Into the Black

(Main Bridge, INS Traitor’s Bane, Sedara System)

Captain Albert Hodges whistled softly as he heard the Black Star commander’s message to the Armada. This Keh Dakha was a ballsy lizard, he had to give it to her. That announcement was like waving a red flag in front of a raging bull in the rings of New Madrid.

“Aspect change in targets, Captain. Our pursuers are turning towards the Black Star ships.”

“Captain! Incoming transmission from the Black Star fleet. Ship identified as the BSN Hrunting.”

Captain Hodges straightened himself up in his command chair, and said, “Put them through.”

The damaged viewscreen sputtered, and then came on, though there were occasional bursts of visual static. At least the audio was clear. On the screen was an Ihm female, wearing the Black Star uniform. From what he could see, most of the bridge crew were Ihm, as well.

This had to be the Ihm commander who had fought for the Imperium at Coldana, and was part of Black Star by the time the Rift opened. Fleet scuttlebutt had said that a not insignificant part of the Black Star forces now included Ihm, and some of them in key positions. Turned out that scuttlebutt was correct.

He nodded at the screen. “This is Captain Albert Hodges of the Imperial Navy Ship Traitor’s Bane, speaking for 8th Fleet until the Admiral resumes command. I have to say, you’re a sight for sore eyes, Black Stars.”

The Ihm officer smiled toothily, like a crocodile. “This is Commodore Keh Dakha, commander of Second Group of the Black Star Navy, aboard the BSN Hrunting. Black Star has been contracted by the Empire to aid in this conflict, as mercenaries. What is your status, Captain?”

Hodges sighed. “Not good, to be frank. Most of our fleet is just barely holding together. 87% are intact enough to move, and will probably survive the trip to Uldat. 60% are capable of combat, to some extent, but none of them are above 50% combat effectiveness. All told, we’re at 36% of our full capacity, though the damage control teams are working to get more weapons online.”

Dakha nodded. “Recommend you switch priority to engines and structural integrity, Captain. Black Star will keep the Armada off your back until you can make the Transition point.”

He felt himself wince. He knew the Black Star didn’t mean anything by it, but the transition drives were a sore point with many in the fleet right now. “Negative, Commodore, whatever this ‘static’ weapon is, it basically melted our transition drives. We only have one transition-capable ship in the fleet.”

“Understood. Our calculations say you’ll be free to warp out as soon as we take care of these ships. We’ll shadow you to Uldat. Additional ships from the Black Star Navy are there, in case the Armada decides to move on the base.”

“Sounds good, Commodore. Don’t suppose you have any additional news on how things are going, do you? This tachyon jamming is interfering with our long-range communications. We have one Nomad in our fleet, but he was injured during the transition, and has not been released from sickbay.”

“It isn’t just here, I can tell you that much. This is a general offensive by the Ihm Armada across the entire border with the Empire. So far, they aren’t attacking other polities, but they haven’t pulled any ships away from the other borders.”

“What about 5th and 12th fleets? Did they get caught like we did?”

“Fortunately, no. From the reports we have, 5th transitioned before the Ihm managed to set up their trap. 12th, on the other hand, was delayed, and word got to them before they transitioned.”

“Well, that’s something.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Captain, I need to take care of the pests coming my way.”

“Good hunting, Commodore. Traitor’s Bane, out.”

(Fleet Command Cluster, IAS Perfection Made Manifest, orbiting Sedara)

Warmaster Rhiz Chokiyuss snarled as she looked at the plot, as though it had personally insulted her. She had trained alongside Dakha, risen through the ranks alongside her. The betrayal of her leaving the Armada, and then leaving the Imperium altogether still tore at her, like a yickthad under her scales. And now she was here!

“Wings two and three, make ready the new drives, and move to support fourth wing. They are to ensure the destruction of the BSN Hrunting at all costs. Destruction of the damaged fleet is moved to secondary objectives.”

“As you will, Warmaster.”

She took a breath. “Contact command on the preset frequency. Tell them that there must be Nomads in the system. The Shroud’s existence is obviously known to the enemy by now. Recommend initiating battle plan Sathran Claw.”

(Fleet Command Cluster, IAS Purity of Purpose, Sedara System)

“Time until firing range?”

“Five minutes, Winglord.”

Winglord Jusk Zecho nodded once. “Continue evasive maneuvers. All ships, bring up warp shields.”

Like all of the Perfected, Zecho knew the supremacy of the Ihm as a matter of fact. However, she was not an idiot. It would be foolishness itself to not recognize the abilities of potential enemies. And Black Star’s ‘starbolt’ torpedoes were the stuff of nightmares.

But, as with all things, the Perfected had learned of a way to counter them. The warp shields drew upon the forces of the chaotic realm where their new Goddess lived. She did not understand the arcane science of it, but she knew that the shields would open small rifts into the Godrealm, which would cause the starbolts to veer wildly off course before they could even impact the ship’s normal shields.

They entered the Black Stars’ range. The warp shields flared moments before the ships detected the FTL torpedo launches. The starbolts went flying off into space, in all directions.

“All ships, prepare to attack!”

(Flag Bridge, BSN Hrunting, Sedara System)

Commodore Keh Dakha cursed under her breath as she saw the Starbolts scatter as they came in contact with the strange secondary shields that the Armada had raised. Now, she knew exactly what they were for. This was going to go from a walk in the recreation zone to a claw-to-claw fight.

Keying her console, she opened a line to the group. “All ships, switch to Dragonbreath torpedoes, and prepare to engage. Warm up the rail guns for snap firing. Launch all fighters, all bombers. Spearfather watch over us all.”

She took a breath, and then looked at her aide, one of Black Star’s Nomad population. “Make sure everyone knows about the new shields. We don’t want anyone else to get blindsided.”

