Chapter 18: Dantes’ Inferno

The security guards killed the specimens that hatched out of the staff member, but that wasn’t what my creations were after. The crack ... they ... they noticed the crack in their tube from the gunshot. They realized their prison had flaws. They broke free of their containment, swarming the crack all at once. That’s when pandemonium ensued.

“Now entering the edge of the Black Star System, my Lady Minister,” said Eramar as he stood next to the Fire Minister.

The viewscreen went from a milky white haze to the inky blackness of space as the ship came out of the warp through the Gateway. The bridge was a long, wide room with two rows of computer consoles in front of the commander’s chair where dozens of technicians in red uniforms operated the ship and coordinated the whole fleet. At the very end of the column directly in front of the chair, a large holographic display showed the space in front of the ship, white stars shining brightly and a very large red sun looming closer than the other constellations.

Saria Kaves sat on the bridge of their capital ship, Dantes’ Inferno. It was the largest and most powerful ship in the Fire Fleet; at ten miles long and about half as wide, it was quite impressive. The vessel was shaped to resemble an arrowhead like most of the ships in the Fire Fleet, with dark red plating and jutting spikes along the hull resembling flames. In fact, when a sun’s rays hit the ship just right, the vessel appeared to be on fire. An appropriate effect considering that the vessel could use Fire Elemency while being powered by the thousands of Elementals who operated it. A dozen huge, mountain-sized jet engines propelled the ship forward from its rear while shooting orange flames like the mouths of volcanos. The bridge, a long diamond-shaped compartment on top of the Inferno, was situated near the center of the vessel and comprised many levels besides the large chamber where Saria maintained command. Saria remembered commissioning the vessel herself with her own specific modifications well over a millennia ago. Because the ship was so massive and so dangerous, launching her from the space station Highwater where she normally docked proved to be a tremendous undertaking, so the old girl never got to see much action unless under the most severe of circumstances.

Even after being built so long ago, the vessel was still perhaps the most destructive warship in all the Tarrus Empire, capable of reducing entire planets to dust if need be, and sometimes even stars. Although the vessel was only capable of such feats when powered by Saria herself, and only as a last resort as using that much energy regularly could prove harmful to the vessel. Not to mention the fact that destroying entire planets and star systems was considered illegal because of the dire ramifications on the delicate gravitational matrixes for populated systems throughout the universe. Many advanced planets had developed planetary shielding systems because of warships like the Inferno; shielding systems so advanced that they could stave off even the Inferno’s elementally powered thermal heat rays, so the ship was not infallible. Saria remembered dealing with the Parasite scourge in the days of her youth. With the numbers those monsters could bring, things wouldn’t be easy even with Inferno’s incredible power. That’s why she planned to bring the full might of the Fire Fleet with her.

Saria stood to her feet in front of her chair, which like the rest of the bridge, was plated with red steel. Grim-faced, she turned to her head science officer, a man named Penkins, and asked, “Has the fleet come out of warp yet?”

The science officer, an older-looking Third with a mustache and white balding hair, said, “Confirmed, my lady. Fleet arriving now. I’ll bring it up on the monitors.”

Two more holographic screens appeared to the right and to the left of Saria, giving her full view of the action. To the ship’s left and right wings, hundreds of capital ships started popping out of the Gateway one after the other, appearing into space in flashes of bright white light. The other capital ships were similar in design and shape to the Inferno, but were either a tenth or a fifth its size depending on the class of the vessel. So far, none of the cruisers had launched their fighters or Astronaut Elementals. Saria wanted to keep their more agile units on standby until she knew how the Parasites would respond.

