“As you wish captain,” Uta said.
From below the ground a gate opened and allowed the Mylor ship to ascend to space. Those still outside watched the twenty ketre diameter sphere shaped warship as it headed for space. Above them in the sky flashes of light from the battle drove fear and uncertainty into the soldiers and citizens alike.
Chapter 4 - The Cannons of Hades
The Maidens’ mobile suits closed in on the planet killer. Pulse blasts from the vessel’s surface pushed them back before Celi adjusted the shield system on the Aegis. As particles flew outwards all incoming attacks reflected back on the planet killer. Unfortunately the vessel’s powerful shields absorbed them easily. The other four stayed within the Aegis’s shield while they continued berserking. The Minerva and Siren stayed in back and picked off any attack vessel coming towards their position. The Artemis and Gemini focused their pulse cannons on a single point in the shield of the planet killer. Behind them their allies moved into position. With them appeared Siata’s ship.
“That’s your queue Seles,” Valis said.
“Then I’ll open a path for everyone,” Seles said.
She flew the Artemis as close as she could to the planet killer’s shield before firing six arrow shots. After the massive beams slammed into the shield repeatedly the arrays nearby failed and a hole opened up. At that moment the commanding officers on the Avoni, Daevoni, Reinkar, and Raulno all berserked and used the Hades system on their ships. The Columbia base did likewise as Veda joined in. The Mylor battleship started glowing when all the crew focused their telekinetic powers into the shape of a spear. After the Artemis fired its last arrow into the hole all the ships behind it fired. Beams of powerful energy hundreds of ketres in length slammed into the vulnerable planet killer. As the other hull buckled the Mylor battleship fired the massive telekinetic spear inside, shattering the way to the interior of the craft. After another round of beam attacks the planet killer’s shields went down. A moment later the lights inside went off as all of its systems failed. Before it was completely destroyed the planet killer activated an emergency gravity jump and disappeared.
* * *
The Alaska base appeared in a star system two gravity jumps away from Dega Jul. While they prepared to jump again Loc put something on the monitor.
“What’s this?” Javrin asked.
“I think it’s our quarry,” Loc said.
In the space near them the damaged planet killer appeared. The scanners showed it was functioning at minimal power.
“What should we do?” Loc asked.
“We should finish it off,” Javrin said before hitting the com. “All ships and mobile forces are to launch immediately. We’ve spotted the other planet killer and it appears to be severely damaged. We’ll approach with caution and destroy it with our remaining nuclear warheads.”
“Yes captain,” the others said.
As the Alaska base approached with its ships and mobile weapons launched the planet killer floated ominously towards a gas giant.
“What do you think they’re doing?” Javrin asked.
Loc looked up from her readings. “We should back away right now.”
The power levels inside the planet killer spiked after its gravity drive system went critical.
“Are there any colonies in this system?” Javrin asked.
“Yes, in the asteroid belt between the second and third planets,” Loc answered.
“Send them a warning immediately,” Javrin ordered.
“Done,” Loc said. “Something’s happening.”
The planet killer began glowing brightly as it dove into the gas giant. A few moments later the moon sized ship exploded and ignited the core the planet. As the atmosphere lit up it began compressing. A short while later the energy levels spiked again and when the planet exploded. A shockwave flew out in all directions.
“How long will it take to reach us?” Javrin asked.
“Two minutes,” Loc answered.
“Record everything you can and get us out of here before then,” Javrin ordered. “The others need to see this.”
After the Alaska base gravity jumped away the shockwave continued onward, destroying everything in its path.
* * *
After the planet killer left the remaining Grey carriers quickly collected their attack ships and faded from view. All of the captains and the Maidens ended their berserks as everyone went into damage assessment mode. Brian held his hand over his left eye after it stopped glowing.
“Are you sure you don’t need a shot?” Jesela asked.
“I’m alright,” Brian said. “How’s she holding up?”
“We should be back to normal in a day or two,” Grigon said as he returned.
“Make it quicker if you can,” Brian said.
“I’ll help him out then,” Jesela said.
“No, you focus on our special models,” Grigon said. “If they’re not taken care of our ship is finished.”
“Alright,” Jesela said before heading to the launching bay.
Brian hit the com. “Everyone can return to the ship.”
“Yes captain,” the pilots responded.
Brian turned to Myden. “Tell me, did you sense anything coming from them?”
“The drive for war fills their minds,” Myden said.
“You’ll have to explain to me how a machine can control so many against their will,” Grigon said.
Myden pulled out his telepathic staff. “This device was the gateway for the creation of the machine god. It turns a telepath’s mental powers into energy, thus giving us the ability to change the world around us with our will alone.”
“It sounds like magic,” Grigon said.
“Technology is magic to the ignorant,” Myden said. “In a few thousand years the younger races will understand.”
The com flashed when the Alaska base appeared nearby. Captain Javrin appeared on the monitor a moment later.
“It’s good to see you could join us,” Brian said.
