The Sea of Darkness

Chapter 1: Fall

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Life was good for the Imperial Ship Captain Iris Stjarna. She casually roamed her ship, pushing back a short lock of blond hair behind her ear, softly swearing as she struggled to get her hair past her commlink currently enclosing her left ear. Her sophisticated haircut was decidedly inconsistent with the Imperial Forces regulations but no one on the ship would even dare point that out.

Iris thoroughly enjoyed her high-ranking officer privileges, privileges that she firmly believed that she rightfully deserved, having worked hard to be where she now was. At 29 she was one of the youngest officers to ever reach captaincy, and she even had the honor of commanding an Imperial Cruiser, a battle-hardened warship codenamed 'Coeurl'.

Cruisers formed the bulk of the military power of the Empire. They were not as fast or maneuverable as some of the smaller classes of ships, but they were an unstoppable force when they wanted to, and an unyielding wall when they had to. During the battle of Vyke (stellar date 243 Post Imperium), eight Cruisers had held the entire rebel fleet at bay, protecting the Empire's very core until the remainder of the Imperial fleet showed up. This had been the last substantial spatial battle in history. The rebel fleet had been crushed, the foolish rebelion with it.

Nowadays the Imperial Force mostly dealt with modern day pirates and raiders. Cruisers were mostly overkill against their refurbished ships, but they were still an important part of the Empire's display of power. Iris relished in the power she held at her fingertips. Days after days she crushed the Empire's enemies, and that filled her with unending pride.

When Iris was six years old, her parents had taken her to Vyke's Imperial Museum, a colossal building fully dedicated to showcasing the Empire's might and glory. She had felt such a patriotic rush that day that she had sworn to never let the Empire's light fade away.

Iris had flown through her education, skipping whole years as the starry sky above her constantly reminded her of her goals. At sixteen she had faced the terrible Empire's Examination Board, a trial most aspiring officers would face half a decade later in their life, and at nineteen she had finished the Imperial Officer's school with honors.

Lost in her thoughts, Iris was barely watching where she was going, the crew around her carefully avoiding the distracted captain. She had spent so much time learning the layout of the ship that her legs could bring her wherever she needed to go on their own.

Her reverie was yet rudely interrupted as she bumped into a young man wearing civilian clothes and carrying two heavy bags of potatoes of some sort. The man was sent tumbling down and fell on his butt as Iris came back to herself and assessed the situation, her sharp eyes narrowing.

Iris' battle armor, worn by every Imperials aboard the ship, easily absorbed the impact. While the battle armor was standard equipment, hers still had been tailor-made for her. It tastefully hugged her body, accentuating her curves. At her request, it also had been repainted red, black and gold, rather than the usual grayish white.

The young man whined, then his eyes fell on the bright colored, armored boots of the person he had bumped into. The color instantly drained from his face and he began stuttering. "M-Ma'am! I-I-I'm so s-sorry! I d-didn't see you there..."

Iris's pretty face was distorted in a scowl, her blue eyes burning with anger. She bent down, grabbing the man by the throat and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Still holding him at arm's length, Iris slammed the poor guy against the cold metal wall. Her bio-engineered augmentations granted her what would have been called superhuman strength a few centuries ago.

"You didn't see me?!" Iris snarled. "I am so unimportant to you that I'm invisible?!" Her hand tightened around the man's throat.

Struggling to breathe, the man wheezed an answer. "N-No Ma'am, please... I'm so sorry... P-Please, that won't happen again..."

Based on his clothes and the tubers spilled everywhere in the corridor, Iris quickly deduced that the man was a kitchen slave and by definition, disposable. "You're right, it won't." She retorted, her mind looking for the closest airlock.

"Captain, ETA 8 minutes." The disembodied voice of her navigator reached Iris through her commlink, the magic of technology at work.

Pressing a button on her commlink with her left hand, Iris answered. "Roger. I'm on my way." Her eyes never left the poor slave she held against the wall.

She relaxed her grip on his throat, and the man roughly fell on the floor. "Thank you Ma'am, thank you..." The man whimpered continuously, his eyes focused on the floor in front of him.

"Never stand in my path again." Iris simply said, before walking towards the ship's bridge.

Iris was not one to be nostalgic of her past. She was now thinking of her future. A very near future even, eight mere minutes away.

