Set the Terms

by Mia R Kleve

  The monsters were easily 250 feet long and at least 40 feet thick. The closest analog he could think of was a giant centipede, only 250 times bigger! He stumbled to a stop as he watched the monsters sprint toward them. They each had two sets of serrated claws and raced forward on hundreds of legs. One of them stopped and the front part of its body rose, rose, and then went still higher, until it was easily 100 feet in the air, its red eyestalks spinning to take in all the terrain in front of it. Its segmented mouthparts broke open, and it screamed a mind-numbing challenge that reverberated off the mountains. A single thought ran through his brain. Canavar.

  Keromnal could see its claw-like pincers snapping as it dropped down.

  A hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “Run!” Fragontic screamed in his face.

  Keromnal ran.

  As fast as the monsters were rushing forward, though, he knew there was no way the troopers would win the race. The ground shook more and more as the Canavars got closer, then all shaking ceased. Terrified of what he would see, Keromnal risked a glance over his shoulder.

  He was just in time to see one of the Canavars’ bodies falling to the ground like a brown avalanche, coming down onto the office building with all its weight. The building exploded outward as if hit by a nuclear bomb. The second Canavar raised itself up next to the barracks building and slammed down on top of it, with similar results. The creatures both screamed again as their tails—complete with some sort of shining metallic spike—lashed through the remains of the buildings, scattering the debris far and wide.

  If there’d been anything valuable in the buildings, they were going to have a really hard time finding it.

  Keromnal’s head whipped back in his direction of travel and saw they were going to get to the tunnels after all—crushing the buildings had provided enough of a diversion for the Canavars that the troopers would make it. The ground started vibrating again, though, and Keromnal knew they were almost out of time.

  The first of the soldiers raced into the tunnel, and Keromnal immediately saw that any safety he’d foreseen in the tunnel from farther back was nothing but a mirage; the tunnel was big enough for the Canavars to follow; there would be no escape.

  He made it into the dubious safety of the tunnel—only one of the creatures could follow them in at a time—running harder as a Canavar screamed again from just outside. He looked behind him and saw the mouth of the leading Canavar thrust forward, and the last Sumatozou in line disappeared into its maw. The monster pulled out of the tunnel to swallow the soldier.

  “Here!” one of the soldiers in the lead yelled, pointing to a recessed doorway on the side of the tunnel. He lowered his shoulder and hit it at full speed. Whatever the structural rating of the door was, it was never intended to stop a combat-laden Sumatozou, and the door sprang from its hinges at impact. The soldiers followed the leader into the much-smaller tunnel behind the door and its promise of safety. The ceiling was low, causing the troopers to duck slightly, but the tunnel was Canavar-free, and they poured in.

  * * *

  Tunnels, Canavar Facility, Tregoth

  “Okay, Mr. Peacemaker,” Fragontic said after he’d organized the remaining soldiers—a total of three had been eaten by the Canavars—into exploratory parties and sent them on their way, “we’re here.” He closed his eyes for a moment as the Canavar in the tunnel screamed. While the noise had been terrifying outside the tunnel, there was something about the way the screams reverberated inside the tunnel system that made them petrifying to all but the most stout-hearted. “I also have to think we’ve found your evidence that there’s a Canavar facility on this planet, even if it isn’t currently in operation. What now?”

  “Can you call down the dropships and have them shoot up the Canavars?”

  “I did, and they appear to have killed the one that was outside when they arrived. Used up most of their ammunition in so doing, too. You’re going to get a big bill for expended ordnance when we get back.”

  “That’s fine. If you get us all back, I’ll be happy to pay it.”

  “There is, however, at least one Canavar in the tunnels with us, and the dropships can’t target it. Any other guidance for me?”

  “Kill it and get us back home so I can pay you those fat stacks of credits you mentioned?”

  “Your attempt at levity is appreciated. Is that all you’ve got?”

