The Complete Void Wraith Saga

by Chris Fox

  “Captain,” Lena said, her tone accusing. “We can’t do any such thing. I am not going to be able to stop this thing.”

  Hannan rose, opening her pack. “Sounds like we’re going with plan B.”

  “Hannan, get out the explosives and start setting them up.” Nolan reached into his own pack, removing a block of plastique. He glanced at Lena. “If you’ve got something for us in the next sixty seconds, wonderful. If not, we’re going to use everything we have. Hopefully an explosion of that magnitude directly above this thing’s head will kill or disable it. One way or the other, we’re taking out this planetstrider.”

  “Nolan,” Fizgig’s voice crackled over the comm again. “Die well. You have more than my respect. You have my friendship. Hannan, I did not know you well, but you have always had my respect. I know that Izzy will be saddened by your death.”

  “You’re a hell of a fighter, Admiral,” Hannan said, smearing adhesive above a row of terminals. “Good luck up there.” She affixed the block of explosives, then reached for another.

  “Holy one,” Fizgig said, her voice cracking. “Above all, you will be remembered. Your contributions to our race are beyond priceless.”

  “Yes, yes,” Lena said impatiently. “Go blow up some Ganog, Fizgig. We have work to do, if you want us to destroy this planetstrider.” Her attention never left the cube, her face bathed in blue as she typed furiously at the terminal.

  56

  Hell, Yes

  Lena tapped furiously at the keypad, using unfamiliar symbols to navigate through the archaic system. The Ganog language was logarithmic, but she needed a lot more time to familiarize herself with the system. That made her work frustratingly slow

  The planetstrider rumbled, and a low, subsonic hum built. It presaged the firing of the cannon, and Lena knew every time it fired, another part of their fleet died.

  Hannan had finished placing her explosives. She squeezed past Lena to overlook the ladder, ready to defend them should these Ganog send another assault team.

  “Aha! I think I’ve found something resembling a manual.” She scanned the contents, looking for a symbol for off or shut down. Green text scrolled until she finally reached the end. Lena’s ears drooped, and she closed her eyes. “There’s nothing, no means of shutting it down.”

  “It’s fine, Lena.” The captain finished attaching his last block of explosives. He moved to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder.

  The gesture helped more than she could express. Her tail drooped. Tigris didn’t cry, not like humans did, and in this instance she wished she could. She stared at the blue cube, searching for any plan, any idea, no matter how ludicrous.

  “Hmm, I wonder.” Lena’s tail lashed back and forth behind her. She scrolled back up, tapping a red sigil. It led to another menu, and she saw a symbol she thought she understood. Tapping the symbol caused the screen to flash red. “It worked! I can’t shut down the mech, but I did find the sequence to eject the core.”

  “Will that get this thing to stop firing?” Nolan asked, peering at her with those intense eyes with their oddly round pupils.

  “I do not know,” she admitted, and turned back to core. The cube flared brilliantly, then went dark. Whatever force had been holding it in place vanished, and it clattered to the deck.

  “What happened?” Hannan snapped, glaring at her.

  “Nothing. Go back to shooting things.” Lena scooped up the cube, setting it atop a terminal. Outside the high-pitched whine came again, then the planetstrider fired another burst of scarlet death into the sky. “Looks like removing the cube didn’t do anything.”

  T’kon’s voice crackled over the comm. “Nolan, you’ve been detected. A Saurian kill squad is docking with the hatch. Expect six to eight combatants. They’ll be on you in under a hundred heartbeats.”

  It was exactly the wrong kind of distraction, drawing an irritated swish from Lena’s tail. She tuned out the Ganog, tuned out Nolan’s orders, tuned out everything except for the monitor. She looked at the dark cube, then at the screen. If she understood the syntax, it was asking for her to insert a core.

  “It cannot be that simple,” Lena muttered. She picked up her pack from its place near the terminal, withdrawing the Edwards core. It was only about sixty percent of the size of the core she’d removed, and the symbols on the outside were different—yet there was no denying the common ancestry between the devices. “Why not? It worked with the Void Wraith.”

