by Worth, Dan
‘I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees, thank you very much. Okay, we’re done here,’ said Chen, turning away from her former XO and addressing Blackman. ‘I’ll need to pass the recording of this conversation up the chain of command. Navy Command, Commonwealth Intelligence and the President need to hear this.’ Chen stood up carefully and without a further glance at Haldane, made for the door.
‘I tried to save you!’ Haldane cried at her retreating back. ‘I tried to save us all! We’re all dead, do you hear me? We’re all dead because of you!’
Ignoring Haldane’s cries, Chen strode from the room.
After checking in with the bridge, Chen retired to her office and fired off a report on Haldane’s confession to Naval Command, attaching a copy of Blackman’s recording and encrypting the message. She then despatched Blackman to Naval Command in London on board one of the Churchill’s shuttles to hand deliver the data. It was too important to risk transmission over the data networks.
Finally, she took Dr. Anderton’s advice and got herself a meal from the galley before retiring to her quarters for some much needed sleep. However, she was awoken a couple of hours later by the chiming of the internal comm. Groggily, she reached for the controls with her good arm. It was Lieutenant Commander Singh, still in command up on the bridge.
‘Sorry to wake you, ma’am, but the Nahabe command ship Shadow in the Void has been in contact. Their leader, the one who calls himself the Lord Protector, wishes to come aboard and meet you in person.’
Chen used one hand to rub the sleep from her eyes. The brief nap had done her some good, but she was still exhausted.
‘Permission granted. I’ll meet him in the hangar bay in ten minutes, just as soon as I’ve found a fresh uniform... preferably one that doesn’t have bullet holes in it. How goes the relief operation, Mr Singh?’
‘Everything seems to be going smoothly. The medical frigates Hippocrates and Mary Seacole have arrived in Earth orbit and are taking on casualties... but there are a lot of casualties, Admiral.’
‘How many so far?’ asked Chen, with a sense of foreboding.
‘Around ten thousand dead, twenty five thousand injured. The rescue teams are still pulling bodies from inside the port... there’s a lot of people still unaccounted for. Ships have also arrived in orbit around Io and are probing the wreckage of Galileo Station for any survivors. So far they haven’t had much success, but there are lot of frozen bodies out there. No casualty figures as yet, but they’re expected to be high.’
‘Jesus... okay. Thank you Mr Singh, Chen out.’
She sat for a moment, trying to digest the true horror of the information Lieutenant Commander Singh had just given her. Tens of thousands of dead or injured. She consoled herself with the knowledge that she had done what she could.
Hampered by the pain and stiffness in her left arm, she changed into a fresh uniform and then made her way down to the hangar deck to greet the new arrivals.
The strange, boxy Nahabe craft moved smoothly into the Churchill’s busy docking bay. Chen watched as it slotted itself between the rows of parked ships and came to rest almost silently. Chen walked over to the craft as its front cracked open and hinged downwards to form a ramp, from which large, armoured forms began to emerge. There were three of the bulky, tank-like figures, each of which were heavily armed with a variety of ranged and close combat weapons. The plates of their armoured suits were richly adorned with alien scripture and scenes of war. The largest, sporting an enormous, complicated looking shoulder mounted cannon and a massive, pistoned arm with a scythe like blade approached Chen on AG fields and hovered before her.
‘I am Admiral Michelle Chen of the Commonwealth Navy, welcome aboard,’ said Chen. ‘On behalf of everyone in the Commonwealth I would like to thank you for your timely intervention.’ She had to raise her voice above the noise of the comings and goings in the bay and the sounds of repair work being carried out on the scores of damaged craft recovered from the battle.
‘I am The Lord Protector of the Order of Void Hunters,’ rumbled the largest of the three figures. ‘These others who accompany me are the captains of the Shattered Star and the Eternal Silence, two of my finest gunspheres. I thank you for your gracious welcome, Admiral, and your gratitude is appreciated. I wanted to meet you in person, Admiral, warrior to warrior. You showed considerable bravery and skill in facing down the Shapers and their slaves. We have learned of your use of anti-matter warheads against their first wave of attackers. Such ruthlessness in the face of the Shaper threat is to be applauded and it seemed you were quite successful in destroying their ships.’
