by Michael Kan
As the ammunition shot off, the Endervar forces began to reel. Entire vessels fractured, blowing apart in fountains of glassy matter. The space ring fired again and again, following up the attack with a launch of additional drones and even manned fighter craft. It was a sudden fury that sought to suppress and vanquish the foe. As all could see, the Arcenian people would not go down without a fight.
In return, the enemy roared back. As more of their kin arrived, the Endervar fleet struck hard and fast. Like machines, they possessed no fear. If necessary, they would die to accomplish their aim. It was the same maneuver, only deadlier. In one pass, a lone Endervar ship dove into the fray. As the surrounding plasma fire sank into the vessel, it jerked and raged, accelerating to maximum speed. The resulting force then turned and slammed into the planet itself.
Red sat speechless, watching as the enemy ship crashed into the orbital shield. The explosion was monstrous. The white matter blazed across the battered invisible field. Other enemy vessels were now preparing to do the same. Four contacts at zero point five eight, the ensign said. On a collision course.
Arendi heard the coordinates and moved again to intercept. The Kinnison spun, flaring its engines. Behind her was the ensign, who stood at the vessel’s primary weapons control. Targeting, she said. Phase cannons and disrupter online.
The Endervar ships were distant, but they were moving in for the next pass. They blasted away, ignoring the opposition and focusing their attack on the orbital shield.
As both particle beam and plasma tore through space, the Kinnison responded with its own arsenal. Firing, the ensign said, activating the forward weapons battery. The energized bolts boomed out from the Kinnison, pummeling away at enemy defenses. But Arendi wasn’t done. She ignited another trail of dead void as her vessel attempted to whip past the Endervar craft.
The bridge trembled as the weapon hit. In one blow, the Endervar ship crossed behind the Kinnison and into its path. The trap split the enemy vessel in two. Flying apart, the craft burst into a shower of debris.
Arendi piloted on, sending her vessel to destroy the remaining three ships. As she did so, the ensign fired off the ship’s long-range cannons. Red could hear the weapons pound through the bridge, each shot striving to reach its target. The energized bolts cut through the cold, striking at the enemy ships.
It wasn’t enough. The Endervar vessels were already in position near their target. Slipping past the ensign’s attack, the ships accelerated, only to collide. Red covered his eyes as the blinding glow flashed across the screen.
Direct hit, the ensign said. Orbital shields are buckling.
Although the invisible barrier remained intact, the space ring was scrambling to maintain the force field. Energy across the shielding was becoming uneven, to the point that small pockets were on the verge of collapsing. Clearly, it was only a matter of time before the defense would fail. Arendi looked on at the view screen, enraged.
Justice, she said, keep giving me new targets. This isn’t over.
Understood, the ensign replied. Arcenian Command is requesting assistance at coordinates zero point nine nine.
Plotting the course, Arendi commanded the Kinnison to speed forth. No matter the odds, she would not stop. Red could only stand by and watch. He had never fought in the Endervar Wars. He was neither a pilot nor any kind of trained tactician. He was simply a bystander in the midst of a colossal battle.
Orbital shields breaking!
The particle beams remained relentless. They blazed toward the space ring as the Kinnison sought to turn the tide. If only Arendi knew how. So far, her tactics had failed to stop the Endervar’s advance. At every chance she was destroying their invading ships. But still, they came. At times, they even evaded her vessel, seeking out other targets. She didn’t know why.
This time, however, they were in her sights. The Kinnison flew into the blaze. The force fields around the vessel were draining, but Arendi could see the targets through the fiery embers. Radiating light were four Endervar ships. They roamed the other side of the planet, firing down at the orbital shield, but Arendi was quick to end it there. She sent all remaining power into the spatial technology. The dead void behind the Kinnison grew exponentially. Flying past the targets, the vessel then let the weaponized space consume. In a swift strike, the four Endervar craft exploded.
Arendi shivered at the impact. The Kinnison had taken some damage. A particle-beam blast had nearly ripped into the hull. But that wasn’t all.