  She placed Edwards on the pedestal where the old core had hovered, then tapped the button on the screen asking for confirmation. The pedestal began to hum again, and the Edwards core rose into the air. The surface glowed brightly, and began to rotate just like the old core had.

  Her suit didn’t perfectly translate the glyphs on the screen, but if she understood what she was seeing, the cube was being scanned. The system was attempting to calibrate it. It was entirely automated, and she saw no way to influence the process. So she waited.

  “Give me some news, Lena,” Nolan snapped. He fired off a burst from his particle pistol, and Lena winced as the sharp whine echoed through the control room. “I’ll extend that deadline by thirty seconds, but after that we’re blowing this place.”

  The deeper whine of Hannan’s rifle came a moment later, answered by plasma fire from below. Lena wasn’t a soldier, but she was a Tigris. She knew enough of combat to see that they had a well-defended position, but they also had nowhere to go. Sooner or later they’d be overwhelmed, and Nolan knew it.

  “I’ll do what I can,” Lena called over her shoulder, eyes fixed on the screen. The process went from red to blue, then to purple. The Edwards core flared brightly. “Edwards, this is Lena. Can you hear me?”

  Edwards’s voice came from a speaker set into the wall. “Uhh, yeah, I can hear you. Where the hell am I? It’s dark, and I’m floating. I can feel something in here with me, but I can’t see it. Like, another mind maybe? Lena, I’m scared. Can you get me out of here?”

  “Edwards I need you to focus on the sound of my voice,” Lena said. She kept her tone firm, but friendly. It was the same way she instructed her classes back at the New Academy. “We removed the core that controls the planetstrider, and put you in its place. That mind you feel? That’s probably the creature itself.”

  “Oh, okay. So this is that dino thing? You’re just like a giant dog. Hi there, fella. Good boy.” Edwards sounded a little calmer. Maybe even cheerful.

  “Edwards, listen very carefully,” Lena commanded. “You have to find a way to get the planetstrider to stop firing at the fleet. If you can’t, Captain Nolan, Lieutenant Hannan, and myself are all about to die. So will you.”

  “Uh…shit.” Edwards confused voice came from the wall speaker. “Hold on a sec. I’ll see what I can do. I’m not too good with computers.”

  “They’re making another push, Captain,” Hannan roared. She fired down the hole again. Answering fire caught her in the shoulder, and she stumbled back with a cry.

  “Hannan!” the captain roared. He leaned over the hole, firing a trio of pulses. Then he moved to Hannan’s side. “Looks like it punched through your armor. We’ll need a medic.”

  “We don’t have time for that, and we both know it. Blow it, sir,” Hannan said through clenched teeth.

  The planetstrider shuddered, and Lena held her breath, waiting. “I believe in you, Edwards.”

  The subsonic whine of the weapon began to build. Lena’s tail drooped. Then the whine softened, and finally stopped. The planetstrider’s metal arm descended; the cannon stayed blessedly silent. Lena gave a delighted laugh. “Well done, Edwards. Well done.”

  “So, I can give this thing orders?” Edwards asked, like a mischievous kit who’d just been given permission to play a prank.

  “Yes, it should respond to your commands. I need you to do two things, okay?”

  “Uh, sure. What do you need?”

  “First, I need you to unlock the terminal I’m at. All you should need to do is thin
k about granting me full access.”

  A few seconds later the terminal flared green, then showed a new menu. It was much more comprehensive than the first.

  “What now, Lena?” Edwards asked, clearly proud of himself.

  “Now, I need you to do what you do best. Stop the other planetstriders from firing on our fleet, whatever it takes,” Lena ordered.

  “Hell, YES!” Edwards boomed.

  57

  Brawl

  Edwards felt around experimentally inside his temporary home, seeing what he could control. The creature was big, and its brain was unfamiliar. But the longer he was around it, the more he relaxed. It was basically just a big cow, just like the herd he’d tended on Horton before joining up.