‘Not successful enough, unfortunately,’ said Chen. ‘We’d all be dead if you hadn’t intervened when you did. I’m interested to know how you managed to appear in the midst of the battle.’
‘Our translation drives allow instantaneous travel across the galaxy. Sadly we cannot repeat the trick until our ships’ drive cores are replaced, but it is a useful tactic, and an aggressive one which no doubt you approve of, for in the face of adversity you never stopped fighting. No retreat, no surrender, Admiral. We of the Order live by such watchwords. You have greatly impressed us.’
‘If I may ask, Lord Protector,’ said Chen. ‘Why did the Nahabe choose to help us now? I mean no disrespect, but your people have always very much remained in isolation and have not involved yourselves in the affairs of other races.’
‘No offence taken, Admiral,’ replied the Lord Protector. ‘You are quite correct. For too long our people have shut ourselves away. Our religious teachings tell us to fear the taint of others, but these texts were written many thousands of years ago following our first war against the Shapers. We barely survived and were forced to eradicate a number of other civilisations that had become enslaved and from which the Shaper infection had spread. I believe the correct phrase in your language would be a Pyrrhic victory. However, there have been an increasing number of voices within our civilisation, including within the ruling Theocratic Council who believed, in the light of the renewed Shaper threat, that engagement with other species should be pursued, indeed interpretation of scripture seemed to suggest to some that prophesy demanded it. A number of projects were undertaken to observe our galactic neighbours and work covertly against the Shapers’ influence within them.’
‘The Hidden Hand,’ said Chen.
‘Quite so,’ said the Lord Protector. ‘One of a number of such projects. I’m afraid what we first saw of the Commonwealth disappointed us greatly. Your government was quite obviously corrupt and senior figures amongst your navy were either too naive or too ambitious and greedy to be trusted. Our fears were borne out when that thrice damned Shaper vessel was uncovered in the Hadar system and your navy leapt upon it like excitable offspring being offered treats.’
‘Admiral Morgan was a fool, Admiral Cox doubly so.’
‘Morgan had links to organised crime, did you know that? He tried to use the so called ‘Sirius Syndicate’ to interfere with the Hidden Hand’s activities, little realising what exactly he was dealing with. Unsuccessfully I might add.’
‘Yes, I had heard that. I’ve had dealings with the Hidden Hand. They agreed to share information with myself and act as the eyes and ears of Special Operations Command in the renegade systems.’
‘Good. I must tell you, Admiral, that we were considering giving up on the Commonwealth entirely. There were many in our government who felt that you were too corrupt, that humanity was too vain and selfish and would be easily manipulated by the Shapers, but it has become clear to us through our dealings with the Hidden Hand and via our intelligence networks that there is hope for humanity, that there are enough humans of strength and integrity, like yourself, who are prepared to stand against the encroaching darkness. Our liaison with the Hidden Hand, the Speaker, was a most vociferous champion of humanity. He sent repeated communiqués to our government where he spoke most eloquently of the bravery and daring of the humans under his command. When we lear
ned of the defeat of Admiral Haines in the Achernar system and that Earth lay at the mercy of the Shapers, we could not stand idly by and I was despatched to assist you.’
‘We are most grateful, Lord Protector, truly.’
‘I am only sorry that I could not bring more ships. My government fears that the Shapers will want revenge upon the Nahabe people for their previous defeat and that a massive attack, such as that launched against the Arkari, is inevitable. Hence, the bulk of our forces must remain in or near Nahabe space for the time being. We, on other hand will remain in this system and place ourselves at the disposal of your naval commanders.’
‘Thank you Lord Protector, we’re very honoured,’ said Chen solemnly.
