Taurin Ueiva stood motionless on the bridge of the Piercing Oblivion, gazing out at the stream of torrential red that came to be called subspace. She was still unsure why Tulva hadn’t come straight to Ten’reil, as the plan had dictated. Even the sudden police alert, the one coming from his own ship, didn’t explain her master’s strange behavior.
Tulva’s ship had been towards Tetrion to throw off any pursuing police. It would be another ten hours before the ships arrived at Ten’reil. And from there, they would make haste to Kilif, and prepare the weapon. And then, it didn’t matter what happened, because then revenge would be complete…
The blue torrent of hyperspace gave way to a starfield, and visible through the cockpit shield, were three ships. Tulva’s cruisers, and an enormous Dominion battleship with the transponder signal identifying it as the October Sky.
“What’s going on?” said Jim, confused by the sudden drop from the supraluminous torrent.
“They came out of subspace here. They couldn’t see the big Nodian vessel, and appeared right on top of it.”
“Ouch,” Jim said, understanding. When in subspace, a ship’s scanners were completely blind to anything in normal space, which is why hyperspace was the preferable method of travel. Unless you didn’t want to be tracked, because ships in hyperspace and normal space are incapable of scoping subspace, as well.
The stand off between the Sky and the Sullen Retribution came to an abrupt halt, when the other vessel, the Eyes of Vengeance’ gunboat Melancholy Disaster cut across the divide between Retribution and Sky. The gunboat opened fire on the Nodian vessel, but the ship Tulva was on changed directions, heading Galactic North.
“He is sending his followers to their deaths!” exclaimed Jim, now furious.
“They go willingly, having believed his lie,” answered Najenkur. “This tragedy will not go unpunished.”
Jim pressed some switches, ignoring the hails of the massive Nodian ship. The tracking computers predicted the destination of Sullen Retribution to be Ten’reil, the same place the rest of the Eyes’ flotilla. Jim looked up out of the cockpit. The ship was still heading north. Its engines flared red, and the Retribution disappeared into subspace.
Jim, thinking ahead, sent a priority one alert to Confederated and Imperial international affairs telling them to get a sizable battle group to Ten’reil ASAP. Meanwhile, he and Najenkur had to deal with the October Sky.
Supreme General Ben Hamine Randee Conner sat in his command chair on the bridge of the up-until-now top secret Nodian flagship October Sky. The gunboat, hopelessly out classed was pulling away, driving north, hoping, it seemed, to join her commander in retreat.
But Conner didn’t think it would be good to let them get away with attacking the most powerful vessel in the military. “Target their port lightspeed drives,” said Conner. More than 200 years of experience, most of that spent in some sort of conflict, had taught Ben that letting enemies escape usually had the nasty effect of causing them to multiply.
After a few seconds, Conner stood, stepping towards the main view screen. “Fire proton cannons,” he said, and cylindrical bursts of orange light lanced out from the ship’s main guns, impacting on the port surface of the appropriately named Melancholy Disaster. The ship slowed to a crawl, the screens showing that most of the energy was now being produced in the center of the ship. The energy there spiked, indicating the reactor going critical. And soon space was filled with a bright light, and a ball of fire as the ship broke into millions of tiny pieces.
“Excellent call, Captain,” said the ensign at his station 40 zivits away.
Then the communications officer, “Sir, I have finally made contact with the small spaceboat that entered behind the aggressors. Orders?”
“Onscreen,” said Conner. It was best to ask questions first and shoot later when the odds were stacked so highly in his favor. The screen display of space flickered and transformed into a cockpit view of a Senarian woman, an elite sword wielder, from the looks of her sliver-colored Titanium alloy armor, and in the copilot seat, sat a tall human male with very large muscles. Both had the unfortunate trait of light brown hair (well, unfortunate in the humble opinion of a certain Vurkan commander) and they both seemed as if they hadn’t slept in a long while.
“Greetings. This is the Nodian Tyman-class command ship DSF October Sky. Please identify yourselves and state your intentions leading to this incursion into Nodian Space.”
The human man started as if to answer, but the Senarian waved him aside, and turned her fair face towards Ben. “I am Lt. Colonel Najenkur Kehkz, Confederate Military. This is James Raynor, an Imperial Lieutenant army officer on the same mission as I. We are seeking the leader of a cult, the Eyes of Vengeance. His name is Jirinau Tulva, and I believe he was on the vessel that jumped out of this sector during the fighting.”
