by M. R. Forbes
"Sending it to the engineering terminal," General Cave said.
"I've got it, sir," Reza said. "One second. General, where did you get this?"
"It just arrived from Earth. I don't know the source. Why?"
Reza was laughing in the comm. "I don't believe this."
"What is it, Mr. Mokri?"
"Uh. If I have to guess, I think it's the algorithm the Dread ships are using for their improved darkspace shields, but scanning through it. Oh. Wow. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Don't leave me hanging, Mr. Mokri."
"Hold on, General. I'm patching the system with this."
"General, the DSS just went offline," Daphne said.
"Sorry," Reza said. "I had to reinitialize the system."
"The enemy is firing," General Cave said.
Theodore looked up and out at the fortresses. He could see the blue spears at the tips of their design, preparing to lance out at the Ishur, all at once, in one final effort to bring the starship down.
"DSS is still offline," Daphne said.
"Mr. Mokri," Theodore said.
The bolts streaked towards the Ishur, growing brighter as they neared. Reza didn't answer.
"Mr. Mokri," Theodore shouted.
The light from the plasma bolt was blinding, as it was aimed directly at the bridge. Theodore closed his eyes in anticipation, all sense of time and space fading, replacing with a field of white nothingness that he could have easily mistaken for the afterlife. It was calm and peaceful and silent. Maybe Juliet was here?
It ended as quickly as it had come. Breathing, shouting, beeping and pulsing and throbbing came back in a rush of sound. He opened his eyes.
They were still alive.
"You wanted a miracle, General?" Reza said. "I think you have it. Oh. Uh. Hmm. It looks like there's more in this transmission than shield upgrades."
FIFTY-EIGHT
THE CORRIDORS OF THE Dread capital ship turned to chaos within minutes, as after hundreds of years of captivity, the legri'shah were set free.
Gabriel couldn't see the creatures from his place within the maintenance passages, but he could hear them, a constant barrage of roars and chirps that echoed across the decks. He didn't understand at first how the large animals could move from their pens to the other decks since the transports beams were too small to carry them. El'kek, the keeper who had risen first, explained while they made their way toward the bridge.
"The domo'shah were not always prisons to the legri'shah," he said. "There are tunnels for them, tunnels that can take them almost anywhere in the ship. Tunnels that haven't been used for hundreds of cycles. You and I can't travel them; they are too steep and smooth and narrow. But the legri'shah can."
"Why were the legri'shah imprisoned?" he asked.
"To hide them away from the new drumhr. Domo'dahm Pir'el decided long ago that we should forget our past to create a new future."
Gabriel couldn't keep himself from snorting. "Huh. Our human leaders were trying to do the same thing."
"Be grateful they did not."
"Are we there yet?" Kroeger said. He was bringing up the rear and growing impatient.
"We are almost there," Ehri replied. "Are you prepared?"
"Locked and loaded."
She led them out of the maintenance hatch once more, coming out near a transport beam. "Up sixty-one decks," she said to them before stepping in.
Gabriel trailed close behind her, with Donovan, Kroeger, El'kek, and the two soldiers whose names he didn't know bringing up the rear. He raised his hands to go up, subconsciously counting decks, and then stepped out of the beam.
Ehri was standing in front of him, two dead clones at her feet.
"This deck is heavily defended," she said.
"Will the Domo'dahm be on the bridge?" Gabriel asked.
"It is not likely. He will remain in his quarters below."
"It is difficult for him to travel through the ship," El'kek said. "He is an original bek'hai. His visage is also banished from sight."
"What?" Kroeger said. "The leader of your race can't go out in public?"
"Yes."
"Because of his ugly mug?" He laughed.
"Keep it quiet, Sergeant," Donovan said.
Kroeger stopped laughing. They moved the corner of the hallway and checked the intersection.
"I don't hear any of the legri'shah," Gabriel said.
"They will find their way out," El'kek replied. "My brothers will keep them from attacking your brethren."
