by Chris Fox
The white-furred cat sprinted to join Hannan. The pair laid down continuous fire, and for the moment nothing was making it through their doorway. Nolan turned back to his. The shimmering forms were getting closer.
"I see at least three coming my way," he yelled, then carefully raised his assault rifle to his shoulder. He fired at the closest target, and the Judicator stumbled back three paces. Its cloaking field dropped, and Nolan used the opportunity to target the thing's head. He squeezed off a three-round burst, and the Judicator dropped to the deck.
The other two fired a steady stream of blue plasma, and Nolan had no choice but to duck behind cover. He waited two seconds, then ducked back into the doorway to fire another burst. Both Judicators fired the instant his head appeared, and it was only dumb luck that he got back into cover in time. The bursts of plasma shot into the room, one exploding a control panel in a shower of sparks.
"They've got me pinned over here," Nolan yelled. "Two bogies. They'll be into the room soon."
"I've almost got it," Lena yelled.
"Four targets inbound," Fizgig roared, firing down her corridor. "We are surrounded. I mean no disrespect, holy one, but if you cannot deactivate the VI we'll be dead in moments."
Nolan dropped prone, then extended his rifle along the floor. He fired blindly, then yanked the weapon back out of sight. A pair of plasma bursts cratered the floor where his weapon had been, sending up a spray of shrapnel that pinged off his armor. One of the fragments hit his visor, sending a spiderweb of cracks along the right rear portion. At least the HUD still worked.
"I've got it," Lena yelled triumphantly. Nolan risked a glance. She was holding aloft a cube that looked nearly identical to the Primo VI.
"They're still coming," Hannan yelled. "Whatever you did didn't work."
Chapter 65- Engage
Dryker felt helpless, nothing more than a bystander in what could be the most important conflict in recorded history. He watched as the Tigris vessels fanned out, moving with the practiced precision that had given the Leonis pride such an advantage during their war with the humans.
The ships moved in unison, shifting formation to form a net around the Claw of Tigrana and the seemingly dormant Void Wraith vessel. Then it was a waiting game. They knew six Void Wraith vessels were out there, but their cloaking technology allowed them to choose the time and place they would engage. It was the type of advantage that a smart foe could use to devastating effect, and Dryker found himself holding his breath as he waited for the assault to begin.
It came sooner than he expected.
"Mighty Khar, three vessels have de-cloaked off our starboard port. They're moving to engage the fleet," the comm officer called.
The view screen shifted to show the three Void Wraith vessels. Each was charging their main weapon, the ball of blue plasma that did such catastrophic damage. All three fired at the lead Tigris vessel. The first shot impacted against the shield, which flickered, then dropped. The second and third shot both hit the central line running down the Tigris vessel. The impacts disintegrated huge chunks of the vessel, and it broke apart in a fiery explosion. The remnants began drifting sunward, pulled by the immense gravity.
All three Void Wraith vessels shifted to the next closest target, unleashing a similar barrage. The second Tigris vessel fared no better than the first, its remains joining the wreckage floating toward the sun.
Four Tigris vessels moved to intercept, firing cable after cable. They surrounded the first Void Wraith vessel, pulling it into a web it could not escape. More Tigris vessels moved to intercept, but the remaining two Void Wraith cloaked.
"Mighty Khar, we're under assault," the comm officer yelled.
Proximity alarms went off, and the lighting on the bridge changed from white to a soft red. Then the ship shook as something impacted. A moment later, a second impact came, and sparks showered from several terminals. The lights flickered, then died.
"Damage report," Khar yelled.
"We've lost main power, Mighty Khar," a voice called in the darkness. "Life support is operational, and we're working to restore secondary power."
"What hit us?" Khar roared.
"Two Void Wraith vessels de-cloaked off the aft side of the ship," the comm officer replied.
Dryker clenched a fist, wishing there was something he could do. The Void Wraith outclassed the Tigris. The Tigris might inflict casualties...but there was no way they could win this fight.
