Lost Systems: Legacy War Book 2

by John Walker

  “Gnosis, this is search and rescue,” Dennis said. “I’ve got the pods and am requesting landing clearance.”

  “Granted,” Commander Bowman himself answered. “Tower’s online and ready to get you in. Board immediately. We’ll be dropping to hyperspace soon, so you’ll want to ensure you’re secure before that happens.”

  That power build-up must mean serious business. Okay then … I hope we can help you, Corey. Sorry it took so long.

  ***

  Nolan received the abort message twenty seconds before the mine would make it to its destination. I’m sure they’d rather us finish this up with such a short time left. The mine was nearly there, moving toward the Kalrawv Group vessel with a slow, determined purpose. They got it close enough that the bombs were no longer necessary to pull it.

  The hull of the enemy did the rest, but the enemy defenses kicked in, taking out the projectiles safely before firing on the mine. While the device didn’t make it to their hull, the resulting explosion brightened the entire area and was close enough to wreak havoc on their vessel.

  Shields dropped instantly and electrical sparks danced across the hull. Lights along the surface flickered and went out before coming back on. Nolan was too relieved it worked to celebrate and instead directed his people back toward the Gnosis. We probably just bought ourselves an easy trip out of here but at least it worked.

  The enemy fighters disengaged as their capital ship began to turn in place, seemingly disengaging from the battle. This afforded the Gnosis fighters a chance to get out without being shot in the back. “Return to base, folks,” Nolan announced. “Before we have to wait in line for all those fighter jockeys. Pretty sure we’re on our way home.”

  ***

  “Captain!” Vincent shouted, pointing at the screen. “The mine! They got it to detonate near the Kalrawv ship!”

  Desmond looked up briefly then turned to Salina. “Damage?”

  “Severe,” Salina replied. “Shields are down … They’re withdrawing.”

  “I guess we just had to bloody their nose enough to push them away.” Desmond scowled at the screen, considering his next move. “Put them on the com again.”

  Salina huffed in surprise. “It appears they are hailing us. On the open channel.”

  “Captain Bradford.” The computer translated in the same tone it always used but Desmond sensed nerves in the voice, a strain of stress. “We admit this battle is in your hands today and we are withdrawing.”

  “Too bad it had to come down to this,” Desmond said. “We didn’t have to fight it out.”

  “Our people rarely negotiate, and we will continue to hunt for Doctor Vaedra. But today, we all receive a reprieve.”

  Cassie called Desmond over and pointed at her screen. A large part of the Kalrawv ship broke off and the fighters attached to it. They moved away from the primary hull and started moving toward the edge of the system. “That’s basically the engine compartment and living quarters I think.”

  “Interesting … I guess they were too damaged to go into hyperspace otherwise.”

  “Good luck, Captain Bradford,” a static filled comment broke through the speakers. “If you survive this place, we’ll meet again, I’m sure.”

  “Want to give chase?” Zach asked.

  “No, we have our own problems.” Desmond pointed at Vincent. “How many pilots are back on board?”

  “All of them but Jeb and the marines,” Vincent replied.

  “We’ve got twelve minutes left,” Cassie said.

  Desmond shook his head. “I hope that pilot is as good as you say, Vincent. He’s going to have to seriously haul ass to get back here.”

  “Believe me, sir,” Vincent said, “he’s pretty ridiculous. If anyone can clear that distance in time, it’ll be him.”

  ***

  Heat continued firing, taking down another of the treaded automatons. The enemy weapons scorched the walls, causing static to dance in the air. Two at a time came down the corridor, firing the moment they had anyone in visual. Vine took a shot to the arm, but it didn’t slow him down so much as blacken the metal of his armor.

  “Gorman!” Heat shouted. “Do we have an exfiltration point? We ain’t going back the way we came!”

  “Yes,” Gorman replied. “Close by too. Three rooms away at most. Doors are open and we’ll need to get through the air lock.”

