A Dark Oceans Descent: (Heridian Saga, Book 1)

by Darryl J. W. Temple

  'It's too open to cross; they would discover us in seconds,' said Draethus. He may have preferred a straightforward fight to all the sneaking around, but he wasn't about to risk a mission for a glorified bridge crossing.

  'So what other path is there, scout?' Tremon asked. He moved closer and tried to get a better view of the surrounding terrain.

  'As you know, the complex contains the device, and is on the small urban island north of the city,' the Scout said. 'What most people don't realize is that aside from water, carnivorous and amphibious jungle plants, normally found far from here, were a species introduced for protection. The only access is that bridge, normally.' She made sure all the squad were listening and backed away from the ledge. 'There is however an underwater cable that supplies power to the island. If we can latch onto that, we can use it as a kind of zip line. Provided we can find something to propel us fast enough along the line, we should be safe from the dangers in the water.'

  'Interesting idea scout,' Varican said, smiling as if looking forward to the adventure.

  'I say we send Draethus first, I'm sure no one wants to end up as plant food,' Tremon suggested. His sarcasm revealed he was almost serious.

  'I was a day away from attempting this method before I got the call to rescue this team of yours.'

  'We needed no rescue, Assassin,' Draethus spat, tired of the conflicts. 'It sounds like the only plan we have.'

  'And the propulsion. What do you suggest we use for this? It will have to be something fast,' Varican added. 'Those underwater plants are extremely mobile. I used to fight them on my exploration trips through the jungle and have seen them steal many to the depths.'

  'The power line starts at an underground facility on the edge of the lake. I found some old maintenance equipment we can use that will be sufficient, and there is enough for all of us. Heridian soldiers guard the facility so there will be a skirmish. I have scouted the area many times so I can at least get us there undetected. The rest will be up to you,' she said.

  'Understood,' Draethus smiled. 'I look forward to a straight out fight, I'll leave the sneaking around to you, Assassin.'

  'It's not Assassin, brute. My name is Shade.'

  *

  Fire lit up the skyline as another shell burst from the massive cannon atop the great tank. From the open hatch towards the front, Captain Wrath, Lead Armor Commander of the ground forces, listened to the sound of his crew reloading another shell. He lowered his optical enhancing device and took in the view.

  The exhaust created by his armored group blotted out the moons above and the resulting light shone onto the wet muddy ground that flickered in their reflection. Rain softly fell and created ripples that made the surrounding area shimmer and dance.

  Wrath could feel the steam emanating from the machine's weapon as the water cooled the metal behemoth. The Arbalest class command tank, the pride of the Paladin forces, sat at the head of the tank group's formation. It was the size of a three story building and covered in jungle camouflage, patterns of brush and vines. It fired again; the shot sent a shock wave into the ground and created another clap of thunder.

  'Hold fire.' Wrath commanded into his coms unit. Looking through his optic enhancer, he could see the Heridians pulling back. His tank group had positioned on the edge of the city atop a ridge that gave them a wide field of view.

  He continued, 'I want scouts on the lookout for any approaching forces surrounding our area. Have forward infiltrators hide on the city line.'

  'At once, Sir,' replied one of Wrath's Lieutenants.

  Wrath was an experienced tank commander and had led many battles before the Heridian invasion. The armored division was his life and will be until it became his tomb.

  He rubbed his square jaw and took one last look around. Much too quiet, he thought, I would much rather unleash more thunder on these damn abominations.

  Grabbing the hatch, he lowered himself into the Arbalest and sealed the lock behind him. He slid down the ladder and made his way through the narrow corridor and into the command room. It was here that Captain Wrath planned the group's strategies alongside the other armored Lieutenants of his division. Sitting down at the large glass table, in the middle of the command room, he greeted his men, most of which were his close friends.

  'Sir,' the men said, almost in unison.

  The table illuminated and a holographic image of the battlefield hovered above, with green markers at its edge representing their own forces. Scattered in the city rested three dimensional spheres representing enemy ground troops. Large orange pyramids displayed enemy armored walkers.

