by Jim Laughter
A myriad of scenarios ran through her mind. What if the Red-tails came from a different direction? What if they circled around the site and came at them from behind? A quick glance behind her showed that she would be fully exposed to attack. Anna desperately tried to dismiss the thought from her mind.
What if there were more of them than they could handle? Sure, Leatha had that blaster but so would they. You could only do so much with one weapon. With the enemy approaching, forbidden thoughts tore through Anna’s mind while she waited for death to find her.
That thought seemed to clear her mind rather than paralyze it. Her primal sense of survival shouted against all that would crush it. It was then that Anna knew she could deliberately do what she feared she never could do - kill. Not for food, and certainly not for sport, but for her very own survival against an evil she had only seen in flesh earlier that day. Now she understood in her very bones what Leatha meant. When she did it, even if it was her last mortal act, it would be a good kill.
Now feeling a calm she never would have expected, Anna again thought about her young friend hidden across the clearing. Now there were two warriors ready to face a formidable enemy.
∞∞∞
The mothership established orbit two-thousand miles above Sharpton precisely over the coordinates Troopers Eagleman and Asmed provided to them. If there were a Red-tail contingent on the surface, they would find and destroy it.
“Prepare to launch scouts,” the commander ordered.
Delmar and Akir boarded the Cabbage Patch as part of the first flight of scouts heading to the surface. Although primarily a scout vessel, Patch as Delmar called her, was as well armed as any vessel in the fleet.
Once in the planet’s atmosphere, the first group of scouts would form four flights of three ships each and approach the transponder site from converging angles. Delmar’s orders were to approach from the east and provide covering fire for the ground forces that would attack the enemy position.
Akir pulled up a map of the area they were going to attack. It was a large wilderness preserve far from any population centers, a perfect place for a Red-tail advance force to set up an outpost.
After sitting in his ship for longer than Delmar cared to think about, the order to launch issued over the command channel. The Patch lifted easily off the hanger deck and disappeared along with eleven other scout ships into the darkness of space. He could tell by the primary star’s meridian that night was falling over the preserve and hoped darkness would give them the element of surprise.
Vectoring from the east toward the suspected Red-tail stronghold, the Cabbage Patch hugged the tree line. The ground troops had already set down in a valley just over the ridge from the Red-tail site. They would attack with both heavy weapons and disabling rays. As unthinkable as it was, the commander had ordered them to bring back at least one of the creatures alive for interrogation.
Lightning from a thunderstorm over the Preserve broiled from a giant thunderhead, creating ghastly silhouettes against the rock face of the enemy stronghold. Upon reaching the cave, a dozen advance ground troopers entered, their weapons ready to destroy any Red-tail soldier on sight. The Cabbage Patch, along with the other two ships in his group, hovered just outside the cave entrance, ready to engage any Red-tail force that might emerge.
After only a few minutes, Delmar spotted an Axia Trooper-First exit the cave. He spoke into a wrist transmitter. “The cave is empty. We found the bodies of two dead soldiers and a disabled transmitter. I’ve got my tech guy trying to fire it up now. This is their camp alright but the contingent are not here.”
∞∞∞
Where am I? Leatha thought. Rain was starting to fall. She could hear the approaching rumble of thunder in the distance. She did not think the bush she was under would keep her dry. Mommy will be mad if I get wet.
A flash of lightning ripped across the sky, its light blinding. Thunder hammered her ears without mercy. She looked around.
Where’s Mommy?
Then she remembered. The last time she had seen her mommy was when the monster tore her from her mother’s dead arms and carried her away.
I must be dreaming again. Why is it raining? It never rains here. Not like home. It is only cool here when both moons are out at night. Only then is there the slightest hint of moisture on the harsh wind. That is when the Tails are gone. They hate the cold. Cold is a good time. That’s when we can come out of our holes in the ground. The meager food that grows on this strange world can be gathered and saved for the hard times. As one of the older children, I get to help gather the strange hard nuts that grow on the orange bushes. The thorns cut my hands but it’s worth it because I get to be outside. I get to eat.
