Terranus: Origins: Book one of the 'Terranus' series.

by Joe Crouch

  “We estimate it to be between one and two hundred ships, but they are spread thinly across different sectors, other than that we do not have much more to go on.” The bridge fell into a sombre silence, two hundred ships were far more than the Ioution fleet had encountered before, it was more than they believed the Xuron even possessed, and now they were kicking in the galaxies front door without even wiping their feet.

  “How did we ignore such a build-up may I inquire, Admiral,” Fez said, a certain pensiveness in his voice, “It is far too large a fleet to simply hide from our sensors, we would have detected something.”

  “That is a good question, Captain, and it is one I currently have no answer for but rest assured we have intelligence working gathering intel for our response, which will be swift and righteous, is there anything else you wished to ask?” the Admiral added.

  “Not right now, Sir, send our instructions to my terminal and I will disseminate them to my crew, Feghouli out,” Fez said, cutting off the transmission. A macabre silence fell upon the bridge. Now was the time, the Xuron had begun their invasion of the outer worlds decimating the little resistance those under-developed planets could offer. The crew knew they were at war, everyone did, but their interaction with it was so few and far between that now, as every ship was called into action, the grim dawn suddenly fell upon them. Sean walked over to where Fez sat, his face a picture of concentration and worry.

  “So, what are our plans, Captain?” he asked, he was serious, stoic, he knew the consequences of what just happened, this was a scenario with a high probability of failure, one that he nor anyone else aboard the Mar’Ell should expect to survive. Fez tilted his chair back, clasping his hands together while letting out an exasperated sigh.

  “Now,” Fez said, pausing to look him in the eyes, “Now we go to war, it will not be pretty, there is nothing glamorous about what is about to occur, the extermination of another race is something we as a species abhor, but it must be done. This sector of the galaxy is at great risk and as its ruling power we have a responsibility to uphold and protect the peace and it isn’t a task we take lightly, either.” Fez paused, swinging in his chair he tapped his long fingers against his armrest, “Many worlds out here are like your own, not primitive by any means but lacking the resources to produce a worthwhile fleet, although your race seems quite adept at constructing machines of war, I must say.”

  “We’ve had some experience…” Sean admitted, attempting to play down his races past.

  “Well, it will serve you well in what is to come, this is not a game, lives will be lost, millions, no billions may be lost.”

  “I’m right behind you, do you think I should contact Earth and request their assistance?” he asked, conflicted about if he wanted their relatively small, but powerful fleet involved at all. Pondering the thought for a moment, Fez replied.

  “I think for now Earth would be best served protecting herself, I trust your ruling body will now have a defensive plan in place for any future incursions, so let’s allow them time to implement it properly.” Fez bolted out of his chair as commands from the Admiral flashed across his screen, bringing the report up Sean glanced over and saw images of obliterated flotillas slowly orbiting planets, their debris was mixed with destroyed orbital platforms, the heavy black scarring a clear indication of sustained plasma fire. Fez flicked through the pictures, each one displayed a different scene of chaos, small cities had been virtually levelled, crumbling skyscrapers were the only clear and obvious survivors, although judging by their state, by the time anyone else arrived they may have already collapsed.

  “That’s incredible…” he trailed off, staring blankly at the pictures that flashed across the terminal, “They have no moral compass, why would they kill everyone?”

  “It is strange indeed, I’m surprised they didn’t capture the population and use them as incubators for newer Xuron soldiers,” Fez said, drawing a confused look.

  “Xuron incubators?” he asked, “You mean they stuff eggs inside people and wait for a baby to pop out?” The thought raised hairs all over his body.

  “They have two ways of using a host, depending on their physiology, they can either impregnate the potential host, their body acting as a shield and haven until their own are ready to hatch,” Fez said, “Or if the host is right, they simply destroy their genetics, morphing their genome into a designed Xuron, the process is long, but it allows them to breed an offspring for a specific role.” His world seemed to crumble around him, the sheer thought that they could take his body and turn it into one of them disgusted him, shaking it off he looked around the bridge, the look in everyone’s eyes surprised him, no longer were they afraid, but they had a vengeful twinkle in their eyes.