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"Captain on the bridge!" A mean looking, heavily armed soldier loudly announced as Iris entered the bridge, the automatic door closing behind her.

"Status report." she asked as she strode towards where she belonged. A big, throne-like rotating seat in the middle of room, able to control every single system in the ship. A marvel of Imperial technology and one that, on top of everything else, was kinda comfy.

The bridge offered an incredible, 360 degree view into space despite being nested deep in the bowels of the ship, out of harm's reach. That was thanks to the seamless, massive screens covering every inch of the wall, floor and ceiling of the room. Even the sliding door Iris entered through was a part of that screen when closed. Walking on what appeared to be nothing but the vast expanse of outer space took everyone some time to get used to.

"ETA 2 minutes. We'll be leaving hyperspace at a fair distance from the planet as you ordered." The ship's navigator declared, his attention never leaving the screen in front of him. The Coeurl's navigator was a lanky man, his voice able to put anyone to sleep. But his accuracy and focus were legendary.

Iris felt the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she got goosebumps from the adrenaline that ran free in her body. The hunt was on, and Iris lived for moments like this one.

A few days ago, a pirate had deserted his crew and had voluntarily come to the nearest Imperial outpost. He had told the officers there that he knew where the ship of a pirate captain that avoided the Imperial Force for months would be, six days later. He had apparently overheard a conversation and had offered to trade this information against Imperial citizenship.

Captain Stjarna had been tasked with dealing with this, at her utmost enjoyment. Of course it could have been a trap. But no pirate would be foolish enough to try to ambush an Imperial Cruiser. And even if they were, Iris would squash them like mere bugs. In her mind, nothing could go wrong. At best, she would destroy an enemy of the Empire, and at worst they would walk into a trap and emerge unscathed, potentially destroying enemies of the Empire at the same time. Iris was wielding the whole might of the Empire after all. The pirate deserter by then had been given his fair reward, an energy bullet through his head.

"Leaving hyperspace." The navigator said, his tone neutral as usual.

Suddenly, the view around the bridge changed drastically. Instead of a chaotic mess of dark colors of the hyperspace, the vast nothingness of space appeared, distant stars no more than small dots of light piercing the sea of darkness. In the distance, the planet Foa-4 was visible, and somewhere behind the ship's portside was Foa itself, the star of the system.

"We are 1.26 lightsecond away from Foa-4, Captain. Exactly as planned. We're out of range of the close range scanners of any ship orbiting the planet." The navigator continued.

"Thank you Navigator. Operator, any catch?" Iris asked. She could feel her anticipation running in her veins like fire.

"Nothing on close range Ma'am, but two on long range. A civilian cargo ship and an unidentified one orbiting the planet." The scanner's operator spoke in a cheerful tone, a stark contrast with the navigator. Iris always thought that she was cute, with her short stature, big breasts concealed under her battle armor, big dark green eyes and joyful personality. She could be her type, if Iris had any interest in romantic relationships.

"Send a message to the civilian ship, tell them to get the hell out of here." Iris ordered. She didn't care about the civilian ship's safety, but a wandering ship could be a liability in the upcoming battle.

"Roger that, Captain." The Operator confirmed.

Still gazing at the planet far in the distance, Iris spoke again. "Navigator, how long until we can deploy the Net?"

"The hyperdrive engine is cooling down. 94 seconds until it can be fully stopped."

Iris loved the Net. This was such a marvelous tool, and she couldn't wait to use it again. "Perfect. Navigator, full subluminic speed ahead, we're heading towards that unidentified ship."

"Roger that, Captain." The Navigator diligently answered, taping his fingers on his screen.

The engines of the Coeurl roared to life, the hunter rushing towards its prey.

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In a dimly lit room, a woman was seated on a leathery black, weathered down couch, wearing only baggy, dirty pants, her chest bare. Her long red hair clinged to her sweaty body. She absentmindedly stroked the black hair of another woman, sleeping fully naked on the couch, her head on the lap of the redhead.

With a mechanical noise, a door opened in the back of the room and a tall man entered, wearing a leather jacket on top of what looked like a casual shirt. He took a few steps inside the room, then he knelt in front of the couch.

He cleared his throat. "My Queen, pardon me for interrupting, but it's important."

