A favorable judgment reached, the next step was taken.
Hydraulic systems lifted the contents out.
In the massive spherical chamber, two thousand sleeping humans lay on elevated platforms, the effects of their rebirth after centuries of emulated hibernation wearing off.
They were the pawns in the chess match of eternity.
Santa Fosca.
Reynald walked on the beach, arms outstretched.
He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, to let his rage shatter the very sky above him.
He fell to his knees, fists covering his eyes, body wracked in silent sobs.
All the pain…
The responsibility rested with him, now that Magdalene was dead. The symbol of her end, a dissipating mushroom cloud, scarred the horizon to the north.
These poor, blind people.
He kneeled in the shadow of the Enemy.
The Enemy shard stood before him, like an accusing finger pointed at the sky. The impact crater stretched outwards, the blackened debris of buildings that had been on the island scattered throughout.
He broke.
He ran for the shard, uttering his rage through incomprehensible nonsense. He tore the Judas symbol from his chest, and threw it at the dead Enemy vessel.
“Damn you! DAMN ALL OF YOU!!”
He fell back to his knees, weeping.
“Captain?”
He spun around, his face a grimace of agony, cold eyes flickering between gray and silver, illuminating the tear-wet surface of his wrinkled and scarred face.
“Captain Reynald?”
“They won’t get away with this. Command will not get away with her blood on their hands.”
“No, Captain…Reynald, we’re picking something up on wide-range sensors.”
“Is it Simon?”
“No, sir. It’s a native vessel. A warplane. On a direct approach vector.”
A silver dot formed on the horizon, drew closer.
((droptroops prepped.))
“Take us in.”
The Judas swept into the shadow eclipsing the surface of Phobos. The Enemy hung in the vacuum, unaware of pending execution.
((simon to strike force: engagement on my go.))
They swept closer, unseen.
Zero-Four locked his arms into the interface gauntlets.
“Ready, Simon?”
((always.))
It began.
black
PREPARE TO BREAK MOON ORBIT.
THE THIRD PLANET((?))
YES. IT IS THE RICHEST IN HUMAN RESOURCE.
LUSCIOUS… UPLOAD.
inquisition. suspicion. hatred.
THEY ARE HERE.
THE JUDAS((?))
THE JUDAS.
A CERTAINTY((?))
THEY ARE SHADOWED, BUT THEY ARE HERE. I CAN TASTE THE PRESENCE OF THEIR CONTAGION IN THE PATTERN. THEY SHALL PAY FOR THEIR BLASPHEMY.
INDEED THEY SHALL.
DESTROY THEM.
The Spear tore through the sky at a phenomenal rate. The tiny island of Santa Fosca appeared on the horizon, grew closer as the plane sped towards it.
Jennings sat, watching the elite group of warriors prepare for the landing and capture of the group who had so ruthlessly killed so many Americans. They were the best, part of a detachment of soldiers who had won fame in War Three by capturing the remains of Paris. Now they would storm the island and try to take the terrorists alive, if they could. It would be a formidable task, if the terrorists were Styx.
Jennings and the troop commander looked at the view of the island the long-range cameras presented.
“What the hell is that?”
Something jutted up from the island, a massive, black something. It looked like a piece of…No, that was impossible. It was still buried in the mountains.
“Radiation level?”
“Nothing abnormal.”
So there had not been a thermonuclear attack.
“There they are.”
Seven men stood near the—thing. One was on his knees.
“What are they doing?”
“Watching us. Preparing.”
“They don’t appear to be armed.”
“They wouldn’t have to be if they’re Styx.” The soldier walked to the cabin. “Fly us in low. We’ll drop in on them from above, and the lower machine cannons can give us cover if it comes to that.”
The sleek vessel glided closer to the island, panels on its underside sliding open to reveal heavy machine guns on pivot axes. The plane slowed.
“They aren’t making a move. They can’t be surrendering.”
“With all respect, sir, if I saw a fully-armed Spear coming at me, I’d surrender.”
Below the plane, the seven men waited in silence.
