by Tom Chattle
She hoped she might have control over them in the same way that the ship had passed to her and reached out with her mind, trying to find a way in.
All she could sense from them was rage. They knew their matriarch was dead, and they were set on destroying those who caused it. With no way to fight back against them, Chen locked down the internal doors to try to hold them at bay as long as she could, then removed the safety thresholds around the raging plasma core that powered the ship and commanded it to gradually rise above safe energy levels.
If she had done it correctly, it should reach critical in a few hours at most, annihilating the ship and all those on board. The Syrax command structure was so absolute that the warriors would have neither the ability nor the access to stop such a terminal buildup.
The Syrax controls sensed her wishes and withdrew from around her. Chen was gently lowered down to the deck, and they vanished back into the inky abyss above. Although glad to be out of the bizarre command system, Chen felt a burning loss as her limited human senses came back to her. She hoped one day she could experience such absolute freedom again.
"Aurichen, is all well?" Sina approached, eyes narrowed in concern.
Chen nodded, unable to speak while she flexed her muscles. It almost felt like she had to relearn how to be human again.
"You could have given us a heads up before you made the ship go crazy like that," Wilde grumbled, arms folded where she leaned back against one of the consoles.
"Sorry," Chen mumbled, unable to even begin to explain the sensation of controlling the alien warship.
Wilde's face softened, and she raised her eyebrows. "Well? Are we good?"
"I destroyed the Syrax fighters," Chen replied, "but there are far too many warriors aboard to fight, and I can't seem to control them."
Wilde's brow crinkled. "What do we do, then?"
Chen straightened, confidence in the remains of their plan creeping back into her mind. "We get the hell out of here."
- 52 -
2208.10.23 // 16:23
Syrax Carrier
It took them far longer than Chen would have liked to gather the injured Marines and prepare them to move out back to the shuttle. Many of them were stubborn and forced themselves to their feet through sheer willpower, but a handful were more severely wounded and required support to even move. It pained Chen, but they had no choice but to leave the dead. Hopefully, the fiery destruction of the powerful alien ship would be a fitting funeral.
They exited through the same door they had entered, and Chen took a final look back at the scene while the last of the Marines shuffled past her. Mixed feelings warred inside. The deaths of both Bennett and the Syrax matriarch left her filled with resolve, but the fact she had to leave the ship itself behind tugged at her heart in a way she couldn't explain. Just a few scant minutes of total control over such powerful technology had been utterly intoxicating, and she longed for more.
When the door slammed shut behind the rag-tag group, Chen forced her eyes forward. She had sealed the hatches the husks had exploded through earlier, but there was no telling how long it would take for the Syrax to find their way around the obstacles she'd set.
"So, what happens when they get into the bridge?" Wilde puffed with exertion while she helped support a Marine whose shattered arm was strapped to his chest with a rudimentary bandage.
"I don't know for sure. Hopefully, the door will hold a few hours, and I left them a little surprise."
"What sort of surprise?" Scott limped ahead under his own power.
A wry laugh escaped Chen's dry lips. "I set their reactor to overload. It's a gradual buildup so hopefully they won't notice until it's too late. Even if they did, I don't think they could do anything about it."
"Shit." Wilde laughed. "Well, that's something. Shame we couldn't keep the ship, though."
"What stops them from canceling what you set?" Scott asked.
"The warriors do not have sufficient control over the ship," Sina answered. "It is one of the few weaknesses we could regularly exploit."
"It's like they can't even grasp the concept that a matriarch might be killed." Chen shook her head.
"The warriors can still be dangerous," Sina warned, "but they cannot access critical parts of the ship like power and weapons."
An alarm started a mournful keening that echoed off the organically curved walls, and Chen jerked up her head. Clearly, the Syrax had regained at least some form of control over their vessel already. "Well, they're definitely not going to give up entirely."