The redhead Queen smirked and gestured to the man to rise. "Go ahead."

The man rose up to his feet. "We have confirmation that the Imperial Cruiser 'Coeurl' is on its way to Foa-4."

The redhead's smile widened. "Are we still on schedule?"

The man frowned, a hand on the back of his neck. "Yes. We should reach Foa-4 a few minutes after they do. But calculations for the hyperjump were difficult. This is dangerous, we'll leave hyperspace very close to Foa-4."

"But with no momentum. We'll be fine." The Queen handwaved the man's concerns.

"Yes, my Queen."

The man turned around and took a step toward the door before changing his mind. He faced his queen again.

"If I may, I don't like the fact that you're keeping me in the dark or the fact that we are risking so much in this operation."

The Queen gently moved the head of the dark haired woman out of her lap, then rose to her feet. She was tall for a woman, almost as tall as the man. She took a few steps, and stopped right in front of the man, both of them unfazed by her half-nudity.

"Jay, how long have you been with me?" She asked, looking the man in the eyes.

Jay chuckled. "Pretty much since the beginning, before this royal charade." He paused for a second, then added "My Queen." sarcastically.

"And in all these years have I not gained your trust?" The Queen asked, half a smile on her lips.

"Kara, you know my trust in you is absolute, as is my loyalty. I would follow you into the blazing heart of a star if you asked me! All I want to do is help you, help us! Share your plans with me. Let me help!".

"You're right, you're right. I'll tell you everything. The Coeurl..." Kara began, but she was interrupted by the dark haired woman stirring and yawning on the couch, slowly waking up.

The Queen glanced behind her, then faced Jay again, a grin on her face. "Oh. Jay, before that, would you mind escorting my... friend back to her quarters? I'm afraid she's exhausted and needs some help."

Jay chortled. "Yes, my Queen." He said in an exaggeratedly reverent tone.

"Great, I'm gonna grab something to wear while you do that." The queen said, heading towards another door.

As Jay helped the dark haired woman to her feet as best as he could without groping her, the redhead Queen turned around to face him. "You know that I don't mind you dropping the act, but be careful to not undermine my authority." She added with a far more serious look on her face.

"I'll keep that in mind." Jay said with a nod.

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"The hyperdrive engine is now fully cooled off and ready to go offline." The navigator spoke again, 94 seconds having passed.

"Disable our hyperdrive engine and deploy the Net. Set the bow side's plasma artillery to max power." Iris was now standing in front of her seat. Even at full speed the Coeurl was still minutes away from Foa-4, and Iris could barely wait.

"Using the Net, our subluminic engine and the artillery at maximum power is going to be taxing for the Core. The shield's endurance is going to be reduced, at the very least." Warned one of the operators.

"Who cares! They could barely hurt us even if we had no shield. I gave my commands." Iris snapped back.

"Roger that Captain." The crew dared not to stand against their charismatic captain.

"The hyperdrive engine is now offline. The Net is powering on. It will be ready in 5 seconds."

Five seconds later, the navigator indeed confirmed that the Net was now in function.

Iris didn't really understand how the Net worked. In fact she didn't care. She knew that while every single sane person was calling it a Net, the real name of this device was Negative Space Field Warp, or NSFW. She knew that it created an imperceptible bubble around its source, with a radius of around half a lightsecond for the one installed in Imperial Cruisers. She knew that inside that bubble, no ships could enter hyperspace.

And she knew that it was an incredibly powerful tool, as taking a ship by surprise with a Net active usually meant a clean kill. With no way to escape some pirate ships had tried to surrender, while some had chosen to go down with all guns blazing. In the end, that changed nothing. They've all been crushed by the might of the plasma artillery of the Coeurl.

The pirate ship was in the Net. Its fate was already sealed.

"The ship detected us. Both its subluminic engine and its hyperdrive engine are powering on. Considering our current speed and estimating its acceleration, they will be in firing range in less than 50 seconds." The navigator announced. If he was not so competent Iris would have already thrown him out of her ship, the way he talked always managed to irritate her.

Iris pressed a button on the arm of her chair, opening a communication channel within the ship. "Gunners, once we're in range you can fire at will. May the Emperor bless us."

"Captain! Something appeared on the scanners. A ship in hyperspace, heading straight for Foa-4. ETA 90 seconds." The bubbly operator suddenly stated.

