Shadows of the Masters
Chapter 1
The planet was a simple one. Purple-green completely foliated
landmasses, seas of a blue that seemed to glitter from space, it was a purity
not seen on the inhabited worlds inside the Masters' Empire--though to the
Masters' minds, their Empire had no limits. Clean, untouched, its perfection
was only marred by the four man-made objects that circled it lazily from
orbit.
The contrast between the ships was apparent. Three of the vessels
were green, organic. Two of those wide at the rear, sloping down to a point
at the front: cruisers. The third was a smaller vessel, of similar design yet
more streamlined, with a frame that widened as it went back and three bulges
on the rear where the engines sat: a scoutship. Zentradi vessels all, they
radiated a simple aura of power and invulnerability. Undefeatable.
The fourth vessel, however, held the most obvious contrast. Blue, flat-decked, seemingly sprouting with weapons, it was smaller then all of the
Zentradi ships, yet purveyed a feeling of abject majesty, a lord overseeing a
domain soon to be invaded.
Space screamed and blew apart. White energy-light radiated as a new
star appeared among millions more and then was gone, yet not forgotten. In
it's place stood a monstrocity, a ship that seemed more animal then alloy and
metal. Surrounded by dozens of clam-like troop transports stood the Regent's
Flagship. The Regent, sitting in his command chair on the bridge, glanced up.
"Technician, I would assume we have arrived?"
"Yes, M'lord, Regent. We currently occupy orbit around the designated
planet. I am detecting Zor's ship. It has a Zentradi escourt of... one
moment...three ships, M'lord, two cruisers and a scoutship. The scoutship's
scanning equipment has likely seen us, M'lord."
The Regent's antenna hummed in amusement.
"Immiterial. Begin the assault. They are insufficient to stop us. I will
have my prize."
"Yes, M'lord Regent."
The fleet of ships began to move.
"M'lord, I am picking up a communication attempt to the surface."
"Jam it."
"Of course, M'lord"
The Regent glanced at the viewscreen at the front of his bridge. He
could see the enemy pathetically attempting to meet his oncoming force. They
had shifted formation, placing the blue ship--Zor's ship--behind them.
Zor. Indirect raper of his race. Through Zor, they had lost their
peaceful way of existence. Throgh Zor, their universe had tumbled down
about their ankles. The Regent thought for a moment. Perhapse before he
killed Zor, he would thank him. Without Zor, they would not be Invid.
His wife did not understand, he cursed. The Regis was blind--evolved
to idiocy. She could not understand how deeply the Raper had struck, what
he had changed. Yet he understood. The Regent was the change. The
Regent knew the new soul of the Invid. He was the Invid.
And his wife? His wife was powerless through her evolution. Fahg, he
thought, one way or the other, Zor would die--the Regent's judgement is laid
upon him. Curse him, bless him, it matters little. As long as the revenge was
obtained. As long as the stolen is recovered. As long as the Invid are able
to become Invid again. The Regent sat back in his seat, his cobra-like hood
pulsing in mirth, his antenna humming in amusement. He closed his eyes, sat
back. Whatever path he decided, today was sure to be a good day.
His eyes were opened a moment later at the report of the enforcer in
front of him, monitoring the nearest consul.
"M'lord, we have reached optimum range. The enemy's cruisers have
assumed a defensive posture. They are acting to protect Zor's ship, M'lord."
"Excellent. They are hampered by the need to protect the Fortress. It
will make our job far easier."
"Of course, M'lord. Awaiting your command."
He paused for a moment there, holding back the word, embracing it.
Today, he would embrace his destiny.
"Begin."
Around the Regent's flagship, clam-like troop carriers began to open,
revealing row upon row of fast-moving, booster-fitted Invid mecha: Iigaa.
Light, agile, crablike, they were the best of the Invid's space-fighting forces.
Like a wave they launched, of single mind and determination. They vectored
towards the waiting Zentradi cruisers, looking for all the world like a cloud of
angry insects, their thrusters given the appearance of thousands of mobile
stars.
