Armageddon's Pall: Spiral War Book 4

by S. F. Edwards

  Gondral spun about with the remaining half of the dead Ship Lord and beat the Old Mind with it until the stitches that held fas brain in place began to break. Huffing with rage, Gondral stood over the assaulted aide; grey-green blood marred every nearby surface. Gondral’s rage flowed out and infected the fleet. The thought that any being would dare assault Gorvia drove them into a newfound blood rage. Gondral sought out the minds of every remaining Ship Lord of any operational craft in the fleet.

  As Gondral began to storm back towards the bridge fae stopped and looked back at the Old Mind kneeling on the deck. “Contact the Pharad bound. They are to hunt down the Dondicks while we assist the homeworld.”

  Admiral’s Office, UCSBS Nosh’Tak, Garov 197754

  “Command comm virtual link established, encoded random channel level 15, firewall level Black 3, intrusion detection software at maximum.”

  Admiral Quin Tosh sat up and straightened her tunic as the virtual operator relayed the link information. She wished she could read the mood of the three orbs sitting there to see if they approved. She felt sure they would have even better encryption, but she doubted any Confed link would be compatible with the far more advanced technology.

  Four figures began to coalesce at the empty seats. Commander Tadeh Qudas, and Captain Wynad might be aboard the Mercy, but she’d swear that they were there with her. Opposite them sat two Anulians in Confed Marine grey; Commandant Tarowin, and Major Loshe, the top Marine MeG-CE commander. The group assembled, she began.

  “Thank you all for being here. During our assaults on Beshtrig and Gorvia, our Synthetic Allies and I discussed the best way to move forward towards ending this conflict.”

  The three spheres began vibrating and hovered above the table before a hologram of the Planet Slicer appeared. “Primary has concluded that the Planet Slicer and Gondral are the core of the Gorvian war machine. Their destruction is paramount to ending this conflict. The destruction of the infrastructure of Gorvia makes the Planet Slicer now the Gorvian’s most viable home. Analysis indicates a fifty-five percent likelihood that the Gorvians will return to their homeworld and attempt to rebuild following the destruction of the Planet Slicer and Gondral. There is also a thirty-three percent chance that they will become nomadic and will wander Gorvian space without direction, if so blockaded.”

  “And the remaining twelve percent?” Tadeh Qudas asked.

  “Mass ritual suicide by the whole of the Gorvian race. In addition, there is a ninety-six percent certainty that greater than forty percent of the Gorvian population will kill themselves should Gondral die regardless.”

  Commandant Tarowin scoffed. “We saw the same thing when the Moligon’s Emperor Komis died last century.”

  The admiral cleared her throat. drawing attention back to her. “Despite all of that, we have put together a plan that will see an end to the Planet Slicer and possibly Gondral. For that we’ll need assets from all of you. Here’s our plan.”

  UCSB Date 1004.056

  Cargo Bay 3, UCSBS Mercy, Garov 19775

  When he was young Blazer had visited the splicer corps factory. The sound of the heavy machinery there was nothing compared to the cacophony echoing through the gutted interior of the Mercy. Gazing up and down through the through the structural support frames, he could see clear from the bow to the stern of the frigate. Cables and piping lay exposed everywhere as workers, both biologic and synthetic, stripped out all but the most vital components of the ship. The fact that they’d stripped out so much in just three cycles left him flabbergasted. The Synthetics, or their drones, worked with an efficiency he’d never seen before.

  A stray bit of tooling floated up towards him. He grabbed it out of the air before a masked technician drifted up to retrieve it. “Be careful. There’s a lot of exposed hardware in here,” Blazer admonished through his own mask. While the ship still had pressure, the air was near toxic with all the torch work. What little remained of the life support system just couldn’t keep up.

  The man accepted the tool and turned his head away in shame; a power conduit just a few metra away. “Yes sir.”

