Chapter 9; Gates of hell

Wind.

Wind and sand.

The world around the Ashoka was a raging maelstrom of incomprehensibly potent forces. They were now at heart of the storm, where its winds blew strongest. In ancient days storms like this one had commanded dread and awe, the glory of Sajuuk`s works made manifest for all to see. Even after the first crude sand skiffs that utilized such storms had been created, there had remained a cautious respect for the power of this thing of nature. Only those who showed deference to the wonders of nature that Sajuuk had forged could survive and perhaps benefit. Those who were disrespectful would attain only death. Khagaan could only marvel this majestic phenomenon, her mind filled with quiet awe. In the old days sand sailors had always skirted the edges of the seasonal storms, taking great pains to avoid getting too close. It would have been pure insanity in those days to seek to approach the core of the storm as the Ashoka had done now, spelling certain doom to anyone stupid enough to attempt it. And yet they were here, alive and unharmed, their fragile frames protected by the technological miracle they had designed to match the miracle of nature. Khagaan could not quite decide how she felt about that. On one hand she felt a sense of accomplishment, having done something that her ancestors could never have done. Such capabilities were the only reason that her kiith were able to live in the deep deserts, that much was fact. Yet her upbringing had taught her that it was not the place of any kiith to defy or seek to tame the creations of Sajuuk. Such objectives could easily lead to vanity and attempts to usurp the place Sajuuk had ordained for all things in the structures of existence, a mad concept that could only be brought about by the greatest arrogance. It had been the original failing of her people, so long ago and so far away that almost no texts spoke of it. To know that you were wholly dependent of something that your faith taught you should despise was the strangest feeling.

The fact that they were alive did not mean that they were completely unaffected. Sensors and communication systems continued to be severely reduced, and in fact they had not been in contact with the Renza or any other carrier of their formation for some time. Even local communications between the units of the Ashoka's fleet were sketchy, static and signal loss making it difficult to discern what was being reported. Kennae was forced to ask her counterparts in the field to repeat themselves all the time it seemed. The sandstorm also meant that they couldn't see anything in front of them, despite the floodlights Khagaan had illuminating the surrounding terrain. Their onboard sensors were of no use either, plagued as they were by disturbance and ghost signals made by nonexistent ships. It was impossible to say where their enemies might be hidden, or indeed if their enemy was anywhere in the vicinity. Currently Khagaan had a screen of sentries surrounding the carrier, the bulk of her fleet advancing as a single formation while a smaller force was scouting the terrain ahead of them. She would have preferred to have her air units perform reconnaissance as well, but the weather conditions made this utterly impossible. This also meant that in the event of battle her units would have no air support, which was something else she was not very fond of in this situation. Without adequate support options available, even the simplest of engagements could turn into an ugly bloodbath.

Perhaps it was a mixed blessing that it was increasingly starting to seem that there was nothing to fight here.

"There are definitely signs of battle here." Harkath reported from his station.

"And you are certain that these battle signs are recent?" Khagaan asked, remembering an earlier battle that had taken place here several years ago.

"As certain as is possible under the current circumstances, Lady-Protector." Harkath answered. "Storm conditions continue to impede our sensor systems, but there are clear indications of heavy weapons fire in the surrounding terrain." He continued.

"Our scouts are also reporting a considerable number of wrecks in the area, ours and those of the enemy. Many of these seem too intact to be anything but recent origin." Kennae remarked from her station.

"So the Kapisi at least was here, just as we thought." Khagaan said thoughtfully. "But are they here still here? That's what we must figure out." She told herself. "Are there any indications that there are still active enemy units in the field?" She asked.

"Not that I can tell." Harkath and Kennae said in unison, then shot surprised glances at each other.

"Understood." Khagaan said simply, ignoring the moment. "Jiire, take us further into the valley, slow and steady. R'kath, the full weapons readiness status is to remain in effect until further notice. Kennae, inform our fleet to continue their advance. All personnel are to continue to man their battlestations until we can ascertain that the area is secure."

The carrier lurched slightly as its engines powered up again and they resumed their advance. Around them the other fleet units swarmed along protectively, ready to destroy anything that tried to threaten the carrier or the rest of the fleet. Her salvagers were moving amidst the wreckage of the battle that had raged there along with a few military units for protection, collecting what resources they could as well as looking for Gaalsien survivors. With the weather being what it was, the chance of there being survivors out there were low, but most of the Gaalsien Khagaan knew would much rather cling to a slim hope rather than abandon their own to die because of negligence. The members of one's kiith were family, and family was never to be forsaken.

