'Look to your right,' a loud voice bellowed from the sky above.
It terrified Nash.
'Look!' it roared again.
Slowly she obeyed and turned to see a structure that was barely visible at first. As she squinted to focus, she realised it touched every dark, fearful corner of her soul. It was a weapon pointed to the heavens, a long barrel extended outward covered in the same runes she had seen on the Heridian soldiers before. What powered this weapon sickened her, for she knew, somehow, the sentient beings nailed, tied and fused to the outside of its metal skin was the source.
'You see those poor insects fused to the weapons skin, human? That's what will become of all your kind. Harvest is your race's future, you all are below us.'
'Where is this?' Nash cried, trying to cover her eyes, but found she could no longer move her arms.
'This is my world.' As Theradin's giant face appeared inches from hers. 'This is the world of Heridia!'
The surrounding room materialized again and Nash looked across to see Reason's' panicked face as he struggled against his bindings.
'Where is that world?' she asked. 'In what part of this galaxy is it?'
'It isn't,' the menacing creature laughed. 'Now where is my core?'
Raeson spat in the Skylord's direction. 'We took it right from under you! If you were half the race you claim, you wouldn't have let us get this far. Maybe if you weren't so focused on playing with your gears…'
'Insects!' The Skylord bellowed as he leaned forward, intensity burning a fire inside his eye sockets. His claw slammed down on the arm of the great chair, the runes over his armored carapace of a body flickered and the gears underneath spun wildly. He stood towering over the two pirates. Steam hissed from his back as liquid began dripping from the ceiling, only to evaporate as it landed on the armor. The jaws belonging to the ancient Heridian Captain clicked as he moved in for the kill. Rage enveloped the creature as he pulled back his arm and lurched towards his captured prey.
Night fell on both pirates.
Raeson could feel the cold, the cold only the emptiness of space could create and wondered where he was, dead maybe? Worse, was his mind ripped from his carcass and now living in the creature that called himself Skylord Theradin? Was he now part of the internal systems of the menace he had been fighting for most of his life?
'Do not question,' came a whisper from the dark, 'but sense.'
'Sense what?' Raeson asked, not knowing if he was talking or thinking it. 'You make no sense.'
There was a long pause before the voice, which Raeson now considered being in his head, spoke again.
'Sense with your mind, a droplet in an ocean of your being, an echo of your true self reaching for the surface of reality.'
When Raeson regained consciousness he, along with Nash, were laying on the floor on the other side of a closed door to the room of their imprisonment. Roaring screams came from inside, yells of monster, menace and evil from the Heridian itself. Something crashed against the massive closed door and the sounds of a battle ceased.
'Time to go,' Raeson said as he quickly helped Nash to her feet, 'back to the Arvernus.' He checked to see that her neck was no longer bleeding.
Entering the bridge of the Arvernus, Raeson stormed passed the line of consoles and fell into his command chair. 'Begin de-clamp sequence, match our velocity and vectors with the destroyer.'
'Yes, Sir,' replied the pilot sitting in front on the lower level. Engines whined and manoeuvring thrusters stirred as the corvette matched the roll of the damaged capital ship, creating slack in the grapples.
'Grapples released,' a voice said behind him.
'Matching speed and vector,' said another.
The sleek ship lit its engines and shot out of the damaged destroyer's hull, leaving it to tumble into the blackness, away from the battle.
'Open coms with the Vidar. I want a direct and secure channel to the Khan,' ordered Raeson.
Moments later, the Khans face appeared on a floating screen in front of the corvettes Commander.
'My Khan,' Raeson started, 'my apologies for distracting you from the battle.'
'What is it, Xain?' Khan Hayreddin was short and to the point.
'I believe a member of our team has gone rogue, stolen something valuable from the destroyer you see hurtling out of control. We could not find him and request his arrest if he docks with the fleet.'
The image of the Khan flickered as the Vidar took a direct hit to the top of the port-side armor.
'Request it from somewhere else,' the Khan snapped and closed the connection.
