Sleepers and Scouts

by Phillip Murrell

  Votary lies on his back and pants.

  “I can’t believe that actually worked,” he says.

  Seal Pup helps him up.

  “That was amazing. I take back every mean thing I’ve ever said about you.”

  “We don’t have time for that many take backs,” Votary jokes.

  “There it is,” SOT says about the door to the bridge.

  At the back of the corridor, right in front of the door, is a solid green statue of a naked man. It has arms in front of it, and it looks prepared to strike.

  “What the hell is this?” Stitch asks.

  “Another augment,” SOT answers. “He’s made of caustic gas. I guess Stage’s beams must have hit him, too. He must have been outside of Votary’s bubble. Instant jade statue.”

  The Templars laugh, then look at the door leading to their next objective.

  “Don’t fear the room. It’s the same as any other. Only one way in for us, which means only one way they can retreat. We have them in a funnel,” Votary encourages.

  The Templars calm their nerves after the near mission failure and approach the door.

  Ibbles stares at the A-Men from the conference room in their temporary headquarters. They have a dozen televisions in front of them, all muted and on a different twenty-four hour news network. Each network speculates on what may be happening above, but all agree that the fact no ships have come back through the atmosphere should mean good things.

  “We should’ve helped them,” Roger voices what they’re all thinking.

  “What?” Vick asks. “Hell, no! Those sons of bitches ruined my life.”

  “Shut up, Vick!” Sooyoung screams.

  “He’s right,” Ibbles says.

  “No, Roger is,” Sooyoung counters. “We should have helped them. I’m sure they could have used us.”

  “I don’t know,” Eddie says. “They kicked our asses pretty easily. What exactly can we do to help?”

  “Cut that shit,” Ibbles orders. “That was a scrimmage. Now we know what to expect from them.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Jamal jokes.

  “Well, maybe we can help them,” Carl suggests.

  “How?” Roger asks.

  “Let’s get out there and help the police keep the streets safe. Moon Glare can make them all want to go home,” Carl answers.

  “One at a time?” Sooyoung asks.

  “If that’s what it takes,” Roger orders.

  The A-Men stand and leave to ensure that Colberton survives the day, despite Ibbles’ protests.

  The Templars have Stage transform the door in front of them. The seven armored warriors and four remaining drones charge into the bridge. What they find is not what they suspect. There seems to be infighting between two factions of Malignant sailors.

  Votary sees a tar monster blasting waves of sailors with a thick, black ooze. It burns and restrains numerous Malignant. A man with a large red beard leading into his armor brings a meaty hand down onto the head of a sailor and crushes him. SOT readies her weapon on the redhead. He holds up a nonthreatening hand.

  “In Father we trust!” the sailor shouts.

  Votary holds up his hand to halt his Templars. He’s confused by this and hears the chant echoed by a half-dozen other sailors. One is a lithe woman who points her fingers at a pair of sailors, and actual penetrators fly from them. The sailors are gunned down and die at their stations.

  “Take a break!” the redhead begs. “We will sort these guys out and fill you in; just do not kill us.”

  Votary considers doing that, but spots the tar monster rushing out a separate entrance to the bridge. It leaves black masks on the face of two of the redhead’s people who burn and suffocate.

  “After her!” the redhead orders two of his sailors.

  They quickly follow. All who remain alive on the bridge are the Templars, the redhead, the pistol-fingered woman, and one injured prisoner. The man holds one knee that appears shattered. The pained expression on his face seems to justify this theory.

  Votary looks at the remaining drones and smiles beneath his helmet.

  “I can’t believe it,” he says to Seal Pup. “All three of my drones made it for once.”

  Seal Pup just shakes his head.

  Votary approaches his apparent Malignant ally.

  “And you are?” Votary asks.

  “I am Lieutenant Flaimeson to the Malignant, but Major Flaimeson to the Gudz. I have been undercover for close to three thousand years, and it is good to be home again, so to speak.”

  “And this is?” Seal Pup asks about the prisoner.

  “This kaufiebuck is Captain Jillarni. This is his ship. His executive officer was that black wave of unpleasantness, but we will catch her.”

  “Kaufiebuck?” Stage asks.

  “For another time,” Flaimeson responds. “Right now, we need to get back to your people in auxiliary power.”

  “Why? What’s happening there?” Votary asks.

  “The remaining loyalists were sent there to kill some of your more powerful members. Tazdeve platoon. They can transform into–”

  “We get it!” Votary shouts and over his shoulder he adds, “Karmic, Seal Pup, with me; Stage, Knight Terror, SOT, and Stitch, secure this bridge.”

  “Be ready to haul ass back to us if we need you,” Seal Pup adds to Stitch.

  “I’ll send Sergeant Millantra with you,” Flaimeson offers.

  The pistol woman picks up the stride with the three Templars as they race through the halls. As they near auxiliary power, Votary hears combat. His lungs burn as they run through the full length of the ship that they took so long to traverse the first time.

  As the Templars near the battle, the sound of Lottery’s voice, dozens of times over and speaking in unison, is heard.

  “We hold the line.”