The Zentradi had their own plans. Launch bays on the two cruisers
opened, releasing hundreds of Zentradi battlepods and fighterpods. A
battlepod looked vaguely like a headless, wingless ostrich, bristling guns or
missiles. Fighterpods were shaped rather like elongated pyramids, sporting
powerful gun clusters at the nose. Each was about five times the size of an
Iigaa.
However, while a single Zentradi was equal to any Invid mecha, they
were badly outnumbered, their forces inexplicably thinned from the usual
volumes. The Regent noted this with glee. They had divided their forces.
Many must have been on the surface, as guards to the race-raper, Zor. It
was a mistake that would be the zentradis' doom if he had any say in the
matter.
"Zentradi ships attempting a hyperspace distress call, M'lord.
Appropriate counter and jamming measures have been taken."
"Very good."
The Regent watched at the battle unfolded. Lances of fire leapt from
the two cruisers, destroying his troops at a distance, before they were within
range to respond. Zentradi battlepods did the same, firing missiles and
particle beams. His troops died. His people burned away. They exploded by
the hundreds, then by the hundreds of hundreds. They all died in his name.
It mattered little. He would still have revenge. The Regent gripped the rests
on his seat eagerly, waiting for the moment of retribution.
It came. Magnified by cameras, digitally cleansed and focused for his
perusal, the Regent watched on as Invid and Zentradi collided in a silent
impact. A hundred more of his people died in a second, yet waves upon
waves continued on, mixing into a strange swirl of red, white, and green. His
antenna hummed in anticipation. The Iigaa continued on, ignoring the Zentradi
battlepods for the most part, moving towards the ships. Those towering
cruisers which no man could beat, now they appeared as beached fish, firing
futily at the approaching horde. There was nothing they could do. His
vengeance, his anger, was unstoppable.
The technician bent his neck in a sign of submission. The Regent
turned back to his entertainment. So far, the battle was going well. He
noted with glee that one of the cruisers had been damaged. Its atmosphere
was leaking out, fireballing as it went. His troops had penetrated the hull.
The ship would be finished soon. The smaller scoutship was nearly destroyed.
It had lost two of its three engines. Small dots could be seen moving across
its surface like hornets. Flashes of light could me made out where weapons
fired. He turned to a technician sitting to the forward-left.
"Technician, is the second force prepared?"
"Yes. M'lord. We are over the entry-window now."
"Excellent. I will not be taking any chances on this occasion. Send
them to the surface now. Set up a live feed to the bridge. Send down the
science team as soon as the area is secured. Whether the flower Zor planted
on the surface is a mutant," his hood flared in anger. It was beyond
sacrilege what Zor had done, "or our true Flower, I will know."
The technician bowed his neck and gave the order. The Regent watched
as his viewscreen's scene changed to show a force of transports move away
from his flagship, out of orbit, and towards the atmosphere of the unnamed
planet. Bright nimbuses surrounded them as they hit oxygen and caused it to
ignite. From the surface there was a flash, followed by another, then a third:
ground emplacement guns. Zor had detected him.
The guns had little effect from this range. That would change. His
ships continued on, fiery comets now, as their reentry made them burn. They
could stand more. Now a gun struck, glancing off the bottom of a transport.
Now another one, hitting the same transport once again. The ground
emplacements were coordinating their fire now, still too far away to cause real
damage. Another flash, again striking the one transport. The bolt did little
damage; its effect, however, was horrendous. Where the transport was struck,
it began to burn, the fires of reentry penetrating the damaged area. Slowly,
silently, the burning spread, speeding as it went. Moments later there was
nothing left but ashes.
It mattered little. There were always more to replace it. The camera
zoomed in and magnified as the ships descended further. More flashes of
defensive gunnery, then more. Another carrier was destroyed as the heat of
entry began to fade away, lanced through the center by one bolt, then sliced
in two by another, the halfs flaming as they fell. It's engines exploded. The
camera zoomed in again. Now the Regent could make out Zor's fortifications in
the distance, fields of the flower of life to all sides: miles of crops, millions of
plants, the savior of his people. His hood flared in rage once more at Zor's
transgression. From full-forward velocity, the troopships went to zero, their
gravity propulsion allowing such feats. They opened, and the hornet's nest
that was his race poured out.
