HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS

CHAPTER 36: ONEROUS BATTLE

"The Three Gods were not made equal."

Koshiir Ra

Onboard the Ascension, Northern Outer Rim:

"Hyperspace exit successful, we have arrived at the Northern Outer Rim."

"Any hostiles within range?" General Tora asked nervously, "Are we perfectly safe?"

"We are alone, General," replied the sensors officer, "There's no hostile vessel within a light year of our position."

"Sir, our communications array is picking up tremendous signal activity further north," the communications officer reported, "It's too weak for us to determine an exact location, but it appears to be one heck of a battle."

"A battle?" Tora considered, "I wonder if this battle would have anything to do with the Hiigarans?"

"It may be possible, or it could be another trap laid by the entity."

"If it is another trap, we will fight our way through it," Tora decided, "After all, it's only a matter of time before we get ourselves into a battle we can't run from. Get us closer to that battle but keep us at maximum observation range."

Onboard the Sajuuk, Outskirts of Plaz Nebula:

The Phased Cannon Array ripped into the side of the Qwaar Jet as Karan made the pre-emptive strike. Her sudden forced jump had most likely surprised Kaark, and so she grasped the resulting opportunity as soon as it had appeared.

The organic armor of the infected vessel buckled under the sheer power of the Array, but Kaark didn't stick around for long. The Qwaar Jet quickly powered up its thrusters, shifting the ship out of the line of fire of the Sajuuk's beam. As soon as the Array had powered down, the Qwaar Jet fought back with a salvo of ion beams. The beams of ionic energy bent around through space and slammed into the Sajuuk, sending ripples through the protective energy shields.

Karan felt the Sajuuk rock as the ion beams raked continuously across its shielded hull. Wasting no time, she put her next plan into action. The Sajuuk blinked into hyperspace, reappearing right behind the Qwaar Jet. This time, the Sajuuk's point defences fired away at the Qwaar Jet, but failed to do any real damage due to the energy shields that Kaark had put up in the nick of time.

Kaark's response was quicker this time, retargeting the ion warp turrets at the enemy behind. The ion beams bent around once again and slashed into the shielded prow of the Sajuuk. Karan struggled to maintain a good aim as the vermillion energy built up once more. Sensing the danger, Qwaar Jet banked sharply to the right, the Phased Cannon blast missing its hull by mere metres.

"Nice try Karan, but if that's all you're capable of, I do assure you that defeat is imminent," Kaark mocked as he sent another ion salvo at the Sajuuk.

"Defeat? Referring to yourself now, aren't you?" Karan replied sarcastically as she jumped into hyperspace once again. Taking the Qwaar Jet head-on was suicide – it had far greater coverage and firepower than the Sajuuk, so the only way was to hit and run using Sajuuk's superior hyperspacing capabilities.

Dropping out of hyperspace, Karan surprised Kaark once again by turning up outside his ship's firing arc. Before he could begin retargeting, another round of nanite and ion pulses had shaved off a good deal of the Qwaar Jet's energy shields. By the time he had retargeted, the Sajuuk had entered hyperspace once again, the ion beams slashing harmlessly through empty space.

"Damn you Karan," Kaark fumed, "But let's see what you'll do once you're out of quantum juice."

"Don't worry, I have more than enough power to repeat this indefinitely," Karan lied as she returned to realspace and fired the Phased Cannon Array, achieving a partial hit. Kaark was right – she could only keep jumping for so many times. Once the Cores were drained, she'd have no choice but to fight the Qwaar Jet directly in a duel that Sajuuk would most likely lose.

Karan knew she had to finish the Qwaar Jet quickly, so she hastily unleashed another round of point defences into the enemy God before jumping. This time, the ion beams caught the Sajuuk mere moments before it entered hyperspace, sending shield power into the yellow.

"By Kharak, I can't get too careless now," Karan scolded herself as she prepared for her next attack.

Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Fields of Plaz:

"Eefrit, the left flank is collapsing," Yuno reported, "The Neo-Beast have achieved fighter superiority in that area."

"We'll have to risk it then," Eefrit replied as he reconsidered his options, "Reassign the fighters defending the rear to the left flank."