Saria turned to address her righthand, Eramar Razor. It took some doing, but she finally got him recommissioned. Given the many crises they now faced, the council wisely concluded that his expertise would be needed. Convincing Eramar himself to come out of his hiatus proved more difficult than persuading the council, but Saria soon brought him around when she told him of Ryan’s and Éclair’s likely involvement in the battles to come. Eramar Razor was a severe-looking man: a little taller than the average man, with dark hair graying on the sides, a scarred face, and a mustache and goatee. Eramar had a mechanical orange glowing eye in place of his left pupil. His left hand and his left foot were also cybernetic, a consequence of his duel with a creature known only as ‘The Demon’. Eramar wore the ornate Fire Ministry Armor of a Wielder, his rank indicated by the larger-than-normal insignia of the lion and the four-legged Dragon, as well as the sparkling golden cape fluttering behind his red armor which also bore the same symbol.

Saria wore similar armor as Eramar, though hers was even more intricate with spiked shoulder pads and more gold in her red armor that outlined her womanly figure while still remaining functional. Saria was about the same height as Eramar, making her quite tall for a woman. She had been told many times in her youth that she was beautiful with her curvy figure, large breasts, light skin tone, feline face, brown eyes, and flowing brunette hair. Now that she was the Minister of Fire, she didn’t get compliments like that quite as often as most men found her too intimidating. In a way, she almost missed those compliments. Because her psions were so strong, she hadn’t changed that much in appearance since she was very young, though all those centuries did weigh heavily on her soul.

“You are certain the Emperor isn’t going to try and stop us this time?” Saria asked again.

Eramar nodded, “Quite sure. Éclair’s and Ryan’s message broadcasted to the entire Senate using high-level Imperial codes. Everyone in the Senate Chamber saw the recordings of the Parasites with infected colonists in that asteroid fleet of theirs. Chissler can no longer deny our pleas to go en masse to Black Star.”

Saria nodded with a small groan. “I can’t believe it took us three whole months to get to this point after Zand’s warning. I have no idea how the Parasites managed to avoid attention for so long given all the ships and colonies that have been going dark lately in the Zeta Way Galaxy. But now, thanks to Ryan and Éclair, we finally have enough evidence to do something about it. And that bastard, Chissler, can’t stop us any longer ... not without sending the Senate into an uproar.”

“Actually, it seemed Chissler might be enthusiastic to help us now that he knows for certain that we’re not bluffing about the Parasites. I heard from some of my contacts in the military that he’s galvanizing the Militia to join us.”

Saria almost sniffed. “Chissler actually doing something to help the universe for a change. That’s a first. Well, I know there are still a lot of good men among the Militia. We could use their help. Heaven knows, we’ll need all the help we can get against these things.”

“My lady, if I may ask about the Parasites, I was still very young when Zand dealt with them well over five centuries ago. I only fought a few small infestations on the edges of Tarrus space, and those were mostly hatchlings. When I did fight the Parasites, it was always in a controlled environment with my superiors nearby to supervise. Most of what I know of them comes from you and Zand. Tell me, are they really that terrifying given that they don’t use any advanced technology or Elemency?”

Saria gave a mirthless laugh. “That’s what makes them so terrifying. They have no science or Elemental powers, yet entire galaxies were snuffed out by them. Their numbers and persistence make them formidable, even for us. No matter how you slice it, this is not going to be a pleasant campaign.”

“Is any campaign pleasant?” Eramar asked, almost smiling.

“Compared to fighting the Parasites, yes.”

One of the comms officers, a young Second-Leveled woman named Debra, jerked up as she put a finger to her ear while listening to the chatter from the other vessels in the fleet. “My Lady Minister. The Pyro is reporting enemy contacts on their long-range scanners.”

Eramar flashed the comms officer an incredulous look. “Already? Why aren’t our scanners picking them up?”

“The Pyro has the most advanced scanners in the fleet. It looks like the enemy is traveling through hyperspace towards our position.”

Eramar gawked in disbelief. “ These creatures have warping capabilities?”

“That and more,” said Saria calmly as she stared straight ahead. “In the past, they even found a way to force themselves into the interstellar highway and use Gateways to their liking so they could travel to other galaxies. Every form of military advantage we’ve gained through science and Elemency, they gained through instinct and rapid evolution.”

