“What?” Roland managed, banking to port and evading a streaking missile. It impacted the side of a tower and sent shudders through the Rackham.
“Those nanocelium ships above,” Ch’len explained incredulously. “They’ve actually disabled the Marillion. I didn’t think anything could bring that ship down!”
“Bring it down?” Roland confirmed.
“Judging by these scans, it’ll lose all thrust capability in a matter of minutes. Then, its mass will be pulled into Shandar…”
Roland stared ahead blankly, running through the scenario forming in his mind. “Send me the Marillion’s trajectory. I want to know exactly where it’s going to impact.”
Ch’len whipped his head around. “Do I even want to know why you need that information?”
Roland weaved between two towers and narrowly escaped a salvo of nanocelium fire. “Because I’m going to do something either really cool or really stupid!”
As soon as the calculations came through to his console, Roland overload the viewport with the best flight plan so he could always find his way back to the point of impact, should the enemy ship force him off course. It was quite the erratic route, zigzagging everywhere, but he also had the Rackham incorporate evasive manoeuvres to keep them alive long enough to actually reach the Marillion.
“Nova Leader, I’m about to try something your Darts can’t keep up with. Advise diverting back to the battle. You’ll be of more help up there.”
“Rackham, I’m looking at your flight path on my console. Are you aware that the Marillion is already falling into the planet? It’s only fifty thousand kilometres out!”
“I’m aware, Nova Leader,” Roland replied through gritted teeth as he pulled up to avoid another missile’s detonation.
“The Marillion’s circumference is beyond massive,” the Novaarian pilot continued. “The impact site will be impossible to avoid.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for, Nova Leader.” Roland banked to port and let one of the towers take the punishment in their place. “Get back to the battle. And tell Hox his Starforge will be on the surface shortly after the Marillion bites it!”
“Good luck, Rackham.”
Roland quickly checked his display to make sure the Darts altered their course and returned to the battle above. The nanocelium ship, on the other hand, was still in pursuit and firing on the Rackham with abandon. A round blew through the back, removed a chunk from Ch’len’s chair and fried half of his console. The Ch’kara yelped and fell to the floor, cursing his luck for ever meeting Roland North.
“Strap yourself back in you moron!” Roland ordered.
“The inertial dampeners are on,” Ch’len argued. “It doesn’t matter what you do, I’m not going anywhere!”
Roland input new commands and had a new console form out of the floor, replacing Ch’len’s damaged one. “Look at what I’m about to do!” The bounty hunter continued. “I’m going to divert all power to thrust. If you’re not strapped in by then, I’ll have to peel you off the back wall!”
Ch’len looked over the timeframe offered by the Rackham’s AI. He swore profusely, before scrambling into his new chair and commanding it to extend all straps.
Roland looked over his own console to see that the giant golden ship was plummeting fast. The Marillion punched a hole through the upper city, wiping out everything in a burning flash. The Rackham was only a few kilometres above the top cloud cover, but they had less than a minute before the Highclave’s personal vessel struck Shandar like a furious god.
The enemy ship was still behind them.
“Roland!” Ch’len screamed, seeing the destruction flaring at the top of the viewport. “We’re not going to make it!”
“Yes, we well.” The bounty hunter’s hand danced across his console, diverting all power to forward thrust. “But, they won’t…”
Both human and Ch’kara grunted in pain when the Rackham shot forward with tremendous speed. Roland did his best to ignore the strain on his groin as things were compressed into places they were never meant to go. It took a lot of strength to check his console display, but he caught a glimpse of the enemy ship’s position behind them. He could also see the Marillion crashing down through the layers of Shandar’s floating city.
Alarms barked from their consoles, warning of the potential cataclysmic collision that would take place if they didn’t clear the Marillion’s estimated impact zone in the next ten seconds. There was a tower directly ahead, but the nav-system had put them on a course that took them through to the other side via the building’s hangar. They lost no speed as they hurtled through and continued under the shadow of the golden orb. The enemy ship, however, could not fit through the hangar and was forced to plough through the tower itself. The nanocelium had no problem ramming its way through, but it came at a price.
Speed.
The Rackham cleared the Marillion’s hull with only metres to spare, but the enemy ship was hammered from above and driven into Shandar’s atmosphere then down into the solid ground. Roland hit a single key and redistributed the Rackham’s power, allowing him to turn the ship about and witness the death of the Marillion, as well as his pursuer.
The cloud cover was immediately pushed away from the golden ship, rippling over the rest of the planet like the waves of an ocean. The atmosphere was set alight and spread for thousands of kilometres around the Marillion’s circumference. The impact itself forced tons of rock and dirt into the sky, some of which even managed to breach the atmosphere.
“Yes!” Ch’len’s stubby arms shot into the air. “We made it!”
Roland knew better than to start celebrating their survival yet. He checked over his console to see if the Crucible was inside the crash zone or within range of the shockwave from the Marillion’s explosive impact.
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, discovering the installation was half the planet away. “I was really hoping that would have solved two problems at once.”
“What do we do now?” the Ch’kara asked.
