The Elementals - The Endless Dark Ocean: The Elementals, #1

By Boris Mosso

Without apparent reasons the Astral galaxy has been invaded by enormous and powerful unknown, cruel and devastating breed's fleets, unexpectedly emerging from deep space. A concocted galactic coalition intends to resist, but the proud fleets from those who were up to that point, ancient and respected empires, are mercilessly swept away, battle after battle, while their systems and planets are conquered InexorablyFrom the Espacia Planet, in the Solarian System located nearby the galactic edge, a young but very advanced breed will secretly send a small expedition to the distant Lumina Galaxy in search of a mysterious object which could save the Astral Galaxy from its complete destruction. Therefore, young Captain Lena Valir, will be assigned to lead this turbulent incursion along with a small crew, safeguarded also by an Espacian Foreign Intelligence undercover agent and by the intriguing Professor Trivian, an advanced and unusual aged scientist who has handled the secrets concerning the object's origin and its future implications during more than four centuries, in the shadows.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boris Mosso
• Release date: May 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223121046

Book preview

Chapter I - FAREWELL SPACIA

1 - Tronius

FOUR HUNDRED SPACIAN years after: 

Tronius was standing on a slightly rugged and dusty hill in front of a half-buried grey hull from a very old Spacian combat spacecraft with a three hundred meters wingspan. Overseen now from its tragic history, it showed huge holes on its side bulkheads. It was a bleak memory of the battles against the Scardian’s invasions, one thousand years ago. Times when the Astral Galaxy was ravaged by endless bloody conquest battles.

Everything began when the unbridled ambitions from some galactic powers, like the Scardian Constellation Group System, collided against the Vintar’s Constellation’s Atirov Empire. Being this the greatest military power that the Astral had seen emerge in all its history.

The enormous flare up, subsequently razed with the weakest worlds and systems from the galaxy, in a terrible seven years battle and a decade afterwards, in another one that would last three more years.

Four hundred years would go by until the Astral Galaxy completely recovered from those merciless and devastating events.

Now, currently, many of the reminders of spacecrafts belonging to Espacia’s former advocates, added to thousands of invaders that tried to subdue them, were spread throughout the planet and its solar system’s colonies, which was a reminder of the prize of freedom and peace. Freedom that once again demanded huge sacrifices from its civilization

He knew that these sacrifices would be greater, or even result as final under the desperate and chaotic present circumstances.

A cold chill went down his body imperceptibly which wasn’t caused by the fresh spring breeze caressing the hill in the cloudless dusk.

The sunny but fresh evening was one hour away from giving in to the sky’s night darkness, while the nearby Baltar Moon peaked into the horizon. At the peak, the small and distant second moon sphere called Kran, stood out.

From his position, his deep black eyes entirely conveyed the recently abandoned beautiful city, the great Lenodon Metropolis, his birthplace and Spacia’s capital city; consequently, being the Spacian Systematic Council headquarters.

An enormous city, whose huge structures built with carbon nanotubes, were seen from two hundred kilometers away, until it disappeared in the global curvature. 

In the thousand-year-old and abandoned coastal area city, the intriguing and somewhat in darkness, original and archaic city known as Old Lenodon rose up being more than one hundred eighty thousand years old, spreading out in mysterious and endless lights, colors and ghostly shadows’ mosaics, created by its own megalithic constructions of gigantic stone blocks, mingling in an unfathomable perspective in the transparent Spring sunset.

When looking away toward the modern city, he marveled once more before the astounding and gigantic structures, challenging gravity and logic. Buildings up to eight thousand meters high, boasting infinite and amazing shapes and colors in striking deterioration.

He observed the Spacian Tower sadly, a one thousand kilometers high structural body. This linked the city to a huge space station outside the ionosphere, practically at the beginning of the space exosphere. In its inside, big ultra-fast elevators, performed the journey from the space station surface. First one of ten they were able to build in different places of the planet. All the towers displayed Terminal Stations in space, where great installations of a little more than a kilometer in diameter were built. However, the Spacian Tower was the greatest of them all. There were hotels in that space platform, astronomical observatories also and several administrative institutions. Including the large-scale installations of the Registry Office for access to visitors from other planets, who didn’t have free transit treaties with Spacia; a small space fleet port even operated there.

The tower rose high until it disappeared into the sky in plain sight. The last end transformed in an almost invisible line after reaching the troposphere limit. Tronius remembered that the forty meters wide halted elevators now, ran tirelessly day and night, transporting thousands of passengers and hundreds of tons of cargo in each transfer. 

