Story: Divided We Fall

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Divided We Fall
Dividedwefallimage.png

Author

Holbenilord

Followed by:

Titanomachy

In case the mission fails, they are expendable. By Holbenilord.

Part One: Some Assembly Required

"Find me a team. Get me the galaxy's best fighters, and get them to me as soon as possible. We need the best."

Chapter 1: The Enforcer

"Your ear protection is on? Good. Pick up the weapon system."

The officer spoke from behind a sheet of armour glass, watching as his latest recruit fumbled with the handgun.

"Alright. This is a Frostbite Medium Pistol, PWS-manufactured, firing ten by ten millimetron, seven grahm ferrous bullets at up to one-point-one kilometrons per secrend. The magazine holds twenty rounds, and is a slide-reloader. This model has iron sights only, but it does have an anti-twitch stabiliser system and a sound suppressor."

The recruit, Haran, looked down at the gun for a bit, and then raised it.

"Wait."

Haran dropped his arm back down.

"Now, point the weapon at the target."

Haran did so, his hand shaking slightly.

"And, when you're ready, fire."

The recruit jerked the trigger, and nothing happened. He stared at it for a moment, then looked at his trainer.

"You made four mistakes. Go through it in your head."

"I, um... I..."

"First mistake- you left the magazine on the table. It was not in the pistol."

"Oh..." Haran reached for the magazine and began to insert it.

"Second- you did not put any rounds in the magazine."

Haran looked down embarassedly, and opened up a small plastic box, then inserted the strip of bullets clumsily into the magazine. After that, he inserted it into the pistol.

"Third mistake- you left the safety on."

Feeling very stupid, Haran put his finger on the safety latch.

"Not yet. Only when I say. But your fourth mistake- the way you are holding it. Hold it with both hands, with your finger outside the trigger guard until you are just about to shoot. And don't jerk the trigger. Squeeze it, but not too softly. There will be a point during the squeeze when the resistance increases. Stop there, and then squeeze again to fire."

"Ok."

"Put the gun down. Remember how to make it safe. Safety on, remove the magazine. Keep checking the safety."

Haran put the pistol back on the table, following instructions.

"Now. Haran, what is a gun?"

"It's a... it's a tube that fires bullets from one end."

"No. A gun is a device that projects a wide cone from its barrel within which the probability of death for anyone inside that cone increases substantially. Have you heard of the quantum gecka, trapped in a box without anyone able to know whether it is dead or alive without opening the box? Skaringer's Gecka, perhaps?"

"Yes. It's part of the advanced physics classes."

"Well, a gun is Skaringer's Nightmare. When not observed, bullets will enter the chamber, the safety will flick on and off, and live ammunition will appear spontaneously within. And you can't trust your eyes, either. You have to feel that the safety is on or off, and feel whether the magazine is inside. Make it a habit. A gun is a disaster waiting to happen- just make it a disaster that happens to the guy you are trying to stop."

"Sorry."

"I didn't expect you to get it right first time. Few recruits do. Don't feel bad, just go away and think about it."

Haran nodded, removed his ear defenders, and walked out of the range, upset.

The range officer was a Salsene. He was tall, wearing a thick black jacket with the CDF logo on its chest. Below that was his name and rank- lt. Kjorn. He sighed, and sat down.

An immacutely dressed Phoebus entered the observation room. A visitor's badge hung from his clothes, and he walked straight up to Kjorn, without looking to either side. There was a strong sense of purpose in his stride, and he immediately stuck out his hand.

The Salsene cautiously shook it.

"Kjorn Jraith?" The Phoebus asked, in Centro Standard with a hint of an Apollonian accent. Each syllable was annunciated and very curt.

"Yeah?"

There was a smile. "Please come with me."

Chapter 2: The Skirmisher

In the Ageriulan city of Dahuan, a small group of Black Gliders swooped down from the rooftops. They had spotted their target, and had their sniper rifles at the ready. The streets were empty- evacuated- but a number of Urahobs with machine guns stood in the windows, waiting for the signal.

There were a few bodies in the street, torn open by some kind of vicious carnivore. It was a little nauseating for the waiting Urahob, whose sergeant was talking hurriedly into his radio, trying to keep his voice down to a whisper. The privates watched the Irkapuths descend.

The leader of the Black Gliders' tassels suddenly jerked upwards. "Now!"

A volley of tiny bullets was fired, and hit the cockrel Alhtuputh in the flank. Its dark-red scrafs opened wide as it roared in rage, and then threw itself up into the air, lines of blood trickling from its wounds. Its massive wings gave it immense speed, and it met the Irkapuths head on, smashing two down from the sky. It then made a tight circle and grabbed one of the broken bodies in its mouth, before jerking its head upwards and swallowing the little sapient whole.

The Urahobs began to fire from the windows. Each machine gun bullet threw the Alhtuputh away, making blood spurt from its emerging wounds, drowning out its pained roaring. The rattle did not stop when it hit the far buildings, breaking its forewing in two, and it began to plummet to the ground. Another shot caught it in the skull and it was dead before it hit the pavement.

There was a snarl from behind the machine gunners as a female Alhtuputh and two young finished eating the sergeant. Each threw itself at one of the Urahob, and the screams of the Ageriulans sounded across the streets.

The leaderless Black Gliders milled around for a moment, and then Aera took charge. Her tassels spelt out the orders- "Quickly! We have to help them out!" She fired up her rocket and the three of them accelerated towards the feasting predators within the building, firing as they came.

The last Urahob had only his pistol to hand. He fired, killing one of the juveniles. Immediately, a boiling mess of noxious chemicals was launched into his face, and he began to scream as it burnt at his skin. He didn't have to scream for long, as the mother's bite closed around his skull. The decapitated body flopped about a bit and then fell to the ground.

Aera perched on the window ledge and began to fire. With one headshot, the young Alhtuputh was slain, and then she and her two allies turned their fire on the dull brown head of the mother.

The nine-metron long beast lashed about as the bullets hit it, shrieking. It crushed one of the Black Gliders against the wall with a sweep of its wings, and ran wildly around the room.

An antimatter pellet was thrown along the floor. The grey containment capsule gave way and a grain of antimatter detonated, resulting in a fireball that burnt away the Alhtuputh's hide. It was already dead, though- the gamma radiation had killed it.

Aera wiped her scrafs, and turned to the other surviving team member. "We did it."

"Yeah. But..."

They looked at the bodies.

The door on the far side of the room opened, startling them. They turned their rifles towards it, but then a well-dressed Phoebus stepped out. It marched purposefully up to the Irkapuths.

"Aera?"

She switched her translator on.

"This is a quarantined area. You shouldn't be-"

"I have approval. Now, if you'd please come with me."

Chapter 3: The Sniper

Leaping Blade lined up another shot. He turned a small wheel attached to his deathrifle's scope, and focussed the crosshairs on the target. The range was... around one kilometron. The rangefinder said 1003.2. Wind speed was four metrons per secrend, to fifty-five degrees from the barrel. Elevation difference was 0.03 metrons. He altered the velocity using the dial, but kept his eye on the target. The red and white circles resolved into clarity as he adjusted the focus. He breathed in deeply.

He fired, and absorbed the recoil into his shoulder. It ached slightly from this extended practice, but he could deal with it. Zooming in further, he checked how close he had got it- right on target. He sighed.

A lightly armoured Zyrothan walked up behind him. She looked through the telescope, and smiled. He did not turn to look.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks." His voice was muffled by his stance.

