Carpathia IV: Episode 309 - Fortress
Vashta Homeworld
A planet, likely the vashta homeworld, Aire thought, loomed ahead. Before Aire could know what Lazmaedia was up to, he needed to get oriented.
Aire: Status!
Shep: We're almost 1200 light years from where we started.
Amenaru: Minor damage to most systems, but inertial dampeners are operating at only half capacity.
Trex: I've got Lazmaedia. She's headed for that strange moon.
Aire: Viewer.
Perhaps it was once a moon, but now heavily altered. Aire recognized it from Faelon's drawings which Admiral Zhang gave him. This was Lazmaedia's fortress, hollow on the inside aside from some hallways, a few rooms, and a throne room in the middle. No security, at least, not that Faelon could see.
Lazmaedia flew quick and straight into the temple-like structure in the middle.
Shep: I'm reading a shield going up around the moon.
Aire: Teek, get us there before it forms.
Teek accelerated to full thrusters and, abnormally, Aire could feel it. The diminished inertial dampeners now more evident.
Trex: We're not going to make it. The shield is forming too quickly.
Aire: Can we punch through?
Amenaru: Not with Shadowdancer. The shield is too strong.
Aire stood, pausing briefly, while Joust gave him a suspicious side-eye.
Aire: Teek, park us as close as you can to the shield.
Teek: Understood, Captain.
Aire: Keep a sharp eye out for vashta ships or weapons from the moon or the planet.
Shep: Nothing yet, but I'm on it.
A flash of black and red passed before Joust's eyes and he followed the streak all the way to the lift.
Aire: Joust, you have the bridge.
Joust: Captain, what are...
Joust didn't have a chance to finish, for the lift doors were already closing.
Joust: Dammit. Ryuu, follow Aire. He's about to do something stupid. Shuttle Bay 1.
Ryuu's ears flicked up.
Ryuu: How do you know?
Joust: Trust me. Hurry before it's too late.
Ryuu tipped his head to the side and, trusting Joust, rushed to the opposite lift that Aire was now riding.
Shuttle Bay 1, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Aire sprinted through the corridors, past several surprised crew members, to the shuttle bay, making straight for the shuttle car. He jumped inside, immediately setting himself on the controls to begin the start-up sequence. He tapped at the buttons with lightning speed, but, after the fourth or fifth mistake, he didn't know how many, he stopped and took a deep breath. After that brief pause, he proceeded again, more slowly this time, and the startup sequence initiated.
While the engines did their business, Aire turned his attention to the shuttle doors, which he could open via the controls. This was much easier, a few taps to activate the force field and open the door. Seconds later, the engines were primed and he was ready to go. He put the shuttle car in gear and then... a warning light and alarm blared.
Aire: Rear hatch open?
Aire glanced back to see that the hatch was, indeed, open. Confused, thinking that it was already closed, he looked around to find the correct button. Perhaps, he thought, he hit it accidentally earlier. He found the button and closed the hatch. The alarm ceased and he took off through the bay door.
Aire steered the shuttle car around the Shadowdancer and towards the shield. It was, he knew, the only vessel designed to penetrate enemy shields. The same vehicle that entered the Blood Agony's shield weeks ago. Aire set the shield modulation to automatically match the moon's shield and took the shuttle car in at a snail's place. Initial contact was bumpy, sending shudders throughout all the plates and panels. A few agonizing seconds passed before the shuttle car was through. Now, he could make haste to the moon's entrance.
Ryuu: Aire!
Aire: GAH!
The shuttle car swerved while Aire composed himself.
Aire: What the hell are you doing here?
Ryuu: Joust told me to follow you to the shuttle bay and I'm glad he did.
Aire slouched over the controls while Ryuu climbed over the seatbacks to sit shotgun.
Aire: You shouldn't have come. Now we'll both probably die, but I intend to either kill Lazmaedia or disable the shield, whichever I can manage. The second one is most likely. This is a suicide mission.