Sharpening his eyesight, he was able to see the huge boarding building at the core of the city. The splendid and monumental Continental Station. He remembered the countless trips on the upward paths, in the comfortable and spacy ultra-fast trains which took fifteen minutes to arrive to the Space Station, reaching speeds of seven thousand kilometers per hour to the station, in vacuum tubes.

With a panoramic glance, Tronius sadly admired the evacuated metropolis. Not even one being lived in those beautiful and magnificent constructions now.

None of the eight hundred million Gtrans and Gravy-cycles, or the twenty million multipurpose public levitators, raced around the virtual highways anymore, which increased the traffic flow up to ten thousand meters in altitude.

The eight hundred million Lenodon’s residents, remained safe in the gigantic evacuation spaceships. After a short approach quantum leap, the last civilian shipments would join in few minutes the improvised fleet where the discouraged system residents were sheltered in, at the prime scape leap point attached to the tenth huge gas planet called Cratias; dragging tens of thousands of spaceships, loaded with its fellow humans.

The one hundred thousand million from the Solarian System Spacians, would have a second chance, jumping into the space above time after time until erasing all traces of their whereabouts. They would at least be safe for a while, Tronius assumed. 

Two percent of them, would depart on board of the Spacian’s War Fleet towards a very different destination. Two thousand million soldiers and crewmen would face the pervasive, mysterious and devastating invader in a few more hours. Joining the Astral Fleets, to help defend the Atirov Solar System, located more than one thousand light years away.

The soft dusk breeze swirled his gray hair over his broad forehead and the warm sun from the spring season, warmed his tanned and thin face.

He squinted his eyes for a few moments, while he tightened his flawlessly smooth jacket with his mechanical motions, whose memory material, sustained and recovered its creases by itself. 

Dust particles swirled around his body which then fell downhill. The sea breeze increased its speed, while the sun was still visible in the horizon. Scanning to the west, he found the coast line, distant and shielded by a leafy tree strand.

He remembered similar afternoons, fifty-five years ago. Being a restless small child running and playing around those fields covered with huge and ageless trees in the Cerlador Forest at some ten kilometers from its current position. He clearly remembered his mother hugging him and lifting him up with her strong hands before feeding him lunch amongst the dark green leaf trees, at the beginning of Autumn, her favorite season.

Suddenly, Inia’s face came clearly into his mind. It was a stabbing pain reflected in his heart at first, sharp but distant. He pressed his eyes strongly, trying to hold the fresh image of the beautiful woman which appeared young and perfect in his memories.

Everything happened many years ago, in the times when the Baltarian came into his life. Being a young and enthusiastic fleet officer. On any given day, he met her by chance in the Lenodon’s city History Museum, next to Spacia’s Advocates monument, forty-one years ago. 

He seemed to perceive her black hair’s exquisite scent and feel the warmth of the soft and white skin, like the Baltar Moon at its prime. The memory brought back the blue violet bright gaze and thin lips, which knew how to show an overwhelming smile at the right times.

He got carried away by the comforting color of his memories which lit up his hardened heart.

He remembered his casual and repeated encounters which made them become inseparable with the passing of weeks. He opened his dampened eyes, while the old images from that remote time filled his mind and spirit in that desperate time of his life. He remembered the walks around the city’s outskirts and the first kiss they gave each other that day when he carved her name on a great rectangular rock with a laser on the top of a hill located on the outskirts of the great metropolis. He bitterly remembered, that such day he had imagined eternal happiness. 

Inia was a ghost now. However, there was a bond between both which time and present events, brought him brutally and unexpectedly back, just some days ago. 

A voice behind him drew him out of his musings abruptly, like if they had just thrown a glass of cold water on his face.

—Admiral, we need to withdraw.

—What are you saying?

—Sir, we should abandon Spacia. It has been informed by the Trendar Spaceship. The attack fleet is ready and arriving to the leap point in four hours and a half. The fleet is waiting for your orders and your presence, Admiral. 

—What about the evacuation fleet?

—Spacia’s and the Systems’ residents are almost entirely already lodged in the evacuation fleet. The last shipments coming from the colonies will arrive in a few minutes. Only us two remain here, the explorer’s pilot and Officer Lestar, are standing over there.

—Fine, get on board the spacecraft...I’ll be there right away.

—Yes sir. 

