by J. N. Chaney
I still had those images in the back of my mind. Black veins and burnt motor oil for blood. The stuff of nightmares, at least that’s how others described them. Point was, it hadn’t been a fair fight because touching the Blight infected people, which opened me and my team—not to mention every other healthy person on the ship—to becoming just like them. The Volcuri might be under the First’s mind control, but they weren’t contagious.
I could fight without worrying that one touch would mean death. And that meant my only worry was making sure not to hurt any of my allies by accident. I felt the change take over then. It started fast and swept through my body in a blaze of adrenaline.
Everything dialed in, a side effect of my gene editing. I was aware of everything at once, tuned to the world around but able to focus with the efficiency of a finely honed blade. The pounding feet of an advancing enemy soldier caught my attention, and I spun out of the way before his blue energy tipped spear could drive through me.
I followed through and dragged my machete down the length of his back. The armor protected him, but it didn’t cover everything. My blade found a small space at the back where the two plates weren’t butting up against each other. It was a fairly small cut, but the Volcuri’s body reacted.
Still, it didn’t stop them from coming back, the spear arcing out to find purchase. I didn’t let it. I ducked under the pointy end and drove forward, the open flesh at the neck my target. The Turned soldier saw what I was doing, but it was too late. His eyes went wide as I buried the machete to the hilt and twisted it for maximum effect. The Volcuri crumbled to his knees, clutching his throat, but I was already on someone new.
The fight continued that way for a frenzied few minutes. We were holding our own, but more Turned showed up. They came out from between buildings, marching steadily and swelling their numbers.
Blood, not mine, ran down my face, getting in my eyes. I wiped it away absently and looked for my next target. Tara caught my eye. She worked with two small blades, bounding forward to get in two quick slashes, then leaping away before her opponent could do anything.
Her tactic seemed to be working, but it took longer than a more direct and forceful approach. I started to turn away when she jabbed again and got under the Volcuri’s guard. Except she hadn’t seen what he was really up to. The soldier had dropped his guard, just a little, to bring her in. His tail swung around, and I saw the glint of metal at the tip. Another blade.
Fuck.
“Tara, move!” I bellowed.
She heard me but didn’t know what I meant. Her response was to jerk back. It almost worked, but the tip of the blade caught her in the side and threw off her balance. Tara stumbled, then went down holding the wound.
I was already crossing the short distance when the Volcuri jumped on her, his halberd swinging down. It left me with only one choice. I pulled my sidearm and fired three rounds. His center mass wasn’t visible, plus I didn’t even know for sure if the vital organs were in the same place, so I aimed for the head. That, I knew for sure, worked.
The Turned attacker’s head snapped back from the bullet’s impact. Tara used her good leg to kick him off of her, but she didn’t get up.
9
I stood there, watching the blood seep out of her and soak into the ground, frozen. Instinct I had worked so hard to bury leapt up and told me to leave her. She would die and do nothing but hinder me.
Do you have ice instead of blood in those perfect veins of yours?
Then, Tara looked up at me. I expected to see fear, or panic. Instead, there was calm, and just a little bit of pissed off. It shook me out of my stupor. My second in command would be royally pissed if I just left her there today, especially after all the time she spent teaching me manners.
I shook off the disconnected feeling and sprinted to my fallen team member. Her face had gone white by the time I dropped to my knees next to her.
She cursed when I jostled her as I ripped the fabric open to get a better look. “It’s not good,” I told her. “Not horrible either.”
That much was true. I never claimed to be a medic, but all BSC operatives had at least some basic medic training. As long as we got the bleeding under control, she might make it. Her blood was getting all over me, and for just an instant I was back in the mountain with Avery. I hadn’t been able to save her, but I would damn well make sure Tara survived here today.
“Look out!”
Now it was my turn to curse. I’d let Tara’s situation distract me, so I was in a shitty position. Let go of her wound or face the threat. She saved me the debate by shoving my head down and firing over me with her sidearm. “Not down,” she said through gritted teeth.
I ripped more fabric free from her tunic and pushed it roughly to the wound. She let out a hiss but didn’t scream.
“Hold it,” I instructed.
As soon as her shaky hand closed over the cloth, I picked up the machete and sprang to my feet, then whirled to meet the attacker. They were closing fast, and I only had a second to come up with my plan of attack. One downside of the shorter blade was that if my opponent wasn’t in arm’s reach, it was useless.
I decided to improvise by hurling the machete at the Volcuri’s exposed face. My aim was on target, and the blade pierced his eye. Not a killing blow, but it gave me enough time to pull my pistol and finish the job.
A cry went up around me, grabbing my attention. The Elder guards had managed to even the playing field and were now rallying. I wanted to grab my machete from the dead Volcuri, but Tara was unprotected. When I turned around to check on her, I had to take back that thought. Far from helpless, she had one hand on her side while the other was firing her weapon at the unfortunate soul who’d taken her for an easy mark.
An odd sensation went through me at the sight. Satisfaction brought on by her courage under fire while sporting a wound that would have kept a lesser soldier down. Pride, I think it was called.
