by Reg Franklin
“More. Reinforced. Stealthed.” The Xaodi translation device continued having trouble interpreting the insectoid language to English, but converted English into the Par’virer tongue, which they could understand if not speak. But its meaning was clear enough as it gestured with a pedipalp at the hologram of a Vandle needler, one of the three recovered from the planetoid where Pickman almost died. “Engines. Powerful. More. Took from. All. Made best.”
“You’re saying you took all three needlers, and built a super-needler?” Chris asked slowly. “And all in the time it took to leave Earth, travel to Relex Prime, and then to here?”
The Par’virer commander squawked laughter. “I did tell you, Admiral, the Opkohc are amazing engineers! The ones aboard our ship have tripled our shield efficiency already!”
The Opkohc’s feelers waved frantically. “Should have. Focused. Defending friends! Forgive!”
Jennifer smiled gently, and laid a hand on the alien carapace, trying to transmit feelings of reassurance. “We’re grateful, truly.”
It seemed to work, as the alien centipede started to calm down. “Friends?”
“Great friends.” Jennifer’s smile widened. “What do we call you? Your name?”
The Par’virer spoke up again. “You’d need mandibles and feelers to pronounce it, sadly.” The Opkohc bobbed its great head in agreement, having learned the human habits of nodding and shaking from the Alex’s repair teams.
Jennifer frowned, then smiled. “Fixit. If that’s all right, I’d like to call you Fixit.”
The Opkohc cocked its head, then nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Name good!”
Chris couldn’t help but smile at these strange beings who seemed as easy to please as young children. “Okay then, Fixit, is that ship ready to fly?”
“Need fuel, then yes!”
“All right, looks like we have a basic battle plan. Ms. Safyo will use the upgraded needler to penetrate the station while the Gieron forces create a distraction by trying to invade. Relex vessels will try to interfere with the Vandle systems-”
“Relex not try! Relex do!”
Chris saw Jennifer choke back laughter. “Yes, of course. All our capital ships will take the fight as best we can to the Vandle. But let me be clear: as much as I do not trust the Psi-Omegans, do not fire upon them unless provoked. We need their help, no matter how much it sickens me. As for why they’re so untrustworthy, over a century ago they blasted a small Earth town to dust simply because they could. If you need to coordinate with them, then do so. But we’re already trying to end one war, we don’t need to start another. Am I clear?”
The group of commanders gave assent.
“There is one exception. Ms. Safyo has permission to sanction their Emperor if she meets him on the station. If only because I understand they have a long-running feud, and I prefer not to get in the middle of it.” Chris shrugged. Athlé pursed her lips but remained silent. “We’ll reach Sagittarius A in about thirty minutes. Let’s end this.”
VI - The Battle of Sagittarius A
A hole in reality. That’s the only way to describe it. Back in the year 2019, a team of scientists first imaged a black hole, and the picture was certainly eerie. But it had nothing on what the Prelt named V’elj.
This was where, if they had been successful in their purge, the Vandle would have flown into happily. There is a certain dark poetry in that, I suppose: the Prelt’s weapon of last resort calmly walking through the gates of their underworld.
Sagittarius A, V’elj, lined with captured light, detritus, and orbited by a monument to both arrogance and madness. Lavnabren living there made perfect sense, calling herself the Void Queen. In a way, dwelling here made her the gatekeeper to the ultimate void.
No one has ever discovered the truth of a black hole. Or, at least, no one has ever flown past the event horizon and returned. Is it truly death? Or are they, like so many twentieth century writers hypothesized, actual gateways to other dimensions? What would happen if one were to fly in?
I’m in no hurry to find out. Besides, Aster, Lavnabren, and the Vandle had already volunteered to explore V’elj. They just didn’t know it yet.
-Jennifer Safyo
36.
“Launch the assault, Commodore.” Stragdoc bared his teeth wolfishly.
“All ships, engage the enemy!” Vaathek may have loathed him, but she was too career military to disobey an order to fight an opponent that was dedicated to killing everything. Besides, although the Emperor was the one who cost her an eye, if the Vandleifdulus hadn’t attacked, she wouldn’t be wearing this eyepatch. The fleet of Talon-class battleships accelerated towards the massing number of alien vessels. The Hecatomb flew like an arrow into the middle of the enemy, disgorging Neuromancer-piloted shuttles in its wake. Vaathek looked over at the Emperor, but he had eyes only for the space station above the black hole.
“E.T.A. on second battlegroup?” She calmly asked. The response came quickly that the Empress and her fleet were five minutes out, and battlegroup three would be thirty minutes after that.
“And the ‘Earth Alliance’?” The Emperor’s voice was filled with disgust.
“Just behind the Empress. No more than thirty seconds!”
“Ready my shuttle then.” The Emperor rose and moved to the lift. “And Vaathek?” He looked over his shoulder. “Ensure that the station remains unharmed, Commodore.”
