Universal Code

by William Songy

  Logan looked next to the impact on the plate metal and realized that he could see a fairly clear reflection of the ladder. There was a risk that the Tisht could see it too, but he was willing to take the chance. He remained motionless wondering how long it would take for it to get a good shot. After a few seconds, he saw the weapon break the surface. The head soon followed. He took a deep breath, rolled over, took a shot, then rolled back as a round passed by his shoulder and melted into the concrete slab above him. It was too risky to take another shot as the creature was too close. The lower level was dark and it made sense to use the lack of light to his advantage. Logan crawled away and found a piece of machinery stationed to his left. He slid behind it and rested the weapon on a small armature that gave the ArmaLite stability. He tried to breathe and concentrate the dot on the first thing that came through the opening. Just as he steadied his breathing, his pursuer’s weapon became visible. Logan adjusted the green dot and in a controlled manner, pulled the trigger. Instantly there was a high-pitched scream unfamiliar to him as the gun and three-fingered hand of the creature slid across the floor. The Tisht no longer seemed to care about caution and leapt onto the landing. From Logan’s left, several rounds flashed in the dark and impacted the head of the alien creature as it jerked backward. Chunks of matter splashed into the water below. Logan followed with what was a fruitless shot into the chest cavity. Like a lifeless doll dropped onto the floor, the creature collapsed and fell back by the ladder.

  “We were worried about you. Glad you made it,” Gunner said from behind him. Logan had no idea they were there prior to the shots being fired.

  “Are you bloody mad? Jumping from the top like that. You trying to be Rambo?” Ayla said wanting to run over and punch him in the arm.

  “That was the only way to get down here. More are coming,” just as Logan spoke, the assault on the lower level began. All four walls that protected the lower level were being fired upon. Unlike the upper level, the lower offered a lot of cover, which would require a direct assault on foot or total decimation of the rig. It seemed the Tisht had settled on total decimation.

  Gunner pulled the pin on a grenade and rolled it to the opening over the ladder. It fell into the hole and exploded. Something was splashing in the water and Logan cautiously slid to the ladder and peeked over. Two injured Tish were struggling to stay afloat. Logan reached over and fired two rounds into the head of each, killing them. He searched the water but did not see any hostiles approaching from beneath the surface.

  There was an explosion at the container blocking the stairwell. It lifted several feet into the air then rolled over sideways clearing out the entry. Logan and Gunner stared at each other at the reality of their situation as it appeared that the Tisht were advancing from above. Ayla jerked the ammo box open and tossed them new magazines. Using hand gestures, Gunner pointed to the upper stairwell and the area by the ladder. She opted for the ladder and moved behind the thick metal armature that Logan initially used to stabilize his rifle and took position. They heard strange splashing sounds that were followed by underwater explosions.

  “What are they doing?” Logan asked looking around.

  The three waited as it became eerily silent except for the ringing in their ears. Nothing advanced from the stairwell toward them. Logan remembered the patience of the Tisht underwater by the ladder and wasn’t going to foolishly rush out of his position to take the fight to them. Gunner began moving toward the stairwell. He waived at Logan to stay in position. Gunner moved cautiously and rounded the lower stairs and walked up to the platform, then up the second level with the rifle in front of him pointing up ready to fire. He repeated this while climbing the next flight of stairs. Gunner paused, then tossed an empty magazine onto the upper deck. Nothing happened. He held his breath and ran up the last few feet and saw that they were alone. The spacecraft were gone. He wondered if it was a trap.

  A few minutes passed since Gunner had gone topside, but he had yet to give the all-clear. Nothing occurred and the anxiety was escalating. Unable to remain inactive, Logan moved back to the ladder and looked up at the reflection and saw nothing. He rolled over pointing the AR downward and the only movement was from the waves. The dead Tisht were already beyond the outer perimeter and were being taken inland by the current. He studied the water and saw nothing unnatural. Logan stood and looked back to where he was lying and saw the blood on the platform then looked to his shoulder. He had forgotten about the puncture wounds and it was starting to hurt again now that he was thinking about it.

