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

by Darryl J. W. Temple

  'I see,' Draethus replied, 'yet another enemy to add to the list, but we will deal with that later.'

  Eclipse, how do we escape this? Draethus asked in his mind.

  I'm sorry Commander, but I am detecting multiple signatures emerging from translocation and am activating emergency contingency, the Eclipse replied.

  'By the creator, eleven Rid cruisers just appeared on the grid and they have weapons primed,' exclaimed Spect.

  What contingency is this? The Commander thought.

  The golden armor plates that covered the Dawn Eclipse separated like a flower in bloom, the sharp edges glistened with light that reflected purple fire from the star behind. Blue energy burst from the vessel like smoke engulfing a victim that covered both ships. A flash of white light vaporized the ships into nothingness. The crew, alongside their new pirate allies, had made their first jump through spacetime.

  CHAPTER 17.

  Vanquished Corners.

  It started with a spark of immense light, seen for thousands of kilometres in all directions, if there was anyone or anything present to witness. Fire erupted from its center as the spark increased in size as a tear in the fabric of spacetime ripped open and materialized the two vessels. The Dawn Eclipse, now covered in a blue haze adding to its golden splendour, contracted its armor plates and began spooling down the power of its time drive. The Arvernus, however, not being a ship designed for such travel, had small fires running down the length of its body.

  'I need a systems damage report, Nash,' Slin ordered, 'and an explanation to what the hell happened.'

  'Yes Sir,' she responded, 'as for what happened I think that glowing blue and gold ship out there might have a better answer.'

  Looking out of the forward display, Slin marvelled at the sight, magnificent and majestic.

  How could something like that even exist, let alone as a space faring vessel? Slin thought.

  The young pirate, sitting in the active pilot's chair, whose name Slin still couldn't remember, piped up and said, 'I don't think that's the only vision of awe. I'd suggest we manoeuvrer sixty-five degrees to starboard, Commander.'

  'This isn't your private pleasure yacht,' Slin replied, 'but go ahead, show us where we are.'

  The Arvernus adjusted its heading and spun to starboard. The crew looked on in curiosity as the most immense structure filled the screens, causing a look of shock on their faces.

  'By the creator, what is that?' Nash asked, with her question falling on mesmerized ears.

  Standing before both ships was a pair of statues, both identical and roughly a thousand kilometres in height. Resembling an armored man with the head of a reptile lizard, they both held a staff in one claw and a shield in the other. The gap between the two megaliths measured approximately two hundred kilometres and gave the crew the impression they were standing guard.

  'Are they gods?' Slin asked.

  The coms crackled to life as Nash redirected the incoming voice to the loudspeaker.

  'Slin, what is your ship status? I see fires erupting on your main armor,' Raeson asked from the bridge of the Eclipse.

  Nash swiped her screen, and it appeared on the acting Commander's console.

  'Minor damage Commander Raeson, the fires will burn out soon, the nanites are doing their job nicely,' Slin replied. 'So what happened and what are those statues out there?'

  'I can answer that one,' Draethus interrupted, still talking over the coms. 'The Eclipse engaged a contingency reserved for imminent capture.'

  The image of Draethus appeared on the front display and replaced the towering gods.

  'We had no choice but to engage the time drive and jump ourselves, along with the Arvernus, out of danger. It only made sense to land at our intended destination, or so the ship has told me,' Draethus continued.

  'So why couldn't we have just time jumped here in the first place?' Slin asked.

  'Because time shifting is dangerous, for the ship and ourselves.'

  Slin nodded his head in acknowledgement, 'So your ship talks to you then?'

  'I thought a bookshelf was talking to me once, turned out to be the guy in the other room,' said the red-headed pilot from below. The crew ignored him.

  'In a manner of speaking it does,' Draethus said with a smile, 'and those megaliths out there, the ship tells me, are the Pillars of Vanquish. Between them exists exotic particles from the nearby anomaly, a Nebula Stream that we can sail, if you will, to Tiberous.

