Lacuna: The Ashes of Humanity

by Adams, David

  ["Destroy the vessel,"] Avaran ordered without a second thought. ["Deploy the worldshatter device."]

  Vican regarded him curiously. ["Are you certain, Warbringer? It is just a small ship—"]

  ["We are the Herald of Woe, Vican. It is time we lived up to our name."]

  The Seth'arak hummed with energy. The bright white pulse of the worldshatter device leapt across space, snuffing out the tiny ship and its insolent crew of voidwarp criminals. The holographic display showed that nothing was left—barely even a few particles of superheated dust.

  Dispensing justice was righteous.

  A construct, one of their many, scuttled up to him. This particular one was a tactical construct, knee high and designed to interface with their command and control systems. ["Warbringer Avaran, the fleet will be appearing momentarily. We should clear the voidwarp location."]

  Other vessels in the fleet had come to steal their glory. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. The Humans were more resourceful than he—and others—had previously given them credit for.

  The Toralii were arrogant. Each of them knew that. This was a trait encouraged, bred into their very being, but it did not define them. Toralii controlled their emotions. They were not Kel-Voran savages seeking death in glorious combat, or whatever nonsense they believed.

  The Kel-Voran always fought. The Toralii always won.

  ["Engage sublight engines. Make clear the path for the rest of the fleet."]

  His order obeyed, the ship began to move, the dark orb of this system's moon hovering before him. They had chosen the far point to hide behind the moon's mass, but the Humans were ready for that ruse.

  No matter. A single cruiser could easily annihilate them. They had brought fifty-three, a standard battle fleet. This would be no contest.

  ["How long until the worldshatter device is ready?"]

  Vican consulted his systems. ["The heat batteries are a third full, Warbringer. They are cooling, but until the process is complete, we only have two more shots before they must be ejected."]

  ["How long?"]

  ["Twelve cycles, Warbringer."]

  Twelve cycles was far too long. They would only have two uses remaining for the battle.

  This angered him, but Adjutant Vican was his first in command for this exact reason. He was prepared to give bad news, irrespective of any consideration for his feelings. The truth was preferable to a comforting lie.

  It mattered not. They would not need such power.

  Another vessel appeared in the jump point behind them. Vican confirmed it as the Ash'uk, the Fleshreaver. The Seth'arak sailed around the moon of Velsharn, a long line of Toralii Alliance vessels behind it.

  This ship had engaged three of the Human vessels singlehandedly and nearly triumphed. The repairs had been extensive and prolonged, and there had been discussion of scrapping the cruiser entirely. Some part of him suspected that his ship would never be quite the same. This was the first time it had seen true combat since then; the Ash'uk had the honour of engaging the Humans defences at their lone open jump point. He had requested it but been denied.

  Avaran would not be denied any further.

  He touched the scar on his face, a physical reminder of the memory of his first engagement with them. The Humans had marked him, made him ugly, scarred him. Torching their world only sated his thirst for revenge temporarily. He had drunk in the sight of their oceans boiling and their atmosphere igniting, but slaying at such a distance did not have as much appeal as the visceral thrill of combat.

  Destroying insects from orbit was boring. He had seen too much victory, he knew that, and hungered for something more. The only thing that would quench this desire was the defeat of a worthy foe, and only one Human, above all the others, would suffice.

  Commander Liao would die this day.

  ["How long until we clear the moon?"]

  ["Half a cycle, Warbringer."]

  And so they waited. The line of Toralii ships grew longer, snaking out from the jump point, until the entire fleet arrived. A long column of metal and fury, the fleet used the gravity of the moon to propel themselves.

  Soon, the blue edge of Velsharn's vast oceans became visible at the edge of the moon's horizon. Their sensor system showed a field of contacts, exactly as he had predicted. The Humans were out in force to resist him. It was adorable, in a way.

  A Human's voice came through the windwhisper device. It took a moment for the translator in his ear to repeat the words back in an understandable language.

  "This is Captain Anderson of the TFR Washington to the Seth'arak. This colony is a protectorate of the Telvan government. You are violating interstellar non-aggression treaties and risking war with your cousins. Turn back immediately."