  Blazer turned back towards the MeG-CE behind him, and was reminded once again of how much the ship had changed. Lines of explosives marked the section of organic-textured outer hull that his mech suit lay strapped to. He almost missed the tunnel like passageways of the Mercy now. To see it laid open like this, with dozens of MeG-CEs strapped to its skin in preparation for its final mission, humbled him. The grand old medical frigate would give its life to allow them to make the mission insertion.

  This was no ordinary recon or rescue mission to the Planet Slicer. They were to sabotage the giant ship, a mission for which they had little training. Their expertise on the juggernaut had made them the ideal team to lead however. This time their units wouldn’t be clad in rotting Gorvian flesh. Intelligence had revealed that the Planet Slicer had suffered damage during the Star Bomb detonation, opening the hull in several places. Thanks to that, the MeG-CEs were now clad in recovered Gorvian pressure suits. It would allow them greater mobility and dexterity than the old skin suits could have provided.

  “So how does it feel to be bait to the biggest catch in the galaxy?” Chris asked, flitting down towards him from what remained of the deck above.

  Blazer shook his head and looked away. Marda would have flipped if she’d known the details of this plan. “The Gorvians, or maybe just Gondral, have been gunning for me personally long enough. We might as well use me and keep Gondral off-guard for a while. Besides, I doubt that Gondral would pass up a chance to try and nail me. Still not sure why he has such a raging one on for me though.”

  Chris landed with ease, the maglocks in her shoes keeping her planted to the metal support frames. “Asks the bait of the fish. And no, I doubt that Gondral would pass up on bait as juicy as us. I just wish that the Mercy didn’t have to give up the ghost in the process.” She looked about at the hollowed out interior, a certain sadness creeping into her eyes. Blazer could understand it. This was their first assignment after all. To see it destroyed would hurt.

  “Even the spirit orbs seem to have trouble letting go,” a new voice added and the pair looked over at Priest as he appeared to swim over to them.

  Blazer had wanted to talk to Priest more since his reassignment. There just hadn’t been much time with the mission prep and gutting of the Mercy. “Good to see you Priest. How are you getting along with the others?”

  Priest landed with ease and exchanged a nod with Chris before motioning towards a group across the way from them. “Everyone is making me feel quite at home. I understand how hard it must be to replace two valued team members; especially after what happened.”

  Resisting the urge to ball his fists, Blazer nodded. Priest just seemed to exude serenity, and had a similar effect on all of them. “Mikle was, clever, in his deception.”

  Chris resisted the urge to spit and just sneered. “Little bastard. If you hadn’t vaped him I would have loved to have gotten my hands on him.”

  Priest fingered his prayer rope. “Death is not always the answer. In the end, we will all need to atone for every life we’ve taken. For me, I must balance the scales.” He held the end of the prayer rope up. “I’ve had to untie multiple knots in the last decle and have not yet been able to add new ones.”

  “We’ll see what we can do about that,” Blazer replied, patting him on the shoulder. “Definitely explains your low kill count. I see a lot of disabling hits.”

  “I’ve never seen that many on anyone’s board,” Chris added. “I mean. I’m precise. But to only damage that many fighters to the point that they’re out of the fight - that’s something.”

  “It is my way. Hallet does not care for the time it takes, but she understands.”

  “Speaking of Hallet. How is she doing with the rest of the team?” Blazer asked. He’d had even less time to deal with the Rimdook medic.

  Priest t
urned away for a moment, his four eyes saddened. “She is not meshing well with Fealgud. While they are both medics, they have radically different ideas about certain subjects.”

  Chris raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. “Such as?”

  “The sanctity of young life. Hallet, she lost her children, her whole family to the Galactic Federation. This makes her overprotective of any child she comes across. Fealgud does not appear to be so… understanding. While it is not my place to say much more,” he said sniffing, a clear indication that he’d smelt something about Fealgud. “Fealgud feels that deformed or disabled children are far too much of a burden.”

  Blazer didn’t care for the sound of that. He couldn’t comment much without talking to the team’s primary medic first. “I’ll have a talk with her.”

  “I’ll bet it has to do with what the Gorvians did to her. I’d be amazed if she even could have children,” Chris went on, her hand falling to her own belly.

