“All of you need to can it,” Ava finally contributed. Despite her urgent need to run in guns blazing, Kyle kept her grounded. “If any can be taken alive then we will. We need information if we’re going to survive in this new… Conclave.”
Jack commented, “We also need a hundred more men if we’ve any hope of finding those three pale shits in the Paladin.”
Ava stopped in the lead, holding up a closed fist to halt the team behind her. Using the eyetrak built into the HUD, Matthews opened a channel. “Maloy. You up there?”
Ensign Maloy’s boyish voice responded, “Affirmative, Raider One.”
“I need you to do an internal scan of the ship and separate human physiology from alien. Finding three aliens in a ship full of humans should be easy enough.”
Maloy cleared his throat. “Erm. The Paladin can’t do that. The scanners aren’t sensitive enough.”
“What?” Katie replied in disbelief.
Ava took over. “Explain, ensign.”
“Those kind of upgrades were to be installed after the ship’s arc duties were completed. I’m afraid as it stands, the Paladin is just a giant carrier with a Solar Drive stuck on the end.”
Ava sighed into her mic. “Can you at least detect life signs internally?”
“Affirmative, Raider One.”
“Great,” Ava replied sarcastically. “There should be just over a hundred thousand passengers inside the hold, a few making their way to the medbay and the six… five of us in corridor M-19. Are there three life signs anywhere else between us?”
There was a pause on Maloy’s end. “Yes,” he replied excitedly. “Three life signs detected on deck sixteen, corridor K-12. That area should have been evacuated and put on lockdown.”
Ava turned to Kyle, whose face mirrored her concern behind his visor. Engineering was located on deck sixteen, just off corridor K-12.
Jack spoke for the both of them. “If anyone knows how to fuck up this ship from the inside, it’s them.”
“Double time!” Ava’s order had the team sprinting to the nearest emergency ladder and climbing down to deck sixteen.
The corridors were silent. There were signs at every juncture directing them to engineering, but no signs of life. Matthews checked in periodically with Maloy to ensure the three mystery life signs hadn’t moved. When they finally reached the stasis chamber between K-12 and the engine room, it was clear to see where the aliens had gone. The doors had been pried open at both ends of the chamber, their frames bent inwards and the glass shattered.
The five Raiders crossed the threshold, each scanning a different area of their surroundings. Ava winced at the sound of the glass crunching under their boots, giving their location away. It suddenly occurred to the colonel that she knew nothing about their prey. How good was their hearing? Could they see in the dark? Were they chameleons? After the brief fight in the ready room, it was clear to see how fast they were, and judging by how easily they threw Peter and Jack around the room, they were strong too.
Before entering the maze-like structure that housed the Solar Drive, Ava looked down to see fresh blood dripping down her left leg, the source; her abdomen. Thanks to the stimulants and painkillers, the whole wound was numb, but a portion of the medi-foam had been shaved away by the plates in her armour. The colonel looked over her shoulder to make a cursory inspection of her squad’s wounds.
“Med-check,” she ordered.
The Raiders turned to one another and examined their wounds, checking for any damage they couldn’t see on themselves. Kyle had been winged in the right shoulder, visible by the cream-coloured foam staining his blue armour. The others had gotten away with scrapes and bruised egos.
“Sir…” Kyle was looking at Ava’s gut.
“It can wait.” Matthews jabbed a new canister of medi-foam in between the plates and sealed the wound again.
The Solar Drive itself was hidden from view inside a central chamber that could only be accessed via another stasis corridor after the engineers had adorned their protective gear. It wasn’t just the radiation that had to be taken into account, but the frequency on which the Solar Drive resonated. Without the appropriate headgear, the engine’s constant hum would burst a human’s eardrum and had been known to burst blood vessels beneath the skin.
