Through the Abyss

by Daniel Litchfield

  “How are we lookin?” Euphretes nervously asked Neuma before speaking to the team, “We need to keep moving until we find a better defensive position.”

  “Almost there!” Neuma warned, letting her partner know that she was rushing to find a solution.

  Having no other choice but to keep moving, despite running the risk of splitting his consciousness again while Neuma was deep inside the Flagship, Euphretes quickly came up with his own solution. He focused on a singular spot within his helmet as an anchor point and using his peripherals to guide him, he successfully led the team away from the death trap they were in.

  “We should be good.”

  “Should?”

  “Well, I triggered a generator backfire on deck five. If a response team does come, which I highly doubt, they’ll check out the generator before even considering the superstructure.”

  “That was clever! I would’ve blown up the generator to create a distraction, not an alibi,” Euphretes replied with a chuckle. He paused at an advantageous position and motioned a circle with his hand; telling the team to establish security and prepare for an attack.

  “That’s why I didn’t even bother asking for your opinion before acting,” Neuma laughed.

  Twenty-five tense minutes passed before Commander Ardein cautiously spoke, “Calling it clear, Sir?”

  “Clear,” Euphretes replied before getting up and moving back into the superstructure. With the crisis averted and the team back inside an entirely different section of Dawn of Creation, Steward Operative Urick interjected, “Is anyone else concerned by the insane amount of good luck that we’re having?”

  “Until I see the other end of a barrel, I’m not going to ask any questions,” Edey replied.

  “Right there with you!” Euphretes commented before opening up a link to Through the Abyss. Speaking into his helmet, “DI6, how’s your situation?”

  The RAI’s whiskered face and tense eyes appeared on the right side of Euphretes’s visor. “Still here, but I’m essentially pinned. The Super Capitals have all of a sudden decided to press in on Dawn of Creation, leaving me little room over here.”

  “Roger, stay where you are if you can then. As for the Super Capitals, Emperor Indus is on his way back; which is the cause for the increase in security. He should arrive within the hour, so be on alert,” Euphretes directed.

  “Good copy, Sir. Staying on standby,” The RAI said before disconnecting. Euphretes led the team for another fifty paces before Neuma stopped him.

  She directed Euphretes to a ladder and a narrow portal that enabled maintenance or rescue teams to travel vertically in the superstructure, “Deck three.”

  Euphretes pointed down the ladder and showed three fingers before grabbing a rung and descending. “We only have to climb three decks? Is that also suspicious Urick?” Caruso sneered.

  “It will be when we’re greeted by gun fire at the bottom!” Crestone responded, essentially telling his team mates to shut their mouths. Once the boarding team was entirely on deck three, Euphretes paused to let Neuma search up ahead.

  “Continue right. We want the next exit out of here, roughly seventeen paces.”

  Motioning with his hand down the right side, “Our turn should be the very next one, seventeen paces. So keep your eye’s peeled,” The Admiral informed, ducking his head and crawling back into the dark corridor.

  “So short? No comment Urick?” Caruso mocked, unable to control himself.

  “I swear Caruso. You’re like a prepubescent child.”

  “Yeah? Well, young kids are wicked smart nowadays, so thanks for the compliment Senior Op,” Caruso shot back.

  The boarding team made quick work to the maintenance access door that would lead them back inside the Flagship, and one step closer to Emperor Lesos. “Alright, Edey, can you take it from here?” Euphretes asked, knowing the Steward Operative’s schematics would be able to guide him the rest of the way. Edey shuffled over to the door, “Affirmative, I know exactly where to go from here.”

  “Mind sharing it with the class?” Urick asked out loud.

  “Roger. We’ve got a right turn here, followed by a left turn after fifteen or so paces.” Edey paused to check the command console attached to his forearm, “twenty-five paces actually, my apologies. From there, we’re looking at eighty paces to our objective, Suite Thirty Alpha’s Common Room.”

  “Much appreciated,” Urick replied, satisfied that he was not going in totally blind.

  “Alright, Steward Operative Edey, whenever you’re good to go,” Crestone directed.

  Back on high alert, the boarding team snuck inside the Flagship and onto deck three’s most extreme right parallel passageway. Thankful to be in another quiet section of the Ship before entering what could be total chaos, Edey led the team until he reached the first left turn. Using a small detachable drone, he paused in order to peer down the perpendicular access route. “Clear,” The Steward Operative said before making the turn.

  “Good thing we came in the dead of their night shift,” Neuma assessed, thankful for the lack of traffic on the gargantuan Flagship.

  “No kidding.”

  The team quickened their pace before Edey stopped them in their tracks with a raised fist, “I’ve got the entrance up ahead. Looks like two personnel standing nearby. Permission to engage, Sir?”

  Just before Edey spoke, the pair of young Baikal Officers stopped their conversation and started making their way toward the team. By their gait, Crestone immediately identified them as children of wealthy parents who were only Officers because their parents “donated” enough money. Their lack of discipline was evident even from a distance. Each of the Ensigns wore jewelry that was blatantly against Baikal regulations, their uniforms were purposefully loosened and unprofessional, and their boots looked as if they had never seen a single minute of training. They were asking for trouble in Crestone’s opinion.

