The Seryys Chronicles: Of Nightmares

by Joseph Nicholson

  “Ship debris?”

  “It would appear that way, Master Dah.”

  “You said something about the asteroids drifting. Can you elaborate?”

  “Certainly, one moment please…” Tander waited. “It would appear that there is a focal point, sir. The direction in which the asteroids are moving would indicate that they are drifting from a central location deeper within the asteroid belt.”

  “How far?”

  “Approximately 700,012 miles forty degrees to starboard.”

  “Let’s go investigate.”

  It took a couple of hours navigating the labyrinth of rock to reach the central location and when they reached it, the sight that greeted him was nothing he had ever seen before. The ship emerged from the asteroid belt into a gigantic clearing like the eye of a giant stone-filled hurricane, only several hundred thousand miles in diameter.

  “What am I looking at?” Tander asked.

  “The origin spot of this asteroid field. Presumably where the primary star of the binary system used to be.”

  “How long ago did this happen?”

  “The exact time frame would be impossible to calculate.”

  “Why’s that?” Tander asked, wondering what could have destroyed everything in a solar system.

  “There are too many factors at work when it comes to celestial bodies’ drift patterns. However, based—again—on the speed of the drift, and complete lack of any evidence indicative of the existence of a star in the immediate area, I would say tens of thousands of years ago, possibly as old as the ship General Khail found.”

  Tander’s jaw dropped. “What could possibly destroy all these planets at once?”

  “The collapse of the primary star would be a likely culprit, but I think it is safe to say that who—or what—ever did this, did it deliberately.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Typically, when a star goes nova, there is a neutron star or a black hole left behind, I’m detecting neither. Meaning that the star simply exploded and either destroyed and/or knocked out of orbit every planet in this solar system.”

  After a moment of silence and a heavy sigh, Tander changed the subject, mentally filing that away for future reference. “Let’s do what we came here to do.”

  The next asteroid field was more of what Dah had expected; they simply floated lazily through the black of space.

  “Somewhere in there is a cache of weapons more advanced than any Seryysan has ever seen,” Tander murmured to himself, leaning forward on the pilot’s console. “Let’s start a sensor sweep pattern for maximum coverage with minimal passes. I don’t want to meet whatever destroyed these planets.”

  “Agreed,” Jarv said.

  The Savvy Merchant weaved her way through the asteroid field for hours with no results. Dah was about to call it quits for the day and pick up where he left off the next day when finally something came up on the sensor sweep.

  “Master Dah,” Jarv called out. “I have something. It’s faint, but definitely there. The readings match that of what General Khai found on the Freedom.”

  “Why didn’t we detect it earlier?” Tander asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

  “The density and makeup of the surrounding asteroids are like nothing I have ever scanned. The elemental composition is so alien, I cannot even compare it to anything on our periodical chart. These asteroids were either manufactured or collected from elsewhere and hauled here specifically to mask these readings. They don’t even match the makeup of the surrounding asteroids. The sensors didn’t detect it until we were literally on top of it.”

  “How far are we from it?” Dah asked, grabbing the controls for manual flying.

  “1,650 miles off the port side, seventy-two degrees.”

  Tander piloted the ship into the mass of asteroids and flew into yet another clearing, much like the one earlier. Only this time, the sight really took his breath away. Within this clearing, there were dozens of enormous ships floating there, ships of different sizes and designs.

  “How many ships are in here?” Tander asked in awe.

  “Fifty ships, all operational and intact.”

  “Completely intact?’

  “Yes, Master Dah. I do not detect any hull ruptures on any ship. They all have power and life-support. Also, there is a large structure at the center, also in pristine shape.”

  “Put the structure’s location on my HUD, Jarv.”