  Disgusting to the ear. The Human languages were like rocks in a steel barrel turned over and over. Grating and whiny.

  ["Send no reply,"] said Avaran. ["Our guns will speak for us soon enough."]

  ["Warbringer,"] said Baelica, ["there are three vessels moving towards us, along with nearly one hundred smaller craft. Based on our projections of their military power, this is all that remains of their species."]

  The queens and their insects. They could not hope to last against the storm.

  ["Which one is the Beijing? The vessel of Commander Liao?"]

  The foregunner consulted her instruments. ["It is difficult to identify them at this range, but so far none appear to match the voidwarp signature of the Beijing."]

  That did not sit well with him. Liao was a warrior who led from the front; never had she shied away from combat before. To send her soldiers into the fray before herself struck him either as a deception or profoundly out of character.

  No matter.

  ["Launch our assault craft as soon as we are clear of the moon's gravitational influence. Tear them to pieces."]

  Their attack ships flew from the Seth'arak's belly, a swarm that leapt towards their enemies with eager speed. It reminded him of the ancient Toralii ancestors, fighting in the plains, long spears in their arms as they charged towards their enemies.

  War changed little, despite technology's progression.

  Vican studied the holographic display above them. ["The Ash'uk is launching assault craft, Warbringer. They will be able to assist our own shortly."]

  ["Good. Have the second wave of our craft engage the Humans then move our ship into the thick of it. Slay as many of them as we can, but do not stop. Our goal lies elsewhere."] Avaran stroked a finger down the purple gash on his face, tracing along it with a sharp claw. ["Where is the Beijing?"]

  Nobody answered him. His anger towards the Humans was well known, and whispers in the Seth'arak's corridors said that he was not managing his rage as well as he should have. A commanding officer should be cold and calculating, but as the swarm of Human ships raced towards his own, he could only feel mounting anger.

  These voidwarp criminals had scarred him, crippled his ship, and killed scores of his crew. Even the screams of the ship's crew as they were interrogated within Cenar gave him little succour. Only blood could pay this debt, asphyxiation in space, their bodies burned from the inside out.

  The swarms of assault craft drifted together, chatter filling his windwhisper device, and then the two clouds merged. Their assault craft engaged the Human fighters and gunships, their formations deteriorating into a ball of gunfire, missile fire, ships and debris.

  ["Warbringer,"] said Baelica, ["I am detecting another voidwarp signature in-system. It is faint, though."]

  ["Where?"] Avaran leaned over eagerly, his breathing quickening. ["It could only be the Beijing."]

  ["On the surface of Velsharn," said Baelica. ["One of the southern islands. The energy signature does indeed match the Beijing."]

  His prey. ["Ignore the skirmish. Move towards the Beijing, and prepare to fire the worldshatter device."]

  Vican regarded him curiously. ["Shall I plot a course around the strike craft, Warbringer, lest they be caught in our path?"]<
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  ["No. It is faster to go through them."]

  Silence around the command core. Vican narrowed his eyes. ["Warbringer, our ship is too large. You want to move through the combat at speed? We will crush our own forces."]

  ["And an equal measure of Humans."]

  ["Their lives are worth nothing compared to ours,"] said Vican. ["They are just aliens. Voidwarp criminals fit only for extermination. We cannot risk the destruction of so many of our own just for a few moments more—"]

  ["My order stands,"] said Avaran, returning his gaze to his console and his many instruments. ["Move through the melee, past the Human vessels, and get within weapons range of the Beijing."]

  Toralii obeyed their orders, even if they didn't like them. Avaran could sense the disapproval of his crew all around him, but he didn't care.

  ["The three Human ships are firing,"] warned Baelica. The ship shook even at its core as the impacts of weapons tore holes in their hull, and the holographic display above them flashed white as the weapons of their enemies detonated near them, overloading their input. Alarms whimpered in his ears, their protests ignored. ["Their magnetic-weapons have been loaded with atomic devices. Our hull is heating."]

  ["Damage report,"] asked Vican, moving over to where Baelica was working. ["Have we been wounded?"]

