⫸ [ TIME: +52 DAYS SINCE THE SKY WAR ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: LOW ORBIT – THE ASTEROID BELT ]
⫸ [ STATUS: SILENT RUNNING ]
Space was not empty. It was a graveyard of rocks.
The Nemesis drifted among the debris field of the planet's rings. All exterior lights were killed. The massive Spirit-Drives were cold. The ship was nothing more than a dark silhouette of jagged metal and scavenged armor, tumbling slowly in the void.
Inside the bridge, the temperature had dropped to freezing. Breath plumed in the air.
Grom sat at the weapons console, shivering. He stared out the viewport at the infinite blackness.
"THERE IS NO AIR," Grom whispered. "HOW DOES THE SKY NOT FALL?"
"Gravity," Elian said from the captain's chair. "It's falling forever, Grom. We just happen to be moving sideways fast enough to miss the ground."
Elian was calm. His reactor kept him warm. His white glowing eyes monitored the passive sensors.
"Target is closing," Disciple Lin whispered. She clutched her console like a lifeline. "Federation Destroyer. Class: Suppressor. It is patrolling the outer marker."
"Distance?"
"Five hundred kilometers. Closing at Mach 10."
Elian watched the blip.
It was a hunter. A sleek, predatory wedge of grey steel, armed with ion cannons and a sensor suite that could spot a campfire from orbit.
But it couldn't spot a rock. And right now, the Nemesis was just a rock.
"Hold," Elian ordered.
"Commander," Alara said, her voice tight. "If they scan us with active lidar, they'll see the railgun."
"They won't scan," Elian said. "They are arrogant. They are looking for energy signatures. Rogue signals. They don't look for trash."
The Destroyer glided past them.
It was massive. Four times the size of the Nemesis. Its engines burned with a clean blue light.
Elian waited until it showed its rear thrusters.
The blind spot.
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Wake the beast."
[ Reactor Ignition. ]
[ Spirit-Drives: 100%. ]
[ Rail-Cannon: Charged. ]
"Burn."
BOOM.
The Nemesis exploded into life.
The Spirit-Drives ignited, spewing a plume of red-white Aether plasma. The ship lurched forward, accelerating from zero to combat speed in three seconds.
The G-force slammed the crew into their seats.
"Target lock!" Elian shouted. "Hit the engines!"
Grom slammed the trigger.
THUMP.
The dorsal Rail-Cannon fired.
In the silence of space, there was no sound. Just the violent vibration of the hull as the recoil dampeners screamed.
A 50mm tungsten slug shot across the void.
It crossed the distance in a heartbeat.
The Destroyer's rear Void-Shield flared blue—but it was designed to stop energy beams, not kinetic slugs moving at a fraction of light speed.
CRACK.
The slug smashed through the shield. It impacted the starboard engine nacelle of the Destroyer.
The engine didn't explode. It shattered. The ceramic housing disintegrated, venting the ion fuel into space. The Destroyer spiraled out of control, its thrust unbalanced.
"HIT!" Grom roared.
The radio crackled. A frantic Federation voice.
"Mayday! Mayday! Ambush! We have taken a kinetic impact! Shield integrity failing!"
"Don't let them realign," Elian ordered. "Alara, match their spin! Get us close!"
The Nemesis banked hard, thrusters firing to synchronize with the spinning enemy ship.
"Closer," Elian said. He stood up from the chair.
"I'm going for a walk."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 14:15 SHIP TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: THE VOID ]
⫸ [ STATUS: BOARDING ]
Elian stood in the airlock.
He was wearing the Mark-IV Warlord Suit, but heavily modified for vacuum. The joints were sealed with Void-Steel resin. The magnetic boots were charged to maximum.
[ Decompression in 3... 2... 1. ]
The outer door cycled open.
Silence. Absolute, terrifying silence.
Beneath him, the planet Aethelgard rotated—a blue marble. Ahead of him, the Federation Destroyer spun like a wounded shark.
"Launch," Elian commanded.
He didn't use a tether.
He fired his jump-jets.
He shot out of the Nemesis like a missile.
He crossed the two hundred meters of empty space.
He aimed for the breach in the engine section.
[ Impact Warning. ]
He hit the hull of the Destroyer.
CLANG.
(He felt the vibration through his boots, though he heard nothing).
He magnetized instantly. He stuck to the grey metal skin of the ship.
He walked up the side of the hull, toward the emergency airlock amidships.
A defense turret swiveled toward him. An automated laser.
Elian didn't slow down.
He raised his left arm. Void-Shield Generator active.
A bubble of distortion surrounded him.
The laser hit the bubble and refracted harmlessly into space.
Elian reached the turret. He grabbed the barrel.
With a surge of hydraulic power, he ripped the gun off its mount.
He tossed it into the void.
He reached the airlock door.
[ ACCESS DENIED ] the panel flashed red.
"Knock knock," Elian synthesized.
He placed his hand on the door.
He flared his Bio-Reactor.
Plasma Cutter Mode.
A beam of superheated energy erupted from his palm. He carved a perfect circle through the three-inch Durasteel.
The atmosphere inside blew out explosively.
WHOOSH.
Elian walked against the wind. He stepped inside.
