by Kyle Mata
“Go, Thomas! Tell Roux to get out. We’ve got a ride,” Daena said as Karr slipped into a large pilot’s chair. Karr fiddled with controls and the plug meant for the Rae cerebral-connection.
“But…” Thomas protested.
“Go!” Daena called back. The comm connection was immediately severed when the ramp sealed with an exaggerated hiss. “Thomas?” She asked but received no reply. Daena wondered for a moment if the cloak of the ship prevented, or required the prevention of, incoming and outgoing communications.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the ground beneath the ship failed, and it began to tumble down the side of a deep lava-filled chasm. Daena was tossed about the cabin, doing her best to grab onto whatever she could. Karr, who had magnetically clamped himself into the seat, continued to stare at the controls, as his HUD translated the markings, slower than he would have liked. He slammed what he figured was a power button and the ship lurched up into the sky with incredible speed.
The Shadowri attempted to move the controls and steer the craft, but it seemed to be on an autopilot set for a predetermined destination. As long as the destination was not on Vurumon, he was okay with it for now.
“Are you okay?” Karr asked Daena, who had righted herself and made it to the front of the shuttle. She brushed her hair out of her face.
“Yes… how did you find this ship? And how do you know how to fly it?”
“The light was not reflecting correctly around it. Something was just slightly off.”
“So, your HUD could detect it?”
“No, actually my HUD made it harder to find. It was easier to see with the naked eye. As for flying, I do not think this is a Rae vessel—at least, not originally.” Karr held up the cerebral-plug apparatus and yanked it off the console with ease. “This seemed to be an invasive addition, and the turquoise color and rectangular shape does not match the style of the Rae with their gold and curves. I think this technology was stolen from another alien species. And it is not human.”
“Oh good, another alien species, just what I needed to hear.” Daena sat down heavily beside him. “Where are you taking us anyway?”
Karr shrugged. “Autopilot.” He said, pointing at the controls that accepted no user inputs.
“Powa…” Daena said sarcastically, as the ship rocketed past other escaping craft in orbit toward an unknown destination.
CHAPTER 24
THE FIRST SALVO
There was a small viewport in the rear of the shuttle that Daena looked out while Karr continued to fiddle with the flight controls. She finally saw why Vurumon was being torn apart, as a Nomen continued to slowly push its way through the once beautiful planet. She bared witness as the last large section of the ‘planet of purity’ was crushed to smithereens.
A low purr filled the cabin for a second.
“I think I found the cloak controls; we may have comms now,” Karr said hopefully.
Daena tried to comm Thomas, Roux and the Athena’s Owl but got no reply. She assumed they were in the middle of a warp-jump.
Karr’s comm had dozens of missed messages from Mory. Karr attempted to comm his friend on Fordia by bouncing his signal toward every planet and deep space relay between the ship and Fordia that he could find on his finally updated HUD star-map. He connected immediately. Karr set the conversation to his external speakers so Daena could listen in.
“Karr! Thank the Nebula you’re alive. I heard about Vurumon, but I have very pressing news.” Mory said quickly. “At least a dozen Nomen just popped up in the last hour; this is the fastest they have ever popped up before, and your Rae have finally made their grand entrance. They’ve begun invading human planets, and they have been using the Nomen as their transports.”
“How?” Daena’s question slipped out, as she was unsure if Mory could even hear her.
“I don’t know, but it’s bad, Karr. Death tolls are in the millions already, capture tolls are in the billions, and they’ve only landed on a few planets. It started with the Nomen colonies that have already been set up. Those were all lost in minutes—it was so fast that even I barely noticed anything had gone wrong.”
“How is Fordia? Do you have an evac plan?” Karr asked.
“Several, but as of now Fordia is untouched. Don’t worry about me, what’s your plan?”
“We are currently on a commandeered Rae shuttle. It is on—” The shuttle unexpectedly entered a warp-jump pocket, severing the comm connection with Mory, and pinning Daena uncomfortably against the rear viewport. Karr was out of his seat in a second and pulled Daena away from the viewscreen as the initial warp-jump turbulence began, and she nearly slammed her head on the bulkhead. He held her as his boots kept the couple rooted to the floor. The turbulence died down after a minute and he let her go, but she didn’t move away from him.
