Shadows Bear No Names (The Blackened Prophecy Book 1) (28 page)

Chapter THIRTY-EIGHT

WELL OF SORROWS

Ray and the survivors of the temple assault made their way to the bridge of the
Deviator
without delay. Ray felt beaten, his body on the edge of collapsing. Alarms rang in his head.
No, not in my head.

“Never a dull moment,” Sarah said with a sigh.

“What’s going on?” Ray asked to the officer escorting them.

The lieutenant was equally surprised, looking around in a daze. “It is a condition one alert.”

“Which is...?” Sarah waved the man to continue.

“Action stations,” Captain Samir answered, speaking for the first time since they’d landed, pushing the group aside and taking the lead. “The enemy fleet. Something must’ve gone wrong.”

“What a surprise,” Ray muttered under his breath.

“Follow the corridor at the end of this tram line and take the turbo-lift to the bridge,” the lieutenant escorting them said hastily, “I need to be at my station.” He gave a curt salute to Captain Samir and left the main hallway, disappearing into one of the corridors connected without another word.

“Well, that was educational,” Sarah said.

By the time they reached the bridge, the place was like an afternoon fish market in Beijing.

Ray found Admiral Conway near one of the stations, talking to Reverend Marcus and Brother Cavil. “Admiral,” he saluted. “What’s going on?”

“I might as well ask you the same thing.” Rebecca looking up from the monitors, and at Ga’an in particular. “The stone, Serhmana, it has been located and being transferred as we speak.”

“That easy?” Ray’s eyebrows raised. “No aliens, no assassins, no dramatic crashes? Just like that?”

“The Consortium has a tactical regiment there. I happen to know the commander in charge. They have extracted the stone for us and sending it with transport.”

“A transport? That would take too long!”

“It is not a trade transport, Mr. Harris. It is a Special Forces transport with a military jump drive and access codes to restricted gates. We will rendezvous with the transport here within the day. Sometimes the fate is fair Mr. Harris.”

“In my experience, it’s usually pulling a nasty prank.”

Admiral Conway gave a faint smile. “We can discuss the details later. Now, what is
that
?” she asked, pointing at the huge arachnid ship. “Lieutenant, zoom in.”

“They will destroy the planet,” Ga’an said, watching the view focus on the huge ship. The chatter around him died with his words and everyone turned to look at Ga’an, disbelief and defiance in their eyes.
And fear,
Ray noticed.

“They will do
what!
” Admiral Conway narrowed her eyes, locking her stare on the Ancient.

“It is what they do, Admiral Conway. They have achieved their goal,” Ga’an said. “The planet has no further use for them. No point risking letting the temple stand with Ancient scriptures talking about the Arinar and the Lohil. Not when they know a Lohil lives.”

“And you did not think of telling us this earlier?”

“You did not ask. There is no way for your fleet to prevent it, Admiral Conway. They are stronger.”

Ray felt a tingling sense behind his eyes.
He’s talking as if it’s about the cherry pie of Aunt Helen.
Ga’an sounded uninterested in their efforts after they lost Mara’tthane back on Pendar. He fought like a warrior and survived. Ray realized the man didn’t want to
.

“How do we stop this?” the admiral pushed.

“You cannot,” Ga’an answered. “Your ships are formidable, yet powerless before Baeal. This,” he pointed at the arachnid ship on the screen, “is not even a mother ship. We will all die.”

To Ray’s surprise, Sarah slapped Ga’an. “That’s enough! You can at least pretend you care!” She was crying. “What happened to the honor-bound Praetor?”

“There is no hope. We lost the Arinar,
Sarah Davis,” Ga’an whispered.

“You lost the stone!” Brother Cavil jumped in, looking terrified.

Ray sighed, rubbing his eyes. He suddenly felt a hundred years older, his crash on Bunari seemingly eons ago. “They were already at the temple when we got there. We tried but they destroyed the stone,” he said, hardly able to keep his voice firm.

