Chronicles of The Black
Epilogue:
In the darkness bright lances of light surged through space against a mammoth sized object. As the lances slammed against the its hulk the energy turned to fire and exploded outward. Vacuums swallowed up the fires and the hulls sealed up the holes burned in. The object's energy was decreasing and it's thrusters were dropping power dramatically.
The black mass lurched in its orbit. Its length could only be accurately told by its silhouette against the the azure colored sun burning behind it. Space around it was thick with blackness except for explosions of light that relentlessly surged in the darkness from a swarm of black objects with small blue thrusters. They looked like angry hornets as they frenzied with lancers as stingers against the dark object's hull. Suddenly the swarm broke away, and a larger streak of fire swept from distance almost seeming to come from the bright violet colored planet that the object was in orbit around. The projectile slashed through space at thousands of kilometers per second toward the object and the swarm hungrily frenzied sending countless of bolts of armor-melting plasma against the unknown metallic hull.
Suddenly the black mass lit up with sparks of light. The light wrapped itself around the mass and light bent behind and through it. Its energy melded with the object and sent arcs of white light outward in think tendrils. Even as the projectile picked up more speed and ripped through the distance with exponential increase, the white streaks morphed and looked as if space itself was bending. The tendrils grew brighter and slowly reached into space around, whirling and twisting. Just as the projectile entered within ten thousand kilometers the object was enveloped a blinding eruption of white light that poured into ever inch of blackness. Not one shadow could be seen underneath the blaze.
Silence remained. The light in a nanosecond was gone along with the massive object that it seemed to pour fourth from. Tracers scattered and dissipated and the fiery streak from the missile showed the projectiles confusion at the vanished target. It swirled in the area and twisted its course. A member of the swarm moved away from the mass of small energetic fighter that were frantically scanning the area. The missile's projection system erred at the undefined input of the missing target and replaced it with the swarm member. It lashed out and struck against it in a matter of a second. The light that exploded from it was minute to the objects energy output, anticlimactically ending the battle.
The Amnis::
"Status. Now." A rough voice growled throughout the bridge. The Captain glared at the view screen and almost grew annoyed that the warhead sent against that unknown invader struck out against the drones. The Crucifix Class missile was too destructive and quick for its own good, and yet it wasn't quick enough for whatever in Hades' name that object deployed. He should have sent out more of the drones.
"All 50 drones are still left. Target is gone and scans are showing not particle debris, implying that the object did not self-destruct, my captain." Ops Commander Jartke reported. "The Amnis has received no signals or return fire." At the word that the object did not in fact self-destruct brought a hush over the shocked bridge of the War Cruiser-Class ship.
"OpCom Jartke, are you telling me it just vanished or teleported?" Captain Korhe demanded. It was unreasonable. If it actually had transported itself at above light speeds and if whomever it was meant harm, he knew they would all pay for what had happened today.
"It appears so, Sir."
"Captian Korhe! The drones are returning to dock." The Comm Officer reported.
"Who ordered it!"
"No one... Sir..." The Com Officer was frozen as the whole of the bridge watched in horror as the swarm neared the first ship in the six warship group. The drones converged and decimated the scout frigate. 20 drones unleashed plasma lances of bright hot death upon the hull. Within moments the ship was enveloped in green fiery plasma. Captain Kohre's eyes widened. He knew exactly what would happen if those twenty Ironside drones got to the Amnis. Lives would be crushed under the wrath of super accelerated energy beams. He had no idea why they returned to destroy us, but he had four thousand crew mates to save.
"Target those drones!" Kohre roared as he noticed the other four fleet ships start to lock on and fire. Surges of light flashed as projectile cannons sent depleted uranium shells and plasma bolts toward the swarming death cloud of drones. The drones immediately started to act. They fired back with beams of purple light that ripped into the second closest warship's bridge. Immediately the cruiser's bridge flashed and exploded into space with streaking and incinerating fire.
"My god, how many people on that ship!?" The captain ordered. Cruiser's were bigger than the first destroyed frigate. Not as big as the the captain's own War Cruiser but he feared the numbers that would die.
"Target's acquired, Sir." Jhartke's voice interrupted the solemn thought. "And there are 2032 people on board... now..."
"Fire all weapons, scattered pattern." Kohre ordered. The scattered pattern might work. If everyone drone was fired upon at once it might destroy them all at once and it would not give their computer AI subroutines a chance to respond. He silently wished they were the older versions that could be self-destructed.
The hulk of the Warcruiser lit up brilliantly as beams of light surged forth from the bigger side mounts. The number four on each side. The beams turned each drone they hit into a flower of light. The forward projectile cannons number far more and exploded just as quickly in rapid succession sending rapid volleys of superheated uranium toward the death robotic swarm. The second ship they attacked was already obliterated by the drones and as the swarm propelled forth on it's path of destruction the volleys slammed into them sending them back to motionless metal hulks. The captain watched it all unfold and sighed heavily. The bridge roared in success but he knew that there was no real victory here.
The black monstrously sized object had showed up in deep fleet space, restricted space, failed to hail to the Iris-signals, and somehow had teleported and sent the drone swarm on a death mission. Too many people had been lost for nothing. He was ordered to attack and for the first time in his he regretted following orders from Crimtide Command. He felt his pride of his lifetime dissolve into shame.
to be continued.