---
“Feet originally control everything.” Fixit explained. “Opkohc might be able to operate, humans cannot. Too few legs.” Jennifer listened attentively as the super-needler was loaded into a launch bay. “ Now, upper legs control engines, lower legs directions.” He pointed at four pedals at the bottom of the craft. “Could not make simpler, Fixit is sorry.”
“That’s all right, maybe if you had more time.” Jennifer murmured. She’d made one change to the plan. She had been concerned that the Vandle would easily detect the modified needler, so in order to give it an initial boost of speed, it would be fired from the Alex’s railgun. From there, she simply had to make sure nobody else fired on her, and that she crashed right into the station. The ship’s design meant she had to lay on her stomach, arms down straight gripping the acceleration controls. “Which control opens the hatch?”
“Green button here. Opens and closes.” Fixit pointed at a green stud near the hatch line. “When ready to leave, left control here is thrust reverse.”
Jennifer studied it carefully, memorizing it. “You really have done fantastic work, Fixit. You should be proud.” She sensed the joy her words filled the insectoid with. What happened to your species to make you so eager to please?
“Ready?” Christopher walked into the weapons bay.
Jennifer laughed shakily. “I’m about to be fired at mach one into an alien fortress. I’ve been better.”
“We can still just drop the needler out the loading bay.” He offered.
“I appreciate it, truly. But surprise is our best advantage. Against both the Vandle and the Psi-Omegans.”
Jemma’s voice echoed over the ship’s speakers. “Admiral, we’re less than three minutes out.”
Christopher squeezed her shoulder. “Good hunting.”
She smirked. “You too.”
He turned to leave, but paused. “Do you have a name for the needler, Fixit?”
The Opkohc’s mandibles gnashed agitatedly. “Vengeance for Opk.”
“Okay. Get ready.”
Jennifer climbed into the ship, laying on her belly. “See you soon, Fixit.”
“Fixit hopes so.” The centipede chattered as she closed the hatch.
---
Athlé was standing next to Chris’ command throne as he entered the bridge. “Is she ready?”
“As she can be. You might want to return to quarters, Cynosure.”
She shook her head. “They’re no safer than here. Besides, we either win, or we all die.”
Chris nodded. “All right. At least find a seat.”
&nb
sp; “Absolutely.” She sat at a nearby unattended communications console.
“Admiral, cutting superluminal drive...now!”
The fleet had arrived into absolute chaos. Vandle vessels were everywhere, needlers, carriers, the gate ships, and at the very edge of the battle, the gigantic rip in the universe. Psi-Omegan ships were launching their own fighters, ships that resembled smaller versions of the Red Talon firing with abandon, slicing through the smaller ships. The Talon herself barely a few kilometers ahead of the Alex, its fearsome primary cannon knifing through scores of needlers. Chris sucked in a breath in awe, for what else could he do when confronted with the hole at the center of our galaxy? “Launch fighters!” Chris commanded, “Where’s the station?”
“It’s being screened by the gateships!” Jemma relayed. “They’ve formed a defensive perimeter around the structure.”
“I need an opening, people! Vengeance for Opk, hang on a little longer!”
“This is Cynosure Athlé Ma’ald of the Xaodi. Psi-Omegan fleet, who is in command?” The alien woman’s voice cut across the bridge. There was silence on the comms for a moment.
“I am. Commodore Zulphäis Vaathek, commanding the Hecatomb. Cynosure, was it?”
“Yes it is. We have a plan to stop this insanity, but to enact it, we need an opening in the defensive screen around the enemy base. Will you coordinate with us?”
On the Hecatomb, Vaathek’s mind swam. The Emperor was already en route to the fortress on his shuttle, and he might be able to use his formidable psionic talents to throw ships aside to force his way through. But if she helped open a way, it might just be something to get revenge on him with. She was about to agree when his voice entered the conversation. “Cynosure. This is Emperor Stragdoc of the Psi-Omegan Empire. Your assistance will not be necessary.” She swore under her breath.
Back on the Alex, Chris’ hands had involuntarily tightened on his chair. That, smug, arrogant voice, like a knife from his past… “Which ship did that transmit from?”
“Tracking…” Jemma replied. “There! A small shuttle rapidly moving to the defensive line!”
-Admiral? Lock the rail gun on his coordinates and fire me.
Chris’ mouth formed a twisted grin, immediately understanding Jennifer’s plan.
---
Stragdoc stood behind his pilots, arm outstretched. “Open sesame!” Hie giggled madly as he shoved a larger vessel in the defensive screen.
“Sir! Incoming from behind us!”
His concentration broke. “Evasive action, you moron!” The pilot performed the only move available to him, dropping the shuttle out of the way of the hurtling Vandleifdulus vessel. Were they in an atmosphere, the sonic boom of its passage would have rattled every bone in their bodies.
Instead, Stragdoc was rattled by a psychic message.
-Thanks for the opening!
“NO!” Stragdoc grabbed the pilot, telekinetically hauling him from his seat, taking the controls himself. He caught a glimpse of the modified alien vessel barreling through the hole he’d opened in the line. Screaming incoherently, he fired wildly at the rapidly escaping ship, but the line had closed behind it. Rage poured off the Emperor in palpable waves.
