‘Only four-to-one? Piece of cake. Let’s get on with it.’
Tao began deactivating stasis chambers, starting with Micha and working down the line. Sol took himself off to the opposite end, so they’d meet in the middle.
‘She’s pretty confident,’ he said silently to Chard.
‘I suspect much of it’s an act. She knows the situation as well as we do.’
‘Yeah, copy that. I just hope she takes care of that baby of hers.’
Now that the stasis chambers were off, it was simply a matter of waiting. Because Sol had prior experience with the stasis procedure, Tao left him with the chambers, ready to help with any problems and assist the giant aliens when they finally emerged. Meanwhile, she joined the other two at the door, wondering how long it would take for Sama to get some of his people down here.
In truth, she’d been expecting trouble before now. She knew it was a big ship, but there had to be some means of facilitating rapid movement from one end to the other. Then again, the last time she’d been here, she hadn’t been taken on any walkways or elevators, so perhaps it did all come down to walking the corridors. That would be an unexpected bonus, if true.
She put her ear to the door, listening for any sign of activity in the corridor outside. There was nothing, and with that alarm sounding, she’d have expected a security detail at the very least by now. So, what was going on? She glanced uneasily back at Sol, who was helping Micha out of his stasis chamber. This was all going far too well.
She watched as Micha unfurled his wings and shook them out before placing them back in their usual position folded against his back. He looked anxiously at the ceiling, then bent down and said something to Sol. Sol listened for a moment, then his head shot up and he, too, stared at a section of the ceiling. Tao gazed up, wondering what could be so interesting. Nothing appeared to have changed.
‘Flight paths,’ Sol shouted, urgently. ‘You all need to get back here. The door isn’t the problem.’
For a moment, this didn’t make sense, and Tao stared at Sol in bewilderment. Then she understood. Of course! That was what those massive voids were. They were flight paths. The attack, when it came, wouldn’t come from the door, because the fastest way for the El to travel about the ship was to fly.
‘Back to Sol!’ she yelled to Pyotr and Fareena. ‘Now!’
They turned and sprinted back towards where the rest of the El were beginning to emerge from stasis. However, they’d covered only half the distance when a flap of ceiling opened and six large El dropped through, firing their energy guns at them as they came. Tao and the youngsters were cut off from Sol and the bleary-eyes aliens emerging from stasis.
‘Down!’ Tao yelled.
In fact, she was less worried for the agents than she was for the unprotected Micha and his colleagues. The El energy weapons raged helplessly against the agents’ force fields, dissipating rapidly and causing no harm, but if Micha was hit it would be a disaster. The attacking El reacted rapidly when they saw their energy bursts were ineffective. Four of them drew swords from their belts and advanced on Tao, Pyotr and Fareena, while the other two did exactly what Tao was worried about – they turned their guns towards Micha.
It was as well that Sol had been watching out for this and he swiftly interposed himself between the alien aggressors and Micha, taking the enemy fire on his force field. However, given the differences in size between him and Micha, there was no way he could protect him completely and indefinitely. Tao didn’t think twice. She yelled at Pyotr and Fareena to deal with the four sword-wielding El, then ran across the room and dived, sliding across the floor on her stomach. She slid between the legs of the nearest El, who was aiming at Micha, rolled onto her back, and sliced upward with her laser, opening him up from crotch to sternum and just missing the deluge of blood and guts as her momentum carried her forwards. She came to her feet in one fluid motion at the end of her slide, ready to deal with the second El., but he’d move further away, and she knew she’d never get to him in time. He had already targeted Micha and was about to fire.
‘Sol! Left!’ she yelled.
