'Something like that. I need you here now as the Rids have us pinned down.'
'Give us three minutes Commander, you will hear us coming,' Slin said, smiling to himself.
'Make it two minutes or we won't be here,' Raeson answered as the sound of gunfire ricocheted nearby.
Slin cut the coms and turned to his pilot who was busy evading the laser fire from two fighters that were now pursuing them through the wreckage of a pirate cruiser.
'These are your new waypoints, boy,' the Commander ordered. 'Take us in low and fast, make as much noise as you can.'
'Yes Sir,' the pilot replied with a frown. Still, no one referred to him by name.
The corvette blasted out of the wreckage and headed towards the planet at the fastest pace it could. The pursuing fighters couldn't keep up as their small engines reached the maximum thrust; all they could do was watch the pirates disappear towards the arc of the upper atmosphere. Fire erupted along the bow and spread across the outer hull of the Arvernus as it entered orbit like a fireball burning across the sky. It dove directly down to pick up as much velocity as possible before pulling up and headed towards the spire in the distance.
'How long Nash?' Slin asked patiently.
'Another thirty seconds Commander and we will be over that spike structure, add a few more if we have to evade any ground fire.'
The pirate corvette created a dust storm behind it, dirt spiralled along as the vessel skimmed above the surface, so close that the smallest error could have caused the ship to collide with the various terrain. It was when the spire loomed ahead that the sonic boom reached the docks, causing the stranded pirates to look up and the Specters to begin the plan.
*
Draethus snapped off another couple of shots at a Heridian soldier that was using loading equipment for cover. The first struck the creature in the arm, the second, to its benefit, deflected harmlessly off the machinery. The Commander never got the chance for a second attempt as the world around grew dark with swirls of ghostly energy. Draethus found himself inside the creature ship and meters from the Dawn Eclipses' entry.
'The ship may not fly again,' a voice whispered. 'If you cannot reactivate the systems, we will have to scuttle it.'
The thought of destroying his ship, not because it was his first, but an ancient vessel he was still learning about, was a gut wrenching thought. He had lost the women he loved and the battle against the menace. The idea of losing his ship brought him closer to breaking point.
'She will fly again,' Draethus said, turning to the Specter next to him. 'Besides, there's no other way out.'
'I will make sure the Tether Source is still functioning and you can wake up the ship. We disarmed the electronic warfare on our way to rescue you, but there are enemy soldiers approaching, so will need to hurry,' the Specter said as it flew ahead and phased through the closed outer door.
Draethus placed his palm over the side panel and to his surprise the door phased out of existence allowing him entry.
'There must be some power running through her for the door at least,' he said to himself. 'In fact, there is no outer damage from the Rids breaching, so even the nanites are working.'
The Commander hurried for the command deck and prayed that he could activate his ship.
*
Back at the docks Tremon grabbed the scientist by the coat and dragged him behind the remains of a Heridian walker the group of Specters had destroyed. Spect coughed and sputtered as the dark smoke reached his lungs, but was glad to be out of harm's way. He rubbed his glasses to clean them as the sonic boom struck. The black corvette darted over the dome ceiling as he looked to the heavens and wanted to be aboard. As the stable feeling of the ground left him, the vision in his eyes darkened. He felt himself being shifted and realised they had granted his wish. He fell to the corner as his balance disappeared and the feeling of vomit threatened to reveal itself.
'So that's new,' Slin said, startled as he looked at the three men who appeared on his bridge. 'How did you do that?'
Raeson brushed the dust off his armor, 'The Specters have an interesting way to travel. Is there any sign of the Eclipse?'
'Nothing yet,' replied Nash from the back. 'We're going back to the main body of the fleet.'
'Good,' Raeson replied. 'Slin, you are still in command of the Arvernus. You will need to send a message to all ships left alive to regroup on us and fall in line.'
'Yes Sir, but where are we to go especially if the Eclipse doesn't make it? That ship is our only ticket out,' Slin asked.