They headed down the corridor, reaching one of the many circular hubs that composed the layout of the decks. A squad of clone soldiers was moving through it, headed for the transport beam in a hurry, and as a result coming right toward them.
"Take them out," Donovan said, raising his rifle.
The clones reacted with surprise, bringing their weapons up. Gabriel brought his Dread rifle to bear and fired, adding to the sudden barrage from his unit. The clones were overwhelmed, and they stepped over them to continue on.
"That's what I'm talking about," Kroeger said.
Gabriel glanced over at the man, disgusted. He was enjoying the violence way too much. Kroeger either didn't notice the look or ignored it.
They kept going, making a quarter-circle in the hub before heading down another corridor. They turned one more corner and entered an area that was familiar to Gabriel. The layout seemed to be identical to the Ishur, and he knew exactly where he was.
They were almost there.
He had expected the resistance to get heavier the closer they came to the bridge. Instead, the opposite soon became true, as all of the soldiers on the deck were abandoning the control center of the ship and heading to the lower decks in an effort to defend against the rampaging legri'shah.
Ehri brought them to a pause a few hundred meters from the bridge, motioning for them to draw near.
"This is a trap," she said. "Designed to cause us to lower our guard. Do not be fooled."
"How do you know?" Gabriel asked.
"I understand Rorn'el, and how he thinks," she replied. "Your mother knew him very well. He wants you to believe the bridge is undefended. This is false."
"What kind of shit are we about to step in?" Kroeger asked.
"hunters of the Third and Fourth Cell," Ehri replied. "High-ranking pur'dahm warriors. Four of them at least, although it is hard to say how many Rorn'el may have called to his side to protect him. This type of chaos may give other pur'dahm ideas on removing him from power."
"They would turn on one another in the middle of a battle?" Gabriel asked.
"If they believed it would benefit them, yes."
"The madness of our kind," El'kek said.
"They will be fast," Ehri said. "As fast as I can be. Stay together, cover one another. I will do my best to stop them."
"Wait a second," Gabriel said. "I need you alive."
"Then I will have to stay alive. There is no other choice, Gabriel."
Gabriel nodded. "Okay. I'm ready. Let's stick together, keep a clear line of fire. El'kek, you may want to stay back."
"No," the keeper replied.
Gabriel didn't argue. "Let's go."
They made their way across the distance to the bridge, pausing to peer inside. The capital ship's command center was larger than the Ishur's, with more stations circling a much higher central dais. The dais was unoccupied. The rest of the bridge appeared to be the same.
"Are you sure about this?" Gabriel whispered.
"Yes," Ehri replied. "I will go in first. Cover me."
Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, but Ehri was already running toward the bridge.
"Shit," he said, getting his rifle up and pointed at her back. The others did the same.
She dove as she passed the threshold, coming in low, somersaulting and getting to her feet. Two plasma bolts burst past where she should have been from either side, hitting nothing but air.
Gabriel caught sight of a dark shape heading for her and fired, sending
a bolt toward it. The Dread hunter shifted slightly, letting the bolt go by, barely breaking his stride. Two more of the hunters revealed themselves, facing Gabriel and the others, rifles in hand.
Plasma bolts filled the corridor, forcing the hunters to duck back. Gabriel caught a glimpse of Ehri in the center of it all, ducking beneath an attack by one of the bek'hai, who was using some kind of blade to strike at her. She lashed out with a foot, catching him in the back of the knee and bringing him off-balance. Instead of following up the attack, she skipped away, narrowly avoiding another of the weapons.
"What are we doing out here?" Kroeger said, starting to advance on the room.
They kept a steady stream of plasma targeting the two hunters near the entrance, while also keeping an eye on the two attacking Ehri. She was holding her own, keeping them away, but for how long?
They took a few more steps forward. The hunters near the entrance rolled across the hallway, firing as they passed. Gabriel heard a shout and saw one of the soldiers fall. He heard Donovan curse as well, and saw a burn mark and blood spreading from his shoulder.
