Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 6
COMMONWEALTH CRUISER ‘Snow’ FLAG BRIDGE
/ / SO8_v-udw · Somari Eight / /
“All birds away.” Captain Stole’s voice came over the comm as two dozen missiles burst from their launch tubes and raced toward their targets.
Sleek and devastating, the Jory-5 was the latest in ship-to-ship, long-range weaponry. At fifteen meters long and a slim half meter in diameter, the Jorys gave Fisker an ideal first-strike capability that the stolen rebel destroyers were ill-equipped to match.
“Thank you, Captain,” Fisker replied with a devious smile. He couldn’t help but wonder how many Cartolingus he had on his crews. The thrill of battle always managed to stir his appetite. How many could he turn into a feast before the admiralty took notice?
“Next wave of Jorys ready, sir.”
The Jorys were expensive and still in limited supply. If they sent another wave, Fisker knew the Admiralty would take notice. Still, two volleys would be more than enough to deliver the message.
The Jory-5 was different from traditional missiles. Rather than packing a warhead, their destructive potential came from the Subspace Grabber Drives (SGD). Pulling the missile's body like a chariot, the SGD tore micro fractures into subspace, which pulled the weapon forward at an incredible pace. The weapon's range was limited by the nuclear reactor inside the housing.
Impact with an opposing ship’s hull caused the reactor to destabilize and ultimately go critical, tearing the micro-subspace fractures wide open. The fissure closed just as quickly, but not before gnashing its way through a ship and her crew.
“Let them fly,” Fisker barked.
Cooler heads might have convinced him to be more frugal with the new toys, but any officer worth their rank would be smart enough to know that the Jory-5 wouldn’t last forever. It was too visceral. Too perfect. Sooner or later, some distant noble was bound to draw up a treaty that would outlaw these glorious tools of destruction and classify their use as a war crime. Two volleys were aggressive, but then, that was the point. Fisker was going to enjoy them while he still had the chance.
TWO WORLDS REPUBLIC SHIP ‘Hound’ BRIDGE
/ / SO8.iv_v-udw · Somari Eight / /
“That’s another set of steel straight into the nose cone,” Chen exclaimed from his interception station. The small Eukary pounded a stunted fist on the control board. “They’re just not blowing up!”
“How long until we can fire back?” Volm asked, pressing his lips together hard.
Working the offensive command pit, Lieutenant Green shook his head, “We’re still more than thirty minutes out of extreme range.” Climbing the ladder to stand next to Volm, he leaned next to him and spoke under his breath,“We won’t have thirty minutes, with the way these missiles are closing.”
Confusion and apprehension passed between Alkora and Volm through their mental link. They could also feel the growing tension and stress across the entire bridge, as waves of uncertainty and anxiety overtook their crew.
“Best guess: why can’t we kill them?”
Green shrugged, “Either they’re duds, or they don’t have warheads.”
“So a kinetic weapon?”
“Not fully kinetic, they’ve altered course to track us, and emanate an electrical signal,” Green replied, motioning towards the intercept station. “Chen hasn’t detected any noticeable heat either, though; he’s been having to aim by hand.”
“Keep at it.”
“Commodore,” Second Lieutenant Dawid called from his place at the plotting table.
Volm turned to his operations officer and approached the commander's position on the plot, “Dawid, what can I do for you?”
“I have the vectors on the incoming wave.”
“Let me see it,” Volm said as Dawid overlaid the vectors on the plot. The dispersal had been perfect, eight missiles for each target. However, as Hound and Fireball had split, several of their missile tracks had converged on the station and Crescent.
“Anywhere between thirteen and nineteen of the missiles have locked onto the station or Crescent.” Dawid’s hollow eyes stared past the plot, already knowing the fate of the men and women left behind trying to get the Crescent underway. “And we’re too far out of range to affect any counter beyond what Chen has been doing.”
Closing his eyes, Volm could feel Alkora’s presence trying to comfort him, or at least share the burden.
TWO WORLDS REPUBLIC SHIP ‘Crescent’ ENVIRO SUPPLY
/ / SO8.iv_o-sply · Somari Eight / /
Elisa felt the communicator on her hip buzz. She was squeezed between a hundred-eighty-gallon steel tank she had just finished welding into the new oxygen run and the now overcrowded bulkhead. Her air mask and supply tanks didn’t give her any additional room. She didn’t care who was on the other line. Whatever they had to say could wait until she had more breathing room.
“For the love of Gorn,” she cursed as the device buzzed again. She swatted at it, trying to silence the connection attempt. “We’re on a tight window before they’re in missile range.” She growled.
“Elisa!” Shadow, the bulky Cartolingus on their repair crew, shouted. “Missiles incoming!”
The communicator buzzed again, and Elisa let out a heavy sigh, realizing what the incoming message likely would have been. There was a low, metallic thunk as a missile tore into the hull of the Crescent and embedded itself in the bulkhead where Elisa and her crew were working. Every muscle in her body tensed up at once. She knew what came next, and prayed to every god she could think of that it would be quick..
Elisa’s heart pounded in her chest, but he forced herself to open her eyes and get a look at the warhead. “It’s a dud!” Tears of relief welled up in her eyes as she called out to her crew. Just as she started to celebrate her continued existence, a small ripple of purple-black light caught her attention. The fissure floated in three-dimensional space, ejecting a black light that gave it a strange iridescent glow.
Quicker than Elisa’s brain could process the sensation, the tear extended around her, engulfing Elisa and the deck she’d been lying on.
For a fraction of a millisecond, Elisa could see the vast interwoven fields of subspace; she was nowhere and everywhere at once. Then, just as quickly—the fields collapsed. Elisa expanded into a gory mist of blood, tissue, and brain matter.
COMMONWEALTH CRUISER ‘Snow’ FLAG BRIDGE
/ / SO8_v-udw · Somari Eight / /
“That’s six,” Prime Lieutenant Obo reported from the scanwell, a growing apprehension in his voice. “Is there any way to order the weapons to redirect?”
Holding his voice steady, the Senior Ordnance Officer winced as a seventh bolt of subspace jutted out of the stricken destroyer, still docked to the supply station. “Negative, Prime.”
Fisker slowly approached the officers, grimacing. “Have you confirmed the shutdown on the second wave’s drives?”
“Yes, Admiral,” the SOO replied quickly, before Obo could take credit for saving the second batch of missiles. “We already have search and rescue ships heading on intercept, we expect a full recovery.”
“Good,” Fisker said, offering what he considered a rare expression of praise.
“The two remaining destroyers are rabbiting for the rings.”
Sucking at his teeth, Fisker let his disappointment show, “That’s less good.” Fisker paused long enough to build his officer's tension, then shook his head. “Deploy the rest of the fleet around Somari 8. I want the entire ring under surveillance.”
“Aye, sir.”
Fisker moved to the navigation plot, motioning for his Prime Lieutenant to follow. “Take us to the station, I want to see what supplies are left, and take any survivors for interrogation.”
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Concept Art Created from AI iterations on hand-drawn artwork.