HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS

CHAPTER 37: CORRUPT GOD

"Qwaar Jet – God of Pain and Enslavement, The Torturer."

Religious scribes

Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Fields of Plaz:

The Pride of Hiigara, flagship of the Hiigaran Navy, was badly damaged. Flaming and smouldering in many areas, resource collectors and Workers now hovered around the various wounds, patching the torn armour as best as they could.

Admiral Eefrit noted the progress of the repairs, realising they'd need to move on in spite of the Pride's damaged condition.

"Yuno, we can't delay this any longer," Eefrit sighed, "We need to assist Karan and Kiir right now!"

"You understand we will be at considerable risk?" Yuno reminded, "Why, hull integrity has barely been restored above 40 percent. The Pride cannot afford to enter another battle like this!"

"We can win this battle but lose the war to the Qwaar Jet," Eefrit replied, "Besides, it's not just the Qwaar Jet they're up against now, but all the Neo-Beast forces as well!"

"If that is the case, then I will relay the orders to the fleet," Yuno said, "But remember that we may not get out of this alive."

"I never imagined we'd make it through this far either, but I guess our luck will hold."

"I hope it does."

"Well then, Eefrit to fleet, stand by for immediate hyperspace jump to the nebula outskirts!"

The warning lights came on again, bathing the bridge in red. Everyone was fatigued from coordinating the intense battle they'd just had, but this was the last battle, the battle to end it all. Officer after officer returned to their posts, resuming their jobs with great spirit.

"Hyperspace module fully charged, the rest of the fleet has reported in. Initiating Synchronised Hyperspace Jump!"

The hastily assembled fleet halted in space, the blue windows of the quantum wavefronts opening before each individual ship. To Yuno's surprise, the windows flickered and collapsed rapidly.

"Alert, hyperspace jump failed, an inhibitor field has just enveloped us!" Yuno cried.

"Damn it, where's the source of the field?"

"Sensors are picking up Neo-Beast forces emerging from hyperspace dead ahead," Yuno reported, "Both Progenitor and subverted forces have combined in formation."

"To deal with the Plague ships and Progenitor vessels together will be a difficult task," echoed the collective voice of the T-MAT, "We would advise you to attack with caution."

"I can imagine that," Eefrit replied, "But still, we need to get some help over to Karan and Kiir somehow."

"I can help," Captain Soban's voice came in, "Horizon's Hyperphase Drive is unaffected by inhibitor fields."

"But it's just one ship…"

"Remember that Horizon is no ordinary battlecruiser," Yuno reminded, "It will have to do for now."

"Very well then. Soban, assist Karan and Kiir. And please don't get yourself killed in the process!"

"No worries, I won't go down that easy," Soban reassured, "I'm off, Soban out."

Eefrit watched as the Horizon swerved away and jumped to hyperspeed. He whispered a silent prayer for Soban before turning back to look at the reorganised Neo-Beast forces.

"Alright then. All forces, engage and destroy!"

Onboard the Koshiir Ra, Outskirts of Plaz Nebula:

"The hell," Kiir swore loudly, "You're supposed to be dead dammit!"

"Then you underestimate the prowess of we, the Neo-Beast as you so termed," Kaark answered, "It is all a matter of regeneration, wouldn't you agree?"

"Kiir, whatever it is, we have to stop Kaark now," Karan spoke, "The Neo-Beast forces have jumped away. It's just us and the Qwaar Jet now."

"Ah, Lady Sjet, do you really think you can take me on now, especially in this Ascended Form?"

"Ascended or not, it won't change the outcome," Karan spat, "Kaark, you're going down now!"

"On what grounds? That it is Two Gods versus One?" Kaark replied, chuckling slightly in amusement, "Don't you know that sometimes, numbers don't matter?"

No sooner had Kaark finished did the Qwaar Jet glow brightly, its ion warp turrets powering up one by one. Then a mighty shower of pure ionic energy sprayed forth from each and every turret on the corrupt God. Kiir scarcely had time to put up a distortion field around both Sajuuk and Koshiir Ra. Even then, both ships rocked violently as the ion beams sent ripples coursing through the field.

"Sajuuk damn it," Kiir cursed, "Those ions are way stronger now!"

"Don't worry, we can still bring him down," Karan reassured, "Now, I'll pull the both of us in and out of hyperspace. Attack whenever there's an opportunity!"

"Got it!"

Another shower of ion beams blasted away from the Qwaar Jet, but not before both Sajuuk and Koshiir Ra vanished into hyperspace.

"Hit and run again, Karan?" Kaark laughed, "The same trick doesn't work twice you know…"

The Koshiir Ra began emerging from hyperspace behind the Qwaar Jet, but was assaulted viciously by another salvo of ion beams even before its quantum wavefront had receded completely. If not for the distortion field, Koshiir Ra would most probably have been damaged badly.

"Karan! It's not working!" Kiir cried, "He can track our hyperspace trajectories now!"

Karan didn't manage to reply, for the second salvo whacked the prow of the Sajuuk like a sledgehammer. Despite being shielded by Koshiir Ra, the Sajuuk reeled like it had taken an uppercut to the jaw. Kiir tried to counterattack, but was forced to defend himself when another shower of ion beams was sent his way.