∞∞∞
The commander looked up at the dark alien sky. Dense clouds blocked the meager light from the double moons while claps of thunder assaulted his senses. A cold wind sprang up and he felt its bite. He tasted moisture in the air and growled. Another complication in the hunt. He needed to bring this to an end. With effort he fought down the rage he felt building inside.
Keeping his wits about him, he had already called the two other groups to start converging on his position. The scent his soldiers had picked up was so fresh that he knew the humans were only a short distance ahead. Bringing the flanking groups in would form a trap, circling the humans. They would not escape!
A flash of lightning nearly blinded him as its thunder rolled through the forest. Roaring in anger, he picked up his pace. This cursed place was too human for his liking. Better a red star above and hard gravel under hoof. That was the way to live – not here on this soft green alien planet. He must catch the humans so he can be done with all this. Then his plans for harvest could proceed. Glory and acclaim would be his at last.
Something wet splashed against the back of his skull. Startled, he let out another roar. A second and then a third soggy drop of water landed on his head. Looking upward, he saw countless of the accursed water droplets raining down from the heavy clouds overhead. The last time he had experienced weather like this had been many cycles ago when his legions had savagely ripped life from the planet Credence.
But that was only the beginning. Soon the downpour picked up in earnest. Not only that but a wind started blowing, driving the accursed moisture into his face. Realizing he must either finish the hunt without delay or call it off, the commander charged ahead, seeking his scattered command. Most of his soldiers had never experienced anything like this before. They would be confused by this alien storm and he would need to maintain order.
Bursting through a last screen of brush, he spotted several of his soldiers entering a clearing. It appeared to be his own group in the search. The commander knew the other flanking groups would arrive soon.
One look at their faces in the flash of lightning told him that he had other problems to deal with besides the weather. They were still in full bloodlust, searching desperately for their human prey. Two of the half dozen soldiers were even down in the dirt on all fours sniffing the ground for any clue as to where the humans had gone.
But the storm lashing them confounded their efforts. The combination of wind and rain obliterated any trace of the scent they had been following. They milled around in anger and confusion. The wind and rain whipping the trees atop the rise behind them, the commander knew he had to act fast.
∞∞∞
Another peel of thunder startled Leatha. Looking around in confusion, she found that she was alone. Pouring rain soaked her skin. Looking up, she saw the dark, angry sky. Lightning flashed above the trees, casting them in surreal shades of black and white.
Hearing a roar, Leatha looked out into the clearing and saw two red forms grubbing around in the dirt. Other creatures were milling about, agitated. Between the darkness of the storm and the downpour, she could not see them clearly but she felt the hackles on her neck rise.
Flashes of lightning lit the scene in brilliant white. In that frozen instant, she saw what was moving around in the clearing
. Tails! Many of them.
Fear clutched her throat. She watched them. She knew they were searching for her. Wanting to flee but too terrorized to move, all she could do was watch while they came ever closer to her.
Where can I hide? Where is my Mommy?
∞∞∞
“Form ranks,” the commander roared against the raging storm. In anger, he grabbed the nearest drone and cuffed him. The soldier started to swing back and then realized where he was. Shaking his rattled head, he took position alongside his commander. The roar of the commander grabbed the attention of the others and they stopped grubbing around. While the storm continued to lash them, they formed a small rank of twelve hunters in front of their commander.
One of the trees weakened by Leatha’s undercut, and whipped by the blast of the storm, snapped with a deafening crack and fell toward the assembled soldiers. Lightning flashed as the soldiers tried to scatter from the falling tree. The commander roared when he saw one of his underlings struck down by the main trunk.
Shocked by the sound and the confusion of the enemy, Leatha trembled. She became aware of the sword in her hand and the blaster pressed against her leg. In an instant, it all became frighteningly clear to her. She looked out onto the storm-lashed clearing. Seeing the fallen tree, she knew what she had to do next.
