Chapter Four
Raining Diamonds
JOHN
He ran to the nearest phone line. He called the bridge. "Paul how's the situation up there?" he asked.
"Not very good. This fleet's the same as the last one. The hyperspace specialist is having trouble locking onto the source of their inhibitor field."
"It seems as though they're alternating every few seconds between the carriers. It will prove difficult to close in on specific ones. It will take more time but I can do it." he said reassuringly.
"Good. Hariik will be there soon. He's in detox at the moment getting the drunkenness beaten out of him. I have to make a call. It's extremely urgent." he said.
"Alright. I'll be fine." then he hung up the call.
He found the nearest room with a phone and locked himself in. He called the communications room. "Get a call back to Hiigara and to Elson. Priority black. This is a matter of extreme urgency." black meant highest priority possible, a matter of life or death on a global scale.
"Done. We have you through to Elson, but the nebula is interfering with communications back to Hiigara."
"Good enough. This is captain John Nabaal."
"Again? What is it this time, Captain?"
"Shut up for a second. I don't have much time before I'm cut out. The Taiidan are planning to take Jigoku by force and they are building an armada to do so. After that, they are going to completely destroy Hiigara."
"That's impossible."
"I swear on the grave of Kharak that they can, and they will. Don't be a fool, this should be treated as a call to war. Extra defenses should be made. Stop the long range patrols in the wastelands and other areas and focus on the areas around this nebula and around the former Empire. Do as much as possible about this now before it's too late. Relay this message to Hiigara."
"Sajuuk have mercy. I will take this matter to the D..." it cut out.
"Sir, they've disabled our long range communications now." He hung up the phone and had to sit down. He wouldn't allow it to happen. Hiigara must remain. He devoted his life to its protection, and he took that oath seriously. It meant everything to him.
PAUL
He had been doing his best to try and manage the fleet, and it was going better than he expected, but it still wasn't good. There were too many of them. The Bentusi ships could handle the cruisers no problem. That was, of course, before more had joined the fight. They were firing on the carriers, meaning they probably found out what the cargo was, which wasn't good.
"Protect the carriers at all costs! We can't lose them!" he said. He had his eye on the sensors the whole time, he knew where everything was. He watched more red dots appear, and more green dots disappear.
He couldn't take it. He was no leader of the fleet. He was better at just knowing where things were. He couldn't give orders like John could. He was ready to snap under the stress when Hariik came onto the bridge. He walked in looking surprisingly fit for duty. It was the first time he'd seen him not drunk in years.
"Alright crew, I'm in charge now. Paul, back to your station you look like shit, son. He's right, though, protect the carriers. Take out their cruisers' main cannons you know the drill. The destroyers will take their attention off them once we surround them with our own. Keep pressure on them, swarm their destroyers with ion frigates, and keep those bombers away from the cargo." he shouted. It was almost as if John was in command. There was a reason he was second in command, and now he saw it. "Keep those damn cannons off the carriers. Frigates six seven and eight fire on that lone ion frigate and make sure it doesn't finish the job on that carrier, it looks critical. Repair corvettes get there now, and support frigate five you're closer so head over to repair it. Frigate three will take your place in supporting your assigned group."
He sat in the chair and had a look on his face as if he missed this part of the job. They took the upper hand. They were being reluctant to go for the carriers after they saw how the fleet protected them.
"Status on our escape." Paul said.
He kept pressing buttons and his eyes shifted across his screen without stopping. He took it as being worked on. After a few minutes, the enemy had started to put pressure on them. He shouted orders that kept them on the upper hand, but that would only last so long. Their ships were damaged, and they simply had more support frigates.
"Dock the fighters now I'm making progress, and the jump will have to be made fast." Paul looked at the kadeshi, who's name he still hadn't known, and saw him sweating. His face almost looked angry. He kept glancing back at him. He would be the one to save them from this mess. The problem seemed to be they were alternating their inhibitors between the five carriers and four cruisers. He had to get all the signatures in the correct order, as he stated he assumed there was a pattern to it. A mechanically calculated order, not a simple randomizer.
It went on, and then he got the correct order at that time, and then highlighted all the ships, and jumped them himself. When they were safe, he sank back in his seat, and threw the headset on the desk. Others congratulated him. Hariik applauded him.
"Kid, you've got mad skills. You saved us, pretty much." he said. "Anything you need?"
"A fucking rest would be nice." he said rubbing his wrists. "I'm going to my tube. We'll be out of the nebula in two minutes. We're free. I never thought I'd be more glad to leave a nebula in my life." he said walking out. He was very angry, Paul could tell.
"I'm detecting Taiidan hyperspace signatures heading opposite to us, we're all good. They're not following us." Paul said and left too. It was time for the shifts to switch anyway. He ran ahead to the kadeshi.
They made eye contact and he sighed. "What is it, Paul?"
"Nothing I was just wondering why you still seem to feel out of place here. It's been nearly a year, hasn't it?"
"What's your point?"
"I'll buy you a drink. You deserve a break."
"But I don't drink."