  Jarv complied and a large dot on his radar appeared at the center of several other small—but still large—dots. As he made his way deeper into the ancient armada, he caught his first glimpse of it. The structure was bigger than some of the moons that orbited the planets of the Seryys Solar System. From the top, it was octagonal with a peak at the top. From the side it had a slightly hourglass shape with the bottom of the shape being twice as large as the top. There was a large opening at the bottom section of the thing. Evenly spaced on the exterior of the bottom section were large corridor-like structures that ran lengthwise parallel to the exterior walls big enough to fit a ship all the way through.

  “It’s a dry dock,” Tander breathed, “for these ships.”

  “Agreed. I would postulate that the large door into the superstructure is a door to an internal dock to build more ships.”

  “So it really is a last stand staging area.”

  “It would definitely appear so, sir.”

  “So that begs a huge question,” Tander said, thumbing his chin.

  “Which is, sir?”

  “Why didn’t they use it?”

  As they were leaving the area, Tander worked the console.

  “What are you doing, sir?”

  “I’m dropping a beacon. That way when the military comes to claim it, they won’t have spent hours looking for it like we did.”

  “Good idea, sir.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dah sat in his recovery room, wrapped and bandaged. He’d been there for three long, boring days. He suffered some severe internal injuries and broken bones from his fall, but nothing he hadn’t experienced before during his time in the SCGF. He sat and watched the news on the net’vyyd as people ran screaming from their homes being chased by the monsters nightmares were made of. They were showing Reapers trying to clamber up the walls of the stadium and getting shot down by the military. Next was an orbital shot where ships were making bombardment runs over unpopulated areas of the city, leveling entire high-rises in the process.

  Dah had to turn it off in disgust. Looks like Trall got what he wanted after all. He could see it now. The tabloids would question if Trall really was dead, that Khai killed a stand-in or a clone or something. To make matters worse, Prime Minister Puar had called him and let him know what they had found regarding how the Reapers got out in the first place. Apparently, it was done by a Vyysarri; a Vyysarri with clearance to bypass all the security measures that were put in place after the last incident with Trall. The Vyysarri used a high-powered cannon to cut through the door. Much to Dah’s dismay, in order to seal off the door quickly, they had to raze his brother’s multi-billion-credit facility to the ground. Dah prayed to the Founders that the media never got a hold of that information or it could shatter the already-fragile alliance with the Vyysarri. It took one great man to mend the broken bones of their two societies and it would only take one man to undo it all. As his musing took him, his com unit chimed. With the tap of a button, the call was sent to a small screen where visual contact could be made.

  Dah smiled at the visage of his identical twin brother. “Tander, boy am I glad to see you…”

  “Likewise,” Tander’s smile vanished as he realized that Dah’s surroundings weren’t that of his home. “Where are you?”

  “Recovery Ward at the Aurora Private Hospital,” Tandy answered wryly.

  “What the hell happened?”

  “Well… it’s kind of a long story,” Tandy said.

  “Well, I have nothing but time. I have a long
ride home from a fruitless adventure into the unknown.”

  “I want to hear about that first. Please, don’t keep me in suspense! What’d you find?”

  “In a word? Nothing.”

  “What do you mean ‘nothing’?”

  “Nothing. No stars, no planets.”

  “Wow. That was a letdown.”

  “You’re telling me… Something or someone destroyed the Alpha Centauri sun and it, in turn, destroyed every planet in the system.”

  “So was the weapons cache there?”

  “Oh yes. Fifty ships of varying sizes and designs all in perfect working order. Plus a dry dock to manufacture more ships and repair the existing ships.”

  “That’s very exciting! Anyway, did any ships show up, Vyysarri or otherwise?”

  “No,” Tander said sadly. “It was quiet as a tomb.”

  “That’s not good for Sibrex. Not good at all…”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “Thanks for going all the way out there. I know you probably had more important things to do.”

  With a dismissive wave of his hand he said, “Now, enough about a wasted week of my life. How did you land yourself in the hospital?”

