The Gauloi

by Donald B McFarlane

  Runo knew precisely where the Heresy Alignment had entered the ship, and she knew exactly how many paces it was to the main hatch. Looking around Deck 3, she couldn’t see any signs that the spores from the plants had reached this far yet, but she knew that her observation about them being wrapped around the hull was going to play a more significant factor into how they found the crew when they got off the ship.

  Moving through the ship with extreme caution, Runo kept her weapons to her front, ready to strike at any threat. To her, the Gauloi felt like it was dying. Whatever minimal power sources that had kept her and the rest of the crew and passengers alive now was on its final legs, almost as if the vines were drawing power from the ship. The lighting flickered on and off as the group passed down the narrow corridors towards the main airlock.

  The smells that had been wafting through the air for the last few hours were now undetectable to Runo in her environmental suit, as she moved cautiously through the ship that she had called home for the previous few years. In the back of her mind was the nagging thought of leaving her crewmates to an uncertain fate. Maybe they’d stay in stasis for another hundred years, or perhaps they’d awaken to find the ship infested with crazed miners, or most likely, they would die in their sleep when their stasis pods went off-line, which was inevitable if the Gauloi continued to lose power.

  Reaching the main airlock, Runo stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of Zaka’s headless body, nailed to the wall. Blood was covering the ground where she had been executed, and other than the missing head, and the massive stakes driven through her chest to hold her against the wall, it didn’t look like any other trauma had been done to the body.

  So much for the power of negotiations.

  Taking a deep breath, Runo looked towards the open hatch leading off the Gauloi, and brought her knife to her front, with her axe drawn back, ready to attack at the first sign of trouble.

  “Well?” Dupina asked.

  Runo didn’t reply. She had crouched down at the corner of the main airlock, with a limited view into the interior of the larger ship.

  “I can’t see anything. There’s a bulkhead ten metres away, and that’s it.” She said.

  “What do you want to do?” Blinji asked.

  Runo glanced at her bio-monitor. Her suit wasn’t out of air yet, but it wasn’t going to last forever.

  “We can’t stay here.” She said, inching her way closer to the exit.

  “We can’t go out there.” Dupina said.

  “I have to.” Runo replied.

  Creeping forward with the utmost care, Runo made her way to the edge of the hatch. She could tell that the Gauloi was off the deck, suspended at least five metres above the flooring. A simple set of steps led up to the hatch from the floor.

  Taking a deep breath, Runo put her boot on the top step, trying to keep it as light as possible. When she was finally in a position to stick her head out of the Gauloi, she scanned towards the front of the ship, spotting another bulkhead, then checked towards the rear of the vessel. She could see another bulkhead just past the stern of the ship, where she suspected the entrance to the hangar was located.

  Considering her options, she erred on the side of caution, and rapidly moved down the steps, then turned towards the front of the Gauloi, the nose only metres away, and moved there quickly.

  Reaching the front of the ship, Runo put her hand on the pock-marked surface of the Gauloi and let out a sigh. So far, so good. Looking back, she spotted Prub, Dupina, Blinji and Inkana all following her with care, everyone moving as quietly as possible.

  Looking up towards the ceiling of the hangar, Runo could see several lines for what looked like running cranes on, but she wasn’t sure. Everything was painted grey or black, and even with the lights on, it had a very dark and ominous feeling.

  Inching around towards the side of the ship, Runo started to get a better picture of the chamber they were in. The far side of the hangar was just two-hundred metres away, and down the centre of the hangar on the deck was a large seam, which she assumed was the access point through which the Gauloi had been brought onto the ship.

  Continuing around the bow of the ship, Runo finally got to a position where she could see to the far end of the hangar; in between the Gauloi and the stern was a smaller ship, and staked along the hull were five corpses, long dead.

  “Fuck.” She whispered.

  “What?” Prub asked, right behind her.

  “Nothing.” Runo replied, trying to keep her nerves in check. She hadn’t had to kill anyone yet, but she was worried that it was going to come to that before she got off the ship safely. If she got off the ship at all.

