'Whatever you are, stay back!'
The voices were on top of Spect, loud, violent and oppressive. He sprung to his feet and sprinted back down the corridor.
'Commander Draethus,' he stuttered into his coms, 'please close the door now.'
*
The inner door fell with a violent crash as the cutting torch finished its work. The wingman stepped back as Raeson stormed in, assault rifle at eye level, and checked the corners.
'You, down that way,' he ordered, 'and you with me.'
The first wingman made his way down one section of the corridor whilst Raeson and follower down the other.
The Heridian vessel, with pirate fighters attached, continued to tumble bow over stern. Sporadically, the internal systems would start up, causing the engines to fire for a few moments before shorting out. The enemy vessel revealed its internal framework in a display of mayhem, battle damage with trailing pieces. The ship wasn't large compared to other capital vessels, sizing between a pirate frigate and corvette class.
Raeson kept his head low as he quickly but quietly stalked down the dark corridor, dodging the fallen debris. Pieces of twisted metal lay scattered across their path with light from the sparking wires on the ceiling, creating strange shadows on the walls. They rounded a corner only to find it collapsed with no way through.
The pirate Commanders' coms came to life. 'Sir, you will want to see this,' the lone wingman said from the other side of the ship.
'This ways blocked,' Raeson replied, 'we'll be right there.'
It didn't take Raeson long to reach the other pirate and see his puzzled expression.
'Sir, it's the most bizarre thing,' the man said, laughing.
Raeson took the lead and rounded the corner. Startled, he fired his weapon into a Heridian soldier and then jumped back behind cover.
'I did that as well, Sir,' the wingman said, still trying to hide his smirk. 'The thing's already dead.'
Puzzled, the pirate Commander stepped out again with weapon drawn.
The armored Heridian jiggled on the spot. 'Is that the way to greet the Captain of this ship?' a voice said from a speaker hanging around its neck. 'I would demand more respect. It will take me ages to get those bullet holes out.'
It dumbfounded Raeson as his two wingmen approached from behind, 'What the…' Xain began.
'You see? The most bizarre thing!' the wingman said again.
Another armored puppet, seven foot high like the first, swung out of the dark. 'You still think you are the Captain?' it laughed in a fake manner. 'I have always captained this vessel.'
'Which is why it is in disrepair,' said a third that appeared from an above section.
Tracing the wires the giant alien puppets were hanging from, Raeson could see they were being controlled from nearby. 'This way,' he ordered.
'You do not have permission to board my ship,' one puppet yelled.
'Or mine,' said the other.
The three men followed the wire trail on the ceiling and crossed into a large open section which looked to be the main corridor junction of the vessel.
'Move quickly and keep…' the Commander began saying before being interrupted. A massive Heridian leader burst out of the centerpiece of the area, a large body of liquid on the floor.
The men fired their automatic ballistic weapons at the enormous head, followed by the chest as vermilion liquid fell from its armor. The creature roared from jaws filled with lines of teeth, then slashed at the air with long rusted claws. Like oil, the dark blood covered its entire body, hiding most of what was underneath.
'Who dares enter my ship?' it exclaimed, the echoes of which sounded down the corridors behind.
Raeson could hear the puppets they passed earlier chattering among themselves. 'Oh, they've done it now, Jeffrex is mad.'
'He doesn't like it when you call him that!' the other said.
'Hold fire!' Raeson ordered, 'look it has cables and wires.'
The enormous Heridian, or armored puppet, began speaking again. 'What business do you have aboard my ship?' It left its jaws open in threat.
Alright, I'll play along, Raeson thought.
'We are mere explorers who happened upon your vessel and thought you might need help,' the pirate Commander announced.
'Help, you say. Me? The great Rid, I mean, Heridian leader and Captain of this vessel?' it laughed hysterically before slamming a claw down on a nearby piece of rubble.
'Your ship is hurtling out of control. Did you mean for this to happen, great one?' Raeson asked with a smirk.