'Set a waypoint for the group of wrecks near where the link opened. We will have to keep on the move until we figure out our next plan of action,' the exhausted pirate replied.
The dark ship reached into the skies and burnt its way into the heat of the ongoing conflict in orbit. Capital ships on both sides traded weapons fire as laser and missile alike slammed into each other's hulls. It blanketed the area with wrecks as the pirate corvette joined in with the remaining vessels. Slin sent out the area wide broadcast for retreat and watched another cruiser explode in a spectacular display that caused him to cover his eyes.
'All ships are falling into formation behind us,' Nash announced. 'There aren't a lot of them left, Slin.'
Tremon who had been making sure the scientist was unharmed walked up to the viewing display to the front of the ship.
'Can you display the rear camera?' he asked, holding his left arm that had received a hit from enemy fire.
The display from behind was incredibly graphic, twisted wrecks covered the field of view as fires and explosions raged from both sides.
'The amount of lives lost today is intolerable,' the Paladin stated flatly. 'This menace needs eradicating.'
Before any of the crew could reply, Nash bolted out of her chair in excitement and exclaimed, 'There's another signature headed our way amongst the Rids.'
On the display, something glinted as the crew of the corvette spotted the golden ship streaking towards them in the distance. The pursuing enemy fleet was sluggish in response to the retreat and were out of range to have any impact with their weapons. The remnants of the pirate fleet had escaped death, for now, and the Dawn Eclipse was still among them.
'I think it's time for us pirates to make haste,' Commander Draethus said over the coms. 'We are going for the link I would assume?'
Raeson spoke first, 'That it is Draethus, you probably have some idea how happy we are to see you?'
'That I do,' Draethus replied. 'The ship says we have just enough energy to open the link for us to escape.'
The red clouds of the surrounding nebula enveloped the vessels and despite the Heridian fleet on their tail, was enough interference for the pirates to vanish.
*
The conference room aboard the Dawn Eclipse was long and narrow, but contained enough room for the small team of people to sit and listen to the entity at the table's end.
'I have called you all here to give you information regarding our joint purpose against the enemy race that is the Heridians,' the Specter said as it floated above the floor.
'What is your purpose?' Raeson asked.
We protect the vessel you refer to as the Dawn Eclipse. Scattered throughout time and space, we exist where the ship is, has or will be,' it whispered.
Slin, who connected with the meeting remotely from his personal viewing display in his quarters on board the Arvernus, asked, 'So who built the ship?'
The ghostly apparition turned to the holographic representation of the corvettes acting Commander that sat next to Tremon. 'An ancient race built the vessel long before even our masters existed. It contained the Heridian forces in the pocket of space that exists apart from time, the space we currently travel in. The Dawn Eclipse is the gatekeeper, the method used to open the link and to seal it.'
'I don't see how one ship could contain an entire planet when we have only seen it open the link,' said Draethus.
'You are not the first races to fight against th
e Heridians; others have done so over thousands of years,' said the Specter. 'The long ago war involving the reptilian warrior race you saw on Tiberous played a major part in the enemy's entrapment.'
'So those were the wrecks we have seen scattered throughout this area?' Spect asked. 'I really want to get my hands on those schematics.'
'That is correct,' the Specter replied, its cloak suddenly shifting in the non-existent breeze. 'The war caused their extinction but to the benefit of all others and halted the enemy's advance.'
Stark, who had sat quietly until now asked what many of them were wondering. 'So what exactly are you Specters and who are your masters?'
The entity paused as if it was deciding how much information to give the men in the room.
'The name of our masters shall remain unknown to you for their protection. As for the Specters, we were once Soldiers of the Void and lost long ago during the great voyage to Echelon.'
Shock crossed the face of Draethus at the realisation. 'You were SOV, but how?'
'The link is approaching,' the entity stated, and with no sign of it ever being present, vanished.
Tremon looked over at his Commander and said, 'Didn't see that coming I must admit.'