  'Like gods, they guard the dark ocean entry to the mysterious Tiberous,' the young pirate called out.

  'Quite a dramatic way to put it, but yes, they mark the entrance,' Raeson added.

  Slin watched on the display as Raeson stood up from his console and walked closer to the viewing hologram. The Talon Commander manipulated the photons that currently displayed the enormous statue guardians.

  'I've known of Tiberous since I was a child,' said Xain, 'but never knew of such a sight. Do we know who built them or of what race?'

  'The only information the Eclipse will relinquish is they're in the image of its builders, obviously not to scale. As to the name of the ancient race, that would have faded with their extinction.' Draethus touched the scar on his face, 'I'm told they lived on Tiberous and we are probably lucky not to have met them.'

  We are still in the present timeline and must hurry if you still wish to duel your Heridian enemy, the Eclipses' voice said into its Commander's mind.

  'Crew of the Arvernus,' Draethus ordered, 'we are on a strict schedule, please dock with the Eclipse to speed up repairs.'

  The pirate corvette activated its manoeuvring thrusters, spun and gently made its way towards its sister ship. Once closer, the Arvernus triggered its grappling wires and latched onto the golden vessel with the Eclipse doing the same with its own methods. Both ships anchored motionless in full view of the towering gods, as insects would to giants.

  *

  The doors phased out of existence as the entrance to the golden vessel joined with the Arvernus. Nash stood at attention, ready to welcome their allies aboard, which was normally the custom, as someone came up from behind her.

  'Rel, what are you doing here?' Nash asked. 'I thought you were repairing the fighters.'

  The small red-haired girl only laughed, 'they were easy to fix only minor damage. Are they here yet?'

  'Commander Raeson, you mean? Not yet.'

  'No, I meant, um,' Rel cut her sentence short as the crew of the Eclipse appeared in the doorway.

  'Permission to board,' Commander Draethus asked formally.

  'Permission granted Commander,'

  Draethus, adorned in his dark gray armor, strode onto the pirate corvette, followed by Raeson, Tremon and Spect.

  'Hi Commander,' Rel said, red faced with a smile and a small wave.

  Raeson almost replied, realised the greeting wasn't for him, and nodded instead. He headed to the bridge to see Slin and followed closely by Nash.

  Draethus smiled at the small mechanic and said, 'It's good to see you again, Rel, hope you have been keeping out of trouble?'

  The girl giggled, 'I'm not sure what you mean Draethus, and I never get into any trouble. I was wondering though if you would like to see where I work.'

  Draethus looked at his crew, thought about declining because of his workload, then saw Tremon smirking. 'That sounds like a great idea Rel, lead the way.'

  Tremon, who had changed a great deal towards his Commander since they first met, yelled after them. 'We won't wait up, Commander.'

  'So what are we supposed to do then?' Spect asked.

  'I guess we find Slin and ask for a guided or unguided tour of the corvette,' Tremon replied. 'We didn't get to see all of it last time, did we?'

  Spect's face lit up, 'I wonder what their translocation drive looks like and…'

  Tremon headed for the command deck, followed by the scientist who began babbling to himself about what he could discover.

  *

  In another part of the Arvernus
, Draethus and Rel entered the small docking bay. An extensive collection of mechanical pieces scattered about the ground, dark liquids dripping through mechanisms that pooled excessively. The Widowmaker fighters attached to the ceiling with their topside covered by retractable armor from the corvette.

  'Well this is it, what do you think, Draethus?' Rel asked.

  Draethus, who was used to discipline and structure, looked around the dock area and tried to hide his surprise. 'It looks like you have a lot of work. Do these parts belong to just the one fighter?'

  'You think it's messy, don't you?' she said with a sarcastic pout. 'Well, all this is necessary to repair craft efficiently, where everything gets inspected. You wouldn't want to be in the depth of space and run out of life support, would you?'

  Draethus looked down at the girl who was standing with hands on hips, 'I can't think of anything worse,' he laughed. 'You obviously enjoy taking machines apart. Do you normally work on the Arvernus though?'