“Very well,” said Conner, nodding to his research officer to confirm their story. “Our scans do not detect anything illegal onboard you ship. Prepare to receive docking instructions.”
“Docking!” the human male blurted, growing obviously impatient. “We don’t have time for this! Tulva is getting away.”
“You have my assurances, Mr.—was it Raynor?—that this won’t take long. This is standard procedure for unauthorized incursions across the new boarder. I trust you won’t do anything to incur the wrath of my ship.”
After three hours of questions and waiting in a small, boring room, the door slid open and General Conner stepped inside. “Everything has been cleared. You are free to go, but if it is ever learned that you have revealed the existence of this warship to anyone, then Dominion assassins will hunt you down and kill both of you. Your ship has been upgraded to make up for the time you’ve lost here. Now I suggest you go before a less-friendly governor, or perhaps Dictator Reynoldikov himself, hears of this violation of the treaty.”
“I wasn’t aware that there was a treaty yet,” Jim said quietly, and Najenkur heard him think Cheery guy, right?
“Thank you, Captain,” said Naj, eager to get back to the job at hand. The pair of soldiers was lead to the docking bay where Selintou’s space-boat sat idle. The soldiers boarded the boat, and with in fifteen minutes, the pair was out of the docking bay and ready to make some 25th Century haste.
On the comm. Conner’s voice was heard saying in monotone, “I bid you farewell. Your ship is now capable of Warp Factor 15, but only for the next 45 hours. After that, the new components will self destruct, and you will likely need to replace your engine altogether. Now go.”
Jim killed the comlink and sighed. “Cheery guy,” he said, aloud this time.
Najenkur ignored the aside and engaged the souped-up engine, and suddenly, they were moving.
Really. Really. Fast.
The thing one must remember about travel in hyperspace is this: ‘Warp Factor’ is a bit of a misnomer, because there is nothing constant about warp speed ratings. Each increase in warp number was a different exponential increase in speed, WF One being approximately equal to fifteen light-years an hour. Warp Factor five equaled about 130ly an hour, and factor Ten was something like 700ly in an hour. So, when a ship is going Warp Factor fifteen, it is really going about 10 times as fast as at warp ten. That is to say, it moves at seven thousand light-years in an hour.
That's fast.
“All right,” Jim said. “We should be more than caught up with them now. Drop out of hyperspace and into subspace and see if we can find them.”
“Will do.” Najenkur manipulated some controls and the torretntial blue of hyperspace gave way to stars, and those faded into the mesmerizing red of subspace. And sure enough, about fifteen light-years behind them, was the Sullen Retribution, making Factor 5, the fastest speed possible for matter in subspace.
It was not long at all before the cult ship passed right below Jim and Naj, streaking off towards Ten’reil. And at the same time, Naj gunned it, so that their spaceboat was right above the Retribution. Now the next move was up to them.
“HOW IN THE BOWELS OF SLIN WERE THEY ABLE TO CATCH UP WITH US SO FAST?” Tulva screamed.
“I don’t know sir,” said a cautious ensign. “What should we do?”
Tulva snapped out of his anger, suddenly aware of the blind loyalty of his crew, and how dependent his followers were on his guidance. “Climb out of subspace,” Tulva ordered. “We outgun them, so let us fight them. We need not run."
“They are pulling up,” said Naj, watching the readouts as the other ship phased back into reality. Najenkur followed suit, deactivating the engine and turning the ship around. She only had one shot at what she intended to do. This would require her reflexes to be at their sharpest, so she tapped her stimulant pack, injecting a small dose of forza. Stars popped into view, replacing hyperspace, and there, about three light minutes away, was the Sullen Retribution, aimed directly at the tiny, poorly armed space-boat.
“Does this thing even have any weapons?” Jim asked.
“It has two cathode ray cannons.”
“Oh.” Jim sounded very disheartened. “We’re screwed, then?”
“Jim. You disappoint me,” Naj replied, and silently whispered the prayer Oh Lord, please let me get this right.
“Are they charging us? They’re insane. We’ll kill them!” was the general consensus on the bridge of the Sullen Retribution. Tulva stepped forward, again radiating calm.
“If I know Najenkur Kehkz,” he started, “then I believe I know exactly what she is thinking. Fire all weapons at the boat. Don’t let it through.”