  Scanning the rest of the hangar, she was able to make out only one hatch, at the very far end of the chamber, and on the ground, crawling towards the hatch was a lone figure, trailing a stream of blood.

  “It’s started.” Runo said. “The spores have already spread to this part of the ship.”

  Prub moved around to a position where he could observe the hangar, took his look, then turned back to Runo. “Yeah.” He said. “Looks like one way in and out.”

  “Yeah.” Runo agreed.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Dupina asked. “Does anyone know the layout of this ship?”

  Runo looked around the hangar. Nothing about what she was seeing suggested that the ship was decades newer than the Gauloi.

  “Nobody knows the layout of the ship.” Prub said. “There should be a terminal by the entrance down there. If we access it, we might be able to learn something.”

  “Okay.” Blinji said, moving along the side of the ship towards the exit. “Let’s do this.”

  “Right.” Runo said under her breath, and started following Blinji, the rest of the group trailing behind her.

  When they finally reached the rear of the Gauloi, Runo felt exposed. There was nowhere to hide between the ship at the exit that was still some forty metres away. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Prub was five metres behind her, followed by Dupina and finally Inkana, bringing up the rear.

  Looking beyond Blinji, Runo focused on the hallway that was visible just past the threshold of the hangar. Other than the blood marks on the floor, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

  “Yeaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”

  The scream stopped everyone in their tracks.

  Runo froze instantly, clutching her weapons tightly in her hands. The sweat already coming from her brow increased in intensity.

  Her eyes locked on the hatch, watching the corridor beyond it, waiting for something, someone to appear.

  A flash went by first. A bolt of green energy undoubtedly fired by an energy weapon. It left a sizzle in the air and a tail of white particles that danced before dissipating. Seconds later, a pair of naked males dashed by, running from the shooter, only to be followed by two more shots of green energy, and finally, the shooter came into view. A hulking woman dressed in the same black leather kit that Runo had seen on the Gauloi.

  She stopped in the middle of the hatch, breathing heavily, her eyes locked on Blinji. It was apparent to Runo that the woman’s mind wasn’t sharp. It seemed that she was acting like a feral animal, hunched over slightly.

  Runo didn’t know what to do. Blinji had turned to a statue in front of her, and he was still fifteen metres from the hatch. An impossible distance to charge down against an energy pistol.

  As the woman started to bring the weapon up, and point it at Blinji, an edged weapon flew into view, severing the woman’s forearm, just at the wrist.

  The severed hand and the weapon fell to the ground, and before the large woman could even react, another woman, much smaller, dashed into view, sword in her right hand and rammed it into the neck of the bigger woman, then pulled it out, allowing the body to fall to the ground, blood spurting everywhere.

  The large woman grasped at the wound in her neck with her one good hand for almost a minute while her legs flailed until she finally bled out.

  Once the body
was still, lying in a puddle of blood, the woman picked up the dead woman’s blaster and tucked it into her waistband. Righting herself, she turned to face into the hangar, bringing her sword up into a defensive position.

  Just for a moment, no one moved.

  Blinji, closest to the door, didn’t twitch, but Runo suddenly realised that the woman was wearing a face mask over her mouth and nose, and wasn’t behaving like the other infected she had seen.

  “Hello.” Runo said, lowering her weapons, and slowly starting towards the hatch and the woman.

  The woman took a few seconds to look at Runo, then moved inside the hangar, turned to the control panel, and closed the hatch. The large doors slamming shut with a loud clang.

  Turning about, she dropped her sword down by her side and started walking towards Runo, giving Blinji a wide berth without looking at him.

  Bringing up her sword, she pointing it towards the Gauloi, before stopping, and looking at Runo. “You from that ship?”

  Runo could barely understand the woman. She was speaking Universal, and she understood the gist of the question, but it didn’t sound right to her. Perhaps that was the one hundred ninety years that had passed since they had been within the boundaries of the Empire.