  ["The hull is bleeding,"] she answered, ["The impacts with the Human weapons have damaged the fore structure. There is atmospheric loss in many sections; constructs are moving to repair the damage and evacuate the wounded. Casualty reports are beginning to arrive… the fore section appears to have buckled."]

  The Humans had upgraded their weapons, or perhaps the Seth'arak's wounds ran deeper than the engineers suspected. ["Return fire,"] Avaran ordered. ["A full battery of plasma, wide spread. Burn the flesh from their bones."]

  The Seth'arak and the Human cruisers exchanged volleys of fire as they closed the distance. His ship weaved and dodged, his pilots mitigating most of the damage, but still the defending Humans scored hit after hit.

  But they were now close. So close that the strike craft battle grew larger and larger in front of them; they had not manoeuvred out of the way. None had, including the Humans.

  ["Entering the melee momentarily,"] said Vican, his tone bitter. ["Sky Gods preserve them."]

  They did not.

  The Seth'arak flew into the melee at speed, the giant wall of the front of their vessel slamming into the twisting, dodging mass of strike craft. The metal of the ship shrieked and groaned as the strike craft broke against it, Human and Toralii alike, and the Seth'arak ploughed through.

  ["Impacts across the bow,"] said Vican. ["Secondary explosions detected. The fore section is crippled. We have breaches through the upper layers of the armour and into the subdermal systems."]

  Avaran muttered a dark curse to the Sky Gods. ["And what of our worldshatter devices?"]

  ["Functional,"] said Vican, ["but we should consider moving back to the fray. Our conventional plasma weapons can more effectively deal with the Humans. We can destroy their ships, their remaining assault craft, and then crush the Beijing as well. The Ash'uk can provide supporting fire as we do so."]

  It was a sound plan, but every minute they delayed was a minute Liao had to escape. This was not an option. Avaran slid his claws from their sheaths, using them to latch hold of his console. ["No. Continue forward. Have the constructs work as we move, even if they have to operate on the outer hull."]

  Constructs swarmed out over the holographic representation of their hull as he watched, sparks flying as they attempted to weld shut the wounds in his ship's hull. Every so often Human magnetic projectile struck one, the impact occurring so fast it could not be seen. The construct simply exploded, silent in the vacuum of space, throwing molten debris in all directions, shredding their companions, and further marring the Seth'arak's silver hull.

  Another radiological device detonated against their side, blowing the remaining constructs away in a white flash of light that washed out the holographic representation, blinding them to the world. When their vision of the stars around them returned, their scorched and broken hull was as pitted and scarred as the surface of a moon. Below the gaps in their warped and twisted hull plates, decompressed sections vented their atmosphere, their ship leaving a white plume behind it like a comet streaking through the night sky.

  ["Send in more constructs,"] Avaran ordered.

  Vican brought up a wireframe of their ship, the silver dots of their constructs swarming over the ship. Fewer than there should have been. ["We are running low—"]

  ["Then send in our boarding crews with welding devices, I do not care."]

  Baelica touched her console. ["Warbringer, there is a Human ship matching pace with us. One of their strike craft."]

  ["Show me."]

  The display above shifted, showing one of the Human gunships closing on them. It was just like the others: unremarkable, inefficient, and ugly. A primitive design from a primitive people, almost laughably so. They were almost pre-technological creatures, cave dwellers throwing stones at the sky, hoping to kill the burning orb of fire that burned out their eyes.

  Yet these primates had wounded him, crippled his ship. The injustice of it ate at him more than anything, like a worm in his gut. That vessel of theirs held a large cylinder below it, attached by magnetic clamps. Some kind of breaching charge?

  They had done enough damage already. ["Destroy it,"] he ordered.

  ["It is directly behind us,"] said Baelica, ["making aiming difficult. The ship is moving erratically. It is too close for our Type I plasma cannons, and our Type II weapons have been disabled."]

  Their spears were too large to strike the insect. ["Have one of our strike craft destroy it then."] Avaran felt his anger rising. Did he have to micromanage his crew, issue every order himself?

  ["Airlords four through eight are moving to intercept, but they will be unable to reach it before it is within striking distance."]

  ["Bah. Ignore it, then. The weapons of such a small vessel cannot harm us."]