Chapter 66- VI Replacement
Nolan waited until the first Judicator stepped through the doorway, then jammed the barrel of his rifle into the place he suspected the face was. He fired a three-round burst, and was elated when the Judicator dropped to the deck with a clatter. He danced backwards, but then realized that they weren't exploding. If they had been, the fight would already have been over. Thank God for whatever directive made them less explosive aboard this ship.
"Lena, what have you got for us?" Nolan said, aiming his rifle at the doorway. The last Judicator hadn't stepped through.
"Uh, I'm going to connect the Primo VI to the ship," Lena yelled back. Her voice was nearly drowned out by the staccato of gunfire coming from Hannan, Izzy and Fizgig. "I have no idea what that will do, but it can't be any worse than where we're at right now."
"Do it," Nolan yelled.
The third Judicator stepped through the doorway. Nolan tried the same trick, but this Judicator was expecting it. It slashed down with a trio of blazing plasma blades, and the weapons sheared through the barrel of Nolan's rifle. He dropped the useless weapon, backpedaling as the thing advanced on him. He couldn't even see its face, since it was still cloaked. But he could see it raise the shimmering outline of a plasma rifle barrel.
Nolan drew his sidearm and began firing. The shots knocked the Judicator back, but he knew it wasn't going to be enough. He was dead.
The Judicator's head exploded, and it toppled onto Nolan. The weight of the body pinned him to the deck, and he struggled to kick the thing off him.
"You owe me, commander," Hannan yelled. "Now get back on your feet and secure the damned doorway. More of these things are coming. Izzy, go back him up."
The white cat bounded over, reaching down to tug the headless Judicator off Nolan. He could see her arms straining, and it reminded him of the much larger Judicator still pinning Edwards somewhere in the ship.
"Thanks," he said, accepting Izzy's paw as she helped him to his feet.
"I've got it," Lena called excitedly.
Nolan spun to the platform. The holographic display flickered to life, this time showing the same VI they'd met back on Purito. It looked down at Lena. "I have bonded with this vessel, and now control all vital systems. What are your orders?"
"Turn off the Judicators," Lena yelled. "Make them stop attacking."
"Acknowledged," the VI answered. It closes its virtual eyes, and the Judicators advancing up the corridors shimmered into view and then just...stopped. They froze mid-stride, some with weapons still raised. "I've ordered all units to stand down. They will take no further action until ordered to do so."
Chapter 67- More Allies
"Secondary power online," the golden-furred comm officer called. The lights flickered back on, though they were weaker than normal.
Dryker leaned against the railing that separated the rear deck from the main portion where the crew was performing vital bridge tasks. He longed to take action, but his role in this battle was over. He was an observer, and all he could was hope the Tigris found a way to prevail.
"Status report," Khar demanded.
"Five Tigris vessels have been destroyed, and one more is disabled," the comm officer said, his tone subdued. "At least two Void Wraith vessels have been destroyed, possibly three. The rest have retreated for now."
"They're falling back," Khar muttered. He spun his chair to face Dryker. "Why? Why would they do that, Captain?"
"They had the advantage," Dryker said, studying the view screen. "The only reason they'd fal
l back is if they expected reinforcements."
"Mighty Khar, the large structure near the factory has begun to move toward the sun," the comm officer said.
The view screen shifted to show the enormous vessel powering slowly toward the sun. It looked like a giant turnip, and if Dryker's data was correct it was easily the size of Earth's moon.
"Captain, do you have any theories about that thing?" Khar asked, turning to him.
"Not as of yet," Dryker admitted. "Our scans show that thing is teeming with some sort of theoretical element we've never encountered, but I have no idea what it is or what the Void Wraith intend to do with it. I guess that doesn't much matter, though. Whatever they want, we should oppose."
"We will destroy it," Khar said, clenching his fist and exposing his fangs.
