Black Swarm

by Ivan Kal

  But farther out, close to the broken-up planets, was the Swarm: a cloud the size of several planets put together, and at its center a spherical object the size of a small moon. The AI core had used to be the headquarters of the last of the People, but it was now a mobile station—one the AI had clearly been upgrading. It now had rings surrounding it, and on them the Bastion’s sensors detected weapon systems.

  A few moments after their force announced itself, sensor pings from the AI’s forces hit their side. There was no hiding here now. The AI knew that they were here, and it knew how many of them there were. The last count of the force Ryaana now commanded was at just a bit over two million Krashinar beasts, along with around the one hundred thousand ships of the Nomad Fleet. The majority of that were nanoships, but the facility of Axull Darr had been working since the moment her father returned to it, and they had recovered their original number of Titans, leaving them with roughly eleven thousand.

  A pitiful number when compared to the enemy in this system, but each of the thirty-kilometer-long Titans were more powerful than even the Sovereigns. They were designed for fighting the Enlightened.

  Ryaana opened her mind and sent the go-ahead signal to the Seventh even as she used her implant to send out orders over the c-board. A moment later, the entire force started moving forward.

  * * *

  The Custodian aborted all of its unnecessary processes and turned all of its attention to the intruders now in its system. It had expected an attack, and had made some preparations, limited in scope as they were by the lack of information at its disposal. Now, as its scanners across the system detected the invading armada and its composition, the AI began developing a plan of action.

  The Nomad Fleet had arrived with a massive force of biological ships. Its scans revealed that there was a high probability that these were Krashinar beasts, although only a portion of their signatures matched what it already had on them. There seemed to be two distinct forces of Krashinar, both holding Nomad Fleet vessels at the head of their formations. One of them was incredibly confusing; as the AI ran through the returned scans it could clearly see that each beast in that formation was unique. Some shared similarities, but they were all different. That alone had confused it, and made it think that perhaps its conclusions were wrong, that these were not Krashinar ships—but in the end there were just too many signs pointing in the direction of these being Krashinar. The other formation held only signatures that it recognized, but the majority were unfamiliar.

  The Custodian had been aware that its lack of information on the Krashinar was a problem, but the data it had retrieved from various sources never even suggested that they were capable of sending such numbers. One of the low-percentage possibilities had been that the Nomad Fleet’s leader would turn to the Krashinar for help, of course, but that had been discarded once data indicating the Krashinar had not pulled their forces from the Great Alliance had been confirmed.

  It no longer mattered, however, and the AI didn’t dwell much on past projections. The enemy armada was here, and it had to deal with it. It started transmitting orders to its forces, guiding them into positions. The enemy’s current heading was set directly for the star. The most probable reason for this was that they wished to both cut it off from the system and secure a way out for themselves.

  The AI knew that their force was not large enough to defeat it. Even with the unknowns of the new Krashinar signatures, it held an overwhelming numerical advantage. The enemy had to know that, which meant that the AI needed to be on the lookout for any tricks. The enemy armada could hurt it—they had enough power to destroy its manufacturing capability, which would set it back years, and because of this it was forced to send out forces from across the system toward the black hole and the massive factories there. It left its mining operations unprotected, but those were not as critical to its efforts as the factories were.

  As its forces started to move, the AI pulled back and observed, ready to adjust its orders instantly.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Moirai dropped out of hyperspace followed quickly by four others. The first was the Titan-class Dragon, originally Ryaana’s ship, now commanded by Anessa. The other three were great beasts of the Old Hunters: the three were called Harxi, Dorvax, and Hutad, as Adrian had learned only recently. They were ones of the older great beasts in that pack, and those that had taken a great liking to Moirai. They had been the ones teaching her the most, and which Moirai liked the most.

  When they had settled in on the number of ships they could safely bring with them, Adrian had initially wanted to bring all Titans, but the plan had changed. The great beasts here might be old, but they were powerful, and their biological nature meant that they were less at risk from any of AI’s electronic warfare attacks. That left only Moirai and the Dragon at risk. Both had been upgraded as much as possible, and Moirai was less at risk than the Dragon, as her technological systems didn’t really control her, and all were under Iris’s control.

  Their plan was simple: draw out the AI’s forces from its core, teleport in and keep whatever defenses it left near it busy while Iris assaulted its core. Hopefully the speed of their attack would catch it unprepared and allow Iris to get a quick look in and get out, after which they would retreat to the fleet near the star and exit through the access point.

  Moirai and its escorts waited in dark space just outside the outer borders of the AI’s system, far enough away that they wouldn’t be discovered by the AI. An unfortunate side effect of their position was being unable to see anything that was happening in system, but by now, the rest of their force would have reached the AI’s system and begun attacking.

  Adrian stood in Moirai’s cargo area, looking at a box filled with blue spheres each the size of his head. They were just one of the weapons that Anessa, Lurker of the Depths, and he had designed to let them utilize their power better.

