Universal Code

by William Songy

  Eerika was running behind Einar and attempted to warn him about the animal without being too loud and drawing unwanted attention. But she was certain that there was no way that he was able to hear in time. When Einar didn’t turn at the last second, his body abruptly slammed into the animal instantly reversing his direction. The scene would have been hilarious if it were not for the gravity of their situation and his possible injuries. She would certainly remind him of it one day as it was no time for a laugh. Any injuries would only complicate matters and reduce both of their chances for survival.

  Einar quickly jumped back to his feet and shook off the impact. He bent over for a second to regain control of his breathing. Then took a few steps back, ran forward and lunged toward the camel. Einar landed on his belly and fought to prevent falling off. In a matter of seconds, he was surprised to find himself on the back of the creature and not face down in the sand. Einar grabbed the reigns and motioned for Eerika to take his hand and mount the beast. She hesitated, considered for a long second, then reached out her hand. Before she could attempt to get on, the creature made a long drawn out belching sound, lowered itself down to its knees, and then belly as if in protest. Einar kicked mildly with his heals and pulled on the reigns trying to get the animal up as if actually knowing what it was he was doing. This only irritated the creature which resulted in another foul sound. It proceeded to roll over on its side to force the unwanted traveler off of its back. Einar pulled his leg away just before the camel pinned him to the ground. The momentum caused him to roll off and away from the creature. He quickly recovered and leapt back to his feet. “I guess that is not going to work,”

  “I guess not…Beastmaster!” Eerika jeered. With little interest of becoming a camel whisperer, Eerika ran to the edge of the exterior stone walls of the great hall in an effort to get her bearings on the situation. About two hundred yards from their location encircled by palm trees she could see the Tisht transport on the ground in the clearance. If they were to get off the planet, the transport seemed to be the only option. The transport was large and if they managed to sneak aboard and take it, maneuvering and defending it against smaller, more agile Shuhadaku fighters or the Gabari cannons, which they assumed were just outside of the planet’s orbit guarding the outer atmosphere, would be nearly impossible. They would need an immediate jump to celerity which was not going to happen. Either way, it was all that was available. Sitting and waiting for another ship was not an option.

  Eerika and Einar moved from building to building searching for a weapon while attempting to get a better understanding of the situation. As they drew closer, both began to hear a growing chorus of screams and cries echoing between the stone structures. From an alley they could see a group of several hundred Egyptians, who appeared as if they were taken from the poor area on the outskirts of the city, corralled by Egyptian guards wielding spears and short swords. The unwilling Egyptians were being forcefully guided through an adjoining alley which appeared to be in a direct line with the transport. Guards took position in front of each alleyway to prevent any attempt to escape as the herded group passed. When the prisoners reached them, Einar and Eerika slipped into the shadows as two guards moved to block the alley. As the distraught group began to pass, Einar moved quickly and drove his fist into the kidney of one of the guards and took the short sword in time to block an approaching strike from the second guard. Einar lunged at him and drove the sword through his midsection. He expected the first guard to recover and attack him while he was fighting the second guard. Einar turned to see the man face down on the ground with blood oozing from the tan skin on the back of his bald head. Eerika looked back at Einar wiping her hand on the robe as she tossed a fist-sized rock aside that landed with a dull thump in the coarse sand. He gazed down at it and noticed the bloody side was facing up. Then looking back at her gave an affirming nod that was an inaudible thanks.

  With an alley open and an opportunity for freedom, the Egyptians quickly flooded the area between the structures before the other guards could cut them off. Einar and Eerika were pinned to the wall as the anxious group pushed past them. Two new guards appeared at the end of the alley to cut off the fleeting Egyptians, but the taste of liberty fueled the group who mercilessly stormed over and killed them with very little effort. In the alley, the idea of freedom emboldened the other Egyptians who were now involved in hand to hand altercations with the other guards and by Einar’s perspective, had gotten the upper hand on them. The distraction was sure to draw attention which meant that more guards would be dispatched to the location. He and Eerika needed to get away from the fracas and to the ship. In the back of his mind, he was still holding out for the hope that Eerika would reconsider and side with him then move out of the city until they could get a better game plan or find a more realistic opportunity. To his disappointment, there was nothing in her face or body language suggesting even a slight consideration of abandoning her desire to get to the transport.

  They pushed further away from the growing confrontation and to the end of another alleyway shielding themselves in the structure. Einar moved away from the wall and hid behind the base of a statue. He looked up to see an imposing representation of Babi overlooking the kingdom. He wanted to desecrate the statue, but survival was a bit higher on the agenda. He was certain to return to the place with some of the SINSTER agents to retrieve the craft on the mountain. He vowed to let the deranged people of the strange city know exactly how he felt about Babi and their desire to kill him over the stupid monkey god regardless if he was relieved of duties as a result. The pharaoh would hear what he had to say about Babi. He would kill the stupid green feathered demons as well.

  Einar looked over to get a view of the Tisht transport with the hope of engineering a way to confiscate it. He almost chuckled to himself at the irony as he could see the line of Redum soldiers marching in sequence forming a formidable circle around the perimeter of the craft. This was exactly the opposite of what he was hoping would happen.