"Mighty Khar, more ships are emerging from the Helios Gate," the comm officer's tone was shrill now. She sounded close to breaking.
"Ident?" Khar said, standing slowly from his chair. He was favoring his right leg.
"They're human vessels sir, OFI ident," the comm officer said. Khar moved to stand next to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It looks like four destroyers, and two capital ships," Dryker said, squinting at the screen. "I think that's the bulk of the seventh fleet."
"Then victory is once again within our grasp," Khar said, laughing. He turned to Dryker. "I will put you in contact with them so you can coordinate the battle. Comm, open a channel to the lead human vessel."
"They're ignoring our hails, mighty Khar. The human vessels are moving to interpose themselves between us and the large Void Wraith vessel," the comm officer said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Treachery," Khar roared, slamming his fist into the view screen. A sharp crack spread from the impact point. Khar rounded on Dryker. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I can only guess," Dryker said, the exhaustion whispering a siren song: Just lie down. Just give up. "I suspect that the spies in my government have dispatched forces loyal to them. Forces that work indirectly for the Void Wraith. The same forces that tried to keep your fleet away from this system."
Chapter 68- Primo Online
"Lena, can you access communications?" Nolan asked. He limped over to the black platform, his breathing still ragged from the fight with the Judicators.
"Any of us can," Lena said, rising to her feet. "This VI will obey any of us."
"That is correct," the VI said. Its bulbous head turned to face Nolan. "I have complete control of Communications. What do you wish to know?"
"Monitor all communications in this system, and play them here on the bridge," Nolan ordered. "Can you give us a visual as well?"
"Of course," the VI said, as if insulted. A holographic display sprung up near the west wall, covering it from floor to ceiling. It showed a massive battle, which Nolan could barely get his brain around.
"What the hell?" he whispered.
"It looks like the Fourth Claw disobeyed the dictates of War Commander Mow," Fizgig said. Low, powerful purring came from her chest. "A large portion of our fleet has come to do battle on our behalf."
"Who are they fighting ,though?" Hannan said, resting the barrel of her assault rifle on her shoulder as she took a step closer to the holo display.
"That's the seventh," Nolan said. "Oh, God. The seventh is loyal to admiral Mendez. Kathryn warned me that he'd been compromised. Those ships work for the Void Wraith."
"Audio is now available," Primo interjected.
Static crackled across hidden speakers all over the bridge. That static resolved into a cacophony of voices.
"--main engines. Going critical," came a deep Tigris voice.
"--need to reach whatever that big ship is. It's making for the Helios Gate."
The overlapping voices were almost impossible to decipher, but Nolan could see from the disposition of the battle what was happening. The outnumbered and outgunned Tigris were trying to stop the giant ship from making it to the Helios Gate. They were failing.
"There are two potentially lethal situations you may wish to be aware of," the VI said pleasantly. "Would you like further details?"
"Yes," Nolan said, almost instantly.
"First, two Void Wraith vessels are attempting to dock," the VI said.
"Uh, Virtual Intelligence," Nolan said. "Can you engage this ship's cloaking device?
"Affirmative," the VI confirmed.
"Do that, then get us away from the two vessels attempting to dock," Nolan ordered.
A low whirring came from the bowels of the Void Wraith vessel. "Cloaking engaged. We are moving away from the two Void Wraith vessels, and they appear unaware of our current location."
"What is this second lethal situation?" Fizgig demanded, moving to stand next to Nolan.
"This vessel contains data regarding the massive structure moving for the Helios Gate. Using that data I have extrapolated the true purpose for the weapon," the VI said. The holographic display changed, now displaying an unfamiliar system. That system was dominated by a large G class star, and was taken from the perspective of a vessel orbiting the third planet. Countless other ships, vaguely Primo ships, were arrayed in a defensive perimeter. "This is a record of the first major battle in the final war, the battle that guaranteed the Primo could not win."