“How?” Admiral Conway asked.

“I touched it and it worked. Then, it melted away as if I triggered a booby trap.”

“Then all is lost,” Brother Cavil’s voice cracked. “The stones need to be in harmony to work properly. All five stones…”

Ray watched every man and woman in the room fall into despair. Even Admiral Conway seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

“Ma’am, the enemy fleet is retreating!” called one of the officers at the tactical station.

“Why?” Admiral Conway rushed to the main screen.

“They are retreating to their plane,” Ga’an said, watching the red dots disappear from the screen one by one. “Their work is done here and they cannot inhabit this plane too long without an active gate. The arachnid ship will fire and then they will all be gone.”

As if to confirm Ga’an’s claims, the red glow under the alien ship brightened, almost shadowing Pendar’s Sun in the distance.

“By the Light…” Brother Cavil whispered, watching the main screen, his mouth open in horror.

***

The beam hit the planet’s surface, melting the point of impact, turning the green-brownish land to bright orange. A few seconds later, the beam emerged from the other end of Pendar, penetrating the core of the planet, ignoring the several thousand kilometers of rock and iron composing the world’s crust and mantle.

Within minutes, the sphere before them morphed into a huge, molten rock, great pieces of land breaking off from the main body, revealing the melting core.

“Report!” Rebecca barked, collecting herself. The admiral’s voice woke everyone from the nightmare. “Report, damn it!”

“Planet’s surface temperature reads over a thousand degrees and rising,” one of the officers said. “Explosion shockwave will reach us in two minutes.”

“Shields to maximum! Pass the order to every ship! Automate the turrets and target anything big coming our way.”

“Ma’am, the alien fleet has disappeared from radar,” a young female officer added. “The enemy capital ship is gone as well.”

Rebecca sunk into a nearby chair, unable to take her eyes from the burning, broken planet on the main screen. She had expected a bombardment, perhaps an invasion but not eradication.

“Take us to the rendezvous coordinates,” Rebecca ordered, hoping her voice sounded confident enough, trying to keep her tears at bay. “Signal the rest of the fleet to join the main task force near Mars.” The shockwave hit with a powerful rattle but it wasn’t anything the shields couldn’t handle at maximum power. Fortunately, the huge rock formations were not on a collision course with the fleet. Rebecca found the strength in her to give a sigh.
A small favor from whomever is watching over us, in his entire sick game.

“Your incompetence has cost us the planet!” someone shouted from the other side of the bridge. “Instead of facing the enemy, you acted like a coward!” The owner of the voice pushed his way through the officers. It was Commander Matthews and he wasn’t alone; a squad of marines accompanied him. “Admiral Conway, you have put faith in some strangers and a fairytale.” He pointed accusingly. “Your actions led to the death of over two hundred million people.”

“Matthews?” Rebecca folded her arms, patiently awaiting the man to finish his words but her temper was rising and the corners of her lips contracted with every word from Matthew’s mouth.

“You lack the will to command a fleet against an enemy of this magnitude.”

“Commander Matthews, what has gotten into you! I really do not have time for this charade. I will tell you nicely. Get the hell off my bridge!”

“Admiral Rebecca Conway, under article two, section two, cause five, I hereby relieve you of duty. Captain Samir, please escort the admiral and these frauds to the brig.”

Everyone watched the exchange in confusion, not daring to say a word.

“Captain?” Matthews turned to face the seasoned marine when he saw the man did not move. “I believe I gave you an order.”

“Sir, kindly, leave me out of it,” Captain Samir took a few steps back, his hands in the air.

Rebecca stepped forward, moving close to Matthews, “Son,” she growled, “I have been winning wars before your father decided to buy you toys!” She grabbed the commander by the neck, “I suggest you leave this room while you can still walk.”

“No!” Matthews pushed her back and pointed his gun. “You are
relieved
of duty.”

A blast exploded Matthews’ head, scattering his brains all over the tactical console.