Why was this ship not seen before, Iris thought. Her ship's scanners were top of the line, they should have seen this guy coming from relative miles away.

"More pirates?" Iris asked. Iris was more than willing to annihilate additional pirates that were stupid enough to throw themself on her ship.

"Unclear. There must be a mistake. Scanners indicate that this is an Imperial Flagship! But there is no identification code." The Operator answered as she tried to make sense of what she saw on her screen.

"A Flagship?! Why would the Alexander be there? And why have we not been informed?" Iris wondered out loud.

Iris pondered the strange situation. Only two of those mastodon had ever been built. The first one was still where it crash landed a century ago, on Vyke's moon. And the other, the Alexander, had no reason to be anywhere other than on Vyke's orbit.

"Contact the Alexander, see if they need our assistance. Contact HQ, ask them why the hell the Alexander moved. Let's smite those pirates and figure this out." Iris finally said, choosing to focus on her hunt first.

"Captain, by my estimation the Flagship is going to leave hyperspace much closer to the planet than what could be considered safe. Also, we should change course, to avoid an improbable, yet catastrophic collision." The navigator announced, intonations in his voice that Iris had never heard before.

Swearing, Iris sat down on her chair. "Navigator, avoid any risks of collision with the Alexander and change our course."

"The enemy ship is changing course too. It seems it's both avoiding the Alexander and coming back toward us." An operator in the room observed.

This was what broke the camel back for Iris. No sane pirates would turn back towards an Imperial Cruiser rushing full speed ahead while a supermassive Imperial warship was incoming. Something did not add up.

"Something is wrong and we won't stay here to find what. Navigator, get us out of here." Iris ordered, shaking her head.

A tear opened in the very fabric of time and space, and a ship appeared, right in front of the Coeurl, and very close to Foa-4. Cruisers were big, but Flagships were colossal, built to be a stronghold able to fend for themselves in war time. They were designed to be able to rule the Empire from a moving position, safe from siege. They could withstand almost everything and fight back, but they were not invincible though, as the one laying in ruin on Vyke's moon proved.

"This is NOT the Alexander!" yelled the Imperial Captain, pointing something everyone with open eyes saw. The Alexander was the crown jewel of the Empire, the pride of the whole nation, its hull so polished that when light from a star reflected on it, the sight was blinding. This Flagship was missing whole layers of plating, exposing the black as night reinforced titanium. It barely seemed finished!

"Gunners, hold your fire and change target. Focus on the Flagship and wait for my command!" Iris ordered as stoically as she could, her heart thumping in her chest..

Panic started to spread in the crew, now possibly facing a fight that was not one sided. For once, Iris felt like her ship was the small one.

Balls of pure plasma fended the space between the two warships, without making any noise. They silently crashed on the Coeurl shield, lighting it up in an almost pretty way. The Flagship had opened fire, hostility had begun.

"Gunners, retaliate at will. Navigator, why are we still here? Hyperjump to any location that's not right here, ASAP!"

"I've disabled our Net, and the hyperdrive engine is powering on. We will be ready to jump in approximately 169 seconds."

"Then we'll have to endure for 3 minutes. Navigator, reduce our subluminic speed and maneuver, expose our bow to the enemy artillery. Send all available power to the shield. Contact HQ, ask them to send all available warships in this part of the galaxy." Iris barked her orders.

For the first time in her career, she felt like this was a fight they could lose. They were on the wrong side of the power balance.

While the Coeurl still managed to maneuver smartly, dodging plasma shots and exposing the smallest possible target to enemy fire, the Flagship just stood there, enduring impact after impact of plasma.

"Captain, the shield endurance is down to 69%, it's falling at an alarming rate." The shield operator said, trying to keep his cool through the chaos.

"It's fine, we won't stay there much longer! What about HQ?" Iris inquired.

"Our long range communications are down. I think they are jammed by the enemy. I can't reach HQ!'' The scanner operator lost her bubbliness in the battle.

Iris slammed her fist against the armchair of her seat. "Dammit. Navigator?"

"Our hyperjump will be ready in 23 seconds."

"The shield is down to 40%, still dropping." The shield was starting to weaken, each impact of plasma rocking the ship more than the previous one.