The Shadow of the Moon-Lydia's Tale

Chapter Nineteen

And then in a final blow what lay beneath was revealed, what they'd not seen at Rama. A foreboding sphere emerged from the belly of the beast of swarming ships. A single sphere of overwhelming proportions, dwarfing even the Revenge. It shone with the devils blackness, sucking in all the light around it. Beyond it, the moon of Ax beyond bent and melted like a silver ingot, the stars beyond blinked and faded in the presence of this hideous creation.  

Faulke could feel the dread creeping insidiously into the hearts of the crew. A shadow fell across them, darkening their hearts, stealing into their souls. Before they were frightened, now they were terrified. 

'My God.' uttered Waite-Kidd. 'What do you feel Faulke, you must feel something. Out there. Who are they? 

'It is what I felt before Aiexsky, a pervading feeling of dread amongst our crew, and out there,' he motioned to the myriad of swarm ships strung out in front of them, 'darkness and death. This thing has no mind I can see into .'  

Overcoming his shock the Commander steadied himself. He took Faulke's arm, speaking quietly to him. 'Faulke dispatch two ships. One to Earth, tell them to start the evacuation, tell them we will hold them here as long as possible. Send the other to Outremer, tell them all is lost. They should prepare themselves for the onslaught. Get them to send a message to the Halout and ask him to use his ships to send messages to all the species he knows of, warning them that this will be our last stand against the enemy. They should make ready for this,' he struggled for the words,' this, this disease will soon be upon them.' 

Faulke nodded and slipped across to the Navigation desk leaving Lydia standing looking over the vast spread of the halo deck beneath them and the crews pleading faces turned upward to them waiting for Aiexsky to offer them some form of hope. 

'I want to address the fleet, put me on all the halos.' Waite-Kidd motioned to one of his Adjutants. He pulled his jacket up and clipped up the halo round his collar and strode across to the centre of the bridge. He called out, his voice strong and full of resolution. 'Captains, bring the fleet to readiness. I want a conical formation, the Revenge at the centre. Let's draw them in and cut them down by the thousand, they'll rue the day they came here to Ax.'  

The Commander placed his hands on the rail in front of him, his voice softened. 'So this is it then, the Swarm is here. We fight for our lives, we stand here, the humans against the enemy of all our Nations. We are alone in our last desperate hour. I have given orders for Earth to be evacuated, for every ship we destroy today, for every life lost, we buy a life on Earth, we buy time for our star ships to be sent out. We have been preparing for this moment, this turning point in Earth's fortunes, we will cast our seed ships into the universes and hope they will live to ensure the survival of our civilisation.' He raised his head, 'We are alone but we are indefatigable  the other Races out there will remember us forever for what we do here today.'  

'Not alone, Commander,' a voice boomed over the decks.  

The Commander looked up, startled. A wave of confused voices ran through the crews on the deck below him. 

The Navigator at the Halo desk adjusted his controls. 'Commander we have activity on our left wing. Ships emerging from the Extensivity.'  

Before them the main halo crackled and buzzed revealing the images of two bent shrouded figures. 

'Father Rytt!' Lydia's voice cut through the air. 

Father Rytt dropped his hood. His familiar face beamed across to them from the Alamut flag ship. He gave them each a short bow. 'Lydia, Faulke.' He then took the Commander in his gaze. 'The Halout salutes you and your fleet Commander, he has bought the fleet of Alamut to stand with you.' 

Through the screens they watched as the white glowing torq shaped ships of the Alamut fleet crystallised from the Extensivity and formed up into even ranks alongside the Earth ships. 

The figure next to Father Rytt dropped his hood. The wild eyes of the Halout looked about him then locked on Lydia. 'I bring friends Prophet. The fleets of Outremer.' 

'We are getting more activity of the starboard bow, Commander.' The Navigator snapped. 'Fleets are coming in. The Thalian fleet sir, the East Zephaniah Fleet, Nano ships from Eri. It's the Outremer Fleets! Sir you need to see this!' The Navigator looked at the blaze of navo lights appearing in front of him. 'I don't understand what is happening, sir. It looks like the equipment is malfunctioning. There are more fleets emerging, Sir, not just the Outremer's fleets. I don't know who they are?' 

They watched from The Revenge in awe as they came, around the Earth Fleet a multitude of ships began to appear from the Extensivity. The ships of Outremer, the fleets of planets that had fought against Earth in the Regenerator wars, fleets of strange shapes and design that neither the Commander or Faulke had encountered before. Rapidly they crowded into the space around the Earth ships to stand alongside their allies. 

Faulke's head filled with voices, he grasped the Commander's arm and struggled to keep the emotion form his voice. 'My people are here Aiexsky. The Gelon have come. They say they will stand by us -to the last ship.'

As the fleets arrived the halos on the battle deck began to fill up. Strange faces, oddly garbed Outerworlders, incomprehensible shapes, all talking, all trying to be heard. The babbling of voices rose to a crescendo over the heads of the crew.

The Commander raised his hand for silence. Gradually the faces in the halo's fell silent. 'Let the Halout speak.' 

The Halout turned to Waite-Kidd his voice rang out clear and true. 'News has spread across the known Universes and beyond. They have come to see the girl who can walk and breathe where she should not, who can talk to those who don't speak her language, can communicate with the old gods. They are here to see the Prophet of the Nergalrhod and to watch her raise the Hammer of the Gods. The stories of the Nergalrhod go back to the roots of many cultures. They are here because they believe in her Commander, your fierce young woman believed in something and it is that has brought them here.' 

'And what if this Hammer does not exist?' the Commander called back. 'What then?' 

'We will fight by your side Commander, so will the others. While she is still on your ship we will ensure no harm comes to her.' 

Faulke turned to look at Lydia. She stood motionless on the deck, her head thrown back, her hands wrapped tightly round the Aephren.  

Still she did not know how it worked but she believed. She had to believe.