  The voices resonate off the walls. It’s the sound of hundreds and not of just a few dozen. The Templars finally find their way back to auxiliary power. Four remaining beasts tear through the clones. Several Malignant bodies line the hallway. Gallery, Port, and Nijigen are huddled behind the wall of Lottery clones in auxiliary power as the remaining marines eat their way to them.

  The beasts are blood-red in color, with eyes that match. They stand three feet tall with long, spiky fur that the beasts can manipulate as additional blades. Their claws are black and four inches in length. They stand on rear legs that are cow hocked. Pointy ears that stand six inches tall and a circular jaw lined with teeth that rotate when they gnash complete the fearsome animal.

  Lottery Prime is not the only source of the clone multiplications. One of the clones also has the power of multiplication; he constantly pushes out a clone at one a second. This is convenient because the tazdeves shred through them at a rate twice as fast.

  Millantra forms a circle by joining her two hands together. The opening is five inches in diameter. A slug forms and launches at the nearest tazdeve. The round tears the beast in two and alerts the last three that a new threat is present.

  The tazdeve charge the new opposition. Millantra eliminates a second before they reach their targets. That same augmented penetrator also wounds a third marine. The slug grazes the right side of its head and leaves a bloody trail. The final pair of tazdeve soon find themselves at a disadvantage. They turn into a still armored man and woman the moment they hit Votary’s boundary. Millantra curses and frantically shakes her hands at the remaining two marines. Seal Pup hooks the points of his trident behind the stunned man’s ankles and tears his Achilles tendons on both feet. The man falls backwards and screams. Seal Pup silences him with a downward jab that hits him in the face, throat, and chest.

  Votary battles the woman with his batons. Her helmet is no longer present. When she transformed back into human form, her damaged helmet clattered onto the floor at he
r feet. She bleeds from the initial injury from Millantra’s penetrator and from the shallow cuts provided by the thorns that spring out with each strike to her unarmored face. Votary slams his right stick across her face and tears free generous portions of cheek. Next, he comes back at her on the other side with the opposite pole and does the same there. Votary spin kicks and lands an armored boot into her chest. The woman wheezes as she slowly falls to the floor. Votary beats her the whole way down and stomps on her neck to take her life.

  The Lottery clones don’t stop coming. They don’t engage the Templars, although Votary is quick to make sure Millantra has a new ally on all sides of her.

  “Lottery! Stop!” Votary screams.

  “We have to protect auxiliary power. We must.”

  “Port!” Seal Pup screams.

  Port teleports Lottery Prime’s helmet to her hand. Darsh turns to face her with a confused expression, and she sprays knockout gas into his face. The damaged Templar collapses in her arms. Votary then extends his power negation bubble and charges the scores of clones. His main target is the other multiplier. The clones vanish as he waves his hands through them. After some time, Lottery is once again an individual.

  “Hey, Votary,” Seal Pup says.

  “Yeah?” Votary asks.

  “We just captured a spaceship.”

  Catholic mass is full once again. Something that happens more and more frequently. Father Rich tries to get through his homily, but his voice cracks. He usually looks for Father Tom, but the younger priest has stopped coming to mass entirely. At least to Father Rich’s knowledge.

  “I know you all have fears and questions,” Father Rich starts.

  He hears the crying in the pews. He senses the dread and knows that they don’t look to him the same way they used to look to Father Tom.

  “Remember that this is . . . this is . . . you have to remember.”

  Father Rich feels his heart racing. He knows in his soul that any moment now the church will explode and aliens will eat his congregation. His body tells him to run. His brain tells him to run. To his great shame, his heart tells him to run, too. So, Father Rich obeys his instincts. Without any further words, he races down the center aisle and out of the church.

  An exclamation of shock rises from the crowd. Everyone stands to watch as this man abandons them. Many parishioners follow him out. Others insult him and call him a coward. Alex sits next to his family and cries with them.

  Carlos looks at Mitch and Sally sitting across from him during visiting hours. He can tell they’re trying to maintain brave faces for him. This seems especially hard for Mitch. Carlos understands that mixed emotions must swirl through his bartender. Carlos doesn’t know how to bring the subject up, but he desperately wants Mitch’s forgiveness.

  “So, you should be getting out tomorrow,” Sally says.

  “How does it feel?” Mitch asks.

  “I saw Karen,” Carlos says.

  “I see her, too,” Mitch says.

  “No, I saw her. She was happy. She told me she would have married me.”

  “That’s great,” Sally says. “Great closure.”

  “How did it make you feel?” Mitch asks.

  “I feel at peace,” Carlos says with a smile. “She was so happy and content that somehow she passed it on to me.”

  “That’s great,” Mitch and Sally say in unison.

  “It is,” Carlos says as he sits back in his chair.

  “Time’s up, Carlos,” a guard says.

  “Sure,” Carlos says and stands.

  “We’ll be here to pick you up tomorrow,” Mitch informs Carlos.

  “I’m sure you will be,” Carlos says. “It’ll be okay. I know that now.”

  He allows the guard to escort him back to his cell with a smile.

  Chapter 10

  Benji strides defiantly through D2I. He clutches a ring case in his left hand and a receipt in the right. He turns the corner that leads him to the studio stage.

