Izikiel (33 page)

Izikiel found himself back inside the medical bay aboard the
Valiant Crusader
. Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath. Cassandra’s blue eyes appraised him carefully but she remained silent. He found himself in awe of her beauty once more. Of all the forms that the Elemental could have chosen, surely it wasn’t a coincidence that she appeared as she did.

‘You truly are an ancient and powerful race,’ Izikiel said.

‘One that I fear is stuck in its ways,’ Cassandra said. ‘Your efforts are commendable, disciple but I fear that they will ultimately not be successful in convincing the Elementals to join the fight.’

‘I never realised the full gravity of the situation. Honour
ing your alliance and aiding us resulted in the Void Lords turning their full wrath against the Elementals. Now you are chained to your fiery homes unable to leave for fear of being overwhelmed.’

‘It is
, I fear, a stalemate that has existed for centuries. But the decision to aid you was not taken lightly and took considerable convincing.’

Izikiel’s mind showed him a vision from the Great City before its destruction.
Sofija, the second disciple, talking to Cassandra. Arguing with her. Pleading. Finally, telling her the truth.

‘It was
you
? You were the one asked to argue humanity’s case before the Elementals?’ Izikiel asked.

‘Yes. I was reluctant, knowing what it would mean but when I
learned that I was to meet a human and...’

‘Fall in love with
him, you agreed.’

‘Yes’

They both fell silent. Izikiel’s mind was beginning to comprehend the full extent of the efforts that Sofija, the second disciple, had gone to in order to prepare for his arrival and save humanity.
How could he do any less?

‘I need to speak to them again.’

‘But they have already given you their answer.’

‘Yes, but now I
know how to convince them.’

‘Very well
.’

*****

Izikiel passed through the conduit Cassandra created and found himself on the burning surface of a sun once again. The old man looked exactly as he had before, standing casually while solar flares lashed out at the darkness of space all around him.

‘Once more I am astounded by your species
’ persistence,’ the man said.

‘It’s a flaw,
I know,’ Izikiel conceded.

‘Will you plead your case once more? I can tell you that our position remains unchanged.’

Izikiel smiled.

‘No. I’m going to tell you a story.’

‘A story?’

‘Yes. I think you’re going to find it very interesting.’

‘Very well, disciple. We will listen.’

‘The story begins about nine hundred
years ago on the planet
Vesta
at the height of the Great City. The twin suns protect the planet from the Void Lords as the second disciple, Sofija, teaches the true believers. Humans and Elementals live together in peace, basking in the shared knowledge of the Eternal Flame. But it was not to last. Even though the Void Lords had been beaten back and driven from the human colony worlds, they were not defeated. They launched one final desperate attack. Channelling their anti-matter dark veils into the ringed planet
Orbis
, they shattered it into pieces. The resulting meteor storm destroyed the Great City.’

‘Yes, disciple. We know all of this. It was at this point in time that Cassandra
, at the bequest of the second disciple, Sofija, asked for our help. We chose to honour our allegiance to Lady Serafine and have been paying the price ever since. I fail to see how this helps your cause.’

‘What you don’t know is
why
Cassandra chose to plead our case.’

The old man fell silent. Izikiel guessed that he was communicating with the other Elementals.
He was unable to detect any of the exchange.

‘No
, we do not know the reason. We suspected it was because of her friendship and respect for the second disciple.’

Izikiel shook his head.

‘No, it was for the merchant ship captain, Vorn. Sofija showed Cassandra a glimpse of her future, a future in which would meet and fall in love with Vorn.’

‘An Elemental i
n love with a human? Impossible!’

‘Yet true. If this is possible, if an Elemental can fall in love with a human
, surely this proves that we are worth saving?’

The man said nothing.

The
Valiant Crusader
rotated slowly along its axis as it aligned with the
Vesta
planetary system. Vorn poised his hand above the quantum-helix ignition panel. Silence descended over the control room.

‘Ready?’
Vorn asked.

Cassandra nodded. Vorn’s hand descended.

‘Wait,’ Izikiel said.

‘What is it?’
Vorn asked.

‘
It’s too easy. The Void Lords have taken over
Vesta
. They must know that we are on our way and that we’re not alone.’

‘What do you suggest?’

‘Let me scout ahead.’

‘Be careful,’ Te’Anne said.

‘I will.’