“Where is this thing taking us now?” She growled, staring out the forward viewport into the glow of the warp.
The Athena’s Owl exited warp near the gas giant, Xe, and joined the super fleet as suggested by Majex. The comm panel beeped with a message missed while they were in warp. It was from Daena, but when they tried to comm back they got no reply. Roux looked at Thomas with worry in her eyes.
“You’re sure they got off the planet okay?” Roux asked. She felt guilty for leaving half of her team behind on a planet that was collapsing in on itself.
“Karr said they had a way off. He’s not a man to mince words.” Thomas tried to reassure her.
“Or maybe he just said that to save us, so we wouldn’t get killed trying to save them.”
“Even so I doubt something as pesky as a planet collapsing could kill the big lug.” Thomas continued with the post warp-checklists without looking up.
“Well, what about Daena? She doesn’t have Shadowri armor…” Roux was letting her thoughts go to dark places. Thomas stopped what he was doing and looked up at her.
“Karr would die twice over before he let anything happen to Daena, I think you know that as well as I do.”
“Pure intentions aside, I doubt even he could save her from the destruction of a planet!”
The comm beeped again; this time it was an official hail from the Dawn’s Grip. They opened the channel and saw Majex himself looking back.
“Captain Winchester, dozens of new Nomen have entered the galaxy within the last three hours. The Rae are somehow using them as invasion craft of some sort. The intelligence is unclear, as the entire galaxy seems to be in a panic. We’re splitting off four ways to four of the different Nomen. If you’d like to take the helm of the Cloak of Atlas once more, the first fleet would be honored to have the four of you.” Majex said, looking toward Roux, as a Mason had never fought alongside the Nyrotsi before. In fact, the Masons had never fought alongside anyone before.
Thomas looked at Roux, as he didn’t wish to answer for her; he also wasn’t sure what to say about Karr and Daena.
“It would be an honor, Admiral.” Roux replied.
“We’ll make for the Nomen as soon as you make berth inside the Atlas.” The comm closed.
“What about Karr and Daena?” Thomas asked. He was genuinely surprised she wanted to travel off with the fleet.
“If they are alive, they’ll comm us. But right now, we have no idea where they are or if they are even alive. So, I’d rather do something, rather than nothing at all.” Roux said with a straight face as she maneuvered the ship toward the carrier.
Fourth fleet jumped to warp, shortly after the eleventh did as well. Watching several battle groups jump to warp simultaneously was always an amazing sight. The forward viewport of the Athena’s Owl automatically darkened two shades due to the brightness of all the warp pockets opening around them. Suddenly Admiral Majex appeared onscreen again, with an expression of minor concern, as though he had spilled some tea.
“All ships, a massive warp disturbance has been detected on the far side of Xe, an incoming Nomen. Admiral Kane, make your jumps and continue on to your assigned destination with
the Twelfth. First fleet, our target has shifted to the incoming Nomen. Form up on the Dawn’s Grip, hoplite formation. All hands to battle stations.” The comm closed once more. Admiral Kane’s twelfth fleet quickly jumped to warp, leaving only the Nyrotsi first fleet, and the once super flotilla seemed much smaller, especially compared to the gas giant they were about to slingshot around.
After the first fleet’s previous encounter with the Rae near Carmine, Admiral Majex had taken what ships of his remained and limped back to Outpost Norwich, a massive space station at an undisclosed location somewhere in the interstellar medium of the Countdown system. It moved at random and its specific coordinates were known only by high ranking members of his fleet and the Dominar himself. The men and women of the first fleet called Norwich home, more often than even their own home worlds. Majex had not taken the entirety of his fleet with him to Carmine; he rarely took the entirety of his fleet to any one place. But after the heavy losses at Carmine, he repaired and rearmed. Majex decided that his fleet would move as one from then on. Once he had regrouped, he had contacted Admirals Saeko Masamune, Kevan Dineen, and Rhea Kane, and hatched his scheme for Vurumon.
