Francescan War Chronicles 1: Space Knight Denxeiter Read online

  What had once been a beautiful robot was now a twisted monster of nightmares. Things that at first seemed like small distortions on its body, Feln realized, were actually wriggling tentacles emerging from cracks in its armor. Like Denxeiter, this robot, Ganxeiter, was also missing its face shield, and what once looked like a beautiful woman’s face sculpted in porcelain was now deformed into a rictus of laughing evil. Its eyes were rolled back, darting back and forth as more tentacles emerged from the corners and what looked like green blood was oozing out. Where Ganxeiter’s mouth used to be was now a giant gash with a long scaled tongue dangling out, dripping more ooze down onto a chest covered with what looked like pus and vomit. Strange symbols had been carved all over its body and Feln tried not to stare too long at them because when he did, they seemed to dance.

  “You…” Feln said.

  Ganxeiter advanced, drawing a rusty rapier covered with filth and with more symbols carved on the guard. Feln narrowly dodged an incoming attack as Ganxeiter jabbed at Denxeiter’s head. Ganxeiter held the rapier up in a mockery of a salute and came at him again. Feln feinted left and spun around down the length of Ganxeiter’s outstretched arm. He whirled around and brought Denxeiter’s foot up into a crescent kick that connected with Ganxeiter’s head. There was a sickening crunch as Ganxeiter’s neck snapped sideways and the head almost came off. But more tentacles shot out of the neck and pulled the head back on tight. Ganxeiter slashed out and cut into Denxeiter’s right shin.

  “Damage?” Feln asked.

  “No sign of infection,” came Denxeiter’s reply. Good. On smaller robots, he’d seen the same type of damage result in the robot filling with pus and exploding seconds later. Truly a terrifying weapon, but the Blessing in Denxeiter’s construction seemed to keep it safe. Still, Feln didn’t want to test just how strong the Blessing was.

  While Feln was considering this, a mass of tentacles suddenly shot out of Ganxeiter’s chest. Feln dodged some, but not all and he found himself ensnared and being flung into a piece of colony debris floating nearby. He felt like his neck was going to snap from the impact embedding Denxeiter in place and no sooner had he caught his breath than Ganxeiter was on top of him. The tentacles shot out again, pinning him to the debris with limbs outstretched.

  Ganxeiter’s eyes rolled forward and stopped darting to focus on Denxeiter. Inside, Feln felt as if the thing was looking into his soul. The space around Ganxeiter began to distort as a deep hum started to emanate from deep within. Feln clenched his teeth as the hum rattled the cockpit, making the air itself seem to vibrate and some of the portions of his monitor shattered in response.

  Through the hum and vibration Feln saw an incoming transmission appear on his window. It read, “Transmission from Lt. Katashka Nonn, Francescan Imperial Star Navy Space Knight Rank AB7”. The thing that appeared in the transmission was once indeed Katashka Nonn, but not anymore.

  Katashka, once a beautiful young woman, was now a monster in the purest sense of the word. Where her eyes used to be were now open gashes with small tentacles flailing around. Her head was tilted back and her mouth open in a permanent, silent scream. Out of that mouth were jutting two large mucous-covered stalks with eyes at the tips.

  The eyes stared intently at Feln and through the hum, a woman’s voice— Katashka’s— emerged, “Feln, why are you still fighting us? We're all waiting for you. The Empire has forgotten about you and the others. Come with us…”

  Blood was starting to come out of Feln’s nose and ears thanks to the hum, but he still managed to grin, “You’re not Katashka. And who in their right mind would want… that anyway?” He closed his eyes and laughed.

  The eyes on the stalks narrowed, “Idiot, this is just a vessel. Join us and see the real me and be connected in more ways that you can imagine." The voice became more solid and clear. "I'll make every one of your dirtiest dreams come true…”

  Feln felt something on his lap and opened his eyes to see Katashka there, naked, the girl he knew. She never looked more amazing than now. Her blue eyes even more clear and sparkling than he remembered, her lips so red and pouty that his already-compromised grasp on sanity was now ridiculously starting to get turned on.