"But Eefrit, that will leave the carriers and the Legacy completely exposed!"

"The Neo-Beast haven't touched the rear yet, so they're all safe for now," Eefrit explained, "Besides, if the left flank collapses, the Neo-Beast forces would be able to pour through the hole and mount a direct offensive on our centre forces!"

"Very well then, I shall relay the orders accordingly," Yuno responded as she updated the mission data. Within moments, the fighters and corvettes in the rear rushed forward to cover the faltering left flank from the Neo-Beast strike craft.

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Yuno said flatly, "While their capital ships can't reach the rear for now, they can easily send in fighter squadrons to attack the Legacy and carriers! I seriously doubt if the Iron Grip's weapons are designed for such an attack."

"Don't worry, remember that the Iron Grip's gravity weapon can be reconfigured," Eefrit reassured, "You can just relax, Iron Grip's more than capable of fending off a fighter rush. By the way, how are the T-MAT doing?"

"The T-MAT fleet is engaging the Progenitor forces with few casualties. They have been able to evade the Progenitor ships' attacks so far, it seems."

"That's a relief to hear," Eefrit commented, "If only Koshiir Ra could be of more help…"

When Koshiir Ra's distortion field power had halved, it didn't just allow half of the Neo-Beast's fire power to get through, but also allowed super capital vessels to smash through with minimal hull damage. Fighters and other smaller Neo-Beast ships would then follow in the rear, taking advantage of the temporary forced breach in the field.

The result was that Neo-Beast fighters could now swarm the Alliance fleet, forcing Alliance strike craft to switch to defensive tactics. Their initial attacking advantage had been overridden as a result.

Another multitude of explosions flashed around the left flank as fighters from both sides erupted in flames. Eefrit prayed silently for a miracle.

Onboard the Horizon, Fields of Plaz:

"Get back here this instant!" Elohim yelled over the channel, "Horizon's repairs are not done yet!"

"Helm, set course for the main battle," Soban ordered, ignoring Elohim completely.

"Captain Soban! Turn back now or…"

Elohim was cut off abruptly as Soban closed the channel. The rest of the crew grinned at Soban, who shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Oh well, full power to distortion fields, and take us to full throttle."

The helm officer nodded and tapped a few buttons. Horizon complied immediately and leapt forward at maximum speed. All around the battlecruiser, Alliance pilots paused momentarily to gawk in amazement at the showcase of technology.

When the battlecruiser reached the frontlines, Alliance forces cheered as the Horizon fired off its rapid-fire ion cannons and pulse cannons, vaporising any Neo-Beast strike craft or frigate that dared to approach it.

"Captain, the Neo-Beast are responding to our presence," an officer reported, "Picking up several ships of heavy cruiser class on intercept course."

"No problem. Prepare to fire the Distortion Cannons on my mark!"

There were a total of seven heavy cruiser class assault vessels approaching the Horizon. All were bristling with heavy weapons that could easily take out frigates with ease. An ordinary battlecruiser would have thought twice before engaging such a squadron.

But Horizon was no ordinary battlecruiser. The Distortion Cannons on the top and bottom of the ship glowed a brilliant blue before firing off the oscillating beams of pure quantum energy. The distortion beams slammed into two heavy cruisers, shattering their hulls in a matter of seconds. Before the beams dissipated from energy depletion, the Horizon retargeted another two cruisers quickly, crippling both vessels' fighting capabilities.

"Battle report," Soban requested as the cannons began recharging for another blast.

"Two cruisers destroyed, another two disabled," came the reply, "The remaining three cruisers are opening fire, brace for impact."

Captain Soban held onto his chair in preparation for the attack. To his surprise, the Horizon's distortion fields absorbed the blasts with scarcely a vibration.

"Sir, distortion field is holding at 95 percent, Distortion Cannons are fully recharged."

"Alright, finish the remaining cruisers!"

The oscillating beams leapt from the Horizon again and touched two of the remaining cruisers. As the beam sent vibrations into their victims' hulls, the superstructure failed and gave way, sending the ships to a fiery end as their reactors blew. The last cruiser tried to retreat, but met a similar end as the beams retargeted and focused fire on its engines.

