by Chris Harris
Keinam had thought that was the end of it.
Evidently not.
He sighed; since coming back to the Empire, he'd been faced with more challenges than he'd expected. Haven't even made a proper move on the insect bastards yet. Usually, by now, he would have fired on the Warspheres, but he hadn't flown this ship properly in decades, and didn't plan engaging about fifty of them in open battle; the Xaosian fleet was one thing, but this was out of his depth.
It seemed to take an age to follow them, and he wondered where they could be going. Ideally, they would know that it was Xaos that disturbed them, and actually head to the planet and wipe out there army. OR, for some random reason, to Buun and kill all the Pyrkagia. He grinned at the unlikely prospect, but he knew it wouldn't happen. They were probably off to Orbus or some shit like that.
Or Oblivion.
Revenge would be perfect for the Corlens now they could escape from their prison, but Keinam doubted that; from his experiences, the Corlens didn't think like that, they just wanted new homes at the expense of everyone on the planets they chose. They weren't a fan of organic life.
Keinam looked at the nav-screen, and calculated their current course to try and determine the planet they were headed to: Narcsia. He racked his brain; he'd heard something about Narcsia recently.
“The Narcsia survivors...”
“ citizens of Narcsia need new homes”
Where the Corlens already there? Cinradahs said nothing about them, so he assumed not. Unless he didn't know the full story. But, if the planet had been evacuated, then it was just the right time for Corlens to move in. Keinam couldn't help admire them there; they at least picked a good time. If he could just persuade them to stay there, everything should be fine.
It took a few minutes before his calculations were proved correct.
Narcsia, the green planet, home of the Scalimen. He liked Scalimen; one of his best friends was one. He grew old with Keinam, but unlike Keinam, he died. Keinam sat beside him as he died of old age; that was the curse of the Adjeti's longevity. You have to watch any inter-species friends grow old, whither and die. Even the thought of Osala brought a tear to his eye, but he could just about move on now.
There was something different about Narcsia.
Instead of recognisable continents like last time he was here, the planet seemed to be a swirl of green; maybe it was terrible storms that drove the Scalimen away.
He followed the Corlens down to the planets, and he could tell from their slower speed that they were apprehensive; evidently they were expecting the planet to look similar to what Keinam expected. They descended into the atmosphere, and Keinam couldn't help but notice the colour of the clouds; a dark green. Unusual for clouds, especially for Narcsia; if he expected dodgy clouds anywhere, it'd be Prauw just because of the crap the industrial district must pump out.
Keinam got the ship to run an analysis on the clouds, and it the result came back almost straight away. Keinam looked at it, confused.
The clouds were alive.
Something hit his ship.
“What the hell?” He yelled, knowing that he'd get no answer. Activating the ship's exterior cameras, he saw the clouds moving. And not with the wind. Another cloud smashed into his ship, flipping it around. He tried to gain control, but the clouds kept pummelling him. Then, they began to unravel.
Green, twisting serpentine creatures. Thin bodies, bulbous head. It's head split open, revealing a glowing red orb inside. Keinam breathed deep; the fucking things are made of gas! How am I supposed to fight gas? The thing shrieked, and lunged at his ship. Keinam, prepared, lurched out of its way. It narrowly missed, but now other joined it, unravelling into similar forms. Keinam shook his head in disbelief.
And activated the guns.
Unlike the messy projectiles of the Empire craft, and the bludgeoning of smaller Adjeti craft, Keinam's ship was equipped with lasers; pure concentrated light. Might just ignite the gas, or at least frighten them away.
He opened fire.
The lasers fired straight at the things; Keinam was famous for his marksmanship. But they passed straight through their incorporeal bodies. He wasn't surprised; it went worse than he hoped, but about the same as he'd expected. Even so, he couldn't think much aside from expletives.
And Run!
His fight or flight reactions had already exhausted the fighting part, and now it was time for flight; he was certain that gas couldn't follow him into space. He turned the ship around. The things followed. Close behind. Keinam looked at the rear cam-screen. Damn it! He tried to call backup, just in case he didn't make it out alive, but the clouds messed with his communications.