  “Hey B!” Arion called out as he jetted over from across the bay.

  “What’s up Arion?”

  Arion extended a hand and Blazer caught it, pulling the big man to the deck, his maglocks keeping him secured. “They just had to rip out all the grav plating, didn’t they?”

  “The Confed accounting office would flay them if they hadn‘t. That stuff’s worth its mass in, well itself,” Blazer replied with a smirk.

  “Most expensive asset on the ship,” Chris reminded them. “I don’t even like remembering the figures on the cost. It’s more than I could ever hope to make in my life.”

  “And the Quartermasters never let you forget it either,” Arion replied. “I just wanted to let you know I’ve received confirmation that all of our gear has been transferred to the staging post. Also, all MeG-CEs are checked out and secured.”

  “Good. Have they fixed the problems with Ribtel’s and Dosher’s units?”

  “Had to cannibalize one of the spares, but yes.”

  “Speaking of transfers and babies,” Chris went on. “How are Marda and little Chrisvian doing?”

  “They made it to Anul last cycle safe and sound. Marda’s parents were apparently quite excited to meet their grandson.”

  “Will your mate return to the unit once her maternity leave is finished?” Priest asked.

  Blazer shrugged, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t honestly know. She plans to. But that’s some ways off for her, at least half an annura. We’ll tackle that when it comes. Oh, Datt and Treb are on Anul, some kind of convention. Treb is selling his art now, making quite the profit so Marda says.”

  “I wonder how much our helmets would fetch,” Arion mused.

  “Marda said you don’t want to know.”

  The sound of urgent yelling from across the cavernous interior drew their attention. Blazer leapt off to investigate, motioning the others to follow. He couldn’t have a fight now; the slightest misstep would spell disaster for the whole mission. As they sailed across the expanse he looked back at the waiting MeG-CEs arrayed across the inner hull. He had a hard time telling just how giant the silent sentinels were without the deck plating. It twisted his gut. He couldn’t help but feel that not all of them were going to make it back from this mission. The stakes were just too high to risk failure. A glance at Priest and his prayer rope made him wonder just how many knots the Lodran would have to untie or if he might tie new ones for saving the team.

  Bridge, Planet Slicer, Gorvan System

  It was a blood rage unlike anything Gondral had ever felt. It boiled in an all-consuming lust for vengeance as Gondral gazed up at what remained of their homeworld. It was not only Gondral’s own rage fae felt, but that of every Gorvian in the fleet. Their connection to fam gave Gondral views of every angle at the bleak, grey clouds engulfing the world. No mountains poked through the layers of dust and debris, no city lights; the whole planet had been scorched.

  The close up images of whole continents encased in glass fed the rage. The great ocean that had once encircled the planet was now little more than a few scattered seas. Acidic rain fell back towards the dried ocean beds, sizzling the ground with each drop. Even the massive atmosphere processors that had cleansed the air into breathability had been glassed over, rendering the surface lifeless.

  The few thousand survivors did so in the great caverns and bunkers beneath its surface. Reaching them in time would be next to impossible. The glass was too thick, the tunnels leading to them choked with even more. To save even a handful of them the Planet Slicer itself would have to attack, destroying their own world.

  Gondral tore fas eyes away from the sight, did fas best to calm down and block out the visual that millions of Gorvians looked upon. The rage needed quelling. But what would extinguish such a burning fire? Would it be better to redirect it? Use it to focus the remaining Gorvian? Yes, but against what target?

  The stink of Terran flesh and sweat assaulted Gondral’s nose as Admiral Craine hovered onto the bridge. The old Terran looked up in awe of the destruction, his sweat stinking of a new type of fear. “Lord of All. I come with news.”

  Gondral wanted nothing more than to crush the pathetic wretch. Even having him aboard the Planet Slicer felt like an affront. They’d carried the Dondick-looking creature through the creator’s home system, had allowed him to see and report on their betrayal by those who’d made them. Even now he remained, witness to the devastation of their homeworld. The Gorvian would appear weak in his tiny eyes. “What is it?”

