05-18-2013, 09:58 PM
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[indent]Dark all around him, the silence heavy.
Thus Do The Mighty ___
by
Dusan
by
Dusan
[indent]Dark all around him, the silence heavy.
He sleeps. A sleep without dreams. Cocooned.
A stab in the blackness. Bright, bindling, searing. Coming from a far source. It strikes him. He stirs but cannot move.
The light grows brighter, almost painful. A spear of pain, vaporizing the surrounding gloom touching its spine.
His mind floats to the surface of consciousness, a difficult journey against his will.
The beam is relentless, burning away the cobwebs of sleep, unapologetic of its power to disrupt.
Noises beyond. A strange sensation.
Cold. No.
Heat.
With heat comes the awareness of the cold that enveloped him ever since he can remember.
With remembrance comes pain. Purpose. Unfinished.
He must do something.
He must wake.
***
‘Captain.’
The tall man does not turn from his view. A magnificent find. A treasure worthy of Liberty. His aide stands apart from him, waiting.
‘Jensen?’
‘You have a call, sir. Extension Eagle Eye.’
He looks once more out the carbon-reinforced glass window, and reaches for his chair. The room is dim, with soft lights coming from his console.
‘You may go.’
‘Sir.’ The young aide stands to attention, and leaves the room. The door hisses behind him. The tall man speaks to the console.
‘The sun sets nowhere.’
A woman’s voice chimes in. ‘Password accepted. Vocal signature verified. Good evening, Captain Lakonen.’
He pauses. He always does at her voice. Too many memories.
Too hard to let go either.
‘Evening, Mary.’ He rubs his eyes, and sips his glass of organic water.
‘Extension Eagle Eye.’
‘Confirmed. Patching through. Encryption and recording begin.’
A hologram floats above the console. A logo of a snake and an eagle in a duel to the death. A clipped voice emits from the desk speakers.
‘We are on schedule, Captain?’
Lakonen is silent. He swivels to look out the window again.
‘Captain?’
‘Something came up.’
‘We cannot hide it for long—’
‘I know the stakes, Doctor.’
A pause. ‘I meant no disrespect, Captain.’
‘None taken.’
‘Your request for more military vessels is granted. Although I am concerned with the heavyhanded response.’
‘We caught a spy among the maintenance crew yesterday. Corsair. That makes five in three months.’
‘They were resolved decisively?’
‘Finding them means we were too late, Doctor. Whoever sent them, already knows what we have.’
‘A vexing predicament. Does not justify the warships, however.’
‘Intelligence gathering is a precursor to sabotage, theft, or incursion.’
‘The deadline cannot shift.’
‘Meaningless if we lost it at the end.’
‘I call this off, we will never have another chance.’
‘The operation has been compromised. In exchange for continuing it, I ask for a stronger defense line.’
‘Which you will get, against my better judgment. They are inbound, and shall arrive within the hour.’
Lakonen pays careful attention, sipping his water and staring at the console. ‘We have a man in custody.’
‘And?’
‘We are extracting information.’
‘What of his personal items?’
Gotcha.
‘I am not privy to every minor decisions made by my subordinates, Doctor. I will assume he is being processed as per procedure.’
‘We can’t be too careful with all this espionage going around. I’ll have my team assist you.’
‘I wouldn’t want to impose, Doctor.’
‘I insist, Captain. We are in this together.’
‘Understood.’
‘Until then, Captain.’ The logo shrinks into nothing, leaving the room dimmer.
Lakonen sits a while longer, then stands up and walks to the window.
‘Link me to Commandant Dyson.’
Mary’s smooth voice bounces off the walls. ‘One moment, Captain.’
Lakonen looks at his glass of water. Pure filtered liquid from actual rain. Instead of molecular fusion of the basic elements. Perfectly functional. But perfectly unreal. What every crew is drinking in his fleet.
‘Captain?’ A soft clipped voice, borne of higher education and class.
‘He asked about the subject’s gear.’
A pause. ‘He knows.’
‘Someone managed to send him a data packet.’
‘All scientists are restricted in comm transfers.’