“Fuck it all!” He steered the ship as he yelled, thanking himself for turning the voice commands off; he had no idea what the ship would've done in that case.
He escaped the atmosphere with a relieved sigh. Looking back at the planet, he saw the things retreat back into the clouds. He smiled; best possible outcome. What were those things? Allied with the Corlens, he suspected. But why would the Corlens ally themselves with something so opposite to their own existence?
At least he was safe. He relaxed, and tried to communicate with Cinradahs. No signal. Suspicious, he turned the ship around to look at Narcsia, and considered one thing he'd forgotten about.
If gas can't travel through space, how did these things get here in the first place?
It seemed that dense gas, or possibly a huge amount of it compressed together, could travel through space. Either that, or he simply didn't understand how the ships coming at him worked. Probably the latter.
The ships looked like clouds. Not the wispy ones that the being made up, but properly thick cumulonimbus clouds. They crackled with electricity and seemed to have a vortex at the centre, generating a constant tornado-like movement at the front of the ship. They didn't look all that threatening aside from the electricity it generated.
A bolt of electricity shot from it to Keinam's ship.
The ship shook, circuits sparked, and the screens went dark. Keinam looked at them, wide-eyed. Could this be my first loss in battle? Deep breath. Heart racing. Navigation systems still functional. Thank fuck for that.
He moved away from the ship, flying erratically so they might not hit him, before he realised something else.
Electricity has to travel between two points, and I'm the only other point around; they can just aim it in my general direction, and it can't miss.
He'd got far enough away from the planet to engage the L-Drive, he flicked the switch for it. It whined as it booted up, and he breathed a sigh of relief; he could get back to Raan in no time.
The L-Drive sputtered and sparked, stopping the boot-up entirely.
His face fell. “No no no no no. No!” He collapsed to the floor, ready to accept his fate. A bolt of lightning from the Cloudship came his way.
And didn't hit.
His ship didn't move, no sound and no damage. Turning the ship around, he saw what it had hit; a Corlen Warsphere. It seemed fine, just singed a little where the electricity hit it. It hovered for a moment, before swooping in to joins its allies.
They were closing in on the Cloudship, using their own lasers on it; the Adjeti based their lasers on the Warspheres' own. But these were evidently more potent; they were definitely hitting the Cloudship. Small explosions peppered it, before several of the Warspheres smashed into one another, creating a larger Warsphere. Keinam looked at it in disbelief as it surrounded the Cloudship, and closed around it, smothering it completely. The Warsphere went back to its usual shape, and the Cloudship was gone; utterly destroyed. Keinam couldn't help but be impressed.
Then he noticed the clouds on Narcsia were moving. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Lightning bolts shot from them, the combined barrage destroying the Corlen Warspheres. Blackening them until they were brittle enough to crack open. He watched, jaw dropped, as the Cloudships tore through the Corlen armada. Some Cloudships got smothered, but it seemed l
ike for every Cloudship destroyed, 3 Warspheres were taken out. A loosing battle. More Cloudships emerged from Narcsia, firing as they came.
Keinam took the ship further away from the bolts of lightning and tried the com again. It was crackling a bit, but he could communicate. Patching in to Cinradahs's frequency, he dialled the com.
“Cinradahs.” Keinam panted. “Need help.”
“What?” Cinradahs's voice seemed confused. “Help, you say?”
“Not just Corlens. Narcsia under attack by gas creatures. My ship's damaged, I can't leave.” Keinam cursed what he was about to do. “Please,” he begged, “help me.”
The com cut out as lightning hit his ship again.
Chapter 49
Ash 4
It was the day of Ash's second fight.
Like before, Carnat made sure he ate well, or at least, as well as they could on the foul cubes. As usual, Ash ate slowly, while Carnat got it over and done with. After eating, Carnat gave Ash a makeshift bow he'd made, and gave him some target practise. Ash pulled the string back, feeling his muscles tense as it reached his chin. Then he let go, watching the arrow fly through the air. It hit its target, and the target wobbled slightly.
“I did it!” Ash cheered.
Carnat gave him another arrow. “Try and hit me.”
“What?” Ash was confused. “Why?”