  Before Euphretes or Ardein could respond, “Permission granted!” Crestone growled while taking off at a dead sprint.

  “Here we go.”

  WHACK!

  In a flash, Crestone had closed the gap between himself and the first Ensign, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him against the wall. As if the young man weighed nothing, Crestone held him up in the air and turned his head toward the other Ensign just in time to see Ardein drop him with a well-placed, silenced round from his weapon.

  SSRRIIPP!

  “Hey, who are…!” The Ensign struggled against the armored assailant for a fraction of a second before Crestone pulled his side arm out. Squeezing the firing mechanism with the barrel pressed against the Ensign’s ear, the Senior NCO ended the young Officer’s question early.

  CRACK!

  “Well that’s one way to keep them from talking,” Euphretes commented after seeing the horrendous after effects of the point blank shot. The Ensign’s head was essentially gone; the wall behind Crestone was covered in gore.

  “From what I saw, they had it coming Sir,” Crestone’s hardened voice answered.

  “Or, maybe you were finally fulfilling your fantasy about strangling an Ensign?” Edey teased.

  “Sensors picked up the shots fired. I managed to get them to register as negligent discharges, but that’s all I could do to mask this one. Expect personnel to arrive on scene in six minutes and counting.”

  Not wanting to waste any more time, Euphretes took off for the objective’s entrance. “We need to get to the Emperor, NOW!”

  The team stepped out of the passageway and into an oversized rectangular room, entering from the middle of one of the shortened sides. The second he breached the Common Room, Euphretes saw Two Baikal Marines standing like statues next to a thirty foot entrance leading toward Lesos’s state room. Gold lettering on either side of them identified the miniature villas, 27A-33B. Next to the sentries were crude statues pressed against the walls, their clawed wings arching over the Marines.

  All along the other walls were historical Baikal Military uni
forms and standard issue equipment dating back thousands of years. According to their dates of rule, holographic images of the previous Emperors stood in between the uniforms; giving a face to the ruler who used the equipment. A stunningly beautiful map of the Baikal Empire dominated the floor. Using gemstones and polished materials native to each colony as markers, it was simple yet breathtakingly elegant. The map almost seemed to glow once Euphretes started staring at it.

  “It’s like a museum,” Euphretes whispered to Neuma in astonishment.

  “Pay attention!”

  Before the two Marines realized that the team approaching them was entirely out of place, Urick rushed up and opened fire on the half asleep sentries.

  CRACK!

  His first shot hit the Marine on the right just below his jawline. While it wasn’t exactly how he had planned it, the shot was accurate and deadly enough to get the job done. The Marine dropped to the floor.

  CRACK! Determined to get the next one right, Urick fired again. “Bingo!” The sentry’s face disappeared a nano second later, never to be seen again. The men took a moment to survey the damage, and then slapped Urick on the back. “Nicely done, man,” Caruso praised.

  “One of you grab a badge,” Euphretes ordered with a finger pointing at the corpses. “We gotta go!” He then opened back up his connection to DI6, ensuring everyone else on the team could hear him, and began speaking out loud into his helmet. “Command to Through the Abyss. Breaching now. Initiate your strike. And DI6.”

  “Sir?”

  “Make sure you get on that PT04.” The PT04 was a tiny personal transit that would exit Through the Abyss and jump to safety, with D16 safely imbedded inside. It was a sure fire way to guarantee that D16 could be used for further military operations.

  “Good copy Sir. Seven minutes to impact.” The RAI answered.

  The team hurried down the hallway leading to Emperor Lesos’s state room. Euphretes readied his MR870 before stopping in front of Suite 30A. Running up behind him was Edey with the badge. Once everyone was stacked up and ready to storm the Suite, BREEP! The sound of the internal locking mechanisms unhinging themselves seemed to go on forever, keeping the boarding team in a tantalizing wait.

  “I count only two more guards, immediately to the right hand side; in the eating area.” Neuma warned as she briefly played the image through his visor.

  SSSHHHRRRIIISSSHHH! The door slid up into the ceiling.

  “Go go go!”

  The team poured into a deceptively large entry way that the led further into the state room’s living areas. Knowing where the enemy was, Euphretes burst through the entrance and stared down two terrified guards before dropping them both.

  POP!

  POP!

  POP!

  The MR870’s first two slugs tore clean through its victim’s chest, throwing him back against the wall, before another round took off half his face.

  “The other’s making a move for the table.”

  Euphretes turned to see the other dive for cover while reaching for his weapon that was slung behind his back.

  POP!

  Euphretes’s slug hit the soldier’s left thigh, throwing him off his mark. He careened into the side of the table instead of under its protection.

  POP! POP!

  Intending to kill him as quickly and painlessly as possible, Euphretes’s second and third rounds hit the sternum and heart just as the soldier struck the table. Immediately, blood pooled around the fallen Baikal soldier while the Admiral’s visor stopped highlighting him as a potential threat.