"Karan! Are you alright?" Kiir asked anxiously, even as he struggled to maintain the distortion field around both ships.

"I'm fine, thanks to your shield," Karan replied dazedly, "I must admit I didn't expect such a change in circumstances."

"Well, we need another plan, and we need it now," Kiir spoke urgently as the Koshiir Ra took another salvo of ion beams, its superstructure shuddering under the assault.

"There's nothing I can do, I'm afraid," conceded Karan, "Sajuuk's Phased Cannon Array is offline, and the point defences won't be much good against Qwaar Jet's regenerative ability."

"I don't believe this!" Kiir yelled as more ion beams rained down upon the crackling distortion field. He attempted to counterattack, but Kaark negated his attempts by focusing the ion beams, collapsing the dagger fields before they could even get close.

"Give it up, Hiigaran," Kaark spoke again, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "You two are not winning this."

"Over my dead body, Kaark," Kiir snarled as he yanked the Koshiir Ra into hyperspace with the Grand Core, dropping back to realspace on top of the Qwaar Jet. He suffered the same outcome – Koshiir Ra was knocked back by a shower of ion beams even before it had exited hyperspace completely.

"Look, it doesn't matter what Core you're using," Kaark laughed, "Grand Core or Far Jumper, I can see you all the same."

"Damn you Kaark!" Kiir roared as he channelled his rage into the Koshiir Ra's computers. The ship responded by exploding the distortion field outwards, pushing the ion rain away. Kiir saw his chance and fired off another dagger field, only to have it evaded as the Qwaar Jet leapt to hyperspace. Moments later, Qwaar Jet emerged from hyperspace behind the Koshiir Ra and fired off its Quantum Pulse Cannon. The direct hit pushed Koshiir Ra's stretched shields to their limits, flinging the ship away like a toy.

"Kiir!" Karan cried as she brought the Sajuuk in, firing every point defence weapon there was at the Qwaar Jet. The living ship swallowed up the shots effortlessly, the tiny wounds healing over within seconds. Then Kaark returned fire, sending the Sajuuk reeling.

Both ships quickly stabilised themselves, then moved into formation beside each other.

"Kiir, none of our attacks are having any effect whatsoever," Karan admitted in dismay, "We can't even scratch him now!"

"I know, I'm trying to think of something…" Kiir replied, frowning in deep concentration. Another ionic attack forced Kiir to return his attention to the battle.

"The only thing I can think of now is that we use our Cores to generate secondary distortion fields. If we can keep those ion beams away, we might get a chance to mount a joint attack."

"But how?"

"Synchronise the secondary field frequency with that of the Koshiir Ra's primary fields," Kiir explained, "That ought to strengthen the primary fields enough to keep those ions from knocking us back."

"Whatever you say, commencing field generation now!"

The protective field around both ships shimmered and glowed more brightly as the Grand Core and Three Cores reinforced its power. Kaark took no notice and let loose yet another salvo of ion beams. This time, the ion beams were deflected harmlessly with no noticeable recoil.

"Kiir, your plan's working!"

"Great, now we CHARGE!" Kiir roared as he powered up the Koshiir Ra's drives to full throttle. Karan followed suit, the Sajuuk streaking through space alongside the Guardian. Kaark seemed to realise what they were trying to do, and fired off all the ion warp turrets in one synchronised shot. The beams converged on a single point on the reinforced field, causing a massive explosion of energy that quickly dissipated along the outer edges of the field. Still, both ships continued to approach the Qwaar Jet at high speed.

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Kiir hollered as he generated several dagger fields simultaneously and flung them in Qwaar Jet's direction. Karan too fired off all the Sajuuk's point defences, the bullets and ion pulses flying alongside the dagger fields. The combined attack crashed into the Qwaar Jet, ripping off layers of armour but failing to do any real damage.

"What a pitiful attack," Kaark commented, "You two are just like insects to me, and I will now crush you both!"

Qwaar Jet's hull pulsed and writhed momentarily before spurting a mass of crimson tendrils. The tendrils combined to form huge thick tentacles, which shot towards the hurtling ships.

"By the Gods," Kiir uttered, "Karan, stay clear!"

But it was too late. The Koshiir Ra shuddered violently as the tentacles slammed into the distortion field and wrapped round both ships tightly. Both Gods came to an abrupt halt, paralysed by the mass of organic tentacles now wrapped around the distortion field. If it were not for the field, they would probably have been infected and crushed by the sheer force.

"Now I have you both," Kaark laughed again, "It's only a matter of time before your distortion field fails. Then, I will unite the Three Gods!"

"Oh yeah?" Kiir retorted, pushing the Koshiir Ra's field generators to their limits. The distortion field glowed even more brightly and pushed outwards, but the tentacles merely grew thicker, preventing the field from expanding any further. Karan tried to use Sajuuk's point defences to shoot down the tentacles, but she could not outdamage the tentacles' regenerative capabilities.

"It's no use Kiir, we're trapped," Karan sighed, "There's no way we can free ourselves now."

"Damn it!" Kiir swore as he slammed his fists down on the console before him.