They hurried back to the shuttle bay as fast as they could. They crossed the central walkway down the ribbed spine of the ship, but progress was painfully slow. The grunts of injured Marines and the wailing siren were the only sounds that filled the otherwise empty hallway. Chen caught Sina's eyes in constant motion, almost nervously waiting for hordes of Syrax to flood out of the bulkheads and overwhelm what few survivors were left. Although she had retrieved her other sword from the downed mech Chen had used, she had sheathed it and held only the first ready. Chen wondered if it was because she had used it herself or whether the Talamar woman had another reason for not dual-wielding them like before.
Chen had hoped she'd still be tuned in to the ship's systems after physically disconnecting. She remembered the guiding lights and visions from the Arcturus outpost, but for some reason, she had nothing comparable here. With more information from the Talamar data files, maybe the scientists back at Fleet Command would be able to figure out the seemingly inconsistent abilities the Syrax powers gave her—preferably without torturing her as Naval Intelligence had done. Until then, she just had to figure it out as she went along.
A distant clang reverberated through the ship's hull, and the bulkhead thumped with an arrhythmic beat. Marines cast their eyes around hesitantly, but the source was not immediately apparent. When they reached the hangar door, the group paused, and those who could ready their weapons did so.
Chen locked eyes with Sina and nodded. She opened the huge door with a deft touch of the controls—far easier than the nausea-inducing pain she'd experienced on the way in. The exit split apart, retracted into the curved bulkheads, and a cool blast of air chilled by the open portal to space washed over them.
Rifles gripped in tense hands scanned the hangar bay, but it was empty, only the bulky combat shuttle and the Syrax corpses in sight. The sound of hammering had become much louder, though. Clearly, the Syrax were doing their best to break into the shuttle bay.
"They must know we need to be here to leave," Wilde muttered, her brow creased.
"So, we better hurry up." Chen headed straight for the open ramp underneath the nose of the shuttle. She let the rest of the group worry about strapping the wounded Marines in and reached up an arm to climb the ladder to the raised cockpit. Muscles protested at the movement, and she swore at the stab of pain.
Without a word, Sina was by her side and supported her to allow Chen to climb the short ladder awkwardly, but without the agony of a litany of cuts, bruises, and whatever other damage her body had taken. She sagged into the pilot's seat and grumbled when she remembered the ignition switches for the engine were above her head. Chen heaved herself back up and managed to flip both of them. Instantly, the engines coughed and then ignited with a loud whine.
The moment she fell back into the seat, an explosion and flash of movement in the corner of her eye curled her lip. "Heads up everyone, we've got company!" she yelled back down into the passenger bay.
Hurriedly running through the pre-flight checks, she saw a horde of Syrax husks mingled with the alien hounds flood over the side door that had been flung straight out of its frame. They charged directly at the shuttle, and a cadre of warriors lumbering behind them. Bright blasts from their weapons hammered into the shuttle's side within seconds.
Chen cursed and made sure the ramp was closed and locked, then throttled the engines up and lifted the shuttle ponderously off the deck. The powerful thud of rail guns firing to
ld her that now they had no mechs docked in their harnesses, someone had been able to deploy the side-mounted weapons batteries. Violet energy washed over the canopy in front of her, and the shuttle jolted violently, nose jerking back toward the deck alarmingly.
She pulled hard back on the stick, and the engines whined. An alarm sounded to inform her that something held down the shuttle. Chen leaned forward and peered out the side of the armor-glass. The sight was not good. There were so many of the Syrax husks attacking the vessel that they weighed it down while they clambered up the side. Thick claws grasped and scrabbled for purchase on any part of the hull they could use as handholds. A blast of amethyst fire made the port engine sputter and sent them in a lurch to the side, alarms sounding throughout the cockpit.
The unexpected spin brought her forward-firing weapons to bear on the attacking Syrax, and Chen opened up without hesitation. The cannons ripped into the hordes of beasts, and rather than correcting the ships' movement, she kicked the shuttle into a tighter spin and hoped that lateral movement might shake off some of the alien horde that continued to pile on them.