As the room emptied, the Paladin, with his arm now bandaged, stopped both the Commanders and continued, 'I'm sorry for your loss, I know Rel meant a lot to both of you.'
Both Commanders nodded silently, exchanged glances and left for the command deck.
*
A swirl of fire erupted as the whirlwind of energy appeared around the golden ship and opened the link to normal space. The remnants of the pirate fleet, a handful of cruisers escorted by corvettes, entered first, descending into the gateway. As the last capital vessel passed, the ship began the links closure, hopefully for the last time, and accelerated to the exit.
'I am so sorry, Rel,' Draethus said through tears from the privacy of his command position under the metal liquid lake on board the Eclipse.
CHAPTER 24.
The Departing Fallen.
The Cygnian Memorial, a converted space station used solely for burying the dead, orbited the barren homeworld of the pirates. Once used as a hub for planetary exportation now served as a skyward graveyard where a warrior's remains could lie to rest.
Five enormous domes surrounded a central structure, each one a unique ecosystem and self-contained, maintained by robotic drones that saw to their cultivation. Dome four contained the lush growth of trees entwined with exotic plants taken from different worlds around the known solar systems.
The bright colors of greens from the foliage and purples of varied flower species created a calm atmosphere around the quiet group of bipeds standing to attention. Rows of the pirates, the soldiers and civilians, remained silent as someone sounded an instrument signalling the end of the special service for the fallen heroes.
Talon Commander Xain Raeson, dressed in full formal attire, approached one of the many statues erected in honor of each fallen ship. A pillar of marble, a meter square at the base then tapered to a small square at the top, stood taller than the biped. It held a bronze plaque with all the names of the deceased. A hologram above the monument gently rotated, depicting the ship with its name clearly labelled underneath.
Draethus, the commander of the ancient vessel, the Dawn Eclipse, stood next to his friend and eyed Rel's name on the plaque.
'She should never have been there,' Draethus said sadly.
'No, she shouldn't,' Raeson replied, 'but she was strong willed and neither of us could have stopped her.'
Draethus laid down a purple flower against the monument, closed his eyes and wished Rel would be in front of him when he looked up. In his mind he could see her standing in the distance, waving and then running towards him.
'Rel used to give those flowers to me, before you came along that is,' Raeson remarked.
Draethus snapped out of his self-created vision, 'I didn't know that, she was an incredibly caring woman,' he whispered, 'and we left her body on Heridia.'
Xain turned to the grieving man, 'We can't afford to think like that Draethus, besides there was nothing left of her as the ship burned up in the atmosphere. A better end than what happened to your friend Johan.'
Draethus nodded as he fought the choking feeling in his throat, 'So what of your friend, Zekhal was it?'
Tremon heard the name mentioned and joined the two, 'Is there a chance we will find him?'
Raeson shook his head and said, 'The void holds many wonders but that place, whatever plain of existence the link exists is new to me. I'm not sure if the Dying Nova frigate will ever find its way out.'
'But they have enough food and water to survive for years at a time so there might be hope for them, however slim,' Draethus responded.
'Always the optimist,' Xain smiled briefly. 'We have Spect working on a way to research the data while we passed through the link. If anyone can uncover something it's him.'
'Speaking of Spect,' Draethus said, 'where is he?'
Tremon pointed off into the distance. 'He sends his condolences but had to rush off, something to do with a few new ship designs we found amongst the wrecks near Heridia.'
'For a genius he really has a short attention span,' Draethus added.
A group of men near another monument saluted, then parted, allowing the Khan to walk between. The man had spent most of the hour giving the eulogy, the send-off that would immortalise the fallen men and women so their legacy would live on. Dressed in an armored uniform reserved only for the ceremony, the man stood tall, proud yet sombre.
'Commanders,' he started, 'it's sad to see you here today, but I'm relieved you survived.'
All three bipeds nodded deeply to their leader, eyes lowered and stern.
