Aera knocked on the doors leading to the bridge. It slid open, and the sounds of a dozen senior officers communicating at rapid speed met her ears. She could see sunken eyes, she could smell the stale coffee and the hint of body odour. Yet the crew remained focused on their responsibilities.
That was a point in their favour.
“Ma’am,” Captain Smith said, saluting when she entered. It wasn’t as spacious as the Cloud’s, given that the Ambition was only about half the size of the flag-ship. Although, the cargo-ships arriving mid-month had larger bridges than the flagship. Their bridges were around the sizes of the entire command centre at the heart of the outpost.
“Bring me up to speed, Captain,” Aera said, returning the salute. An unnecessary gesture, but it would set the tone of their professional relationship. She respected his position, and now he knew that. “Yes, ma’am. Mr. Oberon has relayed a standing order for all incoming ships to station themselves high above the colony. Sabletown is engaging the enemy guardian. Our scouts are monitoring the fight from a safe distance to assess the guardian’s capabilities.”
“And Sabletown’s capabilities, I’m sure.”
“Yes, ma’am. That was my impression as well.”
“I hear my brother played an instrumental part in turning the tide. The last thing I remember is facing down that Class-1. What did I miss?”
The Captain breathed out a long exhale, shaking his head with a dumbfounded expression.
“We had eyes on the outpost the whole time. We recorded it. Here,” the captain said. He pulled a large tablet out from the side of his chair and browsed through various folders. Aera had heard that prior to the exodus there had been some efforts in researching touch-screen displays. In her opinion, the sooner they implemented that technology, the better.
In the meantime, they’d have to make do with crappy little controls along the side of the tablet in order to navigate the operating system. It’s why she preferred to avoid tablets altogether. Not that she could avoid them. Being able to carry all that information along with her was invaluable.
He handed the tablet over to her.
It showed a still frame from a video file, waiting for her to press play. From the first glance, she could see that someone had set up the camera which recorded the incident near the command centre. She could almost see the edge of the command centre itself at the far end of the frame. It offered a very clear overview of the area between the wall and the first line of defence that was set up to cover a potential breach.
She pressed play. Hunter and Guard Captain Bell were to the far left of the screen. She saw herself to the far right. Then there was the retreat. Everyone started to fall back, sprinting at full speed. She saw herself jump off the wall. Everything up to this point were things she remembered. She saw the Class-1 approaching the wall, its head clearing the top of the 15-foot wall by 4 or 5 feet. It braced itself, and the entire wall exploded towards the defenders. She gasped as shrapnel-like debris bombarded the Guardsmen around her. Most of them didn’t get back up from the attack.
The blast and a large piece of the wall hit her in the back. The Class-1 walked through the large hole it made in the wall, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe in the power it displayed. High-speed winds weaponized the surroundings, whipping debris, bodies, tools, and weapons towards the defenders.
Class-2s and 3s flooded in through the wall, picking off stragglers. The defensive line was holding. But the Class-1 was using its power to pick off the defenders one by one.
Aera saw her prone form moving, but she wasn’t getting up. The beast was moving in her direction. As soon as it step towards her, Hunter went still, and then his entire body convulsed.
He was launched forward, accelerating by some unseen power. And then she saw debris flying towards him, orbiting him. Not just debris, but errant creatures as well. They accelerated, intercepting projectiles created by the creature’s own power. Second by second, the amount of objects flying through the air increased. Where there had been dozens, now there were hundreds.
Hunter floated higher, and there was a distinct moment when the parasite hive mind seemed to recognize him as a priority threat. The Ape, and all the surrounding beasts shifted their focus to him at the same time.
But it was too late. The creature’s legs were destroyed. She didn’t see how. Wall debris raced through its head, glowing like a gunshot. The creature died, its body convulsing; the objects it had controlled fell, their momentum scattering them like grenade shrapnel, killing beasts and men. She realized that during the dozen-or-so seconds between when Hunter screamed, and when the Class-1 died, her body disappeared. Guards, or perhaps even Hunter’s power, must have carried her away.
When the video ended, she let out a deep breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding.
“His power was far too similar to the Class-1s for my liking,” she said, her voice shaking.
“We’d worried about the same thing. That, combined with his fast recovery, gave us cause for concern. Apparently, the tests involved a complete scan for parasitic infection. This scan used criteria from the outpost outbreak survivors. He was cleared of any sign of alien control.”
“Then what happened? How was he able to do that?” She asked. Had he been keeping another secret from them?
“Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Whatever that power was, it’s almost like he couldn’t quite support it. I saw the state his body was in once they’d airlifted him out of there. If he had kept that power active any longer …”
“Right,” Aera said, her voice quiet, still processing what she’d just seen. Was it luck that the power had only lasted as long as it had? Or had it been a controlled process?
Had Hunter been in control? The way his body had contorted and arched backwards, floating in the air with a storm of power raging around him, it didn’t feel like he had any agency over what had happened.
Whatever it was, it had helped them. It was on their side. But now that the question was raised, her concern remained.
“Forgive the grim comparison, but have you ever seen those movies about demon possession?”
“Once or twice,” Aera said, “I see the similarity. That’s a disturbing thought.”
“Whatever it was, whether it was Hunter or something else, they’re on our team,” the Captain said, mirroring Aera’s thoughts.
“Let’s save our speculation until he wakes. It’ll be best to get the story straight from the source,” Aera said, pushing away thoughts about etheric puppet masters, trying to take full control of her brother’s body.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She brought herself back to her reason for being on the bridge in the first place.
“What else can you tell me about the outpost’s condition, Captain?”
The Captain informed her about what happened after the recording of the video. In the end, the entire wall had been destroyed.
Despite its destruction, and the need to retreat over 100 meters from where the wall stood, the Oberon Guard had weathered the storm. They’d won.
Whatever her brother had done had been the deciding factor. Shortly after they killed the beast, they used its corpse to block the hole it had made in the wall. With the Ambition above removing the biggest threats before they could reach the outpost, it was only a matter of eliminating the Class-2’s and 3s. Compared to the weakest of Class-1’s, the lesser two classes were about as terrifying as a child, mid-tantrum.
The parasite mind had appeared to be aware of the vulnerability its Class-1 had created. And as more Class-1 and 2s died, the more frenzied the beasts became. With the increase in frenzy came a decrease in direct control from the parasite mind, it seemed. With the beasts and the parasite losing control, the defenders could guide the beastwave into an impromptu kill zone.
It proved far more difficult than anticipated. The strategic retreats, meant to goad the beasts, resulted in the deaths of several brave soldiers. But in the end, Oberon Enterprises stood victorious.
From the bridge of the Ambition, Aera looked over the miles of destruction left in the wake of the ship after it unleashed its munitions onto the world. The Ambition, though not a military vessel, rendered a virtual hellscape onto Skyhold’s surface, reinforced by the Merciful Cloud’s ammunition stockpile. The bombardment ruined the forest for miles. Smoke from remnant fires was like the life force of the world leaking into the sky. Like the remnant trail of a hundred fading spirits, all having released their pent up vengeance.
Some Class-1’s reached the wall before the Ambition’s gunners could eliminate them. However, Aera was surprised to discover that most of the Class-1’s had been freed from the parasite after the ape-like Class-1 perished.
A few were still enraged. However, most found Oberon Enterprises’ unique combat style persuasive enough to redirect their anger towards the surrounding beastwave. In the most dramatic cases, they took out hundreds of beasts themselves.
Clarke’s theory that the parasite suffered a backlash when a powerful host died was supported by the timing of all the Class-1’s mental liberation. This coincided precisely with the death of the massive Class-1 that breached the wall.
It gave her hope. If they could defeat its guardian avatar, perhaps they’d be free from the beast waves forever.
----------------------------------------
Captain Abraham Gregor frowned as he heard the report from his small team of engineers and artisans aboard the Merciful Cloud. He’d assuaged his sense of guilt for being away from the defence of the outpost with the knowledge they could save hundreds of lives. Once they could get the Cloud off the ground, they’d pilot it to the outpost and use the shield to defend it from the guardian. Whatever power it would bear against them would pale compared to what they’d find in an ether storm. He had full confidence in being able to defend most of the outpost’s residents within the ship and its shield.
If they didn’t defeat the beast, then at the very least, it wouldn’t defeat them.. Once it exhausted itself, they’d be able to bring everyone on board, get out of range, and come up with a new plan.
The plan would be something like: track the guardian’s movement and let loose the combined might of the entire Oberon Fleet. Reinforcements would soon arrive, assuring their victory.
But that was all predicated on their ability to get the ship up, and not only that, but be able to land it once they had.
“Without significant material supplement, this ship will not land once we get it off the ground, sir.”
“Explain it to me like I’m a child, crewman. If the components that make it flight-worthy can get it off the ground, why can’t those parts be used to get it back onto the ground?”
“It’s a matter of support and feedback. As it stands, the construct networks we’ve repaired cannot handle the feedback of both the takeoff and the landing. It can keep the shift in the air almost indefinitely — as air provides much less feedback than solid ground. But—”
“—I understand crewman. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I wish I had better news.”
