The Ruins of Arlandia Complete Series

by William Wood

  The connecting tube took them onto the third level of the massive central dome. A perfectly round glass elevator in the center provided access to all levels. It looked like a bubble. Calvin walked to the railing and looked down. Every space of the main floor was full of computers and computer stations. It reminded Calvin of the bridge on Aleria’s Hope, only here, every computer was occupied by either a robot or an Alerian. There was a platform in the center of the chamber, elevated above the main floor at least halfway to the top of the dome. Acoustics inside were such that the commander could speak in a normal tone and volume and everyone inside could hear what he said without straining.

  They took the bubble elevator to the top of the pedestal, and stepped out to an amazing view. They had a perfect view of the entire dome, and because it was clear, they had the most amazing view of the inside of the crater, and every building that connected to the dome.

  At the top were four computer terminals situated around a large table-top computer monitor. Two men were sitting at the terminals. Calvin recognized one of the men as Commander Rale.

  “Give me a tactical view,” The King commanded. At the King’s command, an image of the solar system filled the table-top screen.

  “No,” Fulton said with a hint of frustration in his voice. “Give me a holographic view; whole dome.”

  The lights dimmed and the inside of the dome filled with a holographic image of the moon and surrounding star systems. Every single Alerian spaceship could be seen in the most stunning detail. It was as if the real ships had been shrunk down and were now flying around inside the dome, from the smallest fighter all the way up to Defender and Aleria’s Hope. Aleria’s Hope flew right next to the command balcony. Calvin leaned over the rail and looked down into the great ship, into the city dome; even the lake inside the city looked real. The moon rotated slightly above and in front of the pedestal. Right behind it was the planet Pentazia, which looked like nothing more than a lifeless rock.

  Calvin could understand why they built the base in the crater. It looked like it would be easier to defend. A ring of large guns stood around the rim of the crater. Not too far away was a large Goremog fleet, with a much larger No’Rath fleet right behind it. What Calvin had seen in a flash message; red and orange lines flowing into the moon, looked a lot scarier when he could see ships and formations. At least four huge fleets were converging on the moon from different directions, along with hundreds of smaller formations. The Alerian fleet circling the moon looked paltry in comparison to what was coming.

  “The next fleet is three hours away,” Commander Rale said.

  “Commander Rale,” Calvin said. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “And you. I’ve been reading your mission reports. Impressive work out there, Lieutenant.”

  “Thank you,” Calvin said. “Three hours, are you sure? Apart from the two battleships that you already dealt with, there was a Goremog fleet less than an hour behind, and a No’Rath fleet right behind them.”

  “I think you mean this group here,” Commander Rale pointed up to a part of map not far from the moon. There was a cluster of red dots, with a constant stream of reinforcements pouring into it. “They stopped right here, and most of their other ships are converging with it. I think they’re waiting until all their ships are present before attacking. When they do, it will be a massacre. By that, I mean of us.”

  “But they stopped.”

  “Yes, that one, but look over here,” Rale took Calvin to the other side of the pedestal and pointed to a red cluster. Calvin stared at it closely; it was moving!

  “That Goremog fleet will be here in three hours.” Also clustering nearby were several yellow groups. Rale identified them as the No’Rath. “There are thousands of hostile ships very close now. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  “On the positive side, it was nice of them to gather within range of our superweapon,” Calvin said. “I just hope it works.”

  “Me too,” Rale said somberly.

  “Speaking of the weapon,” King Fulton said. “I think I’ll go down and see how Astra is doing. Are you coming, Calvin?”

  “If you don’t mind sir, I’d like to stay here,” Calvin said.

  “No problem,” Fulton said and walked into the elevator. Commander Rale snapped to attention when the King passed. “I’ll keep you updated, my Lord.”

  “Thank you, Commander,” Fulton said just before the doors closed.