  'So far,' Wrath began, 'we are just keeping the Rids at bay.'

  'We should launch an offensive into the enemies' heart I say!' exclaimed Lieutenant Camerous, eager for engagement and hungry for action. 'None of this sitting around picking off the odd Rid from the ridge.'

  Wrath stirred in his seat, 'I would agree, Camerous, however we must not act rashly. We do however have a more immediate task to accomplish.'

  He could see his men's eyes widen at the possibility of getting into action. Sitting around all day created a culture of laziness, the fear of any lieutenant.

  'The infiltration force has almost reached their destination, and it's our mission now to create a distraction, in order for them to gain access to the device.'

  'You mean the squad with the man claiming to be from Echelon, but not from Echelon?' asked one of his men.

  'Yes, that's the force I speak of. When we receive the message from our contact, this is what will happen…'

  CHAPTER 07.

  Swarms of Iron.

  'Fire, full broadside!' Raeson screamed to the crew of the Arvernus as the Heridian transport ship tried desperately to escape, burning its engines to reach maximum velocity. The lasers from the pirate corvette ripped into the enemy, causing armor to peel and blast away into the blackness of space. Small fires erupted along the vessel before a gigantic explosion overloaded the engines. A shock wave rippled outward and projected the wreck on a random spin of metal and scrap. The crew cheered at their first kill under the command of Reaper.

  'Turn to port, full burn,' Raeson ordered.

  'Yes, Commander,' replied a pilot sat below.

  The bridge of the Arvernus was not large compared to other capital vessels. It complimented a crew of five, plus the commander who sat in the center, elevated on a large chair. Holographic screens levitated to the front, which relayed tactical data to the crew, important information on the enemy.

  Outside the vessel, the fighters of Reaper Wing acted on orders to protect the corvette, to destroy incoming projectiles and intercept enemy craft. The area of battle was fully lit by both allied and enemy fire. The pirates were winning a key battle that would see the Heridian supply line cut off. Enemy transport ships exploded in great flashes of fire and plasma as their support fighters failed to keep up with the overwhelming numbers. The Dying Nova had been firing its weapons without pause, cutting a swath of debris and destruction, proving that Talon Commander Zekhal was a competent leader.

  The Arvernus charged toward a group of five enemy ships attempting to escape, with the battle taking place in an area far from any celestial body, and with no cover.

  These ships are short range and have no ability to translocate. How are they here? Raeson thought.

  An enemy fighter exploded near the starboard viewing window on the bridge, a flash of fire forced Xain to sheer away and caused the ship to shudder.

  'That was a close one,' Tek said over the coms from his fighter outside. 'You almost had the pleasure of smelling what it had for breakfast.'

  'Keep it going Reaper Wing, they are down twenty-one transports,' Raeson replied over his coms. He turned to his newly appointed crewman, 'Gunner, focus fire on those ships.'

  Frontal lasers lashed out at the fleeing Heridian transports and carved a fiery arc across two of them. The vessels collided with a third and a giant fireball erupted as the oxygen evaporated the hulls.
The remaining two vessels split off into different directions only to transform into raging fireballs after a lance of energy cast from the frigate Dying Nova, kilometers away to the port side.

  'Blood thirsty today, Zekhal?' Raeson said over the coms with a laugh.

  'Finally, some payback,' his friend replied. 'The firepower of this frigate is incredible for its size.'

  'Reaper Wing, clean up what's left of the Heridian fighters and return.'

  'Confirmed Commander Raeson,' Nash replied, her coms noisy with static. 'I must admit it's very unsettling not to have you and Slin out here with us.'

  'You won't see me sitting in this chair all the time.' He straightened his military uniform. 'Being a fighter pilot keeps me sharp.'

  'Happy to hear that,' she said, satisfied with his answer.

  It didn't take the small pirate fleet long to wipe the Heridian convoy from the empty and salvage what data and technology remained. They had won the day with minimal losses to the pirates, and there was hope of salvaging further information from the enemy wrecks. The three pilots of Reaper Wing maneuvered into docking position behind the Arvernus. Slowly they approached and when their fighters were in range, the corvettes docking clamps grabbed hold and they clamped the small craft down. A large mechanical object protruded from the corvette, then covered the fighter's cockpit in order for its pilot climb and enter the parent ship.

