Through the Abyss

by Daniel Litchfield

  “Only one way to find out.” He logged into the CMDS and pulled up Carpathian’s H. Profile. Moments later, the words “Diplomatic Jump Sequence” greeted him for the second time after the failed communications request.

  “This is going to be a hard one to word,” Euphretes thought to himself.

  “Gee, Dad, you know how you said to stay put, well, I kinda didn’t do that. It’s okay though, I’m only going to try and board Emperor Indus’s Flagship.”

  “Was that supposed to be funny?” He shot back while hitting the Record Message icon next to the failed communications request.

  Seven minutes later, Euphretes exited the Bridge and grabbed Crestone who was cradling his midsection.

  “Let me guess. You’ve got the dreaded pre-mission irritable bowel syndrome.”

  “After all these years, I still get em,” Crestone moaned. He quickly downed some medicine in an attempt to prevent what everyone knew was coming.

  “The fact that you still get em says a lot about you.”

  “Sir?”

  “Because that means you still fully grasp the consequences of what we’re about to do. It means you’re not a blood thirsty animal who enjoys the darkness found in killing. It means this War hasn’t stolen your soul. Trust me, it’s when you stop getting that sickening feeling that you should be concerned about your strength as a warrior, not the other way around,” Euphretes explained.

  Moments later, Commander Ardein met the two Senior Leaders outside an empty turret chamber that was holding the rest of the team. “How are we looking?” Euphretes asked.

  “Pre-mission Inspections are complete. For your situational awareness Sir, the spare Life Suits are split between Steward Operative Urick and Caruso; and the additional munitions and tools are being carried by Edey and myself.” Ardein explained, referring to the light weight material that the team would use should they need to get whoever they were rescuing into open deep space. A planner for worst case scenarios, Euphretes insisted on bringing the extra life suit.

  Because there would be no-one left onboard the Delta Infiltrator once the team exited the turret chamber, Euphretes wanted a failsafe should events turn south. To prevent Indus from reverse engineering Through the Abyss’s stealth technology, Euphretes turned to his Technology and Armament Section on Steadfast and Loyal. Using Through the Abyss’s internal weaknesses against themselves, a powerful Reverse Evolution Virus was created specifically for the Delta Infiltrator by Browder and his team. Once unleashed, it would render Through the Abyss’s technology entirely void while signaling a jump drive core overload. The resulting explosion would destroy any remaining evidence within the Ship.

  “Then we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Euphretes answered while gesturing for the Commander to lead the way into the empty turret chamber.

  “Good luck Sir,” Ardein said with a sly wink before snaking through the narrow tunnel.

  Euphretes looked skeptical as he peered into the tunnel that would give them access to the staging area, and therefore his team. “I can’t shrink your body, so don’t even ask.” Even Neuma wondered how he was going to get through it.

  After a few minutes of twisting and contorting, followed by another few minutes of pulling and tugging, Euphretes popped free. Like a pit spurting from an olive, he rammed into the far wall in a blur of flailing limbs.

  THRACK!

  Unable to contain himself, Caruso doubled over with laughter as he thought about telling this beautiful story in the future. “So no lie, there I was stuck in a Ship’s turret chamber yanking on the Armada Commander’s arms when . . .”

  Euphretes interrupted, “No visual sensors in here to record the event. Never happened!” Everyone shared a good laugh which helped to settle the frayed nerves of every man in the room. “Next time I plan something based off memory,” he said to his mind space, “kick me.”

  “Not like you had many options.”

  “True.”

  “Alright everyone,” Euphretes announced, grabbing the boarding team’s attention. “We are looking at a much smaller window than the one briefed. So, instead of traveling in two separate groups, we will have to do it as one formation; which can set off the objective’s external sensors if we aren’t careful.”

  As Euphretes briefed the slightly adjusted plan, DI6 weaved Through the Abyss around the web of protection surrounding Dawn of Creation using Neuma’s course settings. With the close proximity of the outer layer of Cruisers and the inner layer of Super Capitals, the slightest mistake by the RAI, or in Neuma’s course, would guarantee a swift end to them all.

  “Approaching the first major obstacle,” Neuma warned while relaying the images back to Euphretes’s mind space.

  A multitude of Specters conducting continuous flight patterns around a mine field filled his mind space momentarily. Fortunately, unlike Zeiyan’s mine emplacements, the one standing before Through the Abyss was designed to protect against a Combat Team sized element or above. Because they were more spread out, the stealth Ship was allowed to sneak right through the exterior mine defenses.

  “Easy. Easy,” Euphretes whispered to himself, watching the Ship come within only forty-two miles of a Specter. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his heart felt as if it had frozen in place, “NO WAY!”

  RREEUURR! RREEUURR! RREEUURR!

  Attention grabbing alarms broke out within each team member’s helmet. “Enemy Specter Close Proximity Alert”, “Enemy Specter Close Proximity Alert.” The monotone voice repeated between the warning tones.

  RREEUURR! RREEUURR! RREEUURR!