‘Plenty of holes to sneak through. We’re not running a military sortie, Haus. The rules do not apply.’
‘Science expedition my behind. Begging your pardon, sir.’
‘It’s what it says on the dossier, and that’s how we will be running it. How’s our man doing?’
‘He’s tough. But scared.’
‘Your assessment?’
‘Another spy. Maybe corporate.’
‘But you don’t think so.’
A longer pause. Dyson does not usually take so long to make an opinion.
‘Missing pieces, Captain.’
‘Isn’t there always, Haus? Any progress on his transcripts?’
‘The officers are flummoxed, Captain.’
‘You mean stumped. How hard is it to translate a language?’
‘When there’s no record of it? Very. Our database isn’t as vast as the academies’. Unless we ask the scientists.’
‘We might as well. The good Doctor’s already been informed. No point in keeping up the charade. He’s itching to get his gloved hands on the man’s possessions.’
‘His gear is highly preserved.’
‘You mean very old.’
‘Our readings must be wrong.’
‘But you don’t think so.’ Lakonen sweeps his gaze around the dig site. Several welding crafts are melting through the ice. More and more of the outline can be seen.
A big ship. Massive—
‘Your orders, Captain?’
‘Continue your questioning, Commandant. Scared people feel the need to be listened to. Give him your best ear.’
‘As I do for you, sir.’ The channel goes silent, leaving a ghost of a smile behind.
Cheeky bastard. But a good man. As are all his crew.
If things go as planned, he’s going to lose quite a few of them.
If things go wrong, he’s going to lose a lot more.
***
The sea.
The cool waves, so quiet, before their awakening. The bright sun blinds his eyes, and he shifts in his boat so the hull moves away from the glare.
His grandfather’s boat, old but sturdy, creaks under his weight.
It sleeps.
His grandfather tells him it rises when the wake of massive ships disturb its slumber. Its maw shall consume all who cross its path.
As a boy he never feared. A small boat is but a tiny ripple on the surface of the Great Green.
But now, he is a man. And his ship is not small anymore.
It must not wake.
***
‘This is a breach of agreement.’
‘Gentlemen, I assure you we are handling this in good faith. Just a matter of precaution.’
‘Hiding things from us is not precaution, Ambassador. It is an act of war.’
‘The Boorman Treaty has been upheld by us. Does your House wish to state otherwise?’
Four men around a circular table, their aides nearby. The clicks of zooming apertures from the flock of media hoverdrones forgotten in the spacious chamber onboard the Bretonian orbital station.
The Liberty man remains unfazed with the last bait. He does not rise to it, and remains silent.
Advisor Jinwa tries another tack. ‘Friends, our ancestors came here for a brighter future from a long forgotten war. The Alliance are now Four Houses. Should this discovery not be the responsibility, and duty, of all of us?’ He spreads his arms, a Kusari gesture of compromise.
A stocky man raises his thick palm. ‘The Alliance lost its meaning centuries ago, Advisor. Current times call for current measures. The discovery is well within Bretonian space. It belongs to us.’
‘Detected by a Liberty vessel, Baron.’ The Ambassador is uneasy. Throughout the whole proceeding, the Rheinland Chancellor has been the least vocal. ‘You have been most submissive, Chancellor. What are your House’s concerns?’
The former admiral smiles at the Liberty politician. ‘Our concerns are our own. We would not want to burden this talk with our domestic issues.’
A clear evasion. The Ambassador makes a quick eye with his aide. She nods ever so slightly, and backs away from the congregation.
‘We’re all affected, Chancellor. The Baron may see otherwise, but this Sector is an extension of our collective achievements, and Kusari recognizes the galactic nature of this discovery.’
‘Jinwa, let us be forward about this. This doesn’t really involve you. A massive object detected by Liberty vessels in Bretonia space is not Kusari affairs.’
‘I am hurt by your words, Baron.’
‘I find that hard to believe, being that your face shows no other expression than a practiced smile, my old friend.’
