Dark Angels Rising

by Ian Whates

  There was a palpable sense of excitement as the Ion Raider came out of Rz.

  Two things had happened in the hours leading up to their arrival that acted to lift the crew’s spirits. The first involved Billy, who emerged from his induced coma in considerably better condition than he entered it.

  “All bruising and minor injuries have been treated,” Raider reported. “The fragment of disc nucleus has been repositioned in his spine and the rupture in the annulus repaired, while anti-inflammatories have successfully eased the pain and swelling. Affected organ tissue has been replaced as appropriate and the torn ligaments in the right knee successfully restored. In addition to damage caused by the beating, the liver was also showing longer term issues typical of alcohol abuse. These too have been dealt with. Essentially, Frame is healed, although in ideal circumstances I would recommend a further period of rest and recuperation.”

  “In ideal circumstances I’d be happy to grant it,” Cornische assured the AI. “However…”

  He was there when Raider roused Billy, welcoming him back to consciousness, and sat with him while he sipped at a vitamin-laced drink, before accompanying him to the artefact room to reclaim Frame’s very basic costume. Billy had paused before stepping inside, though not, it seemed to Cornische, due to any apparent misgivings, but rather to stare at the other vast metal box that sat beside the artefact room in cargo: Saavi’s cloud chamber; empty now, it’s mists dormant.

  Neither of them spoke. After a moment’s contemplation, Billy went into the white room in which so many ghosts resided. He did so without any hint of nerves or excitement, but more an air of resignation. He donned the simple brown smock as if this was something he did every day, clipping in place the twin metal wristbands that focussed and intensified Frame’s abilities as if they too were just another part of his routine.

  Frame’s costume came without any sort of mask, so they had designed one to be worn with it, but this Billy spurned, leaving it in place on the blank-featured white head.

  “I don’t really see the point, do you?” he said.

  There was a sense of the ineffable about Billy, an almost spiritual calmness the like of which Cornische had rarely seen before, and one that was certainly at odds with the man he remembered.

  “Sorry to throw you in at the deep end,” he said as they headed towards ops where the others waited, “But we’ll be emerging from Rz shortly, close to Lenbya and, no doubt, straight into battle.”

  “I’m ready to play my part, Captain,” Billy assured him.

  Billy appeared almost sheepish when they entered ops, as if the prospect of others making a fuss of him wasn’t something he relished. The other Angels didn’t disappoint; Jen hugged him, Mosi gave him a brief embrace and even Leesa treated him to a quick peck on the cheek. He accepted the attention stoically.

  Jen introduced him to Nate, explaining, “He’s joined us as the new Ramrod.”

  “The whiskers actually suit you,” Leesa commented, “now that they’ve had a trim and been tidied up a bit.”

  Cornische stood back and observed all this: the calm before the storm. Are we enough? he couldn’t help but wonder. They would have to be.

  The second encouraging development was brought to them by Raider, shortly after Frame had made his appearance and as they were about to return to normal space.

  “There is conflict in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to Lenbya,” the AI announced.

  “Conflict? Who’s involved?” Cornische wanted to know. “Is this a falling out between allies or is there a new factor?”

  “A number of ships have emerged from Rz to contest the space around the entrance with the Saflik and Night Hammer vessels already stationed there. The allegiance of the new arrivals is unclear at this stage.”

  “Could it be New Sparta, do you think?” Leesa asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “I never thought I’d be glad to see the banks meddle in anything.”

  “It doesn’t really matter who they are,” Cornische said. “If they can keep the Saflik ships occupied, it might give us a chance to slip past them to reach Lenbya.”

  The last time the Ion Raider exited Rz in the midst of a battle she had done so blind; this time the crew were better informed, thanks to Raider’s link with Lenbya’s Elder entity.

  No one shot at them, deliberately or inadvertently, though Leesa was soon conjuring screens that showed the ongoing engagement.

