by Devin Cain
"What is it? Couldn’t we transit into the black hole without me being here?"
"We could have, Admiral, but the Vandredi captain wanted to speak with you before we do. Shall I transfer you?" Helena asked.
"Please."
The screen turned on showing me the same, dark purplish Captain from earlier. He looked worried if I guessed correctly.
"Admiral, I have received a note that we’re to rendezvous as soon as possible. The main fleet is under attack. My comms officer is now transmitting our side’s corresponders so you don’t shoot at an ally. Assist us in defending all of our new home planet."
"Captain, of course, we’ll help you, but please tell me how it makes Entraxila your new home planet?"
"We will establish a colony down there along with you and the other races you have on board. Now please, proceed to the jump point. We’ll go ahead and clear anything that might stand in your path. Good luck, Admiral. See you on the other side."
The video stream cut off, followed by the outer cameras picking up the anomaly to our starboard and the gigantic Leviathan. It dove headfirst into the black hole that looked like a siphon both on fire and raining thunderbolts.
"Devil? Can we stand up to that anomaly?"
"We should be able to. There’s only one way to find out, though," he replied and forcibly turned us toward the siphon. A few long and uncomfortable seconds later, the ship lurched forward right into the eye of the storm.
A state of bliss surrounded me as I floated in mid-air on the bridge. Everyone seemed out of their mind, but not a single soul panicked. Only went to show how serious everyone was about this endeavor. They believed in me, no, in what we were doing and in that we had a future.
The chairs, consoles and anything that hadn’t been strapped to something solid, was up in the air. That begged the question of what would happen when we got through?
"Open a fleet-wide channel, hurry!" I snapped at Helena.
"Yes, Admiral. It’s open, but only on our ship. I can’t get through to our second vessel."
"Attention everyone, this is the Admiral speaking. We have entered a space anomaly that serves as a bridge between systems. We don’t know how long it will take for us to come out on the other side. Strap everything you can to solid surfaces, and if you can’t, move out of the way. I don’t wish to see anyone hurt, or even worse, die. Take care of yourselves. We’ve almost arrived at our new destination and homeworld. Admiral out."
Helena cut the stream off and nodded my way. Good. Now we had to wait and see what we’d meet on the other side. Was it death, or would it be new allies?
We all remained on the bridge for the time being. I knew that a mess would await me in my ready-room, so I didn’t even bother trying to get there. Instead, I studied what was going on with the ship as it groaned felt like it was being torn apart. Was the hull too weak after all? Devil assured me that everything was in excellent condition, though I somehow doubted it hearing all of these noises.
Gravity returned unexpectedly sending those who hadn’t been strapped on smashing into the ground, including me. I cursed as my arm bent in a strange angle under my body, but it snapped back in place almost immediately.
"Give me a status update!" I snapped. Sensors started beeping hurriedly as a three-dimensional image appeared above the main console. We were at the center of the image, colored green, while all around us there were blue and red icons, some flashing and some disappearing.
"Sensors up, Admiral! Our allies are taking a heavy beating, but they seem to be winning!"
"Good! Target the nearest red ship with our main cannons. Use everything else on the smaller targets. Now!"
"Yes, sir!"
I could hear a multitude of fingers run across keyboards and orders being exchanged.
Red alert. Red alert. All personnel to your assigned battle stations. Red alert. Red alert.
Claxons blared in unison with the red strobe lights overhead as Devil turned toward the nearest and biggest enemy battleship. From what I could see on the map, it was exchanging heavy fire with one of our allies battleships.
Devil started shaking and lurching as the thrusters turned us toward the enemy. Our broadsides started hammering the nearby ships, rocking Devil even more with each salvo. One of the three enemy vessels blinked out but was only followed by the now familiar buzzing of Doomsday powering up.
"Sir, Doomsday is charged," Freya said.
"Put down the shields and fire at the nearest big enemy ship hammering away at our allies!"