Sol had already seen the danger. He placed his leg behind Micha and gave him an enormous shove, causing him to fall backwards into an unwieldy heap on the floor just as the El fired. The shot missed Micha by the narrowest of margins, and the El immediately re-targeted. This time, he was too late. Tao had used the extra time to get within striking distance and now she slashed sideways with her laser. His abdomen split open and he doubled over in agony then, while his attention was focused on preventing his guts spilling onto the floor, Tao neatly took his head off. She leaped up with a snarl and turned back to the four she’d left to Pyotr and Fareena. Now, there were only two, the other two already lying in a heap on the floor. Good.
So, now the tables were turned. When the El had dropped through the hatch in the ceiling, they’d thought to take advantage of a divided and unwary adversary and take them down before they had a chance to react. What they hadn’t banked on was the speed and agility of the agents when in combat mode, and now the remaining two were surrounded. If they had any sense, they’d surrender, and for a moment it looked like they might do just that. They stared around and partially lowering their swords, and Tao noticed Pyotr and Fareena begin to relax.
‘No!’ she shouted. ‘Weapons up!’
The two young agents responded immediately, returning to alert status just as the El raised their swords and charged. It was no contest. The young agents moved so fast, the El didn’t stand a chance. Tao had previously instructed them in how to respond to a situation like this and they followed those instructions to the letter, dropping low and rolling under the arcs of the El weapons, before slicing out and letting the lasers do their deadly work.
It was all over in seconds, and they were left standing in a scene of utter carnage. El Bodies and body parts were scattered everywhere, and the floor was slippery with alien blood and gore. Pyotr and Fareena did a high five and stood breathing heavily, their lasers still active and the shine of battle-lust evident in their eyes. Tao went quickly over and congratulated them while also quietly suggesting they stand easy and turn off the lasers. Then, she returned to where Sol was silently getting on with the task of helping the El out of their stasis chambers.
Micha, as one of the first El freed, had already recovered from the immediate effects of stasis and had retrieved his uniform from a nearby locker. His colleagues weren’t far behind him, and it wasn’t long before fifteen El stood staring at the humans in amazement.
‘This is the last thing I expected,’ Micha said. ‘You’re very resourceful and very fast. I’m glad you’re on my side.’
‘Welcome back, Micha,’ Sol said. ‘We’re here to help you take your ship back.’
Micha looked around the room, at the fallen El who had once been valued members of his crew, and at the relatively diminutive humans.
‘I’m a little doubtful about your chances of that,’ he said. ‘Except for your lasers, we have no weapons, and Sama will soon send more through the flight path. I suspect the odds will be too great, even for you.’
‘Aw, shucks, no need to be downhearted,’ Sol said. ‘We’ve more tricks up our sleeve yet. There are three more teams operational on the ship with their own separate missions. We just have to hope they’re successful.’
‘I hope you haven’t underestimated Sama,’ Micha said, a worried look on his face. ‘He’s extremely resourceful and will have undoubtedly expected some sort of attack. How experienced are your teams?’
Sol flashed a quick look at Tao, who wasn’t looking anywhere near as confident now.
‘Ah well, that could be a problem,’ he said. ‘None of them have been in a combat situation before.’
‘Then I suggest we get moving,’ Micha said, retrieving the fallen Els’ weapons and distributing them amongst his comrades. ‘What’s your plan?’
Sol looked at Tao again. This was a bit of a problem, because they hadn’t g
iven any thought to what they’d do when they’d freed Micha.
‘Your show,’ he said. ‘Now what?’
There was silence as everyone gazed at everyone else.
Chapter 35
Kadir and Jakub folded direct to what was supposed to be the ship’s armoury. It wasn’t. In fact, it clearly had been until relatively recently because all the racks and shelving were still in place – but of weapons, there was no sign.
‘Shit!’ Kadir gazed at the empty shelves in despair. This was the one part of the mission they’d thought was likely to go without a hitch – and now this.
‘Isha,’ she said to her PWC, ‘can you interrogate the ship’s systems at any level? Where could they have moved the weapons?’
Isha wasn’t very helpful. ‘I can access their systems better than I’d hoped,’ she said. ‘but the map that’s available is the same as the one we already have.’