  Vican did not appear to be convinced. ["It may have radiological devices aboard. You have seen yourself, those have proven to be effective against us, even if only superficially."]

  The scratches and dents of the Human weapons were hardly what Avaran would consider effective, but Vican's words solicited begrudging acceptance from him. They had lost their Type II cannons, after all. Perhaps this one did warrant some attention. ["Very well, suggestions?"]

  The relief from the rest of his command core was palpable. ["Slow the ship,"] said Vican. ["We can decelerate, and sharply, too. When the Humans overshoot, destroy them with our forward Type I plasma guns. We can anticipate their position more easily if they are in front of us."]

  The idea of slowing even for a moment rankled him. The fur on the back of his neck rose instinctively. ["No. We proceed on our current speed and heading."]

  Silence once again. None dared question his orders. The holographic image of the Human ship grew larger, closer, although it simply continued to bob and weave, avoiding the clumsy fire from their larger guns.

  Vican frowned in confusion. ["They do not wish to fire at us?"]

  ["Perhaps they are too frightened to engage us,"] said Avaran. ["Or their primitive technology has malfunctioned."]

  ["You underestimate them,"] said Vican, an edge to his tone that Avaran disliked. ["We should consider my earlier suggestion and decelerate."]

  Avaran did not bother vindicating that comment with a response. The Human ship drew closer and closer, then attached itself to the hull.

  He laughed, loudly and boldly. ["Surely they do not mean to board us. Surely."]

  It did seem that way, though. The Human ship clung to them as they leapt towards Velsharn, a parasite on their hull. Only hours ago it had been smooth and pure; now it was pitted and marred like the scar on his face. The enemy had touched down in a crater, as a blood drinking insect might, searching for wounds.

  ["The Huma
n ship is breaching our secondary hull,"] said Baelica. ["They appear to be using high heat explosives."] She stared at her console as though unable to believe what she was seeing. ["No, wait… they are using some form of cryogenic substance."]

  The Humans were trying to board them. But their ship was tiny. Even packed to the brim, it would have a laughably small number of soldiers aboard.

  Avaran disliked them, but he could not help but be amused at their folly. They had more courage than sense.

  ["Send our boarding parties to meet them then. And have a pair of constructs—if we have any left—cut their ship away."]

  Baelica tapped at her controls. ["Warbringer, the Humans have made a breach only half a metre wide. They appear to be inserting some form of gas."]

  ["Gas?"] The hubris of the Humans was astounding, but the Toralii did not become the dominant force over such a large section of space without having options. ["Engage the filtration units and identify it. Use liquid hull to seal the breach. Use our constructs if we have to. Make that a priority over dislodging their vessel."]

  Baelica's pupils dilated, confusion coming over her face. ["I engaged the filtration system, but it seems to have no effect!"] A bright, hungry yellow glow from her console illuminated her face. She was clearly looking at the scene. ["The gas is flammable—it is burning out the filtering algae faster than we can pump it in. Deploying sublimated carbon dioxide."] Her eyes widened. ["No effect. The fire is spreading; it is igniting the CO2, even at those temperatures!"]

  ["Impossible. Show me."]

  The scene above them changed to the internal view of his ship's corridors. A roaring wall of flame leaped along the fourth deck of his ship, the fire washing over his crew. They wore combat suits, but the heat burned straight through them. Fur and flesh turned to ash, and the bodies of his warriors became seared, skeletal husks.

  Whatever miracle weapons the Humans possessed would not save them. Avaran snarled, baring his teeth. ["The trickery of Humans will not stand. Seal that deck, and vent the entire level to space."]

  Nearly one hundred Toralii warriors inhabited that deck. The foregunner complied with his order, but a stiffness in her tail and the hesitation in her voice betrayed her reservations. Vented atmosphere, a roaring wall of flame, and the charred bodies of his comrades flung out into the void almost completely obscured the holographic display above them, of the Human ship attached to their hull. After the dead came the living, some clad in suits, flailing helplessly as their inertia flung them away from the ship. Others, unprotected, thrashed and spasmed as the void broke their lungs, their frantic movements stilling as their bodies shut down.