Fishing the Red-tail blaster from its holster, she took careful aim at the base of the trees above the clearing. She knew she would only have one chance. Instead of individual shots, she decided to take them all out with one prolonged slicing blast.
Squeezing the trigger, she watched the crude energy bolt lash out like a sword of light and finish cutting down the weakened trees, toppling them toward the Red-tails in the clearing.
∞∞∞
“Did you see that?” Akir shouted when the repeater board on his comm station lit up.
“What?” Delmar asked.
“Weapons fire.”
Delmar keyed his headset mic and called to the Trooper-First on the surface. “Did any of you just fire a weapon?”
“Not here,” the trooper answered.
“It’s not an Axia weapon,” Akir said. “It’s Red-tail.”
“Where?”
Akir checked the coordinates on the comm panel. “Four miles due west of here.”
“Feed the coordinates into the nav board,” Delmar ordered. “And signal the other ships to follow us.”
“Yes sir.”
The Cabbage Patch lifted from its hovering position and vectored away on a westerly course. Delmar pushed the throttle forward just enough to allow the automatic navigational system to control the course. They were headed for an encounter with something. They just didn’t know what it would be.
∞∞∞
Chaos was in full reign in the clearing. The commander had been roaring at his scattered soldiers, trying to control them when he saw the flash of a blaster. He knew immediately this was no accident of weather on this wet alien plane. It was a trap by humans set for him and his soldiers.
Before he could order his soldiers back into rank, the accursed great plants began falling all around them, threatening to crush them into the soft alien soil. As he tried to grab one of the fleeing soldiers, a large limb from a falling plant struck his arm. Spun around by the blow, he saw the soldier neatly speared through the chest by the jagged shaft of a limb. Roaring again in anger, he tried to discover the origin of the blaster shot.
Leatha saw the confusion and damage caused by the severed trees. Now she would have the chance to take out some of the Tails with the blaster. Taking careful aim at one that appeared to be the leader, she squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened! She anxiously checked the alien device, trying to remember what she had learned about them from the old people. But nothing she did worked. It was as dead and inert as the crushed Tail out in the clearing.
Leatha watched while a tree limb speared another Tail. Before she knew it, she cried out with a cheer but it was too late to take it back. The Red-tail leader heard her and turned in her direction. A flash of lightning lit his visage and she saw the evil rage that engulfed him. Again, she tried the blaster but to no avail.
The lightning flashed again and thunder clashed. Leatha saw the monster looking directly at her. Fear froze her in place as it released a blood-curdling battle cry and started charging her way. Frightened and alone, the useless weapon dropped from her shaking hands. The vest she’d fashioned from her first kill’s battle tunic weighed heavy on her, but she knew it was her only hope if she planned to survive.
Seeking something to hold on to, her worst nightmare stampeded toward her. Her little hands gripped the metal handle of the Red-tail sword. Not understanding what she was doing, she struggled to lift it off the ground. Without realizing what she was doing, she charged forward toward the monster. She closed her eyes and screamed as the monster dove at her, meeting her mid-air, its long knife poised to strike.
Anna watched this scene from her hiding place to one side of the clearing. In horror, she saw the flash of the enemy blasted and watched the trees fall, taking out two of the Red-tails. Then she heard Leatha cheer in that same cry she had heard when she tripped and killed the first Red-tail. Transfixed, she watched the largest Red-tail turn in Leatha’s direction. It seemed to swell in rage and then start running toward Leatha. She heard Leatha scream and saw them meet in a mortal clash of combat. She saw them roll into a brushy alcove just as lightning struck a tree nearby, illuminating the scene in deadly shadows.
Without warning, the clearing lit up with floodlights from a half dozen hovering Axia scouts. Energy bolts from onboard weapons targeted the remaining Red-tails left confused and leaderless. One by one they found their mark, burning the red enemy to the ground until not a soldier was left standing. Anna watch for any sign of activity from where the Red-tail and her friend had disappeared.
