by Alex Knight
“Yeah, yeah, enough touchy-feely crap,” Ellenton said from where she was leaning in the hallway leading out to the main compartment of the ship. “We’ve got some Party ass to kick before that begins.”
“The lieutenant’s right,” a voice said and Kaiden couldn’t help but smile even wider as Dawson appeared beside Ellenton. He’d joined them earlier while the army had been assembling, and Kaiden couldn’t deny it felt good to have him on board.
“Not a lieutenant anymore,” Ellenton reminded him. “I’m a free warden. Gone freelance, I guess,” she said with a half frown.
“Good riddance,” Zelda said. “It was just a tool of the Party anyway.”
“The Warden Corps’ not what it once was, there’s no denying that,” Dawson said. “I’ve turned a good number of free wardens to our cause. They’re proof that the Corps isn’t all bad. They produced some fine recruits. Luckily, being on the outside, they can also see how rotten it’s gotten.”
“What’s the final count on them?” Kaiden asked.
“Hard to say for certain,” Dawson said with a grunt. “Some who said they are with us may decide otherwise when the moment comes. And some who said they aren’t, well, they may just find they’re stronger than they think they are. We’ve one hundred and eighteen free wardens with the landing ships right now, though. Might be we can expect more on the way.”
“Good,” Kaiden said with a nod. “I’m thinking they’re going to be the core of our force. Front and center on the battlefield.”
“They’ll prove their worth, wherever they’re placed,” Dawson said with no lack of confidence. He’d been so busy out of game that he hadn’t had much time to grind. He’d managed to work his way up to level forty-two, which was impressive given the circumstances, but would hardly be enough once the fighting began. Still, the former sergeant had refused any discussion of not joining the attack. He was coming, and that, it seemed, was that. Admittedly, Kaiden would be glad to have him.
“Once we’re spotted, there’ll be no turning back,” Kaiden said, as if anyone needed a reminder. “It won’t take long for the Warden Corps to report our presence to the Party, and after that, Moran will start putting the pieces together. We might have gotten the jump on him in this battle, but he still has the off-button.”
“Killswitch,” Titus said with a grim nod.
“Eighty minutes,” Zelda added. She did something on her UI and a timer appeared at the top of Kaiden’s screen and no doubt everyone else’s too.
“This is all the time we’ll have. And not just to broadcast the message and database, but for the players to download it,” Zelda continued. “So, we need to broadcast the database before this timer runs out. The actual download won’t take long per player, but they’ll each need time to decide to download it. As much time as we can give them.”
“Right,” Kaiden said. “If we’re going to change anything, enough players need to have the database that the Party can’t stop its spread. Once people realize what’s on it, they’ll share it. We just need to give them the power to do so.”
Thorne chuckled at that.
“I love this plan,” she said. “Wish I could see Moran’s face when he realizes. I’m almost a bit sad the whole thing will be finished before he has a chance to get here.”
“Attention SS Andronicus!” a voice rang out from the speakers on the dashboard. “This is the WCSS Rimrock. You are approaching restricted space.”
Kaiden looked out through the windshield to see two Warden Corps light cruisers in front of them. They were still small, but growing larger by the moment as the Veritas II hurtled toward the airspace around Custos and Warden HQ.
“S.S. Andronicus! Change your course and—” The voice cut off suddenly.
“Looks like they just spotted the rest of the fleet,” Acton said with just the slightest hint of a smile.
Kaiden looked out of the cockpit toward the port side of the ship, where half the fleet was formed up around them. Counting their number was near impossible, but that was what the command module was for.
Kaiden swallowed hard as he accessed it. It was just a program routed through his visor, but it came with a responsibility he wasn’t sure he was ready for – command of the combined forces. He was leader of the group that put this plan together, so it followed he’d be leader of the whole thing. Or that had been PlayaSlaya’s logic, at least. But there was no disputing it now. The others had mostly agreed, and it was done. The full force of the amassed army had been combined into one big group, and as far as Nova was concerned, Kaiden had been granted command status.
The command module opened up and Kaiden’s visor was populated with details of the forces under his command.
To the port side of the Veritas II were some three hundred ships; the bulk of Odditor’s forces. Most of those were fighters, but there was a core of light and heavy cruisers, corvettes, and the all-important freighters that would facilitate the ground assault.
To the starboard side were the combined ships from the rest of The Syndicate. The fact that Odditor rivaled their numbers on his own was impressive. Now, however, both sides were working in tandem. Some six hundred ships in total and more than twice that number in ground troops. Almost enough to match the Warden Corps forces they expected to encounter on the ground, and more than enough to take care of the two patrol vessels in front of them now.
The amount of fire that poured out toward the two unfortunate vessels painted the abyss of space bright as day, if only for a moment, before both ships’ shields failed and their cores detonated. Nothing could stand up to that much firepower for more than a few seconds.
Light cruiser destroyed – 0 EXP gained!
Light cruiser destroyed – 0 EXP gained!
