Chapter 20 – Arthros

  Psychosomatic Output: 10,000 Units

  Synaptic Rank: unbound

  The captain of the merchant vessel gnced at Arthros, and nervously smoothed the spines on his forehead. He was fat for a Hokkonian, too fat to be a captain. How could you be trusted to lead a crew, if you couldn’t even be trusted to moderate your appetite?

  Arthros curled his lip in contempt and turned away from the captain’s displeasing image. The cockpit of the merchant vessel was far more simple than his Novawolf. The navigation console was a simple screen, with basic maneuvering instruments. The viewport was rectangur and ft, which made it difficult to actually see anything beyond their direct line of sight.

  Nonetheless, he refused to sit in the shipping bay, where the captain had originally suggested he stay. If the Relocs attacked, he wanted to make sure the fat Hokkonian didn’t panic. His HWND was back there though, and he could feel Zero’s impatient prodding as she waited for him.

  He mentally shooed her away like a fly. They knew the Relocs had the tech to know if a HWND was nearby, if he sat in his, they would never come. The whole point was to catch them off guard.

  “I don’t think they’re coming.” The captain mumbled, “They wouldn’t be that stupid.”

  Arthros raised a hairless eyebrow, “Do you know what the Sovereignty did to them? They don’t care anymore, they’re going to kill themselves doing whatever damage they can.”

  “They deserved it, they destroyed my ships.”

  Arthros frowned.

  “And the people I employed to defend them of course!” The captain hurried to say.

  “The Sovereignty wiped out three million people,” The spines on his head quivered, “you think they deserved that?”

  “I- well I- they’re nothing but-but savages, they deserved it.”

  He shook his head, he didn’t care if his spines stood on end. Three million people, and a city that took countless generations to rebuild. He didn’t share any love for the Relocs, but no one deserved genocide. He stared at The Sovereignty's insignia on the captain’s shoulder, the crowned star. He wanted to rip it off and feed it down the captain's throat.

  The metal ring on his second finger vibrated, and twisted his palm. A miniature hologram of Fydither’s face was staring back at him. “Heads up boss, I got movement on the pnet’s surface, they’re coming.”

  He nodded, clenched his fist, and Fydither’s image vanished.

  “Those idiots,” He muttered.

  The captain paled, “they’re coming? They’re really coming again?”

  The tremor of fear in his voice was unmistakable, and disgust rose in Arthros throat. “Just fly the damn ship.”

  It didn’t take long for the merchant vessel to detect the incoming Relocun fleet. Three squadrons, 12 fighters each. It was a rge force, significantly rger than the raiding party they had sent earlier.

  They knew. They knew that there would be a trap. They knew that it was a suicide run.

  Arthros pulled his teeth back in a snarl. He was angry at the Sovereignty for putting him here, angry at what they did, and angry that the Relocs were forcing his hand. He didn’t want to kill him, he didn’t want to py any part in their extinction.

  Unfortunately for them, he wasn’t bred for restraint and mercy.

  The battle was utter carnage.

  ***

  Arthros had ordered the captain to maneuver the freighter to the back lines, an order that the captain happily obeyed.

  The rge rectangle ship turned with sluggish inefficiency and was positioned for a clear view of the incoming chaos. The Relocun attack force were only pinpricks on the horizon, but they were coming fast.

  He had no real way to communicate with his pilots while they were in their HWNDs, but they didn’t need his direction. They were experts at their craft, and their battle ingenuity far outcssed the standard drills that other HWND divisions memorized.

  There were only three other freighters in the merchant convoy, and they created a barrier between the incoming fighters. The freighter in the middle carried Fydither, while the twins stationed themselves on the other two. From his position, Arthros had a clear view of the three freighters. He watched as the HWNDs came to life and positioned themselves in preparation.

  Contrary to Fydither’s biological shape, his HWND operated on all fours like a quadrupedal beast. Installed on his back was a rail gun, as rge as the HWND was long. The rail gun started spinning, as it powered up with a purple glow.

  When the first wave was in range, Fydither open fired and the dark vacuum of space was filled with purple fshes. Arthros could almost feel the concussive force of the weapon, a tremor rippling through space.

  The rail gun cut through the first wave like a knife through paper, the Relocs didn’t even have time to comprehend what had happened to them. It was a beautiful light show, celebrating the pointless sacrifice of Relocun lives.

  The other two squadrons evaded the fiery balls of debris with sharp turns, and circled back to avoid Fydither’s onsught. He knew that the Ordanian would be deeply unsettled by the sheer amount of lives he took over the span of a few seconds. He could tell by the way his aim faltered after the immediate destruction of the first squadron. His aim never faltered.

  You’re just following orders, Fydither.

  The twins didn’t have any such moral qualms. They flung off the hulls off their respective freighters and tore after the rest of the Relocuns like predators on the hunt. Their combat was mesmerizing. A combination of fluidity and lethality that could only be described as art.

  Their HWNDs spun around each other in a tight spiral, dodging the enemies' panicked fire with ease. In the same motion they returned fire, fshes of bright purple followed instantly by exploding Relocun ships. The bck void of space was a vibrant canvas of death.

  Something through the chaos caught his eye. A few dozen kilometers beyond the confusion and destruction, there was a ship. anchored in Relocun’s orbit. From this distance it was impossible to identify, but it was suspicious nonetheless.

  “Does this ship have a weapon’s system?” He barked at the captain.

  The Hokkonian jumped, “Of course not! This is a shipping freighter not a battle cruiser.”