  “Yes.” Runo replied.

  The woman looked at the ship, then back to Runo, nodding slowly.

  The moment of silence gave Runo a chance to examine the woman. She was wearing open-toe sandals, black shin-guards with spikes on the ends. Tight black shorts, and a chain-mail vest on top of a black bra. Her arms were covered in tattoos, and her head was shaved on the right side, while her orange hair was pulled back in a high ponytail.

  Standing at just 160cm, the woman might not have looked that intimidating, but Runo could see that her arms and legs were muscular and strong.

  “Loni.” The woman said, pointing to her chest.

  “Runo.”

  Loni lowered her sword and walked towards Runo, eyeing her up and down. When she was arms-distance away, she reached out and touched Runo’s suit, running her hand down the sleeve.

  “Old.” Loni said, her voice coming through her mask without any distortion.

  Runo didn’t respond. She could understand what Loni was saying, but the words were slightly different somehow.

  “Runo.” Prub strode up to her, his weapon gripped tightly in his hands. “You can’t trust this woman!”

  “She knows the ship.” Runo said. “She can help us.”

  “Why would she do that?” Prub pressed.

  “Because we’re not infected, and neither is she.” Runo shot back.

  “And so, you suddenly trust her?” Prub asked.

  “Shut up.” Dupina said. “We need all the help we can get.” She looked at Runo. “What are you thinking?”

  Runo took a deep breath, then looked to the ground. She knew that they needed all the allies they could get, but what was the plan? They couldn’t just sit in the hangar and assume that the insanity inside the rest of the ship would just burn itself out. They had to act. Their suits wouldn’t last forever.

  “We need to declare a truce.” She looked at Loni. “Can we work together?”

  Loni looked over the five figures before her. “For now.” She replied in her thick accent.

  “Prub, you’re the engineer, what would you do?” Runo asked.

  “I’m an engineer with a mining team.” He said. “But.” He paused and started walking over to the hatch. “We need to find out what information is available from this control panel.” He pointed at the panel on the wall next to the hatch.

  “Loni, what’s going on in your ship?” Runo asked.

  “Mayhem.” The Heresy Alignment member replied. “Something started to spread through the ship. A madness.”

  “Probably spread through the ventilation systems.” Dupina said, pointing at vents along the sides of the hangar. “Could have spread to the entire ship in no time.”

  “How come you’re not infected?” Inkana asked.

  Loni pointed at her mask. “Contamination alarm went off. Training kicked in.”

  “What are you people?” Inkana asked.

  “Heresy Alignment.” Loni replied, puffing her chest out.

  “What is the Heresy Alignment?” Runo asked.

  “A collection of worlds under the control of the Tor Herra Prime.”

  “Who?” Inkana asked.

  “A most powerful warrior and our leader.” Loni replied.

  “Is the entire Empire part of this?” Dupina asked.

  Loni shook her head. “No.”

  “So just a few planets?” Inkana asked.

  “Nine.” Loni replied. “Started small, then grew larger.”

  “What worlds?” Blinji asked.

  “Ones near the Reach.” Loni replied.

  “How are you able to hold these worlds from the Empire?” Runo asked.

  “We have the best fighters.” Loni answered.

  “Hey!” Prub shouted from the end of the hangar. “Can we focus on the task at hand?”

  Runo looked over towards the engineer, then back to Loni. “What do you do on this ship?”

  “Do?”

  “Your job, position?”

  “Rescue Operator.” Loni replied.

  “Makes sense that you had a mask handy.” Runo said with a smile. “You must know this ship well.” She said, turning and starting to walk towards the hatch. “What would you do?”

  “For safety?”

  “To protect ourselves from the contamination, from the crazies?” Runo asked.

  “Vent the ship.” Loni said.

  “Can we do that from here?” Runo asked.

  “No.” Loni replied. “We need to get to environmental.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Three decks up.” Loni replied.