"Do you have time to talk?"

"I can talk and shoot." He fired again. She checked it through the telescope.

"I think you missed."

"Look again. At the central hole."

It had grown slightly, and the edges were more tattered. She whistled, impressed. "They say you're the best sniper ever to have been thrown out of an army."

"That's nice of them." The Vrah altered the dials on his scope and on the stock, changing targets to the two kilometron bullseyes.

"Do you still accept cash payment?"

"If you want to give me money, that's fine. Just don't expect me to do anything about it." He prepared himself for the next shot.

"We'd like you to help us."

"I'm retired. I'm not as young as I used to be."

"I've heard all about your exploits. Lirepolos, Mantatha, Uratun... and Skrap."

Leaping Blade stopped. He let out the breath, and then turned the safety back on on his rifle. Gently, fondly, he removed the magazine and set it down on his stool. He gave the Zyrothan a hard stare. "What's your name?"

"Akina."

"And what do you know about... what happened on Skrap?"

"There was an Irihil frigate. It blew up, and you narrowly escaped. In the process of getting there, you fought through over a dozen groups of bounty hunters and pirates."

"The story changes with each teller. It was an Irihil frigate, yes. It did blow up. But that's because we set it to."

She raised an eyebrow. "You destroyed a quantity of nanodiamond that could have bought you several planets?"

"Not out of choice. But this isn't a story for a cold autumn morning."

"Hm." She looked at the rifle. "So will you come?"

"Persuade me."

"One hundred thousand credits. Untaxed."

"A good start. Keep going."

"Command of your own team, and independence as to how you go about on the mission."

"Nice, but not a reward. I would have ended up leading them anyway."

"What do you want?"

"What every elderly Vrah wants. To be left alone."

"We would, after you completed the job. We'd never trouble you again, so long as you just do this for us. Not even to say thanks."

"I'm feeling inclined. But not eager."

She glared at him. "Fine. Another deathrifle."

"You just got yourself a sniper." He picked up his weapon. "Just a few minutes, and I'll be with you."

Smiling to himself, he headed back into the house to prepare. He hadn't had an adventure for too long.

Chapter 4: The Reaper

Dust trickled down from the ceiling as the ground above the little, subterranean chapel shook. The relics contained within trembled slightly on their red cushions, but remained in place.

The battle overhead was of no consequence to the Monk. It was more important to tend to the chapel than to prevent the death of the Lost ones- and they would thin their own numbers without the Monk having to do anything. A look through the periscope only confirmed suspicions- the bandits were being rapidly wiped out by the Iron Skulls, whose armour and weapons were far superior. The grenades being launched were the source of the tremors.

The Monk had not expected the Iron Skulls to turn up here, though. There was nothing here to steal, break, or scavenge, which was one of the reasons the chapel was located here. It was possible that they were just passing through, but the discovery of their intentions was not important.

The sound of the trapdoor being revealed was unmistakeable, however. The Monk listened to the sand being pushed off, and then the lock being tried. It was designed to thwart brute force, so this would likely result in them using guns and grenades. The Monk reached for the weapon that lay upon the altar and took hold of it in both hands- a diamond scythe, with a sparkling blade that curved downwards and a long, black shaft. The tang and ring were compressed diamond, like the blade, and there was a grip around halfway down the shaft.

The trapdoor opened, without a single weapon having been used, and a Vrah stepped down, holding its vampron tightly, not yet having seen the Monk. After it came a Detroni, who seemed far bolder and walked towards the altar.

Needless to say, the Vrah was surprised when its head was seperated wholly from its body, and the Detroni did not expect to have the point of a scythe blade upon his neck.

"Ah yes... they told me you were fast. But... krag."

"Those who come to the believers without belief shall leave without life."

The Detroni coughed a little, but kept his eyes firmly on the diamond blade. "I have come with a proposition."

The blade moved slightly away from his skin, but hovered threateningly an inch further back. "The Lost who seek to be Found shall receive an audience."

"I'm just a messenger, but- I understand that a team is being constructed. A team which needs to have the greatest warriors in the galaxy in it. And apparently you are one of those warriors."

"The aid of the believers cannot be bought, but only earned."

The Detroni gulped nervously, and whispered something. Immediately, the scythe withdrew.

"A just cause shall ever be championed by the believers."

Stepping out from the shadows, the Monk lowered her scythe and then pulled back her hood. She motioned for the Detroni to lead her out.

Chapter 5: The Avenger

Eremos sat and brooded at his desk, tapping a telson against the plastic. His apartment was messy, to say the least, with each wall bearing a number of trophies, and debris all over the floor. Two aragtora heads, an alhtuputh skull, and a Ralak head were pinned to one panel, and a number of Keraran trophies were fixed to another.

Weapons, of many kinds, occupied a large rack with three levels. Conspicuous were a Stalker guided missile launcher, a forcegun, and an Iridi particle beam. Eremos wore several pistols even now, attached to a bandolier across his carapace.

A small box occupied the prime location on one wall. It meant a lot to him, being the last award that the Mantrid government had bestowed upon a soldier before its destruction. It still angered him to think about the almost complete extermination of his kind by the Iridi- that brutal holocaust, the deaths of billions, and for what? He was almost alone in the stars. He planned to see his two sisters next week, and they were trying to get all the survivors together on Centro. It would be nice to be with people who didn't stare at him as if he was a ravening demon again.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"No! I'm not in!" He yelled.

There was another, less firm, knock, and then a Phoebus stuck its head in. "Eremos?"

"I said I wasn't in!" He took his forcegun from the rack, and glared belligerently at the intruder.

"I don't mean to intrude, but- I want to help you."

"Then help me." Eremos snarled.

"You're looking for a job, right? Employment?"

"So what if I am?"

"I can give it to you. Well-paid, too. Just put the gun down and listen."

The Mantrid grabbed a Gladius from the rack and held it in his other claw. "What's this wonderful job, then?"

"We're making... a team. To carry out a special mission. As one of the galaxy's finest fighters, your name was put forwards to be a member..."

"I don't do jobs without knowing everything about them."

The Phoebus scratched his head, and then said something quietly.

Eremos twitched slightly. "Fine. I'll be there in two minutes."

There was a relieved sigh, and then the Phoebus hurried off.

Part 2: The Mission

"Done, sir. The team is assembled."

Chapter 6: Briefing

An Atrenid stood patiently in front of the vidboard, waiting for the team members to enter. He wore a thick blue jacket, and under that, red-bordered armour. A deep and rough-edged scar that must have been caused by laser beam went along his left forearm, and he had one bionic eye.

The first of the five entered the room. Leaping Blade took a chair from the stack and put it down in front of the Atrenid, then seated himself. His deathrifle remained in his hands, and there was a Snakebite in his battlesuit's belt holster.

Then came Kjorn, still wearing his CDF uniform. He took off the jacket and draped it over the back of the chair that he took, then sat down by the Vrah. He extended a hand.

"Kjorn Jraith, lieutenant in the CDF. Good to meet you."

"Leaping Blade, retired mercenary. Likewise." He smiled.

"Where'd they drag you out from?"

"Oh, a nice moon a few parsecs out called Hestia. It orbits a Jovian with a powerful magnetic field, so there are lovely aurorae from all the charged particles being funneled into the atmosphere. I originally came from Kalathin, though."

