Frontline

by Z H Brown

  Tantius piped in suddenly from his console. “Spoke too soon, D: a bunch of pro-Xandarius troops have holed up in a section of engineering, and they’re starting to go to town in there; if someone doesn’t stop them, it won’t be long before they damage something important.”

  Ansaria made to turn to the lift, but was stopped by a reptilian hand.

  “Not so fast, captain. Right now, you’re the face of open rebellion against the Emperor; you step off this bridge and you’ll have a laser through your skull and be out an airlock before you can say ‘surrender.’ I’ll go down to the lads, you stay here and…try to pull off another miracle, I guess.”

  With a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder, Ranyor entered the lift which quickly closed and carried him away. His words filled Ansaria with fear for her friends, scattered throughout the ship and well-known faces. She knew they could take care of themselves, but how could you properly defend against an enemy that wore the same uniform as you?

  She sent a message informing her squad to check in as soon as they were in place before turning to the Prizmid communications officer.

  “Help me out here, Diamond: we’ve got to have some kind of numbers to work with on who’s trying to kill us and who’s trying to help us.”

  ~Communication is still chaotic, captain, but according to the messages I’ve intercepted, two-thirds of the ships that accompanied us have declared for the Emperor, and are currently moving to rendezvous with him. However, interestingly, the number aboard this ship seems to be reversed: the vast majority of our crewmates are working to safely restrain those aboard trying to aid Xandarius.~

  Ansaria was surprised by this piece of news. “Are you sure?”

  ~The information I have intercepted corroborates the data I am seeing: if the majority of the ship supported Xandarius, then the Throneship would already be disabled from within. It is only thanks to those that believe you and Ranyor that we are still in the fight.~

  This mixed news was quickly forgotten as the lift returned and the doors opened. Ansaria turned, expecting to see Alvara, but instead she saw two Xenlongian Imperial Royal Guards.

  “Seize the traitors!” yelled one.

  They both carried two long, curved Xenlongian blades, and in the blink of an eye they were upon her, their height and reach driving her back as she struggled to block and dodge their attacks. Their limited space meant Ansaria bounced off one console to another, ricocheting through the circular room as she tried to mind her footing and avoid accidentally hitting any buttons.

  Tantius created an opening for her by drawing his sidearm and firing it on its lowest setting at one of the guards. The blast did little more than irritate the Xenlongian, but Ansaria was able to use the opportunity to slam the bottom of her hilt on the guard’s helmet, knocking him to his knees.

  His partner now had Ansaria’s full attention, at least for the moment. She went on the offensive, forcing her opponent to block with both blades or risk being singed by her weapon. After a few strikes, she feinted to the left before darting right and catching the guard’s armored forearm with a restrained blow. If Ansaria hadn’t been holding back, she would have severed the soldier’s limb, but instead merely forced him to drop one of his weapons. Ansaria followed up by driving her boot into the flexible middle of her opponent’s armor and forcing the air from his lungs.

  With both adversaries temporarily stunned, Ansaria telekinetically shoved one white-armored form into another, before forcing both back into the lift. The doors closed and the transport rocketed away.

  “Now they’re the laundry deck’s problem.” said Dr. Redavere with a breathless, relieved grin.

  Ansaria didn’t even have time to catch her breath before a massive explosion struck the ship. Ansaria fought to keep her balance as she tried to find out what happened.

  “The Emperor’s ships have broken up to engage us!” said Tantius. “Seven ships are moving to engage us and the remaining Imperial vessels, while the rest are moving to intercept the Ebon fleet!”

  “What about the Imperium forces?”

  Tantius was silent for a moment, as though even he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “Xandarius has engaged them personally.”

  Ranyor rode the lift through the massive ship, trying to remember the last time he had felt such uncertainty in battle. He had served alongside Xandarius for so long, in so many campaigns, that even when they faced that beast from another galaxy, he hadn’t truly been worried.