Status? she asked as the emergency alarm shrieked through the ship.
Shields are regenerating, the ensign said. But Vellanar their barriers are gone.
In spite of their efforts, the Endervars continued to advance. The brute force of the ongoing bombardment had unraveled the barriers around the planet’s orbit. The collapse to the protective shielding was now complete. The Arcenian home world was exposed, along with the space ring protecting it.
It’s taking damage, the ensign reported. Overload is imminent!
The chain reaction ruptured from the ring’s weapons batteries. Across a quarter of the structure, several segments imploded. The plasma cannons were becoming unstable and detonating. Soon, a cloud of debris and energy was jettisoned out into space.
Arendi went to her comm feed and heard the garbled screams.
Tell all personnel onboard to abandon the station, she ordered. We’ll do whatever we can to cover them.
She angrily clenched her hand. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were on board the station. This was a losing battle. The Endervars’ ships, while dwindling in number, were succeeding in their attack. Meanwhile, reinforcements were still over an hour away. For her, all that remained was to continue fighting.
Give me more targets, she said. We have to stop this now.
Through her artificial mind, Arendi interfaced with the targeting computer. She looked over the scans and saw the enemy ships’ fire from a distance. The particle beams expelled, melting the ring’s hull, setting the interiors on fire.
But before she could act, the scans also detected the new contact. It emerged, not far off. In fact, dozens of Endervar ships had begun pulling back from Vellanar to surround it.
Spatial distortion, the ensign said. Are you seeing this?
She projected it onto the main screen. The black region dotted with the swirling light of the enemy. Then it burned. Sparking in the cold was the mysterious power; the boundaries of space and time gave way. The result was a ring of fire that settled like an eclipse against the sun. The vagrant energies were sustaining the breach.
The entity itself was large. Larger than any single Endervar craft. Arendi looked to the scans and the various sensor readings, hoping to find an explanation. But all of it was clueless.
What is this? Red asked. Another enemy ship?
He gazed at the screen, expecting the worst. Arendi, however, began to recognize the energy pattern. She had seen this before, although on a far smaller scale.
Farcia she whispered, remembering the sudden force.
It was then that the fissure in space grew. And soon, the vessel behind it came forth. Unlike the surrounding enemy ships, the structure was steeped in black.
It pervaded the darkness, the shadow long and looming behind the Endervar brood. According to the sensor readings, the vessel spanned over ten miles, dwarfing almost anything in the known registry. The ship and its giant saucer-like body briefly hovered in the distance. Then it disappeared, the fiery fissure along with it. A massive cloaking field had come into place; as a result, the ship was dropping off the scans.
Whatever it was, the new contact was unmistakably another danger. Arendi could only assume that the vessel was somehow leading the Endervar attack.
Contact Arcenian Command, she ordered. Advise all remaining ships to regroup. We’ll take the lead.
As the ensign went to the comm, Arendi could see that the rest of the Endervar fleet had also pulled back. This is it, she
thought. The final assault. She didn’t know how they would win, but Arendi would give it her all.
Meanwhile, the Kinnison held steady at Vellanar, waiting for Arcenian Command to respond.
Arendi, the ensign said, concerned. She hurriedly examined the transmission while attempting to verify its source.
We’re being hailed, but not by the Arcenians, she said. It could be them the attackers.
The source was still unknown. The communication beam arrived, sophisticated and encrypted. The transmission it contained, however, was designated for one ship and one ship alone.
Arendi was just as disturbed. She cautiously accepted the strange hail. Turning to the bridge’s main screen, Arendi saw the messenger appear. At first there was static and then shadow moving along the image. But gradually, the woman came into the light. Her face and voice were clear.
Brushing back her white hair, the woman glared out from the screen. Her eyes were eager but drowned in black.
Arendi Soldanas, the woman said. We meet again.
Red felt his blood rush as he heard her voice. He rose and called out to her, outraged.
Farcia, he said. What are you doing? What I saw in your mind you wanted this? Why?
