by L H Whitlock
“I’ll let Alberta know, we will check it out,” Sara said.
“Do you know if Gustavo’s okay?” Lily asked.
Gustavo’s laughing voice came through the RAB. “Well, glad to see you still care.”
“Gustavo!” Gloria squealed. “I’m so sorry all this happened.”
“Yeah, not every day I’m accused of being a traitor. I may be a little rough around the edges, but I ain’t no snitch.”
“We didn’t doubt you for a moment. Glad to have you back,” Lily responded.
“Let us check on the real traitor, hopefully he and Chuck are both burning,” Gustavo said.
“You do not have to worry about Chuck. We took care of him, I am not sure if Vincent is alive or not.”
“Be safe, we will meet up with you soon,” Gustavo replied, then silence filled the RAB.
Lily looked over at Ulrick. While she was talking to Sara, he had put on his suit, his muscles stretching the white fabric. With the dome shaped helmet surrounding his head, he looked even larger and more menacing than normal.
He opened the latch and they stepped out into the cold, snowy world.
37
The snow glistened a silvery white, the flakes so large and granular she could almost make out their intricate designs. Steam rose in the distance, the heat distorting the air into a mirage promising warmth. Structures cemented in snow rose all around them, their tops buckling beneath the weight. The collapsing rings obstructed the glow of the sun, casting spotted shadows across the ground. Ulrick trudged through the snow, making his way to the steamy air. Lily and Gloria followed.
“I-I don’t know what to think anymore,” Gloria said, coming up alongside Lily.
Lily paused. “You okay? I am so sorry Vincent did this to you.”
“He did it to all of us.” Gloria dropped her head.
Lily wrapped her in an embrace. Gloria’s shoulders shook softly and she sniffled several times before pulling away. “I’m sorry I didn’t see through him.”
“If we could not see through him, how could you?” Lily reassured her. “He fooled all of us.”
“But…why…” Gloria’s voice trailed off.
Lily sighed. “I think Golan’s been working on getting people inside our ranks for a long time. I have known Vincent for years. I wonder if he was aligned with Golan from the beginning.”
They walked in silence for a while. Every now and then Ulrick would glance behind him to make sure the girls were doing okay, then continue to plow through the snow.
“Are those people?” Gloria asked, pointing to one of the twisted, cemented pillars. “Will that be us soon?” She shivered despite the insulated suit.
Lily studied the haunting forms. Were they really people twisted in frozen agony? Bent from exhaustion in the heavy atmosphere? She stared up at the floating rocks and wondered why they didn’t just fall and end the planet’s misery.
Ulrick paused, waiting for the girls to move next to him. “Those are trees, or the tops of them at least. We are probably standing on thirty feet of ice and snow.” After giving his brief explanation he continued on. “We need to reach the hot springs before nightfall. Even with the suits we won’t be able to withstand the night temperature for long.”
Lily looked down at her feet as she walked. They made their way into a valley and across a frozen lake before coming to the cascading hot springs.
Even when she tilted her head back she could barely see the top of the falls. The water bubbled fiercely at the top, spilled over a yellow-stained edge and into the pool below, which left behind deposits of red and brown minerals.
“Ah! I can’t wait to take a hot bath.” Gloria trotted to the edge of the pool.
Ulrick blocked her with his arm. “It is filled with Dilm bacteria. Unfortunately, we are unable to bathe in the waters, but the steam will provide us warmth for the night.”
Gloria gave an exasperated sigh and sat on the edge of the pool.
“It will also provide refuge for any other living thing on this planet. We should take shelter in the cave over there.” Lily pointed across the water.
“Yes. We do not have time to go around so we must balance on the lip. I will go first, hold onto me. Gloria, hold onto Lily. Be slow and careful. If you fall into the water the bacteria will eat through your suit in a matter of minutes and dissolve your skin,” Ulrick instructed.
