Beyond the Black

         The blackness of space beyond the bridge's viewport blossomed with silent fireworks. Flares of red and gold burst into life without a sound, expanding like explosions before vanishing into nothingness. The display was almost beautiful in its eeriness.
         The accompanying thunderbolts that rocked Courageous were less wonderful, Captain Aaron Burns decided. He staggered to his feet, hand raised to staunch the flow of blood from where his forehead had hit the command console. It wasn't a fireworks show at all, though to a dazed man thrown against the floor it had certainly appeared to be. The blooms of colour were missiles, flaring as they detonated against enemy hulls, and the earthquake-like shockwaves that slammed into the ship, well...Courageous wasn't the only ship firing.
         "Status!" he barked.
         "Breaches on decks two through four," responded the pleasant, computerized female voice from the console. "The compartments have been sealed and Courageous has suffered no further damage."
         "Battle report," he said, and his hands shot out to steady himself as another tidal wave of force jarred the ship.
         "Allied vessels Lord Tyers and Assault have been destroyed," said the console. "Triumph has lost eighty per cent of her maneuverability and is under severe fire. Enemy vessels United, Immortal, Crystalfire and Resilience have been destroyed. Archangel has taken minimal damage and is engaging Triumph-"
         A massive burst of white and gold flame erupted in the darkness of space beyond the viewport. Courageous rocked as debris slammed against her hull.
         The console corrected itself. "Triumph has been destroyed. Enemy frigate Archangel is turning towards Courageous. It has forty-two per cent more functional guns than Courageous. Probability indicates that a prolonged engagement will result in Courageous' destruction."
         "Better not prolong it, then," Burns replied. "Engage."
         "Sending the crew their instructions."
         Through the viewport, Burns saw dozens of grey smoke trails as missiles shot away from Courageous. He could see their target too, a kilometre-long leviathan of armour-plating and gun emplacements. Forty-two per cent looked like a lot more than it sounded. Courageous' kinetic guns fired next and the command deck vibrated for a split-second as inertial compensators kicked in to stop the ship from being thrown off course. The shells were nothing but flashes of light as they tore through empty space. Captain Burns stared at the looming outline of Archangel as missiles and shells raced towards it-
         Hundreds of explosions bloomed along Archangel's hull. Burns nearly whooped.
         “Archangel’s power conduits have taken multiple hits," reported the console. "External targeting systems have been rendered inoperable on the starboard and bow."
         Courageous' deck vibrated as the inertial compensators reacted against a second volley. Archangel took the barrage in a brilliant display of fireworks and began to list sideways. "Send them our terms for their surrender," he commanded.
         The shriek of alarms suddenly tore through Courageous. "Proximity alert?" Burns demanded. "Who-"
         Black space boiled with light like a maelstrom and a ship flashed into existence. It was so close that Burns just had time to register its shape - long, bladelike, with engines that resembled none of the technology he knew - before it collided head-on with Archangel. It ploughed straight through the larger ship, gutting it like a fish and hurling wreckage and flame out into the darkness. Archangel was ripped in two down its middle, its halves drifting in opposite directions and trailing smoke. The blade-ship slowed and came about, its knife-like edge staring straight towards Courageous' bridge.
         "Armour plating matches no known element," said the console. "Origin unknown."
         The green communication light began to flash. Burns hit the receive switch. On the vid-screen, a man appeared.
         Or at least, it had once been a man. Captain Burns wasn't sure if what he was staring at now might be a machine. The man's body sprouted metal and tubes and wiring that snaked their way into the command console around him. His eyes were the red lights of cameras and the back of his head glowed with cybernetics. Wires seemed to be a part of his skin, sparking as he shifted.
         His voice was a mechanical grate. "Vessel Courageous," he said, and his metal jaw didn't move as he spoke. "Your time of Reckoning has come. Your heresies have spread beyond the world that should have contained you. We are Humanity’s Reckoning. We are your Judgement. We are your Destruction."
         Burns found his voice. "That's a lot of challenge from one ship."
         The thing that had once been a man showed no expression. "It is not a challenge. It is the truth." The vid-screen died.
         Burns stared out the window. The blade-ship's engines flared a magnificent blue and it surged forwards. “He means to ram us!” he shouted. “He's coming right for us! Turn us! Get us out of the way! FIRE!"
         Courageous began to shift to the right and missiles and kinetic shells ripped black space apart with furious light. The blade-ship was engulfed in a torrent of fire as missiles bloomed and shells detonated. Burns couldn't even see it behind the sphere of flame. He felt hope surge-
         -and then die at once as the blade-ship ripped through the firestorm without even a scratch. Its armour glittered in the light as it bore down on Courageous.
         "Jump!" he shouted. "Out-system! Anywhere!"
         "Computing," said the console.
         The space just outside the viewport began to flare with distorted colours as the ship started to jump. The blade-ship was filling all the blackness beyond; its knife-edge was seconds away-
         Space flashed again and Burns thought for a moment that Courageous had jumped, but the flares had come from even further beyond the blade-ship-
         Hundreds – thousands – more of the blade-ships had appeared.
         And then Courageous rumbled, black space turned white, and Courageous was gone.
         Burns slumped over the console.
         "Unknown number of enemy vessels," the console said. "Unknown origin. Unknown destination."
         Burns raised his head a fraction. "I think they made it clear. They mean to destroy us all."




Word count: 989