Darkness: Book One of the Oortian Wars

by Iain Richmond

  “Captain?” Fei’s commander looked unsure of whether he had received an order or an idea.

  “The strategy game of Go.” Captain Fei, like every other officer candidate, Fei had studied the ancient game at the military academy. “Simplistic in rules, but it is the most complex strategic game on Earth. Surround and capture your foe.”

  He moved toward his captain’s chair and sat down. “Go has no equal. The most advanced computers can only reach the proficiency of an average human player,” Fei said.

  “There are almost limitless possible moves,” added the lieutenant.

  “Once we became masters at Go, we had up to five hours to place a single stone. Day one of a match could end with only a few stones being placed,” Fei stated as his mind was close to the answer that had plagued them and left four ships and one hundred and twenty crew dead.

  “Captain?” His commander was abrupt. “What does the game of Go have to do with our present situation?”

  Fei let the anger and fear in his commander’s words wash over him and calmly stated, “The enemy has played his first ten stones and has us surrounded for capture. They have played us into an action that we must take to survive, or they think we must take to survive.” Captain Fei looked to his officers. “What this enemy has not taken into consideration is that we have limitless moves.”

  The Battle-Net warning sounded. A burning glow appeared on the holo-feed, floating over the command table and grew into a radiant mass.

  “Captain, the area of turbulence is increasing, heat signature detected.”

  “Yes, Commander, they are coming.” Fei remained motionless in his chair; the bridge of the Kwan Yin was silent. Crewmen and officers watched the roiling area of the black field now magnified on the hologram. Yes, soon they will come, Fei thought, and soon I will decide our fate.

  “They want us whole, they want us captured,” whispered Captain Fei with chilling effect, “another stone is placed.”

  the Darkness

  Aris the Chosen One

  the Krell

  Aris the Chosen One hung above the beasts. They calmly bobbed in the Darkness while the Creators uploaded their orders through a thought-stream. The Darkness thinned its mass around the four and for the first time, Aris could see the details of the Krell. Each was a massive orb covered in a thick, transparent layer that rippled as the creature moved its only fin. The fin itself was an abomination and hung like a long, clear, circular sheath that was hollow and surrounded a vast orifice at the base where it connected to the body. Controlled energy bloom was the only use for such a horror, she thought.

  Slowly, Aris moved around the Krell, studying each piece, memorizing each detail. This could be the only opportunity to gain insight into the creatures. Not a single optical sensor, she added this detail to a special area of her memory and continued her search. Thousands of sacs lay deflated under the thick, outer viscous layer. Not an organ to be seen… she again positioned herself above the foursome.

  Aris froze, the open thought-stream filled with a shrieking terror that flashed throughout the Darkness and across the territories, silencing anyone connected to it. Instinctively, she curled up into an armor-plated sphere. This time she left room for her optical sensors and focused them on the Krell, unable to look away from the scene beneath her.

  They formed a tight line. Four colossal gelatinous orbs, each close to three times the size of Aris, pressing into each other while their bodies quivered and shook. Terror, Aris thought. What could such beasts fear?

  Thousands of sacs expanded under the Krell’s outer skin, the soft, clear layers of each beast flexed and stretched. Aris tried to move out of the expanding mass, but her own terror had shut down her systems. Soft mush surrounded her hardened carapace. The Krell’s skin pushed Aris away only to suck her back into its warm expanding mass, then grew hard as the sacs continued to fill.

  A gentle pressure and then a powerful force flung Aris up and away as the Krell were now twice their original mass. They continued their shrieking wail, pushing and flinging themselves at each other’s sides, keeping just inside the camouflage of the thinning Darkness.

  And then it happened and Aris the Chosen One now understood their fear, their panic and their pain.

  A dim glow grew from deep inside each massive orb. The light increased and the shrieking grew louder until Aris was sure the thought-stream could handle no more. The clear skins of the Krell grew brighter still and Aris adjusted her ocular filters to stem the searing light and protect her sensors. The mass of the Darkness surrounding them was little more than thin, gray mist now.