  “I can’t read this.” Prub said, pointing at the control panel. “It looks like Universal, and I can make out some of the words, but I can’t really read it.”

  “That’s one-hundred ninety years of stasis.” Runo said dryly. “Loni, anything worthwhile we can learn from this panel?”

  Loni pushed Prub out of the way and looked at the screen. “Not much can help us.” She answered. “Controls for the hangar, and not much else.”

  Runo looked at Prub. “So much for that idea.”

  Prub shook his head. “Damn.”

  “What now?” Blinji asked.

  “We need to get to the environmental control room and vent the ship.” Runo answered, looking at Loni. “Right?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about all the psychos between here and there?” Prub asked.

  “We’ve got to go through them.” Runo answered.

  “Great.” Dupina said, tightening her grip on her weapons.

  “Follow me.” Loni said, walking over to the hatch. “When we get into the corridor, stay against the wall. Some of the crazies are rushing down the hallways, we might get lucky, and they run by.”

  Runo wasn’t confident what the Heresy Alignment member had said, but she got the gist of it.

  “Which is the open button?” Prub asked, standing next to the control panel.

  “Green one.” Loni replied. “Three, two, one.”

  Prub mashed the button, and the large doors at the end of the hangar started to part. The moment the seal between the hangar and the ship had been broken, Runo could hear screams. Screams and the wail of a claxon.

  “What’s that noise?” Prub asked.

  “Don’t know.” Loni replied.

  Runo watched as the woman stepped into the hallway, over the dead body of the large woman, looking left and right. After just the briefest hesitation, Loni moved across the corridor in a single bound, reaching a large digital panel. Taking a deep breath, Runo strode after the woman, checking the hallway was clear before exiting the hangar.

  “What’s going on?” Runo asked.

  “Someone is preparing to vent the ship.” Loni replied.

&n
bsp; “That’s good, right?” Dupina asked.

  “Not if we’re caught in the open.” Loni replied.

  “Can we override it?” Runo asked.

  “Only from the bridge.”

  “Where is the bridge?” Prub asked.

  “Forward, and up two decks.” Loni replied. “Follow me.”

  Loni turned to her left, pulled the blaster out of her waistband, and started moving off at a slow trot.

  “What do you want to do?” Prub asked, looking at Runo.

  “Nothing we can do.” She replied. “We’ve cast the die, now we have to see how they land.” Looking in the direction Loni had gone, Runo readied herself and stepped off.

  “Fuck it.” Blinji said, and started after Runo.

  Runo didn’t bother to check over her shoulder. If she had put her faith in Loni, then she needed to trust her implicitly. The situation she was in was dire, and there was no time for hesitation. Her best bet was to stick with the wildly dressed woman who at least had a plan.

  The hallways of the ship were grey, with wildly painted black streaks running down the sides, applied in some slip-shot manner, by the looks of them. It wasn’t far from the hangar that Runo encountered the next corpse. A man and woman locked in a death embrace with knives driven to each other's hearts. Their eyes white as snow.

  Reaching the first staircase, Loni stopped and waited for Runo to catch up.

  “Your friends are useless.” She said coldly. “Weak, dumb, too old.”

  Before Runo could respond, Loni moved into the staircase and was immediately met by a sword-wielding male, whom she quickly dispatched with a blast to the face. His headless body tumbling backwards down the steps.

  “Come on!” Loni ordered as she started moving up the steps two at a time.

  Looking back down the hallway, Runo could see the rest of the group strung out over fifteen metres, running to catch up, Dupina and Prub, the oldest of the group pulling up the rear.

  “Go!” She shouted at Blinji as he raced past her up the stairs, followed shortly by Inkana. It took another ten seconds for Dupina to arrive before Prub brought up the rear. “Up the stairs, engineer!” Runo barked.

  She wasn’t sure what was coming over her, but she was starting to feel the same assertiveness that she did when at the controls of a star-ship. It might have been the life or death situation that was surrounding her, but now she was more ready than ever to keep the survivors alive and moving for as long as it took.