The view changed to one taken from the camera of a Gurab mecha--the
shock trooper model, with improved armor and huge guns over each
"shoulder". The Regent watched, completely engrossed as the lip of its
transport carrier fell away. The ground came up to meet it, at the edge of
the unending fields of the Flower of Life. Then the fields were passing
beneath it as it ran. The ground dropped away, and it was flying once more.
A bolt of laserfire lanced towards it, missing. In the distance, the Regent
could see ostrich-like Zentradi mecha approaching. To the sides he saw other
troopers and shock troopers, running, flying, dying from laser fire and
missiles. A flash of light, and then the reception turned to static.
It was picked up by another trooper in time to see the initial Gurab fall
to the ground, horribly holed through the main body like a gaping head
wound. The Zentradi mecha approached in their pogo-like hopping. One filled
the screen, and the Regent watched it torn to pieces by the smaller Trooper--designed for close-range combat. Another flash, and another Shock Trooper
picked up the battle.
"M'lord, I have detecting several signal attempts to various Hyperspace
Transmission satellite orbiting the planet. Now jamming"
"Yes?"
"Jamming is ineffectual, M'lord. The satellites have released distress
calls to nearest Zentradi outposts. Estimated 23 minutes until arrival of
support forces."
"Very well. Our time is now counting down. Status report of the space
battle, technician."
"Yes M'lord. Our initial forces were depleted to one third strength.
Reinforcement waves were sent in. The Zentradi Scoutship has been
destroyed. Cruiser 2 has suffered extreme internal and external damage. I
estimate total destruction within 15 minutes. Cruiser 1 has suffered moderate
damage. Troops have yet to pierce it's hull. Zentradi forces are near
depleted. Estimating only approximately 150 yet-functioning battle and fighter
pods remain in combat."
"Very good. What of the ground fighting." He watched from his
screen, as the view changed to yet another Gurab unit.
"Fighting goes hard, M'lord. Zor's forces fight well. We have
maintained heavy losses to our left flank."
"Recall mecha from the battle in space. The ships are no longer a
threat to us. Divert them to aid the ground battle."
"Yes, M'lord."
The Regent continued with his entertainment. The battle was moving
along quite nicely, as he had planned. The cursed Zentradi were fighting
more desperately now. Many were out in nothing more then body armor.
Fighting was closer to the walls of the fortress. Invid flew over it like
wasps, meeting destruction from turrets, immolation from Zentradi fighterpods.
Yet the fighting was at close range now. Designed from rage, the
Invid's mecha were fearsome things to behold. Clawed, crablike, at close
quarters they were fearsome warriors. Few enemies, even those five times as
large, could withstand them. Three of the angular Iigaa grappled onto a
battlepod and ripped it apart, metal and lubricant mixing with the blood of its
pilot. A round Gurab rammed another pod, toppling it, tearing it to scrap
with its tri-clawed hands. Another Iigaa, of the more armored design, loosed
a burst of annialating plasma at a fighterpod it was tailing. Two more mecha
fired at one of the fortress' turrets, destroying it.
The Regent was watching now, completely engrossed. The moment was
coming. An Armored Gurab fired at the wall of the fortress from point blank
range, then finished the job with armored claw. The Regent's hands gripped
the rails of his chair. It was coming. The Trooper penetrated the wall
completely and exploded, destroyed by laser fire lancing desperately from
within. Two more Armored Gurab ran for the hole, firing deadly plasma shots
as they approached. One fell, the other did not. 7 more followed it in. The
Regent's chair rails were bending from the pressure. A Zentradi loosed an
silent scream as it was rent from neck to groin. Another fired a the Invid
trooper, felling it.
The screen shifted to another of his troopers. It rammed the Zentradi
warrior, crushing him with metal fist and cloven foot. Another wall was
destroyed, the inner wall. The moment was almost here. The Regent's hood
flared, his antenna hummed a piercing song. The trooper died instantly.