"I've been to Kalathin. It was a lovely place, back then."

"Ruined by tourists, now." A nostalgic smile crept across his face. "You?"

"Ah, nothing interesting. Standard Centro-born, Centro-raised, straight into the CDF from university."

"What'd you study?"

The Salsene grinned. "Xenopalaentology."

"Ha. I'd have loved to have gone to uni, but I didn't even get a secondary education."

"Oh?"

"My parents were killed before then. Iron Skulls. I joined a group of mercs, killed the Skulls who did it, and then moved from group to group until I found one band of bounty hunters led by- you'll probably know them- Srei and Leammi?"

"Who hasn't?" He smiled.

"Indeed. Well, I stayed with them for a few years, and then just retired. And that was that."

"Interesting. Oh, here's someone else."

Aera glided in, with her wing covers and body armour still on. She flew over to the other two and perched on Kjorn's seat, then activated her translator.

"Hello! I'm Aera."

The Salsene nodded in welcome. "Hello! I'm lieutenant Kjorn Jraith, of the CDF, and this is Leaping Blade, who used to be in Srei's team."

"Hi." The Vrah waved weakly.

"Wow, Srei's team?"

"Yeah. It wasn't like they say on holo-V, though..."

"Of course, but either way, you're a celebrity."

"Great." Leaping Blade raised an eyebrow.

"And that's no ordinary sniper rifle, there."

"Indeed." He lifted it up and placed it lovingly on his lap. "A Kesuran deathrifle. One of the last dozen or so surviving."

Aera reached out to touch it, but Leaping Blade pulled it back. "Sorry, no touching."

She sighed with her tassels, and then turned to the Salsene. "So, what's your claim to fame?"

"Well..." Kjorn scratched his head. "I once punched out a Skarg."

The Irkaputh raised an eyebrow. "You're far too scrawny."

"No, I really did! We took a vid!" He laughed.

Another of the group entered. It was Eremos, and as he looked around the room, his eyes settled on Leaping Blade. "A kragging Vrah? I'm leaving." He turned to go.

"Hey, wait." Leaping Blade stood up. "I know that... members of my race helped exterminate your homeworld and carry out the genocide of all Mantrids, but- I wasn't one of them! I'm not your enemy."

Eremos whipped round, and walked up to him, iridescent eyes ablaze. "What makes you so different from those who were doing it then, hm?"

"I have my honour."

"Vrah? Honour?" The Mantrid spat. "Please."

Kjorn stood, now. "Alright, I know you don't like Vrah, but-"

Eremos turned to glare at the Salsene. "You know nothing about what happened to us. You couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to watch your world and your species die around you. Your words are empty."

Aera flew up and perched on Leaping Blade's shoulder. "I don't know about what happened to your species, Mr., um..."

"Eremos. My name is Eremos." The Mantrid snarled.

"But, Eremos, do you really believe that the Vrah standing in front of you would want that to happen again?"

"It's not enough to be sorry. It's not enough to regret it. You can't turn back time."

The Vrah spoke this time. "Maybe it's not enough, but it's all I can do. Can you settle for that?"

Eremos fell silent, and took another chair out.

At the front of the room, the Atrenid made a few ticks on a list on his vidpad, then looked up and at each of the individuals in front of him. "We're just missing one. Then, we can start."

"Which one are we missing?" Leaping Blade had sat back down and spoken.

"A Xodu. Called 'The Monk', or something along those lines."

A voice came from the back of the room. "The righteous are ever present for their war."

They all turned to look at the hooded figure, who was leaning against the far wall. She stood, completely still, with her scythe beside her.

Leaping Blade and Aera glanced at each other. "Weird."

"Alright!" The Atrenid moved to a more central position. "Time's wasting."

Upon the screen appeared the image of a planet. They could see its deep blue oceans, and the band of greenery around the centre of the planet. However, other than that, the land was all desert. An ice cap sat at the world's north pole only.

"This is Xerra. It's around seven hundred light years from where we are. You're going there."

He shut down the vidscreen.

"Any questions?"

Kjorn raised a hand. "Yeah... why?"

"You'll find out once there. Until then, we can't tell you."

Kjorn sighed. "Fine."

"Alright. Go to the hangar. Take-off is in twenty."

Chapter 7: Boarding

The spaceship they were taking was an unmarked Brightlance Frigate, evidently recently produced from its cleanness. The airlock was open for them to enter, and a Phoebus led them to it, with Leaping Blade at the front of the file. Once they had all entered, the bulkheads closed.

"This is the Consolation, and it'll be your ship for the voyage. It's fully equipped for whatever you might need, with advanced repulsors, mass cannons, lasers and several nuclear missiles. There are twelve Manurill shuttles, and six light drones for reconaissance. It has the latest sensor arrays and is fully e-hardened. Each of you have your own personal and armoured quarters below the CIC, except you." The Phoebus gestured at Blade. "You get the captain's quarters, fore of the CIC."

"Thanks." The Vrah nodded to the guide.

"No problem. We're sending five engineers, two technicians, an astrogator, eight mercs, a cook, a communications officer and three pilots to help you fly it. They've been told to help you however they can."

"Appreciated."

"And... was there anything else? Oh yes. We'll take your affects in for you."

"Alright." Leaping Blade produced a suitcase and a backpack, and handed them over. A Skarg took them into the ship.

Aera's equipment fitted neatly into a large backpack, which a Phoebus took from her. The same porter then took Kjorn's suitcase in its other hand. A Skarg headed over to Eremos to relieve him of the four long guns and the dozen handguns he had on his person.

The Mantrid held up a telson and hissed. "I keep my stuff."

Confused, the Skarg began to protest. "It's just to take 'em into the-"

"Go and do something useful, kragger."

The Skarg's fist clenched, but the Phoebus guide held him back. "Leave him be. He can keep his weapons so long as he doesn't cause trouble."

Another Phoebus went up to the Monk. "Anything for me to carry?"

She looked at him and gripped her scythe. "The believer needs carry nothing but their faith."

There was some head-scratching, and then the porter walked off.

The team entered the frigate, and there were the personnel assigned to assist them, wearing grey fatigues and flanking the entrance.

"Welcome on board! I'm Ruul, the lead pilot of this beautiful ship." The Zyrothan smiled. "We've tried to make everything as comfortable for you as possible."

"Much obliged." Leaping Blade shook his hand. "May I ask how long the journey will be?"

"Ah. It'll be around nine days, at cruising FTL speed. That's around thirty thousand c. Adding ack and deck times, ten days or so."

"Not too long."

"Yeah. But it's not too far. Unlike Skrap."

"Reck, Centro to Skrap's a killer. Done it twice."

"You poor man. I have no idea how those intergalactic races have the willpower to keep flying long enough to leave their own galaxy."

"Agreed."

"Well, it was nice to meet you! Let me show you to your cabin. Your friends will be escorted to their own quarters. Turay and Alva, would you mind?"

"We'll get right on it."

"Very good. Let's go, then!"

Chapter 8: Journey

Kjorn sat down on his bunk with a long sigh, and took the vidpad out from his pocket. Flicking through the list of reachable devices, he noticed Leaping Blade's was on. He shrugged and called him.

Leaping Blade's face appeared. "Hi again."

"What's occurring?"

"Nothing much. Me and Turay are having a shooting competition."

"Inside the ship?" Kjorn raised an eyebrow.

"Virtual weapons."

"Alright."

"My score is twice as high."

