Clang. Clang. Clink. The noises around them slowly turned constant. It was easy to guess why; the insects. It almost felt like they concentrated around the evacuation site on purpose. Every vent was filled, every pipe populated, and the floor below slowly covered in… whatever the insects considered as nesting material.
Of course, they moved as quietly as they could throughout the scaffolding, but they noticed something about the creatures. It seemed like they really hated the light. Rarely did any of the larger ones step into the red light’s reach. And, down below, they either blocked or shattered any light sources.
Thankfully, neither Guila nor Arie were curious enough to study the way the insects prepared their homes, and,they quickly made their way past any areas that weren't flanked by walls.
That was, until now.
“Guila…” Arie whispered, while focusing as much as she could on her hearing to hopefully be able to sense any approaching insects. The reason why she spoke up was obvious, and Guila couldn’t help but hiss in annoyance. She almost wished Ariel hadn’t been taught how to read.
But, she was, and so Guila turned to the door they were just about to pass through.
‘Auxiliary Ventilation Control’ was plastered onto the metal door, which also accompanied a keypad. A keypad, with corresponding emergency codes, that her dear husband had so graciously shared with every Imperial citizen through the Imperial Information Channel. Not to mention, that the emergency power just ‘luckily’ kept it functional.
She peeked through the thick glass and sure enough, the control buttons were blinking, while the LCD screen showed all the hastily turned off ventilation sections.
If only the door wasn’t easily accessible, they’d have needed to use the multi-tool's saw again, which meant unacceptable risk because of the noise it produced.
“Fine. But we’re leaving, right after.”
“Thank you, Guila!” She whispered back, before smiling so brightly that Guila nearly thought the extra risk and effort was worth it.
----------------------------------------
“Captain, the Ceres Parlton is ready to share their op-comms with us.” The first mate reported, while one of the officers saluted - he was the one manning the direct line with the Titan Carrier's crew.
“Good, patch them in.” After a nod and some static, two of the LCD screens came to life, showing several scenes from the Ceres Parlton's cameras, its bridge, and Gamma Squad's leader.
[This is Gamma Lead to Command. We're approaching the unknown vessel now.]
[Command to Gamma Lead, we see you. Do not leave Serenity's shadow.]
Shown on the screens, was a scene of fourteen fighter ships maneuvering around the unknown vessel docked to Serenity. The plan was to latch onto the vessel with their landing gear and push it where needed. Then, they'd detach and slag it after they gain some distance.
An unorthodox plan, but certainly not unheard of. In fact, it was a good alternative to slagging captured vessels. Since it gave them time to get past the encryptions.
Unlike those times however, the vessel hadn't been emptied out.
Hundreds of dark brown Peon insects poured out of the portholes and swarmed the fighters. A bunch even leapt off the vessel in an attempt to catch them, missed, and floated helplessly into the void.
[Gamma Lead to squad. Do not engage hostiles. Stick to the briefing.]
There was a palpable sense of desperstion from the insects as they piled underneath, around, and onto the one-man ships - even as they got crushed and cooked.
[All landings successful. Beginning maneuver.]
Despite the ear-splitting clicks and scratches they heard caught by the microphones, there was no sense of worry from the bridge nor the pilots. Everyone kept their cool.
[Gamma 9 to Gamma Lead, I've lost visual. Please detail all next moves.]
[Gamma 7 repeats.]
[Gamma 12 repeats.]
[This is Gamma Lead. Understood, loud and clear. Point engines 50 degrees directly down your axis and 170 degrees to the rear. Fire in three… two… one.]
The unknown vessel was much, much larger than the fighters and several thousand times heavier. But due to its seemingly-deactivated state and the lack of gravity, it was conceived to be doable, without also tearing the ship apart and causing catastrophic failure.
[Gamma Lesd to Command, initial push successful.]
Just then, one of the orange alerts regarding Serenity's systems began blaring red.
[Ventilation system activated from B-Deck Auxiliary Control Room. Atmosphere being vented at 0.4 million cubic feet per second. Oxygen stores at 9.3%... 9.2%.]
“TURN THEM OFF!!” The Captain practically leapt around and roared at the top of his lungs.
“I'm trying, Captain! But…!” An older woman yelled, but her expression quickly turned into despair. “I can't…! Someone overrode our controls! I can only turn off the main fans!”
