by Jan Domagala
“They’ve realised we’ve turned around and are on their way here,” explained Kurt as he concentrated his attention back the way they had come.
“What, you’re trying to tell me you’ve heard them, out here and above all this noise?” Riley said in a derisive tone.
Kurt turned to look at him and simply said, “Yes.”
“No one could hear that.”
“I did.”
“You’re serious aren’t you?”
“Look, we haven’t time to debate this, I still don’t know how this works but once I’ve tuned into a sound it’s logged into a memory core and when that sound is made my brain recognises it without my even realising I’ve heard it.”
“Okay, so what do you suggest?”
“If they get here before our lift, I’ll try and hold them off long enough for you to get aboard, then you give me covering fire so I can join you.”
“How long before they get here?”
“Any second now, they’re close. I think they’re listening to what we’re doing, tracking our scent.”
Riley looked skyward to see if he could gauge how long it would take their ride to arrive.
“This is gonna be close,” he said watching the shuttles get closer.
Kurt said, “Closer than you think, they’re here.”
Riley turned to see Kurt running across the open ground they had covered to reach the landing pad toward the door where the first of the cat creatures had appeared.
41
One huge creature swooped down on the group, its huge talons ready to rip and tear its prey apart.
Its target was Torres standing next to Vance both facing away with their backs to the creatures approach.
Cooper turned in their direction as he scanned the skies for possible targets to shoot.
“Watch out!” he shouted.
Vance glanced over his shoulder and saw the creature. He pushed Torres with his right hand as he dived in the opposite direction.
One huge talon ripped Torres’ shoulder as the creature clawed the air where she had been a split second earlier.
Cooper aimed his assault rifle at the huge beast and fired on fully automatic. Pulsed plasma bolts strafed the beast’s stomach as it flew overhead. Blood from the wounds sprayed those below splattering them and the ground with gore.
Mortally wounded the creature never managed to regain enough height to escape as Cooper and then Vance continued to fire a continuous stream of plasma bolts at it. Eventually its wounds were so bad it crashed to the ground sliding to the edge of the landing pad.
They felt the impact reverberate through the ground but did not let their concentration waver for even a second.
As soon as Vance and Cooper were certain the creature posed no further threat, they immediately turned their attention back to the skies as the creatures continued to attack.
“Eyes open everyone, here they come,” Riley shouted.
*****
The attack ships released from the recently de-cloaked Outlaw colony speeded their way toward the planet.
Captain Biggs had scrambled all the Nova fighters, numbering twenty-three, which were in hot pursuit firing their ramjets to thrust them up to maximum boost.
Suddenly pulse cannons on the Outlaw colony started firing at the Odyssey. High intensity pulsed plasma bolts struck the huge Confederation starship down her flanks. Luckily the shields had already been raised which prevented any damage.
The colony’s pulse cannons continued firing at the starship, switching targets in an attempt to get through the shields.
“Will those shields hold Captain?” Sinclair asked as concern etched across his brow.
“They will General, hopefully,” Biggs replied trying to sound more confident than he actually felt. His hands gripped the armrest on the command chair, his knuckles turning white as his grip increased to prevent himself being thrown from his seat as the starship was buffeted from the cannon fire.
“I hope you intend to return fire sometime soon,” Sinclair said quietly so only Biggs could hear.
“General, I know my job, and so do the men and women under my command,” Biggs replied then added, “Wep’s, target that complex and return fire.”
The weapons officer returned fire on the colony using the Odyssey’s own pulse cannons. The barrage of pulsed plasma bolts collided with the colony’s outer rim, strafing the sides on their way to the weapons array.
The colony’s shields deflected the bolts fired, which produced a stalemate scenario, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
“Sir I’m reading a hyperspace window opening on the edge of the star system,” ops said then added, “it’s a big one too.”
“Keep eyes on it ops, no surprises now, okay?” Biggs replied calmly.
“Aye sir,” ops replied.
“Odyssey to Colonel De Boer, we may have company arriving very soon so I urge you to complete your mission post haste. We’re about to run out of time Colonel,” Biggs said to the rescue party.
“Understood Odyssey, we’ll be back as quick as we can,” replied De Boer.
“The clock is ticking Colonel, don’t make me have to leave without you or else the General will have my hide,” Biggs said.
“Understood Odyssey,” De Boer said then severed the call as he went to work.
“There’s a ship coming through sir,” ops reported as the hyperspace window opened to allow the starship to pass through.
Sinclair walked over to the ops station to see it more clearly on the scanners as the readings revealed the identity of the craft and he said, “Well that explains why they arrived there, on the edge of the star system. Something that massive would need a window large enough to accommodate it and if they opened it up too close to a planet; its gravity field would distort the window.”
“Do we know them, more importantly, are they friend or foe?” Matt asked.
“It’s an Alliance Super Destroyer, whether they’re friend or foe is yet to be determined,” Sinclair replied.