Devil lurched as the lights flickered out momentarily. It was as if someone had taken my energy and drained me, but there it was again — what a strange sensation, to be able to feel what Devil did in such a spectacular manner.
"Direct hit, Admiral!"
"Status report!"
"It’s venting atmosphere in the aft, but they still have power!" Helena replied. "Oh no, it’s turning right at us! Multiple missile launches detected!"
"Deploy countermeasures. Launch the drones we bought back on Earth!"
"Yes, sir!"
The radar lit up with countless green, and red dots as two blankets of missiles made way toward each other. More missiles appeared to our starboard, about two-thirds of our salvo.
"Those are Devil three’s missiles, Admiral," Freya said. I nodded half absently.
"I figured as much. What’s our chance to get out of this unscathed?"
"Nearly ninety percent, Admiral," Helena replied.
"Good. Keep hammering the smaller ships with our main cannons and tear through the missiles with whatever we got."
"You heard the Admiral!" Freya bellowed as she stood at the bridge’s main console.
Beam turrets and point defense rail-guns came to life once the two waves struck. We didn’t feel the explosion this far out, but it sure was bright. If they had struck our shields, they’d have eaten through them, I was sure of it.
"Shields up!" I snapped as the counter to impact fell to ten seconds. The lights flickered as multiple warheads exploded against our new shields. Three gigantic generators overlapped each other, so even if one went down, two still had the chance to block enemy fire while the third was brought back up again.
"How did we do? Give me a report!"
"Much better than anticipated, sir! The third generator shows as overheated. The engineering crews are already on-site and forcing a cooldown, three minutes until its up. A fifth of our missiles went through, but only a couple have struck the enemy ship. It’s far from defeated!"
"Good!" I ordered as the ship stopped shuddering. I was slightly lost at what was going around me and who was talking, but the battle prowess Devil possessed had taken over, at least partially.
"Do we hold our target?"
"Yes. Aim everything at the large ship and fire at will. Release another salvo of missiles to throw them off. Have our sistership coordinate our targeting, but they need to stay behind us. I can’t have them blow her up with all the personnel on board."
"Yes, sir!" Freya replied as she got busy.
"Hey, there’s no need to be so aggressive," Gremory whispered. "Let our allies take the brunt of the attacks. Worst case scenario, we find another planet."
"I know, but if there’s a chance that we can ally ourselves with these people, we need to take it. Just look at the massive amount of ships they’ve already destroyed. We need their military power."
Gremory sighed before she turned from me.
"Very well. I’m going out to cause some havoc. You should do so too now that you’re strong enough. Leave Freya and Kris to handle the rest."
"Wait, what? Fight outside against the battleships?"
"Why not? Gabriel’s already outside fighting. Felt him leave a couple of minutes ago."
"I’m not saying don’t use the tactic, but are you up for it? I don’t know if you can even survive such a blast from those cannons, even less—"
"Shh," she whispered, pressing her right index finger against my li
ps. "I’ve done this many times already. Instead, how about you join me in destroying the enemy, whoever they might be."
"Alright then, take care," I whispered, planting my lips against hers. She nodded and rushed out. "Levi, you’re with me. Take that big ass cannon of yours with us, we’re out hunting!"
"What? Are you insane? I’m not going out into space!" she protested, her voice high pitched like a baby.
"Yes, you are. Samson, I’m borrowing your girl for the moment."
"Sir, bring her back safe, sir!"
I nodded at the man with a smirk. He was genuinely amused by what I was doing to his girlfriend. And once the initial shock was over, I had to say I was too.
"Fine! Which shells do you need?" Levi asked as she caught up.
"I have no idea. We’ll hide on some debris with enough metal so you can keep creating shells. I’ll shield you."
"You do realize that my weapon is too small, right?"
I shrugged.
"It doesn’t matter how big it is, what matters is how you use it, no?" We’re going to target their thrusters. Once they’re out of power and sitting ducks, they’ll have to give up."