Twelve replaced it. Zentradi were everywhere in the inner fortress, fear on
their faces, their deaths at hand, firing madly. They were walking dead now.
His chair shrieked in protest as the metal bent from the force of his grip. HE
COULD SEE ZOR. The Regent roared in triumph as Zentradi surrounded the
tiny figure, seeking to protect him. His roar increased as Zentradi fell. He
saw a Gurab run in front of one of the giant soldiers, boost up, and slice the
giant's throat. A single though passed through the Regent's head. Now.
Annialation fire sprayed out. Ground detonated under the heat. He saw the
tiny figure thrown back, striking a wall, falling down, smoking. And the
Regent roared his triumph, roared in victory, roared in conquest,
"Revenge!"
And destroyed the monitor with a single blow of his immense, four-fingered hand. He laughed like a mad man, or Perhapse like a child. After
all these years, justice was his.
"My Lord Regent?" Panting, the Lord of Invid glances at a cowering
technician.
"What?" The word was meltingly angry. The technician's hood curled.
It glanced around the control bridge worriedly.
"My Lord Regent, I detected a burst-transmission from the planet's
surface. It occurred moments after Zor died," the technician paused.
"Continue."
"M'lord, it was a transmission to Zor's fortress. The ship is powering
up."
The Regent considered this for a moment. The space fortress had a
powerful weapon...
"Send a contingent after it--two transports. Have them launch at
optimum range for a quick strike. Order them to disable the craft, but not
destroy. We will take it for scientific study."
A second technician glanced up in alarm as the first began giving out
the Regent's directive.
"M'lord! I have detected a hyperspace transmission from Zor's ship.
Unable to jam. The signal is too powerful. Now tracking."
A third technician spoke up.
"M'lord! The fortress is now moving! It is shifting to a 210/231 degree
angle relative from this vessel. Main engines now firing."
"Damnation, I will not allow this vessel to attempt escape. Order all
Invid to break contact with the remaining Zentradi ship. Pursue immediately.
What is the ground status?"
"Only pocket resistance remains, M'lord. The science team has landed
in a secure area of the fields. Their analysis will be completed momentarily."
His hope swelled.
"Technician, have you traced the destination of the hyperspace
transmission yet?"
"Yes, M'lord. The signal was traced to one of the outer colonies of
Zor's Empire. The colony contains little aside from a small research station."
The Regent contemplated this.
"My Lord Regent. I..," the technician paused, "that is to say... My
Lord?"
"You try my patience. What?"
"I, well, that is..." the Invid seemed to curl in upon himself, "I have...
the results of the field analysis"
A stone settled in the Regent's gizzard. He knew. He knew without
asking. The technicians demeanor screamed it.
"And those results would be?" He said quietly, almost inperceptably.
No...no...not after all of this...
"My Lord. The initial DNA results would indicate that
the...plant...growing below is a mutant strain. It can provide sustenance and
fuel, however it is sterile. It... I... that is... it will not reproduce"
The Regent could not even hear him. Already he could picture his wife.
Did you think that by barreling onto a world and killing Zor you could truly
balance the scales? You could not possibly comprehend the damage you have
wrought this day. Our last hope of survival. Gone. Our soul: destroyed. We
are doomed.' He could hear Zor's ghost laughing, madly, insanely.
The Regent looked up to stare at the Invid across from him, desperation
in his eyes.
"The ship. The ship is our last hope. Zor could only have kept his
secrets there." He paused. "Order all forces from the surface of the planet.
We must capture Zor's battlefortress completely intact."
Another technician glanced up.
"My Lord? Approximately 10 minutes remain until closest Zentradi forces
are anticipated folding in."
"Immaterial. One way or the other, we shall be gone by then."
"Scattered groups of resistance still remain, M'lor..."
"IMMATERIAL!" he screamed, then recovered, "I have directed you," he
waved his hand, "follow."
On the planet, specs of white could be seen: troop carriers rising, fewer
then what had descended. They broke the atmosphere in seconds, joining
those already in pursiut.
"The ship continues to accelerate."
