by Z H Brown
The main weapon of the Golden Flagship, having been charged to maximum power, took careful aim at the apparent corpse of its once-feared foe. As soon as they had a target lock, they fired. A stream of golden energy, identical to the one that had nearly destroyed the Throneship naught but a few weeks ago, roared through space before hitting its mark.
The huge form of the Star Eater was swept up in the attack, sending it flying away from the Armada. The intense light of the weapon, as well as the rapidly increasing distance between the fleet’s cameras and the creature, made it impossible for anyone to see what kind of damage had been inflicted upon their opponent.
The energy blast took the stunned form of the Star Eater halfway back towards the planet where it had demolished Attack Group Typhoon. If the allied forces had had anyone that could get close enough to establish a visual link, they would have seen what a toll the Golden Armada had taken on it. Its chest had been charred down to the bone, the golden scales seared black, and strips of blackened flesh extended up its neck and down its underbelly. One of its claws had been disintegrated in the attack, leaving a cauterized stump in its place. Both wings had small holes punctured through them, and had become tattered all along the bottom. On the creature’s face, half of the leathery flesh along the snout on the same side as its mangled eye had been burned away, turning a full half of the monster’s face into a scarred and burned mess.
The creature was not as motionless as it had first appeared to be. Its claws flexed and relaxed randomly, and its tail flicked to and fro. Its wings jerked slightly, as if it was trying to extend them even in its unconscious state. The twitching and thrashing increased and the beast’s one remaining eye fluttered open and closed as the invader struggled to awaken. Finally, after the thrashing increased to a violent tempo, the Star Eater awoke.
The pain of its new injuries was so great that for a moment, the extragalactic horror actually considered abandoning this star in favor of another, less defended one. However, as it began to take full stock of its wounds, it realized that it would not be able to out-run the detestable insects and their hives and swarms, and its rage blossomed anew; if it could not run from these pests, then it would destroy them utterly, before gorging itself on every star these pathetic things had ever worshiped. The Star Eater extended its wings to their full length, ignoring the pain that this caused it. It gathered its strength before launching itself forward, back toward the swarm that had recently thwarted it.
Amongst the defenders, the mood was nearly celebratory, but everyone knew that any presumptions about victory could quickly turn sour. The Armada dispatched a contingent of Venomous fighters, their lightning speed enabling them to accomplish recon work quickly. Unfortunately, this also allowed the hopes of everyone to once again be cut down.
“Negative on the kill, target still alive!”
The voice of the Imperium flight leader was broadcasted throughout the system. A few cries of despair, mainly from the survivors of Meteor and Typhoon, could be heard, but the rest steeled themselves for the fighting still to come.
The fighters wheeled around and raced back to their fleet while the Armada once again began activating missile launchers and powering up energy weapons. This time, however, the creature was not going to give them the chance to use them.
The Star Eater, once it came close enough to make out the ships waiting to be slaughtered, suddenly changed direction, diving perpendicular to to the fleet's line of fire for several seconds before leveling off. This evasive strategy worked well; the Imperium ships couldn’t get a lock on the monster even after it had entered firing range. Every few moments, the thing changed direction, moving erratically but obviously heading for the Armada.
The Golden Flagship, still recharging from its last attack, began positioning itself for its next move. As the target continued to move unpredictably, the technicians waited with tense stomachs and sweaty hands as the readouts showed the ship's slowly returning firing capability. Calls came in from high-ranking Imperium officers, asking for permission to deploy their fighters until they could get a lock, but their requests were denied; the Flagship was slowly preparing to fire.
The Star Eater had gotten so close to the fleet that it could now use its flame. Even if the beast hadn’t been killed, the many attacks had still taken their toll: the creature could no longer project its flame as far as it had before. Once or twice, the golden fire had flickered and died after emerging from the beast’s jaws, but it could still destroy a ship at short distance and was still powerful enough to overwhelm shields and armor.
As the nightmare bored down upon the Armada, the Golden Flagship reached its minimum firing capability. While nowhere near as powerful as a fully charged blast, it was still capable of gouging a massive crater in whatever it struck. The enormous vessel had been tracing the creature’s movements, their advanced software and analyzers able to discern the minutest of patterns, and thus positioning the ship to catch the invader in the middle of its dodge.
The Flagship fired; a much thinner, but still powerful beam of golden energy lanced out to intercept the attacker as it randomly moved through space. However, the eater of suns would not be caught unawares this time. The beam, while still incredibly fast and dangerous, was not as fast as the barrage that had stunned it earlier. At the last moment, the creature reversed course and curled around the blast, its tail-spikes being singed and slightly melted, but otherwise escaping unharmed.
The crewmembers of the Imperium Armada and the defenders watching elsewhere could only stare in open-mouthed disbelief at the acrobatic speed they had just witnessed. With everyone, including the crew of the flagship, was still trying to recover from their shock, no one reacted in time. The Star Eater opened its jaws, took careful aim at the fragile speck that had fired at it, and unleashed its flame.