  After all, how could you lose when you had Xandarius the Conqueror leading you? He supposed the last time he had felt like this had been back when he’d been smooth-scaled recruit, fresh from training, equal parts excited and terrified at the prospect of piloting one of the many Imperial warships. Years of battle, encountering both victory and losses, had hardened Ranyor somewhat, sapping the fear of some of its power while never completely banishing it. Ever since he’d received his commission to the Throneship, that lack of fear had only grown as the unparalleled vessel took everything the Goldies and the rest of the galaxy could throw at them and still came out on top.

  But this time…this time he didn’t have Xandarius to look to for inspiration, and there was no guarantee that this ship - his ship - would make it through this intact. For the first time in a long time…Ranyor was scared.

  The lift came to a stop and the doors opened to a crowded hall. Ranyor had to shoulder his way past soldiers in full armor, others only partially armored, while others were in fatigues. Nearly everyone was armed, though some of them wielded improvised weapons like tools or bits of raw material.

  The Imperials moved aside when they saw who was coming, until at last he came upon the doorway that led to the besieged engineering section. A Xenlongian captain stood in the doorway, a gash on his forehead leaked blood into one eye; in one hand, he held a plasma rifle, in the other, an anti-personal grenade: small scale, but could be devastating in the room behind him. Ranyor could just barely see gray-armored figures behind the captain, including a small collection of Packmembers, other Xenlongians, and a mixed handful of organic and synthetic soldiers.

  “No closer, Imperium sympathizer, or I leave this ship dead in space.”

  Ranyor didn’t know if that was the only explosive in their possession or if that one grenade would actually paralyze the entire ship, but he wasn’t willing to risk it. He held up all four arms to show he didn’t have a weapon.

  “No need to do anything hasty, captain, I’m just here to talk.”

  “We have nothing to talk about: this ship has fallen to traitors and enemy spies, and the Emperor himself has decreed these backstabbers to be enemies of the Empire, and it is the duty of all loyal Imperial soldiers to obey their Emperor and destroy his enemies!”

  Ranyor sighed; he wished he could put his hands down, but that could be enough to set the soldier off, so he kept them raised.

  “There was a time when I would have agreed with you without a moment’s hesitation. It was just weeks ago that we were all off with Xandarius, adding another world to our glorious Empire-” A ghost of a smile flickered over the Xenlongian’s face, but he didn’t lower either weapon. “But since then, I don’t think anyone here can argue that things have changed, for all of us: a crazy computer trying to destroy us to appease a monster from halfway across the universe, that could only be defeated with the help of the Imperium? Maybe on some late-night, Network spec-fiction program, but not in real life.” He sighed again. “But unfortunately, this is real, and I’m afraid that His Majesty has lost sight of that. He’s become so focused on mastering and preserving his new power that he’s forgotten what we all swore to defend in the first place: the citizens of Xenlong, and the citizens of its protectorate worlds. And unless we all find the courage to stand up for what’s right when the moment calls for it, then we’ll be dragged into a war that makes the one we’ve been fighting with the Imperium for the last forty years look like a joint military exercise. We have the opportunity to save
countless worlds from devastation, and prevent billions of deaths, so I’m asking you, as one Xenlongian to another-” he held out one of his upper hands. “-to help me save our empire, and our Emperor.”

  For a long, tenuous instant, Ranyor honestly wasn’t sure what the captain was about to do: his grip tightened on the explosive in his grasp, and his eyes scanned the crowd, as though calculating how long it would take for so many to overwhelm so few. He shifted on his feet a few times and looked into the helm officer’s eyes, trying to find a hint of deception.

  Finally, after hefting the grenade a few more times, the young soldier returned the weapon to his belt with a resigned slump to his shoulders. After putting away his rifle, he took the offered hand.

  “I can’t speak for the others, but for myself, I won’t kill my fellow soldiers…but neither will I help you oppose His Majesty, either.”