They were good Admirals and he trusted them each with his life, and more importantly with the lives of his crew. Now, he knew they would do well as they went out to investigate the new Nomen and engage the Rae on their own.
Majex turned his attention back to the warp-detector when he saw the Athena’s Owl slip into the Cloak of Atlas hangar bay.
“Once more unto the breach?” Thomas asked Roux as she touched the ship down on the hangar floor. The hangar was bristling with activity as the crews made ready for combat once again. He considered asking her to stay onboard the carrier with him, but he knew his reason for doing so would be selfish. She was the best pilot he had ever seen, and she would be a major asset in the Owl, and most importantly, he already knew she’d say no as politely as possible. He stood from the copilot seat and headed for the ladder. He started to climb down; Roux was busy running built-in operational and functions checks on her weapons systems. He stopped at the second rung.
“Roux?” Thomas said. She stopped and swiveled around, which was interesting to watch her do in a dress. “Come back, okay?”
Roux half-smiled.
“Same goes for you, Captain. I expect you to take me to a fancy dinner on Eden IV after this is all said and done.”
“Hey, if we both survive this one, I’ll take you to dinner on Eden V.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Please do.” He stepped down the rest of the ladder and exited the ship. The Troubadour-class rocket lifted off the deck once the ramp had sealed with a clack and a hiss. Thomas headed for the bridge while Roux joined formation with a gunship squadron.
Proximity alarms and sirens began to sound when the expected Nomen finally popped into existence, just as Thomas took a seat in the Captain’s chair. The crew was happy to have him back at the helm as he had done a fine job of leading them last time—at the very least, he kept them all alive during an incredibly costly battle. They hoped he would be good luck once more.
Shortly after the Nomen arrived and settled in a peculiar overlapping, and awkward orbit around Xe, a handful of Rae warships dropped out of warp pockets nearby. Thomas wondered for just a moment what the odds were that the supremely ‘advanced’ Rae used the same warp-jump technology that humanity had with their Shimada warp-reactors. But physics were physics, and those laws bent for no one, not even the Rae. Feeling somehow comforted by this fact, Thomas ordered the mass-driver cannons to target the nearest enemy vessel and fire once in optimal range. Every weapon on board swung toward the oncoming enemy. The entire crew stood ready at battle stations. Pilots who were not already launched scrambled to their respective ships. Nightfang marines geared up and hustled toward their assigned boarding craft. Everyone on board had a role to play, and that was never more apparent to them than now. There was a calm amongst the fleet, a calm that could only be experienced by a battle-hardened organization like the one Majex inspired. He only accepted the best of the best in his fleet; from the highest commanders of the other ships down to the lowest crew chief aboard the frigates, he demanded excellence, and in return, he gave them the same.
The first fleet exited the blind side of the planet Xe, and the Rae ships and the Nomen were visible through the forward viewscreen. He thought that the Nomen looked familiar, but payed it no mind when he heard the mass-driver cannons launch their first volley of slugs at the enemy. Several Nyrotsi vessels opened fire, and the Rae answered with their own bright array of heavy weapons. The carrier shook as a purple laser impacted and was dissipated across the shields.
The battle for all humanity had begun.
CHAPTER 25
THE BATTLE OF XE
“I’m actually surprised a ship of this size has warp capability at all,” Daena said. Seconds later, the commandeered Rae shuttle exited warp with seamless simplicity, and they found themselves in the middle of a space battle. Lasers and projectiles pitched back and forth between a Rae fleet and a Nyrotsi flotilla.
A pair of Nyrotsi corsair fighters were engaged in a dogfight with two Rae drone fighters. They zipped about in front of Karr and Daena’s eyes, engaging one another with unforgiving close-range guns. Karr hoped no stray rounds would find their shuttle.
“Karr, can you get that cloak back up?” Daena asked, nervously patting him on the shoulder.
“We will lose comms.”