"I'm sure it is. Hey, have you seen Aera recently?"

"Yeah. She just left to go to the armoury. She was watching us, before."

"Alright, thanks. See you later."

"Sure."

The connection closed, and Kjorn re-pocketed the device. He began to head down towards the armoury, but as he turned the corner, he almost walked into Ruul.

"Whoops, sorry!"

"Fault's mine."

He noticed that the Zyrothan was carrying a metallic cylinder. "What's the... thing?"

"Optical corrector for the front telescope. Its images have got a bit blurry."

"Oh, cool. Well, see you later."

"Bye!"

He continued along, and came to the bulkhead with the word 'Armoury' written in stencilled text. He flashed his card across the keypad and the door slid open. Inside, Aera and Eremos were both cleaning their weapons, and they looked up as he entered.

"Hey Kjorn!" Aera smiled with her tassels.

The Mantrid said nothing.

"Hey. What's being done?"

"Nothing much. Just keeping my rifle up to scratch." She held up the little gun.

"Looks shiny and fresh. How about you, Eremos?"

"The same." Eremos put the forcegun down on the table, hard.

"Keraran forcegun, eh?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure there's a story behind that. But don't feel you have to say anything with more than one syllable."

The Mantrid tensed a little. "I took this forcegun from a Keraran dreadtrooper on Phellix. I had no ammunition and all my friends were dead, killed by this weapon. He was laughing at me. I ripped his armour off piece by piece and made him beg for mercy."

"Uh-huh. Remind me to hide behind you if any Kerarans come."

Eremos said nothing and picked up his gun again.

Aera cocked her head. "Kjorn, shall we go see what miss spooky is doing? She hasn't left her quarters since we boarded."

"Alright. You know which room it would be?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

They went out together and headed down the corridors, Aera flying just in front of the Salsene. She stopped at one of the doors and settled on his shoulder. "Here."

Kjorn knocked. "Hey, do you mind if we come in?"

A few seconds passed, and then the door opened. Inside, it was extremely dark, compared to the bright lights of the corridor.

"Lights out early, eh?"

Kjorn's eyes had to adjust to the darkness, but Aera's were already there. There were candles along the walls, and the Monk sat on the floor at the end of the room, legs crossed and facing away. The scythe lay on a makeshift table, produced from the top bed of the bunk. Its blankets had become the mat on which she sat. She remained quiet and silent.

Aera flew over and perched beside her. "We're just checking in. Everything's are ok?"

"The unbeliever meets his needs through gratification. The believer's needs are met by existence." Her voice seemed soft and distant.

"Alright, then." Kjorn moved over. "Five days of the trip are left, so we'll be planetside soon enough. I looked it up, and apparently Xerra is only notable as the location of Tedrin Xal's mansion."

Aera looked up. "Who's Tedrin Xal?"

"You haven't heard of him?" The Irkaputh's face was blank. "Oh, right. Well, he's the CEO of Thall Technologies. A very big name in infrastructure."

"And he's the only one who lives there?"

"Well, it's him, his servants, some farmers, and his private army."

"Private army, eh?"

"Yeah. Independently recruited. Skarg, Vrah, Salsenes, Zyrothans, Xodu- the lot. Latest PWS armour and weapons."

"I'm guessing we'll have to fight through them."

"I think so, yeah."

"How many?"

"Six hundred or so. No-one from outside knows exactly."

"Well, we've probably intruded on..." Aera pointed at the Monk, "her business for too long. Shall we take our leave?"

"Yeah, alright. See you later!"

"Bye, Monk-person!" Aera took off and landed on Kjorn's shoulder again. "Just a few more days and then we can get to doing stuff."

Chapter 9: Landing

The Consolation dropped out of FTL, and a burst of bright light followed it. It was still a few light-seconds away, but it needed the space to decelerate. And, indeed, it had come out of FTL with its main engines facing towards the planet. They were on full burn, and blue plasma gushed out from the fusion drive.

From that distance, they would definitely be detected, though.

A radio transmission came through the void towards them.

"Hello. You are intruding upon the private space of Tedrin Xal. If you do not have an appointment, please remove yourself from the premises."

Leaping Blade was standing behind Ruul in the command centre. He turned to the pilot. "Charming. Don't reply."

The Zyrothan nodded in response.

The ship's thrust cut off as it reached orbital velocity, and began to orbit around Xerra.

A new transmission travelled up. "You do not seem to have acted upon our prior warning. If you do not have an appointment, you will be removed from the area by force."

"I think a laser to the communications array should shut them up. Fire when ready."

The radio dish, far below, continued rotating to face the ship. And then the invisible laser from above hit it, and a large hole formed in its centre. The remainder collapsed under its own weight, falling into debris upon the hard ground. Flames appeared in the wreckage.

"Nice shot. How do their defenses look?"

"A few flak cannons and two lasers. The lasers could probably hit us from down there and do some damage. They also appear to be powering up."

"Pre-emptive strike, then."

The barrel of each laser cannon, far below, began to unshutter and ready to fire. But the two beams from the frigate came first, straight down the barrels into the fragile optics within, and then exiting through the power supply. A line of flame raged in the gouge where the laser had touched the dirt below.

Ruul smiled. "Right in the eyes. The flak cannons aren't powerful enough to reach us from the surface, but could pose a threat to the shuttles."

"I see what you mean. I don't imagine that they're all visible from here, either."

"Agreed. We'll do what we can from here, but the shuttle will still have to deal with some heavy firepower."

"I think I can leave that to you. We'll head down to the shuttle bay, and take our ride. If you could send two drones down to find where they're hiding their guns, that'd be very helpful."

"Doing it now. See you when the job's done."

"Alright. And then you'll tell us our mission?"

"I think you've already worked it out. Take out that CEO before he- yeah."

Leaping Blade nodded, then headed down to the bay to join the other four. The shuttle's pilot climbed in to the little ship, and then motioned for them to follow. They all filed in, and sat down on the row of seats.

The pilot flicked some switches on the top of the display, then inserted the keychip into the console, and then took hold of the steering controls. "Just a few moments before we can be released from the clamps."

"Will you need to do any steering?" Kjorn asked.

"Probably not, no. These shuttles have good autopilots. But it feels reassuring."

"Hm."

"And here we go."

The clamps broke away, and the shuttle launched off. The frigate shrunk away into the distance as the little ship met the atmosphere, and a cone of red-hot air formed on its nose. The turbulent clouds were visible down below, and the display had helpfully added a blue square around the destination point. Also there were the markers for the two drones, which were a few kilometrons ahead. They would disappear if any flak guns came online.

One blinked out. The shuttle pilot turned to the communicator. "You see that, control?"

"Indeed we did. We found another battery and took it out. Keep checking the other, over."

"Yes, sir."

The drone's marker continued on its path, and then swooped over the compound. It headed off, back to the ship.

"You should be clear now, over."

"Many thanks, control."

The shuttle began to decelerate, and the passengers could feel it. It tugged at their skin and clothes, but it was not unpleasantly hard. Aera held on to her rifle a little tighter.

The shuttle reached a stop in a large and immacutely mown courtyard, and the door swung open. The pilot waved to them as they stepped out, one by one.

"Good hunting, fellas."

"Much obliged. See you when we're done."

"I'm looking forward to it. Well, off I go."

The door shut again, and the shuttle accelerated away into the distant clouds. Leaping Blade noticed something bright out of the corner of his eye, snaking its way up to the shuttle, about to catch up.