  “Screw the airlock!” Kelly yelled. “Let’s just blow it!”

  “We’d be tossed outside and not have any control,” Vine called back. “Not the best plan.”

  Heat shot another of the robots in what he assumed was the control center, mostly because it vaguely resembled a head. The dome lulled back and the robot kept coming until Vine blasted it in the torso. The unit exploded, shrapnel embedding in the walls. A decent sized chunk flew past Heat’s head and stuck in the ceiling a good two inches.

  “Wow, those things are really popping.” Heat checked his scanner but it was still messed up. He had no idea how many more might be coming. “Gorman, are we going to die here or what? Status!”

  “I’m just about done!” Gorman grunted back. “Wait! We’re good! Let’s go! Come on!”

  “Fall back,” Heat shouted. “Follow Gorman!”

  They hurried away from their cover and across the room, bursting through the door into a hallway barely large enough for them to get through in their power armor. Heat let them go first and tried to close the door behind them but couldn’t figure it out. Instead, he moved backwards, aiming his weapon at the entrance in the event one of the robots tried to squeeze in.

  Just as they reached the next chamber, Heat saw something glisten and fired. It was just the wall, that strange undulating metal texture. Damn, this place is unnerving!

  “The airlock is just over here!” Gorman arrived at a smooth wall and started working at his computer. “This … shouldn’t take long.”

  “Good,” Kelly said. “We haven’t had long for like three days.”

  “Stow it,” Gorman muttered, tapping away at his computer. A rectangle lit up and the wall parted, revealing another tiny room. “We’re through!”

  Heat turned to check the opposite way of where they’d come. The hallway was wider there and he saw another robot round the corner. “Pile in!” He called out, firing his weapon. He caught his target on the weaponized arm, blowing it into pieces. Sparks exploded from its side and it turned, bumping into the wall repeatedly.

  Piling into the airlock, the door closed and Gorman worked the next one. “Jeb!” Heat shouted. “You’d better be here, man!”

  “You’ll see me,” Jeb replied. “Jump when you’re free and we’ll meet up. Then, we’re in for one hell of a ride back to the Gnosis, believe me.”

  Heat shook his head and watched Gorman expectantly. The man tapped at the computer quickly, entering a similar code over and over. Just as Heat was about to say something, the door opened and all the air fled the chamber. Their boots sealed to the ground and the emptiness of space sat just outside.

  The shuttle hovered nearby, not quite five hundred yards away. Not a great distance, but enough to make their trip exciting. Heat directed the others to go ahead of him and he jumped last, engaging his thrusters. Flying toward their salvation felt like it was taking forever. The ship grew slowly at first until they were within fifty yards.

  They had to spin in place, each one slowing down so they didn’t hit the thing like a slow-moving missile. The back was open and Kelly landed first, getting out of the way for the others. Heat touched the ramp and Gorman grabbed his arm just as Jeb hit the thrusters. The ramp didn’t even close before they were nearly at full speed and the marines struggled to strap in.

  “Hold on to something,” Jeb said. “They’re going to hit hyperspace the second we land so … that’s something new.”

  Something new. Heat shook his head. Jeb had a way of making anything seem understated. It was a gift, one the man came by without effort. How he became so calm, no one really understood
but if ever the man got shot down, he’d probably just say he’d never tried it before and make the best of it.

  Heat turned to look out the window, noting the distant mines whizzing by. They were flying fast enough that the pressure held him tight into his seat. Scans still weren’t working but he tapped into the camera of the shuttle, noting their distance to the Gnosis. A timer also ticked down, showing five minutes.

  “What’s the timer, Jeb?”

  “Countdown to when we die,” Jeb replied. “We’re going to make this tight.”

  “How tight?”

  “Like … two minutes tight.” Jeb chuckled. “Sorry that we can’t make it more cinematic and pull in a five second or less thing. But hey, we’re talking about faster than light travel. We probably can’t get out of here fast enough for that drama to work. Am I right?”

