Emergence: Chapter 50

“Narcsia under attack...”

“Please help me.”

Cinradahs played Keinam's message back again and again, trying to understand more of it each time; his speech was clouded by the static noise, before it finally ended with naught but a crackle. While Cinradahs didn't really care for Keinam, he knew that he needed to help him. So, as he sat in his seat in his flagship's bridge, he gave commands to Otor, Maron, Rals and Trexor to protect the Raanian survivors' camp. After that, he turned to Saiun. “Are the Adjeti Wing-Ships ready?”

Saiun nodded. “They've rallied behind us sir.”

“Good.” Cinradahs called down to Tarib. “Let's go!”

“Lifting off.” Tarib studied the screen.

The ship lifted from the ground as the bottom thrusters booted up. Cinradahs imagined the grass around the ship being blown backwards as in a strong wind, maybe tearing some of the individual blades from the ground. He felt the ship lurch, before it passed through Raan's atmosphere. As it did so, he forced himself not to look at the destruction; he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to leave now.

“Sir,” Tarib called urgently, “hundreds of unidentified objects coming this way!”

“Warspheres?” Saiun asked.

“Almost certainly.” Cinradahs looked in the rear cam; his suspicions were correct. “Move the ship out of their way; we'll defeat them at Narcsia after we've wiped the Corlens there. Keinam mentioned gas creatures too; maybe they're fighting each other.”

Tarib nodded. “Let them wipe each other out.”

“And then destroy the victor.” Saiun caught on to his superior's plan.

“Exactly. Can the Adjeti hear me?” Cinradahs asked Saiun.

“Every ship can, yes; you're using the combat-com.”

“Good.” Cinradahs watched the Warspheres shoot past, not bothering with the Empire nor the Adjeti vessels. He waited a beat, before asking, “They all gone past now?”

Tarib checked the screens. “Yeah, looks like it.”

“Grand.” Cinradahs called to the Adjeti too. “Go to L-Drive travel now.”

Stars and space slid past them, blurring the screens. “Adjeti fleet,” Cinradahs called, “Who's in charge without Keinam here?”

There was silence for a moment, before someone answered. “I am sir. Retlin.”

“Good to know.” Cinradahs seemed happy that the Adjeti fleet didn't have to rely on him. “You control your fleet, I'll control mine. Sound good?”

“I thought that was how it was going to play out anyway.” Retlin responded. “Sorry if that came off as rude, sir.”

Sir? I could get used to that from an Adjeti. “Don't worry about it. Signing off.” Cinradahs turned off his com.

“Signing off sir.” Retlin then turned his own off.

The tension on board the ship was palpable, like some sort of invisible fog. The silence was what started it, but then no-one wanted to say the first word. It seemed to last an age, so Cinradahs quickly check the ship's vitals; all was good for now.

“We're here, sir.” Tarib broke the silence as the ship dropped out of L-Space.

“Good.” Cinradahs went up to the front of the ship and saw the Warspheres swooping towards the planet, but they couldn't see any of the gas creatures Keinam mentioned. “Let the ships loose.”

All around the ships, pilots leapt into their ships and took off, hangar doors opening with a red warning light, before they swarmed around the flagship. “Adjeti, are you ready?”

“Our first priority is to find Keinam's ship, and drag him aboard your ship. Then we will join you in the fight.” Retlin's voice was firm, even over the crackling com.

“The com's gone funny.” Cinradahs seemed worried. “That's what happened to Keinam.”

Cinradahs watched Retlin's ships disperse over the area, hunting. “Empire fleet. Move out and engage the enemy.”

Affirmative replies came through, before they went into action, missiles launching at the Warspheres, which didn't seem to notice or care. The Warspheres were firing at something else entirely.

“What are they doing?” Cinradahs muttered.

Then they all saw them.

Both Saiun and Cinradahs took a step back as cloud-like ships erupted out of Narcsia. Constantly shifting, the green masses crackled with static electricity as they slowly moved towards the Warspheres and Cinradahs's fleet. His hand found Saiun's, and he gripped it tightly, before glancing over to him; Saiun was transfixed until Cinradahs squeezed his hand, at which he point he turned to him and gave a sad smile. Cinradahs disengaged his hand and walked back over to the centre of the bridge.

“Scan those ships!” Cinradahs pointed at the ships in question with a shaking finger. “See if they have any weaknesses!”

“On it commander!” Tarib ordered her team to do so.

Cinradahs opened up a new com channel. “Retlin, your crew know anything about these?”

The Adjeti commander barked something to his crew. “Not at all, sir. We've never seen any sort of...Cloudships? We've found Keinam though, and we're bringing him to the flagship.”

Cinradahs nodded. “Fine, hurry it up.” He heard the docking bay seal around something, and the hiss as a ship's ramp lowered. He turned to Saiun. “Keinam's gonna be here in a moment.” He turned to his crew. “You got anything yet?”

“They're like clouds,” Tarib looked at the screens, not believing what she saw, “but more dense, which could be what enables them to travel in space.”

“Sir!” Cinradahs picked up the com. “They've got an electric weapon of some sort; we're fucked!”

Cinradahs looked at the screens; flashes of lightning shot from the Cloudships, annihilating all it touched. Ships were blown apart, Warspheres shattered. Even the Adjeti fleet wasn't safe; the Wing-Ships went down just the same as the others. There was some hope; the Warspheres seemed to be able to smother some of the Cloudships, but more kept coming. “The Warspheres are making vague progress; hold the Cloudships off until the other Warspheres get here. Try and find a way to hurt them.”

The door slid open and Keinam limped in, dragging a broken leg along the floor. “They nearly got me,” he gasped, “nearly got me.” His leg twitched and buckled, and he fell to the floor, still conscious.

“Get a doctor!” Saiun yelled to a crew member, who rushed off to the medical bays.

Cinradahs bent down to speak to Keinam. “What happened?”

Keinam coughed and clutched his chest. “Followed Corlens...to Narcsia.” This time when he coughed, there was blood. Cinradahs looked, open-mouthed at him; the invincible Adjeti, grievously wounded before him. “Clouds alive,” more blood came out on the next cough, “attacked. Lightning injured my ship. Corlens fight,” a barrage of coughs threw up a lot of blood, covering the floor, “they fight against clouds. You can't stop them with guns. Get Orbans.”

“Orbans?” Cinradahs was puzzled. “Why?”

“Telekinesis,” Keinam sputtered, “move particles around, move gas particles.” He coughed again, before falling to the ground.

“Get a medic now!” Cinradahs roared into the com. Two came running in, and lifted Keinam by his shoulders, dragging him to a medical bay.

Tarib watched him go. “I've sent a message to the capital, requesting the Orbans.”

Cinradahs nodded, still looking at Keinam's blood. “Thanks.”

“How screwed are we?” Tarib looked at him with wide, terrified eyes.

Cinradahs looked out at the electrical bursts, the ineffective missiles and the Warspheres' smothering technique. “So, so much.”

What he didn't say, but thought, was: I don't think we'll make it out of this battle.