Carnat's exoskeletal armour encased him. “Because you need to hit a moving target, and it probably won't hurt me much because of the armour.”
Ash pulled the string back as Carnat ran back and forth across one side of their room. He ran a lot faster than a human, almost superhumanly fast. Ash tracked his movements with the bow, watching his movements, judging his speed. He loosened the string, relaxing the bow as Carnat taught him. Judged the speed. Followed his movements. Ash pulled the string back, and fired the arrow.
Carnat caught it just before it hit him in the chest. Smiling, he handed Ash the arrow back. “Good. Now do that in the arena, and we should be fine.”
“Is there nothing else I can do?” Ash had never been confident at letting Carnat fight mostly alone.
“Nah,” Carnat clapped him on the shoulder, “no offence, but you're shit with most weapons. I need to train you again, but keeping away from the creatures is your best bet for now. Just put arrows in the fucker. If that fails, run.”
Ash nodded. “Alright. Just don't feel comfortable letting you fight along.”
“I'm not fighting alone.” Carnat gave him a knowing look. “You might do something.”
Carnat shoved the bow back in the corner where the guards wouldn't be able to see it; he wasn't certain if weapons were meant to be used in their rooms rather than the training pits. Soon after, Hak'i came down, escorting them to the arena.
Ash still couldn't get over the size of the arena; rows upon rows of people, all cheering or jeering them. He felt slightly paranoid and somewhat claustrophobic in the arena, knowing that people were watching him everywhere, behind, front, left and right. In the seperate box above the spectators, he could just about make out the Hak'i Dominort and his deputies. He raised a hand and roared, through a speaker system obviously, so that all could hear. “It's Carnat and the “gladiator” again.” People laughed at the mocking name they gave Ash. Carnat glanced at him, checking his temper. Ash nodded, indicating that he was fine.
They walked over to the weapon rack, and Carnat picked out a compound bow for Ash, rather than a crossbow. “You seem better with a proper bow, so this is the closest thing. It packs a punch, so you'll do more damage.” Carnat reassured him.
“Are you getting a weapon this time?” Ash took the bow from him, as well as a quiver, which he hooked on his belt; it might be easier to get the arrows that way.
“Yeah.” Carnat picked out a small dagger. “Just to slow it down if I need to.”
When they were ready, they stepped out into the centre of the arena, and Carnat shouted up to the Dominort. “We're ready to fight, esteemed Dominort. Let the beast loose.”
The door opened, and two dead Hak'i fell out. The crowd gasped, even before the monster appeared. When it appeared, Carnat backed away, shoving Ash with him.
“What is it?” Ash asked.
“You've heard me speak of Corlens.” The creature was like a giant centaur, but made of shifting metal. There were no real features of note, aside from the ovoid head, which split open like a petal when it roared. “That isn't a Corlen. Occasionally, two Corlens join together, and meld both body and mind and form this thing; an Ipsacorlen. Both larger and more powerful than the standard Corlens.”
“You said that Corlens were difficult to kill; what about these?” They continued backing away; the beast hadn't noticed them yet.
Carnat gave a little laugh. “No-one's ever killed one. Ever.”
“Oh shit.” Ash swore under his breath.
The Ipsacorlen turned to look at them. “Run!” Carnat yelled. The Ipsacorlen's arm extended, smashing a molten metal pole into the arena's wall. People seated above it screamed, and scrambled to get higher. Ash raised his. “Do not fire!” Carnat yelled, dragging Ash with him. “Only one way out of this alive.”
The Ipsacorlen roared, before chasing after them, gaining ground quickly; Ash wasn't even as tall as one of the beast's legs. It reached down with clawed hands, swiping at them, but Carnat tackled Ash out of the way. “Get to the door; Ipsacorlens are dumber than Corlens because the minds mess up in the melding process. We can use that.”
They ran to the door and waited. The Ipsacorlen ran at them, ready to punch them into the afterlife. Carnat put on a burst of speed, moving Ash forcefully out of the fist's path. The fist hit the door.
And smashed it right off of its hinges.
