⫸ [ TIME: 18:30 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: U.S.S. VANGUARD – LOWER MAINTENANCE DECK ]
⫸ [ STATUS: INFILTRATION ]
The interior of the U.S.S. Vanguard was a cathedral of dead technology.
Elian slid through the maintenance hatch and landed on a grating that groaned under his weight. The air inside was stale. It was cold. It smelled of ozone and decayed polymers. It tasted like a tomb that had been sealed for five millennia.
He was inside the skin of a leviathan. The corridor stretched endlessly into the dark. It was wide enough to drive a tank through. The walls were lined with power conduits thick as ancient trees.
"Light," Elian commanded.
The floodlights on his scavenged armor flickered on. The twin beams cut through the gloom. They illuminated dust motes that had been suspended in the stillness for thousands of years.
[ Atmospheric Analysis: Nitrogen 78%, Oxygen 21%. ]
[ The internal scrubbers are offline. The seal is intact. The air is breathable. ]
Elian took a deep breath. It filled his lungs with the scent of his own history.
He walked forward. His boots clanged on the deck plates. The sound echoed far down the corridor. It was a violation of the silence.
"A.R.C.," Elian whispered. "Where is the nearest terminal? I need to get you into the system."
[ Scanning schematics... ]
[ Access Point detected 200 meters ahead. Sector 4 Junction Box. ]
Elian moved quickly. He kept The Arbiter raised and the stock pressed against his shoulder. He scanned the corners. He expected to see a drone. He expected a turret.
He saw bodies.
They were not human. They were not Giants.
They were Centurions.
They were Federation Marines in powered armor. They lay slumped against the walls in a chaotic heap. Their armor was rusted and pitted. Their visors were dark.
Elian stopped next to one. He wiped the thick layer of white dust from the shoulder plate. The insignia of the 7th Colonial Fleet was barely visible beneath the corrosion.
"There was a battle here," Elian said. He pointed to the scorch marks on the wall. "Plasma burns. But they are on the inside. They were fighting in the hallway."
[ Hypothesis: Mutiny. Or boarding action. ]
Elian looked closer at the Marine. The chest plate was torn open. It was not a laser burn. It was a physical breach. Three jagged puncture wounds had ripped through the ceramite plating like it was wet cardboard.
"Something got in," Elian said. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. "Something big enough to shred power armor."
He left the dead. He reached the Junction Box. It was a panel set into the wall filled with fiber-optic ports and manual breakers.
Elian pulled a data-cable from his wrist gauntlet. He tried to align the pins. His fingers felt thick and numb. He pushed too hard.
CRACK.
The plastic housing of the port cracked.
"Damn it," Elian cursed. "Too strong."
He took a breath. He focused on his visual feed rather than his tactile sense. He aligned the cable again. He pushed gently.
CLICK.
"Wake up," he whispered.
◤ SYSTEM INTERFACE ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Connection: Established
⬢ Host System: U.S.S. Vanguard Mainframe (Dormant)
⬢ Security Level: Omega (Lockdown)
⬢ Intrusion Protocol: Active
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
[ Accessing... ]
[ Commander. The system is fighting back. ]
[ It is running a localized AI construct. Designation: "The Warden". ]
The lights in the corridor flickered red.
A voice boomed from the overhead speakers. It was distorted by corruption and time.
"UNAUTHORIZED... BIO-SIGNATURE... DETECTED."
"QUARANTINE... PROTOCOL... ENGAGED."
CLANG.
Heavy blast doors slammed shut at both ends of the corridor. Elian was trapped in a fifty-meter kill box.
Vents in the ceiling hissed open. They did not release gas. They sucked air.
[ Warning. Atmospheric Purge initiated. ]
[ It is venting the oxygen to the exterior. ]
"Override it!" Elian shouted. He typed furiously on the holographic keypad projected from his wrist.
[ I am trying. The encryption is archaic but brute-forced. It thinks we are the contagion. ]
The air grew thin instantly. Elian's ears popped. The pressure dropped. His lungs struggled to pull oxygen from the vacuum.
"Physics lesson number five," Elian wheezed. "Pressure Differential."
He raised The Arbiter. He aimed at the control panel next to the blast door.
"If I can't hack the lock I'll break the circuit."
He fired.
CRACK.
The kinetic slug shattered the control panel. Sparks showered the floor. The blast door's locking mechanism shorted out. The hydraulics failed.
Elian ran to the door. He jammed his armored fingers into the gap. He activated his thermal skin. The heat transferred into the metal. It turned cherry red. It became pliable.
He roared. He pulled.
The door screeched open. He squeezed through the gap and tumbled into the next section. The air here was still thick.
"A.R.C.," Elian gasped. "Did you get the map?"
[ Download complete. I have the deck plans. ]
[ The Bridge is 40 decks up. The Turbo-Lifts are offline. We have to climb the central maintenance shaft. ]
"Lead the way."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 19:45 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: CENTRAL MAINTENANCE SHAFT ]
⫸ [ STATUS: VERTICAL ASCENT ]
The shaft was a vertical tunnel three kilometers high. It was the spine of the ship. It was filled with pipes and cables and service ladders.
