Into the Black

(BSS Starlight Raven, Dimiya System)

It felt good to be back in the pilot’s seat of my own ship once again. And I was flying it into one insane situation. Somehow, it almost felt like going full circle. The first time I flew, I was under fire, too.

Thankfully, my little ship wasn’t the focus of all the fire, this time. While the remaining Ihm ships were burning hard for the Imperial fleet, they weren’t forgetting about my ships, trading fire as they went. However, once I got myself down, below the firing line, that wasn’t really an issue. No one on those big ships was going to pay attention to a single light freighter, not in this situation.

Well, probably not. The Ihm had shown themselves to be rather obsessive since their fall from grace. They were clearly obsessed with taking down Commodore Dakha, because of the slights she’d given them. And they were definitely not fans of me, either. But something about the Empress had turned not just them, but all the forces invading the system, into mad dogs chomping at the bit to try and get at her.

It had to be the psychic might that had fallen upon her like a mantle when she had been caught in that psychic shockwave. She was the focal point of the entire Empire’s hopes and dreams, in a way, especially after the Civil War. And, somehow, that energy focused itself in Hellspace, and, when we were exposed to the psychic shockwave, altered her, or augmented her, to fit the people’s view of her.

So, between that and the psychic presence I could feel easily, even from this distance, through the chaos of battle, it wasn’t hard to guess that everyone picked her as the most dangerous target. But there was seeing a dangerous target, and then there was what these people were doing. They were all rushing headlong towards the Imperial fleet, ignoring all else, like they were under some sort of compulsion.

Regardless, that gave the defenders a chance to catch their breath, and regroup. Most of my ships had secured from Last Stand protocols, which were basically self-destruct systems that said ‘There’s room enough in this grave for you, too.’ Simply put, they removed the safety systems that kept ships from doing a lot of nasty things that were extremely fatal to the ship and anyone on the receiving end.

The Raven was faster than the big warships, of course, so we eventually slipped ahead of the Ihm fleet. That was a bit worrying, but the gunners, thankfully, were too worried about the Imperial fleet ahead and the Black Star fleet behind to pay much heed to a single freighter. In less than ten minutes, we were coming up on Ydan.

Raven spoke in my ear, “Incoming transmission from Triumphant. Landing coordinates.”

“Got it,” I replied. “Setting course now. Keep an eye out for enemy weapons and fighters. So far, they are ignoring us, in favor of the people actively shooting and resisting them, but we all know that can change really quick, if we get too close to something they’re wanting to protect.”

“Pair of Imperial fighters moving to intercept. Also detecting drops ships from the Imperial fleet, making for the surface. A shuttle has just identified itself as Imperial One. Imperial One is heading for the landing coordinates Triumphant gave us.”

That was the sign for any shuttle or small craft carrying the Empress herself. I took a breath, and nodded. “All right. Hail the fighters, and keep on course.”

The two fighters formed up on the Raven, and began escorting us to the landing site. Below, we saw the fighting grow more intense, as different forces pushed to try and take out the populace of the world. But we weren’t going to drop in and save those embattled forces.

No, the coordinates we had would put us far behind enemy lines. The only way that we would help anyone on the front lines of the planet was by drawing off reinforcements, and maybe even causing the front lines to pull back. With the Empress apparently commanding the attention of all enemy forces, and her going down herself, that was a solid way of looking at it.

But I didn’t think merely causing the lines to pull back was her goal. She could do that any number of other ways, and wouldn’t need me here with her to do that. No, there was something else she intended to do. Something I could help with.

Something like closing the rift.

“Incoming fire! Ground batteries with plasma weapons. And enemy fighters detected!”

“Got it. Going evasive. Inform our escort that we’ll take care of the ground batteries, if they deal with the fighters.”

“Tiber 2 acknowledges. They’re moving to intercept fighters.”

“Target locked. Firing.” A press of the trigger and cannons designed for dealing with enemy ships ripped through the demons who were trying to put up some kind of air defense. “We’re past friendly lines. Weapons free, girls. If it is moving and it isn’t crying out as friendly, put holes in it.”

Tiber 2 returned, not long after, missing his wingman. The fighters, which had been X’thari in make, had put up a fight, but the Imperials were better trained, and had made them pay ten times the cost of that one kill. Meanwhile, our guns raked the ground, cutting a swathe of destruction through the demons, and paying special attention to anything bigger than man-size, throwing the enemy infantry into disarray.

Soon, we were at the coordinates. I was swooping down to land, when suddenly I got a little twinge, a bit of premonition hitting me. As I brought the ship to a stop, I left everything running, and said, “Raven, take the con. Girls, keep in your positions. Once I’m off, take off and keep up the work, shooting anything that looks at us twice. I don’t want this ship on the ground longer than necessary.”

There were more than a few angry responses, but when I told them that it was a premonition, and I was giving them an order, the girls fell silent, if only grudgingly. I nodded once to Raven as I left the cockpit, “Keep them safe, Raven.”