"Our scanner are now detecting the wreckage of the Ifriit-Naabal command carrier." Harkath announced after a few moments. As it happened, the carrier wreck would now have been within visual range if not for the giant dune that was blocking their view. Some of the fleet units of the Ashoka advanced beyond this dune, delivering grainy video footage of the enormous wreck of the enemy carrier, half-buried in the sand Harkath looked at his screen, adjusting the settings of his instrumentation repeatedly. "It would seem that this was a major combat zone in the battle that took place here. There are numerous allied and enemy vehicle wrecks in the area before us." He said finally.

"Curious, I wonder why they chose to focus their attentions here." Arraesh wondered aloud.

"Something in the Ifriit-Naabal maybe?" Khagaan offered.

"That might be it, it's not like there is anything else interesting around here." Arraes agreed. "Should we take a look?" he then asked.

"Perhaps, but not before we have a concrete reason to do so. I don't want to send people into a potentially unstable wreck in the middle of a class five sandstorm unless we know exactly what we stand to gain."

Khagaan turned to address Harkath and Kennae again: "Is there any sign of the production cruiser that was supposed to be here?"

"I have heard nothing but static on the channels assigned to the production cruiser or its associated units. That might not mean as much under these circumstances as it might otherwise." Kennae replied. "Also I think I should mention that I have found no indications of another communications node in the area."

"So unless we find some clue around here, we have no idea where the Kapisi might have gone." Khagaan sighed. "Guardian Harkath, do you have anything to add to that?"

"Only that there seems to be nothing else functional out there besides us and ours according to my scanners. Sandstorm conditions would also have eradicated any obvious signs of the Kapisi's passage through the area." Harkath stated in reply.

"Damn" Khagaan cursed. "Without a new lead were stuck."

"I'm afraid so." Arraesh confirmed with regret in his voice.

Khagaan's dark musings were interrupted by the voice of Harkath: "What on Kharak…? Lady-Protector, I'm picking up a faint energy signature among one of the wrecks. It's very faint… most likely an emergency power source."

"Can you pinpoint the source?" Khagaan asked, suddenly animated.

"I seems to be coming from deeper in the region, somewhere beyond the Ifriit-Naabal's location, but that's all I can say reliably for the moment." Harkath replied.

"There seems to be a radio signal emanating somewhere out there in the same region. Repeating pattern… garbled…trying to compensate for interference." Kennae added. "It seems to be an SOS transmission. The repeating pattern suggests an automated system." She added after a few moments of listening to her headset.

"Or an attempt to make sure that the signals gets through no matter what." Arraesh offered.

"This signal, is it friendly or hostile?" Khagaan asked.

"IFF recognition systems are still processing." Kennae replied. "All right, I'm getting the data now. IFF reads as… friendly. It's one of ours." she soon continued.

"So there is a chance of survivors or valuable information being out there?" Khagaan wondered aloud.

"Could be." Arraesh agreed. "It could also be a trap."

Khagaan nodded severely. "With the situation being what it is, I think that's a risk we must take. Kennae, relay the order to deploy a recovery team with a security escort. Orders are to investigate the source if that signal while practicing extreme caution."

Very soon after that they were watching video footage relayed by the units that had been sent, observing the wreckage of the destroyed production cruiser that those units discovered.

"I'm getting some new readings sent by the units on the field." Harkath said as they watched. "The production cruiser has been blasted to pieces. There are signs of heavy weapons fire, most likely caused by railguns. The stuff we're seeing is mostly just twisted metal, no functioning electronics, computers or power sources present except for the power signature we detected earlier. The said signal is still steady however. I'm trying to narrow down its location now.

After a few moments of further scanning Harkath continued: "There we go. The signal is emanating from that broken off deck section now on display on viewing screen four. Power readings are consistent with an occupied emergency survival pod. Lady-Protector… I think we might have a survivor."

"The SOS message we are continuing to receive would support this conclusion."

Khagaan could not suppress a relieved smile: "Then perhaps we have not lost the trail after all. Have our salvage team collect the survival pod, carefully. Tell them to take every precaution that whoever the occupant of that pod might be, they survive. Have receiving crews and medical staff on standby in the main hold for their arrival.

Khagaan then paused, considering something. "Arraesh," she said finally "I have reconsidered sending a team to investigate the Ifriit-Naabal wreckage. We may require additional clues and that wreck may hold them. If there is something to find there then I want it found without delay. You will be in charge of this operation, Arraesh. With our primary mission objectives at stake, I believe I should debrief our lone survivor personally."

"Kennae, inform the appropriate personnel that I wish to be informed of the survivors status as soon as possible. When and if the survivor is fit to be interviewed he is to be brought to the main conference room, I shall be waiting there, so divert further attempts to communicate with me personally to that location until I return to the command bridge. Outside this matter I'm to be disturbed only with matters of critical urgency, Arraesh will handle the rest for the time being."