“We lost half our forces on the way home,” Javrin said. “Captain Peterson, we need to talk. There are a number of things that need to be seen.”
“From the tone of your voice I know we need to do this soon,” Brian said. He hit the com. “Veda, set up a meeting for the commanders in an hour.”
“As you wish,” Veda said.
* * *
Seles and Mira got out of their mobile suits to help Jesela with the maintenance work.
“You guys are getting pretty good at this,” Jesela said while working at the main console.
“The additions work great,” Seles said.
“Siren’s definitely better for it,” Mira added.
“It’s thanks to Seles and her bank account,” Jesela said.
“I only used it because we needed it,” Seles said. “Looks like everything’s good with Artemis.”
“Siren feels the same,” Mira said. She looked at Seles. “So what’s wrong? You’ve had that puzzled look on your face all day.”
“Have you noticed the distant look in Brian’s eyes these days?” Seles asked.
“I have,” Mira said. “He often doesn’t sleep at night and I see him staring into the mirror.”
“That is strange,” Jesela said.
“I can tell he’s listening to something the rest of us can’t hear,” Seles said. “Something lurks deep within his soul and it’s taking a toll on him.”
“It’s probably that machine god thing,” Mira said. “I don’t know how, but it has the ability to haunt those open to its power.”
“True,” Seles said.
“What about you two?” Jesela asked.
“I touched Brian’s mind when he changed and I felt the machine god’s voice,” Seles said. “It was the darkest thing I’d ever felt, even worse than the Kai he experienced. But since that day I haven’t heard a thing.”
“By my nature I can’t feel its presence,” Mira said.
“But you can feel the thoug
hts of others when berserking,” Jesela said.
“I think my father built a barrier inside me to protect me from telepathy,” Mira said.
“It makes sense,” Seles said. “If the machine god grabs a hold of us it may take us over. You can’t be turned and that’s a good thing.”
“What I’m wondering about is what’s going to happen next,” Mira said.
“A lot of people will die,” Seles said. “Our only hope is to save enough to still call ourselves the Confederation.”
* * *
In the Kailion system the Confederation headquarters was at high alert with thousands of mobile weapons and ships deployed for its defense. The colossal station remained in orbit of a gas giant when numerous colonies and ships appeared nearby. All of the delegations from the twenty seven worlds of the Confederation met in the Great Hall. As the images of the Greys’ attacks came in the delegates grew more and more panicked. When the videos of the Reiki homeworld’s destruction came in silence filled the room. After waiting a few moments Lord Kris, the head of the Mylor delegation, banged the gavel.
“My friends, the worst situation has occurred,” Kris said. “With this act of barbarism we have no choice but to declare war against the Naerendi Empire. But before I ask for a vote I will tell you a few things. The Naerendi, also called the Greys, have launched a full scale attack on the Mylor Republic, the Federation of Daemos, and the Avar Collective.”
The video changed and showed the Mylor fleets, along with the Daemos and Avar forces, engaging thousands of Grey carriers and a dozen planet killers. The others watched in shock at the scale of the battles.
“As all of you know, the older races, what you call the Original Five, are normally secretive about their territories,” Kris said. “But today we can’t maintain such luxuries. On the far side of the Mylor Republic, we are being held in siege by the Naerendi Empire. As such, all but two of our fleets are currently engaged. Because of this it’s important we come up with a viable strategy on this side of the galaxy. If we can’t the Confederation as we know it will come to an end. And with it Alden will turn to ash as each of us is destroyed like the Reiki, the Braiden, and the Mardok. I ask you, shall we stand together and fight?”
The votes were cast in an instant and were unanimous.
“Then we go to war,” Kris said. “Let it be said we fought to the bitter end if that is our fate. If we are to die than it will be in fire. But before hope is lost we fight. All Confederation members will allow their militaries to be led by either the special task forces or Heaven’s Light. Long live the Confederation! Long live Alden!”
“Long live the Confederation! Long live Alden!” the others echoed.
Chapter 5 - Catching Their Breath
Veda, Reban, Valis, Esra, El Kar, Kivi, Grigon, Dreka, Brian, Myden, Siata, and Baeron all met in the command center of the Columbia base. Javrin, Lena, Miv Daek, and Vikrit were all on the monitors from their respective bases.
“Now that we’re all here it’s time we discuss the current situation,” Veda said. “Captain Javrin, please show the video.”
“Of course,” Javrin said.
The leaders of Heaven’s Light watched the first footage of the planet killers moving in that the Alaska base witnessed. The next segment showed the struggle over Reiki Prime before and after its atmosphere was super-heated. The final part showed the damaged planet killer exploding, causing the gas giant it went inside of to do the same. After the screen went black everyone had their head down.
“I didn’t know they could do that,” Myden said.
“Why did they blow up a planet in a resource system?” Veda asked.
“Their objective is to drive fear into us,” Valis said. “They knew the attack on Dega Jul would fail unless they brought more forces.”
“If so then why bother?” Esra asked.