  “So, where we headed?” he asked, turning his mind away from the body snatchers.

  “Catarmi-IV, it’s a Kesk outer rim world, it houses a large mining operation there, the Kesk use it as a staging base for exploration into deeper space.”

  “The Kesk?” he asked, “I’ve never heard of those before.”

  “They’re a fairly reclusive race, their body is covered in fur, their large eyes seem to mesmerise you every time you stare…” Fez said, fading off, snapping his fingers Sean broke him out of his hypnotic stance.

  “So they’re like walking, talking gerbils? Gotcha’” he smirked, drawing a confused look, “So why are we headed here out of all the worlds?”

  “This is where command has predicted the next attack will be, it is a logical choice.” Nodding, he walked away leaving the busy Captain to continue with his work, after hearing the story of Xuron transformation he felt like he needed a long cold shower to cleanse himself, so he made his way back to his cabin. Stepping out from the shower his door console began to beep, alerting him.

  “Come in,” the door snapped apart, revealing Taris, who was propped up against the frame in a casual lean, eyeing him up and down she smiled and strolled in.

  “Well, this definitely isn’t the welcome I was expecting,” she smiled, “But don’t mind me, I’ll just take a seat riiight here,” she said as she plopped down onto the chair nearest the door, putting her feet up on the table.

  “What do you want, Taris, you haven’t come to tell me any Xuron stories, have you? I just got finished washing the last one out of my system.” She looked at him, confused.

  “Xuron stories? What are you even on about?” she snapped, planting her feet firmly on the floor, “Nope, I’ve come to tell you we’re leaving soon, so you better report to the bridge… Unless you have some spare time?” she grinned, leaning forward.

  “… Get out” he groaned, using every ounce of will he could muster, “Get out or I’ll turn my fingernails into steel and force you out.” Taris’ face lit up.

  “You can do that?” she questioned.

  “GO,” he shouted, grabbing the Ioution he managed to push her outside his quarters, “Sari, lock my door and reject all requests.” Sitting on the edge of his bed, he couldn’t help but have a chuckle at her expense, their exchanges were one of the few things that reminded him he was still him.

  * * *

  “… And plot the course, maximum speeds,” Sean walked onto the bridge in the middle of Fez barking orders to his officers. Slumping down at his terminal, he brought up their plotted course, the computer calculated the distance and travel time at various speeds – they would be there sooner than he had expected.

  “We’re arriving in a rush, aren’t we?” he said over his shoulder to the relaxed Fez.

  “Pushing the slip reactors is never a great idea, but we can achieve speeds that will be beneficial,” Fez turned to look at the countdown in front of him before tuning into the shipwide comms system. “This is Captain Feghouli, I will keep this brief. The Xuron have begun their invasion of the outer worlds and conquered some important locations, it is our task, with the aid of the entire Ioution and allied fleets, to push back this invasion and purge the sector of the Xuron threat. Be prepared for anythi
ng, be ready for everything, this is what we all enlisted for so let’s get to work.” Fez looked around at his bridge crew knowing he wasn’t the most motivational speaker around, but it seemed to have done its job, everyone was alert and fired up, “Helm, engage,” with the course and speed laid in, the build-up of power that surged through the ship could be heard through the walls, and with a crashing boom, the ship slipped into speeds that were unimaginable to the Human mind.

  * * *

  The Mar’Ell crashed out from its slip field as the local space distorted around her. The ship took a few moments to get her sensors back in alignment and what they saw left everyone shocked. Their terminals were filled with signatures big and small, friend and foe, ships from all over the sector had arrived and were engaged in a large-scale battle over Catarmi-IV. “Tactical, where are we in relation to that…” Fez’s words were interrupted as a plasma bolt slammed into the ships shielding rocking everyone in their seats, Fez regained his composure, “Gain a lock on that ship and open fire.”