This was wrong. Why run in such a fashion? Something nagged in the
back of the Regent's mind.
"Energy levels spiking"
No...
"I am detecting maneuvering thrusters firing. The ship is rotating.
Main engines have shut off. She is coasting."
Oh no...
"Detecting something... magnifying... the bow of the ship is dividing...
assuming a new configuration..."
By the Flower, no...
"Energy levels continue to rise. Detecting large electromag..."
"ALL SHIPS EVASIVE, IMMEDIATELY!" he screamed, knowing already that
is was too late.
The wrath of heaven struck. The tuning fork that was now the bow of
Zor's Fortress roared its anger in an outpouring of radiant, destructive
energy that denied reality--it's last, defiant scream. The Regent opened his
eyes once more to find...
"Minimal losses, M'lord? Three transports were lost, two more damaged.
The shot fired was low powered." The Invid looked at him, confused.
Another spoke.
"Battleship is continuing in its rotational. Realigning with initial
heading. Counterthrusters have been fired. Main engines have powered up
once more..."
It made no sense! What should have been complete destruction was
merely a flesh wound.
The ship was conserving energy...
"Technician! Name all potential targets in front of the Fortress."
"Yes, M'lord. One moment... potential target within range of the
fortress are...," he stopped. Stared. Continued in a voice that sounded
almost like wonderment, "La'Grange 2..."
A La'Grange point, it could mean nothing else: the Fortress was folding.
Worse, impossibly worse, La'Grange points were only used when traveling
hugely long distances. Their nullification of nearby gravitational sources
allowed a ship to maintain its course, stay on target. Wherever it was going,
the ship would be defolding well out of the empire.
"Ship continues to accelerate..."
"By the Flower.... increase pursuit speeds! Tracking station, stand
ready!" There was a quaver in the Regent's voice.
"Contact. Fortress has entered La'Grange point..." A pause, then chaos
"Gravitational changes."
"Radiation emissions detected."
"The ship is folding!"
"Now attempting to track..."
"Fold area expanding. Radiative energy..."
"Something is happening!"
"...energy off the scale..."
"...large deviations..."
"...impossible....."
The Regent stood on, watching as the hope of his race transformed into
an exploding star, and then evaporated. Chest heaving, hood-eyes twitching
wildly, he turned to face the now-silent command crew. They were staring at
him.
"Where did the fortress go?" he asked in a calm, steady voice.
Silence. Then a single, quiet answer
"My Lord... the ship... did something... with its fold engines. Tracking
was impossible. I... I cannot imagine how it managed it, but wherever it
defolds, it will surely be either destroyed or severely damaged."
Silence. There was no movement. The Regent did nothing, said nothing.
To my planet this... defiler... comes, befriends us, betrays us, destroys us,
mocks us. There was a twitch. And now, even in his death, he will have
defeated me. He was shaking from head to toe. My vengeance: robbed. A
sound filled the room. My people: destroyed. The sound was coming from
him. He has made me powerless! Snapping out like a cobra, the Regent
grabbed the closest Invid technician and tore his head from his neck.
Turning, screaming, he grabbed another--looking at him in shock--and threw
him against the bulkhead. Another tried to flee, but he casually caught him
in one arm, lifted him up... and stopped.
He stared for a moment, contemplating, then turned to an Invid cowering
along the far wall.
"Invid! Give me as much information as you have on the planet which
Zor's ship sent a hyperspace communication to."
Trembling, the technician sat down at the closest terminal, and brought
up the information.
"My...Lord, the... the planet is named Garil 3 by the Empire. They
have... a medium-small science facility on the central continent. Intelligence
tells us that it is researching either bioweaponry... or possibly botany... and
that...M'lord?"
The Regent was chuckling. It was so obvious. Zor could never let this
knowledge die. He would never sacrifice his entire race. He was a dreamer,
not a madman. He was a scientist. A botanist...
Laughing, he turned to face the closest living Invid.
"Prepare to fold, technician. Send a spy ship to investigate Garil 3's
system. Have an invasion force accompany it. If Zor has done what I suspect
he's done. We will have our Flower soon enough."