‘Be that as it may, I speak on behalf of Liberty that we have no intention of depriving the Houses of participating in uncovering this find. Scientific protocols dictate that we approach this with the safest possible means. You will have access to the site within a week after we have deemed the area safe.’ The President actually said three days, but the Ambassador knows it will look good to deliver earlier than promised.
The other men rose in protest of the long wait, with the Chancellor yet again quiet on the front. The Liberty man ignores the drama, because he is growing more restless, even as his suspicion is growing more certain.
There is only one reason why Rheinland is not making the effort to gain an advantage by politics.
It will do so by military force.
***
‘You ready, Thea?’
She closes her kit. ‘All packed. Thanks for helping.’
‘It’s a slow day.’ Her assistant stands up, and he holds two more cases. ‘They’re waiting outside.’
The door hisses open, and two soldiers stand by the sides. One of them, they all look alike, steps forward. ‘Professor.’
‘Well, lead the way.’
The group makes their way to a small transport at the hangar, and the moment they sit down, the craft launches, leaving the science vessel to head towards a large warship looming in the windows.
Her assistant leans back, propping his legs on the seat in front of him, and reads a datapad. ‘Wonder why we’re being called by the guns.’
‘You know how they are. Secretive.’
‘A waste of time, whatever t is.’ He looks out at the dig site. ‘Nothing’s more interesting than that.’
Thea surveys what is probably their greatest work. A massive construct, most likely a long-distance ship, encased in dirty ice. Running a hull length several times longer than the military’s biggest vessel, the colossal ship remains inert, while multitudes of tiny crafts and drones scuttle across its broad surface, chipping away at the thick ice.
Thea touches the window, tracing the outline of the vessel. ‘What’s the latest scans say?’
‘Data suggests it pre-dates the first contact with Corsairs. Maybe earlier.’
‘Four hundred years.’
‘My bet’s on it being another sleeper ship.’
‘So is everyone else. It’s on the galactic news.’
‘A circus. Houses shouting for access, as if it’s their damn property.’
Thea leans back on her seat and closes her eyes. ‘Four hundred years. What if it’s alien?’
‘No chance. The construction’s too human. We recognized some of the engine housings. Plus there’s some numbering serials on the hull. Pity they’re mostly seared off. Must have been quite a ride.’
‘There’s got to be more markings on the hull, once we’ve cleared more ice out. Access panels, emergency portals. The language would be very old.’
He shrugs. ‘You’re the expert.’
A voice calls out from the speaker above them. ‘Approaching docking zone.’
Ventral fins break line of sight of the dig, fins that connect to the large warship they are entering from the belly. Landing beacons guide the transport pilot to a gangway, locking in with a hiss of pressurized air.
Thea pictures the immense ship hidden out of sight. ‘No, nothing can be more interesting than that.’
***
‘Welcome abroad, Professor—’
‘Call me Thea.’ She is surprised at the youthful look of the officer receiving them. A rather handsome one. Highborne, probably. And definitely out of her league.
Can’t fault her for trying.
Haus smiles. ‘Thea then. I’m Commandant Dyson, XO to Captain Lakonen. Or Haus, if you prefer.’
‘Dyson’s a strong name.’
‘My grandfather’s legacy. A formidable reputation for me to uphold. But I will spare you my sordid family’s history. Shall we?’ He steps aside, and gestures with one palm down the long corridor.
Charmed, Thea nods and walks ahead, giving her best gait. She thinks she hears her assistant chuckle, and ignores it. Four soldiers form up and follow from behind. But Haus remains quiet, as promised, throughout the journey. Thea pushes her disappointment to a corner. There’s work to be done.
They reach an elevator, and one soldier takes the two cases from Thea’s protesting assistant.
Haus turns to Thea. ‘Our orders only allow one personnel.’
‘But she’s going to need me to handle the equipment.’
‘He’s right, Haus.’
‘We will provide relevant expertise. My apologies, Thea. What you will see beyond this is classified. If you object, we will return you to your post with no complaints, and summon another.’
Thea purses her lips, and looks at her assistant. She gives him a wink.
‘I’ll be fine. I can handle the kits myself if I have to.’
‘I’ll be fine. I can handle the kits myself if I have to.’