“What the—” The squad leader leveled his weapon at Ga’an but hesitated when the dead man flickered, much like the Baeal ships had, and morphed into a dark-bluish-skinned, bald man. He was Baeal but his appearance was different than the ones they saw on Pendar—albeit with half his head splattered all over the marine squad. Its eyes were white with slightly bluish pupils, all covered with some sort of semi-transparent cornea and he was somewhat smaller.

Rebecca stared at the dead man for a minute, then turned. “Mr. Ga’an?”

“Insubordination is punishable by death,” the tall Ancient said. He was the only one who seemed unsurprised. He gave the gun back to the guard standing beside him, who looked ashamed at having let Ga’an take his weapon without noticing.

“That’s more like it,” Sarah said, wiping tears but smiling at Ga’an.

“So, this is what happened on your ship, son?” Brother Cavil asked, looking at the dead Baeal in disgust. “You said your doctor attacked you.”

“Ours looked different, deformed.
Incomplete.
This man”—Ray nodded at the dead alien—“he looked like the real deal to me.”

“Except for his sudden change in character. I should have seen it earlier,” Rebecca allowed herself to smile, waving one of the ensigns to handle the cleaning. “You are an interesting man, Mr. Ga’an.” Her face hardened immediately after the small crack she had shown. “Mr. Ga’an, I have to ask you to help Captain Samir locate any other intruders. Start with key locations like the engine room and the armory.” She gave another look at the dead alien on the floor. “I believe we will find our own Matthews’s body somewhere in the ship as well.”

Ga’an nodded respectfully and accompanied the marines from the bridge.

She turned to face Raymond Harris. “Mr. Harris, what happened on that planet exactly?”

“As I said, they were already there when we landed,” the man said. “We tried to save the statuette, but some hologram appeared and the Arinar melted after I touched it.”

“Hologram?” Rebecca raised an eyebrow.

“More like a transmission,” Ray explained. “It was a Baeal but he was disguised as a human, just like Commander Matthews. He said his name is Goehring.”

“Goehring?” Rebecca asked, narrowing her eyes. “Theobald Goehring?”

“Yes.”

“By the gods!” Rebecca turned and ran to the communications terminal, pushing aside the liaison officer. She pressed a few buttons and entered her command code. “This is Admiral Rebecca Conway, patch me to Eberhardt!”

Raymond Harris and the others followed her with questioning eyes. Rebecca raised her head and this time, had no strength left to hide her fear.

“Theobald Goehring is one of the four Sky Marshals of Consortium fleet…”

Chapter THIRTY-NINE

ROTTEN TO THE CORE

“
That
man’s a Sky Marshal of the fleets?” Ray’s jaw dropped.

“Yes,” Rebecca said. She was still trying to reach Eberhardt and the board of directors but the relay station on Mars was unable to forward the signal to Earth. “Something is wrong.” She leaned back, giving up.

“What do you mean?” Sarah stood looking at the monitor with her.

“Look,” Rebecca explained patiently, “the man has access to
everything
about the fleet. Codes, task force movements, personnel files, defense grid codes. He probably knows about the rendezvous as well.”

“The rendezvous?”

“The cargo ship bringing the other stone. We are to meet with CTC
Birdie
for the transfer. We did not want to attract attention. A small armored transport is carrying the Arinar.” She left the communications station and went to check in with Reverend Marcus and his son. It was too late to prevent the damage done by this Baeal posing as Goehring—she had to focus on stopping him from inflicting more.

“Any ideas, Reverend?” she asked. The elder was working on the data he and Brother Cavil had gathered through the net while Ray and the others were trying to save Mara’tthane.

“Well”—the elderly man scratched his hair thoughtfully—“there is no doubt Mr. Harris here is the only one who can activate the stones.” Reverend Marcus brought out an image of ancient scriptures taken from one of the temples on Bunari. “Here,” he marked a particular spot, circling some of the symbols. “These symbols here say the Lohil, and only the Lohil can interact with the Arinar. I am now certain that the Lohil acts as the sixth stone, a hub for all the Arinar.”