Ava led the Raiders through the embankments of consoles and workstations, all designed to monitor and tweak the Solar Drive’s input and output. Cables ran up every wall space and along the ceiling, leaving the grated floor clear to walk on. The sound of their breathing was interrupted by a quick dash above them. As one, the squad swivelled to the right and aimed high, each taking a different stance and ready to fire. The walkway was empty, but they had definitely heard something run along the metal grates. At the same moment, another mad dash was heard to their left, on the same level. Again there was nothing for them to shoot.
“Raider One.” Maloy’s voice came through all their headsets. “Be advised, the three life signs appear to have split up. They’re surrounding you.”
Jess turned her rifle in every direction. “What level?”
“The sensors aren’t that accurate…”
“Fantastic,” Katie replied, dryly.
“Contact!” Jack’s announcement was followed by a staccato of gunfire.
The bullets shredded every console between the team and the corridor, spreading shattered glass and fragments of torn metal. The Shay rolled aside, firing as it did, and evaded Jack’s attack. Katie and Jess moved down the corridor, to the next row of consoles, and opened fire, hoping to hit the escaping alien. More consoles and cables were reduced to pieces, as the Shay’s robotic limbs projected it out of harm’s way.
Ava and Kyle were a split second from joining them in the chase when another Shay opened fire on them from above. They instinctively crouched and returned fire under the umbrella of sparks that exploded around them. Ava’s visor alerted her to a successful hit on the Shay’s organic arm, which quickly became evident when it dropped the rifle onto their level. Using its other, mechanical, arm, the Shay hoisted its body over the railing and dropped down to their level. The tall embankment of consoles immediately hid it from view, but Ava knew the alien would be going straight for its gun.
“Hold position.” Ava gripped Kyle by the arm, keeping him by her side. “Raiders, on me!”
Jack, Katie and Jess made their way back to the colonel, each covering a different angle on their approach. Their prey had disappeared somewhere inside the bowels of the engine room, while the injured Shay had slunk away, most likely having retrieved his weapon.
“Where’s the third?” Kyle pointed out.
“Maloy? What can you see?” Ava asked.
“They never regroup, but it’s as if they know what each other is doing. The two you just engaged are looping round from different directions.”
“They’re trying to flank us,” Jess commented, her eyes scanning every corner.
“The third is…” There was a pause on Maloy’s end. “I think it’s trying to gain access to the Solar Drive, but I can’t be sure.”
The team huddled close together and cautiously made their way back to the drive’s main entrance.
“We’ve got eyes on, Maloy.” Ava checked the doors for any signs of broken entry. “No targets.”
“No, I think it’s trying to get in through an emergency access hatch underneath the central housing unit.”
“Contact!” It was Kyle who spotted the Shay, this time approaching from behind the group.
The Raiders were forced to dive in different direction to avoid the hail of bullets. A pain-filled grunt from Katie suggested she had been hit, but Ava’s visor indicated that the wound was below her knee - she would live. The second Shay, with a wounded arm, appeared from the side of the Solar Drive’s main doors, shooting as it rounded the corner. This new attack forced the Raiders even further apart. They were being split up.
Kyle jumped out from behind a small workstation and drove his tactica
l blade into the Shay’s chest - a killing blow for any human - but the Shay piled into the Raider, using his momentum to drive Kyle into the wall. A swift kick knocked the rifle from the alien’s robotic hand, which it then used to grip Kyle by the visor, each digit poking through the glass. The pistons in the robotic arm flung Kyle several feet away. Though unintentional, it had proven to be the perfect distraction. When the Shay turned around, Ava was standing inches away with the barrel of her rifle in the alien’s face. The colonel squeezed the trigger and watched the Shay’s face and head turn to pulp.
“Push!” Katie barked at Jess and Jack, who were all closing in on the first Shay.
Ava was going to help Kyle up, but the soldier was already on his feet, discarding the broken helmet that had finger holes in the visor.
“Raider One, bridge control just got a breach alert on the Solar Drive!”
Maloy’s words focused Ava’s tactical mind. “We’re going for the third, you three take care of the straggler.” Matthews looked back a second later. “And Katie, no grenades. This is still an engine room.”