“But we’ll be alive!” She replied quickly. Purple lasers aimed at a Nyrotsi frigate flew by mere meters overhead. One barely missed a Rae drone, but the sheer heat from the laser passing by so close overwhelmed the drone’s shields. A Corsair took advantage and destroyed it with a burst of high explosive rounds. Karr punched the button and the ship vanished from view of prying eyes, interrogating radar, and all other detection mediums. “Besides, we’ve found friends.” She pointed at a Nyrotsi carrier near the middle of the battlegroup formation. Prominently displayed in white letters along the hull were the words ‘Cloak of Atlas.’
Karr struggled with the flight controls again, and still, the autopilot would not forfeit control to him. He noticed the shuttle was headed straight for the largest Rae vessel in the fleet. He also noticed several Nightfang boarding craft being escorted by fighters heading toward the same vessel. The autopiloted craft fell into the rear of the formation, as if on purpose. “Looks like we are about to board another capital ship,” Karr said, pointing.
“I wonder how many boarding actions have been made in an evening dress?” Daena asked in reply, holding up the LT sidearm.
The Rae ship grew larger in the viewport. Point-defense weapons opened first, spitting globs of super-heated gas toward the incoming boarding party. The Nyrotsi ships scattered, but several fighters and boarding craft were struck and vanished like snowflakes hit by boiling water. The boarding craft that made it through the torrent of enemy fire slammed into the hull of the ship and began drilling in, allowing the Nightfang marines to begin their raid. The Nyrotsi fighters broke off and began strafing the ships external defenses.
The shuttle carried on its path and floated lazily into a small hangar near the bridge. This Rae cruiser appeared similar in design to the ship Roux had landed them on in the last battle; it was smaller, but the general structure seemed to be the same. Karr hoped his carty map would prove useful.
“Last time wasn’t so bad, only automated defenses and three Rae.” Daena said, as she lined up behind Karr at the ramp. It lowered, and Karr burst out. Outside were several aliens—not Rakju or Rae. They appeared human at first glance, but none were taller than one hundred and seventy centimeters, their skin was bright pink, their ‘ears’ were like bubbles, and their hair was transparent.
Karr didn’t pay too much attention to their hairstyles but paid extra attention to the fact that they were all brandishing what appeared to be projectile weapons. The one in front, who wore the most intricate outfit, l
ooked surprised as though it was expecting someone else to come out of the shuttle. The pink alien made some sort of grunt and pointed its weapon at Karr, which was enough reason for the Shadowri to declare them hostile.
Karr kicked the nearest alien in the chest. As if flew through the air, releasing a squeal of shock, Karr’s MAGE rifle was up and firing charged rounds before the aliens could react in kind. Before the first alien had slammed into the hangar wall with a sickening crunch, Karr had gunned down the remaining six alien hostiles.
“Oh, isn’t this just Powa.” Daena said, nudging one of the aliens with her boot. “More aliens? Really?” Suddenly, the door from the hangar into the heart of the ship exploded and a pair of Nightang soared through. They slammed into the fuselage of the shuttle. Karr rushed up to the doorway, as Daena checked the marines for a pulse. They were dead. One of the Nightfang was a woman of a similar size to Daena.
“Karr, cover me for a minute.” She yelled up to Karr.
“I’m really sorry about this…” Daena said to the dead woman as she dragged her into the shuttle. She emerged minutes later wearing the Nightfang marine armor, which she found to fit her rather well. The only discrepancy Daena could note was the fist-sized spider web crack in the abdomen plate. She picked up her donor Nightfang’s rifle and checked the ammo ticker on her way to meet Karr at the doorway. She found that he had teamed up with a few Nightfang, and a pile of dead pink aliens was building at the end of the corridor.
“I guess the Rae changed their defensive strategy,” Daena said. “They must have learned from the last time.”
“I hate when my enemy is a fast learner,” One of the marines said. Karr simply nodded and took off running down the corridor. Two wall mounted sentry turrets began to drop into firing positions; two barks from the MAGE rifle disabled them before they could even swivel in the proper direction. As he continued to run, he yanked one of the turrets off the wall and threw it further down the corridor. It impacted and destroyed a pair of incoming scarab drones that had just rounded a corner. The drones appeared far more heavily armed on this craft.