'You can relax,' the Khan said, 'there are some things we need to address. I would like to have done this at a later time however it cannot wait.'
The bearded man looked at Draethus and a smile reached his eyes at the sight of the Cygnian badge on his shoulder. 'It looks great on you, on both of you,' he finished turning to Tremon.
Draethus felt pride with a feeling of belonging before he realised he couldn't stay, for now at least.
'My Khan, do you know of the message I have to deliver to my old allegiance?' Draethus asked.
The pirate leader nodded, 'Aye, I know of it and before you ask I think you have a duty to honor it.'
It surprised Draethus, and he asked, 'Will you allow me to fly to Echelon, to deliver the co-ordinates the SOV need to fight the Heridians?'
'If it means more of the menace will die then yes, I will allow it on one condition,' the Khan responded.
'The Eclipse,' Raeson added.
'That's right,' replied the Khan. 'We need that ship, but on your return, you will again be its commander.'
Tremon interrupted, 'What ship will he take?'
The Khan grinned, 'I believe your scientist has something in mind.'
Tremon frowned, 'I'm not sure I like the sound of that, I guess we will find out.'
The Khan slapped his hand on Tremon's' shoulder, 'That reminds me, how would you feel about leading a new class of warrior, in the image of what you were?'
'What did you have in mind?' the Paladin asked.
'The fleet needs more structure with internal security. I was thinking you could lead and train what I'm calling the Cygnian Paladins, what do you say?'
The look on Tremon's face gave away his answer, 'It would honor me, my Khan.'
'I'm glad to hear it; you start tomorrow and will report directly to me,' the older man replied. 'For now, I have things to attend to.'
The men nodded deeply in acknowledgement as their leader vanished into the crowd of people.
'Congratulations,' Draethus said to Tremon as Raeson slapped the man on the back.
'I was wondering what my role here would be. I thought it was on the Eclipse, but I guess you have a mission to achieve,' the Paladin said, looking at his former Commander.
'You could come with me, after all Echelon was your home,' Draethus replied.
'It was, but it lays abandoned now and it looks like I have a security force to form. It is a tempting offer though.'
Draethus smiled, 'Then I better get this message to its destination and come back to help.' He looked at both men intensely, 'We should keep what we found on Heridia secret.'
'You mean the identity of the Lords?' replied Tremon.
Raeson nodded, 'I agree, that information would create a great deal of trouble for us in the future.'
'It's settled then,' Draethus finished. 'Tremon, please relay the request to Spect.'
Slin, Nash and the young pilot whose name everyone forgot, appeared from behind a monument further down the line. A holographic fighter slowly rotated behind them.
'Commanders,' they said.
'And newly awarded Paladin we hear,' Slin said with a wide grin.
'You were just at the fighter memorial; did Stark make it back alive?' Raeson asked.
Nash took hold of Slin's hand, 'Stark's injured but otherwise alright, we were just giving our blessings to the fallen.'
Raeson said nothing further about the man.
Tremon walked up to the youngster and gave him a cheerful slap on the side of his shoulder. 'You know, we never got to find out your name, young one.'
'I don't see how anyone could forget it,' he replied.
Draethus gave the boy an assumptive stare in anticipation.
'My name is Killiax Lasser.'
'That is so horrendous!' Tremon yelled. 'How could anyone forget a name like that?'
Lasser just shrugged, 'I get used to it, and I'm not that memorable… you could call me Kill for short?'
Nash laughed, rubbed her hand through his ginger hair and said, 'that's not happening.'
'So what now?' asked Slin.
'Now we rebuild our fleet,' Raeson answered. 'We launch reconnaissance missions to track the Rids then attack them again as the Third Lord is still out there. We might better plan another attack to finish him.'
'And I have a message to deliver to my former soldiers,' Draethus said. 'I better get back to the ship and inform it I will be absent.'
A Dark Oceans Descent: (Heridian Saga, Book 1) Page 31