  “No,” Keromnal said. “They wouldn’t have just raised these creatures and allowed them to run free; they would have had some method of controlling them. If we can find it, we can use it to control them, hopefully long enough to get onto the dropships and out of here.”

  “So there’s nothing else you need here?”

  “I have a feeling that anything that was going on here, beside the Canavar project, was housed in the buildings outside. As both of them are now destroyed, I’m happy taking what we can find in the tunnels, if anything, and getting the hell out of here. I don’t think there’s anything here, based on what I’ve seen, that’s worth the lives of any more of your troopers.”

  “Fair enough,” Fragontic replied. “Any idea where these control devices might be?”

  “Probably back, deeper in the tunnels, wherever they housed the Canavar.”

  “You don’t think they left the Canavars outside?”

  “No. I think they would have kept them in some sort of den. If they left them outside, uncontrolled, I think those buildings would have been destroyed a lot sooner.”

  Fragontic frowned. “Looking for their dens means going out into the main tunnel with the big, ugly worm.”

  “Maybe, and maybe not. At the other facility, the Humans found some back tunnels. Maybe there are some here. If not, well then, I guess we’ll just have to figure out a way to lead it outside where the dropships can take care of it.”

  “Like sending a Peacemaker running up the tunnel?”

  “That would work, I guess, but it wouldn’t be my first choice.”

  “You sure?” Fragontic asked. Keromnal nodded. “All right,” Fragontic said. “I’ll just keep it in my back pocket for later, then. We’ll look for tunnels first.”

  * * *

  “You’re in luck,” Fragontic said ten minutes later. “We found a tunnel that appears to lead deeper into the facility.” He led the Peacemaker to the back of the administrative complex. An open door led off into the darkness.

  “What are we waiting on?” Keromnal asked.

  “Just your go-ahead, since we’re here on your credits.”

  “Well, you have it; let’s go.”

  “You got it.” He waved several of the troopers forward, and they moved down the passage, lighting it up as they went. The troopers stalked forward with their knees bent; the way they sidled forward, the lights stayed relatively steady. The tunnel went on a long way. Additional troopers went past and into the tunnel, then Fragontic motioned to Keromnal. “Let’s go.”

  Fragontic went into the tunnel, and Keromnal followed him. The Peacemaker hadn’t spent much time underground in his life—Sumatozou generally didn’t—but the tunnel seemed to run fairly straight. They walked for almost five minutes, then came to another door.

  “Kill the lights,” Fragontic said. Within a couple of seconds, Keromnal couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. One time, a section of a space station he’d been in had lost power. It had been just as dark…for three seconds, and then the emergency lighting had kicked in. Listening to the troopers breathing in the darkness was terrifying.

  “Door opening,” a voice whispered.

  Keromnal could feel motion but had no idea whether the door had actually been opened…and if it had, he had no way to tell what was looking at them from the other side of the doorway.

  “UV goggles,” Fragontic whispered.

  “Put these on,” a voice said from next to Keromnal. The trooper put a pair in his hand.

  Keromnal put the goggles on and he could see again. Most of the troopers—not all—had some sort of emi
tter that illuminated the area around them. Almost the entire squad was already in the tunnel beyond the door—it was a huge passageway, like the main tunnel that entered the mountain. Fragontic waved him forward, and he followed the merc leader. Keromnal had a number of questions he wanted to ask, but when he drew a breath, Fragontic shook his head and indicated he shouldn’t speak. He nodded and followed the mercs.

  The group stuck to the left side of the passageway, and Keromnal spent most of his time watching for rocks and other debris on the ground so he didn’t kick something and make any unnecessary noise. Because of this, he almost didn’t notice when the trooper in front of him stopped suddenly.

  Keromnal took an extra step, but then came to a stop just inches from the trooper. As his head swiveled up, he saw the reason for the stop—they’d come to a den. At least that’s what he took the huge cavern that jutted off the main passage to be. Straw covered the floor, and a large number of gantries lined the sides of the cave. Chains also hung from the walls, all of which had been snapped off. The last link on each was sprung open and dangled precariously.