  The Darkness exploded around Aris, the Krell ignited into four flesh powered infernos and blasted into the Void, leaving burning chunks of their bulk along the way. The thought-stream fell silent, the Krell were beyond the Darkness. Aris slipped outside into the Void. The thought-stream blasted her sensory systems with the wailing of four fiery forms using their flesh as fuel to propel them towards their targets.

  The Krell’s screams turned to whimpers and the thought-stream fell silent. Aris reached out to them, her carapace singed, fins damaged from the heat. This is your path to the Realm of Warriors great Krell, your Oath fulfilled, the invaders destroyed. A surge of pain flooded her. Something pulled Aris back into the Darkness and her damaged systems began to shut down.

  She floated in and out of existence while the Darkness seeped into her wounds. The warrior’s rage fused with the Darkness’ life preserving mass. Within fractions of cycles, her carapace healed and data flowed through previously destroyed feeds. I must silence my wail, Aris considered. I am Aris the Chosen One, fear and young-one cries are for the weak, for the Krell. Strength continued to flow into her; the Darkness would heal her again and again as long as Aris returned to its mass.

  She’s expanding. The Darkness moved in all directions, swirling and flowing around her. A growing pain and fear pushed closer, again the thought-stream filled with shrieking. But it is not me, Aris thought. The Creators have released a fifth Krell.

  Still too weak to move, Aris stretched her mending carapace to its capacity and allowed the healing liquid of the Darkness to enter between each armored-plate, pushing into her organs at will. Fear was conquered; Aris fully gave herself to the Darkness and lay helpless in the path of the Creators’ ultimate destroyer, the Krell. She found herself wondering if that were still true.

  Other clans must exist. Hidden from the warriors of the Darkness, waiting to be unleashed. Aris the Chosen One rose and fell. The fifth tortured abomination was close and moving closer towards the Veil of the Darkness. She lay in its path and would let the Darkness choose life or death for the leader of the clans.

  Aris would never let fear control her again.

  38

  Captain Falco

  Station Pluto

  “She is ready to go, sir,” Chief Engineer Pema Tenzin stated with confidence. He walked over to the long table that ran the length of the galley of the refitted Anam Cara and set a fist-sized black box in the center.

  “That’s it?” Falco said.

  “Captain?” Tenzin was at a loss.

  “Chief, that little black case is going to broadcast this meeting to every COM box on Station Pluto and 10th Fleet?” Falco was sure his newly appointed officer was back in the Chang business.

  Pema closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. “Sir, not only will that little black case securely broadcast the meeting, but it will also push data packets to every hologram station onboard.” The chief glowed with the power of his brilliance.

  “Well then, good work, Chief.” Falco could see the cocky bastard he loved behind those steady eyes. He walked towards the hatch to gather the others that were scouring over the exterior hull of their newly repaired boat.

  Falco punched the release and the hatch slid open. He caught himself midstride and turned back to where Chief Tenzin made a few last second checks.

  “Remember, oh Great Lion of Tibet, I kicked your ass,” he lo
vingly whispered just loud enough for the stoic Tibetan to hear. Falco strode out of the mess hall to meet his crew, muffled Tibetan slang filling the galley behind him.

  “I’ve got it! I know what you did!” Lieutenant Ian Wallace was in rare form. Falco waited for his pilot to finish running a loving hand over one of the new compartments added during her repair work.

  “She looks bloody fantastic, sir! A right good beauty she is!” His Scottish accent was in full bloom as was always the case when he spoke of his love.

  “It will have to wait, Lieutenant. Meeting first, secrets later.” Falco was relieved to see his lieutenant’s glowing approval. If any of his crew were to break regs and beat the hell out of a higher ranked officer, friend or not, it would be Ian Wallace over the wronging of the Anam Cara.

  “Aye, our boat looks ready and your ribs should be healing by now.”

