Adventures of the USS Tigershark, 01

Chapter 1: Star Demon

Har-Hi watched as the Kartanian transport climbed into the sky and disappeared moments later. Then he activated atmospheric flight modus on his battle suit and flew south. He checked on his tactical readout and saw five marines, Shea, Hans , Krabbel and TheOther doing the same thing.

He didn’t know exactly where to go, as the NAVINT officer who was posing as the First Magistrates pilot chauffeur had not yet transmitted any coordinates or directions.

Shea came on and said. “It is nice to be on a mission and not stuck in the ship all the time, but I wish we could have gone together.”

Har-Hi responded. “Don’t worry, the Captain can take care of herself. The Karthanian slave lords have no chance.”

He could hear breathing for a moment and then she said. “I know, I am still worried, Erica is changing and I don’t mean how she gets more comfortable being female.”

He said. “I just think she is growing up. We are all growing up. We were just kids when we met.”

But while he said that he knew what she meant. He had very briefly seen what was sleeping inside his best friend. There were no words he could describe it, but he who rarely feared anything still could feel the sheer terror he had felt as he noticed the black flames in the eyes of Erica.

The chirping sound of a Comm-request interrupted his thoughts. The Computronic of his suit identified it as a NAVINT short burst scramble. It was just a set of coordinates, not a voice transmission.

He blinked the received data onto a global map and microseconds later changed his course and increased his speed to ten times the speed of sound.

The coordinates were almost on the other side of the planet and belonged to a mountainous island that stuck out from the only open water body the planet had an immense salt lake.

About hundred kilometers out they dropped to subsonic speeds, as their cloaking shield could not hide the streak of glowing air molecules their high-speed flight generated.

Shea, always the scientist cooed over the immense salt lake and said. “According to my readings, the lake water has a salinity level of over 48 percent, no wonder it is still liquid despite the freezing temperatures out here.”

One of the Marines reported almost simultaneously. “ Sir, there are no life sign readings within 200 miles, except at the target zone.”

Har-Hi acknowledged both and told them to reduce their speed further and to approach with the greatest stealth possible. He sends two marines three miles up and right over the island, so they could give sniper cover.

The island was no bigger than maybe ten acres and had a collection of surface buildings. A single scaffold-like tower stood over a concrete rimmed hole. It was part of an elevator system or hoist mechanism. Har-Hi’s optic sensors had no problem zooming in on the black flyer limousine that parked next to the collection of buildings. There were dozens of well-concealed pillboxes all around the compound and each of them registered two life forms and a high energy signature, most likely a blaster weapon.

Whatever the Drak were hiding there, they did not want to share it with anyone else.

Har-Hi felt confident in the Atlas suit technology and the cloaking and flew closer. Shea was now floating right next to him. “Whatever it is they are hiding, I guess we have to go down there and check it out, my suit sensors are unable to pick anything, they must be quite deep under the surface.”

Har-Hi agreed and said. “Hans you and the Marines stay out here and form a perimeter guard. Shea, Krabbel, and TheOther go down and check what they are hiding. If you do not hear from us after two hours, you come after us.”

Har-Hi could almost hear the frown in the face of his friend as Hans responded. “Yes Sir, but you could simply send me down first.”

“Sorry Hans, I am sure I need Shea’s scientific expertise and I need you out here to make sure whatever they are brewing or launching is stopped, in case we don’t make it in time.”

Har-Hi then took the lead and dove head first into the concrete-lined shaft.

The concrete was replaced by natural rock as they descended. Har-Hi could see lights far down and his suit sensors told him that the shaft floor was almost 2456 meters below him.

Shea said. “That rock is heavily laced with magnetite and other minerals, no wonder our sensors are not really penetrating deeper.”

Har-Hi slowed down and signaled the others to do the same, then he asked. “Will it interfere with our communications?”

“No, it is simple three dimensional this side of normal space interference. I think we should still be able to reach Erica unless she is already past GalNet reach.”

Har-Hi kept his eyes on the elevator cage he could see sitting all the way on the bottom and said. “Let’s not worry the Captain. If we call she will be concerned and turn around.”

Shea agreed. “Yes, we should be able to solve a little mystery on our own.”

They reached the bottom of the shaft. There was no one, the elevator cage was empty and so was the cavernous hall that could be accessed from the elevator shaft. The light came from elements that had been attached to the reddish rock in regular intervals. The floor was smooth. A set of metal begun right by the elevator cage extended into the cavern and after about twenty meters it split into two and each track disappeared into a tunnel. Both tunnels looked identical.

Har-Hi grunted. “That is just great, it appeared they had some sort of tracked vehicle and went down one of those tunnels. Question is, which one?”

Krabbel said. “We are four, two of us for each tunnel and whoever finds something first, calls the others. Come on we are wearing Atlas Battlesuits and we are armed to the fangs, there is nothing the Karthanians or the Drak have that could seriously harm us, besides we have Hans and Marines for back up.”