  'Translocate in progress. Crew is to proceed to designated positions,' the automated voice announced over the Arvernus intercom. Nash, Stark and Tek raced down the narrow corridor from the small docking hatches and found themselves a secure seat, ready for the translocation.

  'I never thought I'd ever be on this cursed ship,' said Tek. 'If we are still here on the other side, it would be a miracle.'

  'Nonsense,' Stark replied in a condescending tone, as he often did. 'There is no curse on any ship.'

  'Commanders of this vessel have vanished,' added Nash.

  'Translocating.'

  The Arvernus disappeared from the fabric of space and entered the non-existence underneath; the field surrounding the vessel held strong as the ship traversed towards the pirate fleet's rendezvous point.

  To the crew, the travel time was almost instantaneous, to an outside observer however two days would have passed before the Dying Nova and Arvernus appeared back with the main pirate fleet.

  The area around the two ships warped as light bent around them like a lens. Electricity and lightning arced as the remaining energy from the travel released. Both vessel's engines flared and pulsed, maneuvering the ships toward the allocated position. A blue hue trailed as glowing bright plasma streamed behind, forming patterns that swirled and interwove like a helix.

  'Translocate spike detected!' yelled a crew member on the Arvernus, a man who was currently filling in for Slin.

  A flash of red lightning streaked across the void as a massive Heridian fleet appeared behind them. At its center, a large menacing vessel, asymmetrical and adorned with jagged spines, vectored in on the pirate location and opened fire. Purple arcing lasers cut into the unsuspecting pirates as three small ships exploded and illuminated other nearby vessels. The pirates immediately scattered, burned away in all directions, launching fighters and support craft. Smaller craft began splitting off from the Heridian ship comprising fighters, bombers and corvette sized ships. They immediately began swarming the closest pirate ship, a destroyer class, and cut through its hull within minutes.

  'This is Khan Hayreddin, form up on the Vidar and keep in formation. All capital ships focus fire on the large Rid ship at the center. Fighters and support craft, emergency launch, and keep the Heridian ships distracted from the main fleet!'

  Like two rival swarms of iron locusts, the fighters of both sides raced towards each other and merged into a cloud of engine flare. The pilots of Reaper Wing had experience in battle, but even they would be lucky if all survived. Nash threw her fighter into a roll, trailing a Heridian ship she had marked as her primary target. Tek formed up on her wing and they both fired off volleys of laser fire. Two concealed weapons on each fighter spun in a blur and tore into the enemy, ripping it apart in a hail of energy. Systematically the pair worked as one, dodging nearby ships both friendly and rival. Purple laser fire arced from their starboard side and hit Tek on his back wing. The reverse delta fin launched off into the night but wasn't deep enough to cause catastrophic damage.

  'Where is Stark!?!' Nash yelled over the coms to Tek.

  'I can't see him anywhere,' the old man replied, out of breath. 'There must be hundreds of fighters in this brawl. Rid to the left!'

  The pair rolled and banked towards the incoming fighter, causing it to over-shoot, its weapon's fire streaked off into the darkness. Both pirate fighters turned in a sweeping move which positioned them behind the Heridian fighter. As they unleased their lasers, the enemy exploded, debris launched itself into the fray of fighting ships.

  'Damn him! He knows to be in formation with us,' Nash said angrily.

  'Forget him, Nash,' said Tek. 'He's probably dead.'

  *

  Sitting in his fighter, high above the battle, Stark watched in darkness. With his systems powered down, he drifted slowly and silently. It looked to him like a ball of fire flies; red, purple and blue dots trailing luminous lines. He zoomed in on the Vidar, using the optics in his helmet.

  Such a majestic behemoth, he thought to himself.