  Falco grinned at the sound of his commander’s voice. He looked up to see the big Yemeni bastard keeping the same deadpan expression he always wore when placing a friendly dig.

  “Not well enough, Commander Shar’ran, but I’m better off than the one who lost.” Perfectly timed Falco thought as Chief Tenzin exited the galley with a scowl plastered across his seamless face. However, his true nature was too strong for his weak-willed attempt at anger and the scowl naturally turned into a lighthearted smile.

  Falco took in the scene. His crew was crammed into the galley and finding a place to sit, stand or, in Commander Shar’ran’s case, both. He was without a doubt the biggest of the Anam Cara’s crew and outside of Falco himself, the most respected and even feared.

  Falco enjoyed the movement of those around Commander Shar’ran. The rookies pushed hard against other crewmen standing near the commander to ensure they would not make contact with the man, their eyes never rising much higher than his special issue size sixteen boots. It was like watching a school of mackerel avoid the shadow of a shark near his childhood home in New Sicily.

  But in a shit-storm, Falco knew that there were three people he wanted at his side and that big bastard taunting the newbies without a sound was front and center. Four, he corrected himself.

  “Captain?”

  Falco turned to see his science officer carrying a stack of data screens that held every known report and findings on a potential new life form that seemed to be growing hostile… or are we the aggressors? he pondered. He once again thought of Captain Fei and the battle group being swallowed by the dark field.

  “I am ready to proceed when you are, sir,” Ensign Sierra Holts stated with the focus and tone of someone carrying a heavy burden.

  Falco found Lieutenant Wallace, raised his head and motioned his hand across his neck. The lieutenant answered the gesture with a nod and released a high pitched, eardrum-splitting whistle that silenced the crew out of pain if not volume.

  “Captain on deck!” Wallace relaxed his shoulders and all eyes were now on Falco.

  “Ensign Holts, you’re up in five minutes. Chief Tenzin, do we have clean audio and hologram feeds to all centers of Station Pluto and Admiral Chen’s flagship vessel, the Qing Long?”

  “All feeds are clean and ready to go.” Pema held a finger over the small black case and waited for the captain’s go ahead.

  Ensign Holts sat in the middle of the long table near the hologram feed and organized her data. Falco watched her movements, noting there was not an ounce of fear emanating from any part of her graceful, yet powerful form. Soon Holts would offer her insights and any factual clues to humanity’s greatest and potentially, most deadly discovery in its history. She locked eyes with Falco and after a few moments, gave a confident nod.

  “Light up the feeds, Chief.” Falco gave his full attention to his ensign.

  Holts moved her hand across her first data-screen and the hologram came to life.

  “We are looking at the current mass and scope of the dark field utilizing the best models programed for the Battle-Net. Based on all data we have sent to the United Nations top scientists and military advisors, the defensive forces within and around the field are not manufactured with Earth-based technology.”

  Falco heard the words and knew Holts and the UN were right. The crewmen and officers remained silent, but many nodded gently and like Falco, he assumed they believed something unexplainable through the human experience had been found just beyond humanity’s solar system.

  “The UN Space Agency has assigned a name for those who have created the weaponry we have faced and continue to have contact with.” Holts took a deep breath. “We call it the Oortian Civilization.”

  The word Oortian was whispered throughout the galley. Falco scanned the room, every face taut and locked onto Ensign Holts’s every word. The act of naming something made it real. No longer could humanity look at a universe filled with a patchwork of dark fields without considering something deadly cloaked within them. Hidden from its best technology.

  Holts continued, “We believe the Oortian’s territory may be larger than our own.” She tapped another data-pad. A new hologram appeared showing two black disks floating alongside one another.

  “This is the dark field the Anam Cara came upon seven days ago. As discovered by Admiral Chen of the People’s 10th Fleet, the field is growing. The battle-group led by Captain Yue Fei was quickly overtaken and all communications cut,” she paused and then added, “or jammed. This is the dark field now.” The larger disc grew bright and the room filled with muttering crewmen.

