Annals of the Keepers - Rage

by Christiaan Hile

  Data CELL 67

  Space.

  The boundless expanse was motionless, cold, and black.

  The stars in the dark tapestry twinkled, indifferent to the events that would soon unfold within the emptiness outside of Pluto’s orbit.

  There, suspended in silence amongst the apathetic stars, was the Kryth fleet awaiting the arrival of one Human ship, the Orion’s Rage.

  This company included four destroyers, two battleships, several dozen fighters, and the centerpiece of the grand fleet, and the Legion Flag command cruiser, Betarz.

  This battle began like many others, much like it had at the beginning of time, with a flash of light.

  The instant the fissure of light appeared, the confident Kryth crew in the bridge felt their sure sneers and resolute faces drop. Some furrowed the brows in confusion while others felt a cold shiver down their spines.

  The Human warship was to appear out in front of their forces as the vessel emerged from hyperspace.

  This did not occur.

  What they laid witnessed to was a blinding flash of light at the center of their formation.

  The Orion’s Rage appeared dead mass of the defensive position the Kryth ships were in.

  Their abrupt, startled response to this event was soon erased by an orchestra of Human weapon fire that laid a non-discriminating swath of unabashed destruction in its wake before their wide, shocked eyes had a chance to blink.

  ∞∞∞

  With the arrival of the Human warship, a ball of pulsing energy discharged out from Orion’s Rage, moving through the Kryth fleet.

  As the shimmering sphere expanded, the fleet’s fighters and bombers erupted in multiple pock-marked explosions against the extended shields of the Orion’s Rage.

  Each flicker of light signaled the end of a pilot’s life, unable to react or escape the wave as it crashed upon them.

  The cruisers and battleships tried to make evasive maneuvers upon the sudden arrival of the enemy.

  At the heart of weapon flashes and explosions lay the confused Legion Flag.

  The smaller support crafts were caught in the middle of the metal behemoths and had no chance as the two united as one.

  Ship upon disarrayed ship collided with each other, metal shearing and tearing on metal as they met and ripped at each other’s hulls.

  Their metallic death throws turned and tumbled amongst the uncaring observers of stars.

  Fire and gas ballooned outward in a grand jubilance of explosions, one after the other, until the wrecking hulks drifted among the continued battle of the living.

  The meeting of ships caused mayhem within the ranks of the rest of the fleet as the remaining vessels veered away from the bacchanalia of destruction.

  Once the shockwave dissipated, beamed weapons lashed out for those lucky enough to still be alive. Distortion cannons racked disoriented and vying vessels. Mass drivers shredded metal plating of those trying to escape out of the maelstrom. Blue torpedo contrails lined a string of composed chaos amongst others.

  All this devastation from one ship.

  The Kryth weapon fire came too late.

  The once silent and still space exploded into a portrait of fire and smoke from the articial atmospheres of the ships as the Kryth burned before being frozen, left to float, some in pieces, for all eternity in the black abyss.

  The twinkling spectators in the blackness watched the magnificent orchestrated performance with unblinking stares.

  This silent ensemble played music with each flash and explosion as the battle raged with a rhythm of light and fire.

  Any impressive performance is met with an ending crescendo.

  This grand battle was no different.

  If light was music it would be heard by the flickering stars at this evening’s recital. The bright distant spectators would be mesmerized by the pounding of drums as, torpedoes exploded or by the pulling of strings as, metal was torn apart against the climatic moving piece, O Fortuna.

  ∞∞∞

  The Latin poem echoed within the bridge of the Orion’s Rage.

  Red battle lights drenched the interior as each crewmember monitored the raging battle beyond the crystal glass to their front.

  Swirls of light and color lashed about as an angry god painting on black canvas.

  Destruction and death were the order of this battle. One sided, yes, but that was also apt to change with time. Such is the universe’s, and battle’s, chaotic nature.

  This was never lost on Commander Parejas as he sat, watching the Kryth burn before him.

  He sat in his command chair, arms resting.

  He was calm.

  There wasn’t anything about him that expressed any worry or doubts.

  This is what the Keeper Renske observed at her station.

  She sat, astonished, with the music resounding throughout the bridge as she witnessed the utterly brilliant and merciless display of firepower.

  Laurenell took in all she could.

  She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and held it.

  The music.

  It was the music that drew it all together.

  All the emotions of moments ago when the Earth and the whole Sol system were about to be destroyed by the Kryth.

  She could feel it on her skin. In her chest.

  It was difficult for her to breathe when she exhaled her held breath to look back upon the scene.

  She could sense the crew’s feelings.

  There was revenge, of course.

  Hatred.

  But, also, a sense of relief.

  Finally, being able to act.

  This was sensed by the commander himself, she thought.

  She could feel his emotions from where she sat as if he radiated a force of will that saturated his entire being, a form that washed over the bridge to each soul stationed under his command.

  She now knew what her father understood.

  The person makes the chair. Not the other way around.