"HE shells it’ll be then," she murmured, changing her body into Nyx.
"Oh? Tier two? What a surprise, little lady," I whistled as her body glistened like it had been rubbed in with oil. Thin limbs and waist, along with curves in all the right places was the cosmic way of saying ‘fuck you’ to me. I turned into a monster, yet all that changed on her was the color of her skin. And the head. Two small horns sprouted from the sides of her forehead, along with pitch-black eyes and a closed mouth. It looked rather eerie to see someone with their lips sewn together, but I could still hear her loud and clear.
"Don’t tell Samson, okay?"
"No worries," I chuckled. "Your secret is safe with me. So, what you got on tier two?"
"A second cannon that can be combined with the first to make a big cannon. As for the second skill, it’s a passive that automatically activates my camouflage system. I assume you want the double cannons?"
"And I thought you were never going to ask. Besides, you don’t have to hide such things from me. I love it when my friends prosper."
Levi chuckled as she summoned the second cannon and held it up high, ready to wage war. So I followed suit and activated my transformation. This time I went for a purely defensive form with Khepri in the lead. I’d used Devil to reinforce the wings as well as the legs to keep a balance, but that was it.
"Shit. You look kind of cool," Levi said once I was done transforming and the pain had disappeared. "All that black and gunmetal-grey. So sleek."
I scoffed.
"Yeah, right. Watch out Samson doesn’t hear you, or he might go at this ladykiller. Now come on, we’re going out through the drone bay near the training hall. Keep up."
It was an understatement to say traffic was light in the corridors. We only met a total of a couple of guards on our way there. Everyone was on high alert and handling their posts, which made me proud.
"Is that it?" Levi asked as we stopped right in front of a marked red door.
"Yeah. Get in," I said and turned the wheel. With a whir, the door opened. Levi got in, followed by me. I had to retract my wings to fit, so I made my complaint to Devil about it.
"I want all of the exits to be able to accommodate my full form. Got that?"
"Yeah, yeah. I’ll rearrange them once we’re done here," Devil replied half-absently.
"Good, now open the hatch once Khepri puts a bubble around us."
"Wait, a balloon? Are you fucking nuts? I don’t want to die!" Levi mock cried.
"Do you want me to broadcast your acting skills to the whole fleet?"
She snapped to attention and turned to face me, carrying both cannons in her hands.
"Sir, no, sir!"
"Khepri, bubble up, please. Devil, open the outer door."
The bubble that appeared was slightly different than Gremory’s but much more durable from she explained.
The door opened a mere second after the balloon formed around us, spilling our bodies into the dark void beyond the metallic walls which we knew as safety. Now it was our turn to keep Devil safe.
My tapper started buzzing angrily, showing an incoming message from Fefnal.
"Admiral! We have finally gained the upper hand! I have to admit, it was a close one until you came, but with your prowess and hard work, we’ll be victorious!"
I couldn’t help but admire the man, but still, one wrong move could cost us our lives.
"Captain, I’ll be going in close with my team, so try not to hit us."
"Admiral! That’s foolish!"
"Sorry, we’re already outside."
Fefnal muttered something in his own language before he cut off the feed. I grinned, knowing they wouldn’t want to harm us. Still, I couldn’t help but feel it was a stupid idea. However, if this worked, we could raid enemy ships much more easily and take them over without having to destroy them.
"You ready?" I asked with a grin.
"Ready as ever, boss!"
Chapter Fifty-Three
Hundreds of lasers, point defense cannons, and missiles streaked all over the vast expanse around us, peppering everything with destructive force. Up ahead, I saw Gabriel slashing at a smaller ship with what looked like a massive energy blade, at least a couple of times his own height. The weapon sliced clean through the hull, spilling a mixture of gasses from the leaks, and causing a multitude of explosions.