“Follow me!” Carnat dragged Ash up, and they through the tunnels. Hak'i guards came round the corner, brandishing electro-spears which crackled and glowed in the darkness. Ash drew the bow, readied the arrow and fired, taking out a guard, who dropped their spear. Carnat threw his dagger at one, which embedded itself in the guard's face. Grabbing a spear, Ash dodged a wild thrust, before knocking the guard down with the butt of the spear, before stabbing him with the pointed end. “Go, Ash!” Carnat said, his armour twisting into a blade, right before he beheaded the final guard.
There was a crash behind them. Metal and sand rained down upon them as they realised that the Ipsacorlen hadn't forgot about them at all. It burst through a wall, throwing the Hak'i corpses into the air, and knocking Carnat into a wall. Ash turned to go back and help him, but Carnat yelled, “Run” to him. Split as to what to do, he took his fight instinct and ran to Carnat.
Carnat was up on his feet and more Hak'i guards had joined. They held him back as they spoke to the Ipsacorlen in its own language, seeming to calm it. Carnat had forgotten one fact about the Corlens; they, for some reason, had a natural affinity with the Hak'i. Watching the distraction, he took his chance and ran towards Ash, who was running towards him. Ash turned as Carnat ran with him.
The tunnel was wide, which was good; Ash was tired and found it difficult running, let alone in a straight line. “Come one.” Carnat said gently. “We're nearly there; let's go before the guards catch up. Or they loose the Ipsacorlen on us again.”
Ash considered this as some damn good motivation, and continued to run until they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Panting and gasping for air, they finally reached the surface of Rat'hak and bathed in natural light; they had escaped.
Chapter 50
Cinradahs 5
“Narcsia under attack...”
“Please help me.”
Cinradahs played Keinam's message back again and again, trying to understand more of it each time; his speech was clouded by the static noise, before it finally ended with naught but a crackle. While Cinradahs didn't really care for Keinam, he knew that he needed to help him. So, as he sat in his seat in his flagship's bridge, he gave commands to Otor, Maron, Rals and Trexor to protect the Raanian surviv
ors' camp. After that, he turned to Saiun. “Are the Adjeti Wing-Ships ready?”
Saiun nodded. “They've rallied behind us sir.”
“Good.” Cinradahs called down to Tarib. “Let's go!”
“Lifting off.” Tarib studied the screen.
The ship lifted from the ground as the bottom thrusters booted up. Cinradahs imagined the grass around the ship being blown backwards as in a strong wind, maybe tearing some of the individual blades from the ground. He felt the ship lurch, before it passed through Raan's atmosphere. As it did so, he forced himself not to look at the destruction; he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to leave now.
“Sir,” Tarib called urgently, “hundreds of unidentified objects coming this way!”
“Warspheres?” Saiun asked.
“Almost certainly.” Cinradahs looked in the rear cam; his suspicions were correct. “Move the ship out of their way; we'll defeat them at Narcsia after we've wiped the Corlens there. Keinam mentioned gas creatures too; maybe they're fighting each other.”
Tarib nodded. “Let them wipe each other out.”
“And then destroy the victor.” Saiun caught on to his superior's plan.
“Exactly. Can the Adjeti hear me?” Cinradahs asked Saiun.
“Every ship can, yes; you're using the combat-com.”
“Good.” Cinradahs watched the Warspheres shoot past, not bothering with the Empire nor the Adjeti vessels. He waited a beat, before asking, “They all gone past now?”
Tarib checked the screens. “Yeah, looks like it.”
“Grand.” Cinradahs called to the Adjeti too. “Go to L-Drive travel now.”
Stars and space slid past them, blurring the screens. “Adjeti fleet,” Cinradahs called, “Who's in charge without Keinam here?”
There was silence for a moment, before someone answered. “I am sir. Retlin.”
“Good to know.” Cinradahs seemed happy that the Adjeti fleet didn't have to rely on him. “You control your fleet, I'll control mine. Sound good?”
“I thought that was how it was going to play out anyway.” Retlin responded. “Sorry if that came off as rude, sir.”
Sir? I could get used to that from an Adjeti. “Don't worry about it. Signing off.” Cinradahs turned off his com.