"Druk'dahm," El'kek said, grabbing his robe and shedding it. He was nude beneath, muscular, and at the same time lacking in genitalia. A short stub of a tail protruded from the small of his back.
He bared his teeth and rushed toward the bridge. One of the hunters emerged to shoot at him, but he batted the rifle away and barreled into the pur'dahm, knocking him back.
Gabriel kept advancing, keeping his focus on the Dread attacking Ehri. She avoided a strike from one of the hunters and then shouted in pain as the blade of the second caught her arm. She threw herself away from them, gaining a little distance.
The hunter still near the entrance took advantage of the opportunity, leaping at her from behind. He was fast, so fast. Gabriel shifted his rifle almost without thinking, squeezing the trigger and sending three bolts at Dread. The first two went wide, but the third hit him square in the side and cost him his momentum. He stumbled instead of striking, and Ehri bounced out of the way of his corpse as he fell to the floor.
"Nice shot," Kroeger said, reaching Gabriel. He crossed the corridor, taking aim at the hunter engaged with El'kek. "That's it. Keep him steady. No sudden moves."
Gabriel realized just in time what the man intended. He lunged forward, bringing his rifle down on top of Kroeger's and disrupting his aim. Kroeger's bolt went wide, hitting the wall instead of blasting through the back of El'kek's head and into the Dread hunter.
"What the hell are you doing?" Gabriel said. "He's on our side."
"Are you kidding me?" Kroeger shouted back, pulling himself free. "I've got a shot to kill that bastard I'm taking it, even if I have to kill that other dragon man son of a bitch with him."
"You're out of your damn mind."
"Yeah, right. Maybe I'm the only one who's sane."
Kroeger shoved Gabriel aside, bringing his rifle up again.
"Sergeant," Donovan shouted. His arm was dark with blood, and he looked pale.
Kroeger looked at him, his eyes wild. "Sorry, Colonel. I guess I'm the real giant now."
He looked back at El'kek and the Dread, ready to pull the trigger once more.
A sharp blade sank into his arm, cutting it off at the elbow, causing the rifle to fall from his grip and clatter to the floor. Kroeger shouted in pain, his cry cut off as the blade came back around and through his neck, removing his head.
The hunter scowled at them before rushing toward Gabriel. He tried to get his weapon up to defend himself, but there was no time. He shifted his grip, barely getting it positioned to block the hunter's blade, leaving their faces only centimeters apart.
Then he felt a rush of heat, heard a soft thud, and saw the Dread's expression change. A second thud followed. Then a third. The pressure against him vanished as the pur'dahm collapsed.
Donovan could barely lift the rifle with his one good hand, and he let it fall as he leaned against the wall to keep himself upright.
Gabriel stepped over the Dread, taking the last few steps onto the bridge. Ehri was leaning against one of the terminals, her arm bleeding, but no longer under attack. El'kek was standing over the final hunter, breathing raggedly, looking down at his victim with an expression of sadness unlike anything Gabriel had ever seen.
"It's over then?" Donovan asked.
Gabriel turned back to the soldier, getting himself under his good arm and helping him up. "How are you feeling?"
"I don't know yet. It's numb, and I'm cold."
That didn't sound good.
"Ehri, we need to send a message fleet-wide. Can you do that?"
"Yes," she replied, moving across the bridge to another terminal.
Gabriel took two steps toward her when he heard footsteps coming up from behind them. He tried to turn, but holding Donovan was limiting his movement.
El'kek broke from his mourning, whipping around and positioning himself in front of the bridge. By the time Gabriel could see, the keeper had come up short and was staring at another Juliet clone.
"Colonel Peters," she said.
"Orli?" Donovan replied. "It's okay; she's with us."
El'kek moved aside.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were dead?"
"No. I escaped the destruction of my mech. I snuck behind the bek'hai infantry line and stole a transport and brought it here. Colonel, we have to go. The Domo'dahm is on his way here with too many hunters for us to fight."
"Can you help keep Colonel Peters upright?" Gabriel asked, handing him over to Orli. "Ehri, do you have it?"
