“Shitting hell!” said Montero with feeling. “Waiting on sensors. Waiting on battle network. Waiting on everything.”
“Focus, Corporal,” Recker snapped.
The sensors came online a moment before his brain regained the ability to interpret the visual feeds. He saw shapes and edges, along with misshapen lumps he didn’t recognize. Then, his recovery from the transitions gathered pace and he understood what he was looking at.
“We’re in the construction bay,” he said, remembering the place where the Lavorix had been building their new Laws of Ancidium. The enemy hadn’t swept up after the Gorgadar’s particle beam made its passage across the bay, and the spaces in between the part-built warships were littered with debris. The only ship missing was the dodecahedron.
“Battle network request received and accepted,” said Montero. “Adjusting sensors. No targets detected. The Gorgadar is fifty klicks from our position and at the same altitude. Accepting new comms channel request from Lieutenant Burner. Bridge channel open.”
“Sir, another bunch of our propulsion stabilisers went red,” said Aston. “We don’t have long before they’re all red. Our shield module failed when we came out of the transit.”
“Commander Aston, give the order! Activate the destabiliser,” said Recker.
“Yes, sir.”
The dodecahedron warship appeared in the bay, directly between the Ixidar and the Gorgadar, and Recker found himself staring down one of the destroyer barrels. His eye darted to the shield reserve gauge. Six percent wasn’t going to be enough.
“The destabiliser! Do it!”
“Destabiliser activated,” said Larson. “Good luck to us all.”
Recker wasn’t about to put his entire faith in an unknown weapon, and he shot the dodecahedron warship with the Ixidar’s cannons. It was a direct hit, but the Lavorix shield held.
Then, the destabiliser swept through him and it hurt as much as anything he’d ever experienced. The agony of it was terrifying and he thought his mind would shut down to protect him. Unconsciousness would not come and he clenched his jaw against the pain.
It’s like I’m ageing ten thousand times faster than normal.
Still, the agony did not subside and Recker wondered if it would ever end, or if this was to be his new state of being. Belatedly, he remembered the Frenziol injectors in his leg pocket and he reached for one.
As quickly as it had come, the pain switched off, leaving Recker dazed and in horror at the memory. Worst of all, was the fear that it might return unexpectedly. The thought was enough to make him jab the injector into his thigh and still, after everything he’d suffered, the needle’s passage into his skin make him wince.
The Ancidium. Is it over?
He raised his head and looked at the sensor feeds. The dodecahedron warship hadn’t gone anywhere, but it was stationary still, and it hadn’t fired its cannons. Something else caught Recker’s eye. The bay had changed – no longer was the air within it clear and dark. Now, the thickest of miasmas clung to the place, dense like lead, yet ephemeral and elusive at the same time.
A new death sphere. We did it.
The hope of victory didn’t bring even a hint of joy and Recker guessed he was feeling the suppressive effects of the death sphere at their most potent. Every emotion was blunted and it took an enormous effort for him to speak.
“Commander Aston?” asked Recker. He cleared his throat and called out louder. “Commander Aston?”
“Yes, sir, I’m here.”
“The Lavorix are dead. What’s your status?”
“They’re dead?”
“Yes, Commander. We created a death sphere and it killed the Lavorix.”
“It really happened?”
Recker was as certain of this as he was about anything. “Yes, it really happened. Now tell me your status.”
“Everyone’s awake apart from Lieutenant Eastwood, Itrol and Litos.”
“I’m here,” said Eastwood. He sounded rough. “I know what you’re about to ask, so I’ll tell you. We’ve got five remaining stabilisers. When we lose the last one, there’ll be nothing stopping the superstressed engines from entering a critical state.”
“You’d better get out of there.”
“I’ll get everyone up and we’ll be on our way,” said Aston.
Recker owed his soldiers a debt for their service, but he felt no guilt at his first priority. He half-climbed, half-fell from his seat and stumbled across to Lera-Vel. She was face-down on the console, and, for a moment, he feared she was dead – killed like Unvak. With the greatest of care he reached out with both hands and pulled her upright. She groaned and her eyes opened enough that he could see her pupils.
“That was not…”
Her eyes closed again and then opened once more. Lera-Vel tried to smile and Recker knew she was going to recover.
“I need to check on the others,” he said.
“Go.”
The squad members were rousing themselves and Corporal Hendrix was dragging her medical box towards the still-unconscious Zivor.
“See to the ship, sir,” said Hendrix, without looking up.
“Report when you’re done, Corporal.”
“Yes, sir.”