The moment he said it
, Izikiel ascended into the darkness of space. Catching the faintest solar particulates, he propelled himself into the
Vesta
system at the speed of light. Reaching the remains of the shattered planet
Orbis
, he decelerated and sheltered on its leeward side. Inching forward, he sucked in his breath. Three Void Lord citadels were patrolling space above the planet.

Izikiel had seen enough.

‘They know we’re coming. Three citadels are in position above the planet. We’ll never make it to the surface without suffering heavy casualties,’ he said.

‘How are we going to get through?’
Vorn asked.

Izikiel flicked a glance at Cassandra. She shook her head.
It seemed that the Elementals were still unwilling to join the fight.

‘Is ther
e any way we can get past them?’ Izikiel asked.

‘No
,’ Vorn said.

‘Can we engage them?’

‘Yes, but it’s unlikely that any of our ships will survive. There’s no ship powerful enough in our fleet to engage them. All of our forces are meant for ground deployment and orbital support.’

‘No ship that we have
now
can engage them. Inform the fleet. We jump in ten minutes. I’ll clear the way.’

**
***

Vorn’s Armada appeared above
Vesta
in a tight formation. The three Void Lord citadels accelerated up from their low atmosphere orbits and converged on the fleet. So certain of their supremacy over the human fleet that they neglected to expand their anti-matter veils. The fleet fell away from the advancing citadels as if in full retreat. The
Valiant Crusader
the sole remaining ship in the centre. Just as the first citadel turned to pursue the fleeing human ships, a ripple expanded across the empty space between the two forces. Into that ripple, two gigantic ships appeared. The ancient
Tellusian
Juggernauts’ beam weapons raked the closest citadel repeatedly until it began to break apart. Within moments, the anti-matter containment holding it together unravelled and the citadel broke apart.

The remaining two citadels
, recognising the danger, began to align their anti-matter veils. The Juggernauts continued their assault, engaging a second citadel. Its dark veil held together momentarily before dissipating into the darkness of space. The citadel held together for a few seconds after that and then it too fell apart.

The final citadel engaged its dark veil fully, cloaking it in an absor
bent layer of anti-matter. The Juggernauts’ beam weapons sliced out continuously attempting to lock onto the citadel but were unable to. A dark blast of energy erupted from the murkiness, rupturing parts of the lead Juggernaut’s armour plating.

‘They can’t lock onto it,
’ Vorn said.

‘We
need to disperse the dark veil,’ Izikiel said. ‘Cassandra?’

‘I will do what I can to assist you
, disciple.’

Their ethereal forms floated up through the
Valiant Crusaders
’ hull just as the second Juggernaut lost a section of its starboard hull plating from another anti-matter strike. The command crew scrambled to reposition it before the citadel struck again.

(
‘Ready?’) Izikiel asked.

(
‘Yes’)

(
‘
Aduro
’
)
Izikiel channelled the Eternal Flame’s power. As he did
, he felt Cassandra lending him her strength. The blue flame lashed out burning away the dark veil. It dissipated just as the first Juggernaut suffered a direct hit. The second Juggernaut saw its chance and unleashed a pent up weapons strike slicing the citadel in two. For a split second the dark fortress held together. Then its anti-matter containment fields failed and it disintegrated.

Izikiel’s ethereal form material
ized on the bridge of the lead Juggernaut.

‘Thank you,
General Caligrates. Without your help the forces of the Void would have destroyed the human colony worlds once and for all.’

‘No thanks are needed, disciple. I serve
Tellus
and its people to the end. Now, if you will return us to our own time, we have an invasion to complete.’

‘May the F
lame burn within you, General.’

‘And you
, disciple.’

Space and
time rippled around the gigantic battleships as they were thrown back in time a thousand years. Moments later, Vorn’s Armada dropped into orbit around
Vesta
. Not a single ship had been damaged. For the first time since he had faced the Void Lords, Izikiel did something that he thought he would never do again.

He dared to hope.

The
Tellusian
ships accelerated hard towards the surface of
Vesta
as the orbital sun platforms deployed in the lower atmosphere. Achieving operational altitude, the discs began to spin faster and faster throwing of torrents of blinding light. As the ships reversed thrust and prepared to unload their cargo of special operatives, the sun shield reached maximum efficiency. Blinding light swept across the remains of the New Babylon star port, amplifying and expanding the light of the twin suns. As the special operatives deployed around the star port, their individual armour reflected and magnified the light even further.

