Beyond Light

Sea Skirmish.

“Objective located. Setting a track. Location: 823 meters from our position. 939 meters underwater,” informed the Pilot.

John got up from his seat and moved to the cockpit, the door between both rows of seats unlocked. Only dark navy blue could be seen through the windows. Even if he activated the night filters on his HUD, the water was too opaque to discern anything.

“Commander Star, I’m generating a 3D model from that structure through infrared web scans. Hold on,” explained the Pilot, his face isolated from the environment by a wide visor and a breathing mask connected to the systems of the ship.

The personal tags on his shoulder put: Flight Second Lieutenant Jack Port. One of the holoprojectors on the bloated deck surrounding his position shot orange light. The underwater base was a relatively small construction compared to the alien ruins they had been before, being only 70 meters tall and extending no further than 30 in diameter.

It was black and pyramidal, supported by unending rows of pipes and cables extending through the top, and reaching the rocky bottom below, getting grounded to it. Its black carcass was covered by the hexangular patterns of a honeycomb, and its bottom was perforated by extended bays as the ones of a human submarine base would.

“I can already feel claustrophobic,” John returned to the troop bay. “At least it’s going to be small. We should have no problems locating that generator.”

“What if that was just a bunch of lies?” asked Heinrich. “And this is all Goliath’s plotting?”

John raised his shoulders once and let them fall. “It’s the only thing we’ve got. From what we’ve heard, I don’t think Aleos would bother with such play. Get ready to—”

BAM. The swordfish rumbled, shaking everyone around. Some soldiers fell from their seats. John held himself from the edge of the door. The lights had gone off for a second and were now beeping red.

“Impacts detected at starboard side!” cried Jack Port, turning off the sirens. “Enemies detected at our rear, following in an angle of 45 degrees. Beginning evasive maneuvers. Hold yourselves!”

The ship could be felt trembling and accelerating, making everyone hold themselves tight on their seats.

“Enemies? Damn,” said John, helping a soldier get up and moving back to the cockpit. The circular sensors above the deck displayed three red dots below them, no further than 40 meters from them. “Where the hell did they come from?”

“Unidentified. generating models,” responded Jack, his hands moving as swift and quick all over his terminals like the ones of a magician. “Bingo! Let’s take a look.”

He tapped the button below the holoprojector next to John, shooting orange light. Three exact figures appeared, looking more like organic beings rather than submarine vessels. With round, large bodies covered by short fins —similar to eels— the creatures looked like the prehistoric fish that used to inhabit Earth’s oceans 500 million years ago.

But there was something different in them, covering the parts of their heads: angled, thick layers that looked like helmets. Two red lights were in the place where their natural eyes would be, and their bodies had similar objects covering them from belly to tail. John had seen those before. The humans that Goliath held in Vita Nova and unleashed at them were all covered by the same modifications.

“Damn bastard,” cursed John. “we aren’t the only ones Goliath has taken. Can you—”

The Swordfish’s hull trembled, shaking everyone again and making John almost fall. Jack turned off the sirens.

“Another impact! shielding systems at 50%”

“Are our torpedo cannons working?” asked John.

“Working and ready to fire in either automatic or manual mode, Commander. The controls are at the rear. Want me to activate them?”

“No. I’m taking care of them. Keep evading,” John left the cockpit.

“Aye aye. ETA in four minutes, delayed for evasion maneuvers.”

John passed through the troop bay, his green-armored soldiers looking in concern as he moved to the door at the bottom. They had heard everything.

“Cap, I’m with you,” Derek got up and followed. “Gotta take those bastards down before they get us.”

“Is Goliath already here?” asked Heinrich. “Have fun hunting those cyborg fish!”

The door unlocked, revealing the dark, cramped room where the manual controls of both Ariel-902 Guided Torpedo Launchers were located, one on the port side and the other one on the starboard side.

“What’s up with this ship having so few guns?” asked Derek, sitting on the starboard side. The terminal was already on.

John sat on the port side. “It’s just a transport ship modified for diving underwater, not a fighter. Still, don’t underestimate the Ariel torpedos. They can open a hole over 990mm or armor.”

The screen lighted up and the outer cameras attached to the weaponry displayed the dark blue around. John put his hand on the controls. The infrared sensors observed the chaotic perimeter around as the Swordfish moved. Two red spheres of light appeared, moving in swirls 50 degrees behind.

They shot brighter bolts at them, which opaqued the screen and forced Jack to make sudden turns, making aiming difficult for John. He managed to locate one and put it on the reticle, the systems illuminating green as they focused their target’s location in high precision.

He pressed the fire button. A single torpedo got shot, locating through heat detection systems the absorbed fish. An explosion of orange and bubbles sparked, and the sensors stopped detecting the creature. “Enemy down,” John exclaimed.

“Enemy down too!” joined Derek.

The sensors now only detected one of them, still floating behind without letting them go. It shot, and successfully impacted the Swordfish, making it rumble and shaking everyone from their places.

“Commander, our shields are at only 18% their capacity!” exclaimed Jack. “We can’t afford to suffer a breach in our hull.”

“Take them down, mister,” Derek growled. John didn’t even need to react.

The man had quickly targeted the third fish-machine hybrid, and an Ariel torpedo was already on a course of collision. It impacted, and the terminal dazzled for a second before going dark. The three assaulters were gone, and danger was out. For a moment.

“Nice shooting there!” exclaimed Jack. “Now setting track for that base. There are various silos that must lead to an entrance. Hold on.”

“Nice shooting,” said John. “Derek, how did you get on the reticle that thing so fast?”

“Son, I served aboard a sunwarmer heavy gunship as the main artilleryman for fove years. This thing is like a toy to me.”

Both were about to leave their seats and return to the troop bay, but the Flight Second Lieutenant stopped them on their way. “Commander, I’m detecting a heavy number of those same things coming at us. Estimated numbers: 180!”