"Why not? Your sleeper tubes get rid of the alcohol anyway, right?"
"Put that way, I guess it wouldn't do any harm."
"Sorry, I still don't know your name."
"I haven't told many people yet. It's pretty long just call me Hel."
The place was full of Taiidan and Kushan alike, Paul was regretting this decision but he didn't seem to mind despite the looks he got. The hair was kind of a dead giveaway to his origins, but he didn't mind talking about it when he had a few.
"So you were actually one of the salvaged escape pods?" Paul asked.
"Yeah. I was told to get in, and I did. I was only eleven so I was kinda terrified. My father sent me off before getting in his own. There's only room for one in each."
"So he's fine then?"
"Oh yeah he's great. He's going back to the Garden with the others."
"And you aren't?"
"Not a chance! Here I can actually make a name for myself. I feel useful. Lots know how to handle the hyperspace technology back home. It's taught to many of us in school. The inhibitor identifying that I do was taught to me by my dad. He's the one who trapped you all there in the first place. He detected the presence of a powerful hyperspace signature and put up the field. I bet he regrets it now, right?" he laughed.
"So that makes you what? Fifteen now?"
"I guess. We don't measure years the same as you."
"So that means technically you shouldn't be here." he said. He didn't realize he was that young.
"Probably not, but like I care."
They talked about their stories, which is what people usually do at the bar when they're drunk enough. Unlike Hariik who is always too drunk to understand. They had a laugh on his behalf too. Hel was from Third, the same as Mark's girlfriend, he recalled. Arazis was her name. He asked him if he knew her at all.
"Her? Well everyone on the ship knew her. She was the captain's favorite. Royalty also." that part was new to him. "She was always with that cheery boy Saiin. I knew him more but still. I guess I just didn't talk much. I remember Saiin showing me a swarmer once. He was older so I guess my dad told him to watch me. He didn't mind. It was so complicated. Then I realized that most things were.
I started to try and think of things as puzzles, and taking them apart mentally. I'm just good with hyperspace tech because that's what my dad had lying around all the time. Blueprints, books, all on advanced usage of the technology we had. He could trap people in the field, after a while I figured out a way to counter this. I found a weakness in the system. It surprised him. He hadn't even figured that out. But they assumed it would take someone ages to figure it out, and there was really nothing they could do about it but alternate.
Which we did, but the system hadn't been completed and there were a few bugs. One of the needleships had a glitch, and trapped us in with you. It wouldn't shut off its field. I was going to the bridge of the Amun when the ship was destroyed. I wanted to save us so badly, but it turned out that the captain was sacrificing himself anyway, and ordered the evacuation."
Hariik walked in and grabbed a bottle right off the shelf. The bartender rolled her eyes and didn't say anything about it. Then, he saw them and joined them.
"Hey there, Paul! And what's he doin' here? He's just a kid!"
"Yeah I didn't actually know his age. It doesn't matter, their tubes take all the alcohol out anyway. You should probably invest in one yourself." he said taking the bottle.
He took it back. "But that ruins the nice warm feeling of being drunk, my friend!" he rolled his eyes and decided to let it drop. He knew his past, and his reasons.
"We're done here for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at the transfer." he said. "Come on, Hel. Let's get you home you look barely able to walk."
He walked him to his room. "See you tomorrow Paul." he said and closed the door."
Paul headed to his own room and crashed on his bed. He laughed to himself. "Did I really just get that kid drunk? John will kill me if he finds out." he said before falling asleep.
MARK
The thunder roared right overhead. Lighting struck a building not far off. Rain fell outside. "Well isn't the weather just great." Isel said.
"What's worse is this new threat. The Taiidan of the nebula." Karan said.
"Don't think anything of it." Karu said. "John's got it covered, trust me. And if it comes down to it, anyone can agree with us on this, we're all more than willing to fight to the death."
"But they probably won't even get as far as Jigoku." I said. "It's heavily guarded. But just in case I suggest sending reinforcements. We still don't know exactly how many ships they have."
"I'll make sure to take it up in the next Daiamid assembly tomorrow. They called an emergency meeting because of the circumstances." Karan said.
"And this is the first I've heard of it, being a Sa you'd think I would get news faster." I complained.
The television turned on. "This just in, the newly scheduled Daiamid meeting has been pushed to eleven thirty tonight. All Sas and representatives please report to the conference room immediately." the reporter said.
"What the . . ."
"We have to go now. It's worse than we thought." she said pressing the metal thing on her head. It's a sort of implant for communication. At the bottom of the building there was already a transport waiting to escort us. Karan, Arazis and I were taken to the conference room.
The conference room was full. I sat with Arazis along with all other Sas at a half circle table facing Karan and two others. One was the Taiidan Republic representative only there because of the context of the discussions, and the other was a judge chosen by the galactic council to regulate the laws being made if any should arise to make sure it isn't infringing on the rights of any other nation and other legal stuff like that. Behind us was a large open area of rows of seats for any spectators who wished to hear the discussions. It was mostly empty tonight because of how late it was. There were a few worried faces, and I gave them reassuring looks as best I could.