“Do it, then!”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Someone else, figure out how much time we have left!” The first mate roared as well, before he and the captain brought his gaze back towards the map tracking all the remaining survivor groups that still hadn't reached the evac sites. 73,000 souls, including those still inside the Maintenance Layers.
“Who was the idiot who turned them on?!” One of them asked, and the young crewman's expression turned hateful once he saw the image shown on the lifesigns tracker.
The Pariah accompanied by a Vulpina.
“... Get me in contact with the Count of Dahl and Minister Val, right now.”
“Yes, Captain!”
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“There, are you happy now?” Guila asked, but honestly speaking, she too was quite excited by the sight. To see so many insects be sucked in and blended into mush, along with their nests which followed suit, was beyond cathartic.
It felt good. It felt very good.
“Yes.” Ariel nodded, before she hugged Guila tightly from the side and craned her neck to stare at her near-bloodthirsty grin. “Thank you so much, Guila. Really.”
“Alright, alright.” She turned away, visibly embarrassed to have Ariel stick so close to her. “Let's get out of here, now that the gore cloud is weakening. It might attract more of them.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Actually, wait! Guila, Can I ask you a favor?” She grabbed Guila’s suit before she could leave through the door. Once again, her eyes were upturned and her ears were flat against her head.
“What is it now?”
“My tail is sweaty. Can you… cut a hole in the pants?”
----------------------------------------
“I take it you are not joking, Captain?” Prime Minister Val asked with a sweaty look, before looking away from the camera and wiping the massive beads off her forehead. Although she had successfully boarded a Union vessel, she was still the one coordinating her faction's evac procedures.
“I’m afraid not, Madame Minister. Based on the current rate, we'll run out of atmosphere in three hours. Most likely less. Me and my men have decided to seal off lifeless areas then drain the atmosphere inside, to concentrate it in areas with living people.”
[“How effective would that be?”] The Count's booming voice resounded. Though there was no camera feed, his emotions; anger, and desperation were palpable in his tone.
“Not very.” The Captain answered. “But we're doing what we can. In the meantime, all that I can suggest is that we hasten our efforts to leave. Because the insects can survive in a vacuum, and we're also running out of power.”
“How?!” Val roared, had she been any less composed, she may have banged her fist on the table. But, her attention was quickly stolen by a Union officer who arrived to give a report.
“We're running out of fuel, Madame.” It was then that Val glared at the camera.
“You and your people are beyond incompetent!” She spat out before cutting the link.
In response, the Captain could only turn towards Serenity’s rapidly worsening diagnostics screens. Then, to the slowly disappearing insect ship in the distance.
[“You should be informed that we are conducting a rescue mission in one of the Maintenance Passages near the Duke's location.”] The Count spoke out once more. Yet this time, his words brought life back to the Captain and his crew's face. However, there was still a tinge of fear, until; [“There will be no discrimination, rest assured.”]
“... Thank you. Thank you, Lord Count.” Tears welled up in the old man's eyes, as he bowed to the speakers. Just then, a request to converse reached one of the Comm officers, but, the Count spoke once more.
[“No. Rather, I thank you for not revealing my wife's involvement. But what about you Captain? When are you planning to evacuate?”]
The man showed a somewhat shocked expression - but then, of course the Count knew about their whereabouts and actions. Realizing that, he sighed and gave the microphone a wry smile.
“The Command Deck has been infested, Lord Count. Only one airlock remains between us and the horde outside. We will go down with the ship.”
[“I see… may the Emperor see fit to guide you to the stars”]
The Captain nodded, yet just as he was about to turn away from the screens, an officer approached and spoke to him in a shaky voice.
“The Commander has reported a possible infection amongst the wounded. She said that smaller insects can parasitize the body.”
It was then that the once stoic, burly, and aged veteran finally wept, his lips trembling in despair.
“Did you hear that, Lord Count?”
[“Yes. I'll contact you again soon, Captain.”]
How were they supposed to disseminate that information, when they were running out of time? Somehow, the answer came easily.
“That information reaches no one outside of this room, am I understood?”
“””””Yes, Captain!”””””