Eramar grimaced, and commanded, “I want all crew on the Inferno to their battle stations! Put the fleet on red alert! Send out our first wave of fighters and astronauts to keep them away from the cruisers!”

Saria made no move to countermand Eramar’s orders. She knew his judgment was sound. It was common sense to send out the more agile units first to pick off the enemy fleet and soften them up for the heavy hitters. The loss of a single cruiser would be devastating, each one with a crew of well over a thousand, and sometimes in the tens of thousands for the bigger ships.

Saria observed on the viewscreens to the left and to the right as thousands of tiny orange lights began leaving the larger ships. Each light represented either a fighter or an Elemental in Psionic Armor trained for space travel without the aid of a spacecraft. Only high-level Elementals could fly without the assistance of specially designed armor while in the confines of an atmosphere and the gravitational pull of a planet, but space allowed for more liberal use of the art given the lack of frictional forces. One of the Ministries’ greatest military assets comprised their flying Elemental units that were more difficult to hit than fighters, and could be just as fast, nimble, and destructive with their Elemency. Of course, that would never rule out the need for traditional fighter units, but it did allow for a more hands-on experience during dogfights for those who never got the knack for piloting.

“I’m not sure how they blindsided most of our scanners, but we’re picking up the same signal as the Pyro,” said Penkins as he remained at his station near Saria’s chair. “Confirmed. Large enemy fleet coming out of warp. They’re using those asteroids again. First enemy contact should be in visual range in ten seconds. They will arrive nearest to the Pillar and the Sunspot.”

“Send our fighters with an Astros escort to intercept,” Saira commanded, and dozens of technicians around the large bridge typed furiously to relay her orders.

Like a swarm of fireflies, the fighters and the Astronaut Elementals, or Astros as they were sometimes nicknamed, fanned out in protective formation ahead of the cruisers. Shortly after, the first meteor popped into existence in a flash of light about eighty clicks ahead of the fleet. The vid zoomed in to show hundreds, if not thousands, of Parasites crawling along the surface while a few borrowed themselves in the rock itself, propelling it forward with jets of energy from tubes that grew out of their backs. Given the size differential between the Parasites and the meteor, that put its size roughly equal to a mid-class cruiser.

More asteroids popped into existence next to the first one, and soon the Astros and fighters began bombarding the floating rocks with blasts of earth-destroying flames. The first asteroid was already blown to pieces by the time the enemy responded. Soon, the Elementals were met with heavy resistance by Winged Parasites that broke off from the asteroids to engage the Elemental forces in dogfights. The Flying Parasites had wings like mosquitos, but their wings glowed green similarly to the Parasites with jet propulsion, allowing them to fly as easily in space as they would in a normal atmosphere. Even after years of study, no one fully understood the method by which Parasites generated enough energy to fly in space. It was similar to the method employed by Dragons, so Elemency was a factor, but it was more biological than psionic in nature. The Parasites burst into flames when they were hit, dying by the dozens while flying against the Elementals and the fighters, but their numbers and tenacity made up for their lack of skill, so the forces were evenly matched with the Parasites gaining a few kills here and there for the scores that they lost.

Something bothered Saria. Something amiss. Turning to Eramar, she asked, “How were they able to fool our sensors save that of the Pyro? And this attack ... it’s too well-timed. The Parasites I remember were tenacious, but they acted more on instinct. This seems to be a strategy of some kind.”

Eramar nodded without surprise as he continued staring straight ahead. “I agree. There seems to be tactics to their movements. Almost as if...” Eramar’s eyes widened as he gasped. “They ... they don’t have any weapon systems. With their numbers, they don’t need any if they use kamikaze tactics. What if they...”

Saria’s heart caught in her throat as she turned to Debra. “Contact the fleet! Tell them to start expanding their shields outwards to account for subspace variance! They’re going to warp right next to the fleet and ram us!”