  As with any such situation, a degree of confusion reigned, but between them Raider and Leesa were able to form a pretty good impression of what was going on.

  “The two Night Hammer warships hold the key,” Leesa explained. “One, the Mark of Mímir, is sitting deep, held back from the engagement, presumably to block access to Lenbya should any of the attackers slip past the rest of the siege fleet. The other, the Scourge of Samael, is the focal point of the whole battle.” She pointed to the relevant positions of the two ships on her arrays.

  “Have we any clue yet as to who the attackers are?”

  “The majority of their ships show no ident at all,” Raider reported, “but a number appear to be of similar design to the vessel previously encountered that identified as Sabre 1.”

  “So it is New Sparta,” Jen said.

  “Looks like it.”

  “There is a need for increased urgency, Captain,” Raider said. “The composite and its allies have now broken through to Lenbya and have succeeded in establishing a beachhead. They are currently engaging my defences on the ground.”

  “Will those defences hold?”

  “For now, yes, but they will not do so indefinitely.”

  “Lees, can you plot a course that will take us to the gate without our becoming target practice for every ship out there?

  “Already on it. There are no guarantees, mind – it’s an ever-changing situation …”

  “Appreciated. Best option will have to do. As soon as you can, take us in. Maintain a steady speed – we don’t want to dawdle but let’s not draw attention by darting flat-out towards the gate.”

  “Understood. Okay, here we go.”

  The next few moments were intense. The battle around them unfolded on the displays. Ships died, crews perished in the dispassionate winking of a light, with no accompanying sound or even vibration disturbing those gathered in the Ion Raider’s ops room. They might almost have been viewing the whole battle from a distance, rather than attempting to tiptoe around its fringes without getting directly involved.

  Their luck held long enough for Cornische to think they might get away with it, but not long enough for them to actually do so.

  “Ident’s showing as the Silver Spear,” Leesa reported, as a blip detached itself from the ongoing hostilities and moved to intercept them. “An old military cruiser, Apex class.”

  “How heavily armed is it?”

  “There’s no telling how its weaponry might have been upgraded, but, even with the original specs, a lot more heavily than us. Can’t be certain of its allegiance, either, but, given the sophistication of the ships that we know to be New Spartan, I’m guessing she won’t be one of theirs.”

  “I agree. More likely Saflik.”

  “The point’s moot in any case. She’s firing at us. Hang on!”

  Leesa threw the ship into a tight curve, giving Cornische reason to be glad of his seat’s padding. The display showed a straight line of light lancing past them: energy weapon.

  “Respond with missiles,” Cornische instructed. “I’d rather hold Dead Leg back if we can. We may need it to get past the picket ship that’s stationed across the gateway.”

  The Ion Raider’s limited arsenal made it a titan in terms of trading vessels, but still a lightweight in this sort of scenario; she carried enough weapons to hold her own against a single enemy, but not in a full blown battle. Among the five missiles the Raider was equipped with were a grand total of two hunter seekers, for use against another vessel. Bot
h were launched now, just as Leesa and Raider took the ship into a further sharp manoeuvre to avoid another pulse of energy from the cruiser.

  They all watched anxiously as a thin line charted the missiles’ progress on the display. The Silver Spear countered with missiles of her own, and their two birds were destroyed, short of their target.

  It wasn’t that big a surprise, but Cornische still felt a slump of disappointment.

  For a third time they were forced to hold on tightly as the cruiser fired at them. This time, they weren’t quite quick enough, whether through luck or learning, the Silver Spear’s targeting had improved, and the deck bucked violently beneath the Angels.

  Leesa swore.

  “Not your fault,” Jen said. “They were going to nail us at some point.”

  “Raider, damage report!” Cornische barked.

  “A glancing blow only. There is damage to a number of systems, which I’m still correlating, but nothing immediately vital. Hull integrity remains sound, though that will not continue if we take another such hit. There is significant weakening in the vicinity of the cargo hold.”