Ryuu: And I'm the only one you can't order around, so I'm here whether you like it or not and I'm pretty sure you're not going to try to kick me off now that we're through the shield. We have better odds together. Now, what will we do when we get in there?
Right on all counts, Aire thought. He would have ordered any other crew member away. He would have tried to kick Ryuu out. Tried, at least, but Ryuu was no pushover. The only way now was forward.
Aire: During my last meeting with Admiral Zhang, she showed me drawings that Faelon made. He accompanied Ksenva into this fortress one time and drew for us what he saw there. It's not exactly a map, but I spent many hours memorizing them. He also said there were no defences and no guards. It is her solitary place.
Ryuu: That makes sense. Normally, she wouldn't need guards or defences besides the shield. Now, she only has 12% of her power remaining if I were to guess. She is very vulnerable. If I can get in direct contact, I might be able to take that last bit off of her.
Aire sighed as he wiped sweat from his brow.
Aire: Let's hope that's enough.
With each holding their breath, the shuttle car flew in between the center columns, an opening wide enough for the Blood Agony itself to fly through. Possibly, Aire thought, that its hangar was within, but that did not matter. Inside, a black void, too far to see to the top or bottom. No stars. Nothing but a tiny pinprick of light ahead. Faelon's drawings depicted this, but mere drawings couldn't have prepared Aire for the vastness of this chasm. Though he knew the tiny light in the distance was the landing area, minutes passed and it did not appear to be getting closer.
Eventually, the light did start to grow larger in their windshield until they could see a landing pad big enough for a vashta ship to land on. Aire brought the shuttle car around in a slow, half circle to position the nose toward the way they came in for a hasty escape, lowered the wheels, and landed.
Aire: No sign of defences so far. As you said, it seems she is the defence. Be careful.
Ryuu: Don't have to tell me twice.
Aire grabbed a rifle at the floorboard before opening the door to step out. The platform was surrounded by a void above and below, piano-black darkness, the height and depth going for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles. Beyond the circle was a pylon that extended through the inky void, the end of which Aire could just barely make out the outline of the entrance to the inner sanctum. With each nodding to the other, Aire and Ryuu broke into a brisk jog across the pylon.
Nearly to the other side, Ryuu called out.
Ryuu: Above you!
Aire looked up to see Lazmaedia, wings spread as wide as a airplane, hurtling toward him from above. With only a split second to react, he jumped backward just in time to avoid getting squashed. Lazmaedia landed where he once stood with a resounding thud strong enough to crack the floor. She swiped at him with her clawed hands and again, he jumped backward, but only avoided the full force of her blow, sustaining a vicious scratch from the left side of his face all the way down to the right side of his waist.
Aire staggered back while Lazmaedia thrust her hand out. He braced himself, having seen this before when Ksenva blasted Adell straight through the back of his captain's chair. He braced, expecting that he would go flying clear back to the shuttle car or, worse, off the platform entirely and into the deep void below. Instead, he received what could only be described as a moderate shove, and he fell backwards onto his ass.
All of this happened in mere seconds, before Ryuu even had a chance to jump on her, but jump he did, and immediately set to pressing his paw to her forehead. Lazmaedia shrieked as she struggled against him, only shaking him off when she elbowed him in the ribs, the same spot that Sorchae had just bandaged not long ago.
Ryuu toppled to the floor, clutching his ribs, while Lazmedia spread her wings again, facing Aire once more, but now he was back on his feet and raising his gun, aiming at her face. Lazmaedia turned and flew away while Aire fired, though none of his shots found their mark. She was gone, disappeared inside her fortress. Aire rushed to Ryuu's side.
Aire: Ryuu! Are you okay?
Ryuu rolled over and staggered to his feet.
Ryuu: I'll be fine. She just got me in a tender spot. Did you see which way she went?
Aire: Into her fortress and I think she turned right inside. She might be headed for her throne room.
Ryuu: I got her good that time. She doesn't have much left. Let's go finish her off.