Some hours later Khagaan was sitting in the conference room looking at the only survivor of the task group she had dispatched to assault the Kapisi several days ago, a man identified as defender Khertan. When he had been found in his pod, he had been emotionally scarred, dehydrated and had sustained minor injuries, but he had been alive. For more than an hour Khagaan and him had been working through the events that had happened here. Progress had been slow, with Khertan breaking down into a sobbing mess more than once during his debrief. Yet Khagaan had persevered, patiently working with this broken soldier to slowly piece together the events as they had unfolded. Had the matter been less urgent, Khagaan would have been content to wait until Khertan was able to produce a report of the events on his own time, when he was comfortable doing so. She would have probably allowed him to make his report in written form so he wouldn't have to endure the pressure of a face to face meeting with a commanding officer. As fate would have it, practical wartime considerations once again conspired against her and kept her from giving the leniency she had wanted to give.

"So, to summarize, you used the storm conditions and your greater mobility to sneak past the Kapisi." Khagaan staded.

"Yes" Khertan said simply, his voice colorless, holding the steaming cup of coffee he had been provided with both hands, staring into the depths of the slowly swirling black fluid.

"Having correctly deduced the next destination of the Kapisi, you made your way into this area and made preparations for delaying combat in preparation for the arrival of our battlegroup, intending to use the storm to hide your production cruiser from a superior enemy force." Khagaan continued.

Khertan nodded.

"The enemy engaged your forces around midday and managed to push you back from your outermost defensive positions."

"Yes"

"And one they reached the wreck of the Iifrit-Naabal carrier, they halted their advance and loitered around the wreck for several minutes for reasons unknown, taking considerable risks by sending a sizeable portion of their fleet units to protect a science team they deployed. You launched several offensives against the science team, their escort and the enemy carrier itself, all of which were eventually repulsed."

"Yes"

"And afterwards the enemy quit the positions they had been holding and somehow vectored their way directly into your position, overwhelming your cruiser and associated fleet units. This despite storm interference that should have hidden you from detection."

Another nod.

"And you have no speculation as to how the enemy was able to accomplish this action?"

"No. Nothing" Khertan said, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

"You're certain there was no mistake involved, a misdirected radio transmission perhaps or failure of light discipline or even an enemy scout that you did not detect?"

Khertan looked up at her, his face suddenly indignant: "Just what are you implying?"

"Nothing. I imply nothing." Khagaan said apologetically. "I'm simply trying to understand how our enemy was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible. This trick defies everything we know about desert warfare. Regardless, I'm certain that your people did all they could to achieve victory." Her words seemed to settle Khertan somewhat, and he went back to staring into his coffee cup.

"Well, if you have no explanation to give then I guess it is up to the rest of us to find the answer." Khagaan said, nodding. "There is one more thing I need to ask you about. Do you have information as to which way the Kapisi might have gone after the engagement?"

"I did see the carrier leave the field from my pod, after they had…after..." Khertan stammered, tapering to a halt mid-sentence, his voice broken with sorrow.

"And which way did our enemies go?" Khagaan asked. Khertan did not answer, but simply stared into nothingness, now lost in his own thoughts. "Soldier?" Khagaan asked after several moments of silence. Still, he got no response from Khertan. "Soldier!" Khagaan said again, more sharply this time, leaning over the table, bringing her face to level with his, causing Khertan to snap to awareness.

"I need the Kapisi's vector. Where did they go?"Khagaan asked. "Please" she added after she realized how harsh her words had come across.

"Um… s-south I think. Yes, south, definitely south." Khertan said uncertainly.

"South? You're certain of this?" Khagaan asked, surprised. This was not the vector she had been expecting.

"Yes, I'm certain." Khertan answered, anger rising in his voice.

"You are absolutely certain that they did not go southeast or east? It is important." Khagaan pressed.

"I told you already they went south! I have answered your questions, what more do you want from me!?" Khertan shouted, threatening to become hysterical.

"I apologize." Khagaan said, raising her hands defensively. "I meant no offence. It simply… It was not what I had anticipated. But I have no reason to doubt your words. If you tell me that they went south, then that is what I must accept. Now, you have been through a lot. I suggest that you take a few days off, and that you speak with truthspeaker Deravis at you earliest convenience. I'll tell him to expect you."

Khertan nodded, somewhat calmer now.

"He is really good at his work, he has helped me when I needed understanding words more than once. I will make the decision whether or not to reassign you once I have more recommendations to go by. You can go now." Khagaan said with sympathy in her voice.

Khertan stood up, giving a salute which Khagaan returned, and then made his way out without saying another word. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts on the debrief and its revelations, Khagaan left as well, making her way back to the command center. "So?" Arraesh asked when he noticed that she had returned.

"South." Khagaan said simply.

"South!?" Arraesh repeated in surprised disbelief.

