Heretic

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  Explosions big and massive erupted across the bronze, alien hull, still, it did nothing to retaliate. After a few minutes, the Victory reported back that they had run dry of things to throw at their target.

  “Wait…” Ilo was checking the helmsman’s data again. “According to the Victory’s sensor array, the enemy ship has increased in size.”

  Telarrek faced Uthor in alarm. “The hull is made of nanocelium. They are absorbing the energy and using it to replicate.”

  “It’s moving!” Ilo stood up from the screen.

  The alien ship turned about until its pointed end was facing the Victory. It grew larger in the main-viewer, as it consumed the external camera’s scope.

  “Get them out of there!” Uthor ordered.

  Ilo went back to work, but it was too late. The alien ship ploughed into the Victory and the feed went dead, collapsing the hologram. Li’ara could only imagine the chaos on the other end.

  The expected moment of silence never came, with Uthor proving his worth. “Charge Ilo, I am using my emergency powers; as of this moment, let the record show that I am assuming full authority over Conclave security. To that effect, have the Marillion evacuate the Highclave and shuttled back to the capital - I want that ship under my command by the time I’m finished speaking. Re-direct the third fleet to meet us at the Starforge’s coordinates.”

  It won't be there when they arrive, Sef said. It’s not looking for a confrontation, Li’ara. There’s only one thing it wants, one thing it’s always wanted…

  Li’ara stepped forward, halting Uthor’s next order. “It didn't come here to fight you. Whatever they are, they might have designs on the Conclave, but you’re not what they’ve been focusing on for the last two-hundred thousand years. Doesn't it seem too much of a coincidence, that when a hundred thousand more humans arrive and the only surviving Gomar are free, that this thing should show up?”

  “What are you saying, Miss Ducarté?” Uthor loomed over her.

  Telarrek answered, “The humans. It has come for the humans…”

  “We need to go to Arakesh and intercept it, before-”

  Uthor cut Li’ara short. “Course correction! Have the third fleet meet us at Arakesh! And have the human habitation alerted to our situation. I advise immediate evacuation.”

  Li’ara smiled in relief. They were finally starting to believe them.

  “High Charge,” Ilo turned around, “the Highclave are protesting your orders.”

  “Are they off the Marillion?” he inquired.

  “Yes sir, the Nautallon is escorting them.”

  “Good, then have that big, golden ball of destruction ready to jump with the rest of us!”

  Chapter 23

  “What the hell is that thing?” Captain Holt spoke up, over the alarms blaring across the human habitat.

  Captain Fey cupped her mouth, unable to prevent the expression of despair that overcame her. Jed decided he would prefer to never see that look again. Li had been calm and collected through some of the weirdest things Jed had ever seen in his life, but the image of that massive ship emerging from the Starforge stunned Fey to silence.

  “Li?” Jed repeated his question.

  “It’s one of them. They’ve finally decided to get their hands dirty.”

  Jed looked from the holographic feed to the masses beyond Fey’s office, who were now being herded towards the docking area. It was chaos.

  The door opened and Laurence Wynter flew in. “Where are the evacuation shuttles?”

  Jed had only known the man for a day or so and he already couldn't stand the sound of his voice. When this was all over, the captain decided that something had to be done about this whole council thing. It seemed to Jed that more than a few of them weren't fit to make decisions on behalf of the human race. Just thinking about the new population size was enough to make his shoulders visibly sag.

  “They’re on their way,” Fey assured. “The Raalakian high council has already sent word.”

  “Have you seen what that thing did to the Victory?” Wynnter was becoming hysterical. “We aren't all going to be evacuated in time! Why aren't we using those shuttles in the engineering bay?”

  Fey pinched her eyes. “Those are maintenance shuttles for repairing the habitat. They can't fit more than a couple of people inside. We mustn't panic, Laurence…”

  Wynter’s mouth fell open in shock. “Not Panic? Did you even read the alert from High Charge Uthor? That thing is coming to exterminate us!”