Infected or not. Their passengers were heading home, and they resumed their duties with renewed vigor. There was even more that needed doing now. They still had to guide the remaining survivors, maintain their positions with regards to the strobing moon, and coordinate with the rest of the fleet. Still much to be done, but the sight of the insect ship turning into a distant speck meant that they were at least making some progress.
[Gamma Lead to Command. Minimum distance of 30 miles, cleared. Reaching for 35.]
Gamma Lead's voice echoed once more, while they and the unknown vessel became a speck on the cameras. [35 miles reached. Gamma squad, detach in sequence and perform evasive maneuvers. Afford 10 seconds before following.]
[Gamma 1, detaching.]
A shining blue speck could be seen separating, then drawing circles and lines as it got farther away.
[Gamma 2, detaching.]
Soon Gamma 3 and 4 followed. But ten seconds passed with no response. That became fifteen, and then twenty.
[Gamma 5, what's the hold up?] Gamma Lead waited for another ten seconds, before they continued. [Gamma 1 to 4, can you get eyes on 5? In the meantime, Gamma 6 go.]
[Acknowledged, Gamma Lead.]
[Gamma 6, detaching.]
[Gamma 7, detaching.]
[Gamma 8, deta - what the -] Just as she was about to scream, the line was replaced by static.
[Gamma 8?! Gamma 8, respond!]
[Gamma Lead! This is Gamma 4, I have eyes on 5, We left him near Serenity and his ship's been smashed open!]
[Sir, Gamma 9 detac-!] Another one of them was silenced before they could say their piece.
[Everyone detach now! Fly in a straight line! Others provide cover fire!]
Gamma Lead roared at the top of his lungs, and bright blue streaks tore through the crowded insects, while flak rounds riddled the vessel. Then once all fighters, including Gamma Lead, were at a safe distance of 7 miles, they switched to torpedoes.
[Gamma Squad to all ships. Going nuclear at ten!] For the few seconds that seven low-yield payloads traversed empty space, there was silence. Then came bright flashes that blinded anyone still staring directly at it.
[... Target destroyed.] A couple more seconds passed, before Gamma Lead's voice echoed throughout the bridge once more. [What the hell was that, Command?! You said the insects couldn't pierce through our hulls!]
[They can't!] A man responded from aboard the Ceres Parlton's bridge.
[Then, what the hell could've-]
Before the conversation could continue any further, something else interrupted them.
For those in the Ceres Parlton, it was the sight of several fighters getting torn apart. Even though they could not see the explosions directly, the sight of all the ships’s scattered debris being disintegrated as some expanding force reacted with it, was enough proof that they made a big mistake. In just a matter of seconds, it had cleared the area completely, producing nothing but energy in the form of outward movement.
Most of Gamma Squad, including Gamma Lead, were killed once the invisible waves reached them crushed their fighters, but even the catastrophic explosions of their ships were rapidly consumed and converted into pure energy. In the end, only three fighters managed to flee fast enough. However the damage was done and their flight-trails were visibly shakier.
“HOW?!” The Captain roared, such a thing shouldn't have been possible. No ship, no matter how ancient, could possibly explode so catastrophically. Why would such a thing even be allowed into space if it did? But then it only got worse.
“Sir…! The ship had an antimatter engine!” The radar officer roared, terror in his voice and causing all others present to tremble. What?! Some of them asked. It was recent tech. Why would one of them be in what was literally a relic?! But, the expanding wave of countless invisible explosions being shown on their screens, was proof enough.
Antimatter was always a fickle thing, and it took the Dominion decades to figure out a way to contain its volatility, especially during ship destruction. Understanding of the technology only worsened post-collapse, and now the engines are considered as enigmatic 'black boxes' which produced and stored Antimatter. The liquid hydrogen fuel they carried was merely to give it something inexpensive and plentiful to react with, thus producing energy.
Now, that box was broken and there was much more matter to react with, all denser than hydrogen particles. This was a disaster no man had encountered in centuries and depending on how much antimatter was stored inside, it could even engulf the entire fleet.
“Why didn't we check it first...?” The First Mate asked, trembling with hatred as he turned to the Infotech officers.
“We didn't think we needed to sir…” And there was no time. But the Private couldn't have possibly said that too.
One by one, the last of the fighters were decimated. Their final screams, agonizing to hear. But there was still a few more minutes left before the explosions would reach Serenity.