“They want us to panic,” El Kar said. “In times of war the first thing to leave people is their sense of reason. The waves have already begun as the gravity drive enabled colonies move back.”
“And my people can’t take them in at the moment,” Siata added.
“The other question is where the other two planet killers went,” Brian said.
“Beyond the first sighting we have no clues,” Javrin admitted. “Unfortunately we didn’t see the Siberia base anywhere along the way here.”
“Do you think they were destroyed?” Dreka asked.
Brian shook his head. “No, we put Shiken Ka in charge of that base. I’m sure they’re alive.” He looked at Siata. “What about the Sahara and Death Valley bases?”
“They were given orders to return to Dega Jul,” Siata said.
“It will take them a few weeks to get here,” Valis said. “From what I see our issue is information. We need to know where the Greys are going and their numbers. I have no doubt they’ve sent more than the Alaska base saw. My guess is the Saeki intercepted some on this side of the galaxy and are keeping them occupied. If that’s true then I think they’ll move from the Reiki to either the Viken or Shandi territories next.”
“What makes you say that?” Veda asked.
“If you plot out the territories on the star map you’ll see something,” Valis said. “Their objective is to circle around the Kalaidian territories and then attack Dega Jul again. Once Kalaidia is isolated they’ll strike. From there the Confederation has a gaping hole in its defense.”
“Not even the Malcov or Ick-Tckt would have enough strength to stop them,” Baeron said. “What do you propose we do?”
Valis called up the star map on the holographic table. “Our first objective is to see if my guesses are just that. The Columbia base will move out and check our foes’ movements. The rest of you should stay here and defend Dega Jul.”
After Valis started into the specifics Siata floated over to a very quiet Myden. She opened her mind to his.
“I rarely talk like this anymore,” Myden said telepathically.
“You’ve grown fond of others,” Siata said. “You weren’t like that in the past.”
“Keeping others at an arm’s length wasn’t working anymore,” he said.
“You think of him as your own son, don’t you?” she asked.
Myden stared at Brian. “Yes.”
“But you know what must be done,” Siata said.
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes.” He opened them again and watched Brian add a few things to Valis’s plan. “Not long ago, I swore I’d change this world even if my name were cursed for eternity. I’m beginning to regret those words.”
“How so?” she asked.
“He deserves a better future than that,” Myden said.
“I feel the same,” Siata said.
He looked at the Mylor woman. “I will do what must be done. But I’ll curse fate the entire time.”
“You’ve changed Myden,” Siata said.
“The only constant I’ve seen in my long life has been that nothing lasts forever,” Myden said. “Well, I’ll be on my way now.”
After the Grey faded away Siata turned back to the meeting. She looked at Brian through the eyes of her exoskeleton. It’s hard to believe one man could change the hearts of so many.
* * *
Seles dried herself off after a quick shower in in her quarters. After throwing on a robe she went into the main room. On the walls she kept a number of pictures spanning her life. She stopped and stared at one while humming a tune. After a few minutes she went to her computer and began putting in the tune she hummed until it formed a song. As she worked on the lyrics Myden appeared from the shadows.
“It’s been awhile since we talked,” she remarked before turning to face him.
Myden stopped to look at her pictures. “So many things get in the way of simple conversation.” He looked at the song she was working on. “You’ve gotten much better with music.”
“It’s funny, until a few years ago I was afraid to try my hand at it,” Seles said. “But friends will set you straight w
hen you lose yourself.”
“I see,” Myden said. “You’re no longer the little girl I knew.”
“She’s more mature now,” Seles said. “I still love flying, that hasn’t changed. But the desire to try my hand at new things fills me.” She stood up and yawned. “I was so busy living his life I forgot my own.”
“I can tell you he’s happy about that,” Myden said. “But you already know.”
“The issue isn’t me anymore, it’s him,” Seles said. “Brian needs a hobby to keep him occupied.”
“Last time I was in his quarters he was working on something,” Myden said. “I think he was translating the saga of Raulno into English.”
“If that’s true them I’m glad to be wrong,” Seles said. “But that’s enough of dancing around the issue. What brings you to me? I can tell you need to talk about something.”
“I need to know that if the worst happens you’ll be able to keep going,” he said. “This war will be long and bloody; many of those you care about may die.”
“I can say I am,” Seles said. “But to be honest I don’t know. All I can do is fight and keep living. Beyond that I can’t say for sure.” She noticed something behind his eyes. “Are you talking about Brian?”
“I am,” Myden said. “Chance brought him to us but fate may have something terrible in store for him.”
“It’s that thing in his head, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes,” Myden said. “I can sense it without trying and it’s draining away at him.”
“Isn’t there anything you can do to help him?” Seles asked.
“If I try there’s a good possibility it will take me over,” Myden said. “I can’t let that happen.”
“Then what can we do?” she asked.
“Keep him grounded,” Myden said. “Brian needs someone to hold him in the real world. That’s all I can say for now.”
“You think he’s going to die, don’t you?” Seles asked.
Grey War Saga 1: Twilight of Innocence Page 3