  “Colonel Matthews?” Jed shouted above the councillor. The Raider marched into the office with her usual mean expression. “Please see to it that Councillor Wynter here finds his way to the evacuation area.”

  Ava nodded and roughly gripped Laurence’s jacket, yanking him from the room in a shower of protests.

  “Thank you,” Fey said, “but we have to be careful with our authority, or the word dictatorship is going to start being thrown around.”

  Jed held up his hands. “I apologise. I just couldn't listen to another word…”

  Li smiled. “Indeed.”

  “He does have a point though,” Jed continued. “The Raa… Raa… the evacuation shuttles aren't even in sight yet. According to that report, the system in which it arrived isn't far from here.”

  “What we need is more time.” Fey couldn't take her eyes off the image of the giant ship.

  Jed agreed, but he didn't have an answer for her. The captain sat back in the chair, behind Fey’s desk, and looked up, through the skylight. The view gave a clear line of sight to the transparent dome above, where the Paladin floated effortlessly.

  “Where’s the engineering bay?” he asked.

  “Why?” Captain Fey gave him a curious look.

  “There might be no way to slow that thing down… but there might be one way of speeding up the evacuation.”

  By the time the Sentinel and the fourth fleet emerged from sub-space, the third fleet had already arrived in the Arakesh system and engaged the enemy ship. Roland peeked over the helmsman’s shoulder and saw their position put them on the edge of the Raalakian solar system. The alien ship was taking a battering, as it hurtled towards a distant moon, orbiting a giant gas planet. The third fleet surrounded it and matched its speed, never letting up for a second.

  “Every hit increases its size!” one of the crew barked.

  “Why has it jumped to the outskirts?” Roland asked out loud. Judging by the looks he received, the bounty hunter was the first one to ponder its choice of destination.

  Everyone turned back to the viewport, where the distant moon was no longer so distant. Uthor strode down the centre aisle and commanded the image be magnified. Roland noted the confusion on everyone’s face, even the Gomar appeared distressed by the sight. The pointed behemoth ploughed through space, ignoring the Conclave ships, and headed straight for the moon.

  “What is it doing?” Telarrek asked.

  The Novaarian’s answer came with an unsettling image across the viewport. Most of the bridge crew gasped when the massive ship dived into the moon, creating a plume of debris that masked the destruction.

  “It must have been damaged,” Charge Ilo commented, with a hint of hope in her voice. “Perhaps our barrage disrupted its navigation array.”

  The debris continued to disguise the surface of the moon where the ship had nose-dived into the rock. Roland narrowed his vision to the area around the hurricane of dust and noted the expanding cracks.

  “I don't think it’s damaged…” The bounty hunter ignored the helmsman’s sour look and changed the area of magnification himself.

  The cracks were growing outwards from the point of entry and quickly becoming as large as valleys. The fleet had come to a halt above the surface but continued to launch everything into what must have been a large crater by now.

  An alert flashed up, prompting the helmsman’s report. “High Charge, we’re picking mass disruption across the entire moon.”

  “That’ll happen when a
n entire fleet offloads its goods into the surface,” Roland flippantly commented.

  The helmsman clarified, “The disruption is seismic. It’s coming from within the moon…”

  Uthor puffed out his mighty chest. “This isn’t over yet.”

  The moon physically changed shape, with entire sections imploding inwards, towards the core. Roland observed the devastating phenomenon, likening the effects to that of a black hole. Sef shifted his sizable weight and placed a hand on Vox’s shoulder. The two appeared to hold a brief discussion before the mean-looking red-head spoke up.

  “The ship is made from pure nanocelium.” Everyone turned to listen. “Given an appropriate resource, nanocelium will consume and replicate.”

  Vox’s words illuminated a new type of fear across the variety of alien expressions. Roland had seen that kind of fear consume the best of soldiers; the realisation that their enemy couldn't be defeated.

  “So… It’s just having lunch?” Roland’s levity wasn't appreciated.

  Uthor swivelled back to the viewport. “Move the fleets round to the other side of the moon!”