'Everything you see here was by my design, of course it is part of my plan.'
Raeson felt curious and asked, 'Plan, what plan is that exactly?'
The Heridian puppet laughed again, 'Why to lure insects like you in!'
The wingman behind Raeson laughed along as well, more at the strange situation than threats from something absurd. As the liquid fell away from the creation, the boarding team could see the strung together pieces of Heridian soldiers. Chest plates wired together to resemble armor plates combined with leg and arm pieces.
'You're constructed well, I'll give you that,' one of the wingman shouted, 'for a puppet.'
'Puppet!' the monstrosity screamed. 'Who are you calling a puppet?' It slammed down both arms and frantically swiped in all directions, hoping to catch the men who were far out of reach.
'I've had enough of this charade,' Raeson said, 'let's find the owner of these things.'
The creation threw its head back in laughter. 'You better be quick about it, the ship is about to start translocation.'
The pirate Commander's eyes went wide with realisation. The puppets were stalling them. 'There is only one other way to the bridge, this way,' he commanded as his men trailed behind him. The creation's howling laugh echoed through the ship.
The corridors at the bow showed extensive damaged, more than the stern where they had entered. Bulkheads peeled back, creating pockets of darkness the team had to check along the way.
'This is Draethus to boarding crew, status please.' The Dawn Eclipses' Commander asked over the coms. 'Do you read?'
Raeson finished checking a ruined section of floor they avoided to reach the next section. 'I read Draethus, we don't have long, this ship is about to translocate. We're going to the bridge to stop it.'
'I suggest you turn back before it does, what timeframe do you think you have?'
'Unclear, but we are closer to the bridge than our exit point, it's our best chance.' the pirate Commander replied. 'If we vanish it won't be your problem, will it?'
'That is true pirate, proceed to the bridge and report back when you can, Draethus out.'
The coms crackled off and Raeson signalled his men forward again and increased his pace. One of his men stumbled over a small piece of debris and almost fell into a dark hole in the floor before regaining his balance.
'Sorry,' he said to his Commander, red faced.
'Watch your step or I'll leave you behind,' replied Raeson, never the one for sympathy.
Since his promotion to talon commander, Raeson discovered himself valuing the life of his comrades, a new and unsettling feeling. When he was younger, if someone fell in battle, he wouldn't consider helping them. If they weren't skilled enough, it was their failure. That was that. If a comrade betrayed him, something that happened regularly because of his father's past, Raeson had ways to make that person disappear. Such was the life he led. Now, however, the lives of those under his command were his responsibility. His superiors held him accountable and if his team failed, so did he.
'I think this is the door Commander,' one of the wingman stated as he ran his weapon light up and down the scorched markings at the end of the corridor.
'Cut it down, pilot.'
The man dropped to one knee and opened the rugged backpack that contained the torch cutter. Within seconds flames began sparking off the thick door as the tool did its work, cutting a man-sized hole. The metal fell inwards as Raeson kicked
it, the molten edges dripped onto the floor behind.
The pirate Commander burst through first, 'Put your weapon down and step away from the console!' he yelled.
Ahead of Xain, another armored puppet stood, similar to the first three they encountered, but painted blue with a clumsy white stripe on the shoulders.
'Very good, invader, you have made it this far and passed all of my tests,' a voice sounded.
Raeson raised his weapon and was about to fire when he noticed this creation had no wires or cables. It neither jiggled nor moved as the previous puppets. Something was different. It looked like a Heridian soldier, despite the color and adorned the same armor.
'Who or what are you?' Raeson asked.
'Your death!' it screamed as it produced a weapon hidden from within and began blasting away wildly at the boarding party.
The pirates dived to the sides behind old burnt out consoles and set up there firing positions.
'Do we fire, Commander Raeson?' one of the wingman shouted out from across the bridge.
As Xain responded, the blue creation threw down its weapon in surprise.