Kadir cursed again, this time in Bengali, which was somehow much more satisfying. ‘Bastards anticipated us,’ she said. ‘We’ve no chance of finding those weapons now, especially while the mentalic blocking field’s active. We need to join up with Tao.’ She turned to Jakub ‘Okay, we’re going. The stasis room isn’t far.’
She took a quick look out of the door and was pleasantly surprised to find the corridor was clear. She glanced back at Jakub. ‘Keep close and watch for any sign of movement. I’ll monitor forwards and laterally, you keep an eye on our tail.’ Jakub nodded, his eyes bright with excitement, and the two agents moved swiftly out, sidling down the corridor and testing each intersection before moving on.
It was eerie. Though the klaxon continued to bray out its raucous warning and the red alarm flashed irritatingly, the corridors remained strangely empty. In a human ship, an unauthorised security breech like this would have resulted in frantic activity. Here, there was no sign of any El. Perhaps they simply functioned in a different way. Whatever the reason for their absence, the lack of El gave Kadir a chance to get to the stasis room, and she wasn’t one to give up on an opportunity when it came her way.
Later, she would reflect on this, and realise she should have been more suspicious of this lack of enemy activity in the vicinity. She did feel uneasy, but that uneasiness wasn’t translated into action – partly due to her relative lack of mission experience, but mainly because she knew that the entrance to the stasis room was only a little way away, round the next bend, and she was keen to get to it. Sure enough, as they went around the bend, she could see the door they wanted. It was only a few metres away and there was still nothing in the corridor.
They reached the door and paused for a moment, then Kadir opened it a fraction and peered inside. There was nothing. It was completely empty.
‘Shit,’ she said again, aware that she was getting a little free with her expletives and realising her parents would be disgusted if they knew. ‘This isn’t the stasis room. Somebody must have messed with the map. We need to move.’
Too late. Hatches in the ceiling opened in front of them and behind, and six large El dropped from the flight path, swords drawn. She and Jakub were surrounded and heavily outnumbered.
For a fleeting moment, she considered fighting. They were in a corridor and, big as it was, it still provided the smaller humans with the advantage of manoeuvrability. On the other hand, the El had a considerable advantage in numbers and already had their weapons drawn. In the end, she decided on a tactical surrender. It would do the others no good if they were killed and, if Victor succeeded in disabling the mentalic blocker, the balance of power would shift again in their favour.
She and Jakub raised their arms, and the El moved swiftly to secure them. Their wrists were tethered with hard plastic manacles and their PWCs removed from the holsters and placed in a loose bag that one of the El carried attached to his belt. Then, they were marched along the corridor to another room. It was harsh and austere, with nothing in the way of furniture and, importantly, there appeared to be only one way in and out. No obvious ceiling panels that might access the fly paths. The El gave them a hard shove, sending them careening across the floor and they ended up on all fours in the far corner.
‘Do not try to escape,’ the lead El said, in slightly stilted English. ‘There will be guards on this door and they have orders to shoot to kill if they feel threatened.’
Kadir glowered at him. ‘They’ll feel more than threatened when I get out of here.’
‘The El smiled. ‘You are not in a position to make threats. We have your weapons and our metallic blocking field is in place. You are helpless.’
Kadir glowered at him as he turned and left the room. Unfortunately, the bastard was right. They were helpless. She turned to Jakub.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m sure Victor will have more luck.’
§
Unfortunately, Victor Borrego had his own problems. Though he and Chloe had folded into the room where the mentalic blocker was supposed to be housed, he wasn’t surprised to find it had been moved. It was what he would have done in the same position. He gave a resigned sigh.
‘This was always a long shot,’ he said, ‘so now we need to get out of here. Orders are to join Tao if we can’t complete our primary mission.’