  “You’re an idiot,” Gorman said. “And you probably need to be checked for how relaxed you are all the time.”

  “I was,” Jeb said. “Psych said she needed to get some of what I had. Turned out she was uptight too. Now, if you’ll excuse me, this is going to take some maneuvering concentration. One moment.”

  Heat watched the camera display in his helmet intently, chewing his lip. He didn’t want to be blown up by the planet, but he started to worry that Jeb might crash into the Gnosis. He wasn’t slowing down while heading straight for the hangar. He heard him tell tower control to clear the deck, that he was coming in hot.

  Christ, that’s going to be lovely.

  The timer showed three minutes and twenty seconds. The Gnosis was less than three hundred yards away and closing fast. As the shuttle drew near, Jeb hit the retro-thrusters and they were all jostled in their seats, the straps barely keeping them contained. Heat closed his eyes tightly against the force, gripping his seat until his suit bent the metal.

  The shuttle stopped suddenly and everything went still. Jeb chuckled again, calling back to the others, “was that a ride or what, fellas? Welcome home!”

  I’d give that man hell if I didn’t feel like taking a nap, Heat thought. That or I’ll offer him a hug. I’m not sure which.

  ***

  “Marines are aboard,” Vincent said.

  “Hit it, Zach.” Desmond pointed. “Get us out of here.”

  Zach initiated the hyperspace jump. Desmond watched the scanner, noting all they had was the build-up of energy, no other readings. It nearly reached what Cassie and Salina agreed to call critical. They had a minute and a half to go, if that. As space around them warbled, the dipped-out moments after a bright flash occurred to the left.

  Once in hyperspace, Desmond slumped in his chair for half a moment before sitting up straight. He didn’t have time to be relieved and needed to understand their casualties, determine if they got what they were after and ensure they could get home when they emerged at the other system.

  Work’s not done … despite surviving one of the scariest moments ever.

  “How’re we doing?” Desmond asked Salina. “Everything okay?”

  “Minimal damage … Our fighters experienced quite a lot. Those ships are going to take some repairs and we’ve got some casualties to contend with as well. Full report will be in your mailbox in the next half hour.”

  “Thank you.” Desmond turned to Vincent. “You’ve got the bridge. I’m going to do a visual check of the other departments and visit the marines.” He boarded the elevator and leaned against the wall, allowing himself a moment to relax. Tension seized his shoulders and his heart finally started to slow down.

  We had less than two minutes to live. The thought kept bouncing around his head. Even having escaped it, that time frame was frightening. Most of the crew probably had no idea how close they were to dying, to be annihilated by a detonating planet. He wondered how fast it would travel to them.

  Desmond hoped they succeeded and that such a risk proved to be of some value. He hated the idea that they had to walk away with nothing. If they failed to acquire the data, he couldn’t blame the Kalrawv Group. They made it harder to leave but they didn’t have anything to do with the alarm.

  Who sets up such a booby trap? What was the purpose? Desmond hoped they had something to explain the concept of blowing up a world to deal with trespassers. To call it extreme would be the biggest understatement since saying space was dangerous. He disembarked and headed for the hangar, too tired to be hopeful.

  At least we survived. If nothing else, I can say we got through the toughest event I’ve ever faced.

  Captain Bradford recognized his thought might also be a dramatic understatement.

  Epilogue

  Cassie sat in one of the tech labs, waiting for a meeting to start. After they emerged from hyperspace, they set about picking up the pieces of the hasty departure and assessed their casualties. Numerous injuries plagued the ship and there were a few deaths. Considering the mission, it was a miracle they came away relatively unscathed.

  The data recovered from the station provided Thayne and Gil with plenty of work. They put it through a translator, which ran for nearly five hours before returning legible information. Cassie arrived first to look through it followed by Salina. Together, they started piecing together a story of what happened.

