by Jan Domagala
*****
Kurt was standing holding the torch looking where the beam played down the tunnel illuminating everything it touched.
Natasha and Aswan came to stand by his side and when they saw what he was looking at they froze where they stood.
“What the hell are they?” asked Natasha quietly, almost in a whisper.
Ahead of them caught in the torches beam were several creatures that seemed to be large rodents. Like the huge octo feline that had chased them earlier, all these rodents had four forelegs and the same number of hind legs. As large as the African Lion back on Earth each of these rodents was a real threat.
Caught in the blinding light of the torch beam their eyes glowed red with a feral glare. The nearest one opened its mouth showing a wicked set of razor sharp teeth and roared its disapproval at being disturbed which the rest of the pack quickly joined.
“Quick, back the other way,” Kurt said as he back stepped away from the angry residents of the tunnel. Not daring to take the torch beam off the rodents completely, Kurt diverted it toward the floor in front of them as he took tentative steps away from them. He could still see them in the periphery of the light from the beam but they weren’t caught in the glare of it and he hoped not startled by it into attacking them.
The roar from the angry rodents still made their blood run cold as the trio of intruders to the rodents domain reached the fork in the tunnel and Kurt was still worried they might give chase.
“Where to now, the other tunnel?” asked Aswan pedantically.
“We have no other choice,” Kurt replied. He was about to take the torch beam away from the rodents and use it to illuminate the other tunnel when he saw the rodents raise up from their haunches in preparation to pounce. He shone the beam full in their faces and saw their lips curled back to expose wickedly long, sharp teeth in a feral snarl. They were more than angry, they were ready to attack.
“Move now!” Kurt said as he pushed the other two toward the remaining tunnel. As they moved out of the rodent filled tunnel into the other, they heard the angry roar from the previous tunnels occupants as they moved after them.
Kurt aimed his Sig at the first rodent as it came round the fork into their tunnel and fired. The pulsed plasma bolt hit the rodent right between the eyes blowing apart its broad head in a spray of gore that covered those behind it.
The animal was dropped in its tracks and the others in the pack stopped. They each sniffed the body, looking from it to where Kurt and the others receded down the other tunnel as if they were trying to assess what had just happened and clearly the way they looked at Kurt they knew, somehow he was to blame and that he and those with him were a threat.
“Right that bought us some time but I don’t know how much so keep moving,” Kurt said as he followed Natasha and Aswan down the tunnel. Natasha had taken out the other torch they found in the wreckage of the lifeboat and was using it to light their way.
“Okay, they got over the shock, run,” Kurt said as a glance over his shoulder revealed the threat from behind.
The three of them ran full tilt down the tunnel regardless of what may be ahead, their only thought was the pack of angry, lion sized rodents chasing them.
Natasha was leading the way, half a step in front of Aswan who was closely followed by Kurt so when the tunnel suddenly dropped away from them there was no way any of them could prevent what happened next.
All three of them went tumbling down the sharp decline, falling head over heels forward so fast that there was no chance for any of them to grab hold of anything.
At first they thought they had fallen off a cliff face similar to the one they had climbed down earlier but as they bounced down the insanely steep decline they realised that was not the case.
Unfortunately the huge rodents who were more used to the terrain inside the tunnels didn’t have that disadvantage which became evident when they bounded after the trio down the tunnel unhindered by the slope.
As the trio bounced and tumbled down the slope picking up speed with each bone jarring impact, they suddenly found themselves airborne.
“Oh Shit!” exclaimed Kurt as he left the ground. With a sudden impact they all struck a body of water and went under.
Disoriented for a moment Kurt had no idea where he was or even which way was up. The water was ice cold and it took all his resolve not to breathe in from the shock.
There was no light to speak of at first, but then there was a faint glow. For a second he wondered if it could be from one of the torches but then he realised the light, was too wide spread for it to be from one small light source.
His lungs were okay for a while yet, since the serum enhanced all his natural abilities his lung capacity had increased enough for him to be able to remain under water for at least ten minutes. If he did that though, it would raise suspicions if the others had already made it to the surface. If they had not, then he needed to find and help them.
Kicking out with his powerful legs, Kurt headed for the light. He saw it get brighter with every stroke and soon his head broke the surface of the water. Looking around he saw a huge cavern with sloping walls that arched up to where a hole at the very top allowed light to stream through.
Not far from where he broke through the surface of the water he saw Natasha and Aswan treading water.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’ve been better,” replied Natasha.
“What’s that?” asked the Prince as he turned to look behind him for something he had heard.
A huge fin sliced through the water several metres away.
Judging from the size of the fin, Kurt estimated the size of the creature to be around twenty to thirty yards long. Behind it, he saw another fin break the surface followed by yet another, three huge predators of the deep, all heading their way.
“Oh this just keeps getting better and better,” Kurt said.
27
Tarkovic contacted Marko on the complex via a battle com channel. “Things are bad down here sir, we need reinforcements. We’re being attacked from the rear which is hampering our advance to the target,” he said.