The color of the sun began to change. It went from yellow to a more pure white, then to blue. Then the star began to expand. At first that expansion was slow and measurable, but it rapidly increased. The time index shifted forward, showing a time lapse of the nova. It washed over the system, destroying most of the ships docked there. The ship doing the recording retreated ahead of the nova, presumably to carry the recording they were viewing.
"What happened?" Izzy asked, raising a paw hesitantly toward the hologram.
"The vessel you see moving towards the star is, in essence, a bomb," the VI explained. "It contains a massive quantity of a heavy element, more dense than anything found or manufactured in our galaxy. This element is designed to cause an accelerated reaction inside a star. Once that reaction reaches critical mass, the star will go nova. The Void Wraith used just such a bomb to wipe out our home world, and a large portion of our fleet. It crippled us, ensuring that we couldn't mount an effective defense. Then their fleets began to pour through, attacking us everywhere at once. We were naked before the storm, unable to defend ourselves."
"They're bringing it to Primo space," Fizgig said. She was no longer purring. "If they detonate that in the Theras system, it will wipe out the bulk of the Primo navy."
"Then we need to stop that ship," Nolan said.
Chapter 69- Down With The Ship
"Damage report," Khar croaked from his chair. He began another fit of coughing.
Sparks flew from some terminals, while others had simply gone dark. Dryker felt relatively safe in the corner of the bridge--well, as safe as one could be on a critically-damaged ship. He looked at the ops station, and realized the comm officer was dead.
Dryker leapt over the railing, moving as swiftly as he could to the Tigris panel. OFI officers had been required to learn Tigris during the war, so he had no trouble deciphering the data feed. It wasn't good.
"All three launch tubes have been destroyed," Dryker called to Khar. "We've lost all decks C and below. Most of B deck is depressurized. Armor on the stern is non-existent. If we take another serious hit from anyone, we're going to come apart."
"That leaves only one course of action," Khar said, coughing. He held a paw to his side, but was failing to staunch the flow of blood. The few surviving bridge personnel looked around at at each other. They all knew what Khar was going to say. "Plot a course toward the largest human vessel. Accelerate to maximum velocity."
Khar leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. Dryker could see his chest rising in short, shallow breaths. The Tigris desperately needed a medic. Unfortunately, the ship's schematics showed that the bridge was cut off. There was a large depressurized section between
them and the few surviving areas. The four of them were on their own.
"Course set, mighty Khar," called a white-furred Tigris, from the pilot's chair. She strongly resembled Izzy--a littermate, most likely.
The OFI carrier Adar loomed larger and larger on the view screen as they picked up speed. The carrier was currently engaged with another Tigris vessel, though it was clearly winning that exchange. That left it vulnerable, though. It was pinned in place by the first Tigris vessel's harpoons, which meant it wouldn't be able to dodge. If they could accelerate enough, they'd obliterate the carrier. With any luck, they'd leaving the human fleet leaderless.
"Void Wraith vessel de-cloaking off starboard," the white-furred Tigris yelled. "Orders, mighty Khar?"
Khar didn't respond. Nolan took a closer look, and realized that he could no longer see Khar's chest rising and following. Either he was dead, or he was close enough that it didn't matter. Dryker looked around the bridge. None of the three remaining Tigris seemed willing to take charge.
"Evasive maneuvers," Dryker barked, infusing his voice with as much authority as possible. "Try to get some distance from the Void Wraith, but keep us aimed at that carrier. If we're going down, we're taking them with us."
"Aye, mighty, uh, Dryker," the white-furred pilot said. "The Void Wraith vessel is hailing us."
Chapter 70- Promoted
"Primo, can you hail the Claw of Tigrana?" Nolan asked, studying the battle playing out on the holographic screen.
"I can, but to maximize efficiency I'd recommend appointing a captain," the VI said. "Otherwise, it is possible for conflicting orders to be received from multiple sources."
"Fizgig," Nolan said, turning to face the Tigris commander. "You've followed me this far. Will you keep following me if I assume command of this vessel?"