  Laurenell understood why he oversaw the Ordinance.

  Why so many looked up to him.

  She grasped what her father knew of Parejas. “The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.”

  He had said that it was one of the commander’s favorite quotes by Maimonides.

  She now knew the reason the commander took the tactic he did.

  She began to understand the man in the chair even more.

  Her mind drifted back to the battle outside.

  The finale was at hand.

  ∞∞∞

  The Kryth fleet lay in scattered pieces; except for one.

  The Legion Flag command ship.

  Sparks showered a broken bridge.

  The dead littered the deck and stations, save a few survivors either limping and wimpering from wounds or shouting in attempts to save the doomed vessel.

  A blackened, blood-stained cape quivered along the floor.

  These were the colors that now adorned the white cape of Sontar Jal.

  With a wipe and a smear of blood across his face, the general lifted his battered body off the bridge floor.

  His arm shaked as it rested on what was left of his throne.

  The black eyes rolled toward the viewing screen and the officer seated before it.

  The general’s bleeding and quivering lips parted open.

  Blood drooled out of his gaping mouth, spilling to the floor.

  Disdain creased Sontar Jal’s tattered face.

  His expression shook in a vile of anger as he spat forth his commands, “Route all power to drive engines. Evasive jump. Do it now!”

  The seated officer turned. “We need them for shields, my lord.”

  Sontar’s face contorted to a point that the grime and bloodied marks merged into a decrepit monstrosity. “Do it now! Divert all power! Make the jump. Make it now! Now! NOW! NOW!”

  The officer’s hurried fingers stumbled as they made the necessary adjustments on his console while
Sontar watched, fuming.

  Sontar’s body slid down to the edge of his chair, exhausted and defeated.

  He rolled and rested on his side.

  Glancing at the monitor high above the room, he saw his enemy make a final turn towards their flank.

  His gritted his teeth, lips still quivering.

  His breath still heavy.

  His eyes locked onto what seemed to be the inevitable.

  All he could do now…was wait.

  ∞∞∞

  The Orion’s Rage pitched around, clearing a massive, drifting section of a Kryth destroyer.

  The Human ship was now behind her main target:

  The Legion Flag command cruiser.

  Through the glass of the bridge that sat up high on her spine, a figure stood amongst his seated crewmen.

  Commander Shenta Parejas watched the limping Legion Flag move out of the debris field that was once her surrounding protection.

  The commander placed his arms behind his back.

  How ironic, Parejas thought.

  It was the captain of the other ship who had once stood watching the soon to be destruction of the Sol system by his secret, hidden weapon.

  Parejas took in a deep breath, then began to speak. As the commander’s lips moved, the distant, bright attendees could not hear what Parejas had spoken in the dead silent vacuum that was their auditorium in space. He uttered a single, absolute command.

  “Fire.”

  It was the final crescendo of the moving orchestra as the choir of O Fortuna rose at the exact moment of his command.

  The Latin words were sung as the outside flashes grew in beat, seeming to be playing the very drums themselves, as the finale of the battle ended as it had begun.

  In flames.

  ∞∞∞

  Boom.

  The impact of a beamed weapon upon the hull of the Legion Flag cruiser was felt more than it was heard as she attempted to escape and make the jump out of the system she had once tried to destroy.

  “Sors salutis.”

  Boom. Boom. Another massive impact.

  “Et virtutis.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Michi nunc contraria.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Est affectus.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Et defectus.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Semper in angaria, hac in hora.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Sine mora.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Corde pulsum tangite.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Quod per sortem.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Sternit fortem.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Mecum omnes.”

  Boom. Boom.

  “Plangite.”

  The brass and drums arose within the bridge as the concussions of light danced against the interior walls and the pupils of those viewing, the tempo surging as the final volleys exploded on the Legion Flag’s hull.

  Mass cannons racked the ship in a bubbling wave of fire and flashes.

  Torpedoes streaked in from all directions.

  One after the other, they made their impact until the concussions of each explosion melded into a constant, vibrating quake of destruction.

  The final rattling of drums and screech of strings harmonized as the two large beams split her aft section, shearing through her entire frame as the tearing of metal played trumpets in the Orion’s Rage.

  ∞∞∞

  Sontar’s eyes, already strained, bulged in his face.

  His blood-stained teeth clenched together before opening and letting out one final yell of defiance.

  Ripple upon ripple of internal explosions finished the great Legion Flag off as the definitive shockwave emanated from her center of mass, flashing out into a colossal inferno.

  The drums fell echoed, then fell silent.

  The strings and brass faded.

  The fires burned the artificial atmospheres until they too were gone.

  Nothing but broken ships and bodies remained.

  The Orion’s Rage floated amongst death.

  Data CELL 68

  Silence and darkness were all that remained.

  Now, part of the interstellar matrix of cosmos, the debris and wreckage of the mighty Legion Flag fleet lay in ruin, scattering across the vacuum outside the orbit of a cold, desolate planetoid.