"Kiir's design is amazing," Soban commented, "I can't wait for the Hiigaran Navy to start upgrading to this new chassis."

Soban barked another order and the Hyperphase Drive kicked in, sending the Horizon straight into the heart of the Neo-Beast fleet.

Onboard the Stargazer, Fields of Plaz:

"Your Majesty, the Neo-Beast is mounting a renewed offensive on the left flank," reported a general, "Hiigaran and Taiidan forces are having trouble holding off the attack."

"Then reassign our fleet to engage the enemy," Queen Dosis replied, "We have stayed back long enough."

"My Queen, that would not be wise. Why, our ships are not designed for such an…"

"The fact is that our allies need more than sensor assistance right now, and they will get it," Dosis countered decisively, "Relay the orders."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Queen Dosis turned back to the sensors screen. It was not a pretty sight – the Neo-Beast had discovered the weakness in the left flank and were diverting a large portion of their forces to strike at that point. Hiigaran Acolyte IIs were still struggling for fighter superiority and were unable to lend help to the stricken capital ships.

Hopefully, their presence would make a difference.

The Nalthoran frigates came within range and fired their mass drivers and light ion cannons in a bid to draw the Neo-Beast away from the Alliance defenders. The Neo-Beast responded with a flurry of firepower, pummelling dozens of Nalthoran frigates to bits within seconds. Dosis' heart ached when she saw the sacrifice, but kept her composure.

The Nalthoran distraction served its purpose, allowing the Hiigaran and Taiidan forces an opportunity to strike back. Another storm of ion beams and plasma bolts rained onto the Neo-Beast forces, which now struggled to fight a battle on two fronts.

Then the sensors started beeping wildly as an immediate danger was detected.

"My Queen, an infected Taiidan battlecruiser is advancing towards our position!"

"Full evasive manoeuvres," Dosis replied calmly, "Order our remaining capital ships to form a defensive wall."

The Stargazer inched slowly away from the looming battlecruiser, whose path was blocked by a wall of Nalthoran frigates and destroyers. The Nalthoran ships tried desperately to stop the attack, firing all their weapons in a bid to disable the assault vessel. The battlecruiser simply fired its Energy Burst Cannon, shredding the frigates to pieces and knocking the destroyers out of its way.

Now the battlecruiser was mere kilometres from the fleeing Stargazer. The remaining Nalthoran destroyers and frigates peppered its outer hull with mass drivers and light energy weapons, barely scratching its armor.

Then another energy burst slammed into the Stargazer. Queen Dosis held on for dear life as the flagship shuddered under the assault. The bridge lights flickered and were replaced by dim emergency lighting.

"What's going on?" Dosis demanded as the officers around her struggled to regain control.

"Your Majesty, that last hit disabled our drives and caused massive feedback in our electrical systems," reported an officer, "We're dead in space!"

The ship shook again as the battlecruiser pummelled the Stargazer without mercy. Their situation was perilous now, for another two infected heavy destroyers had joined the battlecruiser in ripping the Nalthoran flagship apart slowly. The rest of the Alliance forces were too tied up to help.

Then the unthinkable happened. A spike protruding from the front of the Neo-Beast battlecruiser glowed brightly and fired a multi-pronged infection beam at the Stargazer. The hull was hit in several places and the infection nanites began working instantly, burrowing into the metal and multiplying rapidly.

"My Queen, we've been hit by an infection beam!" cried the general, "Please get to the escape pod right away!"

"I will not leave this ship," Dosis declared, "What is the status of our hyperspace module?"

"Hyperspace module is fully charged."

"Jump us into the centre of the Neo-Beast forces," Queen Dosis ordered, "Stand by to initiate quantum cascade reaction!"

"But my Queen, you must live…"

"If I leave by escape pod, there will be no time to jump before the virus overruns all control," Dosis countered, "Now by order of your Queen, make the jump now!"