  They had no choice. “All right, Raider, hit the Silver Spear with both beams.”

  On the displays a line of light arrowed from the Ion Raider towards the cruiser.

  “Dammit!” Leesa yelled.

  “Captain, the Dead Leg is not responding,” Raider reported at the same instant. “Only the tight beam has fired.”

  “Cause?”

  “The Elder tech is evidently one of the systems affected by the cruiser’s successful strike on us. Damage is not significant but I will need to recalibrate.”

  Mosi was already out of his seat. “If you need hands, I can help,” he said.

  “Unnecessary,” Raider responded. “The correction is not physical.”

  Mosi looked across at Cornische, who waved him back to his chair, saying, “Looks as if we’ll have to leave this one to Raider.”

  “Will the tight beam on its own be enough?” Nate wondered.

  “No,” Jen replied. “It’s a powerful, highly focused weapon and will undoubtedly do some damage, but we’d need the luck of the gods on our side to hit something vital and cripple a ship of that size.”

  As if to emphasise the point, the Silver Spear fired on them again, prompting more evasions from Leesa.

  “How much longer, Raider?”

  “Five minutes, thirty-nine seconds by my estimation.”

  “They can take a lot of pot shots at us in five and a half minutes,” Jen noted.

  Cornische knew it; and if they got lucky with just one of them… He didn’t want to flee, to take the Ion Raider away from the battle while Raider brought Dead Leg back on line, but better that than dead.

  Reluctantly, he was about to give the order, when a cry from Leesa stopped him.

  “Captain, look!”

  He followed Leesa’s pointing fingers and saw that two other ships had broken away from the main battle and were closing in on the cruiser.

  “Raider, can you identify?”

  Even as he spoke, the two new arrivals opened up on the cruiser with energy weapons.

  “Not specifically, Captain, though both are of the same class as Sabre 1 and… There is an incoming message from the closer of the two.”

  “Drake, is that you aboard the Comet that now shows as the Lion of Lincoln?”

  “Thapa! Yes, who else were you expecting?”

  “Get on with what you’re up to, then. Leave the Silver Spear to us.”

  “Thank you.” He nodded towards Leesa. “You heard the man.”

  They moved swiftly, leaving the cruiser and the stealth ships behind and successfully skirting the battle which still raged without drawing any further attention. Closing in on the gateway to Lenbya and the Night Hammer ship that guarded it. Unfortunately, the minutes required to bring Dead Leg back into service appeared to be counting down in slow motion, and they would be within the Mark of Mimir’s range before the weapon was ready.

  Leesa didn’t need to be told to slow the ship down, she was already doing so.

  “They must be aware of us,” Leesa muttered.

  “Yes, and the longer we sit here the more chance there is of a Saflik ally breaking away from the engagement and coming at us again,” Jen said.

  “We’ve no choice but to ride our luck and wait on Dead Leg,” Cornische said. “Unless anyone has a better idea?”

  Heads shaken all round. Then…

  “Captain,” Raider said, “there is another ship emerging from Rz close to the Mark of Mimir.”

  “A big one too, by the look of it,” Jen said. “And that’s some shit-hot navigation to emerge from Rz right there.”

  “I see it,” said Leesa, totally immersed in her monitors. “Not sure I believe what I’m seeing, mind you… That’s an Xter ship.”

  “Xters? What the hell are they doing here?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure” Leesa replied. “I grew up on an Xter colony world, remember.”

  “Bollocks!” said Jen. “As if Saflik, a resurrected patchwork Elder and the Night Hammers weren’t enough to contend with, now we’ve got Xters too? What have we done to the universe to deserve all this?”

  “It’s not just any Xter ship, either,” said Leesa. “You don’t see this design too often.”