  The Sentinel’s main engines came online, pushing the lengthy, green ship over the top of the moon.

  Roland…

  The bounty hunter heard Sef’s distinct voice echo inside his mind and felt somewhat ridiculous when he replied with a questioning thought.

  Where is the Rackham? Sef asked.

  Close. Len’s keeping perfectly quiet for the first time in his miserable life.

  In truth, Roland was surprised that the Ch’kara had actually followed them, expecting the little gas cloud to have moved on to a new life with the most advanced ship in his possession.

  Have him dock the Sentinel. Sef’s tone was irritatingly commanding.

  You fixing to cut and run, Mr. Gomar?

  Roland turned around and offered a cheeky smile as if Sef was coming round to his way of thinking. With that in mind, the bounty hunter realised he had yet to assess the environment, as he normally did. By now he should have already located his exit strategy and made an effort to disappear. Why was he sticking around?

  The Rackham can be adapted for combat. It can fire nanocelium missiles capable of cancelling out the nanocelium inside that ship. Sef sounded more than a little impatient.

  “Well, when you put it like that…” Roland accidentally responded out loud, eliciting a strange look from Telarrek.

  The bounty hunter shrugged and turned away while using his mental link to the Rackham to make contact. Thankfully, the ship was only a couple of miles off the Sentinel’s starboard bow, keeping it within range. Roland only wished he could see Ch’len’s face when he lost control.

  “We have a plan,” Li’ara announced, gathering everyone’s attention. “The Rackham is going to board and we’re going to join the fight.”

  Roland couldn't help the height of his eyebrows, which jumped into his forehead. Li’ara gave him a look, which told of her knowledge on the matter. Roland hadn't known Li’ara was listening to their mental conversation… That was going to be annoying.

  Uthor frowned his rocky brow. “And how is the Rackham going to help?”

  “It has nanocelium-based weaponry,” Li’ara replied. “It might be the only thing that makes a dent.”

  Uthor looked over the Gomar and rested on Malekk’s unconscious form, before turning to Roland. “I take it the Rackham is close by… I’m afraid I cannot allow it. I want you all where I can see you, not disappearing in a ship we can't track.” The Raalak fixed Roland with a lasting look of derision.

  “Uthor…” Telarrek silently pleaded with his old friend, but the Raalak’s attention was drawn to the viewport, along with everyone else.

  The Sentinel had reached the other side of the moon now, along with the fleets, who had taken up attack positions again. It made no difference. The moon’s surface imploded in a single spot, before exploding with the emergence of the enemy ship. It was much bigger than when it had entered the moon; Roland didn't need sensor feedback to tell him that. Its bronze hull shot out of the moon with a force similar to an intrinium bolt leaving a Tri-roller. Three of the ships in the third fleet were obliterated instantly on impact, their explosions rippling across the alien hull, which continued its journey into the heart of the Raalakian system.

  “World Breakers - NOW!” Uthor commanded without hesitation.

  Ilo relayed his order to the select fleet vessels that possessed the planet-ending missiles, as well as the Marillion. Roland had wanted to see the effects of these weapons since he first heard of them, though using them on a ship would be less impressive than using it on an actual planet. The bounty hunter could feel the Rackham secretly entering the hangar bay of the Sentinel, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the viewport.

  “Nineteen World Breakers have been launched, sir!” one of the bridge crew announced.

  Silence settled over the bridge, as they watched nineteen brilliantly blue missiles streak across the vastness of space. One after another, the missiles collided with the alien ship and erupted in a flash that had to be dimmed by the viewport. Roland watched the data on the helmsman’s holographic screen. The report wasn't good.

  “Speed, hull strength, it’s not even wobbled off course!” Roland looked at Uthor.

  “It’s retaliating!” Charge Ilo gasped.

  Golden arcs flew through the black of space and detonated against the inferior hulls of the Conclave fleet. A Nexus class vessel, in the centre of the fleet, flashed, imitating a supernova and consumed four smaller ships surrounding it. The starrillium had been ruptured violently, just as the Valoran had when Roland killed the majority of the Gomar, a year ago.