Whatever it was, the sentiment quickly faded when AMI hailed me.
“Kent, get out of there! Reinforcements are on the way. I didn’t see them before, some kind of scramble tech.”
Before I could even ask where they were coming from, it became obvious. Two platoons worth of Turned soldiers flooded the clearing.
This was really turning out to be a shit day.
I stood over Tara with the intention of protecting her until my last breath.
“Kent, what are you doing?” demanded AMI. “Miss Perez is a liability. Your chances of surviving the current situation drop by ninety-seven percent if you don’t haul ass.”
“Then I guess I won’t make it,” I replied.
“Dammit, Kent, you aren’t leaving me any options here. Even if I send help I can’t very well fire on those coordinates with both of you standing right there!”
“Acknowledged, AMI. I understand the risks.”
I holstered the pistol and opted to pull my rifle off my back for more firepower.
“More incoming,” AMI informed, her voice almost dull.
A horn bellowed in the distance, causing everyone in the clearing to go stock still.
Movement from the canopy caught my eye, and I raised the rifle in preparation for more threats. I heard footsteps beside me and felt Riva’s presence.
“Help has arrived, Chief Kent. Bakir’s people. This will end quickly. I will stand with you to protect Tara.”
I almost smiled. Riva’s feathers quivered in excitement. We went back-to-back, her with two blue edged swords raised, me with my rifle.
It was time to get to work.
Riva’s prediction turned out to be spot on. Once they saw the cavalry, Makin’s forces pulled out rather than take heavier casualties. AMI was still pissed and took my report with monosyllabic responses.
“You doing okay?” I asked Tara when I was done.
She’d been moved to a makeshift table and given a Volcuri herbal concoction that was supposed to help with the pain and speed up the healing process.
/> “Better, actually. This stuff really works. The agony’s down to a dull ache now.”
A series of squawks and throaty trills from the nearby field doctor had me looking up. “Sorry, I don’t understand.”
“He said she should be off her feet for the next few days,” Riva explained, walking up with Bakir. “Unfortunately, that isn’t going to be possible. This location is compromised now, and we’ll have to take her elsewhere to recover.”
“The Ark,” I said immediately. “We have human doctors and medical equipment there. She won’t be at risk. Now that we know the Turned can get past our sensors, that is a concern if she stays here.”
Riva inclined her head. “Yes, it is. But, and I apologize if this is out of turn, I heard your... computer talking. Your people know what this location is. Was,” she corrected herself.
Well, the cat was out of that particular bag.
“You’re going to have to give me a pass on that,” I said, using one of Tara’s “people phrases” in hopes Riva wouldn’t make a big deal out of the subterfuge. “The situation warranted that my superior be able to keep an eye on me. I made the choice in the field not to mention it in case it caused an issue and prevented us from seeing the Elders. I made that choice because you would have demanded I cease all communications, something we couldn’t do.”
“You made this decision on the behalf of your people. I understand that. However, if we are going to be allies, there can be no more secrets.”
I nodded in agreement. “Fair enough.”
She seemed to accept this answer, but I wasn’t entirely sure the easy camaraderie that had been between us was still there. The silence stretched just a little too long, going awkward. I was contemplating what else to say when a low keening sound reached my ears. The melancholy tone made me uncomfortable enough that it took some work to hide it.
“What is that?”
“The Elder guards may have bested the Turned, but no one won this battle,” Riva explained. “The First used mind slaves to fight for them. For those of us who are free, killing our own takes a terrible toll. No First died. Only Volcuri.”
The words were bitter, and I tried to understand her feelings. “I can see that this distresses you. For humans, unedited or otherwise, every battle is against... our own, as you put it.”
Her head snapped up and shock showed in her expression. “Your people do this willingly? Kill each other?”
I lifted a shoulder, still confused at the problem. “Yes. Soldiers are trained to eliminate the enemy.”
Riva cocked her head. “Isn’t this the same thing as killing?”
A beep emitted from my wrist unit, and I looked down to see AMI’s holo image had appeared. I held my arm up so that she was standing upright.
She spoke, but it wasn’t English. Instead, the AI held a conversation with Riva and Bakir in their native tongue. The exchange barely lasted thirty seconds, and at the end of it both the Volcuri were eyeing me with something I thought might be respect.
“AMI, what just happened?”
“Nothing untoward, Chief Kent. I assure you. I merely explained that Earth is so vast that the population numbers in the billions. With that many people occupying one planet, it is mathematically probable that any population would break into factions and have wars. There are simply too many people for life to be precious.”
I got the subtext. She was really saying that of course the Volcuri valued each life when they were on the verge of extinction. Humans, on the other hand, were regularly in the habit of fighting for one reason or another. Hell, we were even taking hundreds of thousands of people and jettisoning them from the planet all the time in our attempts to populate the rest of the known universe.