“I guess I’m gonna have to get creative…” The three raiders rounded the corner and disappeared.
Kyle happily took Jack’s helmet, aware that his eardrums wouldn't survive the proximity to the Solar Drive.
Ava and Kyle used the ladders to descend into the tunnels beneath the Solar Drive. There were more cables than anything else since consoles weren’t kept on this level. Finding the intrusive Shay was easy since its attempts to break into the main chamber was so noisy. It was using some kind of blow torch to access the panel beside the emergency hatch, hoping to rewire the circuits and open the small, square lid.
Colonel Matthews and Lieutenant Riddick took up positions either side of the tunnel entrance and crouched, making themselves smaller targets. The stolen rifle was slung over its bony back in a position that would make it hard to reach in a pinch.
“You thinking prisoner?” Kyle asked.
“Well I know the others aren’t going to take anything alive,” Ava replied.
When they looked back at the small circular room, the Shay was gone, the blowtorch resting on the floor. The Raiders glanced at each other, their expressions, visible through the visors, communicating everything they needed. Rifles first, they entered the small room, lined with cables that ran up into the housing above.
The Shay dropped from the arch above the entrance, moving erratically like a spider. Using mechanical fingers and feet, the alien stuck to the walls above them before dropping onto Ava. Its weight put the colonel on the floor, but the soldier was quick to draw the blade attached vertically to her chest. After four or five plunges into the Shay’s abdomen, it was becoming clear that pain and blood loss was not an issue.
Kyle wrapped his arms around its neck and pulled back, moments before the Shay tried to break Ava’s trachea. The two stumbled back and became a jumble of limbs on the floor. Blood spilled from the alien’s gut, making a mess of the floor and staining Kyle’s armour. Ava advanced, but the Shay saw her coming and reached for Kyle’s sidearm, clipped to his left thigh. The colonel saw the gun come free and rise towards her face. In such a cramped space there would be no avoiding the shot, and the bullet would pass through her visor with ease.
Kyle let out a primal growl and twisted the Shay’s head with trained experience. The alien went instantly limp and dropped the sidearm in its lap. The two soldiers were left in the empty chamber, the only sound their heavy breathing. No thanks were required on Ava’s behalf - keeping each other alive was just another part of their job.
“And we thought this mission was going to be boring…” Kyle quipped, taking back his gun.
Ava almost smiled before the image of Peter’s dead body flashed in front of her eyes. Losing someone under her command was always a scarring ordeal, one which thankfully had only happened once before Peter.
“Sitrep,” Matthews spoke into her helmet mic.
Jack’s voice replied, “Target is down, permanently. Katie used incendiary rounds.”
“At least we know they don’t like fire…” Katie added. Ava didn’t have to see her to know there was a sadistic grin on Lieutenant Wilson’s face.
Ava looked back at the alien corpse just in time to see its head twitch and one of its eyes flick into the back of its socket. The unusual display was followed by a steady trickle of blood from both ears.
“What the hell was that?” Kyle asked.
“Beats the shit out of me. Let’s see what the Conclave has to say about this.”
13
If it weren’t for the Advent’s sensitive instruments, there would be no way of telling if the ship was actually moving. The pitch black of sub-space was all that greeted Kalian and Naydaalan on their journey to the Criterion system.
“I dislike that view.” Naydaalan returned to the bridge with two bowls of Novaarian noodles - one in each pair of hands. “It makes me feel lost.” The warrior sat back in his chair and used one of his four arms to adjust the viewport, changing the image to that of a starry backdrop.
It occurred to Kalian that this was the first piece of personal information Naydaalan had ever given him. Usually, the Novaarian was very stoic and guarded around others, though he had taken a liking to Li’ara, and Kalian couldn’t blame him for it.