  The way he made it do things was a lot different than piloting a mech. A mech worked kind of like an extension of his own body. He thought about moving, and it happened. This was quite a bit different. It was weird and strange, and he didn’t really like it. The planetstrider did most of the moving, though Edwards could feel both metallic arms. Those he could move on his own.

  “Let’s start with a name. How about we call you Rex?” Edwards asked. Rex didn’t respond. “You’re waiting for orders, huh? Okay.”

  Edwards experimented with one of the creature’s arms, thrilled when the metal limb moved. He tried the other arm, the one with the claw. That one worked too. He thought about Rex turning toward one of the other planetstriders, but that didn’t work.

  “Okay, so that confirms it. I can control the metal parts, but I gotta ask you to move us around. Rex, walk toward your buddies, okay?”

  Rex took a ponderous step toward the closest planetstrider.

  “Perfect, just like that. You just walk in a straight line,” he muttered. Edwards wasn’t sure if he was seeing through the creature’s eyes, or if there were sensors of some damned sort. Didn’t much matter. He could see the enemy, and he had a gun bigger than the UFC Johnston.

  No one had ever accused him of brilliance, but this situation hardly called for finesse. It called for brute force, and he could do brute force. Edwards aimed the cannon at the next planetstrider, lining the weapon up with its narrow, ugly face. The other planetstrider didn’t react, just kept firing at the sky. Edwards powered up the cannon, humming as the energy built within the weapon. It took about four seconds to charge, and once it was ready he fired. Waves of crackling red energy washed over the reptilian face, melting flesh, scale, and bone.

  The planetstrider shrieked, tumbling away from the blow. It staggered, then toppled. The thing seemed to take forever to fall toward the spires below, and when it finally landed, it flattened dozens of buildings. A wave of orange rust and chunks of debris rolled out in all directions.

  Edwards started lining up another shot, aiming for the face again as the wounded planetstrider fought to roll over. If he could finish this thing off before it got back up, then he could focus on the last one.

  Then Edwards’s perspective tipped violently forward, and Rex was suddenly in free fall. His planetstrider crashed to the earth, crushing the few remaining buildings. “Guess that other bastard wanted in, too. Can’t believe he hit us from behind. We can’t let that stand, Rex. Let’s kill his monkey ass.”

  The last planetstrider loomed over them, blotting out the sky behind it. Its cannon was moving into place, and waves of scarlet were crackling inside the barrel.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Edwards roared. He extended the metallic claw, reaching for the cannon. The arm took forever to close the distance, and Edwards willed it forward, trying to make it go faster. The light from the barrel was blinding now.

  The claw tightened around the weapon, and Edwards jerked the barrel out of alignment. Just in time. A beam of hot death blazed by overhead, burning another city block to glass.

  The first planetstrider had finally stood back up. The right half of its face was gone, the eye a gaping socket, the scales blackened to ash.

  The remaining eye was focused on Rex, and it looked pissed.

  “Oh, shit.”

  58

  Die Well

  “Admiral, the fire from the surface has stopped,” Juliard said.

  Fizgig nodded tiredly. It wasn’t much consolation. Her fleet was in shambles, all but two of the vessels in the 1st disabled or destroyed. They’d gone down swinging, but not a single dreadnought had fallen. They’d disabled four of the main cannons, but the last two operational dreadnoughts were still savaging her fleet.

  As she watched, they fired another joint salvo at the Joker. The first shot impacted on the destroyer’s aft side, tearing off a wing and exposing much of the crew quarters to space. The second hit the engines, sheering one of them off in a bright explosion.

  “Sir, Admiral Sheng just requested a channel,” Juliard said.

  She didn’t wait for confirmation. The view screen shifted to show Sheng’s bridge.

  Sparks flew in the background, and thick smoke made the view hazy. A rivulet of blood flowed down Sheng’s face, plastering dark hair to her cheek. “I’m out of theta shots, and there’s no way we can survive Helios travel. I’m going to ram one of their capital ships—see if I can take a few bastards with me. Might buy you enough breathing room to break orbit.”