'Is that Commander Xain Raeson, the Reaper!?!' it stuttered.
Raeson, seeing the weapon lying on the floor, stood and swiftly moved over to kick the gun away.
He raised his assault rifle at the creation, 'How do you know my name, evil one?'
The creation slowly lifted its arms towards its helmet, the whole time being tracked by the weapon Raeson was holding. The helmet lifted off and revealed something Xain never thought he would ever see again.
'Tek?' Raeson yelled as he lowered his weapon, 'but how, you were dead?'
Tek smiled intensely as he choked back the tears, 'I've been alone on this vessel for so many years, and I thought you abandoned me.'
'We saw you fall away with the section of Rid ship months ago. How are you alive and how can it be years?'
Tek walked up to his commander of long ago and clasps arms, 'I guess time works differently out here. As for how I survived, that's a lot hazier. I've been alone on this ship so long it's hard to remember much of anything that happened after that day. As you can see, I kept myself busy though. Oh, the translocation.' Tek rushed over to the center console, his armor clinked together causing the pirates to cringe at the sound and deactivated the translocate sequence.
'I don't remember how I ended up on this ship,' he began again. 'All I know is its systems activate at predictable intervals and cause the vessel to translocate, jumping to random places. Only that function, life support, and food reserves work. From what I can tell, the blasted thing just cartwheels through space, out of control.'
'You can turn off the translocate systems, though?' Raeson asked.
Tek smiled, 'and that's about all I can do. Would you like to try some Rid food, it's really nasty, but you get used to it?'
'I'll pass on that thanks, but hey, I'll buy you a drink back on the Vidar, we need to get going.'
'I can't wait. Oh, I almost forgot, I found this scratched into a panel on the bridge.' Tek handed over a small piece of flat metal shard inscribed with numbers and a name.
'You found this here?' the Commander asked.
'Yea, any idea what it means?'
Raeson frowned, 'Draethus,' he said out loud, 'the word means trouble, but how by the creator did it end up on this ship?'
'I don't even know how I ended up on this ship,' Tek laughed as he stumbled over his dropped helmet and almost tripped. 'Well, I'm going to go say goodbye to my friends, if you'll excuse me, Jeffrex needs some attention.'
Tek, adorned in his blue Heridian armor, clumsily strode off the bridge and disappeared down the corridor.
'See what else you can find on these consoles, and then we head back,' Raeson ordered.
The wingmen acknowledged his command and got to work.
The pirate Commander walked off the bridge to follow his old comrade. Tek wasn't looking in the best health, physically or mentally, and was unshaven and malnourished. Raeson watched as the man bent down and started talking to his largest creation, dubbed Jeffrex, and felt a pain in his heart.
Guilt, he thought to himself, it's rare I feel guilty about something.
In his mind, Xain knew he had left Tek to die and didn't even search for him.
He walked over to a dark corner and touched the coms in his ear. 'Draethus, are you there?'
'I read you Xain, status?'
'We stopped the ship from translocating and found something interesting, well a couple of things, really.'
'I see, go on.'
Raeson paused for a moment as he watched Tek walk off, looking for his other creations. 'There was a shard of metal with a group of co-ordinates scratched into it, alongside some writing.'
'Bring it aboard and we will pinpoint the location. What writing?'
'Your name, Commander Draethus, scratched next to the numbers was your name.'
There was silence for a moment before Draethus answered, 'Well, that is interesting.'
'Trouble seems to follow you, warrior. I'm also bringing aboard an old friend, he will be my responsibility.'
'You found someone on the ship?' Draethus sounded surprised.
'Correct, Commander, like I said, he will be my responsibility.'
'Understood. Speaking of old friends, I hear Rel is serving aboard the Arvernus now, for this mission at least?'
'That is correct, what importance does that serve?' Raeson replied in a defensive tone.
'Just keeping track of who is serving with you, nothing more,' Draethus finished as he closed the coms.
