by Z H Brown
The beam struck the creature in its wounded, exposed spine. The invader threw back its head and its flame died as its body seized in anguish. The Emperor’s Blade did not sit idle, as it used the distraction to put on a burst of speed to escape. The beleaguered ship knocked the stunned beast aside but the beating its shields had taken caused them to give out and part of the massive body to strike the actual vessel; turrets, sensors, antenna and thin pieces of the hull snapped off and trailed behind the Imperial ship.
Once the creature had recovered from the attack and saw its prey fleeing, it turned its wrath to a new target. With eyes wide with all-consuming anger and bursts of flame coming from its maw, the Star Eater descended upon the Gilded Stinger.
Ansaria had watched the valiant effort of Inferno and Scorpio fleets from the bridge of her own vessel. No less than six different ships were broadcasting footage from the battle, giving the captain multiple different angle options. But to Ansaria, the different views weren’t different at all: they all showed a nightmare that no one seemed able to wake up from. Ansaria watched as the invader attacked the Emperor’s Blade with wild abandon, ignoring the myriad of other ships attempting to stop it…as well as seemingly ignoring the ship that had caused its worst wounds: the Firestorm.
As the beast struck blindly at whatever target it could get its claws on, a thought began to grow at the back of Captain Ansaria's mind: it was unlikely that the assembled ships would be able to stop the terror even in its weakened state. The combined fleets had lost so many ships, that she wasn’t sure if even the waiting Shield Fleet would be able to stop the Star Eater if it escaped and fed; which meant that it was up to Attack Group Lightning, Sunstorm fleet and the survivors of the other Imperial and Imperium forces to make a stand here, together.
The young captain watched, her mind trying to cobble together a winning strategy, as the Gilded Stinger charged ahead to engage the beast. With it temporarily stunned, the Blade was able to make a break for it, heading for the safety of a small flotilla of Imperial ships. And as the beast recovered and turned to destroy its new attacker, which continued to unload with every weapon in its arsenal, she knew what she had to do.
“Get me a line with Supreme Admiral Eve’Rest,” she said, her loud and authoritative voice able to break through the haze of terror and despair that was slowly clouding everyone’s mind. The comm. officer snapped out of whatever private future horror his mind had constructed and obeyed.
The gravelly, artificial voice of the Imperial commander issued from her TIG. “This had better be good, captain.”
“Admiral, sir, if we are to win this and save our galaxy, then we need every ship available for the final assault. I need you to authorize a strategic retreat so that the survivors of Inferno and Scorpio can rendezvous with Lightning and Sunstorm. Only together can we end this once and for all.”
The other end was silent, and every moment that passed without a response caused a noxious pit to grow within her stomach. Every moment they wasted meant they had less and less chance of forming a fleet with enough firepower to end this.
Instead of Eve’Rest, another voice came in over the comm., accompanied by an echo beside her.
“I endorse this plan, admiral,” said Admiral Minos. “The Firestorm has proven a devastating weapon; we need to get it out of harm’s way, along with as many other ships as we can save for the final battle.”
Another few moments of gut-churning silence before: “Very well, I will issue a new order to our ships and inform the Imperium forces of our plan. Eve’Rest, out.”
Ansaria breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to give the admiral a nod of thanks. The hulking warrior returned the gesture before turning his attention to the battle. Ansaria’s gaze followed his and her hands once again clenched painfully hard on the command console.
Slog, get out of there!
As the Star Eater engaged the Gilded Stinger, the retreat order came over the network. The Emperor’s Blade was the first to jump away, quickly followed by its personal entourage of ships. Other Imperial ships and some of the Imperium vessels were also jumping away, with others moving to engage the beast to give cover for the rest.
Slog’s gaze continuously flittered between his instruments and Captain Krum. The main weapon of the Firestorm was still a few minutes away from being ready to fire, and Slog was uncertain if the captain would keep the ship here to engage the beast once more, or follow the Supreme Admiral’s orders. Just as Slog was about to voice his question, one of the bridge crewmembers spoke up.
“Sir, we are prepared to jump - on your order.”