‘The honour is mine, Admiral,’ the Lord Protector replied. ‘You are a formidable opponent for the Shapers. I am pleased to fight alongside you. Now we must take our leave of you and return to our ships.’
‘If I might ask, Lord Protector, you mentioned something about your ancient religious texts prophesying that the Nahabe would require the help of other species in order to defeat the Shapers in the future. I’m curious as to what they say exactly.’
The Lord Protector paused for a moment as if in contemplation, before replying.
‘I... it is unprecedented for non-Nahabe to read or hear the text of our holy scriptures.’
‘My apologies, I meant no offence. I was merely curious.’
‘No, that’s quite alright. After all, these are strange times. I think, given the spirit of the passage in question that it would be permissible for you to hear it. Just a moment, I trust that the translation into your language will not dilute the meaning of the words too much. This comes from Chapter Eighteen, Verse Seven, of the Book of Lamentations. “The darkness will rise again, this the wisest must know. In this time of sorrow, the Nahabe must seek the brotherhood of strangers, for they are like unto the Nahabe as the Nahabe are like unto them. So it is written in the souls of all. All must stand together against the World Killers.”’
Chen watched the strange Nahabe craft as it left the Churchill and pondered the Lord Protector’s words. Whatever the Nahabes’ reasons for helping them, be it politics, prophesy or military expediency, she was grateful for the presence of the curious aliens. Wearily, she made her way back up to the bridge. Lieutenant Commander Singh saluted her smartly as she entered and removed himself from her command chair. Chen sat down heavily and attached her HUD monocle.
‘What updates do you have for me Mr Singh?’ she said, trying to hide the tiredness she felt.
‘The rescue mission is still proceeding ma’am, though the teams inside the structure think that the chances of finding more survivors are pretty slim. Casualties now stand at fifteen thousand confirmed dead and thirty thousand injured, about five thousand people are unaccounted for. We also have a large number of friendly craft entering the system. Looks like five carrier groups from the engine signatures. It seems like the relief has finally begun to arrive.’
‘Excellent.’
‘How’s the arm, Admiral?’
‘Throbs like hell, but I’ll live, thanks.’
‘How did your meeting with the Nahabe go, ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘It was interesting, very interesting. It looks like the Nahabe have finally decided to get involved. Those ships are going to be sticking around for a while.’
‘That’s great news. Those gunspheres are quite something in a fight.’
‘Yes they are. Listen, Mr Singh, in fact, everyone listen up,’ said Chen, raising her voice so that all on the bridge could hear. ‘I’m immensely proud of all of you, the way you have all conducted yourselves these past few days has been exemplary, in the finest traditions of the service. I’ll be addressing the crew later, but I wanted to say this personally to you all, that this is the finest crew in the Commonwealth Navy, and it’s an honour to serve with you.’
Amidst the weary faces she saw smiles at last. She had meant every word.
‘That relief force should be here any minute,’ said Singh.
‘Good,’ replied Chen. ‘I don’t know about you Mr Singh, but I could do with a good long rest.’
Minutes later, space rippled apart and spat out around sixty warships - five carriers and their escort destroyers, cruisers and frigates. They arrived in perfect formation and began approaching Amazonia Port. Chen recognised the lead carrier almost immediately: it was the Trafalgar, Admiral Cartwright’s flagship. Chen had heard of Cartwright, but had never met him. He had served under Haines during the war against the K’Soth, leading a massive flanking manoeuvre against the Empire through dozens of systems and although she knew that Haines and Cartwright failed to see eye to eye on a personal level, she knew that Haines respected his tactical abilities. Promoted to Fleet Admiral alongside Haines during the war, he also outranked Chen.
The comm. activated. It was Cartwright. His stern, patrician features topped with short grey hair appeared in Chen’s HUD as Andrews put him through.
‘Churchill, this Admiral Cartwright of the Trafalgar. You stand relieved.’
‘Admiral Cartwright, this is Admiral Chen. It’s good to see you, sir.’