Marko who was monitoring the mission from his Command Centre had already seen the arrival of Saladar and had sent out two attack craft to intercept, said, “Things are heating up around here too. I’ll send another team down to your location right now, hold on as best you can until they arrive.”
*****
The AI on the Pulsar contacted Riley on the ground. It used the battle com channel and said, “Sir I have a positive ID on one of the Outlaws.”
“Go ahead Artie,” Riley replied from his prone position on the floor.
“The leader of the group near you is Barak Tarkovic, a Lieutenant in the Special Forces unit in the Elysium Alliance known as the Black Knights. At present he is listed as ‘Killed In Action’,” Artie said.
“KIA? What does that mean Artie?” Riley asked.
“It definitely adds another dimension to this mission sir,” Artie replied.
“That is an understatement to say the least. Artie contact General Sinclair on a secure channel and relay all the data you’ve gathered about what’s going on here and Artie, do it now,” Riley said urgently.
*****
Kurt looked around him for a place to swim to, where they would all be safe. They had to get out of the water and fast. Judging by the size of the fins, whatever species of fish these were, they were huge and undoubtedly powerful. They would not be able to evade them for long and he was not planning to see how he would regenerate if part of him was eaten by one of those things.
“Quick, get to the side, we need to get out of the water,” Kurt shouted.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Natasha said as she set off. Aswan was already swimming in powerful strokes toward the edge of the water. He’d set off the moment he saw the fins.
Kurt soon caught up with Natasha and remained with her as she swam toward the edge.
He felt a
disturbance in the water behind him, a pressure wave as the first of the aquatic creatures knifed through the water toward them. Turning to glance over his shoulder, he saw the head of the beast. As broad as a ground car, the beasts head had a row of eyes across the sloping top underneath which was the gaping maw that was the mouth filled with row after row of razor sharp teeth. Each tooth was as long as an average person’s hand and he did not dare think of the damage they could do to human flesh and bone.
As fast as he could he brought his Sig P996 from his shoulder holster where he’d replaced it during their run from the rodents and fired at the huge beast. The pulsed plasma bolt blew a huge hole in the massive beasts head. Blood and tissue flew in every direction and the creature slowed and immediately began to sink. Unlike sharks on Earth, these aquatic predators swam straight around the corpse of the fallen beast ignoring the feast its remains would offer them in preference to chasing down its killer.
“Oh crap!” exclaimed Kurt when he saw his plan to buy them some time fail miserably.
Aswan reached the edge of the water and began to climb out onto the narrow ledge that ran around the pool.
“Hurry,” he shouted as he knelt down and reached a hand out to Natasha who was quite literally swimming for her life.
Kurt fired repeatedly at the onrushing beasts hoping to stop them before they reached him and then the others.
The pulsed plasma bolts tore apart the two creatures from the deep and before long the water was stained a deep red from all the blood.
Still treading water Kurt checked the area around and in front of him for any sign that there were any more of these aquatic nightmares. When he was certain there were no more lurking anywhere he turned around to see Natasha being helped out of the water by the Prince.
With strong easy strokes he swam after them and pulled himself out of the water too.
“That was a close one,” Kurt said as he got to his feet. “Are you two okay?” he added.
“What the hell were those things?” Aswan asked panting as he struggled to regain his breath.
A roar echoed around their chamber. Up above them, lining the ridge they had tumbled over was the rodent pack.
“And just what, exactly are those things?” Aswan added.
“Well for a start, whatever they are, they don’t follow normal behaviour patterns for any predator that I know of, at least those fish don’t. They should’ve stopped and eaten the one I killed if they were anything like sharks from Earth,” Kurt said.
“Well obviously they aren’t like sharks and most animals we know aren’t cannibals anyway, sharks are the only species I know of that are pure eating machines, but I’m no expert,” Natasha said breathlessly.
“Me neither, we’re clearly into uncharted waters here, no pun intended,” Kurt said, then added, “I thought that only big cats, such as Lions and Tigers could roar, something about their vocal chords and it was something that denoted them being called ‘big cats’”
“What are you saying?” asked Natasha.
“I’m not sure, just that those rat things shouldn’t be able to roar like they did.”
“Are you just going to talk or are you actually going to think of a way to get us out of here?” interrupted Aswan, “And what about this, so-called, help that was supposed to be arriving anytime soon, where the hell are they?” he added, anger and frustration showing in the tone of his voice.
Kurt looked at him, thought about saying something then, instead he held up a hand, said, “I’m on it,”
Turning away from them, he accessed a battle com channel and called Riley.
“Captain Riley, we’ve had to move deeper into the tunnel to evade live fire from the Outlaws. If you make it into here be warned, there is a pack of lion sized rodents near our location. They are vicious so tread carefully. How soon before you reach us?” he said.
Outside the tunnel, Riley and the team had taken out two more of the Outlaws with their assault rifles from their prone positions on the floor.