  He was also wearing a suit of armor, an upgrade of the Sentinel armor that he had used to wear. He didn’t really need it when he was in the vacuum of space, as he could survive there while in Sha state, but there was no need for the added drain when he could use technology to assist. The suit wouldn’t protect him if he was shot with a weapon from a ship, but it was there only for life support. His power would keep him from dying from anything else. There were a few more boxes here, with a few more surprises they had come up with, but he didn’t know how much use they would be in this battle. The only ones he could see a use for were the blue spheres in front of him.

  Making a decision, he took hold of the large box with his telekinesis and bent space from the cargo area to Moirai’s heart. He arrived and lowered the box, then walked over to the throne and took a seat.

  Iris was floating close, making final preparations, as Adrian reached out to Moirai.

  “Nervous?” Adrian asked.

  “NO,” Moirai responded instantly. He was always surprised by her absolute belief that she was the most powerful thing there was—probably because it was the truth, at least in most cases. But Adrian knew that he was going to need to teach her that arrogance needed to be watched for.

  “You remember the plan?” Adrian asked.

  “OF COURSE. NOT STUPID,” Moirai said, indignant.

  Adrian chuckled. “I’m just reminding you not to fire on the AI’s core. I know that one empty ship might look the same to you as any other.”

  “NOT BLIND, CAN TELL DIFFERENCE!” Moirai said in a tone that told him immediately that she though he was being stupid.

  Adrian sighed and shook his head. True, having a great beast as a partner was a wonderful thing, but there were some aspects that were somewhat annoying—like trying to converse with a being whose understanding of the universe around them was drastically different than his own. If he hadn’t experienced Old Scar’s life, he would’ve had no hope of even trying.

  Not wanting to bother Moirai anymore, Adrian turned his mind to the upcoming battle. He wondered if Ryaana had already engaged the enemy.


  * * *

  Anessa sat in the command center of the Dragon, her daughter’s crew surrounding her. They were a good crew, well trained from what little time Anessa had spent with them.

  A part of her was just a bit worried for her daughter. Anessa would’ve much rather been back on the Bastion, but she understood why she wasn’t. With the limited amount of mass they could teleport, they needed as much firepower as they could get in their smaller battle group. Ryaana was just not trained enough for it, not yet, and the Lurker of the Depths relied more on his telepathy, which was useless against the AI.

  Anessa waited patiently, dressed in her armor, her mind clear as she prepared for the conflict ahead. She didn’t know how long it would take for Ryaana to send them the go-ahead signal, as that depended on the developments in system, but she knew it would be a while. Their assault force needed to draw enough forces away from the core of the AI in order to make their plan not a suicide, and Anessa was certain that Ryaana would accomplish that.

  She was, after all, her daughter.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The first row of Ryaana’s formations smashed against the AI’s defenses. Its defense platforms—powerful ion and proton beams—were hammering at the coming onslaught. The Nomad Fleet’s kinetic weapons proved their worth against the fixed defenses, but that still left the AI’s machine ships. Her forces were slugging it out at a distance. Her armada outnumbered the defenders in front of them, but more machine ships were moving from across the system.

  Ryaana was sending out orders constantly, the Sha state thrumming in her as she kept a piece of her mind connected to the Seventh and Lurker of the Depths, keeping them updated as well as issuing them orders. It wasn’t as draining to her as some of the other tasks, and she believed that she could hold it for a while.

  The space between the two forces was shrinking rapidly, and the machine ships were exploding at an increasing rate as her armada turned her small advantage into something greater. The Krashinar beasts fired their beams from ranges beyond what the machine ships were capable of, and that alone made their breaking through the first line of defense nearly inevitable.

  * * *

  The Seventh watched through Araxi’s eyes as their force smashed against the machine fleets gathered to stop them. Their numbers had been just a fraction of the Krashinar and Nomad Fleet invasion force, and quickly the greater firepower of the beasts and Nomad Fleet ships overpowered them. The combined force pushed into the system, constantly fired upon by defense platforms across it. The enemy machine ships were moving on a course that would eventually intercept with theirs, but they were not rushing.

  The Seventh could see that they were attempting to gather a force that would outnumber the combined armada before committing to a battle. New orders reached to the Seventh through its link with Ryaana, and it relayed them to the rest of the Krashinar forces. The armada altered its course slightly, making sure to keep the debris of cracked planets and the machine ships between it and the core of the AI and its Swarm. The AI had an extreme-long-range weapon in its Swarm which could be a problem. They didn’t know its max range—it hadn’t fired yet—although they were further away now than they had been in the control system when the AI had used it then.

  Still, they made sure that something was always in the way of the line of sight between the Swarm and them, just in case.

  The armada was being constantly fired upon from many sides, but so far they had taken few casualties. The power of the Titans and great beasts proved too much for the smaller machine ships. But the AI had yet to commit the greater bulk of its forces, as a massive amount of machine ships was currently being amassed just outside the range of the armada.

