Empire Burning (Emerilia Book 11) Read online

  “Dave, I have some people saying that they are ready to move Terra. What do they move?” Josh asked.

  “Well, it’s meant to be a space station,” Dave said.

  “What?” Josh spluttered.

  “Well, why did you think I added in all that spinning stuff? We could have just built a regular, flat base…we probably will in the area that is left behind by Terra.” Dave grinned and looked to Malsour, who smiled.

  “What the hell do you mean?” Josh asked.

  “Shard, command override, ark program one,” Dave said.

  “Password authentic. Information module unlocked. Reconfiguring,” Shard said. The consoles around the command center started to change. The soul gem constructs created extra control interfaces as soul gem constructs throughout the city grew and connected to different sections.

  In just a few moments, systems that had been dormant, hidden from both the people within Terra and the Jukal, were now activated.

  “You ready, Josh?” Dave asked.

  “Not at all,” Josh said.

  “Ever wonder why we only drilled in one direction?” Dave asked.

  “Thought it was so we didn’t destroy the area where we started Terra from,” Josh said, referring to the area that had been given to the Stone Raider’s guild when they had helped the Aleph what felt like a lifetime ago.

  “Well, that’s part of the reason. The other part is because I turned it into a big ole portal.” Dave waved his hand and screens appeared above the table in Ice City; it showed Terra as runic lines spread down its length. At one side, a glowing could be seen before the wall started to shift, showing a portal that had been hidden underneath.

  “This is one of the safety measures we took,” Dave said.

  The portal was engaged and Terra shot forward—but, instead of hitting the rock, it disappeared through the portal that was just big enough to fit it. On the screens, Terra appeared, shooting out from the moonbase.

  It continued to rotate as different nodes along the length of Terra moved the underground city turned space station. It joined in with the moon orbiting Emerilia. Along the length of Terra, sections fell apart as runic lines formed pillars that were weapon systems that were meant to defend Terra. Fusion power plants started working, increasing the power supplied to Terra. The people of Terra looked out from their homes and found themselves looking through a Mana shield at Emerilia and the stars around it. A soul gem-constructed wall sealed off the ends of Terra; slips started to grow from it, creating places where the different vessels of the Pandora Initiative could be resupplied or where the people of Terra could create more ships.

  Terra started to expand as the soul gem construct that was interwoven into the city stretched outward, increasing its diameter by a third.

  “With some time, Terra will have more weapons and systems. The space station can move between the large ship-classed portals from location to location and still retain the use of its teleport pads, allowing people to teleport between Terra and Emerilia, or between Terra and the moonbase. This will allow for ease of boarding between vessels that are protecting Emerilia.” Dave changed the view again, showing platforms connected to the underground transportation system. Runic lines ran through, lighting up the areas as soul gems grew together to form portals.

  “Terra will be the main hub of travel between all locations related to Pandora’s Initiative.”

  “Since when did you start thinking of all this?” Josh asked.

  “As soon as I found out the truth from Bob,” Dave answered honestly, nodding to Bob, who sat on the other side of Josh.

  ***

  Sato read the request from Emerilia asking for the aid of Sato and his people. It was displayed on the front screen of the command center—no one dared to breathe too loudly as they read the message with him.

  Sato opened up a private line to Council Leader Wong. “I have received a request from the Emerilians for aid,” Sato said.

  “Send the fleets,” Wong said.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Sato stood from his seat.

  On the main screen, an alert came in.

  “Connect to Admiral Adams!” Sato yelled, cutting through the noise from the alert.

  “You’re connected, sir,” one of the communications techs said.

  “Admiral Adams, launch all fleets in aid to the Emerilian system. It’s time humanity showed this Jukal Empire what’s been lurking in the dark.” Sato’s voice sent goose bumps down people’s spines.

  “Yes, Commander.” Adams closed the channel.

  Sato read the alert on the screen.

  The Deq’ual system is in a state of war. All military personnel are to report to their stations. This is not a drill. Administration of the Deq’ual system will be run by the military forces while orders will be created by the Council Leader of the Deq’ual system.

  “Shipyard one and three are opening their hatches,” an operations officer said. The room was now filled with energy and hard faces as the military machine of the Deq’ual system was activated for the first time in five centuries.

  “All fleets, launch! Operational orders will be provided en route.” Adams’s voice came through the fleet-wide channel Sato was listening to.

  Through the armored hatches of the shipyards, ships started to appear. These were not just simple stealth craft but the carriers, destroyers, and battleships of the Deq’ual navy.

  They were smaller than the Emerilian version but they were faster when using their engines and they required less crew.

  The once peaceful asteroid belt revealed the hidden dragons who had been hiding within it.

  The ships moved off from the asteroid. The mass of ships slid into organized formations, headed for distant regions of space as they fell into formation as if they had practiced it hundreds of times.

  Fleets formed up and surged forward, unleashing the power of their engines as they headed to the jump points that would take them away from home and toward war.

  The dogs of war have been unleashed—now it’s time to see what happens.