Reynald stood up, his arms outstretched.
“Closer…Come closer.”
The plane continued its approach.
He closed his eyes.
((FIRE!!))
The formation of Judas dove at the Enemy monstrosity orbiting the moon Phobos.
The domain of vision was blinded by the fierce streaks of light that tore from seemingly empty space at the Enemy. The Enemy itself thrust its own hell at the black between the stars, tearing apart three Judas in a flash of fire where seconds before there was only nothingness. The Enemy was overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of the Judas fleet. Beams of light emerged from countless ports on the Enemy’s surface as it tried to fend off the Judas attack. Waves and ripples of energy flew everywhere, blinding with their wake those unfortunate enough to be ensnared in their web.
The game of eternity had begun another round.
At the sight of one of the men on the island in an obvious stance of surrender, arms outstretched, the pilot eased the Spear to earth, all the while with the heavy machine guns trained on the group. The troops on the plane prepared to disembark and surround them.
“I’m going, too,” Jennings said, pulling the gun from its hidden holster beneath his coat. “I have a few questions I’d like to ask these people personally.”
They felt the plane settle on the ground with a gentle bump. The ramp began to descend, and a warm breeze from the ocean bathed the inside of the plane.
Reynald’s outstretched hand began to quiver, and he opened his eyes. His impossibly silver eyes looked up.
His mind lashed out.
There was a dull thud from within the Spear, and a piercing siren began to wail.
“We just lost—everyone out, now! The fuel tanks have been punctured!!”
A flurry of activity. Time seemed to drag to a halt.
Jennings felt himself roughly thrown down the ramp. “Get the president out, now! Shield him!” He was on the sand, bodies above him, when the world became fire and sound. An instant later, the second tank exploded and hot shrapnel embedded itself in his right arm and carved a shallow trench across his forehead.
He struggled to stand, flares of agony coming from his arm, coppery blood coursing into his right eye from the wound on his forehead. He forced the dead bodies of two soldiers off of his back, his mind morbidly noting that the one remaining eye in the soldier’s head on the left was a beautiful and striking emerald green, and the soldier on the right was wearing a shiny golden cross around his neck that reflected the sunshine like a prism around and around the chocolate brown bloodstained flesh of his neck. If they hadn’t been there, he would have been killed.
He spun around, shielding himself from the vicious flames of the debris with his good arm.
They had given their lives to save his.
He was alone with the men in black.
He awkwardly drew the revolver from the holster of one of the dead soldiers with his left hand and staggered at the terrorists, blood pouring from his arm. He dazedly wiped blood from his eye, and was amazed at how much there was on his hand when he pointed the weapon up at the men standing before him.
He pulled back the hammer.
black
THEY OVERPOWER US.
SILENCE. THEY ARE ONLY VERMIN.
OUR VESSEL SUFFERS.
LET IT SUFFER AS WE WILL MAKE THEM SUFFER. THEIR PATTERNS WILL BE ERASED FROM OMEGA AND THEY WILL SUFFER THEIR HELLS FOR ETERNITY.
WE MUST ESCAPE.
ESCAPE((?)) WERE YOU NOT PART OF ME, I WOULD STRIKE YOU DOWN FOR SUCH COWARDICE.
insight.
OUR VESSEL SHALL BECOME TWO ONCE MORE.
ONE TO COMMENCE HARVEST UPLOAD, ONE TO—
ONE TO BE A SACRIFICE.
A NOBLE CAUSE.
INDEED. YOU SHALL BE A MARTYR.
silence, realization, resignation.
THE PURPOSE WILL BE COMPLETED.
MAY YOUR BLOOD, WHEN SPILLED, BE HONORABLE.
MY END WILL BE YOUR BEGINNING.
the black closes.
They hung in the zero-grav airlocks, lambs ready for slaughter.
Spears of light flashed incessantly from both the Enemy and the Judas, who hovered around the monstrous vessel like a swarm of stinging hornets.
Another flash, another tangible torrent of screaming souls being erased from the pattern. Fourteen Judas now.