‘Touchy, aren’t they? I’ll see you back home.’ Three soldiers follow him away, and one remains with her and the officer.
The lift opens and three of them step in. It is a small compartment, and Thea has mixed feelings as she stands near enough to Haus to catch a waft of his cologne. It smells expensive. They begin to move, strangely, sideways.
‘You toured here long, Haus?’
‘From the very start. You don’t find a commander as rare as the captain often. I pulled quite a few strings to be under him.’
‘Sounds like quite a man.’
Haus smiles, and says no more.
The lift stops its horizontal path, and shifts upwards.
Thea admires the officer’s cheekbones, and notices him catching her eye. Her ears burn. ‘Why me?’
‘The reason will be apparent the moment you lay eyes on it, Thea.’
‘Very mysterious.’
‘Not always.’
‘What do you think of the work? Out there.’
At this Haus pauses, with a faraway look in his eyes.
‘Something very important. And with the eminence, comes a certain amount of danger.’
‘Danger? I don’t think a colony of sleeping men and women will be dangerous.’
‘I have no doubt of that, Thea. If it is a sleeper ship.’
‘What other—’
The lift comes to an abrupt stop, and Thea grabs a railing to steady herself.
‘We’ve arrived, Professor. Prepare yourself.’
***
The room is bare. A table. chairs.
And one man.
He is tied to his chair, and his limbs shackled.
Thea stops walking. ‘What is this?’
‘The classified data which I speak of. Please, begin your work.’ Dyson pulls back her chair.
She points at the restraints. ‘Is this necessary?’
‘He was very excited when we woke him up.’
‘Woke?’
‘We pulled him out of a cryo tube in a small ship that was attached to the vessel that you’re studying. Apparently he came with it.’
Thea’s mind reels. She sits down on the offered chair, and just stares at the man across the table. He looks back at her, his eyes flat.
‘Professor, I know you have many questions. But we need him to tell us things.’ Dyson pushes a slate across the table to her. ‘Here is a list. You are free to deviate from it as is your judgement.’
‘Am I part of a military interrogation?’
‘No. You’re here to be the first person to speak to a human being probably several hundred years old. A historic moment for a scientist, I would think.’
She takes the slate, her kits forgotten by her feet. A soldier waits by the entrance. The man in restraints sweeps his gazes on all three people in the room.
[indent]‘Have I your assistance, Thea?’
[indent]‘Have I your assistance, Thea?’
‘Uh, what, yes yes. May I speak with him alone?’
‘That is against regulations. And at risk if your safety.’
‘He’s tied up. I know you have this room monitored, so you won’t miss out anything anyway. He doesn’t seem to like you both.’
Dyson blinks, and looks at the man. The man stares back. Dyson straightens. ‘An occupational hazard. He thinks we are enemy.’
‘Are we?’
Dyson looks back at her. ‘That depends on what he says next. You have one hour, Professor. Make it count.’ He nods at her, and walks out with the soldier. The door hisses shut.
She looks at the man. A stubble is growing on his chin, and his hair is ruffled, like a man who slept and woken rudely.
How apt.
Thea leans forward. ‘Uh, hello.’
The man remains silent.
Right. Let’s be logical about this. Ancient man won’t know current languages. She tries again.
‘Hello.’ She waves at him. ‘I am a friend.’
He does not move.
She sighs. ‘Can you say something so I can at least try to find out what you use?’
Whichever word she said that sounded familiar, the man begin to speak. It was short, curt, and sounded rote.
She tenses. The sentences seemed familiar.
Thea gestures. ‘Can you say that again?’
The man repeats his reply.
Thea pulls a kit onto the table, and opens it. She brings up a screen, typing for several moments.
Hmmm. Worth a try.
Thea mouths off several strange sounding syllables.
The man’s reaction is electric. He lunges forward, shocking her, and unleashes a series of quick words.
‘Wait wait wait, you’re going too fast.’ Thea’s fingers fly through the console, looking for a translation.
A hidden speaker chimes in from the ceiling. ‘What is he saying, Professor.’
Unsure of where to speak to, Thea talks to the air. ‘I don’t know. But I know what he is speaking in.’