“Aye, Sir,” replied the weapons officer.
Jim watched with no small amount of apprehension as the thirty-odd guns on the Retribution came alive, blasting their deadly light into space, all of it directed at the tiny boat that served as their only protection against the cold vacuum of space.
The beams got closer, but Najenkur stayed her course, not budging the ship more than a meter from its vector. Closer still, and Najenkur showed no reaction. Jim thought that the particles of destructive light were going to hit the boat, but a with a sudden violent jerk, the ship lurched left, just in before it would have been vaporized. Then Najenkur gunned it, angling directly for Tulva’s forward docking bay.
So, Najenkur was going to make it personal.
A few barely avoided shots later, and the spaceboat was just outside the forward bay. Jim, at Naj’s orders opened up with both cannons, leveling the small ships and all the people inside. Naj sat the ship down, drew her swords, and took off for the boat’s exit ramp. Jim equipped some combat armor, drew his guns and followed suit.
If he remembered correctly, this type of frigate came stock built with a failsafe that prevented the force field that held the air in from being deactivated if there were any life forms in the docking bay. This meant that Jim wouldn’t need to worry about the docking area being suddenly evacuated, except for on the off chance that the failsafe had been removed. Najenkur slipped out of the spaceboat, cautious of the possibility of instant death at the hands of unseen assailants. Raynor followed her out of the ship, guns drawn. Several fighters and dead bodies lay about, still charred and smoking from the lasers. The hatch that lead to the main corridor slid open, revealing a pair of armed Ki’lail guards, blasting as they entered. Jim and Najenkur dived for opposite cover, and Jim returned fire, tearing through the couple, leaving them sprawled on the floor dead.
As soon as they reached the threshold, however, a screen on the opposite wall flickered to life, revealing the face of Jirinau Tulva himself. “Najenkur,” he said, ignoring Jim and addressing the Senarian, stooped over in the human-sized corridor. “I think I would like to challenge you to a duel. Follow the arrows and we shall end this now. I still have honor. I promise no guns.”
Just as abruptly, the screen deactivated, replaced by a holographic arrow pointing to the soldiers’ left. And to their right, the corridor closed, leaving them no choice but to go back to the burned-out docking bay, or follow the arrow.
“I don’t like this,” Jim said. “You’ve basically lead us to our death.”
“You’re not afraid of dying, Mr. Raynor, are you?”
“I’d like to get married and have at least one child first, thank you,” Jim sounded like his voice would break again.
“I’m sorry,” Najenkur said, her voice heavy. “But the only other way to stop him would have been to ram the bridge with the boat. At least this way we still have a small chance to survive.”
“Wow. You really know how to cheer me up,” Jim said sarcastically, and with a sad smile.
By the time they reached the end of the corridor, Najenkur had pretty much decided she was going to die. Silently making peace with all their failures, the two soldiers opened the door labeled "Aft Cargo Bay" in several languages. It slid open, revealing about twenty figures, mostly Smuell, a few Ki'lail, and a Xel'Otaph. And standing in the center was Tulva, holding a Kilian battle blade, a long shaft with a blade running down the middle, attached by alloy wires. It was a very elegant version of the blade, ornate, but obviously functional. Tulva twirled it in the air for a few seconds, and addressed Najenkur.
"Shall we fight? I don't doubt for a minute that you will be unable to resist my offer." Tulva's lips twisted into a wicked smile, and Naj thought she would have Jim shoot him.
Jim, she noticed, was almost in a trance, not aware of what was going on, and Naj felt the psi of Tulva's confederates radiate out towards Jim. They were dulling him, incase his trigger fingers got any bright ideas.
"Fine," said Najenkur at length. "You'll have your dual."
"Very Well," said Tulva, raising his blade to a defensive position. Najenkur did the same with her swords. Then those with Tulva suddenly began chanting, and psi flowed around, like a whirlwind, creating a bubble, a shield keeping Najenkur and Tulva in, and the now-alert Jim out.
Jim's cognitive functions snapped back into focus as the tornado of psionic energy almost knocked him over. It became a dome-shield, with the fifteen Smuell standing as its generators. Under the dome, Najenkur and Tulva circled each other, threatening with their weapons. And suddenly, they were into it, Tulva swung high, Naj blocked and reversed low, Tulva blocked that, and Najenkur spun around faster than humanly possible and tripped Tulva. Tulva put his blade against the ground and pushed with enough force to send him flying through the air, flipping as he went. He landed with a resounding thud, and a shockwave knocked Najenkur back on her butt.