It was true. His prediction had been correct. Farcia would come to Vellanar. He had never imagined this, however the fighting and all the quickening blight.
Farcia slowly turned to him. The surface around her eyes and cheek remained locked in raven. She touched her chin, realizing it as well. The luster in her face and skin were gone, along with any sense of peace. She winced and looked away with both sadness and anguish.
Red, she said. At least you’re here. Just as I hoped.
She almost smiled at him, but the gesture was lost as she turned her attention to Arendi. She paused for a moment, murmuring the word. Murderer
Although only her face could be seen, she then rubbed her other arm, touching the sleeve at her wrist. I think we should meet, she said through the transmission. Face-to-face. Through the screen, the white-haired woman glared, and her words were sinister, almost like a taunt.
Arendi stood back, startled by the strange and sudden request. But this was no simple demand. In truth, Farcia was preparing to attack.
It came with almost no warning. Arendi had been too slow to sense the change. Before she could notice the scans, the blast hit. It erupted, not from outer space, but from the very inside of the bridge. Arendi fell back, dropping to the floor like she had been hit. Overhead, she heard the fire whistle in the air.
At the rear of the bridge was the rift. It blazed above a control console and began to expand. The ominous spatial energies swirled, stretching into the room. They crushed the surrounding bulkhead; their force was strong enough to bend metal. As the hull began to break, Arendi rushed to stand. The emergency alarms wailed, and the heat began to mount. In the corners of her eyes were both Red and the ensign. Their bodies were on the floor, slow to move. She then glanced at the fire and saw a presence begin to appear. In the center of the flame gaped the emerging shadow. It reached, ready to break through. Arendi gasped. The ceiling above her was beginning to crack. Evasive maneuvers, she ordered, interfacing with the command systems. The Kinnison reacted instinctively. The ship sought to free itself and dive away from the danger. But this would come with a cost. In one moment, the engines charged. In the next, the bridge was coming apart.
The fiery rift remained unswayed. It anchored itself to the gravity on board, yearning to follow and take root. The result sent the spatial energies tearing through the back interior. Like a dead weight, the rift dragged against the bulkhead, rupturing the ship wall.
The Kinnison pulled away, only to have its internals bleed out. Hull breach, the system alerted. Structural damage severe.
Outer space was now reaching into the craft. The cold vacuum had broken through. The air was slipping away, as was control of the ship.
Arendi sensed the rush. Her legs lifted from the floor, as the breach came like a mad wind. She grabbed a nearby chair and held on to it. With the other hand, she reached out and caught a drifting Red.
Justice! she yelled, feeling the ship fall to pieces.
Neither Arendi nor her internal scans could see the ensign. Nor could she hear the ensign’s scream.
Chapter 14
The Kinnison fell to the planet, burning across the sky. Soon it would hit the surface and find refuge in the hot sand. For Arendi, there was simply nowhere else to go.
Damage to the ship had been catastrophic. The primary engines had gone off-line, along with communications and life support. But worst of all, the Endervars had resumed their assault. Enemy ships had encircled the planet and were destroying all that was left of the Arcenian defense. Pieces of the desecrated space ring were now falling as well. The entire structure had been obliterated in the consuming bombardment. The beam blasts had shattered the interlinking segments, sending debris out across the orbit and into the planet’s gravity.
With the sky itself almost on fire, defeat seemed all but inevitable. The Endervars had returned, and in the end, they had reigned supreme. All Arendi could do was minimize any more damage. Using the navigational computer, she searched for a patch of open and uninhabited land. She found it in a stretch of desert a rarity on this green world located outside a nearby city. The Kinnison blazed on, streaking down to the sand and slamming into it with a crash.
Even as the exterior shielding cushioned the blow, Red tossed in his seat. The vessel bounced violently against the surface before leveling out and lodging itself into the sand. Although the hull was splintering apart, the craft’s descent had finally stopped. Arendi ran out of the ship. The toxic smoke was filling the interiors, and they needed to leave.
