6. Krogoth

Chapter 6

Krogoth

Swarmed

T he door whizzes open as I burst through the command bridge. This is bad, only four hands on deck . I carefully set Pebbles down before I leap to the central control station. I check the visual display. "It's a Seeker Swarm. They'll intercept us any second." I clench my fists.

"Send out a ship wide call to war. You are acting helmsman," I demand, pointing at the warrior on my left.

I turn to the warrior beside me. "Go find Xandor," I command, "and tell him to assemble a war band in case any of those bastards make it through."

"Yes, Chieftain." He salutes, then runs out of the room.

The lights in the ship change to a deep red. I feel the excitement building in me as the steady and rhythmic war drums echo throughout the ship. All aboard will know a battle will soon commence.

"You two," I nod at the remaining two short-haired warriors, "Prime the forward arc cannons." I point to the two cannon controls.

"I'll take the starboard quarter." Looking around, my body tenses up. There's no one left to control the port quarter. Too few of us! I snarl, running over to the cannon controls.

"I can help," Pebbles says with a smile that is contradicted by a trembling hand raised.

My heart swells with pride. Gods protect my brave fierce Pebbles. "No, it's too dangerous." My gaze bores into her.

"Glare all you want, Korgy. But I'd rather help fight the Sillyheads than do nothing," Pebbles snaps while grabbing the cannon controls in her tiny hands. "How do they work?" she asks.

I rush over to her, my heart pounding as I guide her soft, trembling hands with mine. "You move the controls like this," I say, demonstrating how to maneuver the targeting system. "Line up the reticle on the display, and then squeeze the trigger to kill the bastard Scythians," I say, noticing her sweet scent intoxicating me even amongst such danger.

"Chieftain, they have requested a comms channel," the newly appointed helmsman announces levelly.

The Rush is building faster now. I feel the blood whooshing in my ears. "On screen."

The central console flashes to a visual display of the stern of the ship. The Seeker Swarm has formed into a menacing face made up of thousands of individual attack drones. They are a sea of metal orbs with a red lens in the center, glittering menacingly against the bleak, empty void of space.

Sudden loud garbled audio static of machine code assaults my ears. The swarm moves to mimic the mouth movements of speech . The Scythians always were masters of psychological warfare, but I feel only a burning hatred where my fear should be.

"Chieftain, they request we power down our shields. They wish to scan us," the helmsman reports.

"Send back we are a Klendathian war vessel seeking repairs to re-join the Nebian war effort."

The display shows the Seeker Swarm face forming into a snarling roar. They fill the room with more garbled machine code audio, which assaults the senses.

"Chieftain. They threaten to destroy us unless we comply within 30 seconds."

"Cut the comms." I look over at Pebbles, nodding. She tries to smile and mask her fear, but I notice a flicker of horror crossing her face as she struggles to regain her composure. "All guns open fire!" I roar.

Turning my attention to my cannon control display, I can see the swirling mass of Seeker drones still forming a face. Aiming the targeting reticle directly into their center, I feel anger now, hot and heavily pouring into my veins like boiling oil. I pull the trigger.

The array of starboard cannons explodes into life, hurling a volley of super charged plasma into the swirling mass. They instantly melt straight through. Seeker drones hit, their shields no match.

The swarm quickly responds, breaking formation into a dispersed group of thousands. They descend upon the ship, weathering the constant barrage of arc cannon fire. Now within range, thousands of Seeker drones unleash plasma projectiles, crashing into the ship's shields. The ship rumbles as it absorbs so many continuous hits.

"Shields at 90%. Taking evasive maneuvers," the helmsman states calmly.

I almost lose balance as the ship tilts to one side. I whip my targeting reticle around, attempting to keep the most quantity of Seeker drones on target. It proves difficult as they are extremely agile, able to change direction abruptly. They dance outside the ship, moving like tiny red lights, as we endlessly blast them with the heat of a thousand suns. Still, they come. We can't evade them.

"Shields at 70%."

Several Seeker drones crash, exploding into the ship's rear, which lurches to one side. The dazzling blue flames of the impact rip along the stern, causing the shields to ripple like waves. I feel a surge of adrenaline at the beautiful chaos unfolding in the void.

"Shields at 40%." The helmsman's voice grows increasingly concerned.