  Calvin took a seat next to Commander Rale. He was amazed by the total visibility he had of the system. He got up and walked around the platform and stared at the space fleets that continued to grow dramatically in size in empty space outside the Pentazian star system. But after fifteen minutes, he started to get restless. How long was it going to take Astra to get the weapon ready? Were they almost finished? Why hadn’t they called him? How long would it take him to run to the fusion chamber? The longer he waited, the more uncomfortable he became. Calvin thought it might be better to wait closer to Astra and the weapon, instead of watching the defense of the base happen around him. But Calvin had pent up energy and he needed something to do. He was about to walk to the elevator when something on the edge of the holographic map caught his eye. Two tiny red dots on the far edge of the dome were streaming towards the moon at high speed.

  Calvin pointed at the red dots, and was about to say something when Commander Rale announced out loud, “Incoming! There are two ships inbound. Send two light cruisers to the following coordinates!”

  Calvin walked over to the first computer terminal.

  The other man, a lieutenant said, “They’re scout ships. Probably unarmed.”

  “They’ve been doing this all day,” Rale said. “I believe they’re trying to get detailed sensor readings before they launch their main attack. We’ve been able to destroy them every time; but if just one of them manages to escape, they’ll report everything they see, and I believe that’s when the attack will begin.”

  Calvin watched in fascination as two Alerian light cruisers moved to the edge of the system. When the Goremog scout ships dropped out of hyperspace, the cruisers opened fire and blasted them out of space before they had a chance to move. It was impressive. Calvin relaxed.

  “The system is clear,” the Lieutenant stated. Calvin scanned the immediate area. No contacts near the moon.

  “For now,” Rale added. According to Commander Rale, the rest of the Goremog fleet wouldn’t move until they received updated information on what was waiting for them. But, to Calvin’s dismay, the Goremog fleets began lining up into columns. It looked like they were getting ready to jump into hyperspace.

  “It’s going to get crazy soon,” Calvin said.

  “It’s already started, look,” Rale pointed to the other side of the dome. Two systems away from the moon large Goremog and No’Rath fleets were engaged in combat.

  This is perfect, Calvin thought to himself. It was terrifying and awesome at the same time. At least they were blowing each other apart. Maybe that would give them a little more time. But then again, hopefully, they wouldn’t need it.

  An hour passed. The Goremog kept sending scout ships, and each time they were destroyed quickly. But for the most part, the situation in the last hour had not changed, except for one thing, there were now three major space battles waging between the Goremog and the No’Rath, and the Goremog were winning.

  When he got tired of sitting, watching and waiting, he decided to go find Astra. Commander Rale gave him directions, and Calvin left the pedestal. He took the bubble elevator down to the third floor. Calvin followed a series of tubes; left turn, right turn, down a long stair well and up a ramp. When he finally reached the dome he thought was the fusion chamber, he got a terrible surprise. It was a small empty hangar. Calvin turned around and tried to retrace his steps. Somewhere along the way he must have taken a wrong turn. He’d have to start over. But he quickly realized he was lost. Calvin wanted to stop and ask someone for directions, but he hadn’t passed a single p
erson. Where was everyone?

  Calvin jogged down the tunnel. When he reached an intersection where six different paths joined together he stopped and looked in each direction; they all looked the same. Now he really was lost.

  “This is it, this is how I’m going to die. When the big attack comes, they’re ready to fire the weapon and no one can find Calvin!”

  Calvin walked back and forth, looking down each tunnel. He was going to have to try each direction. Eventually he’d get it right, or run into someone that could help him.

  Fortunately, he was spared the additional exercise; Nils emerged from around a corner.

  “Hey,” Nils said. “What’s going on?”

  “Honestly, I was looking for the Fusion Chamber and got lost. Do you know where it is?”

  “Yeah, I was just heading back that way myself.”

  Calvin followed Nils down one of the twisty tunnels; three minutes later they reached a spiral staircase. They climbed up to a wide open area that looked like a central plaza that led off towards every area. The place still felt abandoned. He only saw three people running through the plaza.