Shea said. “You are a Dai Warrior, Union trained. I am not just a pretty door stopper in the science lab, I can hold my own. I even brought along my sword.”

Krabbel added. “Come on, Erica would already be done down here.”

Somehow it was that statement that made Har-Hi decide. “Alright you two go down the left tunnel and Shea and I take the right one. Remember if you come across old-fashioned atomic weapons, they can be very powerful, especially in a confined space like this. While our shields should be able to handle the heat and radiation for a while. We are far below the ground and if the bombs are big enough they can overwhelm even our shields. Krabbel held up an egg-shaped device. “We got plenty of EMP grenades.”

Har-Hi said. “As soon as you come across something you call us, you stay cloaked and let Shea have a look.”

They were eager and confident. Krabbel and the towering Y’All hovered away and disappeared into the left passageway.

There was nothing else for him to do but go lead Shea into the other. He had never been afraid of the unknown and his warrior nature wanted to charge ahead and find hundreds of opponents he could fight, but now he was a leader. His best friend and his Captain had put her confidence in him to solve the mystery and bring back everyone. Har-Hi was in charge before when they won the Reagan Trophy and he was the XO of the Tigershark. He knew every soul on board that ship would follow him without question and without hesitation. Yet even a relatively small, primitive Atomic warhead would be a serious challenge to the shields and the armor. He did not believe it was anything small since the Drak hoped to defeat the rebellion and the approaching Oghr warriors. The Drak were light-years behind Union technology and no old-fashioned atomic weapon could do much damage to modern equipped Oghr troops in the open. He was certain it was something more sinister.

His Suit systems told him where Shea was, but he could not see her not even with the advanced sensor optics of the suit he was wearing. She was right behind him.

They both hovered just a few inches off the ground and progressed down the featureless winding rock corridor at about the same speed as a running Attikan. He didn’t dare to fly faster, even invisible the suits displaced air and thus created sounds, besides flying much faster would mean to rely on the suits computronic for steering and he simply wanted to stay in full control.

He checked on Krabbel and TheOther, they both made similar uneventful progress but were now over 12 kilometers apart. He also got a clear connection to Hans who told him, that the actual compound the buildings apart from the concealed pillboxes were completely empty.

Shea said. “We are now far below the salt lake and progressed 8.5 kilometers from the entrance area. Krabbel and TheOther are now progressing steadily into a northeastern direction while we more or less going south now and I think we are following a natural lava flow that has been smoothened into a passage. This would explain the winding nature.”

Har-Hi could not really explain his anticipation and nervousness as he checked his weapon systems for the tenth time and made sure his main TKU was fully charged and set to the highest discharge rate. He acknowledged the ever curious Shea with a short grunt.

She asked. “What is bothering you? Would you rather have Hans with you or maybe Erica?”

He slowed down a little and said. “No, Shea I really wanted you with me. If we come across something alien or ancient technology, you have a better chance to identify it than anyone. I just can’t shake this feeling that we going to face something very dangerous. I don’t think that First Magistrate is a fool, he knows what is coming and yet he is certain whatever is down here will vindicate them.”

She said. “I analyzed the conversation between the Magistrate and the Police Chief and you are right, they might have questionable morals and base their existence on ethics we do not like, but they are both not quite intelligent. I came to the conclusion that they have no control over whatever they will set in motion down here. I further analyzed any available data on that second planet, their planet of origin. I could not detect or verify any excessive radiation regions. A nuclear weapon exchange that turns a planet into an inhospitable wasteland must be quite substantial and such radiation should be measurable even now. I also reject the idea of a biological weapon, since the survivors came here and did not bring it along. It is almost impossible to maintain sterile conditions in a mass exodus as they described. I am confident to say with 89 percent probability that whatever weapons they used was not biological, at least not in the classical terms like bacteria or virus.”

Har-Hi never claimed to have the same analytical intellect as Shea, but he always had a good portion of common sense and without putting it in percentages or detailed conclusions, he had the same ideas ever since he watched the First Magistrate talking. To Shea he said. “All the more reason for us to find out what it is and keep our eyes wide open.

The tracks ended and the corridor widened into a big cavern. The walls were smooth as metal and had a dark gray color and completed a perfectly hemispherical room of fifty meters in diameter.

The floor was equally gray and smooth. In the enter were four towering objects made of the same gray metal. Har-Hi estimated them to be at least twenty meters tall, sickle-shaped with the curved side tapering to needle-sharp ends and almost touching, forming something like a stylized cage.

He saw the Magistrate and the police chief standing right in the center of the room and right underneath those inward bend talon shaped columns.

There was no one else.

Both Drak had cast off their leather coats and wore dark red long robes with wide sleeves. Both aliens had their arms stretched out and just then a bright spot of light appeared floating between them.

Shea said. “I lost contact to the others!”

Har-Hi also noticed that the ComLink indicators in the upper right of his retina display had gone from green to red and no matter how much he looked at them, to tell the system to establish contact, they remained red and the Computronic said. “Current location blocks all TransDim communication. Contact request failed.”