  “Well… funny you should use the word land…” Tandy went over the whole thing, from going out to help, to having his ship hijacked and to falling to his seeming demise and Khai coming to the rescue.

  “That crazy son-of-a-bitch! Doesn’t he know he has yet another warrant for his arrest?”

  “Yes,” Tandy said dryly. “But you know him. Selfless as the day is long.”

  “Did they find your ship?”

  “Yeah, as soon as I was loaded onto the Star Splitter, Khai used a secured military com channel and put out a Military-wide lookout for her. It didn’t take long for them to find her and capture her.”

  “Well at least you still have your ship.”

  “That’s about it, things are worse than ever down here. The Reapers have pushed us back to the point where we’re evac-ing people to other planets and orbital stations.”

  “Did they ever find out how those things got out?”

  Tandy looked even grimmer than before. “A Vyysarri bypassed all the fancy security you put in place after Trall’s attempt. He used a high-powered cannon on a tripod to cut through the door.”

  “By the Founders!” Tander breathed. “Aside from the fact that I spent millions to secure that place-”

  “There’s more,” Tandy interrupted, physically turning paler by the moment.

  “Do I want to know?”

  “The military leveled the facility from orbit to prevent any more of them from leaving.” Tandy didn’t even try to suppress the grimace when he said it.

  “WHAT?” Tander yelped. “The whole thing?”

  “Every square inch,” Tandy replied. “However, Prime Minister Puar assured me that you would be compensated for your losses.”

  After a moment of stunned silence and a very, very heavy sigh from Tander, he spoke. “As long they were stopped from leaving from there on out. Did the media catch wind of it?”

  “I thought about the same thing, but no.”

  “Thank the Founders!” Tander sighed. “That kind of news would kill the reunification instantly, not to mention that if they were to find out it was my facility where it happened, my stock would plummet.”

  Tandy frowned. “Well I’m glad to see you haven’t changed much.”

  Tander faked a hurt look on his face, then pointed to himself with the most innocent look he could muster mouthing the question: me? Then they both laughed.

  “Now, let’s set all this talk aside and pretend for a while that I’m a good brother. How are you Tandy? How’s Bri?”

  The last few days had been downright grueling, like he was back in basic training. These monsters had managed to push back the best of the best of the military to a last stand at the stadium. All the occupants were being evacuated to Seryys Heights, which was both elevated and had a narrow access point, and now some were being evacuated to orbital stations and other planets within the Seryys System.

  These monsters were running rampant; Dah was on the mend from his fall; Khai and Sibrex were laying low and trying to help by engaging the monsters wherever possible—without drawing any unwanted attention to themselves. Khai was able to sneak one night in with Brindee. She was overwhelmed with relief to see he had made it out alive. But in the next two days, she was supposed to report to a staging area where Vyysarri refuges were to be loaded up on a ship for evacuation during the night.

  Khai was able to confirm through Prime Minister Puar that it was a legitimate evacuation and not a ploy by one of the anti-reunification movements. It was being done at night for obvious reasons, but it was also being kept from the public. Only the Vyysarri residents, which weren’t many, were informed to keep the possibility of hate crimes to a minimum. When the Prime Minister gave him his word, Khai relented and allowed her to take the ship to safety. The ship was scheduled to leave that night and Khai intended to be there to see it off. However, in the meantime, he was on his way to see Dack in the hospital to make sure he was doing okay.

  Outside the hospital, there were picketers. It seemed that the rich had nothing better to do than protest the reintegration of the Vyysarri. They held signs that showed pictures of Vyysarri behind bars, and were saying angry things and hurtful things that “civilized people” should never say. Khai pulled the collar up on his trench coat and the hood of the undercoat down. He was still incognito. The city’s falling apart around them, and these jokers can’t see past their own ignorance to see what’s happening!