  Fragontic moved close enough to whisper, “Looks like they left the Canavars chained up, and they had to break free to get out. There is another cave just past this one that looks the same.”

  “Any sort of equipment to control the Canavars in either of them?” Keromnal asked.

  Fragontic shook his head. “None.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So what do you recommend?”

  “We’ll set something to remote detonate here and then go back to the smaller tunnels and the front of the complex. When we get there, we’ll detonate it. Hopefully, it will either draw the Canavar further into the caves and we can escape, or it will flush it out and the dropships can kill it or drive it off.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “I’m out of ideas, and we’re back to using the Peacemaker as a diversion.”

  “I hope it works then.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Canavar!” a trooper yelled from behind them as he started firing his heavy MAC.

  Keromnal spun to see the creature just outside the cavern he was in. It tried to rear, but only succeeded in smacking its head into the tunnel’s roof, creating a shower of rocks. It screamed—though whether in pain or annoyance, Keromnal didn’t know—then moved forward and swallowed the closest trooper.

  MAC rounds and a few laser bolts deflected off the creature’s chitinous armor; the thick, brown armor plates not showing any form of damage.

  “Run!” Fragontic yelled, and Keromnal spun. “Not that way, dammit!” Fragontic yelled, spinning him back to face the Canavar. “There’s nothing back there but cave. We have to run past it!”

  A number of the troopers continued to fire at the monster, keeping its attention, and Fragontic grabbed the Peacemaker’s arm and pulled him along as he ran past the beast. Troopers streamed along both sides of the monster, fleeing as fast as they could, and Keromnal raced forward as fast as his legs could carry him.

  One of the troopers yelled, and Keromnal glanced over his shoulder to see a trooper hanging out of the Canavar’s mouth. One of its tusks had hooked on the entrance to the creature’s mouth—what would be the lip on a normal creature—and the Canavar couldn’t get the steel-tipped projection unhooked. As the creature sucked the soldier in, the trooper released his MAC and pulled something off his belt. Whatever it was exploded as the mouth closed on him, then the Canavar spat the trooper out. He flew across the cavern, slammed into the wall, and lay still at the base of it.

  Keromnal slowed to go to the trooper’s aid, but Fragontic grabbed his arm again and pulled him forward. “We can’t help him!” They ran.

  The Canavar lay still for several moments, and Keromnal was able to get past most of the creature’s body, but then it started moving again, going in the opposite direction of Keromnal’s travel. He slowed.

  “Run. Faster!” Fragontic shouted. “It’s going into the cavern so it can turn around, then it will be after us!”

  The merc colonel’s admonishment was all Keromnal needed to run harder, and he joined the stream of troopers racing through the tunnel. With everyone running full out, the lights were no longer steady—they bounced back and forth in a weird stroboscopic effect.

  The creature roared its soul-splitting scream, and Keromnal couldn’t help himself; he looked over his shoulder. He immediately wished he hadn’t; the creature was emerging from the cavern. It ate the trooper that had stayed to cover their escape, and the lights behind him went out. It didn’t matter; he knew the monster was coming as fast as it could.

  “Into the smaller tunnels!” Fragontic exclaimed as they reached the administrative spaces. His troopers happily obliged and dove into the safety of the smaller tunnel.

  Keromnal kept going.

  “What are you doing?” Fragontic yelled from the mouth of the little tunnel.

  “It’s chase the Peacemaker time!” Keromnal gasped as loud as he could. “Tell the…dropships to be ready!”

  He could hear the creature scraping the sides of the tunnel as it raced after him, getting closer and closer, and he put everything he had into his flight toward the light at the end of the tunnel. A quick glance over his shoulder showed he wasn’t going to make it.

  Still, he knew he needed to get as close as he could. He dropped his head and put all of his concentration into keeping his arms and legs pumping as if his life depended on it.

  One hundred yards to the light…ninety…eighty. He could feel the rush of the giant monster behind him now, and the Canavar’s breath on his back. The intensity lessened slightly, and Keromnal knew it was pulling back to strike.