  “Yes Captain,” came the response. The bridge exploded into a hive of activity as everyone was heads down in their terminal, all Sean could do was watch on from his screen and see how the action unfolded. “We have a lock, Captain.”

  “Very well, open fire with forward heavy batteries,” Fez said, remaining the calming influence his bridge crew needed. Switching to the outside cameras, he watched as a charge built up on the nose of the Mar’Ell, a brilliant red beacon illuminating the night sky before it unleashed a wave of terror towards its target. The concentrated energy streaked across the empty space as bolts of lightning seemed to spark out from its surface before impacting the small Xuron ship. The first bolt did little damage, crashing into the shields and lighting the ship up like a festival, but the second and third strikes slammed into its hull, superheating its surface and turning it into slag. A cloud of green mist ejected from the insides and expelled into space, before long the vessel was adrift, coursing through the area with no purpose other than to be an obstacle.

  “Woo, hell yeah,” Sean cried out, “Good work everyone,” he looked around, noticing that no one had joined in with his celebration and sinking back into his workstation he put his head down, trying his best to pretend it never happened.

  “Are there any more inbound threats,” Fez questioned.

  “None heading for us, Captain, we will need to take the fight to them.”

  “Very well, take us closer, charge the forward batteries past their accepted limits, we need all the firepower we can get,” Fez said, “And get me a number on what’s out there, I would like to know what we’re up against.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Sean once again watched his terminal, zooming in on the action that was still relatively far away. The ships blurred into one large blob at the distance they were at, weapons fire sparked and streaked across the black background creating a fantastical light show that wasn’t abating. Picking up speed, the Mar’Ell sped towards the ensuing battle, the engines vibrated as they were pushed past their confines in the hope that they could save as many lives as possible. They were still thirty minutes out even at their uppermost speed, there was nothing they could do from this distance but watch, their energy weapons would dissipate well before they hit anything, now would be the perfect time for the Human railguns to perform their intended actions, the kinetic weaponry the Mar’Ell had aboard was still damaged.

  As they closed in on the fighting, the damage sustained by both sides became apparent, wreckages lumbered in-between the battling ships, their previous form only barely recognisable under the charred and twisted metals. “Captain, we count twenty-six friendlies and eighteen Xuron, but we still believe they have the firepower advantage considering our fleet composition,” the news was grim, a dejected Fez glanced over towards Sean who could offer no respite other than to encourage his friend.

  “Comms, contact all Ioution fleet vessels and have them gather in front of the weaker ships, we must protect our partners as much as possible,” the affirmative reply allowed Fez to draw up plans for the upcoming assault. The Mar’Ell communicated with the other Ioution vessels in the vicinity, instructing them to form a blockade for as much of the weapons fire as possible and before long, the ships were beginning to move into position.

  “Captain, we have new contacts, it looks like a fighter swarm, the Tar’Ell carrier is starting its launch procedures to counter, what should we do?” Fez browsed the room searching for answers, the Mar’Ell wasn’t carrying anywhere near a full contingent of fighter craft, the best they could hope to achieve was to be a minor distraction, stopping the Xuron swarms ganging up on the weaker Kesken ships.

  “How many fighters do we have aboard?” Fez asked, silently hoping he had misread the ships manifest.

  “Seven Captain,” the reply came, “And even those are older models,” Fez slammed his fist into his console with such force it made the entire crew jump from their seats.

  “Prepare the crew and launch the fighters when ready, ensure they’re on defensive duties only, intercept any enemy fighters which stray too close to the Kesk fleet,” Fez ordered after composing himself. The battle raged on, the Mar’Ell was almost in range for weapons but her view was obscured by a large explosion that flashed onto the long-range viewer, a Kesken destroyer shattered in a flash of brilliant orange and yellow, the fireball quickly dispersed as the ship’s remains floated motionless, joining the others in what would now be a memorial for the dead.