Red trailed not far behind, coughing out of his gills. The steam was rising, scratching his lungs. He nearly stumbled, trying to walk out. The entrance to the bridge was gone. It had been stripped away and replaced with a cavernous tunnel that stretched through the broken vessel. He touched the shattered edges of the wall, realizing that the interior had been carved out. As he walked farther, stepping over the collapsed floor, he looked up and saw no ceiling, only sunlight surrounded in smoke. He finally exited the ship and entered the open air. He breathed in deep, away from the chemical fumes. Kneeling down on the ground, he felt the warm, soft sand rub against his clothes. The planet’s gravity was stronger, and he struggled to stand. Straightening his back, he rose and sank his feet into the ground. Then he ran.
Arendi was not far. She was also there, kneeling on the ground, working furiously with her hands. Now she was shouting. In her lap was the fallen ensign.
This is Sentinel Soldanas, she said, speaking through her comm. Requesting immediate medical assistance!
Her hands and clothes were covered with flecks of blood. She had carried the ensign here, hoping she could breathe. At her side was a medical kit, a small box that sat open. She took supplies from it and began giving Justice injections.
Panting, Red approached, dropping down to watch. He knew it was bad, but now he could see it in full. Just moments ago, the ensign’s body had been nearly sucked outside the ship. If not for the force field that had sealed the breach, she would surely have been gone.
The real damage, however, had come from an explosion on board. The blast had burned over half her body and broken her spine and skull. She was barely conscious now, the wounds and charred skin claiming parts of her cheek and chin, which were purple and black, her face blistered.
It’ll be OK, Arendi said, taking the dermal injector. She hurriedly placed it on the ensign’s neck, and sent the serum into her bloodstream.
Justice tugged on Arendi’s coat and yelped, smearing the blood over the fabric. She was in tears as she lay there, enduring the pain. Trying to calm her, Arendi brushed back the gold and black hair covering the woman’s face. She forced a smile and held her subordinate tight.
I’m here. We’ll be OK. I promise.
As Arendi said so, she scanned the woman’s body. The ensign’s heart rate was falling, and her organs were bleeding internally. Arendi sat there, hoping that Justice might stabilize, soon. Inside the serum were tiny nanomachines, built for emergency purposes. They would enter the bloodstream in an attempt to keep Justice alive until further medical assistance arrived.
Red turned around, frantically scanning the area. Across the vast mountains of sand he saw no one, only a large city in the distance.
The ensign suddenly shrieked, arching her back. Arendi held tighter. Even with the serum, the ensign’s death was imminent.
Feeling the warmth leave her, Justice reached and delicately touched Arendi’s cheek. She sought to speak but could barely manage the words.
Red could feel her desire. His mind was there, bearing the pain with her.
Justice says don’t worry.
He uttered the soft words, speaking on behalf of the ensign. He was in tears, just like her. The sentiment struggled, yearning to find life. Red didn’t understand it all, but he tried to translate and convey.
Keep fighting, he whispered. Like you once told me, there’s always a way
Arendi closed her eyes, desperately wanting to hold the ensign together. Alys Tau’isa, she said solemnly. It was the ensign’s true name. The ensign heard it and smiled. Managing one last breath, she uttered her final words.
Tell mother Justice whispered. Tell her I
Her hand then dropped from Arendi’s cheek. The serum had failed. She was dead.
The sand blew as the wind whipped through the air. Arendi sank in silence, holding the ensign’s face in her hands. She could smell the burns and feel the blood at her fingertips. She shuddered.
Kneeling on the ground next to her, Red gingerly touched Arendi’s shoulder.
The ensign, Red said. She will return.
It was Justice’s last sentiment. That this was not the end.
Arendi opened her eyes and sniffed. I know, she said, wiping her face. I know.
She would have to prepare the body for preservation in the hope that Justice could be revived. Her emergency request, however, remained unanswered. She already knew why. Arendi looked up and saw the descending debris; it was scarring the sky.