  Ayla had already moved to the upper platform by the time Logan started to make the climb. Four of the metal containers were gone and the platform was scored where each had been forced across and into the Gulf. The fifth with all the information Gunner had collected was unscathed. He was feverishly pulling photos from the wall and packing everything into waterproof bags and shoving them into a backpack and duffle bag.

  “I think the cameras recorded the entire attack. We can watch it later, but we need to get out of here,” Gunner commanded.

  Logan was the first to see it rise out of the water and stop level with the platform, “We have more company guys,” he said. But this flying vessel didn’t resemble the others. Gunner rolled out with his weapon raised and ready to fire. The craft moved forward and landed on the helicopter pad. The ship was much larger than the landing pad and he wondered how it was going to support such a vessel. The ends hung well over the rounded metal.

  “Ayla, why don’t you go back down while we cover for you. We will hold them off as long as we can,” Gunner said pointing his weapon.

  She moved to the stairwell, took a few steps, then raised her weapon. Gunner steadied the AR against the corner of the container and Logan simply stood in the open and prepared to defend himself. Four hydraulic legs extended downward and locked, supporting the hovering craft. A winding sound was followed by the appearance of a set of stairs lowering to the deck. On the bottom step, as if eager to exit the craft, stood a figure riding it down. Instantly, Logan and Ayla recognized the being and looked at each other. Before his feet touched the rig, four more craft exited the water and hovered within view. Honoré stepped onto the landing pad and looked at Ayla and Logan.

  “This the way Earth people greet a friend?” he said holding his hands out.

  Logan dropped the end of the rifle and gestured with his open hand, “What just happened? Were you a part of this?”

  “No, we just…how do you American say, we just saved

  your--”

  “You did? Really?” Logan replied.

  “We took two down for good, and the other two are gone. What more do you want?”

  “Why?” Logan asked. “Why do you keep doing this?”

  “If I can use some of your American slang because they ‘suck!’ And my planet is basically at war with them regardless of what happens here. Also, as I told you, I need to bring you to your sister. You have been chosen by SINSTER Director Artemidorus Eirar to help bring our two worlds together. I don’t think you should take that so lightly.”

  Chapter 17

  The horizon turned blood red as the star that provided life was disappearing and night was about to consume their side of the planet. The glare made the flaming arrows nearly invisible. Simply looking in the direction of the source was painful on the eyes and prolonged attempts would cause permanent damage without the proper gear, which neither had at the moment. Einar rubbed his eyes then attempted to get a good look and a better understanding of those responsible for the attack. He needed to fully assess the potential threat facing them. The arching arrows lit up the purple and darkening atmosphere above their heads.

  Most of the flaming arrows zipped unsuccessfully by the giant agile beasts falling harmlessly to the ground. Some struck at ineffective angles and simply were deflected and flew into wooded areas beyond the rocks starting small fires. Several had almost hit Einar and Eerika. A steady stream of arrows continued to fly without concern for anyth
ing outside of taking out the krytyr. The few that managed to affect the krytyr penetrated deep into the muscle and pierced various areas of the underside. The giant winged creatures screamed and bellowed out in pain but continued to aggressively assault their attackers in a fight to the death. The injured krytyr fell from the sky landing on the mountainside. The angry creatures dug their claws and wing tips into the rock crawling in the direction of their attackers refusing to simply die.

  A large, predominantly blue-green krytyr let out an ear-piercing shriek as one of its wings was ablaze and it waved it feverishly in desperation to put it out. Enraged, it whipped its head around spraying acid in the direction of its attackers using its long neck to swing back and forth raining it down over a large area. Arrows began to fly in a lower trajectory and right at them. Einar and Eerika quickly moved to the opposite side of the boulders that had provided cover during the initial attack by the horned creatures. A score of arrows flew over them and several crashed into the rock they were hiding behind. The krytyr began to bellow again, only it seemed a more desperate sound and without knowing much about the creatures, it was evident that life was fleeting, and the beast knew it was at its end.