  Uthor slammed his solid fist on the nearest console. “Match speed and continue to fire everything we have. No ship is to stop until all munitions are spent!” The Raalakian turned to the Gomar and Li’ara. “Can the Rackham really have any effect?”

  “We have to try.” Li’ara glanced at Roland, making certain the ship was available.

  Uthor let out a gravelly sigh. “If you can make a hole in that thing, we can fire another world breaker into it. You have permission to dock, Mr. North.”

  “The Rackham landed a couple of minutes ago.” Roland patronisingly patted the High Charge on the arm and made for the exit.

  Jed stood over helmsman Maloy, the only two on the bridge of the Paladin. The first Raalakian rescue ship, which could only take a maximum of a hundred people, had created chaos across the habitat. The Conclave Watch that ensures the humans never strayed beyond the habitat’s environment was too busy to notice one small engineering ship depart. The pair had wasted no time, sprinting to the bridge, and firing up the arc ship’s solar drive.

  “We don't have nearly enough solarcite to make a jump, Sir,” Maloy reported. “We could make a run for the nearest sun, but based on the data we received, that ship is travelling much faster than our sub-light engines could ever handle.”

  Jed could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his cheeks. “We don't have a choice, Maloy. I didn't travel two hundred years into the future to lie down and die. Dock us over there.”

  The captain left Maloy to do his job, instead turning to the communication array. The evacuation would go quicker if Captain Fey knew where to herd everyone. It was going to be a tight squeeze since the Paladin was only designed to hold a hundred thousand occupants. Still, a tight squeeze was better than death.

  He only hoped they had time.

  Roland fell into his captain’s chair with delight, enjoying its familiar feel. Ch’len had practically imploded when four of the twelve Gomar entered the bridge. Sef had explained that the rest were staying in the hold to focus their efforts on keeping Malekk comatose. Something about having the infected Terran onboard the Rackham disturbed the bounty hunter.

  The Rackham slowly lifted off the Sentinel’s deck and turned towards the rectangular exit. Roland blew on his hands and rubbed them together, before setting them down on t
he main control console.

  “Let’s skip to the good bit…”

  The Rackham shot out of the Sentinel and made a quick course correction to keep in line with the green ship. What was left of the fleets continued to dog the alien vessel, with the Marillion offering salvo after salvo of munitions. The enemy ship took every hit, offering two of its own for every missile that found its bronze hull. The third and fourth fleet were losing numbers by the second.

  Roland veered the ship to the starboard and careened over the top of the Sentinel. The newest ship in the fleet had taken a battering across the bow, though they had hardly felt it prior to lifting off, a testament to the mighty ship’s design. The golden orb of the Marillion was impossible to miss, as it slowly overtook the fleet and approached the enemy vessel from the port side. Patches of scorched black marred the golden surface and trailed dying fire and dissipating smoke. No ship could avoid the enemy’s targeting apparently.

  Except maybe one…

  The Rackham soon left the Sentinel behind and slipped between the red Conclave ships, weaving and dodging the sporadic explosions. Hundreds of red Darts poured out of the Nebula Class vessels and dropped into attack patterns, but the enemy ship had only to unleash one salvo to create a chain reaction, killing them all.

  “Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast,” Roland said, his concentration split. “We’ll be within weapons range soon.”

  One of the Nebula Class vessels took a critical hit, halting its trajectory immediately. The size of the ship forced the Rackham to dive or fly straight into its dying engines. The Nebula continued to rupture and explode as the Rackham flew under its belly, every new explosion sending vibrations through the hull.

  Vox stood forward. “Garrion, Ariah…” The red-head gestured for the Gomar to take up positions either side of the bridge.

  Sef nodded once at Vox and left the bridge. Roland’s internal sensors told the bounty hunter that the big Gomar was heading for the hold again. Was Malekk waking up? The break in concentration almost cost them all their lives, when Roland made a quick correction to avoid a floating piece of debris, ten times the size of the Rackham.