The young officer walked away making strides towards the explorer. Tronius stayed a few seconds studying the combat spaceship and the thirty meters long standard exploration one, which floated twenty centimeters above the ground and at some two hundred meters away. It waited for him to take him to his personal Vector spaceship, in which he orbited the planet alone at an altitude of thousands of kilometers. 

He looked at young Officer Lestar, the new robotics squad leader, who always escorted him in his journeys and whose name he had just found out. The hunting spacecraft pilot stood dressed in his black combat suit, with his hands on his back and facing the City of Lenodon. He was there, stagnant and staring vacantly at the architectural enormous structures, next to his stylish vertical three meters high spaceship. The Admiral raised his eyes to the sky. A great part of the other forty-nine twin and automated squad’s spaceships fluttered there. An itch went down his back recalling the tragic death of that young pilot’s predecessor, Officer Barzi. He had given his life to save him from a violent attack which occurred in the Baltar Moon’s orbit, some weeks back. 

Tronius figured that the young man was silently bidding farewell to the beautiful and everlasting Lenodon. Maybe it was also his home. He felt the weight longingly, of how that young officer looked like him forty years ago. He remembered that sometime in his distant past, he had also stood in that same place, looking at the overwhelming greatness of Lenodon, but with a broken soul from the pain. 

The Corporate explorer spaceship parked some meters away from him, was the last military transport levitating over Spacia’s surface. Tronius assumed that he would be the last resident to touch its surface; although it wasn’t so. One more resident was still there. One who slept the universe’s deep sleep; a time and space traveler of whom he knew nothing.

Tronius turned to see the City of Lenodon for the last time, with its elongated shadows up to the horizon.

Then he moved forward to the explorer accurately. When passing near a huge rock, he caressed it imperceptibly and without stopping. On the side, an old and somehow blurred engraving stood out fuzzy in the middle of the green moss. Four big letters engraved on the hard rock: INIA.

Lestar quickly moved to his hybrid spaceship upon seeing the Spacian Fleet’s Supreme Commander approaching his transport. He jumped into the cabin in a flash, being drawn then from the inside. While it closed tightly, the small spaceship took off rising hundreds of meters in a couple of seconds, covering the Admiral’s withdrawal.

Once Tronius climbed into the compact spaceship, it rose surrounded by fifty small dark spots. They crossed the ionosphere’s last layer in ten seconds.

From his comfortable levitator seat the Admiral was able to perfectly observe his world’s curvature, the Spacian Tower also rising on his side, whose endless column shined proudful with the sunrays.

But neither de Admiral nor his scarce crew saw or spotted the spaceship from the Spacian Foreign Intelligence Agency entering the planet’s atmosphere through the opposite hemisphere.  The sophisticated Nimide triangular combat spaceship with a fifty meters wingspan, built with the latest undetected presence technology, carried ten crewmen. 

After a few seconds of swift ascend, the Admiranl’s transport zoomed out crossing the exosphere, at more than eight thousand kilometers from the Spacian surface.

Through another hemisphere, the Nimide approached the surface in a silent flight. He modified the path to stem from the South Pole, descending then at some hundreds of meters from the ground, to channel his definite route then, without reducing one inch of the sixty thousand kilometers per hour swift speed, which he achieved by completely withdrawing from the air resistance, while traveling wrapped in the Transient Dynamic Vacuum Field, which surrounded the Spacian raider with a transparent film of less than a centimeter.

Using that technology, the fleet spaceships would be able to slip into environments with density, the same way as if they were in the emptiness of space.

They flew over several cities and then they appeared over an intense blue ocean to come across an archipelago and immediately after with another continent, in whose coastal line the City of Lenodon was imposingly visible. They decreased the momentum and descended over a huge platform of decorated rock with countless deep green weed braids in the middle of the Old Lenodon. They stayed there surrounded by the massive original buildings from the Spacian Civilization, looking far from the modern buildings of the monumental and modern city. They sent out a brief communication from there:

—Director Umbaga, we’re at the Old Lenodon, in the Vertice’s point. We’re at the predefined position and confirm being in dormant state from this moment. Over.

2 - The Scardian Messenger

DRESSED IN HIS FLAWLESS blue uniform, the Young Vector’s Captain approached Tronius, waiting to be seen.

He remained self-absorbed, watching Spacia moving away in the space horizon. He stood upright in front of the completely transparent wall at the end of his Vector’s control bridge.

The Admiral’s spaceship was a swift black spot which would leave Moon Baltar behind in seconds, after tracing a path almost touching the natural satellite. He wished to take a last glance at the Spacian Fleet’s colorful installations. While training, these had been his home during half of his life.

