Wrath of Heaven
Chapter 3: If I should die before I wake
Commander Vernzen Elig of the Vendeeni Empire had thought the best days of his illustrious military career were just beginning. As the new second commander of the Vendeeni Invasion Force, it was nothing short of a stroke of luck that not only was the Pangalactic Federation in ruins, but his military rival Commander Biwig, met his unfortunate fate upon the backwater planet of Elicoor.
It was a period of great uncertainty for the Vendeeni citizens, as the very foundation of the once stable empire seemed ready to crumble with the unforeseen threat of the Executioners. Only by sheer luck and delicate planning had the majority of the fleet managed to stay out of the crosshairs of the universal killers. Thus, upon the restructuring of the Vendeeni military in preparation to conquer the lost Pangalactic Federation, Elig was commissioned as second commander in charge of assaulting the front lines of the crippled Earth defense field.
With the few remaining Federation ships still scattered and no apparent leadership, it was all too easy to move their way from Alpha Sector into Tetragene territory. The task was simple; subdue the council of Tetragene before they could launch a proper offensive. Overpower the three-eyed gunners early, and they would be subjected to the new Vendeeni Empire. If, along the way, a few thousand citizens were killed for their unwillingness to cooperate, all the better, for it would show the people of Tetragene how serious the Vendeeni were in their plans of conquest.
The plan, thus far had gone exceptionally well. Elig's own command ship, the Vasvanul, had already engaged the preliminary defense force with minimal damage to the ship. It seemed only hours until the Vendeeni would have a new colony world to call their own, and a solid foothold in Federation Space. That was, however, until the nightmare appeared.
The inky black creature, much like the ancient depictions of the vicious dragon, had suddenly blinked into existence not six light seconds behind the Vasvanul. The moment the readings came in, Elig could not believe the words his science officer said. The Executioners had returned.
With no options available, Elig ordered his fleet to retreat. He had no doubt that the Vendeeni technology was far superior to the extinct Federation's, however he did not wish to test that theory on God's messenger. Yet, hindsight is always the greatest of teachers. Elig's attempted fleeing of the area proved detrimental to his fleet, as three of his six star cruisers were either destroyed or crippled, and the single black entity that caused so much destruction still pursued them.
"Get me a direct line to Vendeeni command, inform them of the situation," the commander ordered, feeling the claws of fate rake the fiber of his soul. He gave an involuntary shudder as he quickly calculated the necessary time and trajectory needed to enter Gravitic Warp. Yet, before he could finish his own computations, his navigator called his immediate attention.
For reasons the officer could not contemplate, the Executioner had fallen back and disappeared from their scans of the area. Breathing a momentary sigh of relief, the commander's heart soon leapt to his throat as the very space before them had shimmered, the monstrous image of the very Executioner that had given chase appearing before their fleeing vessel.
It is said, in space, no one can hear you scream. The thought had been a foreign one to Commander Elig, until this very moment when, half a heart beat after opening his mouth to give emergency orders; his ship was wiped from the galaxy in the pulsating beam of destruction.
-
Cliff groaned in pain as he again picked himself up off the floor. The large being in the red armor arched a single eyebrow in contemplation, as if waiting for the large man to initiate his next assault.
Enraged by the taunting man who had stabbed his partner, Cliff gritted his teeth as he charged forward, throwing punches of such speed that the only visible movements of his arms, were of the shadows of his attacks already thrown. Yet still, the shield that enveloped the man prevented any of Cliff's attempts to batter the man himself.
Spinning quickly to avoid the downward swipe of his opponent's sword, Cliff was met with the full brunt of the man's shield as the unyielding surface slammed painfully into his face and sent him flying once more.
As he landed in a heap on the ground, still struggling to find the strength to stand up, he felt the presence of the being behind him, and launched himself fully at his attacker, attacking him with his quickly fading energy. He wasn't sure how he had gotten through the attacker's shield, but it mattered little. All he could think of was choking the life out of the still smiling face of the man.
-
Fayt and Maria arrived at the Med Deck, eagerly hoping to speak to Cliff regarding what had attacked him while exploring Moonbase. Upon arriving at the shell of what had been the space station, the two quickly made their way to Dr. Leingod's lab, hoping beyond hope that Cliff and Mirage were both still alive. What they saw however, had terrified them.
Mirage lay in a bloody pool; her life's vital fluid flowing freely from her body from the wound in her chest while Cliff lay limply in the far corner, his arm bent an unpleasant angle. Miraculously as it seemed however, the doctor aboard the Diplo assured the two blue-haired weapons that both Mirage and Cliff would be all right. Fortunately, the attacker was not aware of the specifics of Klausian physiology, as the sword thrust in Mirage's chest missed her heart by mere inches, the benefit of being a genetically enhanced species.
Thus, now, the two arrived at the medical center, knowing Cliff and Mirage would still be unconscious from the attack, but wanting to be there to assure themselves more than anything else that they were really going to be okay. Maria had not been able to take her eyes off the two prone forms lying side by side in the twin cots, a deep melancholy forming about the captain's eyes as she stared at the forms of her two closest companions.
Uncertain what to say, Fayt merely rested his hand on her shoulder in a silent show of support. He felt as helpless as Maria, but voicing his own fears for his friends would do nothing to ease her worries, so he kept his silence and hoped his presence would be enough to help her.
By instinct, Maria raised her hand to rest atop Fayt's, giving a slight squeeze in thankful gratitude as she continued her vigil over the Klausian warriors. It was then that the two were startled as Cliff's eyes suddenly opened in frightful confusion. Yet Cliff suddenly waking from his near comatose state was not as surprising as when he leapt from the cot and tackled Fayt, wrapping the thick fingers of his hands around the young man's neck.
