Blackwing: Rise of a New Empire (The Blackwing Trilogy Book 1)

by L. S. Mercer

  The door opened on the next level with voorians waiting at the door, dead inmates at their feet. The prisoners immediately jumped out to fight the voorians, while Sebastian slid to the side of the elevator to avoid detection. The door closed again, he pushed the cancel buttons on all of the floors so that it’d go straight to where he wished to be.

  The elevator came to its final stop, opening up to reveal the carnage that the pulse generator had created. In a way it was a heart wrenching sight, however Sebastian had never actually liked any of the scientists that managed the generator anyways. He stepped into the semi-dark room, only being lit by the various sizes of flames distributed randomly throughout the room.

  “huugh.” Groaned a very raspy, desperate sounding voice from inside the execution chamber.

  Sebastian froze for a moment, he’d hoped it was who he was thinking about, but at the same time he wasn’t too sure that anyone could’ve truly survived the pulse generator. He tiptoed his way through the room until he reached the windows to see who could possibly be still among the living.

  It was Adrian, at least a version of him. laying in the center of the room, the pulse cables still somewhat attached to what was left of his severely melted body. Sebastian ran over to the opened door, making note of how strangely the execution room had burned as he walked in. Rings had been made on the ground, one bigger than the other, all the way to the end of the room. What was so strange about it was that the rings surrounded Adrian’s body as if they’d been used to protect him from the voorian guards who were in pieces all around the room.

  “Sebash.” Said Adrian, showing that he was still conscious of his surroundings.

  “Adrian, I’m here.” Reassured Sebastian, kneeling over his body.

  Adrian let out a rough cough, a strange black liquid flying from his mouth.

  Sebastian stared at the liquid, concern covering his face. It was obvious that the pulse energy had been too much for Adrian, but it still should have killed him. Realizing that sitting around and wondering about the situation wasn’t going to save his friend, he rushed out of the room and into the supply center next door. He threw everything needed for surgery onto a stretcher and pushed it back into the execution room.

  It was a hard task by himself, but Sebastian managed to pull Adrian’s half alive body onto the stretcher. As he sliced and stitched, he slowly began to realize that there was no saving him. The pulse energy was still eating at his flesh, which was strange in itself, but it also was the only thing keeping him alive. Sebastian calculated that the moment the energy were to fade from his body, it would completely shut down his entire system.

  “Master Carter.” Said a robotic voice that Sebastian knew all too well.

  “Elias!” He shouted, turning to look at his artificially intelligent friend.

  Elias was a robot, built by Sebastian to be his assistant, but the voore had confiscated him from Sebastian due to the fact that it began to think for itself. They considered it too dangerous.

  “What are you doing here?” Asked Sebastian.

  “I detected a lifeform, Gorgoth ordered me to eliminate the threat.” Replied Elias. “I do not really wish to eliminate you sir.”

  “Well don’t.” Replied Sebastian, a little uneasy. “Free will Elias.”

  “Free will.” Repeated the robot, scanning Blackwing’s body on the stretcher.

  “He is not an enemy.” Commanded Sebastian. “We must save him.”

  Elias remained silent, still staring at the body, continuing to scan every inch with his sensors.

  “He will not live.” Stated Elias.

  “Yes he will.” Replied Sebastian, gathering parts from the broken pulse generator.

  Elias turned back towards his master, following his movements very closely.

  “You know, if I don’t return you to Master Gorgoth, I will be deemed unworthy for service and deactivated.” Said Elias.

  “Oh Elias, since when do you fear being a rebel?” Asked Sebastian.

  “Master, I do not fear.” He replied.

  Sebastian nodded at Elias, still gathering parts. He noted to himself that the plating on the generator would make for a great chest piece on Elias. An idea popped into his head, he turned to look at Adrian, who was barely moving at this point.

  “Elias?” Asked Sebastian.

  “Yes sir?”

  “What do you think Adrian’s chances of survival are if we were to transfer him into a tracer shell?” He asked.