At a blip from the console, she looks back the man, her eyes gleaming.
‘He’s speaking English.’
***
The woman. She understands.
He strains at his bindings. Tight. Material unknown.
‘Where am I? Who are you people?’
She replies. Again, mostly garble, but snatches of words that flit by, familiar yet alien at the same time.
‘Where is the ship? You’re here for the ship?’
He growls. If he does not get out now, those things will—
‘Do ___ understand __?’
He freezes. He stares at her.
She repeats. ‘Do __ understand __?’
He shakes his head. ‘You’re mixing words up.’
The woman stands up suddenly, coming over to him. A gleam of metal reflects from one hand. He stiffens.
She cuts his bindings with a knife that glows white. The door hisses and several men rush in with what looks like firearms.
The woman turns to speak to the ceiling, fast and furious. The men slow down, and at hearing something, file out backwards, their weapons trained on him.
[indent]They’re gone.
[indent]They’re gone.
The woman brings out a piece of shiny surface, and a small rod. She places them on his side of the table, and sits back down. She opens her mouth.
[indent]‘Do ___ understand __?’
[indent]‘Do ___ understand __?’
The man blinks, and reaches out for the small rod. He touches the tip to the shiny surface, and a small light blips at him. He pulls the tip across. A line appears, glowing.
The woman reaches over, and swipes at the line with her palm. The line disappears. She smiles and sits back.
The man writes Do You Understand Me on the surface, and shows it to her. He says the words out.
The woman looks very interested, and types something into a casing. She looks at him, her face glowing.
‘My name is Thea.’
He blinks. A Greek name.
The gods are smiling on him.
He looks her in the eye. ‘I am Commander Adras Cornelius. Western Alliance.’
***
Thea tries to breathe properly. She does not move for several moments.
The speaker chimes. ‘Professor?’
‘He says he is Western Alliance.’
A pause. ‘Are you certain?’
‘Who else can he be?’
‘A spy.’
‘Maybe. But not within Sirius space. You did pull him out of cryo.’
‘Granted. Proceed.’
She presses her palms into her lap. ‘I am Thea Adomon. Professor of Ancient Languages. Welcome to the Sirius Sector.’
He struggles with the words. ‘Sirius… Sector…’
‘Yes, it is a cluster of star systems comprised of Four Hou—’
‘Where am I?’
Thea is ready. She brings up a hologram, pointing to the gas formations of the sector. And then, traces with one finger slowly to a far galaxy across the end of the image. She stops, and points to him.
‘That’s where you came from, isn’t it?’
Adras swallows. ‘What is the year?’
‘800 AS.’ She pauses. ‘Sorry. About eight hundred years from the Liberty sleeper ship found—’
‘Liberty!’ He grips the sides of the table. ‘Bretonia, Rheinland, Hispania—’
‘Yes.’
He is silent, his eyes wide.
‘The ships came here, and we built our colonies. It has been a long time. But welcome. You’ve come a long way from Sol.’
‘Sol?’ He stands up. ‘Who is your commanding officer?’
Thea blinks. ‘I, I’m a scientist.’
‘The thing. Is it awake?’
‘The sleeper ship? We’re cutting the ice first—’
‘It’s not a sleeper ship!’
A klaxon wails within the confined walls.
***
‘Captain.’
Lakonen looks from his command chair on the bridge. His communications officer is reading from a screen.
‘Encrypted message from HQ.’
‘Proceed.’
‘Rheinland forces suspect inbound. Be advised.’
The radar operator stiffens. ‘Captain, multiple exhaust signatures in the east sector. No registered space lanes in vicinity. They’re not answering the main bands, sir. Will reach perimeter in T minus fifteen minutes.’
‘They’re here.’ Lakonen puts his commander cap on. ‘Battle stations.’
***
The wailing runs on, muting every other sound.
A female voice pipes through the ruckus.
‘Attention, Rheinland enemy ships are approaching. Battle stations. This is not a drill. Attention, Rheinland—’
In a burst of speed, Adras is next to Thea. She gasps, and he grabs her elbow.