  Inside the empty turret port, white lights blinked on and off, indicating that a prevented rapid release of the turret had taken place. “Glad he caught that one,” Neuma sighed, referring to DI6 preventing Through the Abyss from accidentally ejecting the team into deep space prematurely.

  As quickly as the nerve racking alarms arrived, they shut off. “Sorry about that. Your early alert systems are now turned off. Won’t happen again,” DI6 informed.

  “How is that possible? I’ve never had that go off inside a Fleet Vessel before!” Crestone asked in bewilderment.

  “While it’s true that the interior walls of Fleet Vessels help prevent your equipment from registering nearby fighter signatures, you aren’t fully inside Through the Abyss’s protection. That’s why your equipment reacted the way it did,” DI6 declared, using the team wide channel.

  “That’s unbelievable. How close were they?” Caruso secretly hoped the RAI wouldn’t answer.

  “Thankfully, it drastically altered its course at the last moment and appears to be returning to its home Ship. But to answer your question, it was five seconds away from making a direct collision with us,” DI6 explained.

  “And the luck continues,” Euphretes remarked to his mind space.

  Despite a group made entirely of type A personalities, not a single one spoke a word. They were all too busy trying to figure out what had just happened. What were the odds that they had not been picked up, or that a Spector would deviate from its course to prevent a collision? It defied logic.

  “The only reasonable explanation had to be pilot complacency,” Euphretes commented to Neuma, trying to find some meaning in it all. “Must’ve not had the proper equipment up and running and had to return or something.”

  “I don’t know Euphretes, but if the universe wants to favor us, I’ll take it.”

  “Do any of you think that was weird?” Crestone finally asked out loud.

  “We all know the fickleness of deep space fighters and the trillions of things that could’ve caused it to get “Return to Ship” orders. But I refuse to think it was anything else. Because if that Specter was intentionally moved, that means the enemy knows about us and we’re already dead men!” Euphretes bluntly stated, ending the conversation right then and there.

  With the worst of it over in regards to the close proximity of Specters and Fleet Vessels, the last phase of Neuma’s course settings had Through the Ab
yss dodging Indus’s Headquarters Element. Composed of an oversized Super Capital Ship, which was currently and mysteriously absent, two Capital Ships, and three Cruisers, the Headquarters element was itself a large protection for Dawn of Creation.

  “DI6, those bad boys could annihilate this ship in the blink of an eye. Should one of them or a Specter get that close again, you will have to dump us immediately and let us find another way in,” Euphretes directed. “And if you do end up avoiding detection, then we can link back up; but we can’t afford to take that risk again.” Euphretes stayed on the team wide channel when he issued the command, allowing the entire team to remain situationally aware in case they found themselves suddenly thrust into open deep space.

  “Good call. At the end of the day, I’d rather take my chances out there than in here.”

  “Too easy Sir. I’ll do my best to give a heads up should the contingency become necessary.”

  Around Through the Abyss, the immediate threat of a mission cut far too short was over. Having passed the outer perimeter, the stealth Fleet Vessel silently drifted in the brief “no man’s land” toward the next layer of Baikal defenses.

  The same violent stillness now blanketing Through the Abyss was occurring all across the front, as if everyone waited on edge for something sizable to happen. Only small clashes of Frigates and Cruisers, fervently fighting to keep their enemy at bay, were taking place at the outer fringes and at the very heart of the front. Long range precision missiles crawled across the empty blackness, intent on silent annihilation. Small teams of Special Forces on all sides attempted to sneak in behind enemy spheres of influence and wreak havoc while the rest of the universe went completely unaware. Marksman Frigates readied their cannons and stock piled ammunition, preparing for the War’s exhale.

  “Coming up on the Headquarters element. Should only be a few more minutes,” Neuma warned.

  She was able to reach farther into the Ship now that Euphretes was sitting still and focused on an anchor point.

  “Standby,” DI6 said a fraction of a second later.

  No one on the team spoke a word. The time had come for them to not only prove the superiority of the Huron Royal Special Forces, but prove that their Leader had in fact not lost his mind. Each was going through their own pre-combat rituals to get themselves ready for the hardships they were about to face. Steward Operative Edey Rurez Huron squeezed a stress ball to get the blood flowing and at the same time rammed some heavy music into his right ear. Next to him was his close friend and cousin, Steward Operative Urick Flurez Huron, who was busy fidgeting with a hand held gaming device. Caruso’s pre combat ritual was to stare at the wall and let his mind go blank. He was completely unaware of the huge grin on his youthful face. Commander Ardein’s right leg tapped up and down at a feverish pace while he stared at a vacuum sealed flower that his wife had given him for his first deployment. Ardein carried it with him every time he crossed War’s threshold.

  “Fifty seconds,” DI6 warned again. The sounds of harness restraints being yanked on, weapon function checks, and armor storage areas being opened and closed instantly filled the cramped turret chamber.

  “Ten. nine.”

  “Here we go boys, let’s go show them how it’s done!” Euphretes fired to his team, his tone carrying a healthy dose of fearful excitement.

  “One.”

  “Doors Opening Now!” DI6 warned to the team.

  CCCCRRRREEEEAAAAKKK! A deafening scrapping noise reverberated throughout the space.