Gremory fired large rounds at ships as she streaked around them, much too fast for their defensive measures. Her graceful flight was nothing short of miraculous, as ship after ship blew up and was crippled from her onslaught. She never stopped moving and shooting, flying in between the hulking behemoths, drawing fire to herself.
"I’ll fly us to the large ship we fired Doomsday at earlier. You’ll target it from behind and try to disable it so Devil can eat it," I said, my words carrying in the bubble.
Levi held on to me with one hand and put the cannon up over my wing. I clammed it fast and held it in place for her using Devil’s substance. The barrel suddenly heated up before it recoiled to a thundering roar, scorching my shoulder and neck, and almost tore my wing off.
"Look at her go!" Levi cheered as the piece of solid slug tore through space and struck the backside of the thrusters. The explosion was brilliant as everything turned into a fiery storm of plasma and flames. Out in open space, there was no oxygen for the flames to feed on, so they died pretty quickly, but it still had been quite a spectacle to behold.
The battleship stopped to a halt and suddenly went dark, all power gone.
"Is it over already?" Levi yelled back. I shrugged and flew us direction second target, but brought up my tapper to send a message to Fefnal.
"Captain, try to disable the ships without destroying them. I’ll need them as intact as possible."
"We’ll try our best, Admiral," he replied almost instantly.
A missile exploded not even a hundred feet from us, throwing me off course and into the debris of a smaller ship. The radiation burned into my skin, right through the bubble for some strange reason. I cursed from the pain and looked behind me. Luckily, Levi still held on along with our bubble. More missiles exploded against the debris shield, as lasers battered the metal into slabs of molten plasma.
"Bring me down under that ship over there!" she said, pointing at a medium-sized vessel that had trained its guns on us. I had no idea what types or class it was, but I did know that it looked less dangerous. A row of turrets swiveled as I passed under the behemoth, firing right at us from their belly cannons.
A red, hot and searing pain on my shoulder told me she’d just released a second shot. Moments later, the round struck the ship’s belly and blew a hole right into its center. Explosions rang out above us as the ship was torn apart from the inside out.
"What the hell did you shoot up into that thing?"
"Oh, nothing mu
ch! It’s like a nuke or something! That’s why the weapon overheats so fast!" she laughed. A nuke. A fucking nuke. From a rifle. I shook my head as I evaded more incoming fire.
An enormous portal opened out of nowhere, flashing white, blue and green. It was as if a storm had been placed in the open rift. The nose of the same type of ship that battered Devil earlier peeked out before it shot a barrage of missiles and energy beams right at our allies.
"We need to blow that ship up, Levi. Maybe the rift will collapse with such a derelict in its way."
"Thirty-nine seconds!" Levi replied. I cursed, feeling too vulnerable out in the open. We’d have to survive for a little over half a minute while creeping dangerously close to the enemy ship. Very well. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I launched us directly at the underside of the monstrosity. It was larger by far in comparison to the listing ships that I had no idea how it would turn out, but we had to try.
"Devil! Shift your fire on the new arrival! Bring down its shield so we can knock out the engines!"
"Already on it," he replied, but then cursed. I glanced over my shoulder, only to see missiles slamming home against his shield and blowing up dangerously close to the hull. He wasn’t a ship of many words, sometimes, but he had what it took when it mattered.
Doomsday was already powering up and opening up the ports to unleash the devastating attack. But right then, a high-pitched noise from above slammed into me like a sledgehammer. I looked up and gasped as an energy beam had passed right through Devil’s shield and into the main cannon.
The front of the ship blew up and started venting air. Multiple explosions followed as the front of the ship blew up into smithereens. I closed my eyes and cursed at both Lucifer, myself, and my new allies.
"Shoot at the shield!" I ordered. The weapon charged and unleashed a hellish bolt of death that ripped clean through the shield and cracked it wide open. The projectile died out against the hull, barely damaging it. We flew right through along with Gremory who’d probably seen the carnage and wanted to take it out before Devil was blown to kingdom come.