The Smuell projecting the dome-barrier started vibrating, and one more so than the rest. He looked as if his body would shake apart, and the magenta aura around him got blindingly bright. Suddenly, with a loud thunderclap, the Smuell exploded, and the glow was transferred to Tulva, who reveled in it, as if being massaged allover. Suddenly, he was stronger, faster than before.
Najenkur was having more and more trouble countering his blows. Najenkur's eyes glowed, the expression on her face something furious. "YOU FIGHT WTH DISHONOR, TULVA!!!" She yelled. "You think nothing of killing others, taking their strength and making it yours." Najenkur glowed, shaking and drawing on strength from her own mind, and from her fellow Kalatanea, the other female Senarian sword wielders, scattered across the galaxy. She let lose a flurry of blows, high, low, reverse, jab. Tulva spun, blocking the blows with incredible speed, but it was clear that the odds had been evened again. Naj leapt high, coming down with a would-be crushing blow. But Tulva rolled out of the way and came up with his staff at Naj's face, she stepped left, deflecting the blade with her left-hand sword, and spinning around, her back to Tulva's weapon, and tried to put her right-hand sword through Tulva's back. But, sensing the move, Tulva jumped forward and spun around, facing Najenkur. Two more of the Smuell exploded, giving Tulva even more strength.
The dome, however, was weakening. Jim, aware that his guns had been stolen, removed a blit from the bottom of his boot. A flash of light, and the Laigurr Mark XLVIII inside was released. One of the most powerful standard pistols ever built, the M-Fifty-eight could but a hole three inches into a ten-foot-deep solid fortisteel block.
Jim leveled the gun, which had a fifteen round clip, at the Xel'Otaph guard in the loft above the fight, dropping him, then shooting the three Ki'lail guards as well. Then he turned his attention to the remaining twelve Smuell that Tulva could use as pylons. He dropped them all, and watched Tulva's face contort in rage and other very, very negative emotions. He leveled the empty gun at Tulva, and the distraction was all Najenkur needed. With a spinning reverse strike she came and made clean cut, just as Tulva jumped away. He landed with a thud, screaming in agony, while dark magenta blood leaked out of his severed arm.
"Thank you, Jim" Najenkur said, and then collapsed.
Then Tulva's crumpled form was surrounded by a strange light, and three security officers appeared, guns leveled and Najenkur and Jim. "Don't move." One of them injected a small amount of Senarium into Tulva's neck, and suddenly, the bleeding stopped and, with considerable effort, Tulva stood up.
Jim understood something. They couldn't risk another firefight, or another swinging of the sword. Tulva was injured, and if the security officers fired at him or Najenkur, Tulva would likely be killed by one or the other. They lacked confidence now that Tulva wasn't at full capacity.
"Very good, Ms. Kehkz," said Tulva, struggling to fight his pain and weakness. An evil smile played across his face. "Now, I really must be going. I have civilizations to destroy. Revenge to exact..."
There was a loud noise, large masses of metal clanging, and suddenly the floor began to tilt, and Jim realized that the cargo bay had been ejected into space. "NO!! Daucht Bledit!!!!!" he screamed as the light reappeared, teleporting Tulva to the safety of the Sullen Retribution's bridge. Thinking fast, Jim removed a blit from his secret pocket, and activated it. He hurled it at the escaping cult leader as the blit became Jim's last-resort bomb. The LRB was giving to all imperial officers on police missions. It basically was a bomb that could be detonated if an officer got caught, or reached his target empty handed. Most of those who used it, died by it.
But not Jim...
On the bridge, the prototype teleporter worked perfectly, and Lord Tulva arrived on the command deck with no problems. But then the navigation officer pointed towards a small device that had entered with Tulva, a rectangular/ovoid box, there were a few lights on it flashing, and some terran numbers. "What is that?" he asked.
Lord Tulva twisted his head to look, struggling, supported by the SecOfs who rescued him from the cops. He grew sullen, and said gravely, "That, my friends, is death."
Then the timer read 0.
The stars seemed to flicker our briefly as Ueiva watched for her master. But she knew he would never arrive. She felt him die.
She touched a button on her control unit. "Captain," she said. "Prepare for the jump to Kilif. There has been a change in plans."