the corvettes had launched their own torpedo loads into them. It was the first time that Blazer could say that they’d slaughtered the Gorvians. That the rapid expansion of the jump point had to have weakened the cruiser’s shields somewhat or possibly blinded their sensors was of little consideration now. Whatever the case, it was a win, and it left the door open for the fleets to retreat.

  Their mission was far from complete however and Blazer pulled his fighter into a defensive formation around the Mercy. The rapid expansion of the tear had to play havoc with every ship’s sensors and it was possible that no one knew of their assault yet. Blazer looked at the remains of the last ship in the picket along their flight path a moment before a Gorvian Beam Fighter exploded from the wreckage.

  Blazer’s flight was the closest to the demolished ship and he keyed his link. “Four, Six, this is Three. On me,” he ordere
d and gunned his throttle to vector towards the craft.

  A targeting box snapped into place around the fighter as he brought his guns to bear. Blazer squeezed the trigger and drove the plasma rounds into the fighter’s exposed spine, the pilot not having time to raise shields as they escaped. It was over almost before it had begun as the blasts sheared the side-mounted cockpit pod away. The sudden change in mass threw the engine and beam cannon modules into a spin that crashed them back into their mothership. The cockpit pod just kept on its original course a ballistic coffin for the Gorvian within.

  “Good kill, Three!” Gavit replied.

  “Thanks, Six.”

  “Attention all joint forces ships, UCSBS Mercy Actual. Jump Point Three is clear. Make a run for it and we’ll cover for you,” Captain Wynad called over the open tactical link.

  “All units, Lead. You heard the Captain. Move in and cover the fleet as they retreat,” Tadeh Qudas ordered. Blazer did as ordered, his engines flaring as he raced towards the fleet over the Planet Slicer.

  Bridge, UCSBS Nosh’Tak

  If Admiral Quin Tosh hadn’t known better, she would have thought she’d hallucinated the message before it repeated. That voice of the Shinekian Captain’s sounded like the bridge loudspeakers had blown. “I repeat; this is Mercy Actual. We and our escorts will cover your retreat to Jump Point Three.”

  “Are we seriously getting saved by a pair of medical frigates?” the helmsman asked, his jury-rigged console fighting his every command.

  It could have been a merchant freighter for all the Admiral cared; they had a way to escape. She shifted in her command chair, her broken leg throbbing despite the speed heal cast; she regretted having turned away painkillers. “Yes, officer. Now, make for Jump Point Three. Tactical, order all ships into full retreat. The Mercy’s bought us time, and an exit. Let’s not see them wasted.”

  The relief that washed over the admiral was short lived as she slumped back into her chair. She winced in pain at the motion and turned to the dropout-filled tactical hologram as it fought to remain functional. The Mercy and her escorts had opened a narrow path to salvation; had they only arrived sooner they could have saved even more.

  A trickle of sweat stung at her eyes, and without thinking she wiped away at it. Fresh pain screamed across her scalp as she removed her hand; bright blood and the remains of synth skin from her head clung to it. Wincing from the mistake, she looked at her bridge crew. They stood upon soot covered black decks, the SIS long since disabled as they limped about in speed heal casts, bandages, and slings. Looking about she spied the armored patch in the wall where a beam cannon had breached the heart of her ship.

  Try as she might not to, that moment flooded back into her mind. Over a dozen of the finest officers she’d ever served with had died in that moment, immolated by the beam or sucked into space once it subsided. Only those away from the blast and strapped into their seats had survived, but for most of a cycle they’d conducted the battle from secondary stations or in their vacuum suits. Some kept their emergency vacuum hoods in place even now. Several consoles remained crewed, despite their displays no longer functioning, spirits orbs relaying their readings to the crew. Despite all that, they fought on; though until this moment it would have been a futile gesture.

  The pain didn’t matter and Quin Tosh stood. She had to inspire her crew, show that this retreat wasn’t a failure. Blood dripping down her face, her leg awash with pain; she stepped away from her command chair to the railing. It was the first time she’d dared put weight on her feet in two cycles. She felt the eyes of her crew turn towards her, a defiant look upon her face as she stared at the main viewer. “This isn’t over yet,” she began and wished she’d planned this speech, her pain-wracked brain just able to form words. “Not by a long shot.”

  It was enough however and the bridge crew returned to their stations, a renewed vigor in their stances.

  Bridge, Planet Slicer

  Bathed in red emergency lighting, the shadows of the crew danced about the bridge. Their twitching brain tails took on an almost ethereal quality in the gloom. Gondral had read much Dondick literature and focused on their visions of the afterlife. Fae imagined that this must be what Sheol looked like. That thought brought a smile to fas cracked lips.

  It almost made the fact that the Dondicks had managed to strike the bridge dome worth it. Gondral looked up at the emergency patch the hull repair technicians had welded in place. It was a sloppy job, but it would suffice for now. That a single missile had made it through their defenses to strike the bridge was a terrible affront. That Gondral had been absent from the bridge at the time of the strike had been great fortune. The crew on duty however hadn’t been so lucky. The violent decompression had torn many from their consoles to die in the void. Had the Ship-Underlord on duty survived then Gondral would have taken out fas rage there. That wasn’t to be, as the body of the Ship-Underlord was last seen impacting the Planet Slicer’s shields.