“Now?”
((now.))
Twenty-eight airlocks were opened to the void, and thousands of droptroops poured out, shifting as they fell into the expanse of forever.
THEY ATTEMPT TO BOARD US. THEY ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF THEIR DEAD.
As the droptroops flew at the Enemy, the Judas fleet bombarded the huge target, draining its energy. The beams of light erupted from the Enemy less and less often. With an almost palpable sigh, the vessel emitted one last burst of phase energy, cutting down two more Judas, sending them into the unknown void of phase space.
Its defensive energies depleted, the Enemy waited to be boarded. The Judas fell upon it.
MARTYRDOM COMES SWIFTLY FOR YOU.
INDEED. THE PURPOSE IS NOW YOURS.
In a surprising burst of pure, harsh radiance, the Enemy vessel tore itself into two halves. One half remained in place above Phobos, the other half reformed and thrust itself at an insane speed from the reach of the Judas.
It was going towards the sun. Towards Earth.
((judas paul, mohamet, vishnu: pursue enemy vessel. remaining judas continue capture of phobos enemy. boarding parties continue attack.))
Simon sped after the Enemy.
SECOND RUSE INITIATED.
WE AWAIT MARTYRDOM.
Thousands of humans swarmed over the hull of the Phobos vessel, tearing the surface apart with their minds, creating entries to the internal areas.
The Judas vessels came closer to the dead Enemy to assist the droptroops in gaining entry.
<>
[we must take precautions. boarding teams prepare to pull back—
The end came.
NOW.
black becomes nothing.
Simon: a gasp.
((no…NO!!))
Behind Simon and the three Judas pursuing the Earth-bound Enemy, a stark hellfire flashed into existence where once the Phobos Enemy had been.
Simon heard, felt their cries of pain as thousands of droptroops were instantly engulfed within the quantum singularity, their bodies incinerated, their souls raped from existence into the phase space of the Omega. The cries were abruptly cut off. They were gone.
The Judas vessels left behind at Phobos were also consumed in the blast. Simon watched as his comrades were torn apart, flung about.
The Enemy vessel was not totally destroyed. It hung above Phobos, a blackened ruin, blazing fire from within, until, moved by its own suicidal explosion, its orbit deteriorated. The hulking wreckage swept down to the surface of Phobos, and erupted upon impact into a scarlet plume of fire.
Simon looked away.
[simon, we have to retreat. we’re useless against the enemy now.]
((and abandon yet another when?))
[the cycle will continue.]
((we lost so many this time…))
[their sacrifice—]
((will mean nothing! can’t you see that?))
{simon.}
((we should have won this time!))
{SIMON.}
((what, vishnu?))
{the enemy vessel has stopped.}
[they mean to take us all.]
((then we’ll go down fighting.))
FULL STOP.
DO THEY STILL APPROACH((?))
THEY HAVE DECREASED SPEED.
WEB THEM FOR VOLATILES, UPLOAD THEIR SHADOWS FOR OMEGA PATTERN AUGMENTATION.
A WISE DECISION.
From the Enemy, a web beam emerged.
((mohamet!))
Simon shouted, but Mohamet was gone, ensnared by the unexpected web beam. He was pulled to the surface of the Enemy, absorbed.
((vishnu and paul, scatter!))
Simon, Vishnu, and Paul rocketed in opposing directions, splitting the Enemy’s attention, creating more than one target.
The Enemy reached out like a hand, fingers grasping in several directions at once, then suddenly focused on Vishnu. With a flash, he was caught in the web and pulled down. He was gone.
[simon! save yourself!]
((paul, no!))
Paul dove straight for the Enemy, veering around the web beam focused on him. The Enemy was caught off guard.
Paul hit the Enemy at full speed, tearing himself from existence, but hardly affecting the Enemy. However, the Enemy was disoriented for several seconds…
((bless you, paul.))
Simon dove as fast as he could toward the small blue planet below him, forgetting the temporarily blinded Enemy.
Simon had a promise to keep.