Debra’s mouth went slack for a moment, as well as that of many technicians around the bridge, but their hesitation soon subsided as typing resumed, murmuring erupting as the com officers contacted the various captains commanding the fleet. Saria heard the hum as the fleet sent out jamming signals through their shields to keep anything from warping near them. Normally, it wouldn’t be necessary to spread out a jamming signal so far as most of those fighting in space battles had a strong sense of self-preservation, and warping that close to another ship would result in a head-on collision. But with Parasites, that was precisely how they fought given that they rode on asteroids.

Unfortunately, Saria and Eramar had figured out the ploy a tad too late as Penkins said, “We have more bogies warping out on the right flank! The jamming field isn’t strong enough yet! They’re going to-”

Even as he spoke, meteors started popping into existence on the right screen. No less than three cruisers exploded as they were bombarded with huge asteroids coming out of warp. Saria could only watch in outrage as bursts of flames filled the screens in chunks of dark brown earth and red metal. It was only a fraction of their fleet, but that still left thousands dead ... thousands of her precious cubs gone. From the wreckage, Flying Parasites poured out, completely ignoring the fact that they were on fire as they attacked any ship they could reach before either dying from their wounds or getting shot to pieces by the turrets of the remaining cruisers. Saria couldn’t hear the explosions or the soundless screams of those lost to the void of space, but she could feel them ... in her heart, she felt every Elemental’s life ebb, and it was almost as poignant as the loss of her own daughter. More asteroids appeared one after the other, but thanks to the jamming signals, the Fire Cruisers now had enough room to blast them to space dust before they could get close enough to cause any more damage.

“My lady, I’ve been able to pierce through the jamming signature the Parasites are using to mask their fleet’s movements,” explained Penkins. “Their numbers are much greater than previously calculated. Three fleets of asteroids converging on our position with the first wave coming to bolster the ones up front that are engaging our fighters.”

Eramar huffed angrily, his jaw clenched. “Three fleets from three different directions. They’re going to try and wipe us out in one go.”

“Confirmed,” said Penkins, the old man’s voice steadily rising in alarm. “If we do survive their ambush, I calculate that the fleet will sustain at least 50% casualties, well beyond the threshold of acceptable losses for the invasion. We should retreat back to the Gateway now before they-”

“No!” growled Saria as smoke seeped from her eyes and mouth, her instincts crying out for retaliation against the insects that dared to hurt her cubs. “Reposition the fleet to fire all guns at the left flank as soon as those asteroids come out of warp! Turn our ship about and have the main cannons of the Inferno blast the fleet to our right at full firepower!”

As Penkins did the calculations, Eramar already surmised Saria’s battle strategy as he looked at her evenly. “That will likely destroy a good portion of their forces on our left and right flanks, though it will deplete the Inferno’s weapons for a while. Plus, our fighters and astronauts will need aid at the front flank as they will likely be overwhelmed by the enemy reinforcements.”

“I’ll handle the front flank,” Saria said coldly.

“My Lady Minister,” Eramar said warningly. “You know that-”

“Can it be done, Penkins?”

Penkins, a nervous wreck as he sweated profusely, gave a weak nod. “If-if we reposition the fleet now, they should have just enough time to fully charge their weapons before the full enemy force arrives. But Eramar’s right. What about the fighters at our forward positions? They’ll still need-”

“Give the order!” said Saria. “And then all command personnel here must evacuate to the secondary bridge!”

The technicians finished the last of the instructions, and already Saria could feel the ship coming about to face the right flank. She saw on the screens the fleet facing the left flank, their turrets still shooting down asteroids that continued coming out of warp. She could already see on the scanners that the right fleet of asteroids would be coming out of warp in less than a minute with nothing but the cannons of the Inferno to deal with, but the old girl wasn’t Saria’s prize ship for nothing. Soon enough, the technicians complied with Saria’s last command, filing out quickly to the various exits and elevators throughout the large bridge. Only Eramar remained as he regarded Saria calmly.