He found out, disheartened, that the dark side of the first and greatest of both of Spacia’s moons, went back to absolute darkness for the first time in tens of thousands of years. Not even a trace of light could be seen in the cities which only a few weeks ago, accommodated millions of Spacians.  Neither were there any signs of life in the Solarian Systems fleet’s main headquarters

—Yes Captain.

—Sir, a compact Messenger Spaceship just crossed a nearby leap point.  They carry a protocol one ordinance.  We have their messenger on line. It’s a Scardian Spaceship.

Communications of that security level could not be delivered by quantum channels in times of war. Only in regular transmission speed or speed of light.That’s why a messenger spaceship had leaped one thousand three hundred and eighty light years from the Atirov System to the Solarian System, trying to deliver the message directly. 

—Verify the security codes before leaping to Cratias. Summon Admiral Tribar in holographic. He should listen to the reports in real time.

—In real time Admiral?

—Yes.

—Very well, we’ll call him to the Trendar Spaceship.

Admiral Tribar appeared immediately, pictured in a color and full-size holograph. The high Officer of medium height and somewhat a heavy built, honored of being the greatest rank Second Officer after Tronius in the Spacian Fleet. They both greeted each other and remained quiet. Following, another full-size hologram of a meter ninety tall being, showing defined and straight features. Who, although having a prominence like a nose in the center of his face, breathed through three thin horizontal and side openings on each side of its face and part of its thick neck. The thin being, having an intense yellow colored skin and dressed in a military suit, emerged in the middle of the control bridge, making tiny movements with its long limbs. Tronius immediately recognized a Scardian Officer, but did not exhibit his ranks on his uniform, something very unusual. Tronius thought that the old Spacia’s fierce enemies, were ironically their allies now.

This arrogant race like any other, had no home anymore, since their planets and systems’ groups had been occupied and their many residents were almost completely exterminated by the enigmatic and powerful enemy at the beginning of the invasion six months ago. Holding the sad record of having been the first species from the Astral to confront the current pervasive invader.

The many war spaceships’ survivors, of what was one of the most efficient, respected and disciplined war fleets from the Astral Galaxy, continued fighting aside the coalition. He knew that even the last of them would confront the enemy, but they wouldn’t have a home to go back to, neither in triumph.

Their endurance had been so fierce on their worlds’ surface, the last defense barrier after being almost completely defeated in space, that the invaders chose to destroy the abilities to support life, in a clear message for the rest of the civilizations that still endured. 

The Scardians’ tragedy had a profound effect in all other civilizations. Finally bringing about the unconditional unity of the various systematic fleets. Before that, the presence in the coalition of some powerful and arrogant empires, had hampered the defense military operations, many times.

—I understand that Admiral Tronius is waiting for my communication.

The metal, quiet and deep sound in the Scardians’ voice, was faithfully represented by the universal automatic translator.

—Speak messenger.

—Greetings, Admiral Tronius, Admiral Tribar.

Sir... I have a communication for you from the Unified Command. The coalition fleets are facing the invader in these exact moments; both in the Emodian System as well as in the Nopra Binary System.

It has been a few hours since the battles began. It was a combined attack that began at the same time in both systems. The enemy entered in quantum leaps with fleets greater in number and capacities than the ones our allies presented in response.

—An attack in those systems was expected any time. What’s happening in the Octario System, messenger?

—Mister Admiral, almost the fourth of the Astral Fleet’s total who defended System Octario, have disappeared in combat. The remainders withdrawn, went back to the Atirov System. The Bagras’s System second fleet defended the evacuation with great courage and was destroyed in matters of hours. Only a few larger spaceships were barely able to escape, escorted by a few defense spaceships. The Unified Command is still not able to recover from such unexpected loss. 

The magnificent Bagra’s System second fleet was destroyed. His mind couldn’t help from calculating. Six million lives were transformed into space dust; which was the third part of the crew carried in the entire Spacian War Fleet. It concluded that it was surely a harsh emotional and strategic blow for the Astral Fleet’s Commanders, as that fleet along with the first fleet from the Bagra System, was called to be one of the pillars in the Vintar’s Constellation defense and of the rest of the galaxy.

Tronius sensed the confusion and discouragement in Tribar’s body movements.