“Understood, Ma’am.”

(Flag Bridge, INS Doomhammer, Ihm Space)

Vice Admiral Delmetrice Tyson frowned as his ships slipped silently through the void. The Doomhammer was the first of the new-model Wayne-class escort carriers, the Type II-B. Made from Imperial designs with Black Star technology, it was the best mobile strike platform he could ask for, if you were looking to strike deep into enemy territory and rip them a new one.

And still, he was concerned. Despite the hidden dagger his fleet posed, ready to strike at the heart of the Ihm, he was concerned. The news his science officer had just delivered was… not good.

Not that bad news had been in short supply since the surprise invasion only fourteen hours ago, of course. One more piece of bad news didn’t make that much of a difference. But it was definitely an unwelcome surprise, all the same.

“Are you certain?”

“As certain as we can be, Sir. The energy matches the recordings from Sol when the rift opened, though on a smaller scale. And the wavelengths are a match to the data that the Black Stars shared regarding what they are calling Hellspace Drives, designed to penetrate into the chaotic dimension to enable travel.”

“Inform command. Tell them that the Ihm 16th Armada has left port via Hellspace Drive. Destination unknown.”

“Aye, Sir.”

(Fleet Command Cluster, IAS Purity of Purpose, Sedara System)

Winglord Zecho forced her breathing to calm. The Black Stars were no rabble, despite being mercenaries. The moment their vaunted starbolts failed to hit her ships, they moved as one being, trying to flank her forces, divide their fire. This Dakha was good, she had to admit.

That meant that she could not afford to be reckless, or make mistakes. This battle would be won the moment second and third wings slipped out of the Goddess’s dimension. There was some concern about the new drives, as the chaotic nature of the realm made it difficult to predict exactly where, or when, you would end up, but for short, in-system jumps like this one, the risk was negligible.

The Armada could not afford too many losses, this early in the grand conquest of the Empire. There was too much ground to cover, and they had to guard against enemies from all sides. She could not afford to spend her ships recklessly against a competent foe. That meant she merely needed to play for time, and wait for the numbers to overwhelm the Black Stars.

“Winglord, wings two and three just entered the Godrealm.”

“Very well.”

(Flag Bridge, BSN Hrunting, Sedara System)

Commodore Dakha hissed, as the readings came up on her screen. Half the enemy force just disappeared into Hellspace rifts. She knew better than to think they were running. No, they were coming for her. They had to be.

“Ready Starbolts! All ships, ready Starbolts, and fire on any Hellspace rifts as they open! They may be able to project shields to protect against starbolts in this dimension, but we’ll see how well they work in Hellspace!”

“Ma’am! That will cause a shockwave, like when the Coldana rift opened!”

“I know that! But it is our best shot for disrupting these ships before they can outflank us! Ready Starbolts! And have all ships shockwave ready.”

“Aye, aye, Ma’am!”

She paused, and then typed out additional commands to be sent to the fleet.

(Main Bridge, INS Traitor’s Bane, Sedara System)

Hodges kept his eyes glued to the plot. He was tired, but sleep could come later, when they weren’t running for their lives. For now, he had a job to do.

“Make sure all ships take as detailed scans as they can. We need to figure out how these shields that stopped Starbolts work. This is a game-changer.”

“Sir, if they have these shields, then why didn’t they stop the Yadara and Binlaster the same way?”

His eyes snapped over to the junior officer who was in charge of weapons. Alone out of the bridge crew, he probably had the least to do. After all, if anyone got within weapons range of them, they were likely dead already. Apparently, idle hands gave him time to think.

He shook his head, clearing away the unkind thoughts. The question was a good one. One he hadn’t considered before the kid brought it up. “Sensors, status on the Ihm vessels facing Black Star!”

“Acceleration is down… 20%! Weapons fire rate reduced by 50%, as well! Captain!”

Hodges nodded. “Send our readings to Hrunting. These shields must have an incredible power draw, so performance drops when they’re active. That’s why they only activated them when they saw they were going against Black Star.”

“Sir! Hrunting is signaling to prepare for psychic shockwave!”

“Hellspace rifts forming, sir! Black Star fired Starbolts into the rifts!”

“All hands, brace for impact!”

“Sir, the enemy tarpits are down!”

“ALL SHIPS JUMP!”

(Fleet Command Cluster, IAS Purity of Purpose, Sedara System)

“Godrifts opening, positions 7 and 3.”

Winglord Zecho nodded. She had lost a couple ships so far, but had killed a few of the smaller Black Star ships, as well.

“Multiple starbolt launches. They’re firing on the rifts!”

Zecho barely had a chance to process her subordinate’s warning, before the world went white, and then dark.

(Flag Bridge, BSN Hrunting, Sedara System)

The psychic shockwave hit, as expected. But the ships had been prepared for such an event. Vital systems were surrounded in what were essentially psychic Faraday cages, protecting them from any damage.

Their crews were unconscious, the length of time depending on their psychic aptitude, but that did not matter. All ships fired their weapons on computer control, targeting the closest enemies, who were also unconscious. The computers detected the failure of local tarpits, and the smaller rifts were not large enough to destabilize FTL drives. The Black Star fleet jumped out.

(Fleet Command Cluster, IAS Perfection Made Manifest, orbiting Sedara)

Warmaster Chokiyuss wanted to scream in rage, but there was no point. This, too, was part of the path of Perfection. They had learned a valuable lesson. That was the important thing.

“Send word to the 16th Armada, and the other attacking forces. Warn them about approaching too closely to Black Star ships with their Godsrealm drives.”

She paused, “And tell the priests to hurry with their ritual, so that we can rejoin the offensive.”