Not this time you crazy bitch!
37.
“Gieron task force en route, e.t.a. 30 seconds to the defense line!” Jemma called out. “Relex commanders report they are ready for their part!”
“Holy hell, we might actually win this!” Chris grinned. He couldn’t help it, even if it seemed to be going far too easily. All the Vandle could do was hold most of the fleet back from their palace of madness, and just barely at that.
Athlé looked at the control panel she was sitting beside. “Admiral, we seem to have an incoming transmission from the station.”
“Put him on.” Chris’ grin deflated, preparing to speak to the lunatic who was prolonging the fight.
+What a charming display. You do realize that this is but a portion of our strength? That when the rest arrives, you shall be crushed utterly?+
“Aster, tell me something. If you and Lavnabren are dead when they arrive, what exactly will they do?” He had to keep himself from laughing.
+Probably die. So I had best make sure that what I am assuming is the majority of your fleets are annihilated ensuring my own survival. D’kha-r’weh!+
The transmission went dead. “Zath? What did he just say?”
+He said...transmit now.+
“Sir, science operations says they’re picking up a signal from the station. It seems to be firing bursts of gravity waves into Sagittarius A.” Jemma looked confused, Athlé didn’t seem to understand, but Zath’s eyes had gone bright white.
+Hst-ur-Dra! You must not do this!+
“What is he doing?” Chris had yet to hear terror in the Prelt’s voice like he did now.
+He is opening the V’elj!+
“Forgive my ignorance, Zath, but how does one open a gravitic singularity?” Athlé’s brow furrowed. But she received an answer as the vessel bucked under them.
“Sir, whatever Aster’s doing, Sagittarius is reacting, sending out massive gravitic waves!” Jemma had a slight cut on her cheek from hitting her console, but was ever the professional, ignoring the stinging pain and reading off the data being transmitted to her.
+He has opened the underworld, freeing the honored dead.+ Zath’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Astrophysics reports that the tight beam transmission into Sagittarius is effectively reversing its polarity!”
Things long trapped by the black hole began to emerge. Asteroids and debris rocketed out, ships frantically maneuvering out of their paths with some failing.
“Par’virer command ship down!” Jemma shouted, clutching at her board as the Alex managed to avoid a piece of rock twice its size. “Two Gieron carriers sustaining massive damage!”
Athlé staggered to her feet. “How is Aster avoiding the debris?”
+It all depends on the transmission. Frequency plus trajectory equals altered ejection path. He can not control what emerges, but he can certainly control where it goes!+
“This is Commodore Vaathek to all vessels in range! I am transmitting coordinates for the station’s broadcast point! Target and fire!”
---
“Countermanded!” Stragdoc snarled into the comm. “I want that station intact!”
-At the cost of our own people, husband?
He grimaced, having forgotten that Callixta was at the battle.
“Forgive me, Commodore, I...lost myself in the moment.” Stragdoc seethed. Other vessels were approaching the defensive line, trying to break through. He surrendered to his anger in full, refusing to be denied his vengeance or his prize.
---
The Gieron assault shuttles opened fire, trying to force a hole through the line. On board, the hulking brutes selected for the task were of the cybernetically enhanced type, chosen for presumed resilience to the Vandleifdulus’ toxic blood. As such, these soldiers were far more brutish than the average. So when a small Vandle ship seemed to crumple up near one of the Psi-Omegan vessels, they froze, unsure of what exactly had just happened. But when the other ship tore through the newly formed hole, they followed suit.
---
Jennifer’s feet stamped out a rhythm on the directional pedals. Hell, forget Michael Flatley, I am Lord of the Dance! She laughed wildly as Fixit’s modified vessel tore towards the station, her hands clenched around the acceleration/deceleration controls, her eyes fixed on the monitor in front of her as the station loomed closer. A large Vandle carrier loomed away from the station, heading for the line, either not seeing her or just ignoring her tiny ship. She could try maneuvering around it, but, well…
Ah, screw it. Jennifer grinned wildly as she twisted the throttle, speeding up the needler, pitching it upwards at an angle, trying to do the most damage she could as the ship did the job it was meant for, tearing through the larger ship. But rather than decelerating, she gunned it
harder, ripping right through deck after deck. She slammed into more than a few Vandle, pulverizing them with the impacts, before screaming back out of the ship.
Again! I want another!
Jennifer shook her head, clearing the battle lust. Who knew how many vessels this thing could wreck before it was totalled? If she succeeded on the station, then she’d indulge. Maybe even right through the Red Talon.
She pitched her needler back at the station, and opened the engine right up, cutting the speed only when she was right in front of the structure so as to not tear through it and launch herself into Sagittarius.
The needler punched easily through the bulkhead, structural integrity fields of the station locking around it, inadvertently letting the invader lock in place exactly where she wanted. Her hand hit the green button Fixit had indicated, popping the hatch and releasing her. She telekinetically launched herself from the cockpit, attaching a remote comm to her ear as she landed.
