by C H Gideon
“Little crowded here,” Reynolds muttered, pushing past the energy forms of the Gulg and coming over to stand alongside Jiya, who stared wide-eyed at the gaggle of aliens now aboard the ship.
“That’s…interesting,” she mumbled, observing the aliens up close. They looked like storm clouds ready to explode.
“Target the active superdreadnought,” Reynolds ordered.
“Like I haven’t already,” Tactical shot back.
“A moment, please,” Xyxl said, separating from the other Gulg and coming over to Reynolds. “Unless you unleash that weapon you used to damage our command ship, you will do little damage to the superdreadnought before it realizes you have joined the battle and turns on your ship.”
Reynolds raised a hand to keep Tactical from firing yet. “What do you suggest?”
Xyxl pointed to the viewscreen. “I have activated the Qqhrt’s self-destruct mechanism, as well as that of the secondary superdreadnoughts—”
“And you aimed the Qqhrt at the ship,” Reynolds realized, seeing the alien craft come about.
“It was all I could do,” Xyxl admitted. “Once we severed the tether, we lost control of the remote ship.”
“Uh, Captain?” XO cut in. “There’s no way that lead ship is going to survive long enough for its self-destruct to be effective.”
Reynolds stared at the screen and saw the controlled SD blasting away at the already-damaged Gulg command ship. It was coming apart, and would never reach the enemy ship.
Then it exploded, going up in a flash that died as quickly as it tried to ignite.
The enemy ship turned away, undamaged by the explosion.
“They know we’re here,” XO announced. “The ship is headed our way.”
Reynolds grunted, watching the enemy superdreadnought streak toward them. With the shields at less than forty percent, there was no way the SD Reynolds could take on the Gulg ship and win.
At least not head-on.
Jiya had the same idea.
“Bring us about so the deactivated SD is between us and the enemy ship, Ria,” Jiya ordered. “And keep your distance. We don’t want to get too close.”
“Tactical, fire everything you’ve got at that ship,” Reynolds ordered. “Piss these guys off and keep them coming at us.”
Tactical complied and sent volley after volley at the ship. “I’m thinking they’re going to do that anyway.”
Reynolds turned to Xyxl. “Can you re-open your communication tether?”
“We can, but we risk—”
“Losing control of the only ship you have left, which is already under someone else’s control?” Reynolds argued.
“There is more to it than that, I’m afraid,” Xyxl stated. “That tether reaches all the way to our reserve ships at the edge of the system. I cannot reinstate the connection now that it is proven to be compromised.”
“Son of a mother fuck!” Reynolds exclaimed. “I guess we have to do this the hard way. Target that wounded superdreadnought with everything we have short of the ESD, Tactical.”
“On it!” Tactical answered, understanding what Reynolds intended.
The weapons fire shifted from the approaching craft to the superdreadnought that was dead in space. With its shields down, the railguns ripped into the hull of the craft, the salvo tearing through the armor as if it wasn’t there.
The impacts pushed the ship in the direction of the other, Tactical driving it on with more weapons fire. The controlled SD rose to avoid colliding with it, seeming to slip clear of danger.
“Damn it!” Maddox howled, seeing it maneuver out of the path of the other ship.
Reynolds only smiled.
With its shields fully down, Reynolds had been able to scan the Gulg ship and determine when its systems would fail and the detonation would occur.
When the attacking Gulg ship bared its belly to the wreck beneath it, shields aimed forward to ward off attack, the self-destruct system initiated, engulfing both ships.
Reynolds sighed as the two craft were obliterated in the resulting explosion.
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you’re going to need another ship, Xyxl,” Reynolds told the alien.
Chapter Fourteen
Reynolds watched the explosion until it faded, the remnants of the two ships hurtling into space as so much junk and debris.
“Fortunately, I was able to summon our reserve ships before the tether was broken and before the Qqhrt was abandoned and destroyed,” the Gulg replied. “They should arrive at Mu soon.”
“Will you go to them?” Reynolds asked, unsure if he wanted the alien to say yes or no. He didn’t completely trust the creature yet, but he felt there was much he could learn from him.
“My crew will travel to our base on Mu and wait to take control of the ships,” he answered, “but I will remain to assist you and coordinate between our two peoples.”
As if waiting for Xyxl to announce that, all of the Gulg but him vanished without a hint of how they had done it. The crew stared wide-eyed at where the group of aliens had just been.
“My people will reach out to me as soon as they have taken possession of the replacement craft,” Xyxl announced.
“Speaking of reaching out, we lost contact with Geroux when the tether shut down,” Jiya reported. “She was hitching her signal to it to reach us, and now that it’s gone…”
“Set a course back to Muultar,” Reynolds ordered. “While we don’t have to worry about her and the others mixing it up with the Gulg on the planet anymore, the cult is active on or near Muultar, and they know we’re here, despite the Gulg’s efforts.”
“Course set,” Ria replied. “Opening a Gate.”
“Get us close, but not too close,” Reynold warned. “We’re not in any shape to step into a fight with Jora’nal and the Pillar.”
“You thinking they’re nearby?” Jiya asked.