“We continue with the mission,” Roland said, inputting the Crucible’s coordinates into the nav-system. “Make sure the Starforge is ready for deployment.”
Ch’len sighed. “I remember the days when you just wanted to find the nearest bar. I think I miss those days…”
Chapter 23
Telarrek woke up with a start. How long had he slept for? What had he missed? The Novaarian shook his long head and elegant tendrils to better rouse himself, only to find one of the Highclave honour guards standing beside his cot, adorned in the usual golden armour.
“Councillor Telarrek.” The guard sounded as if he was repeating himself. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but you are needed in the control room again.”
Telarrek stood up and towered over the Laronian as he adjusted his robes. “No need to apologise, just do not force me to sleep next time.”
The Novaarian councillor walked out into the corridor of the command tower and instantly regretted his words. They had made him rest because he was making decisions that affected the entire Conclave. He shouldn’t make such remarks when they were doing their jobs better than he was doing his. Telarrek stepped into the control room a few meters ahead of the guard and fully intended to turn around and apologise, but the scene that greeted him was all-consuming.
The planet of Tagomar, in the heart of the Vellum system, was a smouldering rock, a spectacle that reminded Telarrek of the birth of a planet rather than its end. That was but one scene playing out on the glass screen. Hundreds of worlds were plagued by the Shay or bombarded from above by nanocelium vessels. One particular alert caught the Novaarian’s large eye.
“Is that Vallara’s capital city?” he asked, pointing to the smoking pit on the screen to the right.
“I’m afraid so,” Councillor Fey replied. The human was gripping the rail so hard her knuckles had turned white. “The Laronian government is gone.”
Telarrek wanted to sigh and drop his head in defeat
, but with so many eyes watching his every move, the Novaarian reminded himself of his role. He wasn’t just there to point at things and give commands; he was there to inspire, to offer hope. He kept his shoulders straight and his head raised.
“What of Sordomo?” Telarrek asked, referring to the next planet in the harvesting ship’s sights. “Have we managed to evacuate the major cities?”
“That’s why I asked them to wake you,” Fey replied as she ordered one of the officers to change the holograms on the screen. “The harvesting ship has altered its course. Sordomo is no longer its destination.”
Telarrek examined the star charts on the screen, noting the ship’s diversion from the previous flight path. “Where is it heading now?”
Fey gestured to the bright red flashing icon hovering over the capital planet on the star chart. “It’s coming here.”
Telarrek ground his fangs and resisted the urge to slam his fist into the nearest console. They were running out of time and every minute more and more citizens of the Conclave flowed in through the Forges.
“Status on the Regis?” the councillor asked aloud.
One of the officers replied, “The Regis entered Evalan’s system an hour ago, Councillor. So far, all scans show it to be free of enemies.”
Telarrek shook his head. “We cannot trust our scans. These nanocelium hulls can fool our instruments. Make sure they visually check every crevice of that system. Check for blank spots where the stars cannot be seen, search through the asteroid belts, and probe the gas giants; there are two of them in that system.” The Novaarian turned to Fey. “As soon as the Regis clears your home, your people need to be ready to leave.”
Fey nodded her agreement. “We will be. Hopefully, our exodus will divert the harvesting ship before it reaches the capital.”
That reminded Telarrek. “Has the ALF programme been integrated into the central AI?”
Another officer looked up from her console. “Yes, sir. Our technicians report that it is live.”
“Make certain our enemy is able to retrieve just enough information to learn of the humans’ movements.”
Fey said quietly, “Don’t worry, Telarrek, they know the plan.”
The Novaarian councillor took a breath and stepped back, taking on board Fey’s words. He had to trust his people to get the job done as he had already ordered. There was a hierarchy inside the control room and he had to have faith that those below him could oversee those beneath them. He did, however, make the mistake of comparing the number of people on Sordomo against the increasing number of people now on the capital. If the harvesting ship pierced the outer shell, the Conclave would lose just over a trillion lives in a single attack.
“New reports are coming in from Shandar,” a Raalak officer called out.
The screen changed again, allowing them to see individual perspectives on the battle as well as an overview of the entire system. Telarrek couldn’t believe his eyes and he walked around the rail to better see the chaos.
Councillor Fey joined him. “The Marillion…” she uttered.
“The Crucible?” Telarrek asked, unable to comment on the destruction of such a massive ship. The casualties from that ship alone would haunt the Novaarian for the rest of his life.
“Still active,” came the reply from the officers. “Our troops are yet to reach the surface and breach the facility.”
“Wait!” A Tularon officer had everyone’s attention. “One ship has just made it through the atmosphere.”
“Troop transport?” Telarrek asked hopefully.
“No sir,” the Tularon replied. “The Brightstar has it designated as… Sir, it’s the Rackham!”
Councillor Fey turned back to the screen. “Roland…” Her tone of concern had the slightest hint of hope mixed in.
“What is his mission?” Telarrek asked. He knew the bounty hunter was a destructive force to be reckoned with, but the Crucible could not be taken by a single man.