  “I thought there was only one design,” Cornische said. “Cone shaped prow at the front, with three to five interchangeable cylinders clustered behind, linking the command section to the engines at the rear. Isn’t that the whole idea, a uniformity of design that allows for easy repair and the swapping in and out of sections that are damaged or no longer required?”

  “Yes, you’re right – that’s the type of ship we’re used to seeing, and just about all Xter ships are of that general design, but there is a second far less common class – again, based on modular construction – in which the tubes are replaced by a series of spheres, lined up like beads on a thread. The ship that’s just arrived is one of these.”

  She summoned up an image to float in the air beside the one charting the battle.

  “I’ve only ever seen one example of this type before,” Leesa continued. “I’d assumed it was a research vessel of some sort, a space going lab, because that’s the context I saw it in.”

  “So why bring a science lab at a battle?”

  As they watched, the Xter ship broke apart.

  “What the… Has it been hit by something?”

  “No. I don’t think so. Look at the way the spheres are separating – it’s too smooth, too co-ordinated.”

  “You’re right. And they’re not simply careering off along a straight vector, as debris would if there had been an explosion, they’re changing course… Each spherical section must be independently mobile.”

  “Raider,” Cornische said, “are you able to analyse what they’re attempting by extrapolating their current manoeuvres?”

  “They’re assuming an attack formation,” Leesa said before the AI could respond, her voice conveying a lack of conviction at her own conclusion.

  “Hel N is quite right,” Raider confirmed. “The Xter spheres would appear to be converging on the Night Hammer ship the Mark of Mímir.”

  “You mean the Xters are on our side?”

  “Looks that way, yes.”

  “Just when I thought the universe couldn’t get any weirder.”

  “Or maybe on their own side which just happens to coincide with ours for now,” Jen suggested.

  “That, I could probably buy,” Leesa acknowledged.

  Raider continued to update the image Leesa had summoned, to depict events as they happened in real time. The tableau had expanded to take in the Mark of Mímir , with their perspective receding, as the spheres advanced on the warship in a co-ordinated approach from three directions. They were dwarfed by its bulk.

  “That’s the disadvantage of standing
guard,” Jen commented. “It robs the Night Hammers of any wriggle room.”

  “Do you think the spheres are manned – or Xterred – or are they drones slaved to the command module?”

  “No idea. Drones would make more sense, though.”

  “Or even autonomous AIs working in synch…”

  Speculation quieted when the image lit up, as Mark of Mímir defended itself against the attack with missiles and energy weapons – Raider rendering the path of the beams in the visible spectrum for the watching Dark Angels’ benefit.

  The missiles detonated short of their targets and the beams spent themselves against the spheres’ shields without inflicting any damage, while the spheres responded with energy weapons of their own.

  “Well, we wanted a distraction…” Cornische said. “Raider, can you plot a route that will take us around the Mark of Mímir using those spheres as a shield where possible and offering minimum exposure to the Night Hammers’ weapons?”

  “Already working on it, Captain. Sending recommended course to Hel N’s systems now, allowing for the attack vectors the Xter spheres are currently pursuing.”

  Leesa didn’t look up but said, “Got it.”

  “Everyone strap yourselves in, now!” Cornische said. “Lees, go for it and don’t hold back.”

  “When does she ever?” Jen quipped, just as acceleration kicked in.

  Even though he knew what to expect, Cornische felt the wind knocked out of him, as an invisible hand pressed him back into the pilot’s chair, crushing his chest, while the chair’s purpose-built padding struggled in vain to keep him comfortable.

  The projection of the ongoing engagement remained but had now receded, moving away from Leesa’s line of sight as she concentrated on taking them past the battle and on to Lenbya.

  The pressure on his chest eased as they approached optimum speed and acceleration let up, but the relief was short-lived as the whole ship bucked and shook around him.

  “Have we been hit?” someone called out – Almont, by the sound of it.

  “No, not directly,” Cornische was able to reassure him after a glance up at the projection. “One of the Xter spheres has, though, the nearest to us.”