“It’s not your fault, crewman.”
The crewman saluted, and Abraham dismissed him. He sighed and leaned against the nearest console on the bridge, closing his eyes and hoping desperately for an alternative plan to present itself.
Maybe the next meeting would help.
The artisan who appeared on the bridge had been on his crew for a couple of years now. He was one of Joey’s protégés, and had been highly recommended for a promotion. With Joey being so busy during and after the beastwave, this young man was the second best choice.
Second only to Hunter Koar, in his opinion, but Hunter didn’t know the network layout by heart like this crewman did.
“What do you have for me, Johnny?” Abraham asked.
“Sir, the shield is operational, but I can’t guarantee anything over 60 percent of its usual effectiveness.”
“Is it broken?”
“Not the shield, sir. The network’s, though? We’ve done what we can. We might get a bit more juice to the shield emitters along the hull, but it’s a much larger job than my small team can do on their own.”
“Not without some unorthodox help, perhaps?”
Johnny squinted as he tried to deduce the Captain’s meaning, and then he nodded.
“Yes, sir, although I’m not sure if we should risk any novel introductions into the ship’s etheric networks without thorough stress testing and trouble-shooting. We just don’t know what kind of adverse effects a new syntax and untested glyphs might have on shield’s integrity.”
The Captain sighed. He knew the young man was right. But how right was he?
“That being said, if Mr. Koar is available, I’d be open to hearing whatever input he might have to share,” Johnny said.
The Captain nodded.
“I’ll make a call. Thank you, crewman.”
“Sir.”
He walked to the comms station and sat in the chair that he’d only watched from a small distance. It was his responsibility to ensure he could handle all tasks related to the bridge. He didn’t understand the details of engineering and artisanship, and if you asked him to cook for the crew, they’d mutiny. Neither did he didn’t envy the work that the janitorial staff had to do, day in and day out. He wouldn’t want to do it. But the bridge was his domain. He knew it like the back of his hand. This was where he thrived.
Remembering the station’s functions took him only a minute, despite not having reviewed it in a couple of years. He found the broadcast channel for his boss.
“Mr. Oberon, this is Captain Gregor.”
Static for a moment.
“Abraham! How are the repairs? Give me good news. That’s an order,” his boss said with a chuckle.
“Well, sir, the good news is that we’ll be able to get the ship off the ground.”
“Captain, I’ve been doing this for a long time. You’re telling me something without telling me, correct? Something to do with the other half of that equation? Something to do with landing, perhaps?”
“No, sir. The ship will certainly land, but it will be uncontrolled, and will damage both itself and its surroundings.
“This is why I like you, Abraham,” Trey said. “You’re the most polite smartass I’ve ever known.”
Abraham smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
He appreciated Trey’s attempt at levity. But the weight of what they were dealing with was pressing on his mind.
Ideas about how to solve their approaching guardian problem were already forming.
These ideas were very desperate. And he knew Trey would not approve of them.
“You like me because I get the job done, sir,” he said.
“That’s true as well. Anyway, we play the hand we’re dealt, Captain. Don’t blame yourself.”
“You first, sir,” the Captain said.
A pause.
“Was there anything else, Captain?” Trey said.
“Yes, sir. What’s Mr. Koar’s status? I’m hoping that he might provide some input in solving our landing problem.”
“Ah, it’s my turn to be the barer of bad news. Hunter was in a very critical state after the outpost’s defence, but I’m received word that he’s recovering fast. Unfortunately, he’s still unconscious and we’re not sure when he might awaken. Sorry, Captain.”
“My apologies, sir,” the Captain said, clenching his fists in frustration, “I wasn’t aware that Hunter had been injured. I’m happy to hear that he’s recovering.”
“You and me, both, Captain. You and me, both.”
“That’s all from me, sir.”
“Very well, Captain. Oh, we’re going to have a small meeting soon. You can tune in from the ship, but I want to see you here.”
“What’s the meeting about, sir? If we have any hope of getting the ship ready for the Guardian, then we’ll need as many hands of the Cloud as possible.”
“And if the Merciful Cloud isn’t able to defend the outpost, we need a new plan. We need contingencies and coordination, and I need my captain’s here, working together.”
He understood. This wasn’t just about the plan, it wasn’t just about coordination. It was about presenting an image. Despite the anguish they were all suffering, if everyone saw their leaders beginning to flag and bend under the pressure, what hope would they have in their own survival? What reason would they have for pushing themselves further?
“Yes, sir. I’ll be there within the hour.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you soon, Captain.”
“Sir.”