“What’s going on?” Eicelea asked.
“An evacuation order has been called,” Vynei looked lost in thought as he searched for alerts via his HNI. “The invaders have entered the system.”
“No! Gods damn it!” Eicelea’s tiny balled up fists thumped against the solid surface of the monolith with fury. “We were so close!”
“We got to get out of here, now,” Vynei said.
“Where? The nearest transport is back at the base,” Pierce said.
“A little over two hours from here . . .” Foster added. “If this turns into a repeat of Earth, we’ll be dead long before we arrive.”
“Well, we can’t just stay here right?” Pierce said.
“That’s exactly what we need to do,” Foster said. “Only a transport is gonna save our hides. Any of you two with your fancy HNI able to send out a distress signal?”
“Already on it,” Vynei said.
“Use my name as the sender, might encourage rescue to come a little faster,” Foster said.
Foster looked to the cloudy skies as her heartbeat increased, hoping the next sight she would see was an evacuation transport, but knew fully well it would probably be massive winged serpents searching for an easy kill.
Survival until help arrived became their newest mission.
22 Peiun
Rezeki’s Rage, Bridge
Dark Energy Maelstrom
August 9, 2118, 13:44 SST (Sol Standard Time)
“How long do you figure we have until the corruption reaches critical systems?”
“Less than a day.”
Peiun gave Alesyna a wincing glare as he sat back in his chair with a fully rested mind. Following the invader fleet within the maelstrom proved to be an annoying task. Their ships moved faster than the Rezeki’s Rage, stopping every six hours to rest, giving them the chance to make up lost ground, only to lose it once the sleeping bio-ships awoke and continued on course.
The central charybdis ship, as it was now unofficially named, was their only means out of this strange realm that was eating the ship from the inside out. Or is that outside in? The clouds are, after all, making matter vanish from the hull breach. “I grow tired of this storm . . .” Peiun groaned.
The Rezeki’s Rage had several opportunities to attack the ships while they slept with the long-range plasma cannon fire, opportunities he was hesitant on taking out of fear the fleet might retaliate. One damaged Imperial destroyer pitted against a fleet of invaders whose weapons and speed were superior to yours was no laughing matter.
However, the rumbling noises that came from the sealed off cargo hold the previous night when he tried to sleep said it all. They needed more of the substance the green-sacked charybdis ship possessed. They’d be dead in a day without it, and they’d probably be dead within a few hours if they try to fight for it.
Either choice he made would have the likelihood of the ship being lost with all hands.
“Target the charybdis ship,” Peiun ordered as he folded his hands together. “Helm, be prepared to take us directly into the substance that sprays out from that ship.”
“Of course, Captain.”
“Maneuver us accordingly and ensure that our hull breach gets a generous coating of it.”
“And then?”
Peiun smirked as he eyed the fleet of invader ships moving away from them via the view screen. “And then, we fight for survival.”
“Weapons ready,” Alesyna said.
Peiun gave her a quick glance. Alesyna’s face looked calm, focused, and mentally ready for anything that could come next. Without a gunner manning the weapons, it was going to be up to her to use her telepathic thoughts to become one with the ship’s computers and take aim. All while juggling the extra duties her psionic mind had to take on since entering the maelstrom and strengthening the overshields, as they were about to enter battle.
One major distraction such as her hitting her head during an attack, and her focus would be broken, taking with it, the lives of everyone aboard. Peiun might have been the captain calling the shots, but the crew owed everything to Alesyna’s powers.
“Fire on my mark,” Peiun said.
The Rezeki’s Rage’s forward plasma cannons repositioned and acquired a lock on the charybdis ship within the cluster of invader ships. The HNI data that beamed into Peiun’s head showed it wasn’t going to be the most accurate shot given that the fleet was moving away from them at a faster rate and reducing their accuracy percentage and firepower potency with each passing second. And those numbers were based on the assumption that they were in normal space, aether space had its own set of rules when it came to physics.
Then there was going to be the dash to the spill of the substance to get the affected areas of the ship coated, then fleeing without getting destroyed. All while knowing nothing of the new physical laws that would be governing their moves.
“Captain!” Alesyna called out, directing his attention to new information her ESP populated the view screen with.
The clouds and lightning bolts within the maelstrom began to part before the invader fleet, the charybdis ship in particular. In its wake was the abyss of space and the twinkling stars they all longed to see for the last several days. It was as if someone ripped a hole within the maelstroms chaotic wonder, a hole that led back to the known universe, or so he hoped.
The charybdis ship traveled through the hole first, lightning and violent waves of energy danced across its fleshy hull. The remaining invader ships began to follow suit, exiting the maelstrom into normal space.
Peiun smiled at the sight. “It’s a way out.”
“Shall we continue our attack?” Alesyna asked.
“Of course not,” Peiun said, unsure if her question was serious or not. “Helm, take us through, but keep your distance as before.”
They waited until more than two thirds of the invader fleet had crossed through, in which Rezeki’s Rage main thrusters flared, and pushed the ship toward its freedom. The opening into normal space expanded in size as they neared . . . then stopped. Peiun’s HNI display revealed they had nearly come to a full stop.