Recker’s strength was returning and he returned to his chair. The moment he was seated, his body demanded he sleep, while the new dose of Frenziol demanded that stay awake. It was tempting to close his eyes and find out if death sphere or Frenziol would come out on top, but Recker didn’t take the risk.
Instead, he watched the sensors and waited for the emergence of the Gorgadar’s shuttle.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Along with his returning physical strength, Recker found his emotions were steadily climbing from the pit into which they’d sunk. He still didn’t feel anything like normal, but now the urgency of the situation was making him take greater notice.
I’ve got to fight this, he told himself. Straight after came the counter-thought. Why bother fighting the death sphere? If we get out of here, we win. Otherwise, we lose.
“Damnit,” he growled. “Corporal Montero, find out if Commander Aston and the others are patched into the Gorgadar’s internal comms.”
“They are, sir. You need to scan for the receptor.”
Recker did so and he linked to the shared channel used by the Gorgadar’s crew. “What’s your progress?” he asked.
“We’re heading for the shuttle, sir,” said Aston. “Itrol died, everyone else is with us.”
“Another death,” said Recker. It would hit him hard later, he knew. “How long before we lose the last stabiliser?”
Eastwood answered. “I’ve created a link between my suit computer and the monitoring hardware. We’re down to four stabilisers. No, make that three stabilisers.”
Shifting his gaze to the Gorgadar, Recker studied it for any indication of what was happening within its hull. He saw nothing different.
“I’m bringing the Ixidar closer to you,” he said.
The Ixidar’s hardware was unaffected by the destabiliser and Recker guided it around the dodecahedron spaceship towards the Gorgadar. One of the sensor arrays was aimed at the far wall, and he noted that the visible vibration he’d observed last time he was on the Ancidium was no longer present. Perhaps the change was significant. He didn’t know.
“We’re entering the shuttle,” said Aston. “I hope you left the cockpit clean and tidy.”
It was the first sign that Aston was recovering and Recker smiled a little. Perhaps it was the deadening of his emotions that made him remember Corporal Hendrix’s words, back when he’d first discovered she was seeing Private Enfield.
Besides, you’ve already got what you need, except you’re too dumb to see it.
She’d been talking about Commander Aston, Recker saw that now. He didn’t spend any time wondering if Hendrix was right. Deep inside, he hoped she’d misread everything. It would be easier that way.
“The shuttle is powered up and I
’ve sent the launch command to the Gorgadar’s control computer,” said Aston.
“We’re watching out for you, Commander.”
The shuttle emerged, a tiny vessel against the might of the Gorgadar. It accelerated directly for the Ixidar, and Commander Aston rotated the transport mid-flight without slowing down.
“Stop showing off,” said Recker.
“All in the name of speed, sir.”
“Another stabiliser went into superstress,” said Eastwood. “We’re down to two. I’d suggest you get us out of here the moment this shuttle enters the docking tunnel, sir.”
“Acknowledged,” said Recker.
The Ixidar’s propulsion was already in overstress. He guessed he must have switched it automatically upon their arrival into the Ancidium’s bay.
“One stabiliser left,” said Eastwood.
Still travelling at speed, the shuttle disappeared rear-first into the docking tunnel. Recker didn’t delay - he activated a mode 3 transit, holding the button down until he felt the shuddering re-entry into local space.
“That transit wasn’t so bad,” said Montero, the relief in her voice echoing that in Recker’s head.
“Feels like the death sphere effects have lessened,” he said.
“Not gone,” said Montero.
“No, not gone. I wonder how much of it we brought with us.” It was a question for later. “Find out if the Gorgadar is showing a comms receptor.”
“Sensors and comms coming online. Scanning for receptors…none found, sir.”
Recker opened a channel to his bridge crew. “Lieutenant Eastwood, the Gorgadar is no longer showing a receptor.”
“My suit link is down as well, sir. That could be caused by distance.”
“You don’t think so.”
“No, sir. The Gorgadar lost its final stabiliser and something happened.”
“Hurry to the bridge.” Recker switched out of the channel. “Where are we, Corporal Montero?”
“I’m running area sweeps - you’ll know as soon as I know, sir.”
The Ixidar had travelled a long distance – way beyond the fringes of the Evia system. When Corporal Montero located the Ancidium, she was confronted with readings and data that she lacked the training to understand.
“You’ve done far better than I could have hoped, Corporal Montero,” said Recker. “Lieutenant Burner and Lieutenant Larson will be here soon. This is one for them to deal with.” He stared at the readouts. “Probably Lieutenant Eastwood too.”