"One moment, Gabriel."
"Gabriel?" Orli said, her expression changing. Gabriel would have been taken back by it, but he had seen it before in Zoelle.
"I know," he replied. "Not now. I don't know how much longer the Ishur will last."
"The Ishur?" Orli said. "Oh. Don't worry, Gabriel. Your father should be safe for now. I've already taken care of that."
FIFTY-NINE
"HOW ARE WE DOING, Mr. Mokri?" Theodore asked.
"Shields are holding, sir. Modulators are stable. Power is going to be a problem though, sir, if we have to take much more of this. With one of the reactors down, we can't take this pounding forever."
Theodore smiled, looking out at the Dread fortresses arranged ahead of them. The reaction from the enemy ships had been almost comical when they realized the humans had miraculously managed to provide a vast upgrade to their defenses.
As Reza had explained in the first minute following the shift, it all came down to math.
"How much longer do we have?" Theodore asked.
"I'm shutting down some non-essential systems. Five minutes?"
"Not a lot of time. What about our other upgrade."
"Almost done, sir."
Theodore's comfort faded. Where was Gabriel anyway? They had managed to outlast their predicted demise by nearly thirty minutes, but there was no word from him. Had he failed in his mission? Had the Magellan even made it to the ground?
If Gabriel was dead, there was only one thing left to do.
"I'm sorry, Mr. It'kek," Theodore said, looking over at the keeper on the bridge. "We can't afford to wait any longer."
The keeper's expression was dour, but he nodded. "I understand."
"Mr. Mokri, tell me as soon as the update is complete."
"Oh. Uh. We just finished replacing the last of the conduits, sir."
Theodore looked down at his tablet, switching the screen to the plasma cannon fire control.
"Colonel Ames, bring us toward the fortress furthest to port."
"Yes, sir," Ames replied.
"Uh, sir," Reza said. "We'll only have enough power for five shots, and the shields will go down for a few seconds after you fire. I thought you might want to know that."
"Duly noted, Mr. Mokri."
The Ishur began to vibrate, the damage it had taken causing it to shudder from the thrust. The Dread ships in front of them stood their ground, still uns
ure of what he was up to. They fired their plasma cannons again, sending heavy bolts into the darkspace shields where they were absorbed.
"Firing," Theodore announced, pressing down on his tablet. The Ishur shuddered even more as power was diverted to the main plasma cannon.
"Thrusters are offline," General Cave said. "Life support offline. Gravity generators offline on half the decks. I don't know what this one means. I think it's the transport beams? It's down, too."
The plasma cannon was sucking all of their power in. A moment later, it spit that power back out.
A stream of blue plasma lanced across space, pouring into the center of the fortress opposite them. For an instant, a black whorl of darkspace blocked the stream, but it was too small to collect the entire blast. It shattered as the plasma burned the area around it, sinking through the lek'shah, passing into the domo'shah, continuing onward until it appeared out the other side, like a giant azure lance.
It vanished a moment later. The Dread ship was still at first, and then slowly began to break apart, the debris spreading from the center.
"Direct hit," General Cave said.
"Get us on the next one, Colonel," Theodore said.
They would only get one surprise attack, and the Dread ships were already breaking formation, spreading out to avoid another bolt. They returned fire with secondary batteries, which dug into the sides of the Ishur while the reactor was still recovering.
"Thrusters online. Life support online. Gravity still down."
"We don't need gravity," Theodore said. "Colonel Ames, get us a better angle."
"Yes, sir."
The Ishur started moving again, changing direction to get a better vector on the Dread ships. They were still firing their secondary batteries, but the attack was being absorbed once more.
"They're decimating our power supply, General," Reza said over the comm. "You need to back away."
Theodore didn't give it much thought. "No. This is our last stand. Let's make it count. Red One, you still out there?"
"I'm here, sir," Lieutenant Bale replied.
"Take what you have left and harass those batteries. Get them shooting at something else."
"Yes, sir."