This is a fan translation of Emperors of Illusions (Императоры иллюзий) by the Russian science fiction and fantasy author Sergei Lukyanenko. The novel is a sequel to Lukyanenko's Line of Dreams (Линия грёз) novel and can be considered a fan fiction of the original Master of Orion game.

Chapter 9

It was pleasant to feel the armor on his body. Kay saw that the Seraphs had been hastily disarmed, and their energy reserves were minimal, and yet the sense of utter helplessness had vanished. They were even helped into their armor, while providing no explanation. Then again, Kay didn't need one.

Somehow, Arthur had managed to hold a sharp blade to Lemak's throat.

For a boy, who had decided four years ago that life was full of shit, it wasn't bad at all.

The guards were noticeably nervous. They seemed to be aware of the danger threatening the ship but hadn't yet received instructions to let the prisoners go. Kay winked at Tommy, trying to encourage the kid, who didn't look too happy at what was happening. The transition from complete hopelessness to a rescue was too great a shock. Adjustment would take time.

Finally, the doors to one of the lifts slid open; if Kay recalled correctly, the symbols above it indicated the auxiliary control center. Vyacheslav Shegal quickly stepped out into the terminal.

"I wouldn't feel joy just yet, Kay."

"And what would you suggest I do?"

"Pray. And reason with Arthur. He has captured the main bridge and is taking the destroyer out of the jump… at full thrust."

Dutch could only shake his head. Such prospects suited him no more than anyone else.

"I'll try, Vyacheslav. Believe me."

"Go into the lift, Dutch. Quickly, we have to start decelerating or restoring power to the hypergenerator."

"Is that all you want to say?"

"Almost. I'm going to personally kill you during the retaking of the bridge. I think we'll have a use for Tommy. But he shouldn't rely on himself being valuable too much either."

In the deathly silence of the convoy, Kay and Tommy entered the lift cabin. The doors slid shut, and they were dragged through the decks of the ship.

Marjan Mohammadi stood in the part of the hallway her logical circuits had deemed ideal for what she had in mind. Shegal had removed all her external weaponry… but he hadn't known about the laser cutter built into her body.

The Clinch Commander had been hurriedly moving towards the main transport terminal; obviously, Dutch and Arthur's double were there. They would be sent to the bridge, probably using the quickest route. The pod would pass next to Mohammadi, behind a thin internal bulkhead.

Marjan had no intention of settling for the role of a spectator.

When her sensors had detected the approaching pulsation of a magnetic field, she raised her hand. A quick swipe, and the beam from out of her wrist cut through the plastic. She ripped the chunk smoking at the edges and threw it onto the floor. Excellent, she thought, the solenoids moving the lift pods hadn't been damaged. There was a dark tunnel two meters in diameter in front of her. There was a musty smell… it was a good thing that atmosphere wasn't pumped out of lift shafts.

The humming was growing closer. A blast of air, compressed by the rushing pod, hit from out of the opening. Marjan took a step back, squinted, and gauged the necessary kick force.

Then she jumped into the darkness.

The lift jerked from a heavy hit. Kay and Tommy would have been thrown to the floor, had they not been wearing powered armor, which automatically compensated for such sudden movements. For a moment, Dutch thought that they had exited hyperspace, the one both he and Shegal were afraid of.

But the pod continued its movement.

"Something with the power supply," Tommy said.

The pod started to slow down. Kay took a step towards the doors, hesitated for a moment, then lowered his helmet visor.

Arthur had to be sure it was him and not one of Lemak's marines.

The doors slid open, and Dutch came out into the oval compartment of the main bridge.

The first thing he saw were two pilots, who were standing with doomed expressions on their faces. Behind them, his hand with an attached Squall raised, a man in powered armor stood motionless.

"Arthur, stop the jump exit!" Kay shouted.

With a light movement, the armored figure shoved the pilots into their seats. A familiar voice said, "Reverse thrust, now!"

Their steps produced dull echoes in the silence of the bridge. Arthur and Kay stopped half a meter from one another. Motors whined quietly, when Arthur's faceplate slid into the armor.

"We'll drink wine later," Curtis Jr. said.

"I'm happy to see you, kid. Hello."

"You've already seen me."

"That wasn't you."

Tommy came up from behind. Arthur smiled to him.

"How are we going to—" Tommy began.

Something rattled in the still-open lift pod behind him. A chunk of metal with melted edges fell to the floor. Following it, Mohammadi landed with a catlike grace.

Arthur was the only one facing the lift.

He hit Kay, pushing him away from the deadly line of fire that connected him from Mohammadi's raised hand. A blinding beam swept through empty space, licking Arthur's face with hot air.

The Squall activated, filling the lift pod with hard radiation. The lift covering boiled, and sprays of melted metal burst onto the bridge like shrapnel. The navigator, who felt the sizzling hot drops on the back of his head, screamed and leapt from his seat.

But the mechanist was no longer in the lift. She was moving so fast that Kay, who was lying on the floor, had trouble tracking her.

Arthur fired again. He missed again, and Marjan rolled and found herself at his feet. A professional would have simply kicked her, and the armor's servomotors would have made the kick deadly. Arthur started to lower the arm with the Squall.

From a distance of half a meter, the laser beam bored into his armor.

Even a Seraph had its durability limits.

The ceramic armor boiled, a flaming rose that had blossomed on the young man's chest.

Arthur fell at the same moment Kay Dutch jumped to his feet, finding himself next to the mechanist.

Shegal was finishing putting on his armor. The dozen marines Lemak had given him did not instill much confidence in the Clinch Commander. He would have given a lot for a few of the reliable boys from Shield… but it was an unattainable dream.

Lemak's yell in the Seraph's speakers turned into a shriek, "The mechanist is on the bridge! Shegal, quickly! Shegal!.."

Shield's Clinch Commander dashed to the lift shaft. The doors had already been unlocked and removed, so he hit the start button and leapt into the tunnel. His temples ached, as the magnetic field was too strong. Screw it.

He had never trusted mechanists. Fusing one's flesh with electronics never helped one's mental state.

The ancient designers had anticipated this way of using a warship's lift systems when they were developing them. Shegal was thankful for that. The magnetic field was dragging him through the tunnel, flipping him, banging him against the walls, far slower than a lift pod, but still moving towards the main bridge. The humming solenoid coils sparked when he flew past them.

Marines started leaping after him into the lift shaft. They had been smart enough to put together Lemak's order and the Clinch Commander's behavior.