  “Oh shit,” Sean shouted, “That looked like a big ship, we really need to get our defences in place and soon.”

  “It was a Kesken destroyer, close to three-hundred would have been operating that vessel, their sacrifice will not be in vain,” Fez said, his voice boomed off the enclosed walls. He swayed in his seat as the grav-plating adjusted for the Mar’Ell’s sudden stop and turn, they were now positioned between the weaker Kesken ships and the manoeuvring Xuron fleet, other Ioution vessels were slowly drifting into position, blocking any potential shots. “Forward shields to maximum, arm point defence turrets and set them to auto-fire,” Fez yelled, “Those fighters won’t know what hit them.” Small beams of energy began to lance out from the ship’s surface flashing towards the incoming Xuron fighters, it was a tactic the Xuron’s had experienced before so their small craft frantically attempted to dodge the incoming weapons fire.

  “Captain, our fighters are ready to launch,”

  “Give the order,” Fez said, “We need every weapon out there.” Switching to the hangar’s internal camera, he watched as the Ioution fighters hovered gently above the decking before crashing out past the shielding and thrusting into space, their grav-drives distorted the view he had of the vessels. A familiar rumble came from within the ship as her forward weapons began to build power, their strike would need to be co-ordinated to make a dent in the well-equipped Xuron fleet that was bearing down on their position, their plasma fire flew waywardly past the Mar’Ell.

  “Why are they not hitting us?” he asked, puzzled.

  “They’re trying to hit the Keskens, the bugs are ruthless and will do anything to demoralise the fleet,” Fez replied and before he could get another word in the ship rocked heavily to port as a large plasma bolt slammed into their shields, making everyone on the bridge hold on for their own lives.

  “Return fire on whatever hit us,” Fez cried.

  “A Xuron cruiser, Captain, it’s heavily armoured and has taken a liking to us, it’s charging weapons again,” a few moments of silence passed, seeming to pierce the frantic activity that had been occurring until recently, “Firing,” the Officer declared. Two large bolts streaked from the front of the Mar’Ell, zig-zagging across space until they splashed against the Xuron hull, lighting the entire section a brilliant white.

  “Minimal damage, Captain,” a worried Officer cried out, “Shall we increase power to the forward batteries?”

  “Yes, also bring the missile batteries online, divert power from aft-shielding if i
t’s needed,” Fez ordered. The roof of the Mar’Ell powered open, splitting in two and leaving a large opening where armour once stood, slowly rising out was a cylindrical structure, hexagonal openings were littered across its face, he watched as it snapped into position and began to track the Xuron cruiser.

  “Oh man, I never knew you had these,” he gasped, excitedly.

  “I bet there’s a lot you don’t know about,” Fez admitted, smirking over his shoulder. Turning back to his console, he watched as the Ioution fighters shot across space at great speeds, pulling turns Human craft could never achieve, to his dismay, he watched as one of their craft was clipped by plasma fire that tore the wing from the hull and sent the Ioution craft into an uncontrolled roll.

  “Fez,” he shouted, “One of our craft just got taken out, we’re a man short,” he was panicked, the war now seemed real to him. The loss of life brought about different emotions in everyone, strength in some, weakness in others, but it was his time to act, to pay back what they had done for him regardless of how he felt about it.

  “The other fleet vessels will make up the difference, the pilot's life will be remembered once we emerge victorious,” Fez barked.

  “I’m not waiting that long,” he replied, jumping out from his chair and sprinting towards the hatch that led off the bridge.

  “Where are you going?” Fez yelled, watching as Sean stopped, turning to look him dead in the eye.

  “I’m going out there,” he said, pointing out towards the battle that was raging…

  Chapter 19

  This is it, this is my time to shine, be the hero I’ve always wanted to be and to show everyone what Sean Maguire can do. I’m not a deadbeat nor am I incompetent, regardless of what others say, this will be my crowning moment and one that my family and everyone back on Earth will remember me by.