Krum watched the display of the battle between the Stinger and the Star Eater. In truth, it wasn’t a battle: it was a slaughter. The Imperium warship was firing everything it had at the monster point blank, but nothing was stopping it. Before it could charge up its main weapon, the extragalactic horror was upon it, its flames washing over its shield, which was quickly overwhelmed. The beasts wounded hands lashed out, tearing apart the vessel piece by piece. An advancing force of Imperium vessels was unable to save their leaders, as the ship and its courageous crew were consumed in an orange-tinted explosion.
After witnessing yet another act of carnage, the captain did the only thing he could:
“Jump.”
With the simple command, the Firestorm disappeared from normal space, along with a dozen other Imperial vessels. Their departure went unnoticed by the enemy, which turned to engage the still attacking Imperium ships. Unfortunately, none of them had anything comparable to the Stinger’s weapon, and their blasts, beams and barrages did nothing to deter the enraged monster. Golden fire consumed two of the ships, while a massive tail destroyed a tri-horned vessel. Flames and claws were sufficient enough to destroy the remaining nearby interlopers.
By the time it had finished with the Imperium forces, most of the other ships had jumped away. In its blood-haze, the beast lashed out blindly; destroying a trio of stragglers before it realized that it was alone, save for the debris of its latest rampage.
Rather than rejoice at the retreat of its enemies, their disappearance only served to enrage it further. Its majestic body had been mangled by the microbes, and no matter how far they ran, there wasn’t enough space for them to hide in before it found them. Ignoring the pain of its hunger and focusing only on the pain consuming its body, the invader gave another silent scream of pure fury, before spreading its wings once more to find and punish the last of the specks.
Chapter XXXII
Thunderstruck
~Emperor Xandarius still has not returned to the Throneship, and the surviving forces are preparing for a final stand around the star; Admiral Eve’Rest has advised Shield Fleet to prepare for combat.~
-- Administrator Epsilon updating Queen Zira in Shield Fleet.
The joint Imperial/Imperium redeployment began to arrive; groups of ships began appearing, the ships of A.G. Lightning and Sunstorm fleet moving with military precision to make way for the new arrivals. Ansaria’s eyes raked the starscape, looking for Slog’s ship. Part of her knew that she could just as easily contact him personally, but she was afraid that if she took her gaze away before seeing that her friend was safe, some unexpected catastrophe would claim him.
More than anything, Ansaria wished that her squad was with her. Truthfully, if at least Alvara was by her side, the calming steadiness her friend exuded would have been enough to steady her nerves.
A pair of warships passed silently by, and behind them, a relatively short distance away, was the unique visage of the Firestorm. Ansaria could feel her muscles relax slightly; so far, two-thirds of her squad had faced the beast personally and come out of it alive. She was thankful for their luck so far, but her beleaguered mind, body and soul made her wonder just how long their luck would hold... or if victory could only come with the deaths of all the defenders.
On board the Throneship, Alvara jumped slightly as her TIG beeped to indicate an incoming message. She activated the comm. an
d was relieved to hear her friend’s voice. “Enjoying the scenery from the main bridge, M? The Stormfront’s nice, but it doesn’t have the panoramic view.”
Alvara gave a light laugh at Ansaria’s attempt at levity. “Sure, the view is nice, but I ordered a drink half an hour ago and it has yet to be delivered.” She waited for Ansaria’s own tired, strained laugh to finish before asking: “I doubt this is a social call, captain'; is there something you need to tell me or…” she let the question dangle.
Ansaria caught on to her worry. “Everyone’s safe, 'Vara. I can see Slog’s ship, trying to find some elbow room in all this mess.”
Another wave of relief swept through Alvara. “Thank whatever higher power is apparently on our side. So I guess now we’re just waiting for Tread and Critter to get here before the five of us slay the monster by our lonesome?”
Ansaria laughed again, a real, more satisfying laugh. “We’re good, M, but even we aren’t that good,” her voice turned serious. “But that is the other reason I called: I want you to power up the Lancer, and the instant you have a shot, you put a beam trough that despicable lizard’s skull, understood?”