-40 faction prestige with the Warden Corps
Kaiden saw the notifications only because of the command module. He didn’t receive any EXP because neither he nor his direct group of Titus, Zelda, Thorne, Ellenton, and Dawson had taken part in the brief fight. The whole army was really a collection of groups, all falling under the umbrella of Kaiden’s command, but when it came to assisted kill experience, each group received its own based on their actions. The faction prestige, however, was a different matter. As commander of the army, Kaiden was directly responsible for their actions. He’d be surprised if his Warden Corps prestige didn’t sink into the negative four digits before the day was out.
Kaiden went ahead and muted the assisted kill notifications from all the groups except his own. No need to have them cluttering up his notification feed. There’d be enough from just his little slice of the battle, he was sure.
The Veritas II’s shields lit up briefly as a few pieces of debris from the destroyed warden vessels whipped past.
“So, that’s it then,” Zelda said, staring straight ahead. At the top of Kaiden’s vision, the countdown timer began, and in the distance he could just make out a vaguely circular object. An asteroid, he knew. Custos. Home of Warden Corps HQ and the place where the fate of Nova – and the Party – would be determined.
“They know we’re coming now,” Zelda said then walked over to the control panel beside the pilot. She pulled up a menu and clicked a few times. A moment later a message flashed across the screen.
Transponder deactivated.
“No point in hiding anymore,” she said. “We might as well fly true. Fly under the name Bernstein gave this ship.”
“Veritas II,” Kaiden said. “You know, I’ve never asked what it means.”
“It’s Latin,” Zelda said. “And the name of the Roman goddess of truth.”
Kaiden nodded at that. A good name. Bernstein chose well – as usual.
“Yeah, yeah. Dead languages and fallen empires are fine, but the Borrelly’s named after a comet and that’s way cooler,” Ellenton said. “Now load up. We got some Warden Corps ass to kick.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Seventy-eight minutes and counting…
Thorne couldn’t stop her ey
es from flicking up to the timer every few moments. It was strange to have everything laid out so... simply. But there it was. Seventy-eight minutes, or thereabouts, until Nova was offline. Assuming the Party had initiated Killswitch, which they no doubt had. Moran was probably screaming at someone about it now.
She smiled at that thought.
Today’s going to be a day you’ll never forget, Moran. If they were successful – if the database got out to the masses and spread like they expected – then Moran was certain to face much worse days than this one. But in the back of his mind, Thorne knew Moran would always think back to this day. Back to the catalyst that set everything in motion.
An explosion shook the shuttle and then everything was moving. Thorne flew through the cabin and face-planted into the wall, taking two percent fall damage.
“Told you to strap in back there!” Ellenton shouted over her shoulder from the cockpit.
Thorne looked back to the strap she’d been holding on to. In any other shuttle that would have been fine, but not with Ellenton at the helm.
She growled a curse up toward the cockpit then crawled to a jump seat beside Zelda and strapped herself in.
“I can’t hear you over the sound of me keeping us all alive right now,” Ellenton said, then there was an explosion outside and the game simulated all of the blood in Thorne’s body rushing into her head at once as they pulled another high-g maneuver.
They must have been drawing closer to the asteroid because Nova’s location announcement triggered in Thorne’s vision.
Well, that’s one way to put it, Thorne thought as a flight of fighters whipped by outside the windows, weaponry ablaze. One of the rear ships took a direct hit from one of the massive cruisers above and was vaporized instantly.
“Why are there so many of them?” Kaiden shouted, his face glued to the window beside his seat, watching the chaos without. It was a good question. Thorne peered out her own window, careful not to get too close lest another quick maneuver face-plant her into the glass.
The Warden Corps never kept more than two hundred ships at Custos at once, and most of those were fighters and shuttles. And yet here stood a fleet of five hundred, plus two additional carriers, to meet them. Except it wasn’t standing; it was swarming. Roaring. Blasting away with everything it had.
A common critique of Nova was that the ship combat was unbalanced compared to individual player combat. When two players went at it, they ducked and dodged, hacked and slashed, and tore each other apart with abilities. When two ships fought it was a similar experience, just without the abilities. When a ship fought a player, though, it was wholly unbalanced. Some complained about this. Thorne just figured it made sense. That didn’t make her feel any better, though, as she watched the landing shuttle next to them explode in a plume of blue flame, killing all onboard. Eight or so soldiers plus pilot – gone, just like that. The debris spun away in the direction of Custos, caught in the asteroid’s limited gravity and pulled down to its surface.
As she looked down, she couldn’t help but notice the defenses on the ground. Anti-air turrets sprayed upward, their lasers coloring the darkness with lethal streaks of light. Among the guns she could make out bunkers, guard towers, and the massive reinforced gate that led down and into Warden HQ. Everything was just as it’d been when she’d seen it last. At least down there things seemed normal. Was there a chance the unusually large fleet above the asteroid had just lucked out? Happened to be stopping by when the attack had begun?
The Borrelly’s shields lit up a brilliant blue as one shot made contact.
Shield integrity: 96%
Thorne near swallowed her own tongue as Ellenton rolled them to the side in a seemingly endless spin.