The Tularon officer checked his display before replying, “It’s carrying one of the new portable Starforges, sir. High Charge Hox has ordered the Rackham to deploy it on the surface to allow transports to move freely between the cruisers and the facility.”
Telarrek offered no objections to the High Charge’s plan. “Keep us updated.”
The Novaarian couldn’t help but feel utterly useless. It was hard enough with the crushing guilt that he was safe inside the Clave Command Tower while others were out there fighting for the Conclave.
“I’ve been where you are,” Councillor Fey said away from the others. “I know how you feel. You just want to be out there, helping with your own two… four hands. But, you have to remind yourself that a body needs a head. Where the many can save a few with their actions, you can save millions with your words. Hold on to that.”
Telarrek offered the councillor a weary smile and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, thankful for such wisdom. Humans, it seemed, would never fail to astound him, even in their youth, as they all were to him.
“The Highclave is lucky to call you a member,” he complimented.
Fey looked to reply but her words were cut off by a blaring alarm system. Red and yellow lights flashed in the corners of the room and either side of the doors. The first to react were the honour guard, who closed ranks and immediately started rounding up the councillors. Officers hurried to the cabinets that lined the walls and input the command to release the weapons secured inside.
“What is happening?” Telarrek asked urgently, using all four of his hands to prevent the honour guards from ushering him out.
“We’re under attack!” one of the officers shouted over the alarm.
Telarrek turned back to the screen and saw the sensor readouts from around the command tower. Shay were crawling out of every vent and maintenance door across all twenty floors that occupied the tower, and they were converging on their position. According to the screen, there were hundreds of them flooding the upper levels, killing anyone between them and the command tower. Some were already climbing the walls and breaking in through the ventilation system.
“How did they make it up here?” The Brenine High Councillor asked frantically.
“They made us think we had driven them down into the lower city,” Telarrek explained, “but they must have used the ancient tunnels and utility systems to crawl up.” The Novaarian held out his hands to receive a weapon, but the Laronian officer looked to the Atari honour guard beside him. “I realise that protocol dictates that you have command when a High Councillor’s life is in jeopardy,” Telarrek said to the Atari, “but, judging by the number of Shay advancing on this very room, I would say we all need a weapon.”
The Atari honour guard replied, “Our priority is to evacuate you to a safer location, sir.”
Telarrek looked to the big screen, where external cameras relayed images of the wild Shay tearing their way through the command tower’s main doors. “I do not think we are going anywhere.”
“We have a secure transport on the top level, sir. We don’t have time to argue this.”
Indeed, they didn’t. The vent on the wall above them burst open as the first of the Shay exploded into the room with a banshee-like scream. The honour guards immediately aimed their rifles high and unloaded half a dozen rounds each into the alien, scattering its body across the control room.
Telarrek snatched the long weapon off the young officer with his upper hands and used his lower hands to retrieve a pair of pistols. More Shay took their chances and attempted to enter the room via the broken vent, but Intrinium rounds blew holes across the wall, tracing the line of the vent. Blood poured through the holes, but they all knew it meant nothing when facing the nanocelium-infected aliens.
“Targets to the rear!” a Laronian honour guard warned as she spun on her foot and dropped into a crouch, aiming down her sights at the side door.
By the time Telarrek had turned to face the new invaders, half the honour guard had opened fire and filled the door space
with enough super-heated rounds to reduce a Raalak to slag. Still, the Novaarian councillor added his own rounds to the cacophony and did his best to keep the Shay from establishing a foothold inside the control room.
“Councillor Fey!” Telarrek shouted over the barrage.
Li Fey hopped over one of the consoles and pushed two of the terrified councillors to the floor, before turning to Telarrek to catch one of his pistols in mid-air. She rolled across the aisles and popped up, shooting the crazed Shay who was erratically crawling over the wall above them. The human captain was certainly more limber and agile than the Novaarian would have given her credit. She was, however, on the endangered species list.
Telarrek clapped the Atari honour guard on the shoulder, drawing him back from the fight. “You need to get Councillor Fey to the emergency transport! See her back to her people and make sure they reach the Starforge!”
The Atari shook his head. “We’re tasked with protecting the Highclave, sir! That means all of you!”
Telarrek wanted to protest but more Shay were finding their way in through the vents on the tier above them. The Novaarian swung his rifle around and opened up on the top corner, giving three of the officers just enough time to retreat, though it did nothing to halt the coming onslaught. The main doors to the control room sparked and the touchpad beside it winked out before the Shay pried open the entrance.
Councillor Fey fired on them from behind the cover of a console, her accuracy enviable. Telarrek only wished those they shot down didn’t get back up again. The first of the infected aliens to be brought down were already slithering across the floor in search of viable parts to re-form their bodies. The Novaarian made it as hard as he could and kicked random limbs away, while his rifle and pistol fired round after round into the oncoming Shay.
A harrowing scream sounded from the tier above as the Trillik councillor found himself in the middle of a swarm. The Shay ripped the green alien to pieces, discarding the Trillik’s limbs and organs in every direction. From there, they pounced on the officers who were doing their best to cover all the angles of the enemy’s entry point.
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