The golden fire swept over the horizontally positioned flagship from below. The ship’s shield, powered directly by the Great Flame of the Golden Emperor, was weakened by the energy spent firing its two blasts. The normally powerful protective field shimmered, and then collapsed, allowing the bio-plasma to overwhelm the ordinary metal comprising the ship. The huge warship crumpled inward before exploding in a supernova of gold and orange.
The blast obliterated the Tamian Protector, ever present at its side, but it did not stop there. The sphere of destructive energy ballooned outward at a frightening pace; consuming every ship it came across. A few quick thinking captains ordered their ships to flee the blast zone. Some panicked helmsman collided with ships near them, destroying each other before the shockwave got a chance. While a few managed to put some distance between them and the Armada, it was ultimately useless. The blast expanded outward until the area that was occupied by the Golden Armada was temporally replaced by a new star.
The Star Eater spread its damaged wings to catch energy from the shockwave, riding it to safety. The creature first put some distance between itself and the explosion before swerving around the blast site and continuing toward its coming meal. While it felt primal satisfaction glowing inside of it with the destruction of so many upstart insects with a single blow, given the impediments it had faced so far, the extragalactic monster doubted this would be the last obstruction it would face. But no matter, let the bacteria come; they would all turn to ash beneath its flame.
At the scene of the beast’s recent devastation, all that could be seen were a handful of surviving ships and an orb of golden fire, pulsating silently in space.
Chapter XXXI
Conflagration
~Reports coming in are chaotic; it seems that the Golden Emperor and his armada have been annihilated. Imperium forces are in disarray, and Imperial forces are scrambling to secure the next line of defense. The invader has been badly wounded, but is continuing to advance on its target.~
-- Administrator Epsilon, updating Queen Zira in Shield Fleet.
The inhabitants of the bridge on the Throneship could only watch, helplessly, as their best and largest
defense went up in blinding light and smoke. Alvara had been forced to cover her eyes at the intensity of the explosion, before the video feed terminated at the destruction of the Tamian Protector.
Poor Diamond was trying to juggle dozens of incoming messages from Imperial commanders asking how to proceed in the face of this most recent setback. The Imperium’s communication channels were flooded with similar, but more desperate voices, all seeking to discover the fate of their beloved leader.
For a few moments after the destruction of the Armada, the defenders were fighting blind. No one doubted that the creature had survived the blast, and was even now swooping closer to its prey. Finally, a pair of frigates, survivors of Attack Group Typhoon arrived at the scene.
A new video feed was established, allowing everyone to see the true level of destruction that had consumed the Imperium fleet. The normally crystal-clear feed was filled with static and distortions, no doubt due to the cataclysmic energies released during the explosion. Still, even the compromised transmission couldn’t hide the defender’s loses. The spot where hundreds upon hundreds of Imperium warships had once gathered was now as empty as any other random place in space. The less-than-perfect transmission made it impossible to make out any debris, but Alvara’s sniper-trained eyes spotted active ship drives, showing that at least a few members of the Armada had survived. However, most curious was the anomaly that had also survived the destruction: plain to see like a sun in the midday sky, a globe of golden energy, sitting in the location formally occupied by the Golden Emperor and his flagship.
Xandarius’ eyes widened in shock as he saw the Golden Flame, that which had consumed his thoughts for nearly forty years, sitting out in the open. Diamond, Fornost and Eve’Rest all tried to engage the Emperor’s attention, but Xandarius would not be dissuaded.
Rising suddenly from his throne, Xandarius began marching toward the lift, while giving out orders as he went.
“Teleportation chamber, prepare for my arrival. Set coordinates for the site of the Golden Armada’s…former location.”
“My lord,” said Fornost, walking quickly beside his monarch, attempting to dissuade his single-minded action. “The situation is still extremely dangerous: the Star Eater is still out there, and once the Imperium learns about the Flame’s survival, they will surely try to collect it. We cannot battle both the beast and the Goldies at the same time!”
Xandarius came to a halt just outside the lift. “That is why I must move quickly, Arnor. The creature has no doubt resumed its prior path, and therefore should be no danger to me once I get there. And as for the Imperium, once the Flame is mine, we shall never have to fear them again.”
Guard Captain Fornost still seemed unconvinced. “Please, sire, allow me at least to accompany you. My place is by your side.”
Xandarius reached out and put a reassuring hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Your dedication is admirable, Arnor, but this is something that I must do alone. Supreme Admiral,” Eve’Rest straightened up at being addressed by his emperor. “You are to assume command of our forces until I return. Do not inform the Imperium of my intentions, and if any Golden ship tries to stop me, you have my permission to destroy them, and any ship that comes to their aid.” With that, Xandarius stepped into the lift, and vanished from the bridge.
Alvara, for her part, couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The loss of the Armada had been devastating enough, but to see Xandarius toss aside the future of his people and his galaxy for a personal matter was frankly shocking. With everyone’s attention still divided between the lost fleet, the Emperor’s departure and the continuing battle against the invader, Alvara was able to surreptitiously send a message to Ansaria.