“I think the Corps got lucky,” Thorne said, answering Kaiden’s question from earlier. “I’ve never seen this many ships here before. We must have caught them during a shift change. Old patrol ships rotating out, new ones rotating in. Sometimes there’s a period of overlap.” Though it’s never more than a day or so long. “Really bad luck on our part. I should have kept note of the schedule, but never thought I’d be breaking in to HQ…”
“Whatever the reason, it’s bad news for us—” Titus’ words cut off in a clenched-teeth groan as the shuttle rolled and shook again.
“It doesn’t matter,” Dawson shouted, seemingly unaffected by the chaos around him as always. Tough as nails, that man. “The fight in the sky is a distraction. All it has to do is give our landing forces cover. Might mean we get a few less troops on the ground, though. The number that ends up making it inside is going to be lower than expected.”
“Hopefully everyone else is having an easier time of it than us.” Zelda’s face was scrunched up, her teeth gritted against Ellenton’s high-g maneuvers.
“Everyone hold tight!” Ellenton shouted from up in the cockpit.
“What do you think we’ve been doing?” Thorne shouted back. No wonder Sola refuses to ever fly with this maniac again. Something flashed up near the cockpit and Thorne spun to see a flight of fighters in formation and headed right for them.
“Ellenton!” Thorne shouted, but the woman seemed undeterred. She continued straight toward the fighters. They’d be in firing range any second now and they were decidedly outgunned.
“Ellenton!” Thorne shouted again, louder this time.
“I got this,” she snapped back, then hit a button on the dash. The drone launchers that’d been fitted to the sides of the Borrelly clanked and clacked into motion. Through the window, Thorne saw several mechanical balls launch outward, then light up as their thrusters came online.
The drones were roughly spherical, but then they unfolded to reveal thrusters pointing in all directions, along with four Gatling guns mounted on their fronts. The drones hovered around the Borrelly in a tight formation, then reacted as one and opened fire on the approaching fighters.
Flashes of light were bursting from the wingtips and beneath the noses of the fighters now and Thorne realized they were firing back as the Borrelly’s shields sprang to life.
Front Shield Integrity: 90%
Front Shield Integrity: 83%
Front Shield Integrity: 71%
“We can’t take much more—” Thorne began to yell when Ellenton flipped a switch on the controls, decoupling the ship, and spun them hard to the side. They maintained their forward momentum but spun sideways. The shuttle’s front shields were saved from the barrage of fire as the comparatively fresh port-side shields absorbed the shots.
Port Shield Integrity: 90%
Port Shield Integrity: 86%
And then the fighters were past, zipping by so quickly Thorne could hardly see them. She whipped her head around, looking across the cabin and out the starboard windows to see them turning around for another pass.
Then all at once a barrage of laser fire cut through them from above. Most of the fighters detonated instantly. Those that didn’t tumbled out of control, trailing smoke and flame. A light cruiser blasted through the wreckage and pulled up behind them.
The Veritas II! Thorne recognized the ship.
There was a problem, though. All the fighters were gone, but as Thorne squinted, she could just make out five pinpoints of light blasting toward the Borrelly.
“Missiles!” she shouted. One of the fighters must have fired them before being shot down.
“Our drones will get them,” Ellenton said from up front. “Probably.”
They did, spinning as one and firing at the oncoming missiles. They went up in blasts of fire and smoke, none of them even getting close enough to threaten the shuttle.
“Man, my baby is even more ridiculously awesome now,” Ellenton said from up front. “We’d have been fine even without Acton butting in.”
As she said it, his voice come over the comms. “Escort the freighters, I know, I know,” he said. “Those were my orders. But those fighters looked troublesome. And if you lot go down, this whole endeavor goes belly up.” The turrets on the outside
of the Veritas II were alive with blazing lasers, streaming in long lines after any targets that drew near.
“You can’t take a cruiser down into this anti-air fire,” Ellenton said back. “You’ll get shredded.”
“Takes their eyes off you though, no?”
“Acton!” Kaiden shouted, leaning forward in his jump seat. “You’re not allowed to get shot down on our account.” He paused. “But good thinking. The second we’re below the anti-air fire you get back out of their range.”
“Aye, sir.”
Ellenton corrected their orientation, getting the nose pointed back toward the landing zone Thorne had designated from orbit – as close as they could get to the gate without having all the landing shuttles and freighters torn apart by defensive fire. Some would still go down, but most would make it. Or that was the plan, at least.
The lights in the Borrelly were flashing red now, indicating hull integrity had taken some damage. Some of the hailstorm of lasers and ballistics flying around outside must have found their way through the already over-taxed shields. Ellenton seemed unconcerned though, hurling them toward the ground. Enemy vessels slid in front of her guns but she never fired.
Saving all power for the shields and engines. She’s getting us on the ground first and foremost, Thorne knew. Then she’s gonna tear a swath of wreckage and rubble through this sky.
Blue light flared behind them and Thorne turned to see the shields of the Veritas II working overtime.
The anti-air guns are targeting them.