Chen flinched when a hound managed to leap its way onto the canopy before her. Its teeth gnashed wildly under the shield-like head, and the two scythe-talons slammed down on the glass in an attempt to smash their way through. Chen hoped the integrity of the void-proof material would hold up and tried to ignore it. Between her guns and the two side turrets, so many Syrax were being shredded, the struggling engines finally began to lift them back away from the deck.
The swinging yaw she'd put the ship in had finally pointed the stubby, gray nose at the open hanger bay door. Without even waiting to warn the passengers below, Chen slammed the throttles to full and kicked in the plasma boosters to incinerate everything in the confined space behind them while they rocketed out through the atmo-barrier and into deep space. With a few futile swings, the hound in front of her scrabbled for purchase, but soon slid back and away, leaving her to slump back in the seat and punch in a course that would rendezvous them with the Valiant.
***
Even though it had only been a matter of hours, it felt like an age had passed since they'd departed. Chen strode into the command center of the Valiant, and even the auxiliary space they were still forced to use because the heavy damage the vessel had taken felt like coming home. Weary, injured faces raised to greet her. They peered at the returning party through the smoky haze of burnt electronics that hung in the still air.
McCann spun his chair to face them, then grunted in annoyance when it stuck halfway and he had to inch it around with his toes. "Have fun?"
Chen picked her way around a fallen piece of ceiling and avoided the severed cables that hung down above it. Her friend seemed exhausted, his eyes rimmed with red. The stresses of combat had affected all of them. "Seems like as much fun as you had. What's the Valiant's status?"
"Well," McCann started before he slumped back into his seat and began to count the problems off on his fingers. "Pretty much all the remaining weapons are busted. We have a couple of rail batteries, and I think one..." he looked over at Moreau, who nodded in confirmation. "One torpedo tube is just about holding on in there. As for engines..." He rubbed his hands across tired eyes. "We can limp back to the portal, but that's about it right now."
The news wasn't exactly great, but they'd have to make do. "Take us back to the portal, as fast as we can manage." She glanced at the sensor readings on a nearby monitor. "We're in the clear right now, but who knows how long it will be before more Syrax ships show up."
"Bennett will be relieved we're finally heading home," McCann grunted, then raised an eyebrow at the exchanged glances between Chen, Sina, and Wilde. "What did I miss?"
Chen hesitated. As relieved as she'd been to see Bennett's head sliced from his shoulders by Sina's blade, it brought up serious ramifications. Even though she knew McCann, of all people, would understand, she didn't want to announce the method of the NI officer's death to the entire bridge crew. "He didn't make it back."
McCann held her gaze for a moment, and she didn't need to read his mind to know he understood what she meant. "The others?"
Chen frowned. She'd honestly forgotten about the two junior intelligence officers who had shadowed her every move with Bennett. They hadn't been aboard the escaping shuttle—presumably, they had been yet more causalities of the battle with the matriarch. She shook her head. Given how poorly they'd treated her, it was difficult to care.
He nodded and turned to relay the course order to Vega. The young ensign had a bandage wrapped around his head, but he seemed alert. He must have pressed to return to his station while Chen was away. McCann wouldn't have reassigned him to duty unless he had. Vega manipulated the controls, and the Valiant swung around, hull rumbling in complaint when it surged forward. Leaving McCann to command, Chen settled back against the bulkhead and slid down to the deck. She closed her eyes while Wilde started chattering on, describing everything they'd just been through to Moreau. Not wanting to relive the mission so soon, Chen did her best to tune the woman out and rested her head on her knees.
- 53 -
2208.10.23 // 18:11
UVS Valiant
The Valiant shuddered from the impact of a shock wave that passed over it, jolting Chen awake. "Guess the carrier went boom", she muttered sleepily and stretched stiff muscles. She couldn't have been out too long, but the monitors nearby indicated they were almost at the Talamar portal. The dull ache in her head flared to an agonizing blade in her mind and she gasped. "Oh no."