  Katashka shifted slightly, feeling him underneath her and giggled, “Oh! Heh. You were always such a dirty boy. Well, I can take anything you can come up with and come back for more. You can be as rough as you want with me, you know. I won’t break.”

  She giggled some more as Feln’s eyes rolled back and he leaned back in his seat. As she started to kiss his neck, Feln’s eyes opened and looked past her at the monstrosity still visible on his screen. Its eyes were glazed, obviously concentrating on producing this… what was this exactly? It was certainly more than an illusion because Feln could feel Katashka’s body against his, her hot breath, and kisses on his neck. Well, whatever it was, it wasn’t real. The thing on the screen was. He looked down at the fantasy on his lap.

  “Katashka…”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m really sorry. I’ll never forget you and I will avenge you.”

  Katashka started to say something in gentle protest but then her eyes— and the eyes on the stalks— widened in horror as Feln yelled, “Durandal!”

  With a colossal boom that shattered the debris Denxeiter was pinned to and knocked Ganxeiter back, the giant sword, Durandal, suddenly materialized in Denxeiter’s open palm. As the robot’s fingers closed around the grip, a shockwave burst out that sent Ganxeiter tumbling and the false Katashka on his lap disappeared with a shriek. The image of the monster on his screen went blank and the hum disappeared.

  Feln knew he had to act fast and shot forward, following in the wake of the shockwave. With a growl of anguish, he made a downward slash that sliced Ganxeiter cleanly in two from head to waist. The edges of the corrupted robot’s armor was melted in the wake of the cut, and Feln could see cauterized tentacles and what looked like organs burning. Ganxeiter exploded.

  Denxeiter drifted backward slowly. Durandal was the only weapon Feln had left, but bringing it into battle always required energy— energy that after two weeks of constant fighting was now exhausted. Durandal dematerialized and Denxeiter froze, all systems powered down except life support.

  “Oh, well, it was enough,” Feln said as he wiped the blood from his nose. He looked at the debris field that had once been Ganxeiter. “Goodbye, Katashka.” He started to cough and tasted blood on his lips. The warning klaxon went off and Feln could see another group of enemies tentatively approaching. He knew this was going to happen and was prepared. “Divert all power from life support to self-destruct charges.”

  “Warning: There is not enough power to self-destruct and eject the escape pod.”

  “I know. Do it. Self destruct on my order.”

  “As you wish. It has been an honor.”

  Feln certainly hadn’t expected that. He knew that Denxeiter possessed a rudimentary intelligence, but this was something more. He’d heard stories about other Hyper Battle Machines evolving and developing feelings, but always just assumed those stories were wild gossip. And now he was witnessing something amazing moments before his death.

  “The honor was mine,” he said, “And thank you.”

  He was hoping for an answer, but none came. Had Denxeiter actually spoken to him? Maybe in his current state of mind, he’d just imagined it. Of course, that was it. As if things weren’t crazy enough, preparing to give the signal that would cause his own death had obviously sent him over the edge.

  The enemies cautiously grew closer and Feln waited. With Ganxeiter’s destruction, they probably wanted to possess him and Denxeiter even more than before. A Hyper Battle Machine’s main engine was a source of massive amounts of destructive energy even in the weakened state Denxeiter was currently in. When Denxeiter self destructed, it would be more than enough to wipe out the enemies approaching now and almost anything else in a two mile radius.

  Just as Feln was abou
t to give the signal to unleash that destruction, a hail of laser beams came from above and destroyed the enemies closest to him. The rest scattered as a group of robots and space fighter planes screamed after them.

  As this new group made quick work of Feln’s would-be assailants, Denxeiter was engulfed in shadow. Feln looked up to see the assault carrier, I.F.S.N. Tannhauser, hovering over him. The Tannhauser was his home. Feln collapsed in relief, “Disengage self destruct and restore life support.”

  A robot had already launched from the Tannhauser and was approaching. As it drew closer, Feln could start to hear a voice coming through the static. “This damn lousy reception! You’ve gotta be right on top of somebody before they can hear you. Feln. Feln! Can you hear me? Feln?”