  The barrage let up and it was assumed that the krytyr was no longer a threat. Einar peered from behind the rock and saw that the krytyr next to them was enflamed and motionless. He looked in the direction of a second fallen creature. It was dead due to the number of arrows covering its body. The assault from the air was over and several wounded acid-spitting beasts could be seen in the distance flying away to safety.

  The horizon was no longer as blinding as it had once been. He could see a line of hundreds of brown oval shields approaching from beneath them. Einar could see a mounted flame on the exterior of the shield just beneath a hole in the center. An arrow was inserted into the hole, which paused over an open flame to ignite the arrow. Then it was nocked and drawn back ready to fire at Einar.

  “What do you want to do? If we fight them, we are outnumbered. Our weapons are superior to theirs, but we don’t have any recharges…we may kill hundreds. But they have hundreds on the mountain and thousands in the village that would probably come after us,” Einar said.

  “I don’t see any other option. We can’t kill them all,” Eerika said. She saw a small opening under the boulder and considered shoving her PX in the hole and covering it with rocks. But couldn’t move fast enough to do so without being seen.

  Einar was looking toward the approaching threat continuing to run through scenarios in his mind. His gut instinct was to fight and kill as many as possible and hope that help would arrive in the event he was able to hold them off long enough. But he couldn’t overcome the reality of the situation. He stood, engaged the safety, placed the PX on the rock, and raised his hands up in the air.

  Brown shields that appeared to be covered in skins from creatures the tribe apparently hunted, formed a wall in front of them to block any attempt at an escape. Flaming arrows rested in holes purposefully placed in the center of the shields and were pointed at him. Some of the shields lost half of their protective skin covering which was dissolved by the acid. The wooden frames that gave support to the skins were still intact. A short man could be clearly seen staring back at them through the dissolved covering as he approached. He emitted a glare of anger and disdain as if looking for any reason to shoot them. Others followed and worked their way up to his side to face the intruders. Their skin was dark, which was to be expected since they lived in what appeared to be an oasis in the middle of a desert and was no doubt the tropical center of the planet. The natives had long dark black hair that was tied up and hung over to one side. Some had thick rings of black makeup around their eyes that came to a sharp point on the outer edge fading off into opposite directions. Most of the men were shirtless, while a few who seemed to be in command wore linen robes and gold necklaces.

  Eerika stood and walked from behind the boulder after setting her weapon next to Einar’s then lifted her hands to the air to signal surrender. Two of the natives dropped their shields. Einar looked down upon them as they approached. They were about two feet shorter and it was somewhat comical to be taken prisoner by what seemed to be little more than Viennin children entering puberty. Then one jabbed Einar in the mid-section with a rod causing him to double over and he realized the strength contained in the small frames. The blow was strong enough to make him temporarily lose the ability to breathe. The second brought a rod across the back of his knees causing his legs to bend, sending Einar to the ground. With no concern to the damage inflicted by the brutal blows, the guards jerked his hands behind him and bound them with a very coarse and itchy rope that he assumed must have been woven from some kind of grass. After seconds, the itching turned into burning and felt as if the skin was being peeled away from his wrists. He tried to move as little as possible to reduce the friction, which he surmised was the design of the restraint. If he were to get free, he would gladly help them understand just exactly how well their rope worked by choking them with it.

  A third man with a shaven head, silver nose ring, and a circular ornament that looked like it was carved out of a single piece of jade, walked up to Eerika. She was much taller than him and looked down as he stared at her. She braced herself for an impact, but the native looked at her face and studied her long platinum blond hair before slipping his hand under the thick grey jacket and began groping her.