  Ranyor accepted this, before ordering that all of those in the room be disarmed and taken to a holding area large enough for all of them, but otherwise they were to be unbound and unharmed. A couple of the royal loyalist tried to rally the others by attacking some of the mutineers, but no one else joined in and they were quickly subdued. As the group was led silently away, Ranyor breathed a sigh of relief that this situation had been resolved peacefully before racing off to the lift- and to the next fire that needed to be put out.

  Ansaria watched as their fellow Imperials unloaded waves of fire at the flagship of their fleet; while four of the attackers were keeping Ansaria’s allies busy, the other three were letting loose with plasma and laser cannons. The massive vessel's shields held up under the attack, but unless they did something soon, even their defenses would fall, and then they’d be sliced up under the withering onslaught.

  Unfortunately, Ansaria was unsure of exactly what to do. She knew she had to somehow defuse the situation, but so far none of the attackers were responding to the pleas for a ceasefire from the mutineers, intent on following their lord’s instructions and destroying the traitors. Ansaria, however, had no intention of spilling fellow Imperial blood, unless she was forced to with no alternative.

  “Shield strength down to sixty percent,” said Tantius, as another barrage created a display of purple and pink on their dome. “Friendly vessels all reporting similar shield strengths and minor damage, but so far no casualties-” he looked directly at Ansaria. “-but that’s gonna change real quick unless we do something!”

  Ansaria racked her mind, trying to figure out what to do. Just as she was wondering if she should ask Alvara or Tread for advice, her brain stumbled upon a solution.

  “Activate the ion weapons, set them to half-power then lock-on and fire!” she ordered. All along the ship, weapon turrets came online and let loose with concentrated beams of electromagnetic energy. One of the attackers managed to avoid the attack, but the other two were struck by multiple beams, the first of which negated the shields, while the next few paralyzed the ship’s systems. Ansaria watched as the two warships went dead, their engines fading and their guns going still as they started to drift aimlessly through the void.

  “Scan them and give me a status report,” she said.

  Tantius looked over the readings. “Life signs detected, as well as minimal power: looks like their back-up systems kicked in.”

  Ansaria breathed a sigh of relief; back-up power meant that they had life-support and artificial gravity, but they wouldn’t be doing any fighting anytime soon.

  With this new tactic in hand, they quickly dispatched their last attacker before turning to the remaining loyalists. They had informed their comrades of this battle-plan, but unfortunately their adversaries caught on quickly and before long, their little battlefield was filled with crisscrossing beams of machine-disabling energy. Two of their allies went dark before the Throneship and the others were able to overcome Xandarius’ supporters.

  With their own battle finished for the moment, Ansaria now had to decide what to do next. From their view on the bridge, Ansaria could see signs of combat amongst both the

  Ebon and Golden fleets. Ansaria tried to weigh the facts impartially, but she wasn’t able to shake the overwhelming desire to help Eberius. After a few moments deliberation, she made up her mind.

  “Send a message to our allies: they are to remain here and guard the disabled ships, as well as do everything they can to get the other two ships in working order again. As for us…” she fixed her gaze on one of the raging battles, “we’re going to help a prince.”

  Four Imperial ships closed the distance between their new enemies, the Ebon Empire, unloading with energy weapons, missiles and projectiles, firing everything they had at the still-mysterious aliens. The Ebon ships redeployed quickly, half of their ships moving to form a defensive barrier in front of their prince’s ship. The defenders' shields shimmered like sapphire-colored opals, holding up to the destructive barrage. Unfortunately, one of the ships that was bearing the brunt of the attack finally had its shields overwhelmed and exploded with a burst of energy that knocked the ships around it out of place slightly. Before the now-exposed vessel could get out of the line-of-fire, a trio of piercing missiles struck it in three different places, leaving it immobile and easy pray for the attackers, which set upon it with dozens of different weapons in an overwhelming display of firepower.