  “Keep it down! We have a long way to go.” Captain Falco added a little extra grit to the last word and the room fell silent.

  “The smaller field is roughly the size of our solar system in circumference.” Ensign Holts waited to let that sink in. “Defining the size of our solar system is debatable as there is no clear boundary. The United Nations uses the unusual orbit of Pluto as the boundary of our solar system. Due to its unique path we use the average distance between Pluto and the sun then add fifteen percent, which gives our solar system a diameter of approximately eighty-nine astronomical units. Currently that equates to ten years and two months’ travel time by the latest solar assisted sails, but the newest models may cut that time by thirty-percent,” she added to a smattering of cheers.

  The hologram changed and the science officer continued her report. Murmurs ran through the crew as implications of the hovering image before them sunk in.

  “The black field is currently sixty-two percent larger than our solar system based on my calculations.”

  Commander Shar’ran broke the silence. “Ensign Holts, how can something this size grow at will? The Oortian field moved with purpose and speed to surround and finally overrun the battle-group.”

  Holts’s eyes lifted from the data pads she was studying. “Based on its sheer size, we can assume that somewhere in the dark field, there may be a solar system. A sun with at least one planet, possibly more. The real question, commander, is how do the Oortians move a field of this size against the gravitational force that captures planets and creates orbits?”

  “In other words,” Falco added, “there is not enough information to have a working theory beyond your current assumptions?”

  “That is correct, sir.” Holts shook her head. “There must be something within the field that dictates its size or why would it exist? Everything is purpose driven to ensure efficiency of resources.”

  “Right,” Falco moved away from the holo-feed and leaned against the bulkhead, “but again that assumption is based on our own realities, technologies and experience this far from Earth.”

  Lieutenant Wallace was shaking his head.

  “Lieutenant. Do you have something to add?” Falco wanted his officers engaged in this discussion and his pilot knew more about moving through open space than the rest of them combined.

  Wallace looked at his captain then eyed the commander and finally his gaze fell to Ensign Holts. “A hidden solar system makes sense. The Oortians’ weapons came from somewhere and the simple fact that our sc
anners cannot penetrate a meter into the field, reveals its purpose.” He moved towards the holo-feed and sat next to the ensign.

  “Do you mind?” Lieutenant Wallace pointed towards the visible data-screen resting on top of the others, its screen lit, data rolling across the bottom of the display.

  Holts nodded. Wallace tapped on the input pad and the hologram changed again. This time the dark field enlarged and hung a few feet above the galley’s table. It resembled an oval platter with one square end. A few meters in front of the square end sat a tiny glowing orb, Station Pluto.

  Wallace looked to Holts for help and without a word she entered the missing data.

  A deep red glow started at the curving end of the floating oval and slowly grew outward, towards the square end and then stopped.

  “It’s growing toward Station Pluto,” Holts stated. “More accurately,” she corrected herself, “it is leaping in our direction. For now, the field is stagnant, but if it follows the same pattern of movement, at some point we can expect it to leap an additional sixty-two percent toward Station Pluto.”

  Falco didn't like the scenario that was running through his head. “Based on the current findings, how long until this field is at our front door?”

  Holts reached under the stack of data-screens and pulled out the bottom display. Her hand worked the screen and stopped.

  “Six days, twenty-two hours, sir. But that’s an estimate.”

  “Admiral Chen. Are you getting this?” Falco was not surprised the admiral had not said a single word to this point. The leader of 10th Fleet was the only officer patched in on the COM link.

  “Captain Falco?” An unknown voice sounded from 10th Fleet. “This is Commander Lee of the Admiral’s Flagship, the Qing Long.”

  Falco found his officers now standing in front of the holo-feed, each wearing a variation of concern on their faces.

  Commander Lee continued, “We are recording the findings and will present all pertinent data to Admiral Chen.”