An Axia transport ship set down in the clearing and two dozen Axia troopers emerged in full battle armor. They fanned out in combat formation, searching for any Red-tails trying to flee for cover in the woods. The only survivor they found was a single soldier pinned beneath the branches of a large tree. He held in his claws what appeared to be a civilian location responder. Securing him with a disabling ray, the Trooper-First recognized the creature as a member of the Red-tail command caste.
Crawling out of her hiding place, Anna stood up. A spotlight landed on her and a half dozen weapons aimed at her, but she did not notice. Her attention was on the bushes across the clearing. It had not moved since she had heard that last terrible scream.
Then there was movement. A trooper nearest the movement raised his weapon as something red started to rise up out of the bushes. Fear gripped Anna’s heart while whatever it was tried to stand.
There in the brilliant light from his hovering scout, Delmar recognized his friend Leatha. Her torn jumpsuit was covered in blood, and she wore what appeared to be portions of a Red-tail battle tunic. Her arms and face were bleeding from multiple cuts and scratches, she looked dazed and confused. Painfully, she lifted her Red-tail sword for everyone to see. On it was the impaled head of the Red-tail commander.
Epilogue
The Hive Rep examined the report while the underling waited nervously. He frowned in displeasure. No recent reports had come back from the maverick commander or any of his scattered detachments. Furthermore, over twenty ships sent to investigate had not returned. The whole affair had debacle written all over it.
Mindful of his own position in the Main Hive, the Rep considered carefully what to do. He must deflect any possible negative consequences to assure his own survival. Mentally, the Rep sought a scapegoat upon which to hang this obvious failure. He realized that not only the missing commander but also his fellow spawn might just serve his purpose. Scratching a directive on a recording device, he handed it to the waiting underling.
The problem safely dismissed, the Hive Rep turned to matters of greater importance. Casting his eyes across the underlings brought in for disc
ipline, one particularly plump lower command caste soldier that had been in charge of the detachment on the planet Credence caught his attention. Signaling the waiting soldiers, they began to tear him apart. His thick blood stained the floor.
∞∞∞
Leatha threw another piece of wood onto the campfire causing it to crackle and send sparks high up into the clear night sky. Using a stick, Anna moved the old coffee pot a little further from the heat so it would not scorch. Such was the friendship now that no one said a thing. Seated around the fire was Leatha, Anna, Rose Sharon, and two troopers she did not know but who had apparently been instrumental in their rescue.
Rose Sharon marveled at what she was witnessing. When she discovered that an order had been mysteriously issued in her name, she decided to investigate. She would normally just file a complaint and let someone else deal with the problem. But this had been concerning one of her clients - Leatha. And something she could not quite put her finger on left her with a sense of urgency. Hopping a fast transport, it still took time to get to Sharpton.
As a result, Rose arrived at Sharpton a couple of days after all the excitement was over. By this time, both Leatha and Anna were being treated for their ordeal in the mothership medical facility. But that only took care of the physical trauma. Rose wondered about the mental stability of the young captain.
Going through the file the staff had assembled, Rose was shocked by the pictures of the two women after the troopers had brought them back on the transport. However, in spite of the blood, cuts, and bruises, she saw a resolute Leatha staring back at her. The difference from how she had last seen the young captain was striking.
Further investigation yielded few clues. Only the notation by one night nurse gave Rose a glimmer into what had happened. On her first night in the facility, Leatha had slept soundly with only one brief period of talking in her sleep. It was what she said that the nurse had noted. “Tails dead.” After that, everything appeared normal.
Visiting the two women, Rose sensed there was more than either would talk about openly. She questioned Anna while Leatha was conveniently away for tests, gathering many of the details of Leatha’s strange behavior on the planet. This fit in with what Rose had earlier surmised about the young captain. It also confirmed her decision to send Leatha to Sharpton. Even in light of all that had later happened with the Red-tails, it had borne much fruit in Leatha’s life.