Ever since the nightmare had become real, and the Star Eater had revealed itself from within its warp-field, Ansaria had had a white-knuckled grip on the command console in front of her.
She had watched with nearly unblinking eyes as the monster shrugged off the attacks of Attack Group Meteor with only minimum damage while killing hundreds of soldiers with each blow.
She had been one of those that had dared to hope that the countless stings of the fighters and drones of Attack Group Typhoon might be able to incapacitate the creature, only to see it burst through the second defense line and inflict even more losses. She had been so enthralled by the broadcasted carnage that she hadn’t even thought to check up on Critter and Tread. The incoming message to her TIG made her heart leap into her throat in fear, but relief flooded through her as she saw that both had survived the battle, even if Critter was stranded in his mech suite and awaiting pick up.
She had looked on in awe at the sheer strength of the Golden Armada, a testament to the military might of her people’s rivals. The utter number of ships dwarfed any fleet the Empire had ever faced, and with them, she'd thought, they would have a chance to overwhelm the creature…and for a moment, it seemed like she had been right, as the Armada’s barrage had inflicted savage wounds on the enemy. And then the monster had recovered, and obliterated the mighty force with a single attack.
Her bridge communication officer was trying to handle the deluge of messages flooding through the defender’s amalgamated network. Imperium forces were in disarray, with survivors of the last two defensive lines and those stationed elsewhere in the system all trying to make sense of what had happened.
When a new, less clear broadcast had taken the place of the one cut short by the fleet’s destruction, the Imperium ships and their officers took in the devastation and began reacting differently. Some of the commanders wanted to lead all Golden vessels and converge on the Star Eater to finish what the Armada had started. Reports were coming in of Imperium crewmembers, filled with despair at the loss of their ruler, committing suicide, some of them attempting to take their entire ship with them. A few hardliners placed the blame squarely on the Empire’s shoulders, and were advocating an immediate attack on their erstwhile allies, though thankfully cooler heads were so far prevailing.
When Ansaria realized she had gotten another message, and discovered what Xandarius was doing, she wondered if the peace would last much longer. Even through the grainy footage, it was easy to see the Flame, the source of the Golden Emperor’s power and dynasty, sitting intact in space. She had no doubt that the Imperium would likely try to send some of their own forces to collect or defend it and the presence of the Emperor of Xenlong would only complicate matters, if not push them all back into open war.
It wasn’t just the Imperium that was in disarray, though; with the beast still on the loose, the defenders of Attack Group Inferno were asking if the current plan still applied. The Imperium forces stationed there were busy arguing amongst themselves, but most remained in position. The survivors of Meteor and Typhoon fleet had arrived (save the carriers still waiting to gather their fighters) and were ready to engage the creature once more. With the Imperium forces in disorder, the reinforcements might be the only thing able to save Attack Group Inferno from total annihilation.
Beside Ansaria, Admiral Minos was talking quickly into his comm., asking the Supreme Admiral if Attack Group Lightning should break formation and try to stop the beast at the fourth defense line. Reports were coming in of Imperium vessels fleeing the battle, while others had taken potshots at both their fellow ships and Imperial craft, though these were few in number. The bridge was deafening as alarms, status reports, shouts and questions filled the air. The noise was making it hard for Ansaria to think, but finally, after a few moments contemplation, she spoke.
“Admiral Minos, our fleet shall remain here as part of Attack Group Lightning.” Her even, confident tone caught the admiral’s attention. He paused in the middle of his current conversation to allow her to explain.
“So far we’ve managed to wear the creature down and inflict some rather serious wounds. I believe that our current plan is still the best one we have to slaying that monster. If Inferno can’t take it down, then it might inflict just enough damage so that we, and the T
hroneship, can finish the job.”
Minos nodded absently to himself as he went over Ansaria’s plan. When he spoke, it was into the comm.
“Supreme Admiral…please disregard my previous inquiry. Captain Dormus and I believe we should stick to the original battle plan.”
Aboard the Throneship, Supreme Admiral Eve’Rest took the suggestion to heart, and announced to all allied vessels that the original plan was still in place, and that Inferno and Scorpio should both prepare to engage the creature. This declaration calmed many of the worries and returned a sense of direction to the battle; even the Imperium ships had latched onto the strategy, as it gave them a chance to avenge their fallen emperor.
Ansaria found her grip relaxing from its iron lock on the console. Admiral Minos came to stand next to her, his thick arms clasped behind his back.
“Well done, captain; a clear head is an invaluable commodity aboard a warship.”
“Thank you, admiral. I just hope I made the right call.” With a twinge of worry, she remembered that Slog would soon be facing the creature in combat. “…and that Slog stays safe.”
The blinding flash of light briefly illuminated the graveyard that contained the only remains of the Golden Armada and the Emperor of Infinite Starlight. As the light faded, it revealed a single figure floating in the vacuum, his silvery armor glowing with the reflective light of the Golden Flame that hung nearby.