  Eberius, from the bridge of the Cerulean Spear, watched as one of the ships that had accompanied him light-years from home was consumed by a firestorm of pink, purple and ruby-red energy before exploding violently and threatening to take out the shields of those around it. Just as Eberius ordered the gap to be closed, he received an incoming call.

  “Eberius?? Can you….r me?”

  The battle was causing distortion, but the voice was unmistakably Ansaria’s. “I hear you, Ansaria! Are you safe?”

  “We managed to dis…the Emperor’s forces but…” there was a pause, and one not caused by a malfunction. “We have to…p Gamesh. If Xandarius kills him…n both sides will have the…r they want. I ca…et that happen, Eberius.”

  The prince nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

  “I understand, Ansaria; you have to do what’s best for your people…just as I have to do what’s best for mine…do you understand?”

  There was another pause.

  “Do…tever you have to, and we’ll face the consequences together. Ansaria, out.” Eberius nodded again, before turning back to the battle at hand. The gap in their defenses had been filled, but the Imperials were trying to repeat their previous tactic of concentrating fire on a single target in order to overwhelm it. Apparently, none of them thought to question why the enemy wasn’t counter-attacking.

  Those that were curious were answered by a sudden attack from the rear of the Ebon formation. The remaining six ships of Eberius’ forces had divided into pairs, before flying out from ‘above’, ‘below’ and ‘around’ the flotilla. The three pairs each concentrated on a single Imperial ship, and the needle-thin, electric-blue beams of the Ebon weapons raced out and cut through their enemies’ shields in half the time it would take a Golden warship to do so. The thin energy beams punctured the shield and continued through the vessels, ripping through them like a steel nail through a tin sheet. One after another, the three Imperial ships disappeared in a bright explosion, leaving a lone ship that quickly broke off its attack and began to reverse course.

  Eberius was having none of it though, as he ordered the defensive screen to split to allow his ship to target the fleeing vessel. Before it could get out of range, the weapons of the Cerulean Spear sliced through its shields before cutting through the ship itself and destroying it.

  With the danger abated at the moment, Eberius was now forced to decide what course of action to take next. He looked over the men and women of his bridge.

  “When we all agreed to take this mission, we all knew there was a very real possibility we wouldn’t be going home. This threat may not be the one we came out here to fight originally, but it now p
resents a real and present danger to our people. I’m asking you, who will stand with me and fight to their last breath to keep our homes safe, even if none of us ever get to see it again?”

  One by one, the glowing-eyed soldiers of the Ebon Empire saluted their prince, before returning to their duties. Eberius was briefly overcome by the dedication of his troops, but the reality of the situation returned to him, and he turned back to the matter at hand.

  “Order the defensive screen to remain here while the offensive ships form up with us; then, set course for the Imperial Throneship.”

  And let us pray that we will all come out of this alive.

  Chapter XL

  The Price of Power

  What was I thinking as we raced toward a being infused with an alien energy source of unknown and possibly limitless potential? I was certainly afraid, but also - I’ll admit - filled with a morbid curiosity. I had been intrigued by reports of the Golden Flame, and after learning that it had fallen into Xandarius’ possession, was fascinated by what this meant for both Xenlong and the Starlite Imperium. However, instead of getting to evaluate the outcome from an impartial perspective, I was thrust into the thick of it to see the Flame’s (and its wielder’s) power with my own eyes.

  I pray I never again come across a mortal being with such power.

  --From the private log of Prince Eberius, Fourth of His Name, Crown Prince of the Ebon Empire.

  To Xandarius, the feeling of the new power that he channeled was like feeling strong, warm sunlight on his skin after spending years aboard a starship. The rush he felt at fully unleashing his new abilities dwarfed any accomplishment he had felt in the past, whether it was on the field of battle, conquering a world, or being crowned emperor of Xenlong.

  The concern he felt for the ship he destroyed or guilt for the lives he took were like irritating coals at the bottom of the inferno he was revealing in.