Who was this enemy devouring fleets, planets and systems, as if it was a black hole? Nobody knew it, but dozens of speculations poured down. Some assured that it was a breed coming from the Dark Galaxy, belonging to the galaxy’s local group. Others speculated about a civilization inside the Astral, hidden in secret development, waiting for their military abilities to be powerful enough to take total control over it. And for that reason, they patiently waited for tens of thousands of years, while it spied on the military powers and the Spiral’s Galaxy more advanced civilizations. That was the most popular within multiple possibilities, but nothing was known for certain. Only their spaceships were known and vaguely knew the invaders’ physical appearance, upon retrieving some bodies in very bad condition from the inside of their almost indestructible armors which they used to fight in the planetary surfaces. The fearful and ruthless terrestrial units from armored entities, as they were called by the Astral’s high Unified Command.

The recurrent sabotage cases performed in a coordinated manner in all the global systems which represented the sum of the Coalition Forces, was now painful and permanent suffering for the allies also.

The enemy wielded the amazing skills of infiltrating their own beings as organisms like the natives from the melting pot of breeds who resided in the Astral in shapes still unknown to the Unified Forces scientists.

From the beginning the damage it would cause the troops’ moral from the dawning and unprepared galactic coalition, was evident.

The Admiral noticed that his spaceship’s young Captain remained crestfallen, politely at ten meters from him, listening carefully to the Scardian Officer. The rest of the present crewmen on the spaceship’s bridge couldn’t hear the slightly encouraging news, transmitted tersely by the messenger.

Tribar, who remained silent until then, approached the Scardian with a rough voice, barely showing refinement and little effort to hide his dislike for a member of the breed who had been about to end with the Spacian civilization in the past. The messenger ignored the high Official’s unpleasant tone of voice, answering in adherence with the strict etiquette rule.

—Scardian, I imagine that you not only have brought bad news all the way to our domains. What are the reports from the Unified High Command?

—Admiral Tribar, it’s estimated that about seventy percent of the remainder from the Astral Unified Fleets, could withdraw by leaping into the Atirov System in the next hours. The orders for you indicate to travel to that Global System as soon as possible. They will not be left as reserves this time.

—What’s the situation in Atirov?

—The ones left behind and withdrawn forces of at least forty systems are reorganizing in the Vintar Constellation, specifically in the Atirov System. The defense from each inhabited planet has been reinforced there and from the space stations. Also, the Atirov Fleet’s headquarters base in the Aterian Planetoid.

After the fragile agreement reached with the Federation of the Thirty or Foreign Group Federation, it’s expected that the other side of the galaxy’s Federate fleet join us in about three Spacian weeks...maybe more; although we haven’t been informed of their next movements with certainty. The Unified Command’s defense analysts even fear that in the end they won’t even send reinforcements.

—Why have they decided that, Sparcian?

—The Astral intelligence community has followed the steps of these negotiations and movements from different Federal outer zone fleets.

—We know that.

—Right Sir. The matter is, that major displacements have not been detected coming from that Galaxy’s area, however, it has neither been possible to perform detailed inspections... fearing of being discovered.

—You’ve done well. If the Federates discover us spying, they can also turn against us. 

At that point, couldn’t contain himself.

—Three weeks Tribar, to cross two hundred thousand light years. 

The delay of those negotiations will really weigh on us. They face the same danger as the coalition. If we’re defeated today, this curse will inevitably fall on the Federates hereafter. And on top of that, our higher commands now figure that they might not even come to the Vintar Constellation. 

—That’s right Sir, it’s estimated that they will wait for the battles’ results to come, prolonging the negotiations for that purpose.

—You shouldn’t take too long then, we barely have strengths to continue confronting the invader’s crushing progress.

Tribar interrupted the dialogue, visibly annoyed and appalled.

—But they committed themselves! They signed a military alliance agreement with the Unified Defense!

—Sir... you can expect anything from the Federates.

Tronius and Tribar understood that perfectly, whereby they exchanged cold glances for a few seconds.

The young Vector’s Captain moved away a few meters away, trying to hide his frayed face due to the discouraging news received several minutes ago.

Tronius resumed the questioning; he couldn’t afford losing time nor allow himself to be discouraged, at least not obviously.

—Is the first defense ring operational in Atirov? Are there any signs of the Browns in the Vintar Constellation, messenger?

—The Scardian messenger was somewhat surprised after hearing Admiral Tronius calling the invaders that way, since it was a derogatory and informal name, very common among the allies’ low rank troops emerging spontaneously after not ever been able to identify the enemy’s origin. The Scardian seemed