Suddenly, an alarm blared, and the ambient lighting automatically switched to crimson. "Multiple Syrax ships translating!" Moreau called while her hands flew across her console. "Ten, no thirty..." She looked up. "Over fifty ships."
"Damnit!" McCann snarled. "How long until they reach us?"
The ensign grimaced. "They're much faster than us right now. They'll be within weapons range while we're still two thousand kilometers from the portal."
"Even if we make it through without them destroying us, they'll just follow us right through," McCann said, wearily, passing a hand across his eyes.
"We have to destroy the portal." Chen pushed herself off the deck and strode across to stand next to McCann. Wilde glanced at Sina, her lips parted in hesitation.
"Do not worry about me," Sina replied, inclining her head. "Do what you must."
"But, Sina." Wilde rushed over to the alien woman. "You won't be able to get home."
Sina nodded, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "If it saves many lives, it is something I will gladly give up." A faint smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "Besides, I know I will see my home again someday."
McCann sighed. "As noble as that is Sina, I don't think we have the firepower to destroy that portal, so the whole idea is moot."
"We have to try." Chen rested a hand on McCann's shoulder. "Wally, we can't let that fleet make it through the portal. That many warships could devastate half the Union before they can even react."
"We'll be cutting it close once we travel through. It won't leave us much time to see if we can even damage the thing."
The bridge was silent for a long moment. "We need to know now," Chen decided.
"I know you know this already, but that runs the risk of us not being able to get back through it," McCann said quietly.
Chen paused. The thought of being stranded far from home with a hostile armada bearing down on them was terrible, but the idea of that same armada reaching Earth was worse. "I know." She glanced at everyone on the bridge in turn and saw their resolve. "But we have to know if it's even possible."
McCann nodded. "Moreau, fire a torpedo, let's see if it even makes a dent."
"Aye, sir," the ensign responded, and a warning tone chimed before a single warhead leaped from the remaining active tube on a pillar of blue fire.
Nervous anticipation spread around the bridge while they watched the guidance data from the torpedo. It took almost a minute for the weapon to t
raverse the distance, and its journey ended in a flare of light that dimmed the long-range imagers for a second. When it cleared, the ring that surrounded the swirling portal seemed unchanged.
"No noticeable damage," Moreau confirmed, her tone dejected.
McCann glanced up at Chen. "Got anything more powerful than a nuke?"
Blowing air through her lips, Chen shook her head. Some of the larger warships in the Union had more advanced weapons, but even if it were operational, the plasma cannon the Valiant had been refitted with wouldn't be much use if a nuclear warhead had barely even scratched the alien structure. What they really needed was...
Chen jerked her head up, her eyes wide. "Moreau, come with me!" She was halfway out the door when she realized the woman was still at her station. "Come on, Ensign!"
Hesitant to leave her station, Moreau took a second before she nodded. She scrambled around her console and joined Chen, who was already on her way out the bridge. "Uh, ma'am, what are we doing?"
"You'll see," Chen answered. Her mind still raced over the details of the idea she'd had. With the ship on low power, they had to take the stairs. Moreau followed along as best she could while Chen hurtled down and forward into the depths of the Valiant's hull.
Soon they were in the shuttle bay, Marines still tending to the damaged shuttle, pulling panels off the airframe to repair the engines. Chen ignored them and made for the back of the broad space where piles of cargo were stacked loosely. She wove through the assorted bulky items with Moreau in tow and searched for what she was looking for. She rounded a tall crate and stopped. "There it is!"
"Uh, what's that?" Moreau asked, her eyes narrow.
Chen examined the long box, popped the latches that fastened it, and pushed the lid open. "This," she said, gesturing at the long, cylindrical device within, "is the Talamar rift weapon we picked up on Altheos."