Reynolds shrugged. “Possibly. It’s not as if some backwater recruitment planet like Muultar would be handed top-end technology to pull this kind of move off. There has to be someone higher in the ranks pushing the buttons close by, and it stands to reason that it’s Jora’nal since that prick has been shadowing us for a while now.”
“That seems unlikely,” Xyxl stated. “We have been monitoring the tether and intercepting all communications between the planet and their organization. We’ve kept them ignorant of the greater intentions of the cult and Phraim-‘Eh by feeding them false information since we discovered them on the planet. There is no indication that there are any other cultists in the system to have done this.”
“Yeah?” Reynolds asked. “How’s all that worked out for you so far?”
Xyxl stiffened. Apparently he hadn’t realized how compromised his system truly was.
He certainly did now that his ships had been destroyed.
“These people were able to hitch a ride on your beam without you knowing about it,” Reynolds went on. “What else was going on that you didn’t catch?”
Xyxl said nothing.
“Probably a whole lot,” Reynolds said, answering for the alien.
“Jora’nal is dangerous and capable, and not to be underestimated,” Jiya stated. “His having hacked your tether means they’ve been monitoring your messages, as you have been theirs. It stands to reason that they have found another method of communication or the cultists wouldn’t have known you were anywhere near the planet, given how simple their technology is. That means everything you know is compromised, simple as that. They’ve probably been feeding you as much crap as you have been them.”
“Which means we can’t trust the emperor or his people for sure now,” Reynolds said.
“Krol Gow knew you were on Mu, Xyxl, standing in the way of their source of devium, and so did his inner circle. Any of those people could have been passing messages to the cult if they’re part of this.”
“That means our people on Muultar could be in danger, because they have no idea who they can trust,” Jiya gr
owled.
“We’re through the Gate,” Ria announced. “Maintaining safe distance from the planet. Shields and weapons up and ready.”
“Reaching out to Geroux,” Comm said, opening a channel.
“We’ve got a problem, Captain,” XO chimed in.
“What the fuck is it now?” Reynolds snarled.
“Those low-rent cruisers of the emperor are currently in the process of assaulting the planet,” XO told him.
“Are you seeing this?” Geroux asked over the comm.
“We are,” Jiya answered, watching as the Muultu defense force was turned against the planet. “Looks like the cult has taken over all the ships at once. How are they doing that?”
“The Muultu systems are rudimentary,” Reynolds said. “unlike Gorad’s or the Gulg’s. It’s probably about as hard for them to take control of these things as it is to operate a calculator, which means they can take over all of them at once. That’s what we’re seeing, it appears.”
“They might be garbage, but they still pack a healthy dose of firepower,” Tactical said.
“What the hell is that one doing?” Maddox asked, pointing at one of the cruisers as it broke off its attack and dove straight into the atmosphere. “The one at the rear.”
“Plot its trajectory!” Reynolds ordered.
“It’s locked on a position outside of Ulf,” Tactical responded. “Right where—”
“It’s coming down right on top of us,” Geroux shouted. “Shit! Get us out of here, San Roche!”
“Get us closer to the planet,” Reynolds commanded.
Ria jumped on it, engaging the engines and sending the SD Reynolds streaking through space toward Muultar.
“They know we’re here,” XO warned. “Cruisers are turning on us. We’re not up for a fight.”
“You let these junkers hurt us, Tactical, and I’ll plug you into one of the Pods forever, do you hear me?” Reynolds shouted. “Forever!”
“No pressure at all,” Tactical mumbled. “Thanks, asshole.”
Tactical drew more power to the shields as they advanced, meeting the small army of antiquated cruisers.
“Shields at fifty percent,” Ria announced.
“It’s going to have to do,” Reynolds told her.
“I’ve got this,” Tactical stated, the ship taking evasive maneuvers as the enemy cruisers fired on them. “Don’t get your undies in a bind.”
The nearest of the Muultu cruisers exploded moments later as a salvo of railgun fire tore through its engines as if its hull were made of paper.
“One down, seven to go,” Tactical reported. “We’re taking fire, but shields are holding.”
“Now it’s six,” Geroux said over the comm, adjusting the count. “The ship that made a suicide attack just took out the cultist church out here on the outskirts of town.”
“Are you okay?” Jiya spat.
“We’re fine,” Geroux told her. “We piled into the Pod and moved away before the cruiser hit, but the church, any evidence it might have held regarding the cult, and the Gulg’s shuttle were all wrecked in the crash.”
“Damn it!” Reynolds snarled. “It’s like they’re cleaning up their operations on the planet.”
“Be careful up there,” Geroux warned. “These cultists don’t care about collateral damage.”
“Why do you say that?” Jiya asked.
“Because we’ve got the emperor’s sister with us,” Geroux came back. “I, uh, kind of kidnapped her.”
“You did what now?” Jiya sked.
“Well, it’s a long story, but she’s admitted to being one of the cultists and working under Phraim-‘Eh. That didn’t stop these guys from trying to take her out with a cruiser, though, so they don’t care who they kill.”
Jiya glanced at Reynolds, eyes wide, remembering the discussion about the cult having someone in the emperor’s highest ranks.
He wondered if the emperor was involved too.