  Sato watched those ships and stepped toward the communications area. “Contact Dave Grahslagg.”

  “Yes, sir,” the communications officer said.

  “Commander Sato.” Dave’s voice carried through the room. Dave wore his armor and cloak, looking like a warlord as he stood in a command center.

  “Deq’ual heeds the call for aid.” Pride welled up in Sato’s chest.

  Dave drew himself up to his full height. “Then Emerilia and the Deq’ual system shall fight together,” Dave said, his eyes firm and resolute.

  ***

  Frank had been just another player within the Earth simulation just a few months ago. He had been the first player to be woken up from that nightmare and into Ice City and reality.

  He had pushed himself harder than ever and overcome his own misgivings to be the fire controller of the battleship BloodHawk, the flagship of Pandora’s Fleet One.

  His fleet had been on their first operation, a scouting mission to collect information on the Jukal Empire, primarily its inner systems and the systems that wielded the most economic power.

  The fleet separated out so that they could cover more systems. BloodHawk had just entered a new system when they received word that operation Open Pandora’s Box had been activated—meaning that the Emerilians were going to be openly contesting the Jukal Empire.

  They’d carried out their message, looking at their communications officer nervously, awaiting word.

  “We are receiving a message from headquarters,” the communications officer nearly yelled out as the message came in.

  “Broadcast it,” the captain said.

  “This is Dave. Emerilia has been secured. All forces already deployed are to group together and lay down a portal. We will be sending reinforcements and arks soon enough. We’re going to war with the Jukal Empire.” Dave cut the communications channel.

  There were no cheers, smiles, or clapping. However, tho
se within the BloodHawk and in Pandora Fleet One and Two sat a bit straighter; there was an edge to them now, as if they were swords that had been unsheathed, waiting to be used.

  “Send rally point to the rest of the fleet. Nav, plot us a course to the rally point, best speed but I want us to stay hidden. Inform engineering I want the portal checked and readied before deployment. I don’t want to be waiting a minute longer than what is required to deploy it. I want readiness reports from all departments.” The captain’s orders came down like hammer blows. The ship responded to his orders as runes lit up across the ship’s sides. No longer drifting, it moved with a deadly purpose as it turned and headed out of the system.

  They powered to the outreaches of the system, using small teleports to create more distance until they finally created a wormhole, disappearing from the Jukal system without a trace.

  They appeared in an area between star systems that was well away from the Jukal systems. It was impossible to find in the vastness of space without the right coordinates.

  The BloodHawk was the first to arrive.

  “Deploy portal. Relay location and update Command Central,” the captain said as the armored sections around the battleship opened up sections of soul gem, formed into a massive portal the size of the portal inside the asteroid base and the moonbase. The parts floated out along soul gem-constructed umbilicals.

  Mages moved up the umbilicals that spread out like the spokes of a cartwheel, connecting the battleship in the center to the portal around it.

  The sections of portal came together and the soul gem constructs fused with one another. Mages and engineers moved over these fused sections, checking everything as power from the battleship was poured into the soul gem construct.

  It took about twenty minutes before the mages and engineers retreated to the battleship. The umbilicals detached from the portal that seemed to stand still in the inky darkness.

  The battleship moved at a good clip and out of the portal assembly. As soon as it was clear, the portal flashed with light as the runic lines started to light up while the portal began to make a connection.

  A wormhole appeared. On the other side, a familiar sight greeted them. The asteroid base as well as a destroyer was clearly visible through the immense portal. It quickly moved through it and out of the immediate area as it was only the first ship in the queue to move into the system. Everyone held their breath as the portal finally lit up.

  The base looked busier than ever. The different slips were cleared of most ships; however, there were already new ships being built at an alarming speed.

  A massive ark covered the portal as it pushed through the asteroid base’s portal and joined up with Pandora Fleet One.

  As the first massive ark came through, the second one followed close behind it.

  Another fleet started to emerge. Three destroyers came first, followed by missile boats, the battleship, the two arks under the fleet’s command and then the remaining destroyers.

  “Receiving communication from the captain of the battleship Resilient,” the communication officer said.

  “Connect him,” the captain said.

  “How’s it going there, Pandora One? Thought we’d join in on the fun,” the captain of Resilient said as he was connected.

  “Captain James, good to see you.” The captain smiled.

  “You, too, Xiao. Though, I have to say, I’m still looking forward to when they have dreadnoughts and not just dinky battleships.” Captain James sighed with a smile. “Don’t have too long to talk, though. See you and your fleet soon enough. Hope you have fun raising a little hell.”

  “We’ll try our best. Good hunting,” Xiao said.

  “You too,” James said. The channel cut out.

  “All right, let’s split the fleet and then head for our objective,” Captain Xiao said.

  The battleship moved off from the portal. Shuttles were now coming through the portal, carrying mages and fusion power plants.

  The mages were to hook the portal up to a stable power source and also lay down numerous magical traps that would work to destroy any Jukal ship, if they happened to come across the portal.