‘You must move all your ships away from the thing. Before you—’
‘Let go!’
‘The Leviathan. My grandfather—’
‘I don’t understand!’
Dyson dashes through the door with a gun raised. ‘Step away from the professor. Now!’
Adras whirls Thea around and stands behind her. He speaks fast.
Three other soldiers move in, taking positions around Dyson, and surround the man. Their rifles aimed at his vitals.
‘I will not repeat. Professor, tell him what I said.’
‘Wait!’ Thea looks at Adras. ‘You’re scaring them. Please, sit down and tell me what you meant.’
‘It will wake up and kill us all! Tell him to move his ships away from it now!’
Thea is breathing fast. Things are happening too quickly. She risks a look at Dyson.
‘Haus, he’s asking us to move away from the dig site.’
‘Not when we’re under attack. Rheinland is here for the ship.’
Adras steps away from Thea, and goes on his knees. He brings his arms up to put behind his head. He stares at Dyson, without a flinch.
‘Tell the officer that I am a counter-__ agent under service of the ____ of the Alliance.’
‘What? I didn’t understand all of it.’
‘Then tell them what you can!’
As he rattles on, Thea furiously translates. ‘He says he is some kind of agent—’
‘A spy?’ Dyson comes closer, his gun never leaving the man’s face. Adras continues to speak.
‘A, an Alliance soldier. His mission,’ she frowns, processing the strange language, ‘was to sneak into Coalition shipyards. Damn it, slow down!’
Adras pauses. And speaks slower.
‘His team. Most of them died. The Coalition built something to chase after the sleeper ships. He attached his ship to one of them, and, and, uh, something about a killswitch for—’
‘I have no time for old wars, Professor. I have to go to the bridge now.’ Dyson signals to the soldiers, and makes a run for the door. ‘I’ll deal with this later.’
Adras tries to get up, and one of the soldiers hit his head with the rifle butt.
The man collapses.
Thea runs to him, avoiding the grabs by a nearby soldier.
‘He’s unarmed. Put down your weapons, please!’
They stand unmoving, staring at them both.
Adras is unconscious.
Thea checks his head. It’s cut badly on one side, and she tries to stop the bleeding.
The room vibrates. Sounds of muted explosion.
It’s started.
***
‘The second phalanx is down, sir.’
Lakonen checks the hologram. ‘Move us to plug the hole. We need the rest where they are.’
Dyson nods. He goes to the helmsman. ‘Helm to bearing—’
A sharp wail cuts through the air. A nearby fighter collided with the side of the bridge. The comms officer looks up at the captain. ‘Sir, a transmission. Extension Eagle Eye.’
‘Doctor, make this quick.’
‘Are you able to take the artifact and retreat?’
‘No. We’re facing heavy Rheinland assault. I’ll lose many ships.’
‘Acceptable losses.’
‘Not to me.’
‘The operation cannot be abandoned.’
‘Your people are also here.’
‘They know the stakes.’
‘I fail to be convinced.’
‘Liberty cannot lose this chance! The other Houses…’
Lakonen sweeps his view of the hologram. Units fade out on either side as the battle rages on. ‘Even so, Doctor, I don’t intend for them to have it.’
‘I do not take your meaning.’
‘I’ve rigged the hull with explosives.’
‘No! I forbid this! Captain—’
Lakonen cuts off the transmission. ‘Comm, jam that signal. I don’t want to be disturbed again.’
‘Aye, Captain.’
‘Sir, fighters approaching. Bombers. Four, no, seven torpedoes inbound!’
‘Brace for impact!’
***
The tearing of metal unheard in space, even as the men within cry their last, and die by burns, perforations, or suffocation.
Unnoticed by the Liberty and Rheinland forces, nestled deep within the massive hull of the relic, passive sensors triggered by the nearby activity activate systems by systems, reviving the ancient vessel.
***
‘Thea…’
‘Don’t move.’
‘The Leviathan…’
The man sits up. The soldiers bring their guns to bear.
‘Adras, what is it??’
‘A ___ ___. It ___ sleeper ships. Shuts down their ___. Then it sends out machines. A lot of them.’