  “Yeah, I can hear you,” he answered as a window on his screen suddenly popped on with the title: Transmission from Lt (jg). Valisia Nonn, Francescan Imperial Star Navy Pilot Rank BB5. Valisia… She looked so much like Katashka right now… Feln suddenly choked thinking about how he had just killed Valisia’s big sister. No, she was dead a long time ago. He had set her free.

  “Feln? Are you okay?” Valisia asked. “What’s wrong?” As she hovered nearby, small service ships had left the Tannhauser and were attaching grappling hooks to take Denxeiter into the hangar.

  “Nothing, I’m fine,” he answered. “There’s something—“

  “Where the hell have you guys been?” a second voice suddenly burst in. Feln looked around to see a space tug from the colony pulling up and knocking Valisia’s robot aside. Aaltskog. Sure enough, an image of what looked like a twelve year old girl with short purple hair that covered her eyes popped on screen with the title: Transmission from Mech. Aaltskog, Francescan Imperial Star Navy Space Knight Companion Rank XXX. “Do you idiots realize that Feln’s been out here fighting alone for two weeks? Look at his status! Denxeiter’s almost out of energy and most of his weapons are dead!”

  Valisia was irritated, “Listen, Aaltskog, you know damn well how hard it is to navigate out here. We kept getting lost trying to get back!”

  “I don’t wanna hear it! You clowns think you can go on these grand adventures and leave everything to Feln! Well, I’ve had it! I’m not gonna—“

  A third voice, deep and rich, broke in, muting the other two. “Excuse me. That will be enough.” The reptilian face of a Ssalss appeared in a window larger than the other two with a gold border and a title that read: Transmission from Adm. Wrettid Kesh, Francescan Imperial Star Navy Commanding Officer I.F.S.N. TANNHAUSER, Planetary Colonizing Fleet #198 Commanding Officer. “I will speak with Captain Koenig now.”

  With a small yelp of terror, Aaltskog disappeared, followed soon after by Valisia with a clumsy salute and face reddened with embarrassment.

  Feln saluted and after returning his salute, Kesh said, “I’m so very sorry, Captain. We started back a week ago, but it really does seem like this area of space has some kind of malevolent mind. I’m all but positive that it was actually acting against us to keep us from returning.” His eyes lowered, “I hope you can forgive me.”

  Feln was shocked by this level of emotion from a Ssalss, a famously stoic race whose propensity to not let their emotions run free made them ideally suited to command. While Feln enjoyed a level of autonomy as a Space Knight, Kesh was still nominally his superior in this fleet. The Ssalss’ apology warmed Feln’s heart, “Sir, I can assure you there is nothing to forgive.”

  Kesh dipped his head in thanks and said, “Your Companion says you’ve been fighting alone most of the time. There were three destroyers left to help… And the colony’s home guard was of no use?”

  “As you’ve no doubt surmised, the destroyers were lost in action. As for the home guard, almost half were destroyed by the first couple of enemy waves. When I realized that the enemy seemed to be after me primarily, I told the remaining forces to stay in reserve and guard the colony. Governor Zalk was hesitant to leave the fighting to me alone, but I reminded him of his duty to protect the colonists and he regretfully agreed with me.”

  “Ah, yes, an honorable man to offer such assistance and it must have been hard for him to watch these most recent events unfold in your mission. It seemed we arrived just in time.”

  “Yes, sir…” The loss of those destroyers and the home guard ships still stung.

  “You say that the enemy was mostly focused on fighting you.”

  “Yes, sir, maybe they decided on a strategy to remove Denxeiter from the equation once and for all before a final assault on the colony.” Feln paused and added, “After all, with Ganxeiter’s loss to the enemy last year, I’m the only Space Knight left in this theater of battle.”

  At the mention of Ganxeiter, Kesh again lowered his eyes for a moment before saying, “It seemed that the enemy was moving to capture you when we arrived…”

  Feln knew what Kesh as getting at, “Yes, to affect a possession of Denxeiter as we’ve seen with many of our former comrades and Ganxeiter. They almost had me on a couple occasions. I’ll go into more detail in my report.”

  “I’m sure it will be a… riveting story.”

  Feln paused again. He knew Valisia was likely listening in, and so was Aaltskog. But he had to say something while they were still close to what was left of… “Sir, I also engaged Ganxeiter in battle. Ganxeiter and Space Knight Nonn were both destroyed.”