  Purple laser fire was striking the flagship of the pirates, causing its nanite armor to ripple and spark. It returned fire with missiles that were so large it made the surrounding fighters appear like insects. The projectiles slammed into the enemy capital ship, causing damage to the hull and metal fragments to break away. It was an even battle so far, with losses on both sides approaching the hundreds. A Heridian destroyer class ship broke formation and burnt away from the battle, trailing a white dust cloud from its engines and rolled uncontrollably. One of the Vidar's capital missiles had struck it in the side, knocking it out of the battle and crippling its weapons and propulsion. Capsule like pods ejected from ports around the vessel's front and slowly, under their own propulsion, moved their way towards the large Heridian ship at the center of battle.

  'You are a go,' the written message inside Starks helmet read.

  Switching on his systems, Stark fired up his fighter's engines. The cockpit came to life with lights and holographic displays. With a flick of his flight stick, he rolled his fighter over and headed towards the gaping hole in the crippled enemy destroyer.

  *

  On the bridge of the Wing of Vidar, Khan Hayreddin viewed the data displayed above a glass-topped table. Blue and red points floated and moved as the holographic display relayed vital tactical information on the battle raging outside. He turned and looked out the large viewing window to see the massive Heridian vessel in the distance being lit up by the missiles he just fired.

  'Reload the next wave of missiles,' he commanded to one of his crew. 'I want that disgraceful Rid ship out of my sky'.

  'Sir!' replied a crew member from the forward gunnery section.

  Gunfire continually exchanged between both fleets. Being a mixture of human and Elismorus weaponry, some pirate destroyers fired large projectile cannons instead of the traditional capital lasers. The shells impacted with the enemy fleet in great devastation; explosions engulfed the vessels in red plasma clouds and sheared off armor and componentry. Caught in a blast, a Heridian corvette veered off uncontrollably, colliding with a pirate fighter before exploding.

  'Seven corvettes on intercept course with us!' warned a member of the bridge crew.

  'I want them intercepted…' before the Khan could finish his sentence, all seven of the enemy vessels exploded as the Dying Nova threw itself in their path, a suicidal attempt to save the Vidar. It easily sliced through the enemy but, as a result, caused immense damage to itself. Fire and plasma clouds streamed behind as the crew tried to regain control.

  'Brave commander that one,' t
he Khan said, hoping the ship would keep its integrity and not succumb to the other threats in the battle.

  *

  Looking over the waterline, Varican kept watch as the team of infiltrators crept towards the power station below. He could see the gray waters, still and motionless like a plain of glass sitting atop a depthless color.

  In the distance, small luminous points moved back and forwards along the large bridge that joined the island to the mainland. Large pillars rose out of the water and towered above, keeping the bridge from touching the wide river. Statues of reptile creatures spiraled around the pillars, looking to the heavens, mouths open as if calling out to each other. The team was far enough away from the enemy's position to lower the possibility of detection.

  'Still clear.' he whispered over the coms.

  When the team had been close to their objective, Shade, the assassin as Draethus called her, had vanished and not returned. Untrustworthy had been the Soldiers' words and Varican remembered seeing, again, that fire and aggression in his new friends' eyes. He was sure he would see that fire a lot more before this war was over.

  'Varican, I need you here.' Draethus' voice was not the whisper he would have expected, or preferred. He sprinted down the path to the power station and burst through the open hatchway, expecting the worst. There in front of him lay a dead Heridian soldier, face up, surrounded by a pool of dark red blood or liquid.

  'There's more, there and over there,' Tremon said, pointing at positions in the large room. Steam hissed and the noises of the power-plant made clunking sounds as it generated the electrical life the island needed.

  'Guess you have not seen a dead Rid yet?' said the familiar mocking voice from somewhere in the room. Shade dropped from a dark place above, hidden by pipes and valves.

  'I have killed many Heridian soldiers,' Draethus bellowed as he marched towards the women. 'Your mocking is insulting.'

  'Calm down,' Shade replied, backing away. She kept her gaze on the soldier. 'Warrior to warrior, I believe you. The reason for my sneaking away was I knew I could take down the Rid soldiers quick and quiet, and there was less than expected. Your squad here, though? Well, I'm doubtful that you could have done so, silently.'