Gaia Lost

Chapter 6-The Storm

“Prepare to launch all fighters on my mark.” yelled the squadron leader from the cockpit of his fighter craft, the hatch still open.

The ships were of a new design, one Beneth had never seen before with his own eyes. It was a rounded , golden spike that flared out at the back. Seven spikes levitated near the back, all pointing backwards, though, according to the manuals they were handed, they could be pointed in any direction. Each spike housed a powerful engine that ejected concentrated plasma through the tip. No cockpit was visible, nor were any weapons. How the ships worked was kept secret until today, the pilots were expected to wing it.

The squad leaders cockpit closed and quickly sealed. Once sealed, the hatch was indistinguishable from the rest of the fuselage.

Beneth looked around his cockpit, quickly adjusting to his new surroundings. The setup was simple. Two sliding levers controlled most of the ships function and several buttons controlled the configuration of the engine spikes. His view of the outside world was purely digital, an image plastered all over the inside of the cockpit. It was just as if the cockpit was made of glass and he could look out into the world beyond. Beneth gave the cockpit one last look before the leader said the word he had been dreading to hear all day.

“Mark”

Beneth looked down at his two throttle levers and slowly pushed them forward. The ship began to to accelerate down the guide rail, flying forward at an extreme pace before the rail curved upwards, aiming him straight for the raging sky above. Beneth barely reacted to the climb, the ship took the brunt of the force.

Soon they they reached the edge ofthe storm, a swirling mass of wind, rain and lightning, stronger than anything in the known galaxy. Tornadoes swirled down from the storm, striking the water with ferocious force. The storm could be seen for miles around, not even a patch of clear sky was visible anywhere.

“Head for that small opening to the east, its small, but if your careful you should make it through.” Beneth heard the squadron leader say over the radio.

“Order confirmed, heading for the opening.” Beneth radioed back. He wondered how the he could say that, no one had ever attempted to fly during the storm, how could a leader make such assumptions.

The entire group of ships, a total of three squadrons each comprised of five ships, made their way towards the opening in the storm. The opening was smaller than any of them had expected, less than a hundred feet in diameter.

“I don't think we can make it” one of the pilots said, panic in his voice.

“Keep going, you will make it. You don't have a choice.” the squadron leader responded coldly.

The squadron leader was the first to enter the eye, followed by Krova. Both ships jostled from the force of the winds, the storm daring them to go further.

The next two fighters headed for the eye. Beneth could tell right away something wasent going right. One of the two fighters was drifting, he wasent going to make it.

“Fighter D, you are off course, make the necessary adjustment.”
the leader said calmly, his fighter still climbing straight up through the storm.

“I cant, its like the storms sucking me in!” yelled the now panicking pilot.

“Adjust the engine spikes, point them all downward.”

“Roger, adjusting spikes, now.” the pilot managed to utter. It was the last thing he would ever say.

The pilot tried, but it was to late. His fighter got too close to the storm wall and was pulled in. His ship was torn to pieces, swirling deeper into the heart of the storm, never to be seen again.

“Thats what happens when you don't pay attention” the squadron leader said, his voice now with an air of minor uneasiness.

No one said a word.

Now it was Beneth's turn. He was ready. He gunned it, hoping the high speed would resist the storm's pull. He was heading straight upward, constantly making minor adjustments, making sure he wasn't too far to the sides.

A single mistake would result in an instantaneous death, and the dishonor of being claimed by the storm. He reached the opening, praying to the Gods that he would make it through.

He made it. His ship pierced through the opening and into the gigantic storm itself. Now was a mile long tunnel straight up. The hard part was over, but Beneth knew that now was not the time to relax.

“Alright, now comes the easy part.” said the squadron leader, his transmission crackling, “Just keep heading straight up and in about thirty seconds we will get through.”

The rest of the squadrons made it thought the opening, none repeating the dead man's mistake.

The trip through the storms eye was a long one, or atleast it felt that way to Beneth. He still didnt have much experience in the cockpit, the experience was still foreign to him. In reality, the trip was short, less that twenty seconds. Beneth doubted anyone felt it was a swift twenty seconds.
Soon they were through, into the wide open blue sky above.

“Command, this is squadron leader 104a, we are through the storm, proceeding to fortress cruiser Alma.”

“The Alma?” Beneth thought to himself, “The Alma is the largest ship in the fleet, why would they use it in a training exercise? Something big is going on.” He decided to ask the squadron leader.

“Sir, why is the Alma being used in todays exercise?” Beneth asked.

“We had a change of plans, the convoy has begun moving, we are being used in the first attack wave.”

“Shit” Beneth said under his breath. “So much for avoiding a war.”