The general paused for a moment, then saluted his brave queen smartly. He tapped a few more buttons and sent the Stargazer into hyperspace. Moments later, they emerged in the centre of the Neo-Beast fleet and were beset from all directions.

"Emergency alert, control lost in decks 4 through 13, bridge subversion in 45 seconds," chirped the computer.

"Safety protocols overridden, diverting all power to hyperspace module now," reported the general, "Hyperspace module overloading, quantum cascade reaction in 30 seconds!"

"This is Queen Dosis to all Nalthoran forces," Dosis announced in a channel, "It has been my pleasure in serving Nalthora. Do not despair at my death, for the Stargazer cannot be saved. But when we go, we shall take the Neo-Beast with us!"

The channel erupted in an uproar as the rest of the Nalthoran fleet realised what Dosis was up to. Numerous commanders and officers transmitted to the flagship, beseeching the Queen to escape and preserve herself. Dosis simply ignored all their requests and shut the channel down.

"Quantum cascade in 15 seconds," the computer dutifully mentioned.

The rest of the bridge stopped what they were doing and stood smartly in salute. Dosis gazed at the glowing nebula, watching the Neo-Beast fire at them from all directions.

"Sorry Karan, looks like I won't get to try out those Core treatments of yours," Dosis whispered, "Goodbye."

"Hyperspace module critical, quantum cascade imminent."

Onboard the Horizon:

"Captain, the Nalthoran flagship just hypered into the centre of the Neo-Beast fleet!" the sensors officer cried frantically.

"The hell is Dosis doing!" Soban yelled as he opened a channel, "Soban to Dosis, what are you doing?"

"It's no use Captain, they're blocking all incoming transmissions," replied the communications officer, "It seems that the ship is being taken over by an infection."

"Sensors are picking up an energy spike from the Stargazer, their hyperspace module is going critical!"

Before anyone could react, the Stargazer disappeared in a mind-mangling explosion of quantum energy. The blue shockwave of the explosion reverberated outwards, shredding every ship that stood before it.

"Captain, sensors indicate we're on the outskirts of the projected maximum shockwave radius!"

"Get us out of here!" Soban roared, "Helm, emergency hyperspeed microjump now!"

The Horizon swerved around and blinked to hyperspeed moments before the shockwave reached it. The great distance between Horizon and Stargazer meant that the shockwave would have lost much of its power, but Soban wasn't willing to take any risks,

The quantum cascade explosion continued to burn in space, the flames spiralling outwards and following the shockwave. The power it packed would have put a Siege Cannon to shame. Any ships that survived the shockwave were vaporised by the intense inferno.

Horizon dropped out of hyperspeed once it reached the frontline of the Alliance fleet. Soban looked back and saw the cataclysmic explosion finally burning itself out. He still couldn't believe Dosis' decision to blow up the Stargazer and herself in such a big way. Nonetheless, he respected her courage in making such a valiant sacrifice.

He stood smartly and saluted the dissipating explosion. The rest of his crew did the same in a mark of respect for the fallen Queen.

Onboard the Pride of Hiigara:

"By the Gods," Eefrit uttered softly as he watched the explosion dissipate in the void of space, "Queen Dosis…"

"I never expected the Queen to become a martyr," Yuno spoke, still in a shock over what she had seen on the sensors.

"Her sacrifice will not be in vain," Eefrit said as he returned his attention to the battle at hand, "The destruction of the Stargazer gutted a considerable number of Neo-Beast ships."

"Indeed, sensors indicate the Neo-Beast are in a disarray over the explosion," Yuno reported, "Now would be the right time to retaliate."

"Then let's go kick some Neo-Beast butt!" Eefrit roared as he barked his orders to the fleet.

Onboard the Sajuuk:

Karan heard Dosis' last words before the Stargazer was lost. Her eyes brimmed with tears at the courageous act of the Nalthoran Queen.

"My my Karan, it seems your ally just perished in battle," Kaark remarked, "How unfortunate…"

"Make no mistake, Kaark," Karan retorted angrily, "That doesn't change my determination to destroy you and your minions!"

"Such harsh words… But look at yourself, do you seriously think that you can win me with the Sajuuk? As far as I know, Sajuuk was not built for war…"

"Sajuuk defeated your ship once!" Karan barked.