Fayt's eyes opened in abject horror as he tried to call Cliff's name to snap the muscular Klausian out of his rage, but to his dismay found he could not even draw in the breath to sustain him. The young man watched as Maria tried to pull the heavy hands away from Fayt's neck, all the while screaming for him to snap out of it. The medical officer on duty however, was more effective, as she initiated three injections that weakened the Klausian until he fell to his side unconscious.
Fayt crawled from under the larger man, coughing horribly as the rushing air that had been deprived of him mere moments prior rushed into his lungs with a burning satisfaction of life. Almost immediately, Maria bent down and cradled Fayt, trying to ease his breathing lest he hyperventilate.
"Are you okay?" Maria asked, dabbing at the trickle of blood that formed at the corner of the young man's mouth. Fayt opened his mouth to answer but when no words came, he just nodded despite the coughing fit that resurfaced.
"That was my fault I'm afraid," the doctor said, struggling to return the now prone form of Cliff back in his bed. "I hadn't thought to warn you of the Klausian Rage," upon getting blank expressions from the two solders, the doctor continued. "When a Klausian is pushed to the edge of their endurance, they basically become nothing less than berserkers. Cliff obviously thought he was fighting his attacker just now."
"Well," Maria said as she carefully helped Fayt to a standing position, "I think we've had enough excitement for today. Doctor, please let me know when either Cliff or Dr. Esteed are awake. I'll need to find out exactly what happened on Moonbase." And with that, she led the struggling young man from the room.
-
The tall being stood amidst the shadows of the overhanging trees, gazing out across the grassy plains that extended beyond his vision from his vantage point. He stood in silent contemplation, never acknowledging the presence of his colleague until the other being was within speaking distance.
"So did it go as planned?" he asked, still focusing his eyes upon the beauty that surrounded him.
"Was there ever any doubt?" his companion spoke; walking silently despite the large, bulky armor he wore.
"Certainly not from me my dear friend," the first man replied, doing little to hide the mockery in his voice. "However, you arrived later than expected. Were there unforeseen difficulties in such a simple task?"
"I don't need your arrogant chiding Cyril," the second proclaimed, turning his eyes towards the hidden figure as he gritted his teeth at the sardonic grin his colleague wore. "There was a two-man search team that came to that facility. It was simple enough to deal with them, but I hadn't had enough fun. You yourself should know of what I speak, we have, all of us, been asleep for too many years."
"Indeed I do understand Berle," the man named Cyril said in honest sympathy, yet the sardonic smile never parted from his face. "However, we can ill afford to indulge ourselves on our own pleasures. We have a schedule that must be maintained. Despite my understanding of the situation however, your delay threatens that timeline."
"I don't need your lecturing. I fully understand our task and am as committed to it as you. My delay has not hindered our schedule."
"Very well then my friend, I concede," Cyril replied once more before moving from the shadow of the tree. "Come, we must brief Indalecio. He will want to know of the information you've gathered from the computers."
"Let me ask you Cyril, do you truly believe the plan will work?"
"I believe so, yes. Provided you collected the data necessary from that lab. So tell me, why the sudden curiosity in this matter dear Berle?"
"Nothing in particular, and if it will achieve our goals, then I am in favor of it."
"I had no reservations on the matter. Now come, we should not keep Indalecio waiting."
-
Maria walked the decks of the Diplo, worriedly searching the whereabouts of her blue haired companion until she entered the observation deck, his lean frame leaning against the porthole as he gazed into the endless blackness of space. Sighing with reserved relief, the captain entered the room and joined him in his visual exploration with but a few easy strides. Keeping her face focused on the infinite void before them, she worriedly watched her friend out of the corner of her eye.
"Are you okay Fayt?" she asked when the silence between them became more than she liked.
A simple nod was her answer as he turned to face the woman. "I just keep forgetting sometimes how strong Cliff is," he said, smiling slightly despite the scratchy voice.
"Well, deep down he must have known it was you or else you'd be dead."
"Yeah, I figured that too," the young man said, gazing once more into the distance of space.
"So, what's on your mind?"
Shrugging slightly, the blue-haired sword wielder turned again to speak to the young woman by his side. "Just thinking. It worries me that something or someone not only manhandled both Mirage and Cliff, but also destroyed that entire station. What could they have been after that was so important to kill all those people for?"
"I would say they were after Dr. Leingod's research," Maria replied, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned against the wall. "It was fortunate that Cliff and Mirage were there though, because they saved the life of Dr. Esteed."
"Right," Fayt responded, his eyes growing large in forgotten remembrance. "We need to tell Sophia her father's here…" But the shaking of Maria's head drew his statement to an abrupt halt.
"It would do her no good knowing that now. Besides, would you want to know your father was attacked and near death? What if the worse should happen? It'd be kinder for her not to know until he recovers. We owe her that much."
"Oh…right." The young responded, scratching the back of his head nervously at the reality he had overlooked. "So, anyway, what are we going to do now?"
"In his report before he was attacked, Cliff mentioned trace amounts of Quadradic Energy present in the damaged haul. We'll have to forego our trip to Elicoor II for the time being and head to Expel. We need to see what they know regarding this attack."
"Sounds like a plan," Fayt responded, however the shadow of uncertainty had crept into his creaky voice as he turned again to stare out the porthole.
Maria sighed once more as she turned to leave the young man in his own, private musings. At times, she could not help but think that light years that existed between stars represented the distance between the two of them. And for her knowledge, she had not the slightest idea how to bridge that gap.
-To be continued
A/N: Nothing much in this chapter, just primarily setting the stage. Things will start happening quicker after this. Of course, you now have confirmation that I have brought back the Ten Wisemen. Why they were recreated? That's for another chapter. Heh. Remember, Comments are critiques are always welcomed.