  A loud boom echoed through the cavernous plaza. Calvin stopped and looked up.

  “It started!” Nils, who hadn’t stopped or slowed down, called back to Calvin. “Come on!”

  Calvin had to jog to keep up with Nils. They ran across the center of a wide rotunda and into a waiting elevator. There were only ten buttons; Nils selected the top floor. The elevator moved quickly upwards through the plaza, then out into open space, rapidly ascending the side of the crater.

  Calvin didn’t realize how far he was from the lab. If he’d known, he would have started for it much earlier. The sun was shining directly into the crater, giving the buildings a bright, shiny glow.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Nils slapped Calvin’s arm and pointed up. In space, above the base, dozens of fighters swarmed around each other in a deadly dance. Bright flashes of light shot back and forth. Every few seconds a bright ball of exploding white light announced the death of a ship. They were moving so fast Calvin couldn’t tell who they belonged to. Several stray shots reached down to the base, but caused no damage.

  The elevator stopped at the bottom of another dome, this one set on the edge of the crater. When they stepped out, Calvin was greeted with a very welcome sight. Like all domes, it was glass so Calvin could look up and see the stars, along with hundreds of Alerian space ships protecting the base. Aleria’s Hope was directly over the base. Somewhere up there, Ion was in charge of defending the base. Calvin was worried about him, and knew Ion would do whatever it took to protect the King, Queen, Astra and the weapon, even at the expense of his own existence.

  The room was a perfect example of pure chaos. Dozens of scientists rushed around the room from computer to power generator; tool center to workbench, shouting back and forth as they scrambled with a myriad of strange looking equipment items. In the center of the dome, sitting atop a round dais, sat the weapon. Its ten clawed arms pointed up towards space. Dozens of computers and other devices were plugged into it, cables snaked across the floor.

  Astra stood in the middle of the mess, barking orders, while Dev worked frantically trying to direct traffic.

  Calvin frowned; it didn’t look like things were going very well. Through the dome above, the small dogfight had grown larger. Several cruisers were now in the mix. Missiles streaked over the dome, exploding harmlessly against the rock wall. Debris careened into the base below.

  “Astra!” Calvin called, and began walking towards her. Armed guards stepped in front of Calvin and Nils, preventing them from getting near the weapon.

  “It’s OK,” Astra called out. “Let them pass.” The guards let them go, but watched them suspiciously.

  “We’re the ones that brought it here,” Nils said to one of them as they passed. The guard did not look impressed.

  “Does it have power now?” Astra shouted.

  “No,” A scientist answered. “Nothing!”

  “Try the main generator again,” Dev yelled.

  Calvin backed up towards the perimeter of the dome, well out of the way.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Nils said.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Calvin said, becoming very concerned. “They can’t power-up the weapon.”

  “I was afraid of this,” Nils said. “Two of the segments were heavily damaged, one was totally destroyed. I don’t know why we thought we could get it to work.”

  “Astra thought she could make it work,” Calvin said. “I still believe she can. I just hope we have enough time.”

  Suddenly a bright flash above the dome made everyone jump and look up.

  “No!” Someone screamed.

  “What was that?” Calvin gasped.

  “There was an Alerian cruiser, right there,” Nils pointed up to a spot near Aleria’s Hope.”

  “Not good at all,” Calvin muttered.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Nils said angrily. “There isn’t anything for me to do.”

  “I know exactly how you feel,” Calvin said. “I even volunteered to help defend the base in a fighter, but the King wouldn’t let me. He said I was too valuable. I’m the only Arlandian here. They’ll need me to help activate the weapon when they power it up.”

  “Well, at least you’re needed.”

  “Barely,” Calvin said.

  Calvin wandered to the wall of the dome and peered through the glass. An intense space battle now raged directly over the base. The base’s defensive cannons unleashed torrents of laser fire into space above.

  More and more ships were joining the battle. They were close enough to see that some were Goremog and some were No’Rath. The Alerian ships were becoming outnumbered.