Onboard the Merciless, Fields of Plaz:

Another shudder gripped the bridge of the Merciless, while a flare in a viewscreen signalled the death of a Taiidan battlecruiser. Admiral Ecron wasn't sure if his forces could take the beating for much longer, but they couldn't back out now – not when the rest of the Alliance fleet was also fighting for their lives.

"Admiral, we've got major hull breaches in decks 13 through 15! Drive power down by 30 percent!"

"Seal all bulkheads and divert repair bots to breached areas," Ecron ordered, "What's the status of our fleet?"

"Capital ship forces have been halved, and we're left with a third of our original strike craft complement" replied the sensors officer, "Sir, we can't keep up this attack forever."

"Open communications with the Pride," Ecron replied, raising the communications microphone to his mouth, "Merciless to Pride, come in please."

"Eefrit here, what's the problem Ecron?"

"Our forces are getting badly beaten up, I hope you've got a plan to get through this."

"I'm sorry Ecron, but we're too tied up to help. Just try and hold out as long as you can."

"If that's the case, we'll do our best," replied Ecron in a gruff tone, "No guarantees though."

Ecron closed the channel and gripped his console as the bridge shook under another attack. The joint attack by the Progenitor forces and Neo-Beast ships was hard to fend off, as the Keepers were able to distract the Alliance fleet long enough for the Neo-Beast ships to come in and start infection sprees. A good number of ships had already been lost not to infection, but to excessive use of the Naar Directive.

They could certainly use another quantum cascade explosion.

"Ecron to Engineering, can you prepare to eject the hyperspace module?"

"Engineering here, why do you want to do that for?"

"I was wondering if you could overload the module, then eject it into the Neo-Beast forces."

"It wouldn't work, quantum cascades stop once the power source is removed, came the grim reply, We'd still need a ship to power the module."

"Damn!" Ecron swore, closing the channel. Alarms went off again as an infection beam streaked across the hull of the flagship. In a bid to counter the infection, drive plasma flared through the infected hull, burning off the viral nanites.

"Sir, hull integrity at 38, the next hit'll put us out of commission!"

"Pull us back from the main battle," ordered Ecron, "We can't risk the flagship any further."

Onboard the Koshiir Ra:

Kiir watched the distortion field crackle and shrink slowly around them. The pressure was so great that the field was losing power at an incredible rate. Once the field gave out, they'd become food for the virus.

"Feeling scared now, Hiigaran?" Kaark chuckled, "That barrier of yours is slowly fading away now. Watch it disappear bit by bit…"

"Just shut up," Kiir growled. He'd close the channel if he could, but Kaark had somehow found a way to force the audio channel to stay open.

"Think about it, infection isn't as bad as you think. Once the nanites get under your skin, you'll just feel a slight tingly sensation before losing consciousness. Quite a pleasant way to die, isn't it?"

"I'd kill myself before I suffer that fate," Kiir replied, "There's no way I'm letting you take this body intact."

"But it doesn't look like you've got a choice now, have you? Both Karan and you are trapped, with no hope of escape…"

"Even if you take us both, the Alliance'll finish you off," Kiir said bravely, "I'm sure they're mopping up that fleet of yours even as we speak right now."

"Quite the contrary, Hiigaran. In fact, even if they win, they'll just make excellent fodder for this ship of mine…"

It was then that Kiir felt it – something coming towards them. He tried to dismiss it as a false alarm, but his telepathic power simply roared back. Checking the hyperspace sensors, he found nothing. Yet, his senses told him the object was travelling at trans-light speeds. No ship could do that, except for…

"… And then once I'm done with your Alliance, I'll devour the rest of this Galaxy and move on," Kaark concluded, "So you see, you lose this war completely."

"I don't think so," Kiir replied, a smile forming on his lips.

Kaark suddenly howled in agony as the Horizon dropped out of hyperspeed with weapons blazing.

Onboard the Horizon, Outskirts of Plaz Nebula:

"Direct hit to the Qwaar Jet confirmed," reported the sensors officer, "Sensors registering moderate damage to the outer hull layer."

"Excellent, now let's show the Neo-Beast what we're really capable of," Captain Soban whistled, "Target the tentacles and fire Distortion Cannons!"

The weapons officer punched a few buttons and the ship responded efficiently. The turrets aimed at the massive tentacles and fired the quantum distortion beams. The oscillating rays slammed into the tentacles, the shockwaves and vibrations tearing them apart from inside out. Then the entire organic mass tore apart in a display of splattering remains as it succumbed to the combined stress of the Distortion Cannons and the resisting distortion field. Sajuuk and Koshiir Ra wasted no time, swerving away from the Qwaar Jet.

"Captain Soban," Karan's voice came in over the channel, "Good save there, we owe you one."

"It was my duty," Soban replied, "Now how should we deal with this thing here?"

"Lay suppressing fire with the Distortion Cannons and evade those ions as best as you can," Kiir interjected, "We'll do the rest."

"Then let us bring down Kaark once and for all!" Karan cried, the Sajuuk moving into formation with the Koshiir Ra and Horizon.

The three ships now faced the wounded monster.

It was now or never.