Alvara clenched her jaw, drawing determination from her best friend’s drive. “Roger that, captain.”
Suddenly, Diamond announced to all present:
~Patrol craft report the creature is rapidly nearing the attack area.~
The message was repeated throughout the united fleet. The reinforced ships increased their speed, trying to get into a viable attack pattern. As the bridge crew grimly began preparing for battle, Ansaria spoke up once more.
“Just remember, M: no matter how this ends for us, at least it will be the end. Good shooting, sergeant.”
“Thank you, captain,” was all she said before the line went silent. As Alvara began powering up the Lancer, and taking deep steadying breaths, she caught some of the conversation between Supreme Admiral Eve’Rest and Colonel Fornost.
“Any word from the Emperor?” asked the Guard Captain.
“No. Our sensors still detect the Flame, and His Majesty’s suit is still transmitting a position and life signs, but so far, nothing.”
“Should we send someone to investigate? One of our patrol craft, or perhaps some ships from Attack Group Typhoon?”
“Typhoon is still reclaiming its fighter craft and trying to sort out casualties. As for sending a local ship, I worry that could draw attention to our leader and his undertaking from the beast. For now, our focus should remain on the task at hand. His Majesty is more than capable of taking care of himself.”
In a patch of space littered with debris, a globe of golden fire throbbed and pulsated wildly. If anyone had been there to observe it, they would have seen the orb shrink a fraction, before returning to its previous size, expanding and shrinking in a irregular pattern. If anyone had been there to see it, and if they could have somehow seen into the interior of the orb, they might have been able to see the outline of a bipedal figure, its limbs stretched out to their maximum, its body taut and motionless.
This had been going on since Xandarius had entered the alien Flame. Whatever was happening to the ruler inside was known only to him, his silent, immobile figure forming the core of the fireball. And if any had been there to see the emperor’s endeavors, they would have noticed the changing size of the Flame to start occurring at more regular intervals.
If anyone had been there to witness it, they would have seen the orb beginning to gradually shrink, with the figure inside beginning to glow brighter and brighter…
The Star Eater continued on its enraged warpath, and as it drew closer to the nourishing sun, its hunger began to grow. Its eyes, used to staring into the overwhelming light of the cosmic inferno, picked out a mass of indistinct objects blemishing the face of its next celestial meal. It knew that the objects were more of the pitiful specks, looking to make yet another stand.
Their defense didn’t matter. This close to the sun, its body drank in its incredible energy, which reinvigorated it, taking the some of the sting out of its wounds. This close to its goal, there was nothing in this galaxy that could stop it from feeding…
Its first encounter with the defenders came sooner than expected. Patrol ships, dispatched after witnessing the scale of destruction inflicted upon Attack Group Meteor, converged upon the invader. The flotilla was comprised of mainly small, nimble frigates, led by an Imperial cruiser, the Dedication Cubed.
The two forces rapidly converged; the diminutive vessels coming from a half-dozen different angles, all unloading with their laser and plasma weapons. Most of the attacks bounced harmlessly off the nearly-impenetrable hide of the creature; a few shots struck the vulnerable wounds, but there simply wasn’t enough firepower present to have any real affect. The great beast lashed out with its fire, destroying opponents two or three at a time until the Cubed was the only remaining ship. Its powerful cannons unleashed waves of purple and pink energy, aiming for the monster’s ruined eye. The extragalactic nightmare ducked and dodged the pinpoint blasts, narrowly escaping some of the blasts from the super-accurate computer system and dedicated gunners. In the blink of an eye, it had closed the distance between itself and the ship. The Dedication Cubed fired a barrage at point blank range, the beast diving under the attack to strike the vessel’s underbelly. The Imperial ship’s shields faltered beneath the titanic strength of the giant monster, and its claws tore into the metal before it was ripped apart. Sensitive sections of the ship began exploding, washing the Star Eater in painful explosions before the whole thing exploded, ending the torment of the surviving crew members. The creature roared silently in triumph and pain before continuing towards its next victims.
