Missing Stars

Chapter 14 | Before

Chapter 14 | Before

Beyond the obelisks, a sight so terrible, so vicious greets us. The enemy ship that crossed the barrier before us is trapped in the hands of a titanic creature that hovers before Earth. Its pewter brown body is bloated and swollen. It balances on a hundred appendages that move at incredible speed. Its ellipsoid body is over ten kilometers in length and its skin is lined with cracks that look bruised and scarred. Within the cracks, numerous bloodshot eyes glower at us. It opens its vertical mouth and pops the ship into its mouth, grinding it between rows upon rows of pointed teeth.

I am so shocked by the heinous thing that I startle when a chest of treasure busts open to throw gold coins over my vision. Beneath the chest, an announcement from the developers informs us about the opportunity to play an exclusive side mission that would grant us tremendous prizes. The objective is easy enough to understand but difficult to achieve.

Destroy the Colossal Draken.

That's what the monster is called. I check my creature catalog to find it updated with the latest intel on drakens. I find out it is a rare species of aliens that appeared on Earth two hundred years ago and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. A colossal draken is formed  from the fusion of over a thousand normal-sized drakens. The new form is believed to be an evolutionary stage in its life cycle. I scrunch my face in distaste and switch back to the side mission page. 

The rewards indicated blow my imagination.

"Ah Mwangi," Rishad says. He has his eyes squinted, mouth slightly pinched in deep thought. "I think now is the right time to decide."

Through the screens, I look at Mwangi, the pads of my fingers tapping a frantic beat on the yoke. He looks wanly, a result of using his stamina at the expense of keeping the shields up to protect the Mad Hatter. I press my lips together, holding my voice back. In my head, greed and reason wage a bloody battle.

Our defense system is at fifty percent. Any further substantial damage to the ship would eat up Mwangi's stamina faster than he can regenerate it and that would leave us exposed to all kinds of threats. It's like dangling one foot over the edge of the cliff. But I can't ignore the sparkly numbers pirouetting over my thoughts. The reward for defeating the colossal draken is two hundred thousand geld to be shared by the teams partaking the side quest and a bonus rare technique called Legion of Fear would be awarded to the player who picks the lucky number. I have no idea what the technique entails but damn, it sounds epic.

"The side quest is bait," Alex says, tossing the colossal draken a withering look. "If we fall for it, we're as good as dead."

Eva lets out a groan. "Right now, I feel like the most useless team player. If only I could heal the ship..."

"No, never think of yourself as useless," Mwangi chastises her. "You are the lifeblood of the Tricksters. Without you, we cannot revive." He checks the blueprint of the ship, analyzes it and breathes a heavy sigh. "Our objective remains the same: we head for Earth."

"You saw what happened to the other ship," I say, pleading for a different outcome. "The draken won't let us go."

"I know," Mwangi replies. "Which is why we have Rishad."

Rishad lets out a low whistle. "Your little trump card."

Well, there goes my geld.

Before Mwangi can say more, the gigantic draken throws an arm in our direction. Alex and I shoot the target, slowing its path enough for Rishad to drop the ship and dodge away. He strikes several buttons on the control panel and pulls a lever. The ship's AI flags a warning about manipulation of the engine system. A second later, the command center is dipped in crimson light.

"What the hell did you do, Rishad?" Alex asks. "Another engine upgrade?"

"Just a little tweaking here and there."

"The last time you said that, you wrecked Hatter so bad, we had to spend a shitload of geld for major repairs."

"Relax, man. This time, it will be easy and smooth. No rough landing."

"Rough landing? You almost blew us up that day!"

Eva claps her hands, drawing attention. "Guys, stop bickering and do your damn jobs! You're pissing off Mwangi."

The view on my screen confirms it. Mwangi's gaze is murderous, his jaws locked tight and the scar on his chin looks menacing. He looks like he's ready to bash their heads.

"All right, Tricksters. Let's get the show wrapped up." Rishad pulls another lever from the control panel. "Make sure you're strapped to your seats. As always, safety comes first."

Alex sniggers and mumbles, "Yeah, right."

"Keep on laughing but remember I need your help," Rishad says. "Yours too, Kel. Carve a clear path for me and I will get you to safety."

And just like that the argument dissolves. Rishad pulls a third lever and the Mad Hatter jolts forward. He dives straight for the colossal draken, veering left and right, rising high and dropping low. The gigantic alien yowls in fury, slamming its arms in different directions in an attempt to catch us.

Alex and I are not given a moment of reprieve. Each time Rishad flies us in one direction, the draken comes after us. We shoot the arms over and over until my canon overheats. The other two teams who have caught up with us also unleash their attacks on the creature, exploiting the opportunity created by our stunt.

As I wait for my canon to cool down, I activate my cybernetic chip and zoom on the draken. Some of its arms are tangled up into wobbly knots, thanks to Rishad's maneuver. I see what he was trying to do.

"And now the grand finale, " Mwangi says, staring jaw-slacked as the Mad Hatter shoots towards our destination in an explosion of force and speed.

The stars and the enemy spaceships merge into a pinwheel of colors. We're moving so fast that I have to convince myself this isn't hyperspeed. Old Earth grows bigger as we fly closer. It is only then that I notice the carpets of green spread all over the continents. I don't get the chance to contemplate on this because a terrible cry resonates behind us, followed by powerful force that knocks our ship off-course.

Eva cries out. Mwangi is desperately holding the shields up. Rishad battles for control, cursing in Arabic as the ship refuses to obey. Alex has released the yoke and is staring at the viewport in astonishment. I do the same, too engrossed in the horror. The remains of a ship burn next to us, bright as a firecracker. It has been split in the middle like an almond cracked in two. This is the handiwork of a colossal draken: it threw an entire enemy ship at us. The ship's AI sends a warning of massive damage to the Mad Hatter's shields.

We enter the Earth's atmosphere in a maelstrom of chaos. At first, I catch sight of a blue sky and an infinite blanket of clouds and then curls of fire lick the view out of my sight. The Mad Hatter is beginning to burn up because we're falling too fast. Something tears the west wing. The impact propels our ship downward.

"Hold on, I got this!" Rishad yells.

The shadow of a skyscraper falls on us. Glass shatters. The grinding of metal screeches in my ears. As my nose detects the pungent smell of burning plastic, darkness claims my vision. 

_________________________________

I'm finally done with the spaceship battle scenes! They have been the hardest thing to write. Anyway, thank you for reading! Please remember to press that little vote star if you enjoyed it :) This chapter is  unedited but I will have a look at it once I get some rest.