  “Negative. Get your crew off that ship. We’ll screen you—” Fizgig’s ears went flat as the communication was cut. The view returned to the battle, and Fizgig could only watch as Sheng powered the remaining engines. She accelerated toward the closest dreadnought, which was about to loose another blast from its cannon.

  “Juliard, Fleet-wide. Now,” Fizgig ordered. She waited until the connection on the screen showed green. “All vessels, focus fire on the coordinates I’m providing. Use all remaining theta rounds. Do it now!”

  Her captains were well trained, and fire rained instantly from their vessels. Gauss rounds, missiles, plasma fire, and the last of their theta rounds blossomed around the dreadnought Sheng was aiming for.

  The ship was totally unprepared for the onslaught, and its main cannon detonated mid-fire. The resulting explosion cracked the dreadnought along the keel, breaking its back. The vessel began drifting toward the planet’s hungry gravity well.

  The explosion caught Sheng’s vessel, knocking it away from the blast. Its engines went dark, and it too began to drift. “Order response crews to the Ghantan. Get Sheng out of there, and save as many as you can.”

  The Mendez shuddered, then shuddered again. Repeated impacts thumped into the outer hull, and the lights on the bridge dimmed. “Damage report.”

  “Sir, we took a direct hit from the last dreadnought cannon. Reports are still coming in, but we’ve lost seventeen decks.” Juliard’s tone was pained, and Fizgig knew her well enough to know that she was softening the truth. That last shot had destroyed their ability to make war. The Mendez would never fight again.

  They were wounded prey, limping away from the lioness who’d come to claim her kill. It had been a valiant battle, but it was over. They’d lost.

  “All vessels surround that Ganog cruiser. Get it to safety, then get the hell out of here. Goddess watch over you all.”

  She smiled proudly. There had been many moments in her life where she’d wondered if she was going to die, but each time she’d managed to escape its clutches. Not so this time. She had finally found death, and Fizgig was ready. A warrior’s death was all she’d ever wanted.

  The last dreadnought closed on them, flanked by nearly a dozen cruisers. Fizgig closed her eyes, relaxing into the cushions behind her.

  “It’s been an honor, sir,” Juliard said, her voice barely audible over the klaxons in the background. “I never thought we’d be fighting on the same side, much less that I’d come to consider it a privilege.”

  Fizgig opened her eyes, smiling at Juliard. “Almost, you could have been Tigris. An honor indeed, Juliard. Die well.”

  59

  We've Got Warp

  Nolan just barely caught himself against the terminal as the
planetstrider crashed to the ground again. The Saurians below weren’t so lucky, and one came sailing into the room, smashing against the viewport in a spray of orangish blood.

  Unfortunately, the kill squad wasn’t their biggest concern. The other two planetstriders were kicking the crap out of them. Not only was it two against one, but Edwards was apparently still getting the hang of piloting a mountain-sized dinosaur.

  “Lena, tell me you’ve got something useful,” Nolan called weakly, staggering to his feet as the planetstrider tilted crazily again.

  “I might, but it’s hard to read when I’m getting flung around like a kitten,” Lena snapped. She clung to her terminal, scanning text. “T’kon, are you still with us?” There was no answer. “Looks like we’re on our own. Captain, earlier you asked if this thing had the ability to warp. I’ve confirmed that it does, just like their ships.”

  Nolan paused, considering the implications. They needed to get out of here, and get out of here right now. But where could they go that would make the most difference?

  “Lena, can this thing survive post-atmosphere?” Nolan asked. The idea was still half-formed, but he might be able to both get them away from the other planetstriders, and still be of use to Fizgig.

  “I have no way of knowing, but I would guess yes. For a little while at least.”

  “Okay, bring the warp drive online. Use the admiral’s beacon, and offset our destination by forty clicks.” Nolan heard harsh growls from below. He didn’t need to know the language to tell that they were gathering for a rush. “Hannan, got any grenades left?”

  “Negative, sir,” Hannan said, poking over the chute to fire a burst at the Saurians. She ducked back into cover well before their answering fire. Her shoulder was functional, but the wound was affecting her normally perfect aim.