“Why are we moving at this rate?” he asked.
“It’s the invader fleet,” said Louik. “They have slowed.”
Peiun watched with frustration as the numbers of the Rezeki’s Rage rate of acceleration dropped to single digits, then zero. Louik hissed furiously and said. “Now, they’ve stopped.”
“Hold here,” Peiun said “There’s nothing else we can do except wait for them to spread out.”
Louik grimaced. “We could continue our attack . . .”
“Situation has changed, we have a way out.” Peiun felt his chair vibrate slightly. “Unless the interior of our ship vanishes before they move . . .”
Ten minutes passed with no change to their situation. The invader fleet remained at the opening of the maelstrom, their ships clustered together tightly, forming almost a web across their escape path.
“The maelstrom is sealing up,” Alesyna said, and updated the view screen.
The opening within the maelstrom’s clouds began to recede, as swirling pink and magenta clouds and thunder bolts began to close over the hole. It was obscuring the blackness of space and the invader fleet that remained just outside of the maelstrom.
If we remain here, we’ll be stuck forever. Well, not forever, the corruption of the hull will end us by tomorrow.
Peiun had to get the ship through, while the option to try was still a realistic one.
“Alesyna, any idea where this region of space leads?” he said, facing her.
Alesyna’s body showed all the typical signs she had entered a deep ESP trance, scanning the region of space that existed beyond the opening of the maelstrom. “I sense smaller human ships, and possible settlements.”
Peiun grimaced while turning his chair back to the view screen. “We went from Paryo to human-controlled territory . . .”
“This must be how they travel through interste
llar space,” Alesyna said.
“And now they’ve rallied in a human-controlled system.” Peiun stroked his face before adding. “Any theories?”
“Perhaps this is a secret human weapon, and this is its launch site?” Manzo said.
Alesyna shook her head. “They’re planning to strike the humans.”
“What makes you think that?” Louik said.
“I would, this system is lightly defended,” Alesyna said. “And the wormhole is on the exact opposite end of the system, it will take human reinforcements several minutes to engage the invader fleet where it lays should they arrive now.”
An Imperial ship like the Rezeki’s Rage showing up in UNE-controlled space alongside an invader fleet was going to spark heated political arguments that would go on for months, especially if they were destroyed as they wouldn’t be able to speak for themselves. But what other choice did they have?
Survival, keeping what remained of the ship and crew intact and reporting back to the Empire everything they had discovered. That was Peiun’s primary mission as of that moment, a moment that was slipping away as the opening back to normal space continued to fade away, little by little.
“Full power to the engines,” Peiun ordered. “Take weapons offline and transfer the power to what little shield strength we have.”
“Understood.”
“Alesyna, give us everything you have for the overshields.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The opening shrunk to a hole barely small enough to fit the Rezeki’s Rage through. Peiun clenched his fists. “Take us through, now!”
The Rezeki’s Rage pushed past the numerous clouds in their path, ignoring the small lightning strikes that caused their psionic overshields to flicker with purple waves of energy. The hole got closer to them via the projection the main view screen displayed, escape was minutes away. And with that came the reality their escape from the maelstrom could be short-lived as the rallying invader ships still hovered next to the vortex.
Alesyna’s cries for everyone to brace themselves sent the crew to ready themselves for attack, more so than they did earlier. After all, they wouldn’t be the ones taking the first shot, or any shots for that matter, as long as power to the plasma cannons was being diverted to shield power.
The clouds were no longer present on the view screen, much to Peiun’s delight. That was replaced with the sight of space, stars, and the gauntlet of terror that surrounded them. Short bursts of tachyon beams impacted against their shields and overshields from all sides.
The invaders were not pleased to see them appear on their sensors.
Both Peiun’s hands gripped onto the arms of his chair. He gawked at the viewer with anticipation as they swung past a number of invader ships without incident. “Any signs of human activity thus far?”
“I sense nothing other than transports,” Alesyna said.
“Captain, if we get through this, where do we go from here?” asked Louik.
Peiun reviewed the newly populated tactical data from his HNI. “The wormhole is our only means of escape from this system.”
“And our direct link into another human-controlled system we do not have the authority to enter,” Louik replied.
“At this point,” Peiun muttered as he felt the effects of Alesyna’s overshield shatter. “I’d rather be shot by humans than these things.”
The Rezeki’s Rage soared away from the swarm of invader ships as what little remained of their weakened Hashmedai shields shattered and flickered out of existence. Unshielded areas of the ship had hull breaches vaporized into them by direct tachyon beam attacks. Fires ignited, unlucky crew members were vented out into space, and violent tremors rocked every deck. The minor repairs that had been made to the Rezeki’s Rage after the battle at Paryo had become undone in a matter of minutes.
The most agonizing aspect of it all was that the Rezeki’s Rage continued to move away from the fleet at sub light speeds, while the fleet remained stationary and struck the fleeing Hashmedai frigate with near pinpoint precision. Beam weapons traveling faster than the speed of light had no known counter other than to have shields ready to take the blow or to not be in the direct line of sight, neither were an option.