‘
All troops have deployed and the sun shield is at one hundred percent operational efficiency,’ Xavier reported.

‘Good. Izikiel,
can you sense anything?’ Vorn asked.

‘They’re definitely
here. It seems that the sun shield is doing its work but we need to be careful. The Void is an elemental force of the Universe. We cannot assume that it will be so easily overcome by technology.’

‘Agreed. I’ll order the majority of the ships to assume a high altitude orbit around the planet and keep watch for any more citadels.’

‘Good idea. I think that we should -’

The wave of darkness brought him to his knees. Hitting the hard composite floor of the control room, Izikiel gasped for air.

‘Izikiel!’ Te’Anne cried out as she rushed to his side.

Pushing back against the oppressive presence of the Void, Izikiel managed to speak.

‘They’re coming! By the Flame get everyone back now!’

‘Izikiel what’s happening?’ Vorn
asked. ‘We can’t turn back. All of our forces are fully deployed.’

‘They
wanted us to land. It’s a trap. I’ve sensed over ten thousand void spawn inside the New Babylon star port. Our forces will be overwhelmed. We must fall back!’

‘We can’t fall back. This was a one-time only deal as we mobilized all of
Tellus
’ special forces. Besides, I don’t see anything.’

‘
There, look!’ Cassandra said.

As one they turned to look at the view screen. Part of the display was relaying a composite image from the ships in orbit above them. It showed a mass of dark shapes swarming outwards from the star port. Like a giant pool of black oil, the void spawn flowed across the
desolate landscape towards the line of
Tellusian
soldiers.

‘The sun shield will hold them back
. If they can’t activate the dark veil then they will be vulnerable to our weapons,’ Jonas said.

‘We need to get out there
,’ Xavier said. ‘C’mon Jonas, time to get some payback for New Babylon.’

Grabbing their modified gauss rifles, the two former security officers ran down the ramp. Their visors slid into place as they hit the warm desert sand. Seconds later
, their suits interfaced with the sun shield cloaking the entire area and the two glowing figures sprinted into the fray. The sounds of rapid fire weapons filled the air around them.

‘
I’m ordering all remaining ships on the ground to assume a defensive formation around the sun shield generators,’ Vorn said as he furiously input commands into the control console. ‘If we can keep them operational then it will give our troops a fighting chance.’

The battle unfolded before their eyes as relayed by the ships in orbit high above them. As the void spawn raced across the desert terrain, desperate to close with the
Tellusian
forces, the special operatives unleashed a savage barrage of weapons fire. Flaming projectiles accelerated at frightening speed to fling the void spawn back. Plasma charges sailed through the air to detonate among the dark shapes. Little by little, the
Tellusian
forces appeared to be gaining ground.

Inside the
Valiant Crusader
, Izikiel leaned against a console. The cool touch of metal made him flinch as it reminded him of the Void. Reaching upwards, he was about to seek out the flaming tendril of plasma, when a dark shadow fell across the twin suns.

‘By the F
lame, no,’ he whispered.

T
he dark citadel descended through the atmosphere. Moments later, one of the ships in orbit spotted it. The communications channel was overloaded with the sound of everyone shouting at once.

Vorn slammed his hand
down on the master override. Silence descended across the entire fleet. Then a single voice, his voice, was broadcast to all the ships simultaneously.

‘Fire everything you have at that citadel. It cannot be
allowed to reach the sun shield!’

As one
, all of the ship captains acknowledged the order. As one, they opened fire. The air above
Vesta
exploded with weapons discharge from all of the ships in orbit. Pieces of the dark citadel were ripped off with the savagery of the assault. Unable to activate its dark veil because of the sun shield, the dark citadel suffered catastrophic damage from the combined assault. Yet its pent up kinetic energy was such that it kept going. The ships intensified their assault as the dark citadel dropped out of the sky on a direct collision course with the sun shield generators.

‘Keep firing!’ Vorn shouted.

The weapons discharge in the atmosphere could be felt on the ground, such was its intensity as the human ships unloaded their full cargo of munitions. In the end, it wasn’t enough. The bulk of its structure destroyed, little more than a flaming piece of space debris, the dark citadel struck three of the spinning discs, destroying them on impact. The sun shield wavered. Then it collapsed.

Xavier and
Jonas watched in horror as their suits dimmed to normal. Then the dark veil materialized around them and the void spawn rushed forward with a savage howl.