  The Gorvian tactical officer on duty banged at mor display to bring it back into function; the image snapped back to life. The simian Gorvian jerked back in surprise at the image. Moe tapped several keys in frustration and glanced toward Gondral, the current Ship Lord away from the bridge; attending to the repairs. The Gorvian looked to the officers on either side, and neither would make eye contact. To be the bearer of bad news wasn’t something any of them wanted. Turning in mor damaged seat, the Gorvian hailed Gondral. “Lord of All. A Dondick force has breached the picket around the secondary jump point. The Dondick fleet is retreating.”

  Gondral focused all five of fas eyes onto the meek officer. This one had served Gondral for an age now, and never had moe delivered such news. Gondral struggled to remain calm and crushed fas already damaged armrest in the process. “How can this be?”

  “Unknown Lord of All. The jump point has returned to ninety five percent of its original size and the blockade has been destroyed. The sensors are clouded, but it appears to be a small force; two frigates, a destroyer and six corvettes.”

  “What of the manipulator in hyperspace? Have we received any communications?”

  “Negative Lord of All. It is possible that the Dondicks managed to destroy it.”

  Gondral sat back, brain tails twitching wildly. “Can we identify those ships?”

  The communications chief held up a claw. “Lord of All. We have intercepted a communication. The UCSBS Mercy leads the assault.”

  Rage filled Gondral. The data they’d recovered from a downed Dondick ship revealed that Vaughnt and his team served aboard that ship. “The murderer of Gondish is here! Ignore the rest of the Dondicks’ fleets! Find that ship and destroy it!”

  “Lord of All. Much of fleet is damaged and unable to pursue. They are needed here to defend the Planet Slicer,” the tactical officer replied, appearing to regret the outburst before fae had completed the statement.

  Gondral turned fas rage upon the Gorvian and focused on fas thoughts. This Gorvian had learned in fas time how to block out Gondral’s skimming of surface thoughts, if even for a moment. Were it not for the tactical skill fae displayed Gondral would have long ago declared fam heretic fit for execution. Instead Gondral tore at the mind, ripping the names of the Gorvian’s most capable ships free; the officer slumping back. Gondral didn’t even bother attending to the stunned officer. Reaching out, Gondral took direct control of the Ship Lords of the most able cruisers to send them after the Mercy.

  Monstero Nach 003

  “That’s the last ride out of here,” Arion repeated as Blazer rolled out of the way of another Gorvian blast.

  Blazer glanced over at the Resrim escort carrier as it ran for the jump point, the four landing bays flanking its central pulse drives beckoning. “As soon as we ditch this Joker, we’re gone.”

  “Those cruisers bearing down on us won’t wait,” Arion replied, highlighting the two Gorvian capital ships surging towards their single fighter. “And that carrier isn’t going to risk it either. Give up the ki
ll and get us out of here.”

  That was the most emotion Blazer had heard out of his friend in ages and it yanked him out of his target fixation. “Copy that. Wait where’s everyone else?” The intensity of the battle had cut their fighter off from the rest of the squadron; Gorvian jamming silencing even the WSO network.

  “I have confirmation that everyone else has landed. We’re the last ones to go.”

  Blazer took one last look at his sensors. “Any other friendlies?” Blazer asked, then caught a glimpse of the two cruisers. Their vectors were straight towards them, not the nearby carrier.

  “Negative on any active ships. Just beacons. What the Sheol…?” Arion trailed off.

  “What is it?” Blazer asked as he dodged fire from the Gorvian fighter again. Desire for a kill was the last thing on his mind, but this pilot seemed to have a death wish in regards to taking him out.

  “Three beacons just cut out.”

  “CSAR?”

  “Negative,” he replied and the faint sensor returns filled Blazer’s display. “Whatever that is, it isn’t one of ours.” The sensor silhouette had a distinctive Gorvian look to it that Blazer didn’t care for. “I’m reading a half-dozen of them at least around us. They’re ferrying the prisoners back to two larger craft; cruiser class. Oh, and guess what? They’re heading this way.”

  A chill iced Blazer’s spine at the implication. “Prison transports.” If the prisoners they rescued were any indication, the fates of those crews would be worse than death. Their emaciated forms filled his mind and he blinked hard only to imagine a Gorvian feasting on his own flesh.

  “B, get us the Sheol out of here. I don’t want to be a Gorvian’s dinner.”

  Blazer shook himself out of his stupor and turned towards the fleeing carrier. “Shunt every spare erg to the engines. Put us on suit life support if you have to.” Blazer slammed the throttle forward and crushed the afterburner switch under this thumb to kill his momentum vector and send them on their way. He didn’t let up on the switch however as even more acceleration poured on, the compensators unable to keep up. The SIS went dark a moment later as did the weapon’s display. Arion’s not fooling around.