‘How many?’
‘Too many.’
‘To kill?’
He nods.
***
Small slits that line the top and bottom surfaces pull aside their hatches, leaving deep black holes exposed to the vacuum.
Deeper inside, machinery long frozen from the cold move painstakingly, their gears and hydraulics coming back online, moving inert shapes into railings.
Those that are placed on railings are shot out of the slits. Some smash into ice and rock that still cover the openings, while others flit out into space.
[indent]With the failed launches, there are still nearly a hundred objects floating around.
[indent]With the failed launches, there are still nearly a hundred objects floating around.
After several minutes, nearly a thousand. Each the size of a heavy frigate.
Then the massive ship seems to glow.
And releases a pulse.
***
‘Why?’
‘War. Fear. The Coalition will bring war to wherever the Alliance goes.’
Thea pushes apart his hair. The wound’s dried up. She puts her palms on his face, and looks at him.
‘Can we stop them?’
‘We didn’t think so. Not by direct force.’
‘Then—’
‘A code. We found a command line.’ He stares into space. ‘To shut the whole thing down.’
‘Where did you keep the code?’
Adras turns to her.
‘On my ship. Somewhere inside this vessel.’
Then the lights go out.
***
‘Warning. Energy discharge!’
The bridge goes out.
Dyson slams his hand on a panel. ‘EMP! Engineering, get us back on!’
Red light suffuses the bridge with backup power.
Lakonen stares out the bridge window. ‘Rheinland?’
‘No, sir. It didn’t come from them.’
The targeting officer bends over his charts, listening to the reports coming in. ‘Captain, the Rheinland vessels are dead in space.’
‘We have a party crasher, Haus.’
‘Captain.’
Lakonen turns to Dyson.
‘The EMP.’ He looks pale. ‘It came from the dig site.’
Lakonen whips around.
‘The explosives?’
‘Signal’s down, sir. Resetting band.’
‘Sir, look!’
A zoom cam shows the many floating objects back at the dig site.
Then lights come on at each surface point.
And the objects sprout wings.
***
A scuffle. A grunt. The crack of bones.
Then chaos.
Thea stays down, hugging her knees, her eyes shut tight.
Bright flashes of heat fly above her, salvoes that hit flesh, and men, all around.
People dying just beside her.
Red light. Everywhere.
So is the pool of blood.
Thea sits up, horrified. She brings a palm to her lips. Her breath comes quick, and she begins to shake.
‘Thea!’
Adras is besides her, a rifle in his hand.
She screams, backing away.
‘Thea, please.’
‘You, you killed them!’
‘We have to shut it down. It’s awake.’
She shakes her head, pulling her arms close about her.
The door hisses open. A soldier stands in the archway.
Adras and the soldier open fire.
***
‘Turret gunners are down, sir.’
‘Divert our fighters from Rheinland targets and engage these things.’
‘We lost most of our squadrons, Captain.’
Dyson steps up. ‘Sir, we’re taking hull damage. They’re punching through.’
‘Captain, our generators aren’t responding!’
The captain takes down his cap. There are only less a third of their fleet now.
‘We’ve awaken the beast.’
***
Thea crawls over to Adras. He coughs blood, and stares at the ceiling.
She glances at the door. The soldier is lying down. Another death.
‘My ship…’
Thea forces herself to tear her stare away from the corpse.
‘You have to ___.’
Adras coughs again. His chest a gaping hole, steam rising from the edges.
‘Stop the Leviathan. Glory to the Alliance—’
His eyes grow glassy. He stops breathing.
Thea hugs herself and cries.
***
Lakonen cannot hear the words from Dyson. The ringing in his ears continues. Fire rages across his peripheral vision.
Another attack rips through the bridge. The metal glow hot, just about to explode and expel the crew into space.
Lakonen heaves himself to sit up.
‘Mary, I’m coming home—’
***
The flagship crumples under the sheet of fire from the drones, breaking apart.
Smaller drones come out of the vessel, to chip away at the ice blockages. A part of the hull becomes visible.
There is a number plating.
<142>
-END-