  He threw himself to the side of the tunnel, and the Canavar’s mouth went past, just missing him, and the plates on the side of the monster’s head glanced off his armor. The force of the blow—even a glancing one—drove him into the tunnel wall with the force of a hover car crash. He slammed into it and fell to the tunnel floor. Unable to stop its momentum, the Canavar kept roaring past him, like the subway trams on Capital Planet. It slowed and finally stopped, but then it moved forward again, unable to back its way down the tunnel. It went forward to turn around outside.

  As soon as it emerged, the four dropships took it under fire, and Keromnal could see the rockets and MAC rounds impacting its head. It lost its right eye stalk in the initial barrage, and it screamed in pain. Keromnal put his hands over his ears; its roar of agony was even worse than its normal scream.

  The dropships continued their one-way battle, staying always just out of reach as they fired into the creature’s face. It moved to the right side of the tunnel mouth, and Keromnal found himself drawn forward to watch the ongoing fight.

  He had just reached the tunnel entrance when one of the dropships crashed a hundred yards outside it, and he threw himself to the ground as hot debris flew past. Apparently, the ship had gotten too close to the monster, and the creature had grabbed it and flung it down; the remaining three craft now kept a more healthy distance from the creature.

  They ascended to about fifty feet, and Keromnal couldn’t understand why—that put them right where the creature was best able to strike at them. They stayed far enough away from it that they were always just out of reach, though, having already learned their lesson. After a few minutes of striking and missing, the Canavar reared back and roared its frustration to the heavens. This was obviously the moment the pilots had been waiting for—they tilted their craft to fire up into its mouth and unleashed all of their remaining rockets, while firing their MACs at the fastest rate possible.

  The Canavar’s scream was cut off as something vital was hit, and it collapsed to the side, slamming into the ground with enough force that Keromnal was thrown from his feet. He climbed up to find the Canavar slowly sliding away. The dropships hovered close by, looking for another kill-shot, but none presented themselves. After a second, Keromnal saw where the monster was heading
—the body of the other Canavar, which the dropships had killed previously.

  The Canavar kept moving toward it, slower and slower, until only its front legs were dragging the rest of the body, its head held only a few feet off the ground. It finally made it to the other Canavar. It rose up slightly, then collapsed with its head on the other Canavar’s body and went still.

  Keromnal started to breathe a sigh of relief, then saw motion out of the corner of his eye.

  “What were you thinking?” Fragontic yelled, scaring him so much that he jumped about a foot in the air—no small feat for a person who weighed over ten thousand pounds.

  “I wasn’t thinking, much,” Keromnal said when he could talk again. The rest of the troopers were right behind Fragontic, gazing in awe at the two dead Canavars.

  “You got that right,” Fragontic said. “If you’d have gone and gotten yourself killed, how would we have been paid?”

  Keromnal gave the merc colonel a weak smile. “I knew we needed to get it outside the tunnels, and I remembered what you said about ‘chase the Peacemaker.’” He chuckled. “I don’t know; it seemed like a good idea at the time?”

  Fragontic shook his trunks in disbelief. “Well, it worked out in the end.” He nodded toward the Canavar bodies. “Got what you needed here?”

  “Yeah, I did. The Science Guild is raising Canavars.” He turned and looked into Fragontic’s eyes. “I’m going to have to do something about that.”

  * * * * *

  Chris Kennedy Bio

  A Webster Award winner and three-time Dragon Award finalist, Chris Kennedy is a Science Fiction/Fantasy/Young Adult author, speaker, and small-press publisher who has written over 25 books and published more than 100 others. Chris’ stories include the Occupied Seattle military fiction duology, The Theogony and Codex Regius science fiction trilogies, stories in the Four Horsemen, Fallen World, and In Revolution Born universes and the War for Dominance fantasy trilogy. Get his free story, “Shattered Crucible,” at his website, https://chriskennedypublishing.com.