  'I'm only here for this mission to monitor Talon Commander Raeson and make sure he does nothing stupid, we don't want him dying,' she replied.

  'So is there something between the two of you?'

  A look of shock crossed Rel's face, 'Oh no it's nothing like that, we are just childhood friends, we grew up together.'

  Draethus smiled, 'That's good to hear. So was that the only reason you came on this mission?'

  The girl blushed, more than she had ever done in her life and said, 'It may have been to see someone special.'

  I think I'm going to die of embarrassment, Rel thought, looking away.

  'I'm happy you came, I was wondering when I could see you again,' the Commander added.

  He found a flat piece of equipment and sat down. Rel sat on the bay floor and leaned back against a rail at his feet.

  'So how does a beautiful woman end up being a pirate, let alone a mechanic?'

  Rel looked up and smiled, 'My aunt was a boarding soldier for the pirates and raised me. She was one bad arse woman; had to be.'

  'I see,' Draethus said, 'what happened to your parents?'

  'My aunt never talked about them much, but I know they died during the war against the Rids. They weren't soldiers or anything, but they had something to do with freighters, ferrying goods to different sectors of pirate space.'

  'Logistics is an important part of any fleet.'

  'They were important, yes, and I never knew them, I was only a baby.' Rel shifted uncomfortably. 'My aunt was my guardian, and I'm glad to have met her. She died not that long ago, and not even against the Rids. She captured a hauling vessel from the common world's alliance, full of priceless goods, and died leading the boarding party. Those ships don't always have escorts, but they are full of heavily armored personnel. It was a risk, and she knew it. Her crew captured the ship in the end though and I got to say my farewells.'

  Draethus frowned, 'I'm sorry to hear that Rel, this way of life is dangerous, which is why I'm glad you're a mechanic and not a soldier.'

  She blushed again, 'I worry about you though, which is the other reason I came on this mission. I feel good being close to you.'

  His smile reached his eyes this time, Draethus never thought he would ever meet anyone like this. The end in his mind always finished in his death, on some long forgotten battlefield.

  'What about you, Commander Draethus of the Dawn Eclipse,' Rel said playfully, 'where did you grow up?'

  'There's a planet called Echelon where I was born. It's a massive jungle world populated by carnivorous creatures, plants and thousands of other animals that try to eat you.'

  'By the creator!'

  'It's as bad as it sounds,' Draethus laughed. 'But growing up in the jungles you don't know any other way of life. Then one day the Soldiers of the Void arrived from the heavens and laid claim to the planet. I left my tribe, as many others did, and learnt their language and customs. I proved my worth quickly, alongside a childhood friend, and became one of them. Not long after the Rids invaded, which is how I gained my combat experience over the years.'

  'That doesn't sound like a great way to grow up,' the girl said, 'what of your parents?'

  'The tribes of the jungles don't work that way. You're born, and then raised as a group of children, kind of like training future hunters for the tribe. There is no concept of parents, just tribal breeding.'

  'That's horrible, so you're an orphan but you're not.'

  'That's life on Echelon, and it continues to this day. The toughest of young fighters earn their way into the ranks which replenishes the SOV, the trial and errors of life.'

  Rel stood up and moved into the Commanders' personal space, so close he could feel her breath.

  'I've been thinking a lot about you, Draethus,' she said, looking up into his eyes. 'I know that your way of life is dangerous, but I just want nothing bad to happen to you.'

  The soldier smiled and said, 'I've shifted to another time, fought Rids at every corner, adopted a mysterious telepathic star vessel, allied myself with pirates and the best part of all has been meeting you.'

  Rel blushed as Draethus leaned in and kissed her for the first time. The nervousness, excitement and feelings washed over the pair of them as they embraced. Slowly and passionately they became as one and after a few minutes, parted. Draethus, who would normally run his fingers down the scar on his face, instead caressed Rel and cupped her cheek in his hand.