"It's a homing missile!" He grabbed his deathrifle and took aim, as the missile edged closer and closer to the shuttle.

He fired, and there was en explosion behind the little ship as its unwelcome follower exploded.

Leaping Blade's communicator vibrated. "Uh, thanks. That would've had me."

"Not a problem. You're undamaged?"

"One thruster's lost. The other'll take me up fine, but this shuttle will need a few days of repairs before it can re-enter service."

"Alright, then. We have others."

"Yeah. And, uh, thanks again."

Leaping Blade nodded, and then turned it off.

They looked out at their surroundings- marble columns and walls surrounded the courtyard, ornately carved, and a few crimson-coloured doors were embedded in the buildings.

"In we go, then." Aera perched on Leaping Blade's shoulder.

"That's the plan."

Part 3: Forced Entry

"They've arrived safe and sound, sir."

Chapter 10: Uninvited Guests

Leaping Blade stood and listened for a few moments. The breeze was gentle and the sky was a light blue, with the sun overhead and shadows barely cast. In this light, the marble sparkled slightly. He had to hand it to whoever built this place- they had style.

"Aera, take a look up high. See if anything stands out. Kjorn, try that door ahead of us. Eremos, watch his back. Monk- you'll need a better name- look out for me. I'm going to take a look at that electrics panel."

They all moved to their places, some more rapidly than others. The Vrah went to the metal box and took out his knife, then cut down the lock and opened it up. Inside was a mass of wires and lights, and a dial.

"Seems to be the hub for a network of CCTV cameras, though I didn't see any. Perhaps they're microcameras." He cut the wires and watched the lights fade. "There."

They moved to the door, which Kjorn was working at opening. Aera returned and settled on the doorframe.

"Couldn't see much. We're near the edge of the compound, and this is the way to the centre, so that's all good."

"Ok. How's the door coming?"

"Not... too... well." Kjorn grunted. He stopped pushing and stepped back. "Any ideas?"

Eremos raised his forcegun, and there was a loud bang. A coarse hole was torn from the reinforced steel, and then he reached in to open the lock.

"Thanks." Leaping Blade nodded and smiled to him. The Mantrid said nothing.

They entered the interior of the building, scanning all around them, guns ready.

They were in a hall around fifty metrons long and twenty wide, with the ceiling at least ten metrons up above them. Golden chandeliers hung down, and there were massive tapestries on the walls, depicting ancient battles and epics. Most were evidently very old, and from several cultures.

"Expensive taste." Aera noted.

They moved over to the far door, having found nothing so far, and walked through. This room was circular, with a glass dome set in the roof and many doors around its perimeter. A large fountain sat in the centre, with five tiers over which water gushed, making a gentle pattering sound. Strange reeds protruded from the levels, and at the top was a bronze statue of an armoured Salsene.

Kjorn stopped and looked up at it. "A statue of Athek. Pretty cool."

Leaping Blade sniffed. "I've seen better."

They continued along, and went to the far door. Aera turned to the Vrah.

"This should take us towards the centre. I'm guessing that's where the target will be."

"Alright. Good. Eremos, I'll open the door. You take point."

The Mantrid flicked the activation switch on his forcegun. "Whatever."

The Vrah started by applying a little pressure to the metal with his palm. It didn't budge, so he drew his knife and cut down along the side, breaking through the lock. After trying again, it now swung open.

The next room was completely empty, at ground level. However, there were windows several metrons above the ground that went all the way around the room. On the far side was a reinforced bulkhead, with two security cameras above it, both now facing the intruders. Eremos was in front, his forcegun out, and he froze. "Trap."

A gruff voice came from up above them. "Now!"

At each window appeared an armoured Skarg or Zyrothan, their weapons ready and pointed down onto the floor. Bullets began to fly, smashing into the marble floor just in front of the team. They stumbled backwards, but the door shut behind them and began to weld itself to the frame.

They sprang into action. Aera flew up, dodging bullets, and shot one Zyrothan in the eye. Leaping Blade brought down a Skarg with a headshot that broke its skull into pieces, and caused its body to tumble down onto the stone below. Eremos fired and the forcegun shot smashed straight through one Skarg. They found a new target each and continued the process.

Kjorn was emptying his Gladius magazine very rapidly, but reaping the rewards. His fire moved across a wall and the mercenaries who didn't manage to take cover in time were hit, and fell back dead.

The Monk had wasted no time, either. Up the wall in a flash, she could just about be seen moving between the windows, cutting down all who stood there.

In a matter of secrends, there was quiet once more.

The Monk dropped back down to the floor. Aera settled on Leaping Blade's shoulder again, and Kjorn grinned at Eremos. "Nice shooting."

The Mantrid shrugged and turned away.

Leaping Blade headed over to the bulkhead and pulled down the cameras with his hands. He then turned his attention to the door, which seemed far thicker than those they had seen before. He motioned to Eremos and the forcegun fired, but it only produced a crater in the metal for its efforts.

"Ideas? Seems like tungsten."

Aera took an antimatter pellet from her pouch. "Yes. Make a little hole and this will do the rest."

The Vrah turned the velocity dial on his rifle up and then pointed it at the bulkhead. It excavated a deep hole that must have gone several inches into the tungsten. Aera then posted the little pellet in, and pushed a small amount of gel in to seal it.

"Move back, anyway. Radiation."

They did so. Aera took the detonator out, smiled, and clicked it.

There was a massive crashing sound, and a sheet of opaque smoke rolled out. As it passed, they could see little drops of molten metal on the ground, rapidly cooling, and a large hole in the door. Leaping Blade led them through.

Chapter 11: The Greatest Warrior

On the other side of the wreckage, the team found themselves in the compound's cafeteria. Lines of aluminium tables were spread across the room- more than enough for the occupants- and a set of large double doors were present ahead. The servery was closed off by a metal sheet. But more notable than these features was the Detroni standing on a table, flanked by Velaya.

"So, you have passed through the first trap. But do not think you have won! This is the room in which you shall die, at the hands of K'la! That's me! I shall kill you all!"

Kjorn shook his head disbelievingly. "Are you for real?"

"I am more than real enough to be the greatest warrior in history! I am the famous and mighty K'la! Prepare to be slaughtered by me!"

"Riiight." Aera took a quick shot at the Velaya on his left, and it went down instantly. Leaping Blade dealt with the other, leaving K'la standing alone.

"Fools! I need no allies! I once defeated a hundred men in single combat, all at once!"

"That's not how single- you know, never mind." Kjorn sighed. "Let's just get it over with."

The Detroni pulled two machine guns from his back and dual-wielded them. "This shall be quick! You will find yourselves dead in short order!"

Eremos hissed. "Shut the krag up." He took aim with his forcegun and fired.

The bullet met an invisible repulsor field and stopped barely a centimetron from K'la's skin. It was then pushed gently backwards by the shield and fell down onto the metal of the table with a clang.

The Detroni was unfazed. "To battle, foolish warriors!" He pointed both his weapons at the team and let rip, laughing as he did so.

Each leapt for cover. Aera slipped under a chair, Leaping Blade and Kjorn sheltered behind pillars, Eremos ducked under a table, and the Monk disappeared. Bullets continued to fly, and the maniacal laughter of K'la could just about be heard under the sound of his weapons. "You can run away, but K'la will always kill you! Always! K'la!"