  BBBBOOOOOOOOMMMM!

  SSSSHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIISSSSSHHHHH!

  The turret port’s door was smacked with a large pressure wave as everything rushed out into the vacuum of space, violently shooting the inhabitants into the air.

  THRACK!

  Safety harnesses yanked the inhabitants back from deep space’s pull. A split second later, the turret’s floor quickly shot out of its hiding place and became level with the outside surface of the Delta Infiltrator. “Detach!” Euphretes ordered once he felt the Ship’s artificial gravity no longer in effect; his body starting to float.

  The team drifted together into the backdrop of space, the gigantic Flagship directly above their heads while Through the Abyss drifted invisibly below. Using single crew propellant systems attached to the back of their armor Kits, Euphretes and his five-man team quickly put as much distance between themselves and Through the Abyss. Despite the hundreds of thousands of visible stars surrounding the boarding team, identifying fighters and Fleet Vessels would have been impossible without their helmets enhancing the images and highlighting the threats around them.

  “You don’t get to see this every day,” Caruso remarked with a surprisingly serious tone. Twenty-one Specters, each outlined in yellow, darted all around them while Dawn of Creation loomed ahead. A Reconnaissance Cruiser fresh from the front drifted in from a jump sequence, with another eleven Specters flying escort. Everywhere they looked, the power of the Baikal military and how close they were to death was frightfully obvious.

  “Pick up your speed to setting five. We can’t afford to be seen out here in the open,” Euphretes ordered. Using his eyes and a few spoken commands, he pulled up the interface of the piece of equipment attached to his back on his visor. With two blinks, his speed doubled instantly.

  Euphretes maneuvered his team away from the Specters and started the final approach where they would intersect with Dawn of Creation. With the assistance of Neuma scanning the exterior of the Flagship, he was able to pin point a location with enough external maintenance hand holds for the entire team to grab onto while also having nearby air locks. Two arctic blue lines in the dead center of his visor popped up the second Neuma finalized the trajectory and sent it to his helmet’s programing systems, guiding him the rest of the way.

  “Sending individual trajectories now,” DI6’s voice informed. “I kept everyone as close and in line as possible. I don’t have to remind you of what happens if we get the timing wrong,” The RAI warned, his tone foreboding.

  Senior Leading Operative Crestone replied with gusto. “This is too easy boys. NOW LET’S GO SHOW THESE DEPLORABLES WHO THE REAL MASTERS OF DEATH ARE!”

  The team’s communication’s line exploded with the Senior NCO’s comment, everyone ready to dish out some justified retribution for Demon’s Reckoning.

  “They don’t get it! They don’t even know!” Edey shouted.

  “Someone’s fired up,” Neuma commented, laughing.

  “For Demon’s Reckoning!” Urick bellowed as he lined up his body with the blue lines on his visor.

  “FOR DEMON’S RECKONING!” Caruso yelled.

  Meanwhile, Through the Abyss slowed its velocity to wait for the Special Forces soldiers to reach the exterior surface before looping back around. On the outer edges of Euphretes’s visor, Super Capitals highlighted in thin scarlet lines crept through the darkness, converging on Dawn of Creation. “What’s drawing them inward?” He asked Neuma.

  “I don’t know, but DI6 is running out of room as quickly as we are. We need to act now before those Super Capitals find Through the Abyss and ultimately us.”

  Immediately after she finished speaking, “DI6, how you looking?” Euphretes asked, still utilizing the team channel.

  “Things are getting tight; not sure how much longer my luck will hold out on this side,” The RAI answered.

  Watching the Super Capitals get closer, Euphretes had to quickly come up with another option to get Through the Abyss out of the danger area but close enough to provide immediate support if needed. “Take her around to the other side and hold there for as long as possible,” he instructed.

  “Good copy. Best of good luck, Sir.”

  Lining up the final approach, “Everyone still with us?” Euphretes asked, knowing that in a matter of seconds they would be ramming into the second deadliest Fleet Vessel in the Galactic Group’s history.

  “We’re good to go, Sir,” Commander Ardein answered, after receiving individual reports fr
om the three Steward Operatives and Crestone.

  Fifty seconds later, “Reverse Power, Full Throttle!” Euphretes shouted.

  SSMMAACCKK! THRACK! SSMMAACCKK! SSMMAACCKK!

  Euphretes’s body bounced and rolled along the exterior of the Flagship as his armor’s breaking mechanisms failed to adequately slow him down. His visor was screaming every alarm imaginable while creating rainbows of light and tones throughout his helmet.

  “DON’T MOVE YOUR ARM! AFTER YOUR SECOND ROLL, GRAB WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND AND DO NOT LET GO!” Neuma shouted over the mental strain attacking Euphretes’s mind.

  SSMMAACCKK!

  “You’ve got this!”

  SSMMAACCKK!

  “There it is! GRAB IT!”

  CCRRUUNNCCHH!

  Euphretes felt his shoulder dislocate itself and then unintentionally pop itself back in place. He held on for what felt like an eternity until his body had matched the speed of the moving Flagship.