The fighters continued upwards until they got through the atmosphere. They were now amongst the stars and the Alma hung ominously above them. The ship was massive, over twenty thousand feet in length and manned by a crew of forty five thousand. It looked like four, curved blades attached to each other at the base, forming a claw. Giving off a bright, golden shine and with no visible landing bays or weapon systems, it was an amazing sight. It was the crowning jewel of the Emporer's fleet.

“There she is, remember this moment, not many people ever get to see her in person.” the squadron leader said as if he had seen the ship a million times before.

Two smaller ships jumped in beside the Alma. They were smaller ships, only second class capital ships, and looked tiny next to the fortress battlecruiser. They each only had three hyperspace rings remaining, something the Alma had done away with long ago.

The small fighters slowly approached the Alma, its gigantic hull looming ahead of them. Soon they were within range. The landing bay doors opened up out of what seemed like nowhere. Bright light poured out of the newly exposed doors, inviting the fighters to enter. A female voice came over the radio.

“All squadrons are clear to land, welcome to the Alma.”

The fighters began to land, constantly adjusting their engines in order to safely maneuver into the bay. Within a few minutes all fifteen fighters had landed, Beneth's ship the last to land, the heavy doors closing behind him. He opened the cockpit hatch and looked around the room. A bright yellow glow filled the room, giving everything a yellow hue. The landing bay seemed to stretch forever, littered with every kind of ship the mind could fathom.

Beneth stepped down from the cockpit onto the cold, metal ground below. The rest of his squadron had already left the bay, heading towards the debriefing room. None could be happy about what would come, an hour of debriefing followed by the covert announcement of war.

Beneth turned to see the squadron leader walking towards him. He stood up straight as he could and saluted.

“Stand down kid, I'm not that far up the ladder.”

“Yes, sir, I'm sorry.” Beneth said, embarrassed that he had made such a simple mistake.

“We haven't been introduced yet, I'm not usually in a habit of getting attached to my pilots, but I've heard some interesting things about you. Your friend Krova says you are against the war, is this correct?”

“Yes sir, I just don't see a reason for igniting a conflict. It just seems senseless, like we are looking for a fight.” Beneth said nervously. He knew the response to this would not be a positive one, no one in the military was against war, especially not the higher ups. The response was not the one he expected however. His leader began to laugh.

“What is it, why are you laughing?” Beneth asked, a confused expression on his face.

“You just remind me of myself at your age. You will learn your place in time, your in no position to question the emporer. I learned mine, and I'm glad. By the way, the names Talkir.”

“Nice to meet you.” Beneth said, still nervous. His legs shook and sweat formed on his forehead. Talkir was one of the more intimidating people he had ever met. He was tall, with flowing blonde hair and strong, blue eyes. He was the very image of the Nevian military man.

“I have to go to the debriefing, I hope to see you there.” he said.

“I will be there soon, I need a quick break first, its been a long day.”

“I can understand that.” Talkir said as he walked away towards the door.

Beneth walked back over to his fighter and leaned against it, wondering where he would possibly go from here.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gozrath sat in his chair, thousands of feet above the ocean waves, watching as the storm slowly moved away from the city. The large doors to the room opened up and a cloaked figure moved slowly into the room before kneeling down in front of his emporer.

“What is it?” Gozrath asked, not moving from his seat.

“The fleet is mobilized and ready to move out at any time.”

“Good, we need to crush this little expedition as soon as possible.” the emporer said calmly.

“May I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why do we need to stop the Deltians from discovering Earth?”

“Only I know the answer to that and I am not willing to divulge that information to anyone, not even you.”

“How could you be the only one to know.”

The emporer got up from his seat and walked over to the cloaked figure. He began circling him, examining his every move.

“I lived on Earth, I know more about it than anyone else.”

“What?! Thats impossible. You would have to be over a thousand years old, no one can live that long, even with the aid of implants.”

“Are you calling me a liar?!” the emporer yelled, outraged that he would say such a thing.

“I'm sorry, please forgive me.”

“If you werent so important to me I would kill you where you stand. Never question me again.”

“Yes, my emporer.”

The emporer stopped in front of the cloaked man, looking down on the man.

“Remove your cloak.”

The man removed his cloak. He knelt there, naked on the floor. His face was heavily disfigured, a wretched shell of a man was all that remained. An eye was missing and one arm was gone.

“This is my first time meeting you, am I right.” the emporer said calmly.

“Yes.” the man said, his voice nervous and his body shaking.

“I'm going to give you something, something that you must never tell anyone of.”

Gozrath reached out and touched the stub that was once the disfiguered mans arm. The man screamed in agony as a new arm formed in its place. Gozrath then grabbed the mans face with both hands. His face quickly reformed, even a new eye appeared in the socket.

“What are you?” the man asked.

“I'm just a man, nothing more.”

“But how?” the man said, tears streaming down the sides of his face.

“I can't tell you, because I dont know myself.”