Leaping Blade whispered to Aera and Kjorn, who he could just about see. "As soon as his magazine is empty, pop out."

They both nodded, and turned back to listen to the clatter of gunfire. The Detroni's laughter had died down, and he now looked down dissatisfiedly at the rapidly disappearing belts of ammunition. He felt a sudden pain in his waist as his legs were sliced off by a diamond scythe, and looked down surprisedly as his torso fell down onto the table surface. The machine guns fell from his hands, and the remainder of the team popped out, but did not fire at the dismembered body.

"Why, I'll..." K'la was astonished. "This is impossible! I am too powerful to be defeated!"

The Monk remained still behind him, the blood glittering on her scythe. She watched his last few struggles before he keeled over forwards and fell still, thick red liquid still pouring from the arteries.

Leaping Blade stepped out. "Uh, thanks. He really needed to be shut up."

"The humble will ever surpass the proud." She said softly.

"I'm sure they will. But, right back to it. I guess we're getting close."

Aera nodded. "I think so. Last stretch."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's finish this."

Chapter 12: Redirected Traffic

A line of mercenaries, guns ready and pointed at the door, prepared themselves for the team's entrance. There was some anxiety, but against this much firepower, how could anyone pass?

Captain Zarkun stood behind them, pistol in hand. "Steady. Open fire as soon as the door opens."

He gripped the weapon slightly tighter, expectant but sure of himself. This would be the end of the intruders' rampage.

At one end of the line, a helmet caved in as a large bullet passed through it. The next followed suit, and the next, and four bodies fell down, decapitated. Simultaneously, a Skarg was blown apart by a forcegun shot, and another had their eye socket entered by a small rifle bullet, which fragmented inside his brain.

As they attempted to turn their guns on the firers, the door crashed inwards and Gladius fire came from the smoke. Kjorn stepped through, and continued to fire the assault rifle, cutting down a small group.

The captain's head was seperated from his body by a diamond scythe's blade, and then a longer sweep of that weapon finished the last of the mercenaries.

Leaping Blade, Eremos, and Aera stepped from the shadows. "Done. And done well."

The Salsene reloaded his weapon, inserting a magazine. "Aye. Are we there yet?"

"That we are. This here... door thing... leads to the central hall."

It was a strange door. It revolved around a central pole, and seemed specially designed so that two of the five lead frames attached to the pole would always obscure the hall's interior from those outside.

They went through, on alert.

Inside, the room seemed far smaller than it should have been. The walls and ceiling were lead-plated, and the floor was sheet metal. A platform stood in the centre, and a glass cube sat upon that. Many wires and tubes fed into the cube.

"The krag is that?" Eremos shouldered his forcegun.

"I have no idea." Leaping Blade walked slowly to the cube, marvelling at the thing inside.

The Monk held her scythe a little tighter.

Inside the cube was a sphere of light, fragmented and distorted. It shone a light blue colour, and little beams of strong whiteness streamed out from it. Whatever it was, it was beautiful.

Kjorn took out his communicator. "Consolation, do you read me?"

There was no response.

"Must be the walls here. Designed to block the signals, I guess." The Salsene shrugged.

"What would you have said to them?" Aera perched on his shoulder.

"To get the RDC out here."

"RDC?"

"Rift Detection and Control. This thing here is a dimensional rift, and it's not safe."

"Wait, wait." Eremos glared at Kjorn. "The krag is a 'dimensional rift'?"

"A portal to another location. Could be within our universe, or maybe not. Either way, we have no idea what's on the other side, and we shouldn't take the risk."

"Normally I'd agree with you. But-" Leaping Blade motioned to the rift with his rifle- "Our mission is to get this guy, and this is the only way he could have gone. So I, at least, am going through."

"Fine. Alright. But I reserve my privilege to say 'I told you so'."

"Noted. Now, let's get in there."

Leaping Blade took the butt of his weapon and smashed through the glass. It shattered around the blow, and the Vrah swept away the bits from the floor with his foot. Then, he stepped into the portal and was gone.

The others followed, filing in. And then the room was still, other than the lights emenating from within the portal.

Part 4: Séance

"They're through."

Chapter 13: Today's Fox

The five team members stood in the bright light of the window, silhouetted against the yellows and reds beyond. The rift continued to shine behind them, and the room itself was lined with pipes and tubes, with consoles all around the portal.

But that wasn't as interesting as the sky outside.

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is." Aera was perching on Kjorn's shoulder.

"What do you think it is?"

"The accretion disc of a supermassive black hole."

"Then I'd have to lie."

Aera nodded. "It's quite pretty, though."

"That it is." Kjorn continued to stare.

The glowing dust and debris, with strangely shaped stars within, continued to orbit around the centrepiece- a point of extreme darkness, barely visible. A long white trail of relativistic particles streamed upwards from the disc's pole- they were viewing it from slightly above its horizontal plane.

The glass was not all it seemed- it was several feet of synthetic diamond, impregnated with lead and tailored to filter most of the light, as well as the x-rays that were produced by the disc. But even reduced to a thousandth of its former brightness, the swirling mass shone extremely intensely.

Aera forced her gaze away. "We're on a planetoid just outside of the accretion disc of a supermassive black hole, within a top secret base owned by the CEO of a transplanetary corporation. Huh."

"This wasn't how I imagined things would turn out, either." Leaping Blade tapped the barrel of his rifle against the floor. "But we have our objective."

Eremos turned to them. "Which kragging galaxy are we even in? Viperius' core is nowhere near this active."

"Well, how could we tell?"

"Doesn't matter, anyway. Back to the hunt." The Vrah looked away.

Kjorn pulled a lever and a lead shutter came down over the outside of the window. Another then came down on the inside.

They went over to the bulkhead that was the only door in the room, and Eremos turned the wheel to open it, taking nine revolutions for it to be unlocked. It then swung slowly open, revealing its sheer thickness.

A Zyrothan stood on the other side, his gun holstered. "Welcome." He smiled.

Leaping Blade recoiled. "Why so friendly?"

"Why not? Is a mercenary not allowed to say hello?"

"It's appreciated, just... unexpected. Particularly given our having killed several of your friends."

"Oh, them? They weren't important." He extended a hand. "I'm captain Turros, by the way. You?"

"Leaping Blade. These people behind me are Kjorn, Aera, Eremos, and, er, Monk-person."

"Nice to meet you all."

"You too." Aera spoke. "It's been too long since I had a pleasant conversation with a foe."

"A foe?" Turros laughed. "No, no. We hired you."

Eremos scowled. "Our mission is to kill your CEO. If you're saying you hired us to-"

"No-one ever was very explicit about what you had to do. You're here to help oversee the last stages of the Project."

"The Project?"

"Come! Come and see!"

They were led into an observation lounge, with long, coloured sofas and elaborate decorations. The window looked out upon the black hole, again.

"Mr. Xal will be with you in a moment, if you'd like to take a seat."

Still quite baffled, four of them sat down anyway. The Monk continued to stand, staring out into the glowing disc, still so far away.

Chapter 14: Attraction and Repulsion

Turros returned after a few minutes. "May I introduce the founder of the Project, Mr. Xal?"

A short but well-dressed Salsene entered the room, his eyes rather glazed, but a smile upon his face. "It is good to see that you have all come. I am sorry that I had to keep you in the dark, but it was necessary."

"Why?" Kjorn asked.