  The men stepped over the mess, and continued.

  “First door on the left.”

  SSSHHHRRRIIISSSHHH! Opening automatically, Euphretes rushed into the bedroom.

  “Back left corner.”

  Finding Emperor Lesos behind a small work station shielding his wife with his body, he breathed a sigh of relief to see them both in good health. “Good hiding spot, thanks for your help,” Euphretes remarked to Neuma while studying his surroundings. The room was incredibly luxurious. Gorgeous artwork was displayed across petrified wood walls. A bed large enough to sleep five was nestled in the back right corner. On top of the work station were stacks of entertainment options for the prisoners while half eaten delicacies littered the area around it.

  CLICK. CLICK. SSHHSSSSSS.

  Unsealing his visor to allow the shocked captives to see his face, “Emperor Lesos, Empress Corsica, are you two okay?” Euphretes asked while running up to them.

  “They look remarkably well taken care of, all things considering.”

  Euphretes could still hardly believe that he was rushing up to the Natron Emperor. “No kidding. The fact that they’re still alive is a miracle!” He replied to Neuma.

  Flabbergasted, “EUPHRETES?! Is that really you?” Lesos shouted, starting to un-shield Corsica as he began to realize that this was an actual rescue. “Yes it is Emperor. Are you two okay?” Euphretes asked again.

  “Good thing we bought two sets of protection.”

  With a confident smirk to his mind space, “Being a pessimist works out every and now and then.”

  “Yes, sorry. Yes, we are both very well! Gentlemen, so glad to see all of you. Euphretes, how did you get here?”

  Before Euphretes could respond, Urick interrupted. “Glad to see you too, Sir. It’s an honor to be a part this rescue mission.” He paused and seemed distracted. Emperor Lesos encouraged him to continue.

  “Sir, I, or I should say we, couldn’t help but notice all of that half eaten food on the table over there. Wasting food is practically a crime, Sir. Mind if we lend a helping hand?” Urick was sick of eating the Huron Empire’s version of MREs for every meal. Because Through the Abyss was emptied of its supply and cooks before it left for the rescue mission, the team had eaten the same bland food for every meal.

  The Emperor literally laughed out loud, “Been a while since you’ve eaten real food? Help yourselves, men. The pastries are particularly delicious.” He didn’t have to offer twice as the team made their way over to the free food. Euphretes stared at his team in disbelief. The gaul, he thought to his mind space, before he too reached for a pastry.

  “Sorry about that,” The Admiral said with a guilty smile to Lesos while looking at Edey snatching up a handle of food.

  “Not at all! It made my rescue,” The Emperor answered with genuine sincerity.

  “Alright, back to the task at hand.” Turning to Urick and Caruso, Euphretes motioned for them to get out their spare life suits.

  Returning to Lesos’s question as to how Euphretes got to him, “How we got here is a long story Sir; and right now, I need you two to get dressed,” Euphretes answered, his tone filled with urgency.

  With the Royal couple busy trying to throw on their Life Support Suits, Euphretes couldn’t resist the temptation. Sensing this, “Why would you add to your already heavy burden?”

  Ignoring the comment, “Corsica, if I may ask, why isn’t Lani here?” He inquired, knowing Lani rarely left her mother’s side.

  Neuma’s concerned and disappointed voice broke through his mind space, “What do you expect to hear?”

  Empirical Admiral Euphretes felt the Empress’s aura shift from excitement to despair. “Euphretes, I. I,” Corsica stuttered, unsure what to say. Emperor Lesos jumped in. “Corsica and Lani got separated during THEIR sick and twisted selection process. We haven’t heard anything since. Euphretes, I’m so. I’m so so sorry.”

  Euphretes’s entire soul moaned with anguish; Fate’s knife had taken a deep stab at his heart. His body suddenly felt heavy as depression began swarming within.

  “DON’T YOU DARE DO THIS NOW! THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE; AND NOW IS CERTAINLY NOT THE TIME!” Neuma shouted with all her might, trying to snap him out the darkness before it overpowered him.

  Suddenly, another presence squeezed into their mind space while Adoenye’s voice rang out. “What is Fate to the universe Euphretes? Her’s may be a different Fate, but her Destin
y is far from sealed.”

  A white blur flashed across Euphretes’s peripherals while Adoenye spoke. Turning his field of vision toward the blur, he locked eyes with Kyurious as a smile subconsciously broke through the remorseful expression. The beautiful creature studied his face with her duel colored eyes as her ears twitched and contorted to catch every sound possible. Kyurious’s fur seemed to be absorbing exuberant amounts of light, creating an almost blinding halo around her frame.

  “Don’t forget that this is just a detour, Euphretes,” Adoenye’s voice said again in his mind space. Simultaneously, the blue planet with puffy white clouds and a pock faced moon flashed through his field of vision. As Euphretes stared at the planet, the same magma from his time spent in Adoenye’s Sanctuary started to bubble in his soul.