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ LOCATION: F.S.S. SUPPRESSOR – CORRIDOR B ]
⫸ [ STATUS: CQB ]
Gravity returned. Artificial plating.
Elian stood in a white, sterile corridor. The red emergency lights were strobing.
At the far end, a squad of Federation Marines had taken up positions behind a bulkhead.
They wore white combat armor and carried Pulse Rifles.
"Target acquired! Fire!"
Blue bolts of plasma filled the hallway.
Elian began to walk.
CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.
The plasma bolts hit his chest.
They scorched the paint. They heated the Void-Steel. But they did not penetrate.
The Mark-IV was built to fight gods and monsters. Small arms fire was an insult.
"Physics lesson number thirteen," Elian projected his voice through the ship's PA system. "Momentum."
He activated his thrusters inside the hallway.
He launched forward.
He hit the first marine at 60 kph.
There was a wet crunch. The marine turned into paste against the wall.
Elian didn't stop.
He grabbed the second marine by the helmet.
He squeezed.
The helmet shattered. The marine went limp.
The third marine dropped his rifle and pulled a thermal grenade.
"Die, you freak!"
He pulled the pin.
Elian caught the grenade.
He looked at it.
[ THERMAL DETONATOR ]
He didn't throw it back.
He opened the intake vent on his chest armor—the heat sink for his reactor.
He shoved the grenade inside his own armor plating.
MUFFLED BOOM.
Elian belched a puff of smoke from his vents.
"Tasty," Elian said.
The remaining marines broke. They ran.
"It's a cyborg! Heavy weapons! We need a mech!"
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Map to the bridge."
[ Up two decks. Take the lift. ]
Elian walked to the elevator. He ripped the doors open. The car was on the upper level.
He looked up the shaft.
"Taking the stairs."
He engaged his thrusters and flew up the shaft, crashing through the floor of the elevator car above.
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ LOCATION: THE BRIDGE ]
⫸ [ STATUS: HOSTILE TAKEOVER ]
Commander Krell stood on the bridge of the Suppressor.
He was sweating.
"Status! Where is the intruder?"
"Deck 2, sir! He's... he's moving through the bulkheads. Literally."
BOOM.
The blast door to the bridge dented inward.
A fist shaped print appeared in the metal.
BOOM.
The door buckled. The hinges screamed.
BOOM.
The door flew off its frame. It slid across the deck and crushed the navigation console.
Elian stepped onto the bridge.
He was covered in scorch marks and hydraulic fluid. Smoke rose from his shoulders. His white eyes locked onto Krell.
The bridge crew froze. They reached for their sidearms.
"DON'T," Elian commanded.
He raised his right arm. The shoulder-mounted railgun whirred, locking onto the Commander's head.
"I am commandeering this vessel," Elian stated. "Under the maritime laws of 'I have a big gun and you don't.'"
Commander Krell trembled. He looked at the monster in the black armor.
"You... you can't just steal a Federation Destroyer. The tracking beacon... the fleet will know."
"I'm counting on it," Elian said.
He walked to the Captain's chair. Krell scrambled out of it.
Elian sat down. The chair groaned under the weight of the Mark-IV.
"A.R.C., interface with the ship's computer. Kill the life support on the lower decks. Flush the remaining marines out the airlock."
[ Confirmed. Venting Decks 3 through 5. ]
Krell watched in horror as the screens showed his men being sucked into space.
"You're a butcher."
"I'm a recycling plant," Elian corrected.
He looked at the tactical map.
The Nemesis was holding position outside.
"Alara," Elian radioed. "Bring her in. Docking clamps. We have a new flagship."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: +2 HOURS ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: CARGO BAY 1 ]
⫸ [ STATUS: INVENTORY ]
The ship was secure.
The surviving crew—engineers and technicians—were locked in the brig.
Elian stood in the main cargo hold.
Grom walked in, his eyes wide.
The hold was packed with crates.
But in the center, secured in deployment racks, stood the real prize.
Three Federation "Titan-Class" Exosuits.
Or as the locals would call them: Mechs.
They were six meters tall. Humanoid. Armed with rotary cannons and missile pods. They were piloted suits, designed for heavy assault.
◤ LOOT ANALYSIS ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Item: Titan-Frame (Model: Peace-Breaker)
⬢ Quantity: 3 Units
⬢ Status: Dormant
⬢ Weaponry: 30mm Chaingun / Hellfire Missiles
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elian looked at Grom.
He looked at the massive mech.
He looked back at Grom.
"You're going to need a bigger helmet," Elian said.
Grom grinned. A smile full of sharp teeth.
"I LIKE THIS SHIP."
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Update the fleet registry."
[ Updating... ]
[ Fleet Strength: 2 Vessels. ]
[ Flagship: F.S.S. Suppressor (Renamed: The Liberator). ]
[ Escort: U.E.C. Nemesis. ]
Elian turned to walk back to the bridge.
"Load the mechs onto the Nemesis," Elian ordered. "I want the Giants training in them by tomorrow."
"Where are we going?" Grom asked.
Elian pointed to the starchart on the wall. A red blinking dot marked the edge of the system.
The rest of the advance scout fleet. Eleven more ships.
"We just poked the nest," Elian said. "Now we hunt the wasps."
[END OF CHAPTER 38]