The area around the ship is a scene of chaos. Scraps of melted Seeker drones spiral, forever lost in space while smoke and blooming blue plasma vents from every direction. This is a battle to the death. Neither side will stop until one is annihilated.

"Chieftain, the shields are now at 20%," the helmsman states cooly resolved now to the inevitable.

My conviction is unshakable. "By Dagdorix, we will not fall this day! Crush the bastards," I roar across the command bridge.

The Seeker drones are greatly diminished in number but still swirl around the ship, putting the shields under immense pressure. I notice Pebbles' port quarter arc cannon array wreaking havoc amongst the enemy, destroying many of them. Impressive! My heart swells with pride.

The battle is growing desperate for both sides. The Seeker drones have descended onto the shields above the engine rooms, making them easy targets. I aim my cannons carefully to avoid crossfire, unloading wave after wave of plasma through their ranks, blowing most of them into space, partially vaporizing them. In retaliation, they extend elongated razor limbs and start hacking at our weakening shields.

Blue sparks erupt from the impacts. The shields flicker thinly until they blink out of existence. The remaining Seeker drones drop onto the exterior of the hull, desperately slicing, eager to cut through so they can tear the ship apart from the inside.

"Shields down, Chieftain." The helmsman need not have said. The vibration running through the whole interior, the distant clanging and sawing sound rumbling in the distance, is evidence enough. We need to pin them down.

"Keep firing, you three!" I demand looking at Pebbles and the other two warriors. "Helmsman, seal the doors of rooms that are vented into space. I will go kill them." I turn to leave the bridge.

Pebbles fixates me with a pleading look, her eyes wide with fear. "You're going to come back, right, Krogoth?" Her voice quivers.

I pause before the door. "I'll seal the door after me. Stay here. It's the safest room on the ship," I reply in her language. I turn to look back at her, flashing what I hope is a reassuring smile before finally sprinting out the door. Safest room on the ship means little if we lose engines. I feel my stomach churn inside, knowing I've brought my Pebbles into such terrible danger.

Savagely, I repress the thoughts; this is not a time for doubt or weakness, but a time for brutal strength. I leap down the corridor with blood coursing through my body like a torrent of molten lava. I'm strong, one of the universe's finest warriors. I will not fall to a heap of scrap metal.

Bursting into my room, I retrieve my armor as I hear the clang and desperate struggles nearby. The Seeker drones will most likely be heading to the engine room to leave us crippled, adrift in the freezing void of space, their final desperate bid for mutual destruction. I can only hope Xandor and the remaining war band are holding them off.

The familiar and reassuring weight of my arcweave plate is comforting. Next, as I equip my warvisor, new awareness floods my senses. I know close to the engine room my war brothers fight desperately. I engage my cloaking device and hurry out of the room.

Rushing to help the others, I instinctively throw myself sidewards, sensing danger at the last moment. The Seeker drone bursts from the ceiling and crashes down like a falling star right where I had been standing only moments before. There's no time to feel surprise. Years of fighting have drilled into me the need for unthinking action. I summon my arc blaster, the barrel extending from my right gauntlet, and fire a volley of plasma into the great red lens of the machine. Its blue shields ripple, absorbing the hits.

The large orb hovers above the floor, eight razor limbs thrashing wildly. I duck under a limb, swinging viciously, and block another with my arc shield emitted from my left gauntlet as I straighten. Blue sparks erupt from the impact. The force spinning me round, I let the momentum carry me while I engage my arc claws.

From my right gauntlet, four-foot-long blue plasma claws emerge, distorting the air with a wavering haze that sizzles and buzzes with murderous power. As I come back round, I drive my claws straight into the center of the Seeker drone. The sparks fly as I overcome the enemy's shields. My arc claws melt all they encounter. It's satisfying to see my foe broken, unmoving, with enormous holes burned into it.

I press on, unable to celebrate yet. My senses tell me in the next room above the engine room is where I'll find the remaining enemies. I disengage my cloaking device, wishing to preserve power, as it appears the Seeker drones can still detect us through other means than standard visual.

I enter the next room, skidding to a stop before falling down a vast hole to the floor below. Beneath me, I see Xandor and eight of my war brothers firing arc blasts and clawing amongst a couple dozen Seeker drones. They are in terrible shape, fighting desperately with backs to the wall. Four of my brothers lay dead amongst piles of broken enemies.