His crew entered the bridge and Corporal Montero returned to the squad. A few minutes earlier, Corporal Hendrix had reported no additional deaths, which left Itrol as the only casualty. Nobody was celebrating.
“What are we looking at?” asked Recker, once the others had taken their seats.
“I don’t know,” said Burner. “We’re about fifty billion klicks too far away.”
“I’ll take us closer,” said Recker. “Another mode 3. If we find any Lavorix, we’ll deal with them.”
“Should I contact Fleet Admiral Telar first?” asked Larson. “Does he know what’s happened?”
The question caught Recker by surprise. “I haven’t spoken to him. You’d best let him know, Lieutenant.”
Recker’s error didn’t bother him much, though he was aware enough to realise that it should have done, and aware enough to worry that the destabiliser might have left him permanently dulled. He checked the shield gauge and it was at one hundred percent. “Activating mode 3.”
This next transit carried the Ixidar to within a hundred million kilometres of the Evia star and Recker left the warship stationary where it had arrived. The hull sensors indicated it was cold outside – far colder than expected, given the proximity to the star.
On the main sensor feed, Recker saw an immense sphere of the strangest darkness, directly between the Ixidar and Evia.
“The Ancidium is in the exact middle, and there are many smaller warships clustered around it,” said Burner. “I wonder if some or all of the fleet that was attacking us returned to the mothership when they learned we’d entered one of its bays.”
“Maybe,” said Recker. “Is there still no sign of Daklan survivors?”
“No, sir. I’ve located debris at the place of the engagement, but it’ll take time to unravel which piece belongs to which ship. Ildir-Ta-Rok has had enough time to enter lightspeed and get out of here.”
“Tell me about the sphere, Lieutenant.”
“It’s four million klicks in diameter - bigger than Evia - and the farthest extreme of it is probably touching the star’s surface.”
This new death sphere let through the intense light of the star, yet at the same time muted it, as if the two were in conflict. Stranger still, it appeared as though nothing was moving, making it seem like a static image, rather than a live feed.
“Our sensors are gathering hardly any data from the sphere, sir,” said Larson. “They’re working fine if I focus them elsewhere.”
“What happened here?” asked Recker.
“I think we’re looking two spheres, not one, sir,” said Eastwood. “One created by the destabiliser and the second an aftereffect of whatever happened when the superstressed ternium went critical.”
Recker had the feeling that Eastwood, Burner and Larson, all had their own ideas about this phenomenon. He didn’t push them for answers and let them continue monitoring.
While that happened, Fleet Admiral Telar came on the comms and Recker gave him the details of the engagement. Admiral Ildir-Ta-Rok and a few members of the Daklan fleet had survived. Details were scant.
“You sound…dead,” said Telar. “I know the price was high, but we won.”
“I want to be happy, sir,” said Recker. “The destabiliser has affected us. I can’t feel much of anything.”
“Come home, Carl,” Suddenly Telar’s voice cracked. “I don’t want to lose you after everything you’ve done.”
Recker felt something on his cheek and he lifted his helmet. He touched a fingertip to his face and it came back glistening with a tear.
“Thank you, sir,” he said.
Fingers brushed Recker’s hair – hair grown too long during his time away. He turned and Lera-Vel was there, her own helmet removed and in her eyes he saw everything he’d ever wanted and never known.
Recker took a deep breath. “We’ve done it, folks.” He smiled at them in turn. “Lieutenant Eastwood, set a Gateway course for Earth. Let’s get the hell out of here. It’s time for a rest.”
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Other Science Fiction Books by Anthony James
Survival Wars (Seven Books) – Available in Ebook, Paperback and Audio.
Crimson Tempest
Bane of Worlds
Chains of Duty
Fires of Oblivion
Terminus Gate
Guns of the Valpian
Mission: Nemesis
Obsidiar Fleet (Six Books – set after the events in Survival Wars) – Available in Ebook and Paperback.
Negation Force
Inferno Sphere
God Ship
Earth’s Fury
Suns of the Aranol
Mission: Eradicate
The Transcended (Seven Books – set after the events in Obsidiar Fleet) – Available in Ebook, Paperback and Audio
Augmented
Fleet Vanguard
Far Strike
Galaxy Bomb
Void Blade
Monolith
Mission: Destructor
Fire and Rust (Seven Books) – Available in Ebook, Paperback and Audio.
Iron Dogs
Alien Firestorm
Havoc Squad
Death Skies
Refuge 9
Nullifier
Scum of the Universe
Anomalies (Two Books) – Available in Ebook and Paperback.
Planet Wreckers
Assault Amplified
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