No wonder the Imperial fleet was caught off guard; these ships could target and destroy you from the opposite end of the system.
“At this rate, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the wormhole,” said Louik.
Peiun frantically searched for a way out. Luck had brought them this far, and he was certain it made plans for them to escape with their lives, provided he made the right choice.
He found it.
“Take us to the nearest human colony.”
“What do you intend to do?” Manzo snorted in an arrogant manner. “Request their transports as protection?”
“The only way to not be in weapons range is to break their line of sight,” Peiun said as he expanded his HNI projection for the bridge crew to see. “This planet here, put us behind it.”
“Using human colonists as shields . . .” Manzo muttered. “Such a noble plan, Captain.”
It wasn’t an honorable move by any means, but the colony was the only planetary body that was close to them. It was also the largest human settlement in the system and a large-sized planet in general. There was a reason the invaders arrived here, and it was to raze that world. It was doomed no matter what as far as he was concerned.
The planet also had a secondary function. “We may have to abandon ship,” Peiun said, and faced Manzo, sternly adding. “And if you continue to challenge me like this, I will personally see to it you leave first.”
“Don’t you mean last?”
“Humans shoot first then ask questions, those questions will be directed to those that arrive second or third.”
Peiun’s attention returned back to his HNI tactical overlay. He examined data about the planet based on Imperial intel gathered, Alesyna’s recent ESP scans, and the limited sensor data which was slowly trickling back to them.
“Send out a distress signal plus a warning that the invaders have arrived,” Peiun added. “Perhaps that will remind the humans whose side we’re on.”
Additional data appeared and populated his HNI overlay in regard to the planet, including its name, and the system they arrived in. The humans called the system Kapteyn’s Star, and the planet they were travelling to . . .
Was called Jacobus.
23 Odelea
Abyssal Comet
Earth orbit, Sol system
August 9, 2118, 15:26 SST (Sol Standard Time)
UNE battleships hovered in Earth’s orbit one moment, and in the next came the Radiance Union cruiser Abyssal Comet out from the brilliant flash of an FTL jump, bringing its journey to an end. A journey that took longer than expected due to the congestion at the numerous wormholes the Comet was required to travel through, on top of awaiting permission to enter UNE space in the first place to access them. The Comet being owned and operated by the Souyila Corporation didn’t help, as the humans had grown overly cautious in the wake of the attacks at the hands of the invaders.
The crew of the Abyssal Comet couldn’t blame the humans, as Radiance too had tightened security near their borders and the one wormhole that linked to the Luminous system. Odelea however could. The delays only reinforced the reality she was going to lose yet another opportunity to advance her career and, at worst, bring forth the end of galactic life since she was not the one making the discoveries.
The devastation the human fleet took floated past her lab’s observation windows as the Abyssal Comet maintained its steady orbit of Earth. The mangled wreckage of human ships and scattered debris reminded her of the devastation she and the Comet had left behind at Aervounis. She glanced at the blue world while nibbling on an apple, indulging on the nostalgia that soothed her mind from when she first had arrived at Earth to study the human race. They were so primitive back then, now their technology rivals ours. Why do the Gods favor
their species? Most humans do not worship them.
She yawned and guided her sleeve across her mouth, wiping it clean of the sweet juices the apple deposited. The diminishing returns of the stims she had been injecting herself with daily had taken effect. Odelea strode out of the labs and into the bright, white lights of the halls, making her way to her quarters, her eyes and joints yearned for bed rest.
Queenea and Viceroy Crimei appeared further down the white hallways as the tiles reflected their likeness back up. Crimei was tugging what appeared to be a prisoner with him while Queenea stood smirking. The prisoner was none other than the infamous Tolukei. Odelea watched as Crimei pushed him forward past her and grimaced at the slave collar round Tolukei’s neck. Her eyes locked into the four eyes of Tolukei’s that peered back down at her through the cloak around his head.
“Why the slave collar?” Odelea asked Queenea as she approached her.
“He’s a Muodiry; we’re not going to take any risks with his powers,” Queenea said.
“I’m sure he’s no threat to this ship and its armed crew.”
“And if he manages to escape, kill the crew, and hand this ship to the exiles or Celestial Order remnants, then what?”
Crimei handed Tolukei off to an armored ranger who forced him to the brig at gunpoint.
“Thank the Gods you got here when you did,” Crimei said to the two having overheard. “The invaders still on Earth just launched an attack on one of their cities. With that said, may I ask a request of you?”
“Do I have a choice? You are the voice of the council here,” Queenea said drily.
Crimei’s arms crossed against his cybernetically enhanced chest. “I’d like this ship to remain in orbit a while longer while the humans battle the invaders on the surface.”
“You wish to spy on the humans?” Queenea snickered.
“Humans may still be the newcomers to the galactic stage,” Crimei said. “But don’t forget, they have proven to be quite resourceful, especially when it comes to combat.”
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