“A Super Destroyer is almost two thousand yards long, with thirty odd decks, a thousand troops and over a hundred fighter and attack craft,” observed Biggs.
“We’d better hope they’re on our side then,” Matt said. The thought of the alternative made them all go cold, as it was too awful to contemplate coming true.
*****
“They’re in the docking bay,” Danovic said once they had hauled the attack craft aboard.
“Get down there and pump it full of Phosgene gas. Once they’re out, go in, get the Prince then we can eject that craft before those other craft get through to us,” Jared said.
“I’m on it,” replied his first officer.
“And hurry Mikal, things are getting mighty hot around here. The quicker we get out of it the better for everyone concerned.”
Danovic simply nodded his head and left the bridge hurriedly calling some of the crew to meet him at his destination.
“Just a simple sneak in and go op, my ass,” Jared muttered under his breath to himself.
*****
Kurt was almost at the door they had just come through a few moments earlier when the second cat creature emerged into the open.
He had shot the first creature in the centre of its huge forehead blowing the entire head apart, which dropped it in its tracks.
The second creature was sprinting toward Kurt without a thought for its own safety. Its angle of attack, coming straight at him, made it impossible for him to see the doorway or how many of the creatures were coming through it behind it.
It was sacrificing itself so others of its pack could have a better chance of attacking him.
This bothered him as it lessened his chances of preventing them from overrunning him and attacking the others, and secondly because it was further proof of their advanced mental acuity.
These were not mere dumb animals; their thinking was on an almost human level, which really bothered him.
If he wanted to
save the lives of those with him, he must commit to the fight like never before. He must abandon all thoughts of getting hurt, he would heal, and he must abandon any thought of pain and throw himself into the fight. He must not allow one single creature past him. He must kill them all. He must abandon his very humanity and become like the beasts themselves. He must embrace his own inner beast, conjure forth his inner demons and fight like never before.
With that one, single thought upper most in his mind he found a red mist fall before his eyes as a cloud descended over his mind dampening it so that there was just one thought left, less a thought and more of an instinct.
Destroy.
With his pistol in one hand and combat knife in the other and death and destruction in his heart and mind he ran, full tilt at the creature as a bellow of rage roared past his bared teeth.
They would not get past him.
*****
Inside the first shuttle, Colonel De Boer was sitting with his men as they geared up for the landing.
“Get ready to deploy,” he said. “As soon as we’re wheels down, I want a perimeter in place then we’re good to go,” he added.
The shuttle pilot glided her down into a controlled landing with consummate ease. He fired the landing thrusters to slow their descent. Feathering the thrusters he landed the craft onto the hydraulically powered landing struts to absorb the shock of impact.
As soon as they had touched down the exit ramp was dropped to the floor allowing the passengers to rush out with their Remm assault rifles up at their shoulders as they marines sighted down the barrels.
Overhead the Nova fighters were engaged in a double dogfight. They were defending against the attack craft from the colony and running interference for the shuttles against the winged creatures that were still intent on destroying those on the ground.
Pulsed plasma bolts lanced through the air as the Nova’s looped and darted in their aerial dance as they killed as many of the winged creatures as they could to give the rescue party the best chance at success.
Colonel De Boer and his team ran toward the Wildfire Team firing at any winged creature that swooped in close enough to strike. Dead bodies littered the ground as more and more of these creatures fell from the skies.
“Captain Riley, get your team over to the shuttle now. We’ll supply covering fire but you have to move now,” De Boer said through a battle com channel.
Riley had seen the shuttle land and the Recon Delta marines file out with their assault rifles firing as they approached. He glanced toward the building where Kurt was fighting a holding action against the huge octo-felines and said, “We can’t leave without Captain Stryder sir,” then he added, “Torres, you and Vance make your way to the shuttle, Mack, you’re with me. We’re going to get Kurt.”
As Riley and Mack approached Kurt, they saw the desperate battle he was waging, tooth and claw against plasma pistol and combat knife. Kurt was managing to hold the creatures at the doorway but the moment he moved away from his position the horde of creatures waiting to burst free would overrun them. Kurt was the stopper keeping the genie in the bottle.
Riley realised there was nothing they could do to help him.
Kurt had heard their approach even through the red mist of pure fury that was fuelling him and clouding most coherent thoughts. He shouted, “Throw me a few grenades then get ready to run.”
Riley, amazed by the fact Kurt knew they were even there, nonetheless complied. He tossed him two grenades followed by two more from Mack. Kurt plucked them from the air one handed without looking then shouted to Riley, “Now run, I’ll be right behind you, trust me.”
Thinking he knew what was about to happen; Riley reluctantly turned back toward the rest of his team. Mack turned on him and said, “Jake, what’re you doing man? We can’t leave him there; he’ll be killed for sure.”
“He knows what he’s doing Mack,” Riley said coldly.
“But he’s one of us,” Mack argued.
“And that’s why he’s doing this; he’s giving us a chance to get away. If he moved from there we’ll all die, he knows that, and so do you.”