  The Seventh knew that they would begin their assaults soon—but by then it would be too late, as the armada would reach the star before the enemy could truly commit to a battle.

  * * *

  Lurker of the Depths sat in the pool of his Titan, the Dark Waters. His mind was plugged into the amplifier and his mind wandered. It was not like his expertise was needed; Ryaana was a better commander and he was there simply to aid in the communications with the Krashinar. But there had been little need for that so far—instead, he kept his mind focused on the battle. He was surprised how different it felt, being in conflict with an enemy who he couldn’t sense. There was no life on the AI’s machine ships, nor was there anything anywhere in the system. The only side of the conflict that he could sense was his own, and the Krashinar beasts’ telepathic signatures filled his mind.

  He was surprised when he saw just how different the two packs felt. The Old Hunters’ signatures and voices were calm, secure in their knowledge and experience. There was little chatter among the beasts themselves, and when there was, the beasts sent impressions of the enemy: weaknesses, strengths, warnings. Lurker of the Depths had spent enough time close to the Krashinar during battle to know that their Great Packs, while extremely competent, were still filling the space with chatter. The Old Hunters, for their part, were far more adept at this, and he was impressed by them. The Old Hunter beasts might be old and weaker overall when compared to the Nomad Fleet’s firepower or that of the Eternal Hunters, but they did as much if not more damage.

  It was because they were communicating the important things to one another, and their Handlers knew enough to let them do it. The Old Hunters knew where to aim in order to inflict most damage, and they coordinated at the level only those who had served for ages together could. There were rarely any moments when the Old Hunters missed their targets, or even landed just a glancing blow.

  The Eternal Hunters, on the other hand, were the complete opposite. Lurker of the Depths felt their uncontrolled emotions, the struggle their Handlers went through to control them. The Eternal Hunters were disorganized; instead of a tightly coordinated pack, they seemed more like an unstoppable horde, taking down anything and everything in its path. There had even been several times when beasts in the Eternal Hunters’ pack had attacked the Nomad Fleet ships.

  They were all powerful, some even more than the great beasts Lurker of the Depths had seen in the Great Packs, but they were clearly not properly trained for organized battle. All they knew was how to inflict damage—and that they did. They destroyed as much of enemy ships as the Old Hunters. But though they held a greater amount of firepower, they. struck at every target with little regard for aim or coordination with the other beasts.

  Still, they were impressive in their own right.

  And just like that, as Lurker of the Depths observed the battle with his mind, their force fought its way to the star. The armada smashed into the defenses in its orbit—they were remarkable, but they were no match for the combined might of the Nomad Fleet and the Krashinar. Lurker of the Depths watched as a task force of Nomad-Fleet Titans split off and went into the star to clear any enemy ships inside.

  And then, from the center of their armada, hidden from view thus far, there arrived the three Hephaestus stations and they settled in orbit and assumed their assault forms. Turrets formed out of their nanite clouds and the charging of the MD cannons began. Titans took positions in front in order to shield them from any attempt to fire on them.

  The machine force was still in the process of gathering more ships when the three moon-sized stations finished charging their first shots. Lurker of the Depths could see that the AI had realized what was going to happen, and the gathered machine force started to move and disperse their formations in preparation for the inevitable firing of the stations.

  But spreading so many ships was not a quick maneuver. The stations fired and beams of light cut into the AI’s force. Each beam was large enough to engulf several ships, and they didn’t stop. The beams eradicated every ship they touched—thousands died from the first three beams. The Nomad Fleet was firing kinetic shells at multiple targets across the system; some at the stationary facilities, others at fleets moving toward them. They would probably all be avoided, by the forces that could m
ove, at least, but it would disrupt them and delay them. And the stationary stations were not so lucky, some had limited maneuverability but the Nomad Fleet shells could adjust their trajectories as well.

  Lurker of the Depths saw the AI order its fleets in the way of the kinetic missiles in order to protect the shipyards and other important targets. Its massive assembled force started moving toward the star, taking the cannon blasts from the Hephaestus stations every couple of minutes as they charged their beams.

  But even with them taking so many down, there were too many machine ships in system—and they were now all coming straight for them.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  The Custodian watched as the enemy armada entered the inner system, all the way harried by its forces. It was losing a lot more than they were, however. Their kinetic missiles had been taking down its defense platforms and targeting facilities that it could not afford to lose, and so forcing it to sacrifice ships in order to protect them. It had always known the danger of such weapons to stationary targets, but it hadn’t had the time to build up countermeasures. It had been on its agenda, but fairly low on its list of priorities.

  The losses it was suffering were not all because of that. It had been watching and adjusting its tactics constantly, yet they were not having the desired effect. Part of it was that the Krashinar were the worst possible opponents for the AI. There were no electronic signals it could hack, there were no sensor readings it could alter or disrupt. The Krashinar beasts saw the universe in a completely alien way to that of the AI—but the other part was even more worrying.