‘I’m sorry that we couldn’t arrive sooner. My god, it looks like you had quite a fight on your hands. What the hell happened to Amazonia Port!?’
‘The enemy attacked the facility before we drove them off, sir. We’ve been co-ordinating the rescue effort.’
‘And, are those Nahabe ships I can see in cislunar space?’
‘Yes sir, they arrived to assist us, in the nick of time I might add.’
‘Very good Admiral Chen, we’ll take it from here. Move your ships to Batavia Port for repairs. I’ve already alerted the dock master of your arrival. It looks like you’ve taken quite a beating, but you’re still here and the enemy are nowhere to be seen, so I suppose some congratulations are in order. I’ll need a full report of course, as will Command, but for now I’d suggest that you and your crew get some well earned rest. You look like you’re ready to drop.’
‘That I am sir, that I am,’ Chen replied.
Chapter 7
Fleet Meritarch Lorali Beklide walked slowly over the cracked and broken ground. Her feet sank into the drifts of ash, still hot in places from the inferno. The ash swirled on the wind also in choking clouds that threatened to block the vents of the re-breather unit clamped to her finely sculpted features and stung her eyes that were already wet with tears.
Beklide wept for the death of this world and a hundred others. Gigarethme had been one of the Arkari worlds that had borne the full fury of the sudden Shaper assault. The world had been a paradise, a verdant, planet-wide garden dotted with crystalline cities that had sprouted on slender stalks like massive, sculpted trees, their topmost levels brushing the edge of space. Around its equator had orbited a great ring, an orbital city and space dock for the Arkari Navy.
It had been Beklide’s home, and now it lay devastated. Whilst she had led the defence of Keros, the Arkari home-world, the Shapers had struck in a hundred or so different places simultaneously via the deployment of artificial wormholes. Torrents of ships had poured through the breaches in space-time and whilst Keros had been successfully defended, many worlds had simply been overwhelmed, the Navy spread too thinly to protect them all. Gigarethme’s defenders had fought bravely, but outnumbered hundreds-to-one they had died in minutes and the world’s fate had been eventually sealed by the Shapers’ deployment of planet killing weapons.
Huge areas of Gigarethme had been scoured of life. The planet’s girdling ring had been knocked from orbit by the energy weapons of the alien warships and had fallen from Gigarethme’s sky, the fragments each impacting the surface with the force of many thousands of megatonnes, then the Shapers’ vast warships had turned apocalyptic weapons on the planet, scouring its surface like a blow torch until almost nothing was left except cinders. Pockets of survivors had been found at the poles. They had endured the firestorm, having wi
tnessed the seas boil away, the atmosphere seared and deserts transformed into great plains of cooling glass.
Beklide looked towards the horizon and saw the stumps of the crystal tree cities jutting upwards out of the ash clouds. The atmosphere boiled above her, lightning flickering amongst the rolling clouds. It started to rain. The seas were returning after having been vaporised. Fat, black drops began fall, laden with dust, splashing against her long robes and leaving long, dirty streaks.
She noticed something on the ground by her feet, charred by fire and half buried by the ash. It was the remains of a child. It was impossible to discern whether it had been male or female. Curled up in the terror of its final moments, charred fingers were still clasped over a ruined face in a last futile attempt to shield itself from the intense heat.
Beklide gasped in horror and sadness, and then she turned and headed back to the waiting shuttle. She had seen enough.
‘I don’t know why you insisted on coming here, Meritarch,’ said the voice of Beklide’s ship, the dreadnought Sword of Reckoning, over the shuttle’s comm. The small craft soared upwards through Gigarethme’s turbulent atmosphere as the barren ash wastes of the surface receded behind it. ‘There is considerable danger in coming here. The surface of the planet is far from stable, the atmosphere is barely breathable and the Shapers’ weapons may have left behind hidden dangers that we cannot anticipate. You should leave it to the rescue teams to face the hazards of this place.’