  Einar realized and was suddenly mortified about the possibilities of what the natives could and would do to her. The regret of giving up without a fight cast a consuming guilt upon him. He realized that surrendering would not buy them any leniency from the locals. Even to the natives, Eerika would probably seem exceptionally beautiful, possibly on the level of a goddess to their primitive culture. How often had he encountered a woman like her, much less the heathens like the one groping her?

  He wanted to rip the little native’s head off and jerked on the bindings as it cut into the wrists. He could not let them do that to her. He needed to do something. A breathtaking pain rang out from his back that sent him to his knees. The small man had struck him again as if reading his thoughts about helping Eerika.

  The small brown native pulled out a knife with a bronze blade and started to cut the front of Eerika’s uniform open to expose her. Just before he was able to make the cut, a voice called out from behind him in a language they could not understand. The native pulled the knife back, slid it into the leather waistband, and bound her hands. She half expected to be raped on the mountainside in front of Einar as several of the natives were staring with their eyes filled with foul intent.

  A whacking sound drew Einar’s attention as men used axes to cut off the heads of two dead krytyr. Feathers and green liquid flew into the air. After separating from the body, the heads were pulled away before being engulfed by the flames that were consuming the bodies. The two men were dark brown, short in stature, but muscular and tone. The ax heads were mounted to long thin pieces of wood with woven leather across the handle. The ax was almost as long as the man was tall.

  Einar was hardly the bladesmith, but it appeared that the ax heads were constructed of forged steel. This seemed to be advanced for this culture from what he had observed. Etched on the side of the ax head was a symbol that noted their barbarism. Einar did not receive any comfort if he were interpreting it correctly…the bloody severed head of a man hanging by his hair from a clenched fist. One of the men seemed to catch a glimpse of Einar looking at it and tauntingly held it steady for a second so that he could look at it. The stare was an inaudible statement that if given the opportunity the little man would gladly take his head off. While staring at Einar, he slid it into the sheath that was on his back.

  The ax head met the bone trim on the sheath then the man leaned down and began violently ripping out the feathers from the head of the dead animal then stuffing them into leather bags. After a few minutes, both heads were no more than bare wrinkled pink and blue skin. The axes were wield
ed once again and with a high arching motion, the men brought the crescent shaped metal weapons down onto the heads just behind the beaks. The sound of breaking bone rang out. Two more times he swung, and the upper beak fell off. He brought the ax down again and the lower beak followed. The sections were longer than the men were tall, but the first man was able to wrap them up and prepare them for the trek down the mountain.

  The two robed men walked up and stared at them. Einar noticed that on one of the gold necklaces worn by the men bore the likeness of the baboon type creatures hanging from the chain. After giving them a disgusted stare, he walked away looking up the mountain to the dead creatures. The acid turned the moisture in the black creature’s bodies into plumes of steam and smoke that rose into the atmosphere as it consumed the flesh and organs of the dead horned creatures. A hundred such plumes were visible from their vantage point. It seemed that most that had answered the call for the attack on them were dead. Some were killed mere seconds from reaching the sanctuary of the honeycomb rock. Their limp back legs hung from the openings.

  More than fifty were shot and killed by Einar and Eerika and others were wounded. The burn marks of the plasma were a very distinctive injury. The native with the gold chain walked up to one, knelt and studied the wound to the head. He looked at Einar and Eerika then turned back to the creature.

  From the honeycombed section of rock, a subtle “hooo” sound echoed out of the small caves. The few living creatures hung back just out of reach of the light of the setting star and stared at the crowd and their dead. Only the light reflecting off of the creature’s black eyes could be seen. They were clearly distressed and afraid to move out to the mouth of the caves, instinctively remaining back at a safe distance. But the living ones began to subtly and in no orderly fashion, call out to their dead, “hooo, hooo,” chants. The sound was less aggressive and threatening as it had been initially. The horned creatures were intelligent enough to mourn for their dead.