  Claire continues to report. She’s been on the air for hours. Her voice is raspy from winging it for her audience. Larry now sits in a rolling chair while operating the camera because his knees apparently can’t hold up his weight any longer.

  “The world’s still here,” Claire says with a weak smile. “That means we aren’t out of it yet. This is a time for prayer, so why don’t we do one together?”

  Claire folds her hands and closes her eyes. “God, in your mercy we beg that you see us through this threat. Please empower your noble protectors. We believe in your protection and hope for a sign. Amen.”

  Claire opens her eyes and gasps when she sees Benji standing before her. His police uniform is un-tucked and soiled from a hard afternoon and an evening of keeping calm in the streets. His hair is matted with blood. He throws a balled-up piece of paper at her. It bounces off her chest and lands on the desk.

  “Benji? What’s this?”

  “Proof that I bought this damn ring before that shit went down at Miss Ery’s.”

  The professional in Claire feels compelled to address her audience.

  “Sorry, folks, Benji isn’t used to live television.”

  “Live in the moment, Claire!”

  Claire’s attention is drawn back to Benji. She unwraps the paper and sees a receipt for an engagement ring. When she looks back at Benji, he’s on one knee. He has a three-stoned diamond ring in front of her. They’re rather sizeable diamonds, too. Claire holds a hand to her lips to keep the quivering from being seen by her audience.

  “Claire, running out on me hurt me more than anything else I’ve ever gone through. These last few days have been painful, and I’ve done things that I’m ashamed of, but I don’t care. I forgive you. I love you too much to give up on you. I’m here now, shaking and hoping that you still love me enough to feel the same.”

  Larry is on his feet again and filming intently on the hopeful moment in front of him. Claire’s eyes pool with tears, then hot streams flow down her cheeks.

  Benji stands there in awkward silence. Nobody speaks. Claire is speechless. She wants to grab Benji. She wants to hold him and kiss him, but she’s absolutely stunned that he’s in front of her like this.

  “Claire?”

  She can’t move. This isn’t how she ever dreamed of this moment. Honestly, she never dreamed of it period.

  Benji’s eyes look down. He sighs and slowly closes the ring box. He stands and begins to turn.

  “No!” Claire shouts.

  Benji tenses at the word. He looks at Larry’s camera and gulps. He quickens his stride to leave.

  Claire realizes what she’s just done and chases Benji.

  “Wait!”

  Benji halts and turns. Claire rushes him and falls into his arms. She holds his face and kisses him. Benji graciously grabs her in his arms and kisses her back.

  “You need time to think about it? I get it,” Benji says.

  “I want to marry you. When I said no, it was because I didn’t want you to leave.”

  Claire watches relief wash over Benji.

  “In the future, please pick your words better.”

  Claire giggles and kisses Benji again.

  “May I see it again?” she asks.

  Benji presents the ring a second time. Claire eagerly plucks it from its box and places it on her finger. She’s impressed that Benji bought the correct size. It fits perfectly and twinkles brilliantly under the studio lights of D2I.

  She’s brought back to reality by the clapping of a single person. They look over at a jubilant Larry.

  “Congrats, kids. Smile for the camera. This world needs some good news right about now.”

  Benji and Claire comply with Larry’s request. He zooms in the camera to show their joy and the two-carat total weight ring on her hand.

  In Tina’s living room, Keit
h watches the display.

  “She picked him?” he asks aloud in amazement.

  Votary, Seal Pup, SOT, Nijigen, and Flaimeson stand on the bridge of the Ahika. Nobody else is present.

  “Where are the rest of your people?” Flaimeson asks.

  “I’ve got them scouring the ship for any resistance.”

  “That is a good idea. You want to put extra effort in finding Commander Guntho. She will be a problem and is most likely looking for an escape pod. My supporters are all dead except for Sergeant Millantra, so I cannot provide you much help.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Votary replies.

  Votary looks at the aftermath of the battle on the bridge. Bodies lie everywhere, and substantial damage was inflicted on the numerous work stations. The ship is not in good shape.

  “Can we repair this?” Votary asks.

  “Not easily, but we have a bigger problem,” Flaimeson answers.

  “What’s that?” Seal Pup asks.

  “Mother is coming. That means a fleet is coming. Even if the Ahika was at full strength and had a battle-ready crew, we would not be able to stop them.”

  “Shit,” Seal Pup curses. “What are we going to do?”

  “What can we do?” Nijigen asks.

  “We can use the spare parts on Abel’s ship. It’s older technology, but it’s still compatible with the Ahika’s components,” SOT says.

  “Sure,” Flaimeson says, “that will work. That is a unique augmentation you have.”

  SOT tenses.

  “She’s not an augment, just a good fighter,” Seal Pup corrects.

  “Yes, she is. She can answer my questions correctly. Augmentation is the only way to explain that,” Flaimeson says.

  Votary turns to SOT. “Why did you hide this from us?”

  SOT surrenders. “Because now it won’t work. Once someone understands my ability, I put up blockers or something. I don’t know why.”

  Votary hears the snickering of a restrained Jillarni. He’s chained to his chair at multiple locations. His ankles and wrists are also secured.