  Arthros didn’t take his eyes off the strange ship, “What about a signal tracker? Anything to allow the ship’s navigation to lock onto that vessel.”

  The captain followed the point of Arthros finger and squinted out the viewport. “There’s nothing there.”

  More movement, the ship was leaving. A few more moments and it would fly beyond the ability of his sight.

  “It’s there, we need to track it.”

  “This is shipping freighter, Commander. I’d suggest using the HWND you have docked in the shipping bay.”

  “Your suggestions are meaningless, Captain.” Arthros snarled, “Now do as I say, and move this flying piece of junk.”

  The fat Hokkonian sputtered, “I- I will do no such thing! There is a battle going on, you’re supposed to protect me!”

  If he moved to the shipping bay to get in his HWND, then he would lose sight of the mysterious ship. So, he made the only decision that made logical sense in his mind.

  He grabbed the colr of the Captain’s jacket and heaved him backwards out of the chair. The Hokkonian squawked in protest but didn’t fight back. He collided with the grated metal floor and y in a dazed heap as Arthros took the navigation’s chair for himself.

  “This is why you always get in trouble.” Zero commented.

  Arthros only grunted in response and forced the thruster forward. The ship obeyed the command with a sluggish lurch. He leaned heavily on the thruster and the massive freighter slowly began to pick up speed.

  You could have just sent me.” Zero pressed.

  “Enough!” He snapped.

  He could feel her recoil, but he refused to feel guilty. Sometimes she forgot her pce, and besides, he knew she was right. This would inevitably get him in trouble, but what would they expect him to do? Sit in the cockpit and watch, he was a soldier not an observer.

  As the freighter cut through the battle, he saw Fydither pause his attack. His link vibrated and he twisted his palm open.

  “Where you going boss?” Fydither’s voice emanated from his palm.

  “Someone’s watching us, once the Relocs are dead, escort the rest of the convoy and I’ll meet you there. Rey this order to the twins.”

  He closed his hand into a fist to end the call and readjusted his grip on the controls. The Freighter was gaining on the ship, and from that distance the green Union colors were visible.

  “I knew it!” He snarled.

  “Turn-turn this ship back around, this instant!”

  Arthros turned to see the barrel of a side piece bster trembling in his face. The captain was clutching it with both hands. Sweat dripped down his face and pooled in the folds of his neck. His spines lifted from his skin but drooped in a pathetic dispy.

  “Are you going to shoot me Captain?” Arthros sneered.

  “Yes!” The pudgy Hokkonian’s voice was shrill, “I will if you don’t go back to the others.”

  Arthros bared his teeth, “Do it then! Take command, this is your vessel, and I took it from you.”

  The captain’s spines drooped a little more. “I will! On Tril I will!”

  “What are you waiting for then?”

  “For- for you to do what I tell you.”

  Arthros threw his head back and cackled, “I’m not going to do that.

  The captain faltered, “Why?” he asked weakly.

  “I already told you, now sit down and shut up, or shoot me in my Tril forsaken head!” The captain’s arm fell, and the small bster cttered on the floor. He colpsed in a passenger chair where he smoothed his spines and breathed heavily. Arthros snorted in disgust, and turned back to the Union ship which was now clearly identifiable. They made no attempt to evade, the pilot probably assumed the freighter was simply trying to escape the battle.

  “Zero, run a scan, I want to know the pilot.”

  “I’d advice against that, our treaty forbids intrusive scans, they’ll know.”

  “It’s too te, they breached the treaty the moment they took part in this battle. Do it.”

  He could feel the AI hesitate, “Okay, we need to get closer.”

  “I can do that.”

  After a quick search of the console, he found the unch thrusters and smmed his fist into them. The freighter shot forward faster than expected and the Union ship was spooked. It whirled around to escape.

  “Zero?”

  “Closer, those ships are built to protect against invasive scans, I need more time.”

  Arthros cursed and continued the chase. The freighter was moving at an impossible speed now, and the distance between them and the enemy cruiser was closing. Though with every second they hurtled through space, Relocun’s surface grew closer. Soon they’d enter the atmosphere, and inevitably expose themselves to whatever anti-aircraft weapons still remained.

  “Zero.”

  “More time, I almost have it.”

  A bright light fred across the viewport as they ripped through the atmospheric yers. The pale orange of the Relocun desert was visible, they only had a few more seconds.

  “You’re going to kill us!” The captain squealed.

  “Shut up!” Arthros snarled, “Zero!”

  “Done.”

  Arthros smmed the thrusters closed and engaged the breaks. The freighter groaned in protest and for a moment he thought the sudden change in velocity would tear the vessel apart.

  They came to a shuddering halt, with an effort he was able to turn the beast around. Explosions shook around them as the anti-aircraft weapons activated. The unch thrusters were re-engaged and the freighter shot towards open space and out of weapon range.

  After a few moments of heart pounding silence the freighter escaped the pull of Relocun’s orbit and Arthros released the breath he was holding. He sat back with a sigh and allowed the ship to float passively towards the convoy that waited for them.

  “Well?”

  “I’ve uploaded the scan to your link.”

  He twisted open his palm, and the scan results floated in front of him. A deeply satisfying feeling washed over him when he recognized the image of the pilot. Cyprus Atik, Union council member and director of Terminus-14.

  “She’s all yours Captain.” He stood up and motioned to the empty seat.

  The captain stared at him wide-eyed and pale. He swallowed and dabbed at the sweat dripping down his forehead. Arthros traded pces with him and lost himself in the scan results. He would learn everything he could about the woman.

  One thing was certain, the Union was up to something, and she was the key.

  Thanks so much for reading!

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