"Ah yes, of course, that Battle of Karos," Kaark noted, "But remember that Qwaar Jet was in a rather inconvenient position. Lugging around so many tonnes of extra superstructure was bound to have an effect on its combat ability…"

"You will be defeated!" Karan almost screamed as she returned the ship to realspace and fired the Phased Cannon Array again. The vermillion beam cut straight into one of the Qwaar Jet's focusing arrays, shattering the fragile structure completely. Kaark swore and retaliated, mustering all the ionic energy he could and sending all the beams into a focused point on the Sajuuk's prow shields.

The ship's shields crackled and finally gave, exposing the Sajuuk's hull to the focused might of what must have been at least a hundred rapid-fire ion beams. The vessel shuddered violently and swerved away under the force. Almost immediately, damage report dialogs began flooding Karan's consciousness.

"What a pity, my dear Karan," Kaark mocked as he moved in for the kill, "There goes your precious Phased Cannon Array. Looks like it will be YOU, who will be defeated."

But she was not defeated yet. Salvaging whatever power there was left in the badly-damaged Sajuuk, she pulled the mighty vessel into hyperspace once again. The ship emerged sluggishly from hyperspace behind the Qwaar Jet and she forced the damaged Phased Cannon Array to fire again.

"Warning, Phased Cannon Array has suffered moderate damage and cannot be activated."

"Override safety protocols and fire!" Karan ordered.

The computers complied and the vermillion beam lashed forward once again, cutting deeply into the hull of the Qwaar Jet. Karan heard Kaark scream in agony and pushed more power into the Array. However, the beam flickered and died as the Array overloaded in a series of small explosions.

"Alert, Phased Cannon Array critically damaged," the computer reported.

"Damn it!" Karan yelled as she saw the helplessness of the situation. She had lost her trump card, the Phased Cannon Array. It was the only weapon the Sajuuk had that was effective against the Qwaar Jet. Now, she had no Core power left and no more shields. All she could do now was watch helplessly as the Qwaar Jet turned around to face her crippled vessel.

"Game over, Karan," Kaark whistled as he aimed the Qwaar Jet at the smouldering Sajuuk. The crimson glow of the infection beam built up as it prepared to fire. Karan closed her eyes and braced herself, preparing for the assimilation…

"Don't give up!"

Karan opened her eyes with a start when Kiir's voice echoed in her mind. Then she saw the infection beam flare forward and halt halfway, stopped by a protective distortion field. She checked the sensors and saw the Koshiir Ra emerging from hyperspace beside the Sajuuk.

Onboard the Koshiir Ra, Outskirts of Plaz Nebula:

"Kiir Sjet!" Karan exclaimed, "What were you thinking? You just left the Alliance completely exposed!"

"No worries Karan," Kiir replied, "Eefrit's got that covered. The blast from the Stargazer took out enough Neo-Beast ships for us to mount a counteroffensive. We've got the upper hand back now."

"By Kharak," Karan uttered in disbelief, "Queen Dosis, thank you…"

"Yeah, if it were not for her…" Kiir said, his voice trailing off as he turned his attention to the Qwaar Jet, "Now we just have to deal with this planet-destroying piece of scum."

"You overestimate yourself, Hiigaran," Kaark spoke in fury, annoyed by the sudden intervention of the Koshiir Ra, "Now I will take pleasure in infecting both your ship and Karan's."

"Sorry to burst your bubble then," Kiir replied determinedly, "Your planet-destroying quest stops right here, right now!"

Kaark swore and unleashed another salvo of ion beams at the Koshiir Ra. The attack was in vain as the distortion field deflected every last shot.

"Now it's my turn!" Kiir yelled as he powered up Koshiir Ra for a fight to the finish. The distortion field changed shape to become an angular dagger, hurtling at high speed towards the Qwaar Jet. The surprised Kaark was barely able to evade, and lost another focusing array.