“Stay away from Ulf,” Reynolds told Geroux. “We don’t know what’s going on, but the government is compromised to some degree. Until we can back you up and learn who all is involved, I don’t want any of you near the place. I definitely don’t want them realizing we’ve taken the emperor’s sister hostage if they don’t know already.”
“I already sent a message to L’Eliana to have her cloak and retreat before things get worse,” Jiya announced. “She’s up and moving away from the landing field.”
Another of the Muultu cruisers exploded as Tactical triggered a Gate and circled around behind the makeshift fleet to hit them.
A third ship was crippled before the others realized what was going on and dispersed to keep from being gunned down from behind.
“Four remaining,” Tactical reported.
“Stay on them,” Reynolds ordered. “XO, can you pinpoint that fucking Kurtherian hack signal and tell me where the hell it’s coming from?”
“It’s being obscured, bouncing around the planet as if it’s moving, but it’s definitely coming from somewhere within the atmosphere,” XO replied.
“From Muultar?” Reynolds asked for clarification.
“That’s what I’m reading, but the signal is pulsing weirdly, fading in and out,” XO called out. “Shit! Now it’s gone. I’ve lost it.”
Xyxl sighed loud enough to draw the AI’s attention.
Reynolds turned his narrowed gaze on the alien. “You know something about this?”
The alien nodded. “The communication tether that tied us to the cult was part of a small escape craft that was hidden inside the mountain to the rear of the church. It served both as our way to feed the cultists information and also to provide our agents with a means of flight should they be discovered and need to slip away.”
“And now the cultists are using it to control the Muultu cruisers,” Reynolds snarled, realizing what was happening.
“It would appear so,” Xyxl responded. “Fortunately, its range is limited. It needs to be close to initiate contact on its own when it’s not being used as a receiver. Its energy source isn’t very powerful.”
“And now we’ve lost it?” Reynolds growled, glaring at XO’s station.
“I’m doing long-range scanner sweeps to find it, but nothing so far,” XO replied.
“Can you help us find it?” Reynolds asked the alien.
“The ship was not intended to be detected,” Xyxl admitted, shaking his head. “With the tether down, there is no way for the vehicle to be tracked. Its cloaking is absolute.”
“That’s fucking wonderful,” Reynolds complained. “That means we won’t know where it is until you reach out to it from your reserve ships, right?”
Xyxl shook his head. “We will not do so. That would leave us vulnerable to the cultists’ control, since we have yet to determine how to avoid being contaminated by their foul programming. We cannot risk our last remaining ships in this system.”
“So, you’re saying we have to wait for the cultists to trigger the beam from the escape craft before we can pinpoint it?”
“That is correct, unless its occupants decide to deactivate the cloaking device.”
“Which isn’t going to happen, since the damn thing’s been stolen and these guys don’t want us blowing them out of the sky.” Reynolds scoffed.
“With all of our people aboard your Pod, it would appear that is the likelihood,” Xyxl confirmed.
Reynolds growled. “At least we’ll know where they are when they take over another damn ship.”
The alien remained silent, confirming Reynolds’ suspicion that that was the only way they would find the missing ship.
Fucking fantastic!
“Any report from L’Eliana?” Reynolds demanded.
“She’s nearly out of the city. She says the local alert broadcasts are reporting that the damage from the cruisers has been mostly limited to government installations,” Jiya reported. “That was what the cruisers were firing at.”
“So, there’s a clear target, it s
eems,” Maddox commented. “Although that throws the emperor’s connection into doubt. Why attack his own assets?”
“Subterfuge?” XO suggested.
Maddox shrugged. “Maybe, but that seems a bit desperate, given their current situation.”
Reynolds turned on Xyxl, frustrated that they were dealing with more of the hijacked ships. “Your entire system is questionable,” he warned. “This is the second time they’ve used this tactic against us, but it’s your technology that they’re piggybacking on.”
“One more down,” Tactical announced.
“We must examine our processes to determine how they breached our security,” Xyxl told the AI. “I will have my people begin work on that as soon as they reach out.”
“I’d be happy to help you,” Reynolds said with a wry laugh. “We have experience with this. All you have to do is give me access to your databases…”
Xyxl grinned. “As you so politely told me before, ‘That’s not going to happen.’”
Reynolds shrugged, smirking at hearing his own words flung back at him. “Was worth a try,” he responded.
“Another one turned to dust,” Tactical called. “Two left, and those guys are determined to get their ancient asses blown up.”
“We both have secrets we would rather keep from each other, Reynolds,” Xyxl told the AI. “I imagine our superiors would be most displeased if either of us overstepped our bounds and offered technology of the sort that might unbalance either side, however well-meaning our intentions.”
“You can be sure of that,” Reynolds told him, thinking of how Bethany Anne would respond to hearing that he had let some alien species get their hands on the full extent of the Federation knowledge.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
“Still, I’d like to know how you kept doubling the power to your shields when we fought,” Reynolds admitted.
Xyxl was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “I cannot provide you with the details of the process, but devium can be used to induce a short-term increase of energy. Our ships’ systems have been adapted to use it for bursts of power and increased efficiency when needed.”