Gloria gave a nervous gulp. She gripped Lily’s waist and followed closely behind as they stepped along the edge. Ulrick kept the pace, his steps never faltering. Once they were safely on the other side, Ulrick searched the cave for wildlife and they took refuge inside.
“I will take first watch. In the morning we will continue toward the wreckage,” Ulrick said, perching himself at the front of the cave.
Lily leaned against the warm wall and couldn’t help but feel safe at the sight of Ulrick’s broad back. She allowed herself to fall into a fitful sleep.
***
“Lily, can you hear me?”
Gustavo’s voice rang through the RAB. Opening her eyes, Lily found she was lying on the rocky floor of the cave with her head resting on a battle vest. Ulrick sat in the cave’s entrance. A sliver of the sun peeked out above the snowy horizon.
Pulling herself up on to her elbows, she responded. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“We couldn’t find any remnants of Vincent in the crash. It’s annihilated. If he were still onboard he is certainly dead.”
“Damn,” Lily mumbled. “I would feel much better knowing for sure.”
“You and me both. We are en route.”
“All right, great. It is fucking cold.”
“I know, this planet orbits a brown dwarf. It’s in the Goldilocks Zone. Have you seen any evidence of life forms?” Gustavo asked.
“I have reason to believe that intelligent life forms exist on this world,” Ulrick said, turning from his perch.
“I’ll have Alberta scan the area again. There’s a storm in our area and it’s making it hard to get a proper reading. We can’t take off until it’s lightened up a bit. Be in touch soon.” Gustavo ended the call.
Lily pulled herself up, dusted off her pants, and checked her oxygen levels. She had enough for four days. Even if their rescue was late they should still be okay.
She sat down next to Ulrick in the cave’s entrance. The sun was rising fast, but despite its size in the sky, it cast little heat over the ice world.
“Why do you think there is life on the planet?”
Ulrick motioned to one of the frozen, frothy pillars. “This planet once had vegetation. If you use the magnifier you will see crystalline structures in the distance. They seem to be living quarters.”
Ulrick handed her the magnifiers and she looked through. Off in the distance were pillars that looked like shards of ice with faint shadows moving inside them. “Do you think they are hostile?”
“I do not know. It does not appear they have seen us yet.” Ulrick trailed his fingers over her arm. Even with the barrier of the space suit her skin heated beneath his touch. He leaned forward in pursuit of her lips. The clang of his helmet hitting hers stopped his advancement.
With a frustrated grunt he settled for lacing his fingers with hers. “A storm is coming in.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah, the others are stuck in it now.”
“Are you well?” Ulrick’s midnight blue eyes were soft with concern.
“I am fine.” She paused for a moment. “Well…I guess I’m really not fine.” She took a deep breath. “Vincent...” her voice cracked, but she quickly recovered herself. “I never would have thought Vincent would do this. I have known him for years. He was one of my best friends.”
Ulrick shifted his weight. He rubbed his hand over her thigh in tight, soothing circles.
Lily smiled. “Vincent and Brock rescued me from the refugee camp when I was a child. It was attacked by Golan. Everything was on fire, they destroyed the entire camp. The Renegade ships came and they saved me. They gav
e me a home. Vincent taught me how to shoot a gun, how to make a fire, and how to win a spar. We were best friends. I would help him sneak out of the training rooms and rescue him when one of his girlfriend’s found out he was cheating. We were on squad together for almost fifteen years.” Memories raced back to her.
“This one time Vincent and I stole a ship and snuck out to the bar. Vincent decided to go back alone and flew the ship right into a wall. He called me panicking and I rushed home to help him put out the fire and come up with a story to tell Rowan. Rowan didn’t find out what really happened until years later.”
A small grin tugged at the corner of Ulrick’s mouth. “I know it has been hard. We will get through this.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Lily sighed and offered him a weak smile. “I am going to see how Gloria is holding up.”
***
“You all right?” Lily kneeled next to the golden-haired girl.