  Two destroyers, two missile boats, and one ark followed the battleship. The remaining three missile boats and destroyers would work with the ark to take it to their objective.

  Frank glanced at the screen that continued to show the inside of the asteroid base.

  Another two arks were waiting in the main thoroughfare, ready to meet up with Pandora Fleet Two, which was also out on operations.

  In the middle of nowhere, the two fleets separated and then headed out in four different directions, leaving behind a portal and a growing array of magical traps that would make any mage go into a cold sweat; they also left behind several soul gem construct platforms orbiting the massive portal. The platforms were absolutely bursting with runic lines so powerful that they could be used to scan an area several light-years across, looking for any threats that might appear.

  Dave and Malsour were reviewing production numbers in a state of shock.

  Since they had opened Pandora’s Box, it seemed as if the universe had gone crazy. They didn’t have to hide anything, so they could send orders to Emerilian businesses for completion. People from Emerilia were lending their knowledge to assist the researchers in Ice City; others were acting as laborers across the bases.

  Automated miners that had only been used around the asteroid base were now being used to mine out great swathes of Emerilia.

  The moonbase was undergoing a massive increase. The AIs that had been the power behind the Pantheon were given tasks to mine, refine, and build. The Dark AI had built a battleship with the help of automated laborers within just five days. The soul gem construct that was inside took the longest time instead of the other way around. It had also taught the people who were making the ships new ways to complete the ships.

  The asteroid base was nearing completion, with the Light AI carving out the remaining area.

  There was a total of nearly two hundred slips, all awaiting new ships. More portals had been added to the asteroid base. These were to take in vessels that needed repairs or those that needed a resupply of ammunition. Instead of coming in the same way, they’d be routed to specialized areas depending on their specific need. This would make it much more efficient and would have a quicker turnaround time getting back into the battle. This was a lesson that Dave had learned from watching the Jukal and human fleets fight. The faster he was to resupply his ships and get them back into fighting condition, the more effective they would be against the enemy.

  “We are picking up a fleet emerging from outside of the system,” Jeeves said. “Commander Sato’s predictions fall into line with this fleet being part of the Deq’ual fleet.”

  “Very well. Pass them their orders and have our destroyers go out to meet them,” Dave said.

  “Understood,” Jeeves said.

  “As soon as you have a visual, connect me,” Dave said.

  “Same here,” Malsour said.

  “I will do so,” Jeeves said.

  “I hoped that Sato would help us, but I didn’t think he would do it in such a complete manner,” Malsour said.

  “Images now available,” Jeeves said.

  On a wall-sized screen in the meeting room, they watched as space seemed to distort and in a blur, a ship arrived. Behind it, other ships arrived. Another lead ship appeared to different sides, whole fleets forming up. The once-empty space now filled with some one hundred ships formed up into their assigned fleet as they altered their course and headed in-system.

  These ships had rune-covered magical circles that went around their hull and glowed in the darkness, as well as massive armor panels and thick heavy guns. There were multiple missile ports in rows as well as hangar bay doors that hid fighters.

  They were more cigar-shaped; the Pandora fleet ships had more edges, while the Deq’ual ships were rounded out.

  Their design had come from the
ir states of understanding magical coding. The Deq’ual understood magical circles easily and to accommodate this, their ships were more circular. The Pandoran ship builders understood how to create the more advanced runic lining, so rounded surfaces weren’t needed.

  “So, what is their mission?” Malsour asked.

  “The Pandora forces will meet up with them; they’ll enter the Jukal systems we’ve picked out. Our first move will be to destroy most of the Jukal Empire’s infrastructure in those systems, leaving just enough so that the Jukal will see they’re in-system.

  “Then they will move from planet to planet. The Deq’ual will act as guardians to the destroyers, who will drop into the atmospheres of the planets we want to control. Then they will connect their portal to one of the portals located on Emerilia, where they will be supplied with all the materials they need to drop off at those planets,” Dave said

  Dave got a party chat invite from Josh. He accepted it and put it on speaker. Unlike before, he knew no one was able to listen in on his conversations if he wasn’t in party chat. It was a relief not having to worry about the Jukal watching everything they did.

  “Emerilia is secure,” Josh said. Even if they had started their fight with the Jukal, there were still aggressive species on Emerilia. With Dave and Ela-Dorn’s clamps, they had been able to cut off the portals to stop anything else from coming through.

  The Terra Alliance still had to go through and clear out the remaining Alturarans that were fighting the angels, as well as collect the angels, those who were part of the armies of Light and any creatures and people who were able to escape the kill switch that was in their bodies.

  With the onos blocking the signal, quite a number of people had been left.

  There was no hiding from the Terra Alliance now as they combed Emerilia with the destroyer’s sensors, pulling out these forces and handing them over to the Mage’s Guild and College’s overseers.

  Few wanted to see more people sentenced to death, so the majority were given large sentences that would mean that they would have to serve for a large portion of their lives until they were able to regain their freedom. With Bob’s blessing as the Grey God and creator of Emerilia, their lives were going to be much longer now.