Mr. Xal ignored the question. "In a matter of secrends, starbase one will detach from this planetoid and begin its trajectory towards the supermassive black hole."

Everyone who had been sitting shot up. "But-"

"It is nothing to be concerned about. This facility has more than adequate protection to deal with both the electromagnetic and kinetic hazards presented by the voyage. The danger lies not from nature, but from another source. They seek to prevent the completion of the Project. I have asked for you to come due to the threat they present, particularly given the fact that they will be able to board starbase one, and our current security forces do not provide sufficient protection. You proved your superiority during your journey here."

Captain Turros nodded. "It was very impressive."

There was a jolt from beneath them, and then they felt an upwards acceleration.

Mr. Xal continued. "It has begun. Please do as the captain asks- he knows where entry is most likely. Our enemy is an intergalactic faction known as the Cult. They will undoubtedly have detected our taking off and calculated our path, so will be here in a few minutes. It will take around twenty minutes to achieve sufficient distance to initiate phase two. Note that the Rift room will be closed for the duration of the voyage."

Turros quickly added something else. "We'll reopen it if the Project is aborted, of course. Though that won't happen."

The CEO then turned and left. The Zyrothan remained, and looked at each of the team in turn.

"If you'd like to co-ordinate them, Mr. Blade- the expected sites of entry are the docking bay, the forward battery, and engineering. I've posted twenty men to the docking bay, but only five to the other two, in addition to the people who work there. Good luck."

Leaping Blade nodded in farewell, then turned to the others. "I'll take the docking bay, with Eremos. Aera and Kjorn, you take the battery. Monk-person, if you'd do engineering, that'd be perfect."

"The faithful shall triumph."

"Good to hear it. Now, you have your posts. Step to!"

The base jolted slightly as debris smashed into its repulsor fields, and it shook noticeably for a few seconds. Everyone prepared themselves.

Obscured and out of sight, deep within the dust, a number of pitch-black ships locked on to the starbase's trajectory and began to accelerate.

Chapter 15: Enforced Contrition

"Sir, we've detected the Cult's vessels! They're rising from the disc, in an intercept course!"

Turros leaned forwards in his seat. "As expected. As soon as they're within effective range of the missiles, open fire."

"Aye, sir."


In the docking bay, a barricade had been constructed across the room from secure crates, and several machine guns and lasers fixed within the gaps. The power cords for the lasers had to be plugged into the base's mains, in order to reach the higher power requirements that Mr. Xal had claimed they would require.

A thick sense of anxiety had settled over the men within. Leaping Blade watched them unhappily from his cover, and then turned to Eremos. "Do you think we'll hold?"

The Mantrid pulled his Stalker out. "We will. They won't." He pointed at the troopers behind them.

"We might get killed too."

"Possibly."

"Well, let's make sure we survive."


Aera and Kjorn were setting up the defenses in the forward battery. Railgun barrels acted as natural cover, going straight through the room and out the other side. However, they were placed too centrally- they had elected to build up walls of crates around the bulkhead.

Kjorn checked his gun for the tenth time. He looked at the five mercs and the six engineers pressed into service behind him. "Just keep to cover and expose as little of yourselves as possible. Remember, you don't need to stick your head out to fire."

Aera continued tying long razorwire strings across the room, to at least delay an enemy advance. She then installed herself on the top of the bulkhead, inside a small crate she had pulled up there for cover.

She put a new magazine into her rifle and watched the far wall, bearing a grim expression.


The starbase had begun to fire missiles, which moved through millions of miles of space, homing in on their pursuers. They all hit- the enemy had made no attempt to maneuver away- and none did any damage. But, of course, that wasn't their only purpose. Each had released a beacon just before impact which attached itself to the ship's hull, allowing the starbase's weaponry to fire from further away.

And so they did. Lasers and railgun shots came and bombarded the shields of the Cult starships, but their shields held uncomplainingly.

"This battle's not going to be won in space, sir."

"Indeed. But keep firing anyway."

Turros noticed an intercom notification from the docking bay. He accepted it.

Leaping Blade's voice sounded. "I hate to sound morbid, but- they could have opened fire seconds ago, and given how scared you seem of them we'd probably be destroyed. What are they waiting for?"

"Their mission isn't just to destroy us, Mr. Blade. They need to capture Mr. Xal alive for interrogation, and they'll also want the rift, so they can trace back to where we came from and destroy everything there."

"Great." The Vrah hung up.

The faster Cult ships were catching up, and would come alongside very shortly. Captain Turros watched their progress through his sensors, and made sure his own pistol was at hand.

"Here they come." He spoke through gritted teeth.

A ship came up on each side and discharged several pods at the starbase. They then shot upwards, and were gone into FTL. The point-defense was ineffectual against the small craft, and though the starbase flipped over to present its more armoured side, the pods homed in on their original targets, and smashed into the base's hull in a series of crashes.

Red lights began to flash along the command display. Hull breaches in sectors four, six, twelve, thirteen, and sixty- loss of atmosphere in sector five- fires in sectors six and thirteen- intruders in all of them.

The penetrator pods opened up like horrific flowers, and released their contents into the ship.

Chapter 16: Battle On Board

The docking bay was losing air, and fast. Eremos' constitution would let him continue to fight for half an hour in a vacuum, and Leaping Blade's battlesuit had sealed itself, activating its oxygen supply- but the other men in the room were very concerned with sealing the hole. However, three twisted creatures stood between them and achieving that goal.

Each of the monsters was sealed within an armoured shell, and covered in spines, but the similiarities ended there. One bore three stalks, with nine eyes, and cannons in its chest. It plodded forwards on two thick legs, ending in elephantine feet. The second had no eyes at all, but half of its body was a mouth of two mandibles that clashed together horizontally, and flamethrowers waved around on the ends of tendrils above its body. The third was roughly a sphere, with a lens surrounded by eyes in its front and six clawed, four-kneed legs that held it upright.

The massed fire of the troopers did little to them, simply bouncing off the armour or missing completely. Even Eremos' forcegun fire was to no avail, and in reply the flamethrowers of the great-jawed beast began to release jets of flame that licked around the crates, setting many of the men on fire. The sphere-shaped one fired its lasers and burned straight through one section of cover, before the beam touched the mercs hiding behind and tore them apart, throwing the pieces across the room or into space. Cannons from the many-eyed thing blazed away, tearing great chunks from the floor and throwing the crates back against the metal.

Leaping Blade fired his deathrifle and destroyed one of the eye-beast's stalks, which made it turn angrily to him, and begin to pummel the boxes he had rapidly ducked behind with exploding shells. Eremos continued to fire with his forcegun, but the bullets continued to ricochet back from the sphere-beast's armour. The last remaining trooper rolled a grenade along the floor, and then was set aflame and died screaming.

Those few pounds of explosive, with their fragmenting case, went off directly underneath the jaw-beast. Pieces of high-velocity shrapnel stuck into its underside and it roared in anger, though the sound was lessened by the low pressure. Barreling forwards, it grabbed the already-dead corpse and crunched it between its mandibles.

Eremos took his opportunity. Taking his Stalker to hand, he locked on to the opening between the jaws, and fired a missile straight down the creature's gullet. It exploded inside, and the beast slumped down dead, though its armour remained undamaged.