Gloria lay on her side facing away from the entrance of the cave. She tilted her head to look at Lily. Gloria’s puffy eyes, tear-streaked face, and chapped lips told her that she had spent the night crying. Lily sat on the ground next to her. Her helmet banged against the wall as she tried to rest against it.
Gloria sat up, crossed her legs, and sniffled loudly. “I’m fine.” The whimper in her voice told a different story.
“Gloria…I am so sorry. I cannot imagine how you must feel.” Lily really didn’t know what else to say.
“You need to stop saying you’re sorry. You’re hurt by this just as much as I am.” Gloria’s voice had an edge to it.
“I know, but...”
Gloria cut her off. “The only difference is that I was his lover. You’ve known him since you were a child. You loved him just as much as I did, it may not have been in a romantic way, but it was still love.”
“I wish I could have seen that he was working both sides,” Lily admitted. She used her finger to draw lines in the dirt, setting up for a game of Make-Make.
Gloria sighed and stared at the game board, calculating her first move. “I’ll be okay,” she said, looking at Lily with red, puffy eyes. “I just need a bit of time, I really cared about him and he tossed me aside like I was nothing. He tossed all of us aside.” Gloria placed a dot in the right corner.
Lily quickly captured Gloria’s dot, erased it from the board, and placed hers in the spot it had previously held. “That’s true.”
“I should have known that something was up. I thought Vincent was just cheating on me. All those mysterious calls; those strange messages, I should have come to you about it.” Gloria placed another dot on the top line.
“You didn’t know. Knowing Vincent’s history I thought he was just cheating on you as well.” Guilt struck Lily in the gut. Wow, what a great friend I am.
“Don’t feel bad for not telling me. Vincent was your friend. I was just another one of his bimbo girlfriends at the time. Honestly, I was going to call him out on it, but he was captured before I had the chance.”
“You’re not—”
Gloria cut her off. “I know what I look like. It’s okay. I was actually jealous of how close you were to Vincent. I even believed that you were the one he was cheating with.” Gloria captured two of Lily’s dots at the same time.
Lily couldn’t control her laughter. “Me and Vincent? He’s like my brother. Gross.”
Gloria chuckled. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. It was silly of me. Well, when we find Vincent we will beat the crap out of him before handing him over to Rowan.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like me.”
A ding on the RAB interrupted their game.
“Lily…” Alberta’s thick accent came through the RAB.
“Hey, Alberta. You almost here?”
“Yes, we’s coming.”
“We are near the hot springs. You need to suit up.”
“Near moving snow creature?” Alberta asked.
“Moving snow creature? Where are you?” Lily rushed to the cave’s entrance. “Do you know what she is talking about?” she asked Ulrick.
Ulrick stared out past the hot springs. The storm was in full force, snow fell heavily, distorting the views of the icy world. The white sky, thick snowfall, and colorless surface made it hard to distinguish anything. Lily gazed out, catching a glimpse of a snow-coated figure. It jerked left and a gleam of light reflected off a shard of ice attached to the creature. The figure was in fact moving, and it was moving fast.
“There,” Lily pointed the object out to Ulrick. He nodded, drew his weapon, and moved just outside of the cave to protect the entrance.
“What can you see? The storms pretty thick down here,” Lily asked Alberta.
“Looks bout seven feet tall. Looks hostile,” the pilot responded.
“How can you say it looks hostile?”
“Giant monster usually hostile,” Alberta replied.
“Get down here as fast as you can.” Lily tossed the RAB to Gloria for safekeeping. “I am going to talk to it. This is their planet, maybe they are just curious to see who landed here.” When Lily moved to step around Ulrick he grabbed her arm.
“That is not a good idea. Let me talk with it.” Ulrick’s voice was a mix of concern and command. A picture of the menacing man trying to play peacekeeper sprung to life in Lily’s head. Somehow she didn’t see that going very well.
“I will be safe, and besides, you will be right behind me.” She gave him a wink before heading out into the storm.
Ulrick gave her an unsure glance then slipped his weapon back in its halter and followed at a distance.