"My reaction exactly." Khagaan responded. "It just doesn't make any damn sense. There is no reason to approach the equatorial regions now. It seems like a waste of resources and effort with their available tech. What do they think they could possibly stand to gain by doing this now?" Khagaan sighed, frustrated with illogicality of the situation. "Did your team find anything?" she asked next.

"Well, it's certain now that the Kapisi's science team did enter the Ifriit-Naabal wreckage. It also seems that they found and removed some technology from the wreckage. We're not certain what that technology might have been, but it likely had something to do with their sensor systems given the evidence we've uncovered." Arraesh answered.

"You mean artefact tech? We tore that wreck apart looking for anything the enemy might have stolen, and now you're telling me that we might have missed something anyway?" Khagaan asked pointedly.

Arraesh shrugged. "The Coalition types know their ships better than we ever will. It would be far easier for them to notice what is out of place."

"Artefact technology would certainly explain a few things." Khagaan said, considering. "Defender Khertan, the survivor I debriefed, told me that the Kapisi somehow managed to find them and hit them after they left the wreckage despite the best efforts of our people to hide from detection. You think the Faagani found some kind of sensor boosting system, or maybe even a whole new type of scanner?"

"Both cases are plausible, very plausible in fact." Arraesh agreed. "Still doesn't explain their choice of course though. Plus if we don't know exactly where they are going it's far too easy for them to give us the slip. We might end up just wasting our time trying to catch them."

"Indeed. We need more information" Khagaan agreed. "Harkath, call up a map of the theatre of operations. Show me resource deposits, artefact sites and locations of strategic value whether ours or known locations of the enemy. Anything that might give us a clue about the Kapisi's destination." Khagaan commanded, sitting back to her chair. After a few moments the map she had asked for flared into life, followed shortly by various markers for different location types.

Khagaan stared at the map, seeking some clue to follow, unsure what exactly she was looking for. "Where would you go, little Kapisi, where would you…?" She muttered to herself before a possibility dawned on her. "Harkath, do we have the travel route of the Ifriit-Naabal carrier?" she asked.

"Um…let me see... most of the route is here, it would seem. It's a largely a speculative route based on sightings and other information, but…" Harkath said in response

"That's good enough, just show it on the map please." Khagaan told her sensors officer. The said route appeared on the map that instant, drawn in red. Khagaan traced the route with her finger, causing small ripples on the holographic display. "There," she said after she found the spot she had been looking for, pointing at the location "the Kalash site."

"You believe the Kapisi has gone there?" Arraesh asked.

"It would make perfect sense. Look." Khagaan explained with excitement in her voice. "The Ifriit-Naabal came through here, just as the Kapisi did. After they ran across our patrol force they were pushed out of their original course driven southwards, where they eventually stumbled into the Kalash site. They tried to fortify the location and harvest the wreckage."

Arraesh nodded his understanding thus far, and Khagaan continued her explanation. "After we pushed them out they looped back to where we are now and got stuck in a dune collapse. Now consider what the Kapisi has done. They came here, found the wreckage of their previous expedition, conducted a recovery operation of unknown technology, then unexpectedly turned south, like the Ifriit-Naabal did, except this time there is no military threat that would have forced them to do so."

Arraesh continued to nod, slowly beginning to understand what Khagaan was going on about.

"I believe that the enemy is following the path of the previous expedition. They must have found something, something that pointed them to that path, with the Kalash location lying at its end." Khagaan stated with conviction.

"If this correct, the Kalash site might be in danger." Arraesh said with concern in her voice. "The Faagani tried to violate the location the last time they were there, there's no telling what this second wave might do.

"Indeed." Khagaan agreed. "I think we should leave for the Kalash site as soon as we are able to do so. We will also send word to any available patrols we have in the region, they can delay enemy operations and bolster our forces when we arrive."

"I just hope no one else ends up needing those forces anytime soon" Khagaan added, realizing that her orders would deprive many reserve forces from the Gaalsien offensive against the north.

"What of the Renza?" Arraesh asked. "They are still headed to Hells Gate, and they know nothing that has transpired here."

"As soon as the weather clears up we will contact them and give them a situation update." Khagaan replied. "Just in case we will leave a communications node here for them. That however, I believe is the extent of what we can do under the circumstances. The longer we wait, the greater the risk that we arrive too late."

"Jiire, program the course for the Kalash location and prepare to move out on my order. Calculate for best possible speed."

"Understood. Kalash location, best possible speed." Jiire replied. "As if I ever did otherwise." Khagaan heard Jiire say under her breath in a light, joking tone.

"Kennae, give the order for our units to make preparations to move out as soon as possible. We will be setting out as soon as our salvager have collected sufficient resources."

As Kennae and Jiire proceeded to follow their orders Khagaan turned her thoughts to the Kalash site. "I kept that holy site from being defiled the last time, I won't let the enemy tarnish the location this time either. We have to make it in time" she thought to herself.