“Our progress has stalled for the moment, we’ll get to you as soon as we can. Keep your heads down Kurt,” Riley answered.
“They can’t get to us just yet. We’ll have to find a way out of here ourselves,” Kurt said to his two companions and before they could comment he began to scan the walls of the chamber they were in using the torch. His enhanced vision could see three or four times better than a normal twenty twenty eyesight, which meant he could pick out details in the rock walls around them that were invisible to the other two.
“This way guys, it looks like there may be a trail of some sort going up towards that hole in the ceiling,” he said indicating the barely seen path. It was a narrow ledge that wound its way along the bottom of this chamber and up the wall in a snake like undulating path until it reached the hole in the roof.
“You can see that?” Natasha asked incredulously as she shone her torch onto where Kurt had indicated.
“And what, we’re supposed to walk up that, to the roof?” asked the Prince, not liking where the conversation was heading.
Taking a deep breath to stop himself from saying the first thing that came to mind, Kurt, instead said, “Look, I know this isn’t going to be easy but I don’t see us having much of a choice. That path looks pretty secure, it looks like it was cut out of the rock so it’ll support us if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“And how do you suggest we get to that hole in the roof? The walls of this place curve inwards towards the top. We’d be hanging upside down if we even got that far,” complained Aswan. “And what about that pack of giant rats, how do you suggest we get past them?” he added.
Kurt spun around to face him, his anger flaring, “Look, I’m not going to say this again Prince, we have no choice but to go up there. If you think its a bad idea, fine. If you think it’s dangerous that’s fine too but instead of bitching about it why don’t you come up with a better idea because I’m all ears,” he said through clenched teeth.
Aswan stared back at Kurt, he hated how he talked to him and if it had happened at home he would have had him flogged, but he knew where Kurt’s anger toward him stemmed from and although he hated to admit it, he had every right to be. This whole situation would not have happened, all those people who had died would still be alive if he had not used his influence to persuade the captain to alter course and bring him here. The guilt he was feeling helped to fuel his fear. He stepped back from Kurt who was standing almost toe to toe with him and he looked away. His shoulders slumped as he took a relaxing breathe and he said, “Okay I get it, this is all my fault. I caused all of this and everyone died because of me, I get it. I also get that you hate me because of it, and that’s fine.”
“Hate, is a strong word sir.”
Aswan looked up from his feet and said, “That’s the first time you’ve shown any deference to my title, why?”
“It takes a man to own up and face his responsibilities, that I respect.”
“Are we going to die?”
“Not if I can help it sir.”
“What are our chances?”
“I won’t lie to you, this whole situation, this planet, the life forms, the Outlaws, the odds are stacked against us. In our favour though is the fact that we have help trying to get to us, which means General Sinclair knows of our predicament and is working on the larger problem of the treaty violation. All we have to do is work as a team to stay alive and reach our help, of course that does mean evading these strange animals who seem determined to attack us for invading their territory. Oh and the Outlaws who, well you both know the score there too,” Kurt sighed, then said, “I just don’t know. I want to get off this planet as much as you do and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we all reach safety.”
“Thank you for that,” Aswan said, “If we, when we get away from here I promise to use whatever diplomatic powers I have to smooth things out over the treaty violation. I will take full responsibility for what happened here,” he added.
“Sir, you do realise what that could mean, don’t you?” Natasha said concerned.
“I do, I cannot do anything for those who died but I can ensure no one else dies because of what I did here.”
“That makes it more important you get us out of here then Kurt,” Natasha said adding, “Millions of lives depend on it.”
“No pressure then,” Kurt said sardonically.
“Thought I’d add that just to keep you on your toes,” Natasha said with a smile.
Kurt couldn’t help but smile as well, then he said, “Come on we’d better make a start.”
28
“Jared those attack craft are state of the art, how is that possible? I thought these guys were supposed to only use old and worn out craft that they repaired,” Danovic said as he read the scans.
“I don’t know Mikal, I’m as much in the dark as you are over this but it does make me wonder what the hell have we got ourselves into here,” Jared replied.
“What other surprises have they in store for us do you think?” Danovic said.
“Only one way to find out.”
“So we’re going ahead with this then?”
“We have a contract, you know we never break a contract. We’ll just have to be that much more careful, that’s all.”
“How did I know you were going to say that,” said Danovic with a sigh, “Okay guys, charge up the weapons, raise shields and get ready for trouble. We’re going to war,” he added.
*****
The reinforcements from Marko came down to the planet fast. The pilot of the attack craft brought her in a swooping arc just behind where the Wildfire Team lay. Without touching down, four Outlaws jumped out of the small craft wearing thruster packs, short-range flight packs that enabled the wearer to make short-range flights or jumps. They were cumbersome so they were rarely ever used but they did have their uses such as being able to drop a man behind enemy lines with precision and fast deployment of weapons en route, ideal in this case.