Ansaria’s gaze leapt from one view of the battle to another; the patrol fleet's admirable defense had lasted barely more than a minute, the scene of the battle captured by long-range cameras from Lightning’s position, while the allied forces assembled for what would be the final defensive gambit.
Ships were being dispatched in small groups, each group being led by an appointed vessel. The myriad of battle groups were being dispatched to staggered points, small groups of ships linked together in a chain stretching back toward the planet orbited by the Throneship and the Stormfront. The defenders couldn’t afford another devastating blow like the ones that had obliterated Scimitar fleet and the Golden Armada; however, they also needed to buy time for the Throneship to charge its main weapon and get a target lock. It was thus decided to engage the beast in waves of ships, each group trying to inflict whatever damage it could and slow its warpath. The viewscreen of Ansaria’s ship cycled rapidly through a number of viewpoints, many of them showing the approaching Star Eater from different angles and distances.
The Stormfront was stationed with the Throneship and a moderate amount of protective craft. The bridge crews of the two command ships were buzzing with tense activity. Acknowledgments were coming in from remaining vessels announcing their arrivals their designated positions, weapon systems were being powered up and unlocked, and the same question was being repeated in whispers: “where is Xandarius?”
Ansaria had received a message from Alvara; according to her friend, the Throne Lancer would be fully charged before the creature came within firing range, but she would only get one shot before the recharge time left them bereft of their primary weapon. Ansaria had sent a reply telling the Gorgonian that she had complete faith in her friend’s ability to hit her target when the right moment came.
That moment would soon be upon them. The Star Eater’s rampage had brought it to the first link in the defensive chain. Two battle groups, an Imperial one under the Dragon’s Wrath and an Imperium group under the Golden Bolt, hung in the void, weapons trained on the approaching opponent. The ships opened with a barrage of missiles, dozens of rockets ranging from simple explosives to devastating nukes raced to intercept the enemy. The beast unleashed its flame, destroying most of the projectiles en route. However, just as it began to change course in order
to dodge the remaining missiles, it found the space around it filled with energy projectiles. The two forces had opened fire from long range, trying to project a wide enough field of fire that the creature would be struck by sheer numbers - and at first it appeared to succeed. Laser beams and plasma streams struck the monster in dozens of different wounds, slowing the beast down enough to let some of the missiles find their target. Unfortunately, as with the patrol fleet, it simply wasn’t enough damage.
The creature persevered through the barrage, continuing to try and dodge as many of the attacks as it could. It reached the Imperial fleet first, rapidly swooping around the assembled ships while strafing them with its flame, overwhelming and destroying a handful of vessels. It didn’t stay to finish the job, though, instead swinging around to briefly attack the Imperium forces. Gold, orange and yellow energy blasts raced through space, some striking true and others deflecting off the nightmare’s dense hide. Rather than use its flame, the Star Eater barreled through the small pack of ships, its claws, arms and wings tearing through the tiny, fragile things, destroying some and sending other, sturdier ships cascading around it. Satisfied with the damage inflicted, the beast again continued on rather than stay and finish off the survivors.
A trio of battle groups awaited the beast next. The myriad of ships assembled in a triangular formation, trying to focus all their weapons on the approaching target. Once more, the creature proceeded to dodge and weave through the barrage, avoiding most of the attacks and suffering only minimal damage. The monstrosity zeroed in on an Imperial group, unleashing its flame; a third of the ships disappeared in a flash of gold, the rest maneuvering around the scalding fire and continuing to attack. The other two groups also continued firing, catching the distracted dragon in the chest with searing beams and bolts. The pain of the attack caused the flame to cease, but before a unified counterattack could be brought against it, the beast threw itself into the midst of ships nearest it. Fangs harder than diamonds, impossibly strong muscles and lightning fast strikes destroyed one ship after another, the chaos preventing the beast’s puny adversaries from properly attacking. One warship attempted to open fire, only for it to be smacked by the monster's colossal tail, knocking its aiming off and causing its weapons to obliterate a damaged cruiser. Before it had finished off the ships around it, the Star Eater bolted toward the last, intact flotilla, repeating its flurry of strikes and destroying, wounding and scattering the defenders.