The wingman walked out of the bridge and joined their Commander.
'Tek!' Raeson yelled, 'Finish your goodbyes, it's time to go.'
'And this ship, Sir, what will become of it?' asked a wingman.
The pirate Commander stared at him and said, 'Let it vanish.'
CHAPTER 16.
Scrounging for Answers.
Spect leant nervously opposite the white doors to the room that had plagued so much of his curiosity. He stared at his reflection, remembering what he felt after finally accessing the other side. The fear, the unseen presence that surrounded him, the way it spoke causing his retreat in fear. His hands trembled as sweat poured down his forehead, a gut wrenching panic formed in the pit of his stomach.
'Found you,' Tremon said as he ran down the corridor, 'it's so easy to get lost in this ship.'
He stopped at the doors and watched his own reflection join the scientist, 'Are you alright Spect? You look a little pale.'
The scientist cleared his throat and looked down, 'I'm scared out of my mind, Tremon. Whatever is in that room isn't human or even of this reality, I think.'
'Well then, are you going to open it? We don't have to wait for the Commander, he can catch up.'
'I'm not sure,' Spect replied.
'I'm tough, I can handle it. Be brave!' Tremon was itching to find out what was so spooky on the other side.
Spect timidly placed his palm to the side of the door and wished it wouldn't open. To his dismay, it did. The door phased out of existence to reveal the same empty hexagon shaped room as before.
'Wow looks really spooky,' Tremon laughed as he walked in. 'I was expecting something dark and foreboding.'
The whispers around the room started again; from one of the far corners it seemed to approach the Paladin soldier. Tremon took a few steps inside, only to freeze as if blocked by an unknown force. The volume of the voices increased and surrounded him, like an unseen group of spirits swirling in a vortex ready to consume the man. Tremon quickly stepped back out of the room and fumbled for the unseen panel Spect had used to open the door. The white metal phased back into existence and created a barrier between Tremon and whatever force he felt threatened by.
'Right, there may be something to your theory then Spect,' the Paladin grimaced.
*
'What's all the noise?' Draethus asked, walking up to the pair.
T
remon got in first and said, 'There's something in that room and it's well, not of this reality and we can't see it.'
The Commander looked puzzled, 'Aright, let us see what's there. Spect open it.'
'Yes, Commander,' the scientist acknowledged, his hands shaking again.
Draethus walked up to the doors as they phased out of existence, then took a step into the room. For a moment there was no activity. His two crewmen behind him looked anxious. The lights flickered, a vibration in the air caused their ear drums to pulse from the pressure and something stirred. It started with a faint word on the edge of hearing, a shadow on the edge of the visual spectrum, and a darkness in the center of the room manifested. A small cloud began forming at Draethus' eye level, joined by something swirling, first around the manifestation, then through it. Colors of magenta flashed like lightning as the entity grew in size until it occupied half the room.
Un-phased, the Commander of the Dawn Eclipse stood firm, listening to the voices, both around him and in his head. As he looked into the manifestation, Draethus swore he could see faces, twisted and warped. They swirled amongst the clouds as comets would streak through a solar system.
The visions that had plagued the soldier began again, but this time without the agonising pain and played back as a series of flashes instead. The creatures that clawed at him, the ground that seared and the world that burned. It was as if Draethus was experiencing a vision of what was to come. The entity's growth stopped just short of his face, and the vibrations in the air ceased.
'What is this darkness, Eclipse?' he asked out loud, for the benefit of his crew.
The warm sensation entered his mind and replaced the voices that had grown more intense.
This is the heart of the Dawn Eclipse, it is everything and nothing; the ship voiced in his mind.
'You talk in riddles; I need a more direct answer, Eclipse.'
'What is it?' Spect asked as Tremon nudged him to wait for the answer.
This ship links to the threads of time, and what lays beyond, called the Tether Source.
A Dark Oceans Descent: (Heridian Saga, Book 1) Page 21