  'I have feelings for you, Rel,' he said, 'I would love to see you more often.'

  She smiled with delight, 'I'd love that too, I could even make you dinner sometime. I cook really well and you could tell me the story of how you got here.'

  Draethus played with the dragon embossed amulet hidden between his armor plates on his chest.

  'What's that?' Rel asked.

  He looked down, unaware he was holding it. 'They give this amulet to all SOV on the day of induction. It contains information on the individual's achievements.'

  'Can I see?'

  The Commander unclipped the clasp at the back of his neck and handed it to her. 'If you press here,' he said, showing the hidden button, 'a hologram appears and you can select the achievements. This one is when I defeated a Carnosaur in one of my trials to become a soldier.'

  The hologram illuminated the dock area and showed a video of a young Draethus, not armored, fighting a giant lizard with a primitive sword.

  'That's so dangerous!' she yelled, 'how can anyone expect you to defeat that!?!'

  Draethus laughed, 'The trials are harsh to become a soldier and the challenges you face after induction are even harder still.'

  She pressed the amulet again to shut the recording off, then unclipped her own locket. The gold reflected off her skin and was round with a crest embossed on the front.

  'This belonged to my mother. My aunt gifted it to me when I came of age. It has some small pictures of my family.'

  'What's the crest on the front?' he asked.

  'I think it's the crest of my family but I'm unsure, I never asked. I want you to have it.'

  Draethus looked shocked, 'Are you sure? I don't know what to say.'

  'Say you will keep it with you always and think of me in times of need.'

  'It would honor me, Rel,' the Commander replied as he clipped it around his neck.

  He looked into her eyes, and for the first time in his life felt and saw love. 'Then you shall have my amulet,' he whispered and put it around her neck. 'It looks really large on you.'

  Rel giggled, 'It certainly does. If it's alright with you, I might keep it in a safe place, after all you are the one running into danger all the time.'

  'Sounds like a good plan.'

  *

  Raeson walked into the entrance of the dock and froze when he saw the pair standing in each other's arms. A feeling of resentment coursed through his blood. Rel was his childhood friend.

  Why am I angry? He thought, it's not like we were ever a couple, or ever going to be. He turned and left quickly, hoping the pair hadn't no
ticed.

  *

  Tektar Shahath, or Tek to his friends, sat on the edge of the infirmary bed and looked around the room.

  'Such a clinical space, where is the junk, the colors, the darkness?' he said to himself. 'I wonder what the guys are doing now?'

  'What people are you talking about?' Nash asked as she walked through the door.

  She faced him with a big smile on her face, a tear dropped from her cheek.

  'My friends on the ship I just left, I miss them,' he replied.

  'We missed you too, Tek. Watching you fall away like that and disappearing in the dark broke my heart. I never should have been so hard on you, I'm so sorry.'

  The man looked ragged, aged, and to Nash it seemed like his mind had given up.

  'I don't blame you for the way you felt towards me girl, I was an arse and worst of all I was dangerous. The best thing that could have happened was my death on the Rid destroyer.'

  'Please don't talk like that, Tek. If we knew you were still alive, we would have come back for you. I didn't think anyone could have survived that.'

  'I wouldn't have either, but yet here I am alive in the flesh and no recollection how. I don't even know how I ended up on that vessel Raeson found me.'

  'I'm just happy you are safe and here, alive,' she said, her smile beaming with a second chance to talk to her old wing mate.

  Nash sat on the bed next to him, 'We all heard about what you did to save the fleet in your past.'

  'Did you,' Tek replied, 'and who did you hear that from?'

  'The pilot that rescued you, who saw what you did,' she frowned. 'It's a terrible decision to make, but I believe what you did was the correct one. You saved the fleet when others put themselves first and would have let us all burn.'

  'Doesn't make living with it any easier, I can tell you,' he said.

  'No, but you are a hero and everyone in the fleet knows the story now, it spread like crazy.'

  'I don't want that exposure; I killed my own and should have paid the price.'