At first, he thought only the four talon shaped like columns started to turn, but then he realized it was the entire floor that started to revolve around that center. As he looked around he could no longer see the entrance. It was simply gone and the wall was gray and smooth.

Shea whispered out of instinct and said. “The material of this chamber resists my scans, but from the reflection rate, I am certain it is a form of Neutronium.”

Har-Hi cursed silently knowing that nothing he had along would cut Neutronium.

Shea was still talking and said. “Whatever they do, it creates TransDim conditions far beyond my comprehension of...”

The white ball of light turned color and shimmered in a dark red. And it started to grow.

Har-Hi wanted to raise his weapon and shoot the Drak, maybe that would stop whatever they were summoning when his Suit system warned him. “Unable to maintain cloaking field.”

From the side, he saw Shea appearing and he knew he too was no longer invisible. He fired, but the TKU bolt was deflected sideways before it reached the men, the bolt hammered into the Neutronium wall of the cave and dissipated.

Har-Hi could no longer see the two Drak, and the red light completely filled the inside area of the four talon shaped columns and from within a form became solid. Something immense, surrounded by flames. Monstrous arms with burning reddish black skin appeared, with razor sharp looking yellowish claws. Har-Hi wanted to step back, but he stood his ground. More arms appeared, the Dai counted six and then he saw the Drak, held like playthings in two of this gnarled oversized blistering fists, they were no longer alive, squeezed like a sponge, blood dripping from between the monster’s fingers. Har-Ho was almost feeling the heat coming from the beast and now it came into full view.

Never had he seen anything like it and his mind reeled trying to find images, words to describe to himself what he saw. He noticed Shea, just as brave was holding out her scanner.”

Har-Hi fired at the things head, that shifted and moved inside a ball of fire. The monster roared as its head was split by the powerful blast, but right after the bolt had passed through the head formed anew and was unhurt as before. The Monster was fast and grabbed Har-Hi. His suit instantly establishing a force field., the Hand of the monster singed away and the being screamed, but just like with his head, the injured hand re-appeared and this time it took Shea. She too was shielded but to Har-Hi’s horror her energy shield collapsed and he firey demon-like monster snatched her up! Har-Hi threw an anti-matter grenade pellet. It detonated with force, his suit had to compensate so he would not be thrown into the wall. The Demon had lost an arm but it too regrew!

Before Har-Hi could even come up with a plan how to defeat that thing. It stepped through the wall, with Shea and then it was gone!

Har-Hi jumped with is augmented muscle and collided with a solid wall. With a glimmer of hope, he noticed that the also neutronium coated claws of his suit left deep scratches in the wall.

He clawed like a maniac and actually made progress, and was able to tear of a sizeable piece, only to be faced with solid rock. His suit sensors capable of penetrating the rock told him that there was solid rock as far as he could scan!

Just outside his field of view, he noticed white light and he turned. There in the center of the room another field of light appeared, this time it was white and a humanoid shape appeared. The light faded and a muscular human man stood in its place. He wore some kind of metallic armor, quite similar to an ancient knight. Over his armor, he wore a white overcoat girded at the hips. A wide billowing cape also of a bright white material around his shoulders. His head covered by a close-fitting chrome silvery helmet that had only a T shaped slit to see. The being also held a long sword-like weapon and the blade itself appeared as if it was made of brilliant white light.

The being slowly looked around and then spoke with a thunderous voice, “Speak, mortal why have thou wakened the Star demon?”

Har-Hi decided not to pretend and he said. “I am Lt Hi, United Stars of the Galaxies. I have come here trying to prevent the Drak from releasing whatever that was. It has snatched a comrade of mine and disappeared.”

The armored being stepped closer, “I am Lord Lumis, I have come to slay the Dark One. To send this vilest scion of death and darkness into oblivion so light and life may reign supreme. This is one of the gateways placed where the veil that separates many planes of existence is weakest.” He looked around and nodded. “A Pree construct, I see. Those meddling mortals have been dealt with and yet their cursed handiwork still exists.”

Har-Hi said. “Whoever you are you seem to know how this works. Can you open the passageway so I can go after my comrade, I fear the worst!”

“Indeed you must fear. What mortal could stand against the child of a living star? The White Knights have guarded this beast for eons. It does not belong to this Universe. The Star demon could have gone to a thousand places, for this is a nexus.”

“Just open the door and let me out. I am sure the thing is tearing Itheamh apart as we speak.”

“I know no such place, but then I have traveled this Universe for a long time and there are so many places. This place however I know. You are at the Nexus.”

A passageway opened and instead of looking into a tunnel, Har Hi stared onto a crater-riddled surface and a star gleaming sky. Har-Hi said. “Where are we?”

“You are at the Nexus, Dai-Than. I know of the World Thana-Shoo where your kind dwells. It is in a nearby Galaxy if I recall correctly.”

Chapter 2 »