The noodles quickly disappeared as Naydaalan used something approximating chopsticks to scoop the living noodles into his mouth - both bowls. How long had it been since Kalian had eaten or drank anything? The ship had been stocked with food and drink suitable for human physiology, but Kalian had yet to even entertain the idea of consuming. Was this another Terran thing? Could his body go without sustenance, and if so, for how long? This was why he needed Esabelle.
Even her atoms would be gone by now.
Kalian looked to Naydaalan, wishing to distract himself as well as learn more about the son of Telarrek. “Why did you volunteer for this mission? Surely your father wasn’t happy about it?”
Naydaalan chewed his noodles slower. “The Ambassador left the Conclave for four centuries to observe your people. We do not measure time away from friends and family as you do, especially when the cause is worthy. The Ambassador feared for my safety yes, but just as much as he did for yours.”
“The Ambassador? Isn’t he also your father?” Kalian had always felt a special bond with Telarrek. The Novaarian had continued to support the human race, advocating them every step of the way. He was also a friend.
Naydaalan replied with a subtle Novaarian smile. “Our cultures are very different, Kalian Gaines. A Novaarian’s duty and sense of honour always come before anything else. My father is the ambassador between your people and the Highclave, a high honour deserving of respect, especially from his children who have yet to achieve such a station.”
Their sense of honour and duty was one of the aspects Kalian loved most about the Novaarian people. It was that same characteristic that fueled them to support humanity.
“So why did you volunteer for this?” Kalian asked again.
Naydaalan looked out at the holographic stars. “I feared that you came here to die.”
That wasn't what Kalian had expected. Without any words to reply, all he could do was frown, questioningly.
“It is known that you have kept to yourself for the last three months since Li’ara and Esabelle died. No visitors aboard the Sentinel, no trips to the human habitat and barely any interaction with the crew. You were originally opposed to this plan until you learned of Li’ara’s fate. I feared that you had given up, and had come on such a perilous mission to find your end.”
“So you’re here on suicide watch…” Kalian sat back and sighed, contemplating his three months of self-exile and seeing how the Novaarian could come to that conclusion.
Naydaalan replied in a softer tone, “I am here because Li’ara wanted you to live more than anything else. I was with her when you stopped the starrillium from exploding on the Nova. Seeing you on the brink o
f death nearly crushed her. Whatever anyone else believes about you, Kalian Gaines, Liara believed that you were the only one who could bring all our people together, as well as combat this looming threat. I would see that legacy fulfilled.”
Kalian couldn’t meet Naydaalan’s golden eyes; he didn’t want the warrior to see his own filling with tears. The way Li’ara had felt about him was something Kalian knew he would never experience again. In one of their last conversations, she had pointed out the futility of a relationship between a mortal and an immortal. Kalian had been willing to forgo his extended life and simply stop his cells from replenishing, allowing him to age at the same rate. Li’ara had not been happy with that. She saw it as a waste of life, and she always saw Kalian’s life as being important, not just for him, but for others.
The rest of his conversation with Naydaalan was cut short when the main console alerted them to their approaching destination. The Novaarian replaced his bowls and went to work on the glass panel in front of him. Seconds later, the viewport flashed and the holographic stars were replaced with real ones.
An orange sun dominated the background, its glare hiding hundreds of solar systems beyond it. The viewport had already dimmed and overlaid itself with a technical readout from the sensor array. A small sphere-like object was highlighted in front of the star, five-hundred thousand miles away. Naydaalan had the image sharpened and zoomed in, giving the effect that the object was suddenly brought closer to them.
“Is that it?” Kalian lost any hope of finding answers when he saw the husk of the Criterion.
Though it had once been a sphere, the remains were without any particular shape. Debris clung to the main body like its own personal asteroid field. Kalian had tried many times to search through the chaotic memories of Savrick and discover the fate of the Criterion, but the bleed effect between their memories had always proven too hard to navigate.
“I don’t think we’ll be getting any answers from inside there,” Kalian continued. “Especially since most of its insides are on the outside.”
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 110