A gentle wind swept the island.
“Start talking, or I start shooting.”
Reynald stood, silent.
“Do you work for Cervera? Are you Styx?”
Reynald looked through Jennings with his terribly gray eyes. He said nothing.
“Talk to me!”
A flicker in time and Reynald was right there and Jennings’ gun was in Reynald’s hand. It shimmered with an impossible light and faded from view before Jennings’ eyes. Reynald approached, and Jennings stumbled back, startled. Reynald glared. Another flash and Reynald’s fist connected squarely with the side of Jennings’ face, knocking him off his feet and onto the sand.
“You blind, arrogant people. You kill for no reason. You kill without knowing why or who.”
Jennings said nothing, confused to silence.
Reynald put his hands to his eyes.
“Captain?” The man in black’s eyes flickered with an inner fire.
“What?” Reynald sounded so empty.
“It’s Simon. He’s coming.”
“The fleet’s Whendropped?”
“…”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“There was a massacre around the fourth planet.”
“The fleet?”
“The fleet—Simon is the only survivor.”
“The Enemy?”
“It’s coming. It’s coming to Harvest.”
“No. Please, no.” Reynald’s whisper was barely audible over the breaking waves.
“It’s coming.”
The sky above them was torn open as Simon’s longboat plummeted to the ground.
The longboat was immense. It landed on the beach with a storm of wind and sand, a great black sliver of metal.
((get on, they’re close!))
Jennings was shocked beyond words. He stood and watched the craft land in utter disbelief, jaw agape in amazement. Was it really another Diablo vessel?
The men in black ran to the longboat, boarded it through a hatchway. Reynald snapped from his reverie, ran toward the longboat, slowed, halted.
Jennings was terrified. He sat alone on the beach, blood still coursing down his face. In shock, he wiped it from his eyes and wondered at the redness of his hand.
Reynald relented. He could not blame this man
for Magdalene’s death or this insane war. He was just another innocent dragged into the war against the Enemy.
“The Enemy is coming for your planet.”
((HURRY.))
“I know you don’t understand any of this. I’m sorry you had to be caught up in this—”
((THEY’RE ALMOST HERE.))
“The Enemy’s coming for your planet. They’ll kill it. They’ll kill your people. They’ll kill you. They’ll steal your souls and you’ll be damned forever.”
((NOW.))
“If you want to live, come with us.” Reynald looked at Jennings with his too-gray eyes. “There’s nothing we can do now for your people, your planet, your time.”
Reynald looked to the northwest, where an ominous line of black clouds had appeared. The darkness swept upon them. The black lace of the Enemy web was already engulfing the sky.
“There’s a storm coming.
“If you want to live, come with us.”
Reynald took Jennings’ hand and helped him up.
The longboat ascended into the upper atmosphere, then into orbit, where it rejoined Simon, unseen by the Enemy.
((hello, reynald.))
“Simon, I—”
((you don’t have to say a thing. i know she’s dead.))
“Simon, there’s more. We—”
((it can wait.))
Zero-Four joined them. He placed his hand on Reynald’s shoulder, unspoken sympathy passing between the two Judas captains. “Good to see you, Jean. Unfortunately, we’ve picked up an Enemy fleet coming in. The readings from the Stream are off the scale. We’d better get out of here. Into the stasis chambers.”
“But we—”
“No time, Reynald. We have to hurry.”
Jennings stared lifelessly at a viewscreen. “Will they really kill them all?”
Reynald joined him. “It’ll do more than kill them… The Enemy is ravenous in its hunger.”
Jennings was pale, quiet.
“This is for real, isn’t it?”
“The Enemy is all too real.”
Simon slipped into the night.
At four thirty-seven Global Standard Time, the Enemy vessel took a position in Earth orbit, and all global communication systems planet-wide went silent.
The storm had arrived.
Deep within the black, laughter like screaming echoed into the void
PLANET OF THE SHADOWS.
…the sun how can they…
…is anyone there we’re surrounded…
…help please damn…
Enemy tst-1 Page 6