Raeson sat silent for a moment and contemplated what happened. He felt annoyed that his request was so easily brushed off and it wasn't like the Khan to talk to him that way. Maybe he could have picked a better moment to make a request, though.
Orders appeared on his screen as retreat announcements broadcast from the Khan to the fleet. Slamming his fist down, Raeson stood and with fury burning his chest said, 'Head for the Vidar, our mission is over.'
*
The largest of the Heridian capital ships, seven kilometres across and named in their language no human or Elismorus could understand, sat in the center of the menacing fleet. The face of the monstrosity resembled an ancient aquatic predatory creature crossed with an insect, covered in scale like armor plates and glistening with weaponry. Two large tail like structures attached themselves behind and arced up over the back, forming massive capital rail guns.
The pirates classified the vessel as the Heridian flagship as no other resembled its size. The behemoth served as a fighter carrier and destroyer, the bringer of genocide on many worlds. Around it, escort vessels, large and small, swarmed it like a school of fish, some spiralling chaotically and others drifting lazily alongside.
The area in front of the enemy flagship shimmered and stretched as light warped and enveloped it. A blue glow appeared as the fabric of space tore open in an incredible display that caused pulses of illumination to smother both forces.
Khan Hayreddin, standing on the bridge of the Vidar, shielded his eyes as one of the blinding lights hit the armored transparency before automatically dimming to protect the occupants.
'Is that a weapon?' he asked, knowing his bridge crew wouldn't have an answer.
The Heridian flagship flared its engines and disappeared through the tear.
CHAPTER 09.
The Edge of Comprehension.
Livant scuttled across the desk, knocked over a beaker and caught it with his tail before it could hit the ground and shatter. His long tail retracted back and softy, but carefully placed the glass back to its initial place of rest. His tongue flicked out, tasting the strange smell that lingered in the air of oil, metal and blood. The scales on his back glistened as the light from the skylight reflected the greens and blues that protected his little body.
Looking over, he stared at the abomination that lay close to death, bound and chained to the examination table in the middle of the room. Levitating on glass plates around the room, the creature's armor lay surrounded by a small force field to prevent any contamination to the outside. The menace moved, stirred, then struggled against its bindings. Livant bared his teeth and hissed as the door to the examination room slid open as Spect rushed in to find what the commotion was about, followed closely by two armed Paladin guards.
'So it wakes. Did you wake it, you little devil?' Spect accused as he pointed his finger at Livant, almost expecting him to reply.
The little lizard just stared at the scientist, mockery in his grin. As he neared, Spect could see the gears on the surface of the captured Heridian spinning and whirring, pistons pumped and the muscle fibres strained under the dark red, almost translucent skin. Its insect like head looked at Spect as its jaws opened, revealing lines upon lines of razor-sharp teeth. The creature thrashed again, trying to break free of its restraints; the guards released the safeties off their weapons and moved closer.
'Don't get too close, Sir,' one of
them said.
Spect ignored him and waved a hand in dismissal, 'He's not going anywhere, Soldier, look at that.'
Runes began glowing over the creature's body, scattered and not as concentrated as some other Heridian soldiers. On closer inspection, Spect could see into the menaces skull where they had forcefully removed armor plating. Inside and barely visible, a brain pulsed, surrounded by a strange liquid and a clear oily substance with dark tendrils with a mind of their own.
The creature stared back at the ceiling and screamed, 'Destined one.'
*
The engines of the troop carrier roared as the drop ship descended from above the magnetic interference, then spun as it touched down on a landing pad on the Sky-Station. Smoke streamed out from damaged sections of the craft as crews sprayed foam, trying to put out fires from the battle below. Armor peeled and melted to the floor from laser fire, charred paint flecked in the wind, and the exiting soldiers kicked empty ammo casings from the deck of their rescue bird.
'That was a severe waste of time,' Tremon yelled over the sound of spooling down engines. He threw down his helmet and asked, 'How many more paladins do you want to kill, Draethus?'