The wind had calmed but snow fell in thick sheets, making it hard to see more than a foot in front of her. The flakes glittered as the breeze picked them up and whirled them into the air. Her boots sank into the fresh powder and fear and adrenaline raced through her.
A groan echoed through the storm, stopping Lily in her tracks. She squinted and peered through the blanket of white flakes and found she was face to face with what looked like a crouching pile of ice and snow. She gasped and staggered back as the creature rose.
The creature’s legs were long and slender. Shards of ice jutted out from its snowball abdomen at odd angles. Arms that nearly matched its legs in length ended in twelve-inch glass blades. Between its crescent shaped shoulders sat a thin icy head; it’s eyes glowed a dull blue, and its mouth hung open, showing a row of teeth sharpened into fine glass points.
Lily activated her speaker. “Hello?”
The creature looked down at her from its fifteen foot perch. It snorted and crouched on one knee. “Who?” Its voice, just like its body, was sharp and cold.
“Lily,” she said pointing to herself.
The creature tilted its head and studied Ulrick and Gloria. “Why?”
“We crashed,” Lily explained.
“Where?”
“About ten miles from here.” When the creature did not respond she pointed in the direction of their crash.
“Koona gara.” The creature stood to its full height. Several others rose from their hideouts beneath the snow. A second giant moved next to the one in front of her, the ground shaking with each of its steps. It looked at her with a tilted head.
“Yellow-haired one?” The second ice beast asked the first.
“He say yellow.”
The second beast nodded, “Koona gara.” The giant let loose an ear-piercing roar. Lily jumped back, somehow managing to avoid the arm that struck out at her. An instant later, a thick, slushy paw slammed into her. She flew back, landing in the powdery snow.
Before she could get to her feet, the giant swatted at her. Ulrick blocked its attack, shooting its abdomen. Lily scrambled to her feet, pulled out her E-Gun, infused the weapon with her energy and fired. The supercharged bullet plowed through the giant’s arm and exploded, sending chunks of snow into the air. The creature cried out as its arm fell from its body, oddly void of any blood or gore.
Another creature slashed at them
with blade-like claws, but his hand struck an invisible barrier. Lily glanced back at Gloria, who had created the defense; her arms were above her, her palms glowing with energy. That’s my girl.
Ulrick ran beneath the creature. It tried to grab him from between its giant legs, but it was too clumsy to make contact. Flashes of light brightened the battlefield as Ulrick fired energized bullets up into the beast’s core. Ulrick dove out of the way as the creature crumbled to the ground.
The shield dissipated as Gloria open fired at a pursuing giant. It opened its mouth and spit out a dagger of ice. Gloria dove out of the way, narrowly missing the deadly shard.
Firing at the beast to get its attention, Lily ran toward Gloria. The giant diverted its path and stomped clumsily toward her. She ran under the ice giant and mimicked Ulrick’s tactics. After several shots the creature fell to the ground trapping Lily beneath it.
Boom.
The ground shook with another explosion. Ulrick used the diversion to pull her from beneath the fallen giant.
The Home Ship lingered in the sky, its lights casting shadows over the battlefield. Alberta, who was piloting the ship, fired bullets at the beasts, but they did little other than pass through the snowball bodies.
The ship swerved, narrowly missing a shard of ice. Gloria projected a shield around the ship to allow Alberta to safely land a distance away from the battle.
An icy hand swung at Lily and Ulrick, flinging them both into the air. Lily twisted mid-fall and fired at the creature. Ulrick followed suit. The creature continued its advance, the bullets doing little to slow it down. Lily’s palms heated as she formed a tight ball of energy. She threw it, blowing a hole in the attacker’s chest sending chunks of ice and snow raining from the wound.
Lily was about to charge another monster when a missile flew through the air. It collided with the creature, melting a large hole in its body. Lily turned to see Sara, Alberta, Brock, and Gustavo running toward them, each holding a hand held rocket propeller. Finally some serious fire power.