  Three Goremog fighters darted into the crater and strafed the outer buildings of the base. Three pursuing Alerian fighters destroyed the first two effortlessly. The third was partially damaged and careened into the main dome, exploding into a ball of fire and causing the bases’ shields to flicker angrily.

  “Astra, you need to hurry up,” Calvin said quietly to himself.

  “I’m trying!” Astra shouted back.

  On the edge of the solar system, almost beyond visual range, thousands of purple hyperspace clouds erupted like miniature light storms. Most of the ships were too small to see; tiny black dots against the black of space. Intermixed in the fleet were half a dozen titan class ships; the main Goremog fleet had arrived. The remnant of the Alerian fleet remained over the base.

  “Where’s Ion?” Nils asked, looking around. “I figured he’d be here, working on the weapon.”

  “He took command of Aleria’s Hope,” Calvin answered. “He’s doing what he does best. He is a command series robot, after all.”

  “That makes sense,” Nils said.

  Calvin looked up. The battleship, Defender, positioned itself next to Aleria’s Hope, creating the ultimate weapons platform right over the base.

  “Calvin!” Astra called. “I need you!”

  Calvin felt a sudden thrill; the moment had finally arrived. He ran to the center of the dome and stood before Astra. She looked worried. She led him to the base of the weapon, to a computer station. There were two hand imprints on the screen. She put her hand on one, and indicated for him to do the same. He moved his hand up and placed his next to hers. There was a crescendo building up in his mind; he wanted to flinch as he put his hand on the screen, but didn’t. The screen lit up and a sound filled the chamber, the computer accepted both their DNA prints.

  Then, nothing happened. Astra’s shoulders slumped, and she growled.

  “Check the power segment again,” she said. “Check everything!”

  Calvin straightened up and stepped back.

  “Sorry, give me another minute,” Astra said.

  Activity in the dome exploded. Scientist ran in every direction, checking power cables, and every piece of equipment. Astra and Dev frantically moved around the weapon.

  Mo
re hyperspace clouds opened up, much closer this time. More No’Rath ships than Calvin could count poured in through the clouds, including four massive titans. Swarms of fighters and bombers poured into space like an evil plague. Three Alerian light cruisers were operating too far away from the main fleet and were caught by surprise, suddenly within range of the No’Rath ships. They were instantly overwhelmed; bright laser beams sliced through their hulls and they exploded in bright fireballs.

  The Goremog and No’Rath fleets met together in violent combat, with the last remaining Alerian ships caught in the middle. The smaller ships huddled close to the battleships, but the enemy picked them off one at a time.

  The Goremog and No’Rath fought each other with a savagery Calvin had never seen before. The base defense cannons opened up in a desperate attempt to protect the base.

  Calvin stared open mouth at the nightmare unfolding above him.

  “Hurry, Astra,” Calvin whispered.

  It became clear very quickly that the No’Rath were no match for the Goremog. Their numbers dropped rapidly.

  With less No’Rath targets to choose from, the Goremog turned their attention to the Alerians. Dozens of ships unleashed a violent storm of laser beams into Aleria’s Hope. The Defender turned and tried to help, but it was apparent the enemy was intent on taking down Aleria’s Hope first.

  The last Alerian cruiser was destroyed. Now there were only two Alerian ships left; Aleria’s Hope and Defender. For the moment, they were holding back the enemy. Calvin felt hopeful until a titan arrived. It was easily twice as big as Aleria’s Hope. It unleashed a nightmare on the two surviving Alerian ships.

  “Hurry Astra,” Calvin said louder. A massive detonation ripped through the aft section of Aleria’s Hope. With no fighters left to defend themselves, the mighty Alerian warships had to rely solely on their guns.

  “Almost there!” Astra shouted.

  Suddenly, thousands of explosions burst through the hull of Aleria’s Hope. The massive ship tipped over and careened towards the surface of the moon.