Varican stepped between the men, 'We all have to sacrifice until we purge this world of menace.'
Draethus was furious, but he knew on some level Tremon was right. What really was the outcome of the mission, failure? Tremon was about to leave as a deck crewman ran up to them with a hand-held disk and flicked it into the air. It spun, levitated, and a small image of Spect appeared.
'I request your presence in the examination room. Captain Wrath has captured something you might be interested in seeing.'
'We'll continue this conversation later, Tremon.' Draethus said.
Tremon was already halfway off the landing platform.
*
The dark faded as the Heridian opened its eyes, letting in the brightness of the long hanging halogens above. The digital display icons flickered in its eyes and took readings from the blurry humanoids standing over. It felt something prod into its side as electrical impulses surged through its system. It could hear someone screaming in the distance and realised it was probably its own. The display readouts suddenly ceased their flickering, and the captors came into focus.
A small skinny male, fluffy hair and glasses was tinkering with the armor on a countertop nearby. His white lab coat flapped around as air from a wall duct whipped it into the face of a small scaly creature. Two others stood staring at him, one of which he recognised as wearing the blue and white common of the local soldiers, however more intricate. A cloak covered one shoulder, joined with a golden feather across the chest. The other man was more familiar. He was taller, wearing dark armor, a blue gray in fact, holding a sword that glimmered and vibrated with a high-pitched whine.
'Is the thing awake?' Draethus asked with disgust clear in his tone.
'Oh yes.' Spect put down the armor, greeting the two soldiers. 'Thank you for coming, yes, welcome to my lab.'
He shuffled over to the Heridian with a taser-rod in hand and said, 'It is awake. I don't think he will be in a very welcoming mood, however.'
'So Captain Wrath picked this thing up? It's ugly. Bet you had fun cutting its armor off though, Spect,' Varican said, wishing he had done the job himself.
'That's correct, Paladin Captain, and yes, to answer your question it was very satisfying. Captain Wrath disengaged from the enemy and got his forces to safety, but took a few losses. He inflicted some damage though, but as a gunner told me, dragged this sorry excuse into his own tank. It's only because of an unexploded round that this Rid even survived. The gunner said he'd never seen a crew so shocked. Captain Wrath is just a tough case in my honest opinion.' Spect finished with a laugh.
Draethus sheathed his sword, walked over to the Heridian and tapped its head heavily with the back of his glove. The creature flicked open its eyes and went for him, fangs snapped as the soldier instinctively retracted.
The heads up display in the creature's eyes changed color, the reds and blues melded into a purple, and the description of the human changed from unknown to something else.
'Destined one!' it screamed, staring at a confused Draethus.
Livant, the little lizard, scampered across the room in fear and jumped up onto Varican's shoulder.
'Why do you call me that?' Draethus asked, puzzled. 'Where do you even come from?'
The creature laughed, 'You do not know the home-world of Heridia? It surprises this one. I thought being from the future of this world you would have knowledge of such things.'
It stirred in its restraints in a show of non-submission.
'We come from a world that exists yet it does not,' the creature coughed and sputtered, spitting out a strange oil over itself and the table. 'Exist to harvest, to grow and survive. Feed until we have extinguished all biological life. We will consume your higher function organs for our own benefit, implanted in ourselves to become stronger and smarter. This is how we evolve. This is how we win.'
'You will never win, menace,' Draethus said, glaring at the enemy he had known for most his life. 'We will kill you, maim you, run you off this world and back to where you came from, this Heridia.'
Clenching his fist, he felt like beating the Heridian until it died, died in all the pain and anguish he had experienced. Draethus calmed himself and looked at Varican. 'The Heridian fleet was first detected on extended range planetary scanners from a direction of nothingness, no stars and no worlds. We sent a cruiser out to investigate, only to find it orbiting Echelon not two days later with a massacred crew. Although I never saw it, video data existed of the event and I heard it wasn't pleasant to review. Shortly thereafter, the Rid fleet landed on the far side of the world and began the invasion.'