Elian climbed.
In 8.5G gravity climbing was torture. Every pull-up was lifting 500 pounds. His muscles burned. His new bones ached. He was a machine running on will and adrenaline.
He was halfway up when the noise started.
Clank... Clank... Clank.
It was coming from above. It was rhythmic. It was metallic.
Elian looked up.
In the darkness above red eyes glowed.
◤ THREAT DETECTED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Subject: Maintenance Spider (Mark-IV)
⬢ Function: Hull Repair / Anti-Personnel
⬢ Armament: Welding Lasers / Mono-Saws
⬢ Status: Hostile
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It was a machine the size of a car. It had eight legs tipped with magnetic clamps. It scurried down the shaft wall. Its welding laser charged with a blinding blue light.
"It thinks I'm a rat in the pipes," Elian said.
He hooked his leg around a ladder rung. He hung upside down. He raised The Arbiter.
The Spider lunged. It leaped from the wall.
Elian fired.
BOOM.
The sonic round hit the Spider in mid-air. The impact shattered its sensor array. The machine spun out of control and crashed into the opposite wall.
It didn't die. It shrieked. It was a digital scream of rage. It scrambled back up the wall.
"Tough little bugger," Elian muttered. "A.R.C., target the power core."
[ The core is shielded behind durasteel plating. Kinetic rounds will deflect. ]
[ Suggestion: Overload its circuits. ]
Elian looked at the heavy power conduit running next to the ladder. It was labeled [HIGH VOLTAGE].
"Good idea."
He waited. The Spider scurried closer. It raised a spinning saw blade.
Elian fired. Not at the Spider. At the conduit.
The conduit burst. A thick copper cable whipped out like a snake. It was sparking with megawatts of raw power.
It hit the Spider.
ZZZZZRAK.
The machine seized. Electricity arced over its chassis. Its internal circuits fried instantly. Smoke poured from its joints.
It lost its magnetic grip. It fell.
Elian watched it tumble down into the darkness. A few seconds later he heard a distant crash.
"One down," Elian panted. "Probably a thousand to go."
He resumed climbing.
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 21:00 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: DECK 01 – COMMAND BRIDGE ]
⫸ [ STATUS: BREACH ]
He reached the top.
The blast door to the Bridge was sealed with a heavy mag-lock.
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Can you open it?"
[ I have acquired the admin codes from the Junction Box. ]
[ Unlocking... ]
The heavy door slid open.
Elian stepped onto the Bridge.
It was vast. The viewports offered a panoramic view of the white ceramic desert below. The stars shone brightly in the black sky above the atmosphere.
In the center of the room sat the Captain's Chair.
A skeleton sat in it. It wore a tattered blue uniform.
But Elian wasn't looking at the Captain. He was looking at the console.
It was active. A single terminal was blinking.
[ TRANSMISSION ACTIVE ]
[ LOOP COUNT: 9,452,000 ]
Elian walked to the console. He wiped the dust from the screen.
"A.R.C.," he said. "Download the logs. I want to know what killed this ship. I want to know what this planet is."
[ Interfacing... ]
[ Downloading Captain's Log... ]
[ Decrypting... ]
A hologram flickered to life above the console. It showed the face of the Captain. He looked tired. He looked terrified.
"This is Captain Halloway of the U.S.S. Vanguard. Stardate 45.22. We... we tried to break the barrier. We tried to leave."
The hologram distorted.
"The Firmament... it's not just a shield. It's a weapon. It reacted to our warp signature. It swatted us down like a fly."
The Captain leaned closer to the recorder.
"They are watching us. The Wardens. They live on the islands in the sky. They harvest the Aether... and they harvest us. This isn't a colony. It's a farm."
The recording ended.
Elian stared at the dead screen.
"A farm," he whispered. "The Cultivators... the Beasts... they are just livestock. And the Gods are the butchers."
[ Commander. I have found something else in the database. ]
[ A schematic. ]
A new blueprint appeared. It was complex. It was beautiful.
◤ SCHEMATIC UNLOCKED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Project: The God-Killer
⬢ Type: Planetary Siege Cannon (Railgun Variant)
⬢ Status: Incomplete
⬢ Missing Component: The Heart of a Titan
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"The Vanguard crew tried to build a weapon to break the sky," Elian realized. "But they died before they could finish it."
He downloaded the schematic to his datapad.
"We will finish it for them," Elian said.
He turned to leave.
[ Warning. Proximity Alert. ]
[ Something is on the hull. Outside. ]
Elian looked at the main viewport.
A massive shadow blocked the stars.
It was not a ship. It was a creature. A winged serpent made of iron and glass. It clung to the bridge window peering inside with eyes like burning coals.
It screeched. The sound vibrated the reinforced glass.
◤ THREAT DETECTED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Subject: Iron-Wyvern (Class-III)
⬢ Status: Hunting
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"It saw the light," Elian cursed.
The glass cracked.
"Time to go," Elian said. He racked the bolt of The Arbiter. "A.R.C., find me an exit. Fast."
[END OF CHAPTER 17]