  “Our intelligence assets. The ones we inserted into the Confederation Fleet have relayed fleet movement orders.”

  “What of it?”

  “The UCSBS Mercy was badly damaged in Beshtrig. It is set for decommissioning back in the Confederation home systems.”

  “This report of yours bores me. Why should I care?”

  “The ship is travelling with its full crew and a full complement of injured.”

  Blood lust wet Gondral’s mouth. “How many injured?”

  The admiral hesitated a moment. “Potentially, thousands.”

  The admiral had the whole bridge’s attention at that. Gondral leaned forward. The Mini-Gorvians had come close on the Mercy to taking Vaughnt. Not only Vaughnt, but his child, and his mate. “Is Vaughnt aboard? Is the one who took the life of my first heir aboard, and with his child?”

  The admiral looked away, shame tingeing his sweat. Gondral reveled in it. This disgraced man had become friends with the Dondick, and it was clear that he didn’t want to answer. He swallowed hard and turned his eyes back towards Gondral. “Yes. Vaughnt and his family will be aboard. We have their course and the jump codes to the systems they’ll be travelling through before reaching too deep into Confederation Space. The Mercy will be traveling under minimal escort. A single strike corvette should be enough…”

  “No,” Gondral growled, eyes hooded. “No. We’ll take the desecrator of our flesh ourselves.” Gondral stood and looked out across the bridge, raising a hand out as if holding something. “Hear this my Gorvian. The killer of High Lord Gondish is vulnerable and within our grasp.” Fae clenched a hand so tight that blood spurted out. “Make ready to move out. Vaughnt’s blood will soon stain our hull, along with the blood of his progeny.”

  Gondral spun to look at the admiral. “Make ready your fleets. From the wreckage of the Mercy we will cull its navigational computer and with it, the location of the Dondick homeworlds. They burned our world, we will leave nothing but rubble of theirs.”

  “Of course, Lord of All.” Admiral Craine replied and his hover platform backed away. “Our fleets stand at your ready. Once you commence the assault on the Confederation home systems, every ship at the Federation’s disposal will come to your aide.”

  UCSB Date 1004.065

  Breach Zone 1, UCSBS Mercy, Ketrin System

  Patience had never been one of Rudjick’s strong suits; that was a point driven home into Zithe’s skull as they kept watch. Zithe had learned to meditate almost anywhere, even amongst the silent ar
ray of MeG-CEs. Rudjick’s incessant tapping of his unit’s finger against the hull was something Zithe just couldn’t block out. Intelligence had assured the teams that the Gorvians, if not the Planet Slicer would attack them after leaving Synthetic space. Due to the damage to its ventral engine the Mercy limped through three systems intelligence felt sure the Planet Slicer could access.

  The lack of contact worried Zithe far more than he wanted to admit. The Ketrin system would be the Mercy’s last chance to contact the Gorvians before jumping deeper into Confed space. Worse, the only jump point the Planet Slicer could access, despite their ability to manipulate the hyperspace gateways, waited behind them. A clean insertion at this point would be impossible. Even if it happened, he doubted that the Planet Slicer could catch them unless they stopped dead in space.

  Are we too tempting a target? Zithe looked at their pitiful escort; a light carrier that drifted along on its last legs, its fighter compliment transferred to other ships. A trio of light corvettes joined them as well, little more than high-speed couriers. Perhaps Gondral realizes this is a trap.

  The sudden absence of Rudjick’s tapping drew his attention before the micomm link sprang to life.

  It took a moment for Matt to reply, the call rousing him from his nap.

  Zithe asked looking at the telemetry. He saw nothing out of the ordinary.

 

  Zithe had heard enough. That level of jump point shrinkage was unheard of in such a short time. Even the most taxed jump points might only experience a reduction in size measured in thousandths of a percent a decade. He reached down inside his cockpit and slapped the emergency activation stud. His MeG-CE began to spin up to full power in an instant. That same command shot out to the rest of the gathered MeG-CEs along with stimulant shots to all their operators. “All units, Blade Wolf. We have contact.”