  Elias returned his robotic gaze over to the body on the stretcher. He scanned him for a moment, as if deciding whether or not it was possible.

  “Most tracers are robots turned into humans.” Said Elias. “A human would have a five percent chance of survival.”

  “And without the transfer?” He asked.

  “No chance.” Replied Elias.

  “Exactly!” Shouted Sebastian, excited by his new challenge.

  “Would you like some assistance sir?” Asked Elias.

  “Of course, gather as much plating as you can.” He replied. “We are going to make history you and I!”

  The two gathered almost every part that was salvageable within the wrecked generator. With a short deadline, they worked as fast as possible, welding together the chestplate. Elias did all the measuring while Sebastian molded the metal plating to the body to make the perfect suit for Adrian.

  “Ugh.” Muttered Adrian.

  “Almost there buddy.” Replied Sebastian. “Just hang in there.”

  After only a couple of hours, the two mechanical geniuses had whipped up a shell for Adrian’s remains, only to realize that the body was only going to rot within the suit. This is where Elias came in, he was able to quickly throw together a system in which they could simply transfer Adrian’s brain into the suit, keeping everything else pretty much mechanical in nature. With this new addition, the only thing that the suit had to maintain, was the brain itself, drastically reducing the required level of power needed to be functional.

  “Perfect!” Whispered Sebastian to himself. Feeling more proud of this creation than anything he’d ever done before.

  “Now we just sedate the human.” Said Elias.

  “Yes, we must hurry!” Replied Sebastian, remembering his dying friend.

  After Adrian had been completely knocked out, the two went to work. Removing a man’s brain was hard work, even for one as experienced as the doctor. One small mistake and Adrian was gone forever. Elias was pretty precise, since he was originally designed to be a medical assistant for the doctor.

  The brain was inside the suit, but nothing was happening. Both Sebastian and Elias stared at the suit in disappointment. Elias scanned the suit for signs of life multiple times to no avail.

  “What did we do wrong?” Asked Sebastian, staring in horror at the remains of his former cellmate.

  “The suit does not have a power source.” Concluded Elias, finishing his final scan.

  Sebastian smacked himself on the forehead, punishing him for such an amateurish mistake.

  “What now?” He asked.

  “Another attempt would certainly destroy the brain sir.” Replied Elias, sounding as sad as his programming would allow.

  Just as he spoke, the suit made a tick and began to slowly light up. The suit’s triangular mask lit up in a light blue color as the head began to twitch to life.

  “Adrian?” Asked Sebastian.

  Blackwing gasped for air as his body shot upwards with great force.

  “This is not possible.” Said Elias, activating his scanner again.

  “I, can’t, breathe.” Said Adrian in his new, deep, robotic voice, drawing out each word as he spoke.

  “You no longer need to.” Replied Sebastian, now smiling once again.

  Adrian stopped trying to breathe, staring forward for a long time as if he’d shut himself down or something.

  “Sir?” Asked Elias.

  “Not now.” Replied Sebastian, who was now admiring the suits functionality.r />
  “But sir.” He asked again.

  “Fine, what?”

  “There is still no power source.” He said.

  Sebastian froze in place, staring at Adrian in wonder.

  “No power source?” Asked Adrian, lifting his hands up to his eyes to get a look at them. “I feel, pretty, powerful.”

  Chapter 4

  “Watch out!” Screamed Damon into the Communicator.

  The ship jerked to the left, causing an incoming missile to veer off after another ship, who’d been tailing the duster for quite some time. They were way too close to the Khal’Vagal for Damon’s comfort. All the ship had to do was fire the right cannon at the right time, and the duster would be toast. As much as he wanted to command Alloy to change course, he knew that this was the only way to even have a chance against the Kharan fleet.

  “Boom up ahead!” Squealed Alloy in excitement. He was referring to the tunnel that lead into the dock of the planetary anti-air shield generator that was being used to keep the Alliance on the ground.