  Parejas departed the forward window, returning to his chair.

  As he approached, he could see the Keeper towards the box, staring, her eyes distant.

  With the battle over, her expression was left impassive. He had seen it before on newcomers to such engagements.

  He turned his attention to his LC.

  “Kansec, take us out of condition red. Give me an updated situation report. Priorities first.”

  The red lights faded, returning the bridge to its monochromatic work state.

  “Bringing sitrep up now, commander.”

  Parejas climbed the steps to his chair and took a seat.

  His first officer reported, “Sir, sitrep follows: Kryth fleets near Mydian have added two more to their sector position. LC Temin and the Sol’s Edge have taken up station with the 2nd fleet.

  “Send message that we will assist. Details to follow.”

  “Sending, sir.”

  “What’s next?”

  Kansec continued, “We are awaiting the update from Captain Takkar on the rescue of Jens Dryden. Their report is an hour over due.”

  The commander clasped his hands and put his head down in thought.

  “Shall I continue, commander?” Kansec asked, sensing Parejas’ unease.

  Shenta sat for a moment before responding, “Continue.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kansec turned back to read, “Provost Marshall Otel has received the Balas Mining’s cooperation and is tracking down the missing cargo from Earth. He may have been lead-on by the person who changed the transport logs.” Kansec turned to the commander with a regretful look. “Captain Strathin was last reported to have accessed the transport logs.”

  No response or posture change came from Parejas.

  The Keeper sat up at the notion, her mouth agape from the news.

  “Continue on, Kansec.”

  “Yes, sir. The last report says both Director Bowlan and Madilay Bowlan were found safe and the remaining Kryth have been neutralized,” Kansec smiled, “and there is a private message attached from Madilay… correction; it’s a live transmission request awaiting your reponse, commander.”

  “I’ll take it now.”

  With a swipe of a finger on a panel near the armrest of his chair, Parejas activated a privacy field.

  This energy field raised from the base of his seat to the arched ceiling.

  The next wave of his finger opaqued the field to a solid white.

  ∞∞∞

  Parejas brought up the tramsmission.

  Madilay’s face appeared on the inside of the privacy field.

  “It’s good to see you, Madilay.”

  The young woman had been on-hold, fidgeting with something as she awaited a reponse, and jumped as he greeted her.

  She scrunched up her face. “Oh. Commander. Thank you for taking my request.”

  “Anytime, Madilay. How’s Shawna doing?”

  “Well, she’s recovering, but we had been captured by some Kryth and escaped.”

  “I know. I heard the report of your capture. So, how did you escape?”

  “I took a key card from them and we tried to get back to base camp. They sent their dogs after us…we couldn’t stop them and they attacked Shawna. It… happened so fast…I couldn’t…”

  Her voice choked as her emotions started to overcome her usual confident voice.

  “You did a fantastic job given the circumstances, Madilay. I’m proud of you. Your mother would have been proud of you as well.”

  She sniffled. “I’m sure she is. Once mom wakes up, I’m sure she’ll say something…right before she lec
tures me for being reckless.”

  Parejas was taken aback by her comment. When did she start acknowledging Shawna as “mom”?

  A warm smile lit his face. “I’m proud of the both of you.”

  Madilay smiled back, wiping back her tears, and chuckled. “Oh, and there were wolves.”

  “Wolves?” Parejas asked

  “Bassor wolves to be exact. On the planet. Near Cheyenne mountain. They protected us from the Kryth.”

  The commander nodded, understanding. “Yes. I’m aware of their existence, but never thought they would still be around after all these years.”

  “It was amazing. They have no fear of us. They took out the Kryth and their nasty dogs.”

  Parejas laughed. “You mean aythras?”

  “Yeah. Those things.”

  “Good to know. Aythras can be…nasty.”

  Madilay beamed. “Now, I know why I called you, commander.”

  Parejas raised an inquisitive brow. “Wasn’t it for your well-being?”

  “No. Well…yes. Sort of. I had an idea for the wolves.”

  “Go on.”

  “I thought we could use the wolves like how the Kryth use aythras. We could integrate them into the Reaver Regiments. Reaver Wolves.”

  Parejas sat, stunned. “That’s…that’s brilliant, Madilay.”

  “You like it?”

  “I do. In fact, I’m going to put you in charge of this new program that you’ve come up with.”

  “Really?” Madilay bounced where she was. She couldn’t contain her excitement.

  He hadn’t seen her bounce like that since she was a child. He smiled in spite of himself and chuckled. “Yes. Really. Now, Madilay,” she stopped bouncing, “I want you to take this seriously. I want a report submitted directly to me in two weeks. Sound fair?”

  Madilay rolled her eyes, but put on a somber expression. “Yes, commander. You will have my report on your desk in two weeks regarding the Reaver Wolf project.”

  “Well, congratulations on your well-deserved promotion. Send my love to your mother for me. Tell her I’ll be in touch soon.”

  “Thank you, commander. I will relay your regards to mom.”