Now that the first of them was dead, the other two creatures became enraged. The cannon-firer changed targets to Eremos, who dived behind another crate. Leaping Blade took advantage of the opening and quickly let off two shots, taking the remaining eyestalks of the eye-beast out. It thrashed around in rage, no longer able to aim, and by chance its fire hit its companion. The sphere-beast was astonished for a moment and then turned its laser on the eye-beast, which slowly drilled through its shell and then flash-vaporised the flesh underneath, bringing the second monster down.

Eremos considered his options. His forcegun did not affect the creature's armour and there was no orifice to fire the Stalker at. Perhaps there was one weak point, though- the very lens. He aimed and fired, and the glass cracked slightly. Remembering that the Mantrid existed, it turned its laser back upon him- and the flawed optics served to concentrate the beam within the glass, making it explode in a shower of deadly chips, some of which drove inside the beast and killed it.

Leaping Blade took that moment to open the bulkhead, and after getting Eremos through, he sealed it behind them. The Mantrid began to pant for breath and Leaping Blade unsealed his suit once more.

"Those things... krag."

"Agreed."


In the forward battery, a different type of foe had emerged from the pod. These were many dozens of swarming things, with many clawed arms, that scurried up bodies and tore at flesh. They moved too fast to be brought down as they charged, and they hit the cover largely undamaged. Unfazed by the crates, the little creatures simply climbed over them and dropped down on the mercs below. This battle had become a hand-to-hand one, with knives more valuable than rifles, and each side had lost the majority of their force. Aera was unassailable, flying above the mass, and continued to accurately bring down the creatures, but Kjorn was having a far harder time.

He stabbed another of them with his knife and smacked one that was jumping towards him out of the air. It went flying into another of its kind, and their claws drove through each other's body. He crushed another beneath his boot and pulled one from the back of one of the mercs, then threw it hard against the wall.

The mercs' armour was serving them well, but not well enough, and the technicians were all dead now. The creatures were able to exploit even a joint within the protective shell, and break through to the soft flesh within.

The last merc fell down, one of the things having been able to crawl up inside his armour and maul him from within his helmet. It now pulled itself out and was then blown apart by a shot from above. Kjorn crushed another against the wall, and then stopped to breathe.

They looked around at the corpse-strewn room and realised that they had repulsed this attack. Aera settled on the Salsene's shoulder. "Back to the control room?"

"I think so, yeah."


In engineering, the mercs had not even known what had hit them. The pod crashed down on them after penetration and crushed them under its weight before releasing its payload- humanoid things, which took their guns and turned them on the engineers who had been conscripted for the battle.

But their doom was already behind them, and a frenzy of scythe strokes cleared the gantry. The Monk stood amongst the corpses and then began to walk back to the command centre.

Chapter 17: Beginning Phase Two

The survivors of the Cult assault gathered in the observation lounge. Mr. Xal stood at the head of the room, his eyes looking far into a distance which existed only inside his head. He paid no attention to the wounded and the broken, but continued to stare beyond the wall.

Turros nudged him gently. "Phase Two, sir."

He turned his head, but his eyes looked straight through the Zyrothan. "Ah, yes. It begins." Then, he addressed the little crowd. "Our project's final stage has begun. It was for this that we spent so long preparing, and for this that so many lost their lives. We stand here, just about to make a difference to the multiverse, for the first time. We are the most important individuals since the Veiled Ones of legend, and today our deeds shall count. They have spoken to me and I have listened, and I have done all they asked, and I know I have done well. This day, we matter."

Leaping Blade stood up. "Captain Turros, the man's cracked."

Turros shook his head slowly. "Hear him out. Behind the elaboration and the philosophy, he is telling us how important what happens today is. We did not do all this for nothing."

The elderly Salsene nodded eagerly. "Our project and my purpose are almost complete. It is a matter of moments before we claim success."

The scanner screen bleeped, and a fleet of Cult ships was visible upon the display, bearing down on them.

"We are victorious." He looked down at the black hole.

The starbase was drowned by the light of the accretion disc below. The band of material closest to the event horizon shone blindingly bright, heated to millions of degrees and then more. The blasting jets of near-lightspeed particles that shot from the black hole's poles were pure white and could not be looked at, shooting through the interstellar medium and creating shocks of gamma-rays as they smashed into the diffuse particles of the near-vacuum. And the architect of all this sat in the centre of its little kingdom, a sphere of pitch-black many light-minutes across, dwarfing the tiny starbase with its sheer and terrifying immensity. Around it, gas and debris appeared to bend and distort, the massive gravity of the singularity gravitationally lensing light about it.

And diagonally above this titan was a little mote of artifical construction, the starbase, its plasma jets which shone so bright elsewhere invisible against the backdrop. It was as a speck of dust before the whole Earth, and the sheer power of Nature which so surpassed anything the Viperians had ever achieved was thrown into new and humbling contrast. The colossal energies of the black hole laughed at the little metal can that struggled into slow orbit, and the darkness itself threatened to leap out and consume the base.

But it showed no fear, even before this monster, and released its payload. A little cylinder fell from the centre of the starbase, propelled towards the black hole. But it was not even a morsel to the ravenous titan below, a beast that fed on stars and planets, that had fought other black holes and consumed them, growing ever stronger. What could such a little device do when faced with the terrible power below? It continued on its path, and then vanished into the event horizon.

The Cult ships surrounded the starbase, but did nothing. They had failed to stop the project, and they knew it.

Mr. Xal smiled, in his first show of emotion. "There. I have done it."

His legs gave way, and Kjorn and Turros rushed to prop him up as he keeled over.

"I told you we'd do it, captain."

"Yes, sir. You did. I didn't believe you then. I am so sorry." The Zyrothan was close to tears.

"Oh, you needn't be. But thanks. I could not have done this without you."

"Focus on me, sir. Don't give up yet."

"But I see it, Turros!" A little warmth appeared in those glazed eyes. "It's so beautiful. I couldn't look away."

Kjorn and Turros moved the old man over to the window and set him down. Against the background of the accretion disc, he slowly died, and everyone watched solemnly.

"I knew I'd see it, Turros, in my final moments." He turned to look at the Monk. "You are right. You were always right, you know. H- hail- hail Tiamat." With that final word, he breathed out, and his head dropped forwards. Turros covered his eyes and Kjorn lay the old Salsene out on the floor.

The captain's mouth quivered. "He was so close to seeing it. Just a few secrends longer. He could have seen it."

Leaping Blade put a hand on the Zyrothan's shoulder, comforting. "It's done, though. Just as he wanted. We should go back to the rift."

"No..." Turros sighed, and turned to look at the Vrah. "He would have wanted you to watch. Will you?"

"Well.. okay." The Vrah turned to look through the window, and the others gathered behind him.

Upon the surface of the event horizon, a little blue light flickered and rippled, trying to stay in the same place. It slowly strengthened and became firmer, and then stopped. Inside the starbase, every breath was held.

And then a shining black column was thrust from the black hole, moving impossibly outwards. It stopped in the open space and did not move further. But it had already defied the universe- all the power of the supermassive black hole could do nothing to pull it back in.

From another part of the event horizon emerged another column, and another, and the Cult ships fled, leaving the starbase alone in the sky.

The Monk gripped her scythe tighter. Aera's tassels shook in awe. Eremos' giant, iridescent eyes flicked and he stared at these things, unable to find a word to say.

At the heart of the Pyrova Galaxy, in the Viperius Galaxy System, the civilisation of the Xenatli pulled themselves out from their gravitational prison and looked out upon Emenata with eyes older than the universe. There was much to be done.

See Also