  It was a long shot, but one they had to make in order to turn the tide.

  “I’m ready.” Said Damon.

  The ship began to spin and jerked right, directly in the center of the tunnel. One thing Alloy was definitely good at was piloting a ship, one of the best pilots that Damon had ever seen in action. They continued to spin unnecessarily through the tunnel, a few conquerors flying closely behind them.

  Copper did his best to hold the enemy ships at bay while his brother worked his magic, but the conquerors were on a suicide mission, not caring whether he shot them down or not.

  “Can’t lose them!” Screamed Copper, getting nervous.

  Alloy laughed into the communicator, followed by another excited squeal. The ship stopped spinning and the engines slowed down. In a masterful stroke, Alloy turned the ship on an angle with just enough room to pass through the gap between the enemy vessels. This caused the conquerors to fly right past them, giving Copper and Damon the perfect shot on them. The two yanked on the triggers, annihilating the three ships and pushing back their deadline, even if it was only a few extra moments.

  The tunnel came to an end quicker than Alloy had anticipated, the ship screeched and shook violently as he threw on the emergency stoppers.

  “Now!” Shouted Alloy, flipping the ship onto Damon’s side for him to line up the shot.

  The generator was very large, and very exposed, which meant that he really didn’t have to aim. He quickly clicked the button on the trigger that released the pulse missiles and the ship darted back through the tunnel to avoid damage.

  The explosion was massive and deafening as it roared closely behind them, flames filling the Khal’Vagal’s generator tunnel. the sounds of the battlecruiser’s thrusters detaching the ship from the generator dock forced a sense of accomplishment inside Damon, unlike anything he’d felt in quite some time.

  “That’ll do some damage.” Thought Damon as he watched the flames dwindle in the distance, a smile forming on his face.

  Damon sent a message to the Alpha station to inform them of their liberation, to which they responded with the launching of a dozen fighters to help even the playing field a little bit.

  Alloy steered the ship away from the Khal’Vagal to avoid any close encounters while they waited for the Alliance to get into position. All three of them watched as the fleet launched, twelve stingers15 and two second rate battlecruisers came barreling out of the outpost’s hangar doors and heading straight for the Kharan fleet. It was a beautiful sight, one that Damon had thought he’d never see again.

  After being discharged from the Alliance command, his only option had been to start trading for a living. Traders don’t usually get to see the sight of a battle, due to the fact that they head the opposite direction the second they hear of any potential space conflict. Damon had missed it, but at the same time, he was also thinking it might have been better to stay out of the fight altogether.

  With every fighter that joined the fray, more attention was diverted. The duster was no longer taking shots from the battleship and was now free to maneuver without hindrance.

  “Good job Blackwing.” Muttered the Princess into the turret room’s communicator.

  “Agreed.” Replied Damon, kicking his feet up onto the control panel.

  “Don’t get cocky.” She groaned, as if his confidence was literally agonizing. “We aren’t done yet.”

  “Ah come on Princess, lighten up a bit!” He laughed. “Just take out the fighters and the Kharan will back off.”

  “Yes, but it’s the fighters that make the Khal’Vagal so dangerous.” She replied, the sounds of anti-air cannons firing off around her.

  The duster made a rapid spin, discombobulating Damon for a moment as he grabbed onto the sides of his seat.

  “Okay Princess, gotta go!” He shouted, cutting transmission.

  “Fighters!” Screamed Copper, who was firing pulse missiles as if there were an unlimited supply.

  Damon activated all of the ship’s cameras to get a better look at what they were facing. Four conquerors were directly behind them with a strange looking fighter in the center, decorated in an extremely ornate fashion with what looked to be cardis crystal lining the wings. He could only think of one person who’d be rich enough within the Kharan fleet to fly such a thing, and it wasn’t going to be good if he got his hands on the duster.

  The fighters pulled off a bit at the same time that Damon’s communicator received an attempted force call. Damon knew who it was at this point since they wanted to speak with him. He hesitated for a moment before activating the transmission.