  They planned to give a briefing to the senior officers in anticipation of a more intense meeting when they returned to Earth.

  The Kalrawv Group seemed to be just as big of a threat as the Tol’An, perhaps more so considering the way they fought. They seemed prepared to die to capture Gil and the data. Perhaps they had a plan to escape, some method to get away. Whatever the case, she gave them a lengthy write-up to give to her superiors.

  Such an organization definitely warranted scrutiny and as much observation as they could muster.

  Salina ran a long-range scan back to the system they had narrowly escaped. The planets and all the stations were obliterated by the explosion. What remained of the dying star would likely wink out in the near future. The whole area became little more than dead space, total emptiness.

  The detonation itself came from some sort of device, a powerful piece of technology which drew upon what was left of the star. Cassie thought about the threat which would spawn such a doomsday weapon. The culture must’ve been particularly worried if they elected to have their world destroyed.

  Unfortunately for them, their plan didn’t work, at least not back then. Maybe it was their parting shot, a long reaching snub to a future species who dared to excavate their home. Something told Cassie that wasn’t the case. They had a reason for what they did which was more immediate.

  The data from the station might well prove it.

  Vincent showed up first, pausing as he entered the door to offer her a nervous smile. “Hey there,” he muttered. “You been waiting long?”

  Cassie shook her head. “Not really. How’re things going?”

  “Good. We’re almost ready to get out of here and head home. Fighters are being repaired and we’ve got everything stowed. Should be an uneventful trip, all things considered.”

  “That’ll be nice.” Cassie brushed her hair back and leaned on the table. “Maybe we’ll get some downtime when we get back. Kinda doubt it … but I’m choosing to be hopeful.”

  “Me too,” Vincent agreed. “Speaking of which … I was wondering … you know, when we get back …”

  Captain Bradford stepped in, interrupting whatever Vincent was going to say. The commander stood up and nodded his head before Desmond took a seat. “Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

  “No, sir,” Vincent said. “We were just chatting.”

  “Will Thayne and Gil be joining us? Or Salina?”

  “We’re here!” Thayne called as he and Gil entered the room. “Sorry for the tardiness. We were conferring with Engineer Webber on a few important matters. I believe you’re all here to discuss the information we have procured and what it means for your people. I’m excited to say I know why the Tol’An are trying to combine the Orbs … However, they may be
misguided.”

  “Do tell.” Desmond’s eyes narrowed as he leaned forward in his seat, hands clasped on the table.

  “That station you were able to infiltrate was the last remnant of technology of an ancient species who called themselves Grax. They had spread to all the planets of their solar system, much like the others we saw. In some period of time long before the Pahxin even looked up at the sky and wondered if they could get there, these people traveled the stars.

  “They met the cultures near to them, even going so far as to assist them with their own development. Though we have seen they did not advance so far as the Grax, they were able to colonize worlds. Furthermore, contact seemed to die down between them. They exchanged ideas from afar but did not spend much time visiting one another. Exploration slowed.”

  “So what happened?” Desmond asked. “Did the Grax decide to attack the other cultures?”

  “Our research from the other planet would suggest so,” Thayne said, “but it appears to be something else. The signal did indeed originate from the Grax. However, it was intended as a distress call. They were asking for help but before the message could get out, it was corrupted … infected with a computer virus.

  “Because the other cultures shared technology, essentially from one of the Orbs, their computer systems were impacted by it. The AI at various positions went crazy and caused the destruction we’ve seen. However, back on the Grax home world, something impacted that star and caused the massive destruction of all those planets.

  “The stations survived, mostly intact, but the planets themselves became graveyards. No one survived. The last entries of the data we received talked about how they failed to save their people and that no one was coming to help. To the moment of their end, they believed their allies betrayed them when in reality, they were in just as dire a situation.”

  “Incredible,” Desmond said, shaking his head. “But if the signal only went to those worlds, why are the Tol’An worried?”