The representative stood up, and we silenced. "We have new information to give you. After your civil convoy got through, we took precautions by sending long-range probes into the nebula. We found their pattern. They have outlying fleets like the ones you encountered, and in the center, they have their shipyards and foundries. They have a fleet of hundreds of ships. The captain of the Ifriit was away interrogating a captive for information, but his second in command was informed of the new information. He said he wouldn't dare send anyone to them, and that we should refrain from further action. Elson agreed with him, we are no match for them at this point."
"What you're asking is that we help you in defeating this armada?" Nabaal-Sa said.
"What I'm asking you is to help us defeat them before they reach the prison planet. They have the ships, just not the crews to fill them. If they take the planet by force, which they can and will if we don't stop them, it would be disastrous. It would bring about another galactic-scale war."
"This is outrageous!" someone yelled.
"What threat do they pose to the safety of Hiigara?" Karan asked.
"Total destruction. We have heard word from Captain John Nabaal. His interrogations proved of the utmost importance. He got a priority call out to Elson but couldn't reach Hiigara through the interference. They have the same weapons as they used on Kharak, and are more than willing to take their revenge on you." the room fell completely silent, not even the sounds of breathing could be heard. Same could be said for me. It can't be happening.
"Th-this is true?" Somtaaw-Sa asked.
"Yes. Even we still have the plans for the weapon in our databases. I didn't think after what happened anyone would have the guts to actually remake them, though."
"Dispatch a fleet of twenty heavy cruisers with destroyer escorts to Jigoku as soon as you can gather them." I said to Nabaal-Sa, his kiith was in charge of ship production and military recruitment.
"I will make the call." he said picking up a phone. The conversation continued.
"We are willing to give our full cooperation in this matter. It means the protection of our Homeworld, and that is all that matters to us. We cannot allow the galaxy to fall into another war." Karan said. "Manaan-Sa, do you have fighters willing to help out within close range?"
"We have ten carriers with full sets of squadrons. We're ready to help, but I can't promise all will be willing to fight. We are nomads, after all. We have very little ties to the Homeworld, however I'm sure most will agree to fight"
"Good. Miss Restion, you are related to one of the Kadeshi Elite, are you not?"
Arazis looked surprised and shot her a look instantly, as if wondering what she had in mind. "Yes, my father is the governor of Third. I still don't see how this is relevant. If you're asking me to pull strings and get the Seven Colonies to help in this matter, you're wasting your time. I haven't spoken to my father since I was very young, and he exiled me into military service because I was too curious for my own good. I doubt he'll even want to see me."
"We are sending a group of Kadeshi back to the nebula soon. Can you at least see how the situation is?" What was she doing? She's sending her to the nebula, knowing she doesn't want to go to begin with? Karan? I couldn't get my head around hers.
"Are you asking, or ordering?" she said glaring at Karan.
"Maybe a little bit of both."
"Then I'm going with her." I said. "As a more official representative of the Hiigarans." I could tell she didn't like the idea, I was valuable, unlike Arazis. She has tuned out her emotions completely, as it seems.
"I'll fill in for him. I was strike command on the Mothership after all." Leonard said. He was an observer in the back.
"Agreed." she said moving on to other things as if she didn't know who we were, or who she was, for that matter.
Arazis looked at me and I could tell she wanted to leave the building. Which we did when the meeting ended. We walked out together. The rain stopped now, and it was one in the morning. The Angelmoon was high in the sky, and full. She didn't say anything, just held onto me not to fall.
"I just need to go sleep. I can't believe she's telling me to go back when she knows it's the last thing I want."
Karan walked out after, but I shot her an angry look and she stopped. "I only said what is in the interest of the Homeworld. If that means I have to rid myself of all sympathy and personal matters, so be it. We need all the help we can get."
Arazis inhaled, walked over to Karan, and smacked her hard across the face. "Then maybe I'll shed all my sympathy for you. You're lonely and depressed, you're bringing it on yourself now."
She was walking away when Karan said, "You're acting like a child. You have a job to do, and all I did was order you to fulfill that job because that's my job."
She turned around, walked back to Karan, and punched her to the ground this time. "Know when to shut up. This isn't just some easy task you can ask someone to complete. The Kadeshi kill heretics who go against the word of the sacred texts. If I go back there, I might not come back. We might not even get as far as Third! We might not even survive the encounter. They might realize who we are and open fire on the carrier without a second thought because of all the people you've killed!" she said.
She was speechless. We left as some guards came running over.
Back home, Arazis went straight to the room to sleep.
"What happened?" Isel asked. "Where's Karan?"
"Don't ask."
"The meeting didn't go well then."
"No, not really. Prepare for war, and prepare for the worst of it again, is all I can say to help you. Hiigara's in danger and we're being sent to a nebula to try and accomplish something that'll never happen." I said closing the room door.
"It'll be fine." I said laying next to her.
"No, it won't. Let's not talk about it. I'm too tired." she said.
"Fine. But you can't run away from this now. I'm here, remember? I'll be there too.
