Chapter 585: The Tartarus’ Three-Way Clusterfuck

The Strider ripped out of the hyperspace lane, slamming directly into a dense debris field. Crushed asteroids and shattered ship hulls scraped against the reinforced viewing glass while warning sirens blared across the bridge. A massive energy grid illuminated the dark sector ahead.

A Demonic Society salvage fleet swarmed an ancient orbital station. Gargantuan dreadnoughts dwarfed their own ship, ripping the structure apart with particle beams and plasma cutters. Rin gripped the hilts of his dark steel swords and stepped up to the viewing glass.

“We are completely outgunned.” Rin stared at the colossal vessels blocking their path. “They have enough firepower to vaporize this entire sector.”

Xavier walked to the tactical console and pulled up the inventory screen to retrieve the imperial tracking devices stolen from the Crimson Haven skirmish. He keyed in an override sequence, arming the modules with a few swift keystrokes.

“Let them fight someone their own size.” A sharp grin spread across his face as he slapped his palm onto the launch mechanism.

The external tubes opened and fired the clustered devices into the void. Those small trackers bypassed the active scanners to latch directly onto the hulls of the demonic dreadnoughts. Green confirmation lights illuminated Xavier’s display.

Rin peered through the viewing glass as the signals blinked into the distance. He turned his head toward the control panel.

“What exactly did you just launch at them?”

“An invitation.” Xavier turned away from the console and grabbed the primary flight controls. “Federation Vanguard forces love a good chase.”

Space tore open on the perimeter of the debris field as three Federation Vanguard cruisers warped into the sector. Their engines flared bright blue against the darkness, and targeting systems locked onto the false imperial signatures instantly.

The Vanguard cruisers unleashed a concentrated barrage of plasma torpedoes and railgun slugs. Demonic dreadnoughts took the full impact of the surprise assault, fire erupting across their dark hulls.

“Hold onto something.” Xavier engaged the sub-light thrusters.

He steered the Strider into the exploding crossfire, weaving past the colliding warships.

Space ruptured as three Federation Vanguard cruisers warped onto the grid. Their forward batteries ignited the void with concentrated plasma fire. The Demonic Society dreadnoughts absorbed the initial barrage against their reinforced shielding before returning fire.

Kylus pressed his hands against the viewing glass with a wide grin stretching across his face. He watched the Vanguard railgun slugs shred the demonic fleet’s outer hull.

“Look at them burn.” Kylus tapped his fingers on the console. “Hale’s lapdogs brought the artillery today.”

Xavier bypassed the secondary scanners and locked the nav-computer onto the Dead World below. He shoved the throttle forward to boost the sub-light engines.

“Let them keep each other busy,” Xavier said. “We drop to the surface right now.”

Rin gripped the flight yoke and threw the ship into a sharp dive. Plumes of exploding plasma illuminated the cockpit as the Strider dropped beneath the dreadnoughts’ sightline. The colossal warships above them unleashed a volley of counter-fire that completely missed their tiny transport.

“The crossfire is closing our descent window.” Rin pulled the yoke back to weave past a spiraling chunk of burning debris. “We need more speed to punch through their sensor net.”

“Arm the illegal dark matter core.” Xavier pulled up the bypass codes on the tactical display. “We jump straight down into the planetary atmosphere.”

Rin punched the activation sequence into the primary interface. Violent vibrations shook the floor plating as the drive spun up to maximum capacity. The viewing glass darkened as the core warped the space immediately surrounding their hull.

The Strider plunged into the chaotic blind spots of the battling armadas. Golden and blue energy beams crossed above their heads in a spectacular web of destruction.

“I could watch Federation ships turn into scrap all day.” Kylus crossed his arms and chuckled as a Vanguard cruiser took a direct hit to its thruster banks.

Rin slapped his palm onto the deployment switch. The dark matter core engaged with a massive thrust that sent the Strider hurtling directly into the Dead World’s gravitational pull.

The Strider slammed into the cracked surface of the Dead World. Metal shrieked as the landing gear buckled under the violent descent. Rin wrestled the flight yoke, forcing the ship to skid across the jagged obsidian plains. A massive trench carved itself behind them before the vessel finally ground to a halt.

Sparks rained from the ceiling panels. Kylus kicked his harness release and grabbed his heavy thermal cutter from the floor. He smashed his boot against the jammed cockpit door until the locking mechanism gave way.

“Federation cruisers lost our signal in the upper atmosphere,” Kylus announced, stepping out into the shadowed landscape. “We have company on the ground.”

Xavier grabbed the Grave Indexer from the weapon rack and followed him out. The sky above boiled with residual plasma fire from the orbital battle. Down here, the landscape offered nothing but dead rock and towering ruins of forgotten outposts.

A swarm of heavily armored drop pods plummeted from the cloud cover and crashed into the perimeter. The Demonic Society had tracked their descent trajectory. The pods hissed open, deploying dozens of heavily mutated reptilian shock troopers armed with pulse rifles.

“Looks like a welcoming committee,” Xavier remarked, racking a credit-charged round into the chamber. “They built a forward operating base right in our landing zone.”

Rin vaulted over the Strider’s wing and drew his twin dark steel swords. Silver aura ignited along the edges of the blades. He launched himself directly into the closest squad of reptilian soldiers before their targeting lasers could lock onto the ship.

“Keep them away from the engines!” Rin shouted, decapitating two shock troopers with a sweeping cross-slash.

Kylus revved his thermal cutter, the superheated blade casting an orange glare across his face.

He charged the right flank, driving the weapon straight through the chest plate of a hulking demon commander. Black blood sprayed across his armor as he ripped the cutter free and kicked the collapsing corpse aside.

Xavier raised his weapon and squeezed the trigger.

“Boom!” he voiced.

The Grave Indexer converted his credits into pure kinetic force, erasing three advancing demons entirely.