"Bet you didn't expect the Guardian to be used as a weapon, huh?" Kiir scowled as he plunged distortion field after distortion field at the Qwaar Jet. However, the Qwaar Jet managed to evade every last attack as it used its own hyperspace module to generate a counter field to block the Koshiir Ra's attacks.

"Most ingenious idea, Hiigaran," Kaark commented, "But your playtime ends here."

Qwaar Jet swerved around and aimed directly at the Koshiir Ra, its main weapon glowing with increasing brilliance. Kiir realised what was going on and quickly retracted the distortion fields, wrapping the Koshiir Ra in a protective bubble as the Quantum Pulse Cannon fired. The quantum energy slammed into the distortion field, spreading outwards in harmless shockwaves as the field absorbed the full force of the blast.

Kiir struck back, sending more distortion fields at the Qwaar Jet. However, the distortion fields sliced through empty space as the Qwaar Jet jumped away. The corrupt God emerged right behind him, and the ion beams slashed away at the Koshiir Ra's rear field.

The ship shook as Kiir swerved to evade the ions, but to no avail. The ion beams simply followed him wherever he went, slashing away continuously at the distortion field. Then the ship went into a spiral plunge as another quantum pulse slammed into it.

Swearing and cursing loudly, Kiir was now frustrated at the fact that Koshiir Ra had no real weapons equipped. Then he heard Kaark scream in pain again as the Sajuuk glided in, strafing the Qwaar Jet with its point defences as it flew by.

"Kiir, now!"

Kiir complied instantly, sending a well-aimed quantum distortion flying towards the Qwaar Jet. The angular distortion field impaled the front of the Qwaar Jet, rending its cannon to shreds and splitting open its superstructure. Karan finished the job, sending another salvo of nanite beams and ion pulses into the exposed, vulnerable interior.

A wail of unimaginable agony echoed across the frequencies as Kaark felt his ship being torn apart. That was the problem of being the core mind of an organic neural network – being one with the ship brought up the issue of experiencing the ship's pain.

The scream cut off suddenly and the frequencies fell silent. Cautiously, Kiir withdrew the distortion field and moved into position beside the Sajuuk.

"Have we done it?" Karan asked with uncertainty in her voice.

"I don't know, it seems that we have…" Kiir replied.

Then the channel erupted with activity as Eefrit opened communications.

"Karan! Kiir! The Neo-Beast and Progenitor fleet just broke off the attack and entered hyperspace! They're headed for your position!"

"What?" Kiir exclaimed when he heard Eefrit's words. Sure enough, the ship's sensors began going crazy as the combined might of the Neo-Beast emerged from realspace before them.

"Kiir, prepare for battle!" Karan ordered as she powered up the Sajuuk's point defences once more. Kiir prepared to do the same, but was stunned when he saw what the enemy ships were doing.

The infected Progenitor and Neo-Beast ships were ignoring them, heading straight for the shattered structure of the Qwaar Jet. As the infected ships approached the Qwaar Jet, crimson tendrils shot out from both Qwaar Jet and the infected ships, entangling in a seething mass of techno-organic growth. It didn't take long for Kiir to realise what was going on.

"By the Gods, the ships are merging with the Qwaar Jet!" Kiir exclaimed, "The ship's getting repaired!"

"Not just repaired, silly Hiigaran," Kaark's voice returned, stronger than ever, "This is the final evolution, and Qwaar Jet will ascend!"

Kiir tried to stop the merging, sending more angular distortion fields hurtling towards the rapidly-recovering Qwaar Jet. Karan joined in, blasting away with the Sajuuk's point defences. All their shots were blocked by Keepers and other infected capital ships swarming around the Qwaar Jet in a protective barrier of metal. Soon, the mass of ships rearranged themselves into a massive formation around the Qwaar Jet, revealing the monster within.

Qwaar Jet was fully repaired, and twice its original size. Instead of four quantum focusing arrays, the new ship now sported eight, protected by more than twice its original complement of ion warp turrets. The hull was no longer Progenitor metal covered by tendrils of the plague, but a pulsating organic mass of metallic flesh.

Karan and Kiir were horrified.

"Behold, my dear friends, Kaark began, Behold the true face of the Qwaar Jet!"