Just before I got my helmet on and sealed, I heard her say, “Sure thing, Boss.” I smiled beneath the helmet’s faceplate, and checked my weapons and armor as I made my way to the airlock. I was still running the special operations armor I’d been using back during the Imperial Civil War. I didn’t have the mods and enhancements needed to let me use the new armor that the Black Star Marines wore, or to use their weapons. I couldn’t get them, because of my Chimera biology.

But that didn’t matter. I was far more deadly now than I had been back then. All I needed was my old armor, my energy blade, and my pistol. That, and my Sorcery. A Marine’s armor would just slow me down. A Chainsword and bolter would deny me the precision of my blows.

I stepped out of the airlock, hopping down to the ground as Raven pulled up, and took to the air once again. Imperial troops were forming a defensive cordon, making this landing zone into a defensive position. They parted as I walked forward, letting me pass. Whether it was by the Empress’s command, or because they recognized the markings on my suit, I didn’t know. I didn’t much care at the moment, either. My only thoughts were on the sight before me.

She was clad in ornate golden power armor that shined with her psychic light, showing off every engraving and embellishment. The armor was a work of art, but I could tell that it was fully functional, offering as good or better protection as my own. In her hand she held a sword that blazed with flames of psychic might made manifest, flames that would burn away all that was unclean. She wore no helm on her head, allowing her hair to flow down her back, but the halo of radiance made it hard to look at her in the face, much less target it.

I offered a slight bow as I came up to her, for propriety’s sake. I was not her minion, and would not act like it, but respect must be paid where it was due. All eyes were upon me, upon us, as I spoke. “Empress, it is good to see you again. I would say that it was a surprise, but somehow I expected that we would meet again, even if this wasn’t what I had in mind.”

The Empress smiled, and it was a sight beautiful and terrible to behold. It was like the warmth of a summer’s day, drinking beer while lazily resting under the noonday sun. It was like the first crack of lightning before the storm that would sweep away all before it. It was both and neither, and everything between, all at once.

And then She spoke.

“Ah, my friend. It is good that you have come. More than once, we have fought upon the same battlefield, but always it was ship to ship. Now, let this be the hour we draw blades together! For there are foes aplenty for the both of us, even whilst the defenders of this world safeguard the people as best they can.

“They have their jobs, but we have ours. Before us is the plain where the ritual was conducted that threw open the skies and let these abominations through. I have foreseen two great enemies amongst their number. I have not yet come into my full power, and the two of them together may be enough to wound me enough that I would be unable to force the rift close. And they are threats beyond what normal beings could hope to best, without losing the better part of an army in the attempt.

“That is why I called for you, my trusty friend. Together, we shall hunt them, you and I, whilst my warriors handle the lesser demons. We will cast them down, and slay them. And then, we shall close this rift and end the greatest threat to the people of this system.”

I nodded once, and locked my rifle to my back with the magnetic clamps, and instead fit my hand around the hilt of my trusted energy blade. “Then let us be about it, Empress. The day is waning, and there are demons to kill. My ladies get upset with me if I’m late for dinner.”

The Empress laughed, and turned to face the demons that were waiting, just beyond the reach of my rifle, held back by the presence of wrath and judgement incarnate in her aura. She raised her sword, and all those who were not manning defensive positions tensed, ready for the command. The sword swept forward as she began to charge, and I charged with her. Behind us, the Imperial forces followed suit, roaring out their battle cries as they did so.

The demons, no longer held back by the Empress’s presence, surged forward to meet us, but they soon learned that whether it was me or the Empress, only death awaited them if they got within range of our blades. But they could not backpedal, for any time they tried, either the press of the horde forced them forward, or we came to meet them. Any demon that came within our grasp met the same bitter end.

YOU WERE A FOOL TO COME HERE, NOMAD!

GET FUCKED, BITCH!

I WILL CONSUME YOUR SOUL FOR THIS INSULT!

COME AND GET IT, THEN!

My psychic shields made me taste blueberries as they turned up to deal with the psychic onslaught of the mind that tried to reach out to me in a woman’s voice. The pressure stopped for a moment as I yelled back my reply, before returning with a vengeance, as an animalistic scream of rage sounded in realspace. She did not like my reply, apparently.

I did not need to wait long to figure out where the scream came from. As a massive demon holding what looked like an obscenely large cannon in one hand, and a blade in the other took aim, and began firing at the Empress, forcing her to throw up a psychic shield to block the concentrated Hellspace energies it spat out, a shadow appeared from above, and I just barely rolled out of the way before a green-scaled creature crashed down, intending to crush me flat. Rolling to my feet, blade at the ready, I saw myself face to face with the massive demon dragon that had once been the Imperatrix of the Ihm Imperium, now, the Demon Princess and Champion of her dark goddess.

And she was pissed with me.