  Kesh closed his eyes and was silent for a long moment. “I see.”

  “You’ll notice a debris field a few miles away south, southwest on a declining vertical. That was Ganxeiter. You’ll likely want to dispatch a team to examine…”

  Valisia’s robot shot off in the direction Feln had described. So she had been listening. Damn, he knew this was a horrible way for her to find out. But he had no choice. If he waited for a better time, the debris field of Ganxeiter’s remains may have dissipated by then. Or simply have gotten lost in all the other debris floating around. The fact was, Ganxeiter’s remains would provide valuable intel.

  Kesh said what Feln had been thinking, “Yes, anything we can recover would be of incalculable help to hopefully understanding this enemy.” More somber, he continued, “Captain Koenig, I’m sorry. I know you and Lieutenant Nonn had developed a friendship.”

  Feln nodded and changed the subject. “Admiral, did you find anything on your mission? Please tell me this was all worth it.”

  Kesh’s spirits seemed to lift. “Actually, we did find something. Just how valuable it is remains to be seen, but I’m cautiously optimistic.”

  Feln sank back in his chair in relief. Kesh’s affirmation seemed to release a valve and Feln’s last bit of strength was overcome by exhaustion, “That’s wonderful, Admiral.” His eyes closed and he managed to get out, “now if you don’t mind, I think I’ll catch some sleep…”

  “Of course,” Kesh replied, “It’s well-deserved.” But Feln was already asleep before Kesh finished his sentence.

  Chapter One

  Francescan Star Calendar Year 582.7

  Location: Jump Space

  Unit: Francescan Star Empire Planetary Colonizing Fleet #198— Heavy Assault Space Carrier #25 Imperial Francescan Star Navy Tannhauser

  Feln woke up from what he assumed was a nightmare. What ever it was had left him with an uneasy feeling. He climbed out of his bed and knocked on Aaltskog’s door.

  “Hey, are you in there?” he called softly. No answer. Although she was a very complex android, Aaltskog not only looked and felt human, she was also able to sleep and dream like a human. There were still a lot of mysteries about the android positronic brain that scientists couldn’t explain— the ability to dream being one of them. Aaltskog’s hearing was perfect and if she was in her room, she would have immediately woken and answered. Since an answer wasn’t coming, she must have wandered off on a walk again.

  Feln decided a walk might not be such a bad idea, so he put his navy blue uniform on, and left his quarters. He stood a bit over six feet and his lanky build could almost blend in with man
y of the people he passed in the hall. While his body had been enhanced beyond normal standards by a rare side-effect of nano-tech when he hit puberty, that was mostly internal. But it was what was inside that most contributed to what set him apart from his fellow crew on the Tannhauser… or from most other Francescans.

  He wore the uniform of a Space Knight. The Francescan Star Empire was made up of many races— the Empire’s home world of Wystra had over 50, including two different types of humans. Add to this the additional 70 or so races that were part of the Empire’s galactic acquisitions, and one could be forgiven for going crazy trying to keep all of them straight.

  But a Space Knight was a truly rare person. Someone who had for one reason or another been given the Blessing. The Blessing could manifest in many different ways. Someone born with powerful magic, for example. Or perhaps the ability to move at incredible speeds. In Feln’s case, he had been born with the same nano-bots in his bloodstream as countless generations of non-magic Wystrans before him, stretching back into prehistory. It was a gift bestowed upon his people by the Ancients; a gift that had lain dormant for thousands of years until about 600 years ago when Emperor Gustav II had revived it. Since then, nano-tech would keep people from getting sick, could heal minor wounds, and gave an overall higher level of health and longevity than they would have otherwise. Gustav II himself was testament to that as he lived to be 259, although nobody had come close to reaching that age since.

  It was when Feln reached puberty that the nano-bots in his system suddenly gave him his Blessing. As his body went through the change into adulthood, that usually unassuming nano-tech started to enhance his body in ways that made him practically superhuman. He became much stronger, faster, and with incredibly sharp reflexes. Even his skin became more durable, able to actually resist some smaller caliber bullets.