Aire and Ryuu ran together into the fortress and then to the right once inside. Faelon's drawings, though dark with a childlike horror feel to them, again, did not capture the scale of the fortress. Shiny, black floors. Vaulted ceilings. A vast emptiness. Ryuu stopped suddenly and sniffed the ground.
Ryuu: A bit of blood, and it's fresh. I scratched her more than I thought.
Ryuu sniffed more, carefully padding along, looking for a trail.
Ryuu: This way!
Ryuu darted away, wings spread, but not flying, using them to get lighter on his feet to run faster. Faster, unfortunately, than Aire and he could not keep up. Not that he didn't try. He wasn't as fast as he normally was owing to the slash that Lazmaedia gave him. Still, he pressed on, not able to see Ryuu, but following the click clack of his claws on the obsidian floors growing more and more silent.
Then, he heard it. Another shriek, similar to the last one, and Aire ran toward the noise as fast as he could. Rounding a corner, he found Ryuu laying on his side, but still moving.
Aire: Ryuu! Are you okay?
Ryuu: She got me good that time, but I've gotten her drained to nearly zero. Go finish this. I'll be fine!
Ryuu watched as Aire gritted his teeth and gave him a nod. With his gun raised, Aire ran as fast as he could, fading into the distance, his echoing footsteps gradually fading until, silence.
Ryuu struggled to get to his feet, much moreso than last time, wondering if he might have cracked another rib or strained one that Sorchae had just fixed not long ago. Just as he was about to follow Aire, his left ear flicked up, drawn to a faint beeping noise nearby. Ryuu turned his head to follow the noise and found a small, wall-mounted console with an ominous red light flashing on it. He pulled himself up to the console and read the display.
Ryuu: Oh no...
Ryuu dropped his front paws down from the console and, ignoring his re-injured ribs, ran as fast as he was able, following Lazmaedia's blood scent.
Alone, in pursuit of Lazmaedia, Aire realized another benefit of the fortress design. Camouflage. He couldn't run as fast as he'd like because he kept having to scan the pitch black floor and walls in case she was trying to hide from him. Still, he was sure of the direction he was headed, Lazmaedia's throne room. The closer he came, the more blood he found on the floor, giving him a trail to follow. After rounding the final corner, he found her, sprawled on the floor, desperately trying to crawl away. Aire slowed to a walk and Lazmaedia stopped, looking up at him with a scowl. He held up his right hand, still stained red from his attempt to save Nalma.
Aire: You see this? This is the blood of my tactical officer.
Aire put his hand back on the trigger of his gun and aimed at her face.
Aire: It is the blood of my chief engineer. It is the blood of every aptaran, every cytosian, and everyone else killed in your name.
Aire raised his gun and took careful aim at his target, giving Lazmaedia one last chance to sneer at him.
Lazmaedia: Fucking Valros.
Aire pulled the trigger. A burst of light, and all was silent. Lowering his gun, he stood, weary, chest heaving, as he gazed upon the remains of Lazmaedia, her head torn open from his shot.
From behind, he heard the tick tack of Ryuu's claws rapidly drawing near.
Ryuu: Aire, stop!
Aire glanced back, just as Ryuu skidded to a halt, knowing that he could clearly see that it was too late to stop anything.
Aire: I'm sorry, Ryuu. Even in this weak state, she was too dangerous to be kept alive.
Ryuu: It's not that! She's keeping a First One here as a pet and the containment system holding it is entirely tied to her being alive!
Aire froze, his brain stuck in recall. First One. The cosmic horrors that existed before the universe formed and usually lived in the wall between realities. Here? Now? Confirmation came when a deafening growl filling the entire fortress, deeper and lower than anything he'd heard before. Aire's chest tightened and his limbs shook as the growl consumed him with atavistic dread. Only when the floor suddenly dropped several inches, cracking all around him, did he snap back to his senses.
Ryuu: RUN!!!
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Colourbrand
Falke2009