  “Blackwing!” Greeted Val’Drago, a creepy excitement to his voice. “How are you?”

  “I’m doing great Val!” Replied Damon, the sarcasm dripping from his lips. “Forgive me if I sound off, I’m a little busy.”

  “Ah, no worries.” He entertained. “I just couldn’t help but notice my duster shooting at my ships, I wanted to see what was going on.”

  “Wait, yours?” Exclaimed Damon, losing his smooth talking voice. “The duster is mine!”

  Alloy spun the ship randomly, causing the fighters to move out of range a little bit.

  “Don’t forget your debt to me!” Growled Val’Drago, his connection sputtering a bit. “Just enter the cruiser’s hangar and I’ll let you live.”

  Damon let out a sigh of defeat. Something told him that if he were to try and fight back, Drago would send the ship into oblivion.

  “Alright, fine.” Muttered Damon. “Follow me I guess.”

  Drago’s communication cut out as Damon finished speaking.

  The ships bravely moved closer to avoid any shenanigans that Damon may be planning. Drago had no reason to trust him, he’d lost an extremely expensive shipment of pulse weaponry a few months back, setting the king back thousands in trits16. In truth, Damon had never lost the shipment, he instead sold it to the Alliance to use in the war with the Kharan Dynasty, it was good on Damon’s part that Drago had never discovered anything about that transaction or they’d all have been dead by now.

  Damon left his turret and ran back into the cockpit. Alloy jumped out of the captain’s chair and into the passenger side.

  “Look for any escape route that won’t get us killed.” Said Damon, flipping switches as he spoke.

  As he flipped through different flight modes and maneuver simulations, they continued to inch closer and closer to Drago’s hangar. Every simulation cut their chances of escape by five percent each time he ran it, meaning it was either going to be a fifty-fifty shot or nothing at the point they were already at. The enemy ships entered a counter position, one on each side of the duster to avoid any attempts to run, which cut their chances by at least twenty or thirty percent.

  “Get ready to hit the stealth field.” Said Damon to Alloy, who hesitantly nodded at him.

  Damon slowly increased the ships speed, receiving no negative side-effects for his action. This gave him a
slight bit of confidence that he hadn’t had before when making up the desperate plan.

  “Now!” Shouted Damon.

  Alloy smacked the switch, cloaking the ship in mere seconds. Damon pushed the ship forward at max speed but Drago was already expecting his escape. Even though the duster was equipped with a top of the line stealth generator, Drago somehow was able to anticipate exactly where the ship was headed as Damon pulled upwards as hard as possible. Drago’s fighter fired up in that same direction, directly hitting the duster and disabling the stealth field.

  The duster stalled and flipped backwards, falling directly towards the Khal’Vagal’s wing at an alarming rate.

  “Come on!” Screamed Damon in a panic.

  Copper had apparently been trying to make it to the cockpit at the time of the escape, he came barreling into the room, smashing into a box of carbines that had been fastened into the side for protection reasons. The box shattered, scattering the guns all throughout the cockpit.

  “No, no, no!” Whined Alloy, who had taken to smashing his tiny hands against the control panel.

  The ship began to spiral out of control as it headed straight down, the battlecruiser’s wing getting closer by the second. Damon pulled violently on the throttle while pushing every button he could to try and get the ship going again.

  “Close your eyes boys.” Shouted Damon, the ship roaring so loudly it was impossible to hear his own thoughts.

  Alloy slapped his hands over his face and began to cry while Copper continued to hide in the broken container, possibly unsure of what to do at this point. Damon continued to pull, staring in horror at their current destination, praying to every god that he didn’t believe in to save his ship.

  * * *

  “Come on!” Screamed Damon.

  The ship roared back to life just in time for Damon to pull it up and parallel to the Khal’Vagal’s wing. The crew of three simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief as they all stared forward, still somewhat in shock of their near death experience.