Burning wisps of purple escape my eyes as the full force of Rush courses through my veins. Time seems to slow down my heart, thumping in my chest. I long for nothing other than to tear my enemies to pieces. I leap down behind the distracted Seeker drones, raking my arc claws down one's back as I land. Its shields blink out of existence instantly, the orb nearly sliced into multiple pieces.

"The High Chieftain!" Xandor roars over the carnage.

I leap onto another Seeker drone from behind, laying slash after slash into its non-lens side. Its shields resist the first slash, but the second and third rip huge gouges through its armor, causing it to collapse to the floor. I need to take advantage of their distraction.

A few of the Seeker drones notice me. Turning unbelievably fast, shooting plasma blasts, I roll under them, tumbling towards the enemies. I bound from my crouched position, driving an uppercut straight through the center of a Seeker drone, its core a melted heap. The other one thrashes wildly with its bladed limbs. With the Rush flowing so strongly, I'm able to dodge every attack neatly while bringing my own arc claws carving in retaliation. Sparks fly as its shields lose power before its armor melts, the drone no longer functioning.

"Fight on, brothers. For Clan Draxxus!" I shout. My eyes scan the room. The war brothers are faring better, now some of the enemy have their attention divided. I fire off a volley of plasma from my arc gauntlet into the back of a Seeker drone as I charge forward. Its shields must have been weak as they give out in the first bolt, the other blasts turning it into a mass of blue glowing holes.

"Traitors!" the remaining Seeker drones simultaneously echo out in a screeching, clicking audio. I continue firing into the backs of the Seeker drones that are distracted. A flash of blue explodes around me as my vision grows blurry. A great force runs up my right shoulder, throwing me off balance. Luckily my arcweave armor hardens on point of impact, using plasma energy to break up and disperse the damage.

"Traitors!" the Seeker drones continue to screech, but their voices are becoming weaker. I look up after regaining composure just in time to leap aside two stabbing razor limbs. I chop down with my arc claws, instantly cutting them off. The Seeker drone then spins wildly, becoming a whirlwind of blades. I execute a well-timed kick, forcing it into its own ranks, watching amused as it crashes into other drones, disrupting their balance and sending blue sparks showering about the room.

The battle is turning in our favor , I think to myself as I survey the surrounding carnage. My war brothers are no longer fighting defensively but pushing into the enemy, killing many. I charge into the disorientated, weakened group, swinging blows aimed with focused fury. We trap them pressing from both sides; they are being torn to shreds. How I long to battle the actual flesh and blood Scythians. The cowards rarely ever show themselves, preferring to send us Klendathians or machines in their stead. One day I will rend them to bloody pieces.

"… TRRRAAAIITTTOOOORRS!" the final Seeker drone sputters as it's rendered to molten scrap metal. The room is absolute carnage, ceiling missing, gouges in the floors and walls. Piles of broken Seeker drones littered everywhere. Heroic war brothers killed.

"That was a close-run thing, High Chieftain. I thought I'd be feasting with the ancestors," Xandor says between gulping great lungfuls of air.

I survey the disorder before me, the lifeless bodies of my fallen war brothers strewn across the room. The Seeker drones had cut some into ribbons while others were partially melted by their devastating plasma blasts. I feel a lump form in my throat. "You and our war brothers fought well," I declare to the remaining Draxxus warriors beside me, my voice ringing out loudly. "Gather the fallen. We will honor them when we reach Klendathor."

I feel my strength leaving me at the sight of my fallen warriors. This is my fault for leading them here. All for a crazy plan that might not even work. Gods, what if it was Pebbles that lay here melted? The thought sends waves of anxiety coursing through me, almost making me sick. No, I will not risk her like this. I will take her back to Earth, where she will be safe.

"Hope the ship is in better condition than us?" Xandor asks, casting his eyes around the room.

"Both could be better. We have several hull breaches and I don't think old Astraxius will fancy doing a spacewalk patching the whole thing up." I turn back to Xandor, my expression serious. "We'll discuss our options later. But right now, we need to get the ship moving again."

Our only chance is to dock at Terminus Exile Station.