  Chapter Twelve

  Or’Lyyn Oraar stood with a picket sign outside the Aurora Hospital. Though he heartily agreed with the picketer’s message—because he HATED the Vyysarri, he was not there to picket but to complete a mission. The mission had been given to him by the man who went by Warthol, a bird of prey found exclusively on Seryys IV. His target was possibly going to come to this hospital to check on a friend.

  When General Khai’Xander Khail got there, he was to approach him as a picketer and try to convert him. When that didn’t work, he was to carry out his mission.

  It didn’t take long for General Khail to show up, just as Warthol had predicted. Warthol also orchestrated the protest in which he was participating as a ruse to get close the legendary man. The honor that had been bestowed upon him filled him with joy and pride. He, Or’Lyyn Oraar, got to be the man to take down the great Khai’Xander Khail, the traitor who took one of the disgusting Vyysarri scum as a partner.

  He was easy to spot. Warthol said it would be easy to spot him. Even with his ridiculous disguise, Or’Lyyn had no trouble. As General Khail approached, Or’Lyyn was amused by the disgusted look on his face. He truly had learned to love these ugly bloodsuckers, he mused. The “hero” of Seryys shouldered his way through the throng of people protesting, most didn’t even know why they were really there. Warthol headed up the SAVR movement from the shadows, orchestrating protests while covertly using these innocent people for his own means.

  It wouldn’t take long.

  Khail emerged from the crowd. Or’Lyyn stepped forward.

  “Hello, friend!” he said in a friendly tone. “Have you a moment to talk about the plight that dirties our streets?”

  “No,” was all Khai said as he continued to walk for the door, not even making eye contact.

  This poor fool. He thinks he’s so right in his reverence for the enemy. “Come now!” Or’Lyyn chuckled. “Indulge me.”

  Khai stopped and turned to stare down the man clearly pushing his buttons. “I won’t be part of this hate mongering. You want to hate Vyysarri, do it from the privacy of your home or the rock you live under. But put it in my face, and you’ll be doing it from the privacy of a grave!” the solider growled through his teeth.

  Now was the time! “The Founders will forsake you, blasphemer! All those who love the leaches will burn in an eternal furnace in
the afterlife!”

  That sudden angry outburst seemed to do the trick. Khai’s huge, muscular hand shot out from the sleeve of the coat and grabbed Or’Lyyn’s throat, lifting him off his feet. Or’Lyyn, a skilled fighter and assassin, could have easily broken free, but to keep the guise going, he played scared and grabbed fruitlessly at Khai’s thick forearm. On the ring finger of Or’Lyyn’s left hand was a ring. On that ring, there was a tiny needle just big and strong enough to puncture the skin, but small enough not to be seen or felt when used. Within the ring was a potent poison harvested from small plants only found on what was once Vyysar.

  The poison had been supplied by Warthol to be used specifically on General Khail. The dose was not meant to kill him, but to incapacitate him within a few hours after the poison worked its way through his system.

  To Or’Lyyn’s elation, Khail fell for it. He didn’t even flinch. Or’Lyyn had to work hard at suppressing a grin. After a few tense moments, Khai’s features softened a bit and he dropped Or’Lyyn on his backside. The intimidating man stalked off angrily and said over his shoulder, “You had damn well better not be out here when I come out.”

  Don’t worry, General Khail. I won’t. Or’Lyyn said inwardly with a predator’s grin.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The nerve of some people! Khai steamed as he stalked through the corridors of the hospital on his way to Dah’s room.

  “Well it’s about time,” Dah whined. “I was starting to think that you were gonna just drop me here and leave!”

  “Where would I go?” Khai asked pointedly.

  “Seryys Four? Vyysarri Space? Back to that ship you found?”

  “Okay, okay, I get the point.”

  “So I have some bad news, Khai,” Dah said, aging a year when he said it.

  “Oh good,” Khai grumbled sarcastically. “I knew I was having too good of a day. What’s up?”

  Dah leaned back and let his body relax. “Puar asked me a favor.”

  “Which was?”