'Why not attack the Rids from space if you had interstellar capabilities?' Spect asked. He had been listening profusely in the background. 'Why not fly over their landing zone and bombard them from the safety of orbit?'
'The Rids planted a defensive grid that created orbital interference from ground based structures that originally detached from their capital ships,' said Draethus, forgetting Spect was present. 'We could only reach the structures from the ground, but not with enough firepower to take them out. We tried of course with our own fleet on the outside of the barrier and eventually lost them to Heridian forces. Boundaries and front lines changed often, but we held our own, which is what led me to this point, well that and the displacement device.'
'The device,' the Heridian stammered. 'Must take the device, must complete it.'
Draethus grabbed the creature by the throat; it spattered more oil like blood onto his arm. 'What are your plans for it, Rid?' He squeezed further.
'The Lords need it, they command we obey. We can give them access to more of our forces throughout time and space. Un-trap them, release them. You can release them destined one!' The creature began to spasm as its blood spilled out of the cogs that now spun out of control over its body. The soldiers stood back and watched the last dying throws of their enemy's life.
'Heridia!' it screamed. 'It exists but does not. Timeless, it burns cold in the stellar winds. You must find the link that leads to it, destined one, find the link!'
The spasms ceased as the creature came to rest, the display inside its eyes faded to darkness once more with only one command.
TELL HIM.
*
There was silence as the three men processed the Heridian's last words.
'Well, that was fun, however cryptic,' said Varican, then asked, 'What was this link he was talking about Draethus, a gateway maybe? Have you heard this before, Destined One?' Varican patting his scared little lizard helper who then jumped onto one a countertop.
'This is not the first time there's been mention of this Link,' said Draethus. 'Over the years we've captured many Rids and coerced information from them. The link is a place in time and space that opens a gateway to where the Rids come from. We know it's a natural
phenomenon but aren't sure where it's located.'
Varican flicked his cloak back over his shoulder, 'So the Rids trapped on the other side, could they use that time device to escape?'
'I believe so,' interrupted Spect. 'Though it would only give them access to a time shift, so to speak, and not a movement in space… oh.' He turned and looked at the floor in deep thought, face flushed like they had caught him out with something.
Draethus continued, 'We believe the link opened, bringing the first Heridian wave to Echelon, so it makes sense that they would be after something that could help the rest of their race escape. We knew the exact time of the opening and that of another wave, but I'm not sure how or where from. Our leaders sent out many teams into the void, before the destruction of our fleet, to locate the link or at least its co-ordinates. Some of those teams returned, and others lost to the depths. If we can find these co-ordinates, we could be ready for the Rids, even take the fight to their home-world.'
'On their home-world?' asked Varican.
'This so called Heridia, yes.' Draethus looked over at Spect, who was busy shuffling papers. 'What's wrong with you, scientist? Why are you acting strange?'
Spect couldn't make eye contact. 'Well,' he stuttered, feeling something stuck in his throat. He paused for a moment and continued when Varican gave him a hurrying motion with his hand. 'I might know why the Rids have come to Echelon, what caused the first wave of your war,' he said.
'They wanted the displacement device, I know this,' Draethus replied. 'You're not telling me anything I don't already know.'
'Well, that's true, but I only developed that not so long ago, based on the, um, how you say, original.'
'Original? Make sense, Spect,' Varican added.
'Think of the displacement device that brought you here like a scent, a trail. When you activated it on your end, you and the force of Rids appeared here in our time, but in the same space, the same area. The amount of energy used to activate the device is vast and temporal displacement would scream a signal in all directions for any capital ship's sensors.' The scientist ran a finger across the top of his thick glasses. 'So when the enemy fleet flew through the link they would have detected residual traces of the device from our present, even though our race was long gone. They landed and attacked your world, trying to search and pinpoint the device's location. But the machine I built can only displace bodies back in time, not space as I could only reverse engineer some of it.'
A Dark Oceans Descent: (Heridian Saga, Book 1) Page 12