“It is still a hard concept to grasp, but we are a logical people,” Riva added. “If our numbers ever swell to such extremes, I could see how infighting might start. Your AMI also told us that on your planet, you are considered one of the most elite warriors. I am not surprised, but hearing it from another is a welcome confirmation. You were trained that the enemy was the enemy. This is all we need to know.”
“The fact remains that here, the Turned are not the enemy,” Bakir insisted. “The Mind Thieves are.”
“But they are no longer your people,” I pointed out.
Bakir pointed at Tara and tried to clarify. “If Tara was taken and turned tomorrow, could you kill her without a thought?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes, but I realized that wasn’t the truth. It might have been at one point, but not anymore. I’d grown closer to her and the other members of my team since waking up during the First’s attack. Yes, I would eliminate anyone who posed a threat, but I knew that it wouldn’t come without consequences.
Hell, I’d barely known Avery and there was still some residual guilt for how that turned out. Given the Volcuri’s culture and the close familial connections they shared, it was no small wonder that killing the Turned was an emotionally trying decision, even when unavoidable.
“You understand, then,” said Bakir, studying me with a note of satisfaction.
“Uh, guys?” Tara’s voice was weak, and I noticed she was going pale again. “Not to interrupt, but I’m not feeling so great over here.”
“I thought you gave her something,” I snapped out. I knew it sounded rude, but my concern for my teammate overruled my usual apathy.
Riva looked aggrieved. “I’m sorry, Kent. The wound must have been more serious than we thought.”
“We need to get her out of here,” I told them. “She needs blood. There’s a lot of hers out there where she fought the attackers.”
“I have help on the way, Kent,” said AMI, her avatar still standing on my arm. “I’m sending you coordinates now. Get Tara there. I’ll do the rest and get her home.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “You’re offering to help Tara?”
“That’s the mission, Chief. You know that better than anyone. Personal feelings don’t matter. Just meet her ride home there.”
She ended the transmission without saying anything else, but that was okay with me. I turned to Riva and Bakir to explain. “I have to get her to a rendezvous point. When I’m done, I’ll meet you wherever you want.”
The two Volcuri exchanged glances, but it was Bakir who spoke. “I witnessed you both in the conflict today. Such courage and will is highly prized among my clan. Even so, traveling alone in the forest is a fool’s errand.”
I didn’t flinch. “I’ll deal with it. If I don’t, Tara dies.”
“You misunderstand, Warrior,” Bakir replied. “Riva and I will accompany you, along with a small party. We will see that your comrade arrives at the pick up spot.”
“That’s not necessary,” I started to say back when Tara interrupted.
“Kent, I don’t think you can carry me all that way.”
Riva said something in Volcuri to one of Bakir’s people. After getting an affirmative response from the forest leader, the foot soldier ran off.
“I believe we have a way to rectify that problem,” said Riva.
“Carrying her wouldn’t have been a problem,” I said under my breath.
“Of course, Chief Kent. Of that I have no doubt. However, working with available tools is smarter, yes?”
I couldn’t very well deny that and agreed to the arrangement.
The smarter way came in the form of a small cart that hovered. It was taken from inside the Elder’s compound, which was now completely vacant. Their bodies hadn’t been found, and there was some fear that they had been abducted, but no one seemed to believe that was the case. Riva didn’t come out and say what the contingency plan was, but I figured the Elders were too precious not to have one.
My mission at present was to get Tara to safety. Even with all I’d seen, I had to admit the cart was pretty damn convenient. For all of humanity’s advancement, hover tech was one piece of technology yet to be created and refined.
It sure made things a hell of a
lot easier, which even I appreciated. Thanks to the cart being almost a meter off the ground, it kept Tara from being jostled. Bakir’s people had tracked down some basic medical supplies, but what she really needed was blood. Every person on the ship had given extra in case of a situation like this, so we just had to get her there.
Tara jerked her head away from the stringent smell of a paste that Riva claimed was a natural antiseptic. Once that was done, our troop set out. We moved at a fast clip since we were already losing daylight.
“I still want to know how they found us,” I told the others, referring back to the Turned.
Riva’s expression darkened. “That makes two of us. It doesn’t make sense. The location is carefully protected against such incursions.”
“Does it really matter, Riva?” Bakir spat. “This can go on no longer. I am prepared to go to war. This must end.”
She regarded him with annoyance, evidenced by her tail whipping back and forth. “This is only now becoming clear to you?”
I knew from our previous meeting that her words had more meaning. Bakir had lost a son, and it was obvious she felt he should have come to that conclusion much sooner.
His tail flicked back in displeasure. “Of course not. As you said, things are different now. I take it the Elders approved of your new alliance?”
“They did. But we have a new mission. They told us something that would help in the coming days. You should know that the First are coming sooner than planned. We no longer have until the end of the year.”
This got his attention. “Why do I think there is more to the story?”
“Because there is.” Riva’s hooked beak didn’t give her the ability to smile, but something in her eyes, a flicker of amusement, told me the tension between them had passed. Still, when she spoke again the seriousness was back. “If Makin does not destroy the humans and bring a stop to the rebellion, the Mind Thieves will attack the planet without compunction.”