He consulted the map that Iago had obligingly flashed-up on his visor. It looked to be about four hundred metres to the stasis room, so it shouldn’t take long providing they encountered no opposition. No such luck. He and Chloe had only gone about fifty metres, when they almost collided with a group of four El coming in the opposite direction. Okay, so it was going to take a little longer than expected.
Because of the continuing alarms, the two young agents were already in combat mode, and it was second nature to draw their PWCs and activate the lasers. The El had guns drawn, but that was a waste of time against an agent with a force field, and Victor smiled grimly as he prepared to engage them. Too late. The El clearly understood the nature of the agents’ defences and, before he could move, had drawn the sword-like weapons that the other agents had already become familiar with.
The El were big and strong, and there was no doubt they could dispatch a human easily with one swipe of their sword. Their size also gave them a considerable advantage in terms of reach – probably about twice that of the humans. However, the humans weren’t without their own advantages. They were fast and nimble and could easily get within the arc of the El swords and strike from close quarters. They were also more practiced, having trained for months, session after gruelling session, while the El hadn’t been out of stasis for that long. Their muscles were still not functioning at maximum efficiency, and their skills were rusty. Most importantly, their reactions were delayed – while the two humans were in combat mode and on high alert.
The humans reacted first. Victor sliced through the lead El’s knee before he was even fully aware of the threat, and the large alien crashed to the floor in a welter of blood. The other three hesitated – a fatal reaction when dealing with agents like Victor and Chloe. No sooner had Victor attacked the lead El than Chloe was into a roll, coming up close to the second El and stabbing upwards with her laser into the alien’s chest. He collapsed, gurgling horribly and spitting blood and mucus.
Chloe moved smoothly on to the third El, and by this time, Victor had engaged the fourth. One-on-one, it was no contest. Although the last two El managed to defend themselves successfully against the agents’ first thrusts, they were far too slow to cope with the blindingly fast succession of blows that followed. In less than a minute, it was all over, and they lay dead on the floor. The first El was sitting against the bulkhead, cradling his amputated leg. He snarled as Victor approached him.
‘You will not escape,’ he growled. ‘Sama knows you are here.’
‘Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?’ Victor turned away, intending to leave him be.
The El snarled again and made a sudden grab for his sword, retrieving it and swinging it at Victor’s unprotected back in one lightning-fast movement. It wou
ld have been a killing stroke had it landed – in fact it would probably have cut Victor in half. However, it never reached it’s intended victim because Chloe had seen it coming and had raised her laser in defence.
The El sword came down on the laser and simply disintegrated near the haft, while the El, who had put a considerable amount of energy into the blow, overbalanced and fell forward on his face. Chloe stared at him for a moment in disgust but was in no mood for further non-lethal manoeuvres. Her laser flashed again, and this time the El stayed down. His head rolled away from his body, and the remains of his sword fell from his lifeless fingers. Victor stared at the El and then at Chloe.
‘Thanks. I was overconfident.’
‘No problem.’ Chloe deactivated her laser and holstered the PWC. ‘Shall we move on?’
‘Yeah. Maintain combat mode and alert status.’
‘Copy that.’
They stepped around the mountains of alien flesh and continued their way cautiously down the corridor, Victor scanning every side-passage and doorway for further ambushes. Finally, they reached the stasis room – or what they thought was the stasis room – and Victor opened the door. Too late, the same ambush that had taken Kadir was sprung, and this time it was clear to Victor that they were outmatched.
‘Damn,’ he said, and surrendered.
A little later, he and Chloe were shoved unceremoniously into what must have been some form of holding cell.
‘Not you too?’
The voice came from the far corner, and Victor turned to see Kadir and Jakub sitting on the floor.
‘Shit,’ he said, walking over to them. ‘Fat lot of good we are. The others had better be having better luck than this or the whole mission is completely screwed.’
§
Dominique and Alesandro folded straight to the engine room and struck lucky immediately. Dominique’s AI informed her that the sub-quantal weapon was in a console in the far left-hand corner.
Gods of Titan- The Cosmic Constants Page 29