“Yes I do but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“Me neither, let’s go while we still can,” Riley said as he pulled his friend away from the impending blast area.
The blast followed as they neared their friends and teammates, one huge explosion as all four grenades detonated as one.
Kurt was thrown through the air as the shockwave struck his body. The compression wave from the blast mulched his internal organs and the flechettes from the grenades tore his flesh to shreds. When he hit the ground, he was a pulped, bloody mess but at least all his limbs were still attached,
Riley turned to see him hit the ground then tore his eyes away from the body to look at the doorway. He needed to know if his sacrifice had been worth it.
The explosion had collapsed the doorway completely blocking it with rubble and the bodies of the octo-felines.
Riley sighed in some relief, Kurt had not died in vain, he decided.
Colonel De Boer shouted, “Hurry Captain, we don’t know how much longer we can hold these things off.”
“Long enough for us to collect his body, I’m not leaving him,” Riley replied and ran to Kurt’s prone body. Mack stopped and followed his team’s leader knowing they would be faster if they both carried Kurt.
Riley reached Kurt and was about to grab a hold of him when Kurt reared up taking a huge breath like a diver coming up for air.
“Holy fuck, that hurt,” he said.
Riley almost fell back from the shock of seeing Kurt spring back from the dead. He was speechless and just stared at him as he got off the ground.
Kurt looked at Riley and seeing the expression on his face made him smile. He turned to see Mack come to a sliding halt with the same look on his face.
Kurt said, “Come on guys, our ride is waiting,” and he reached down to Riley to help him up.
“What the fuck just happened?” Mack asked.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Riley said finally finding his voice.
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” Kurt chided playfully.
“I’m not, I can’t believe my eyes that’s all,” Riley said smiling.
“Look, let’s get off here while we still can then you can ask all the questions you want,” Kurt said as he urged the two marines forward. Together they ran toward Colonel De Boer and his Recon Delta marines who were still fending off the aerial assault.
“Can we leave now?” De Boer asked as they reached him.
“All present sir, let’s go home,” Riley said and they all ran for the shuttle.
*****
Danovic soon reached the attack craft in the shuttle bay. Quickly he connected a hose to a socket by the side of the hatch and secured it. Selecting the Phosgene gas, he opened the valve.
Inside the vehicle, Tarkovic and his men had been watching what was happening outside the craft on the monitors. Once they saw Danovic attach the hose, they knew what their plan was and Tarkovic ordered counter measures. They quickly placed breather units over their faces so that when the Phosgene gas was introduced to their internal atmosphere they would not be affected.
“Get ready on the pulse cannons,” Tarkovic ordered adding, “Target anyone approaching. We have to find a way of getting off this ship.”
On the outside, Danovic was monitoring bio signs of those inside the captured craft. “Jared, we may have a problem,” he said through a com channel.
“Go ahead, but make it fast, we’re getting hammered out here,” replied Jared.
“These guys must be wearing re-breathers because their bio signs show no change; they’re still awake apart from one that must be the Prince.”
“Right, secure the area, we’re moving,” Jared replied.
On the bridge, Jared came to a quick decision. To his pilot he said, “Get us out of here and back to Tula Rhan.”
Inside the attack craft, T
arkovic was watching the monitors and when he saw the mercenaries pull back he said, “I’ve a bad feeling about this.”
The pilot said, “Sir, we’ve just jumped to hyper space.”
“Fuck!” Tarkovic exclaimed then turned to face his men and said, “Okay, it looks like we’re on our own.”
*****
Colonel De Boer and the marines continued to fire as the winged creatures maintained their assault. One marine next to the Colonel was killed when a creature swooped down from behind him. Its huge talons dug into the marines’ shoulders as it picked him up. As the creature flew upwards on a thermal updraft, it dug its teeth into the back of the marines’ neck, biting down hard. Blood sprayed out from the wound as his carotid artery was severed. The creature tore off the soldiers’ head silencing his screams then tossed it and the body away.
They continued firing as they ran picking their targets carefully.
Another creature fell on a marine close to the Colonel. It landed hard on the soldiers back slamming him to the ground. The moment it had the soldier pinned beneath it, the creature lowered its head and plunged its huge fangs into the back of his neck ripping pieces of flesh away. As it lifted its head, blood dripped from the creatures’ huge gaping maw as it roared its fury at the other soldiers.
Kurt raised his Sig and shot the creature in the mouth, the plasma bolt exiting through the back of its head in a crimson explosion of gore.
Finally, they reached the shuttle and climbed aboard with the Colonel and his marines providing covering fire. As soon as they were all aboard, the pilot raised the craft off the ground.
Riley threw himself into a seat next to the other members of his team as the shuttle leapt into the air.
De Boer looked at the condition of Kurt’s clothes, ripped and blood spattered and yet there was not a mark on him. He was about to say something when Kurt saw his scrutinising gaze and said, “You should see the other guy.”