“It also seems the stones are somewhat connected to one another,” his son added. “We believe it is also possible to link them and use against the Baeal as one
.
Like six stones acting as one, big Arinar.”

“How are we supposed to link them?” Ray looked at the two stones on the projection table before them.

“That is not clear,” Reverend Marcus admitted. “I wish Ga’an knew more. The scriptures are ambiguous, telling about the Lohil tying the five Arinar to his soul to prevent the Nightfall.”

“Great.” Ray frowned.

“Any more information about this Nightfall?” Rebecca asked.

“Not exactly.” Reverend Marcus scratched his nose this time. “However, I am fairly certain now these scriptures predate the Nucteel. Ga’an’s people simply translated the passages and adapted the teachings into their own belief system in time. Perhaps after the Baeal invasion Ga’an talked about.”

“Ga’an said it was their final hour. His people’s last defense,” Ray said.

Reverend Marcus pursed his lips. “It is what Ga’an says but it does not explain the ruins and other things we had discovered about the Nucteel. Perhaps something happened after Ga’an found himself near that Baeal gate.”

“We’re lost in translation then?” Ray frowned.

“It is possible,” Reverend Marcus nodded. “But if they translated it right and if I am correct with my own, then I would say this Nightfall was something so horrifying, Baeal themselves were terrified by it.”

“Something terrifies those things gives me the chills, old man.”

“It may very well be a weapon to use against the Baeal,” Rebecca reasoned but Reverend Marcus stopped her short.

“No. It is described as the end of all life. Like a destroyer of worlds. I do not think something of that magnitude would be a power to be toyed with.”

“The apparition, he told me I’m the harbinger of doom and I’m to be dealt with before things get worse. So,” Ray shrugged, “if anyone wants to finish the job and be done with it…” He raised his arms and smiled. Next, he was clawing the air for…air.

Sarah folded her arms. “You babble stupid things again, I’ll punch you twice. In the face, Skipper.”

Brother Cavil coughed, “Well, son, it is brave of you to sacrifice yourself but even if a bit of these writings are true, we need you to be around for the sake of using the Arinar. However, we do not know what will happen without the Mara’tthane, the lock stone.” The old priest tried not to sound ominous but Rebecca saw Brother Cavil’s hands shake. His voice trembled.

“What about the fifth stone? This…” Rebecca tried to recall the name.

“Yrrha, the shield stone,” Reverend Marcus answered. “It is located on Earth, somewhere in South America.”

“How do you know that?” Ray asked. “We couldn’t use the Ijjok to find it. I was blocked somehow.”

“From these.” Reverend Marcus pulled another image from the data pad he had, showing a pyramid structure with a mural detailing a war against what looked like winged demons.

“I know that mural!” Brother Cavil said.

“Yes, my son. It is the same image as in the temple on Bunari. From what I learned, these murals are only found on the temples with an Arinar in them. I was not certain until I saw your mission footage of Pendar, because the site I worked on
my
Arinar was long desecrated by imbeciles by the time I arrived at the excavation site.”

“So, Earth has a temple like this one as well? Why the Ijjok could not locate it?” Rebecca asked.

“Yes. Yrrha is a shield stone and we do not know what that means. It may very well be shielding itself from such endeavors. Or something else might have happened to the stone.”

“Then we’ve to presume it’s compromised as well,” Ray frowned. “We don’t know how deep Goehring’s treachery goes.”

“True,” Rebecca agreed. “A strike team will try to locate the stone. In any case, we will head for Earth after we receive Serhmana. Reports are all fuzzy,” she paused, pursing her lips, “but it seems another gate has appeared near Saturn, similar to the one we had encountered in Samara’s Star.”

“Great Light,” Brother Cavil murmured, voicing everyone’s thoughts.