  At the end of the alley a movement caught his eye. He shifted to get a better look and noticed two Egyptian soldiers with what looked like the PX589’s that were taken from them on the mountain. One was standing in the doorway of a structure that faced the alley and anxiously studied them as if trying to figure out how they worked. It discharged causing the Egyptian soldier to recoil in surprise as a bright blue orb dug into the ground leaving a large hole lined with melted cherry red sand in its wake. “They have our weapons,” Einar said aloud.

  Stealthily he moved down the wall under the cover of darkness hoping that the Egyptian wouldn’t shoot him by accidentally discharging the weapon. The second man, out of frustration, threw one of the PX’s out of the doorway and down the alley as if through with attempting to make it work. Einar watched as the weapon flew through the air and landed on the other side of the alley. He quietly crossed over the opening and retrieved the weapon and after a few seconds, realized that the safety was preventing a discharge. He flicked it off and took a shot at the guard with the second PX. Before the body hit the ground, Einar was in the door firing off a kill shot into the other guard. Eerika caught up to him and had already retrieved the second PX. She examined it and held it out to Einar as if wanting him to trade. He gave a confused look.

  Whispering, she said, “This one is yours. You shot most of the plasma out of it on the mountain. I conserved mine.”

  “Really? Maybe, if you would have used yours, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Einar said as he flipped the PX over, examined the plasma cartridge, and realized that she was right. He looked up, rolled his eyes as she refused to give up and continued to hold out her hand. A part of him wanted to tell her ‘too bad’ and inform her that perhaps she should conserve the plasma in that one as well, but it was a poor time to quibble. “Why? Apparently, you’re not going to shoot the thing anyway,” he said in a sarcastic tone as they exchanged weapons.

  Eerika rolled the PX on its side to make sure it would discharge only lo
w capacity rounds since that would provide plenty of power to kill the Redum soldiers. Feeling a bit insulted, Einar commented, “What? Didn’t you see me fire off two rounds? I already checked it.”

  When she didn’t reply, he moved to the opening in the front of the room. While not knowing much about the culture, he could tell that the Egyptian living in the structure was wealthy. Fine linens and skins adorned the walls of the rooms. The clothing was colorful and of a higher quality than that of the common people they liberated in the alleyway.

  Einar saw no need to go through the unknown Egyptian’s things and returned his focus on the task at hand, “Are you sure you are up to this?” he asked Eerika.

  The stupidity of his question caught her off guard and she paused to look at him wondering if he was serious, “Well, do you want to stay here? I’m getting that transport or going to die trying.”

  The noise of the fight behind them grew louder, “We need to move. I’m surprised that every guard in the city isn’t here right now.”

  He peered out from the covering of the room, waved Eerika out and they moved quickly to their right then opted for a slightly less direct path toward the transport. As they reached the last structure before the open area, Einar could see the Pharaoh standing next to a portly Yanuwaian Commander, who was hardly taller than the Pharaoh. They were looking in the direction of the disturbance. The Commander turned toward the Pharaoh and pulled the ankh from the Egyptian leader’s hand and struck him with it. The Pharaoh fell to his knees and was struck again. The Yanuwaian, as if mocking the Pharaoh, pointed the ankh toward the disturbance and ordered the Redum soldiers to engage. Twenty soldiers pulled up their weapons and began firing randomly destroying everything in their path as they moved toward the commotion.

  “It takes two shots to kill a Yanuwaian. One to the head and one in the chest. Which do you want?” Einar asked.

  She simply pointed to her head and he gave a nod in acknowledgment. He counted down and they both fired hitting their marks. The commander instantly went limp and was dead before hitting the sand. The pharaoh stood with a bloody face and looked around wondering who had killed the Commander. With the Redum soldiers away from the transport, they decided the opportunity was before them. In unison, they ran out of the alley and made their way to the ramp. Einar fired off a few shots as they ran toward the craft.

  “What are you doing?” Eerika asked.

  “Providing cover. What do you think?” he snapped back while firing at potential locations for Redum snipers.

  “They wouldn’t even know we were here if you weren’t shooting. Now everyone knows,” she replied incredulously.

  Einar paused at the end of the ramp and stared at the Egyptian leader. Blood covered most of his face as he stood. The disdain for the man of Econ was still in his eyes as the wounded leader stared back at him. He considered shooting the Egyptian leader. Einar lifted and aimed the PX at him. He was surprised when there was no fear of death in his makeup and blood encircled eyes. The Pharaoh simply stared, willing him to take the shot. Einar paused and considered for a moment what he would become if he had done so. He then pointed the PX to his left and fired off two shots. The head on the majestic statue of Babi exploded and rained down debris. Einar looked at the now headless statue, back at the Pharaoh and stared him down for a second daring him to react before running up the ramp and into the craft.

  It was obvious to him that Eerika was already at the helm and was engaging the retraction of the ramp as it jerked upward disappearing under the floor. Before the ramp could close, Einar rolled the bodies of the guards she had killed out of the transport. One of the bodies didn’t quite roll correctly and ended up in a near standing position and was sliding down a little slower than he had anticipated. It was obvious as he estimated the time in his mind that the body was not only not going to get out of the transport before the ramp closed, but it was going to block and possibly jam the ramp by getting pinned. Einar ran and slid down the metal ramp and thrust his foot into the crown of the head on the limp body having virtually no effect on the heavy corpse moving it very little. He moved down enough to catch the dead body on the shoulder and after several attempts, it slowly slid over the edge a fraction of a second before jamming the ramp, which would have delayed their departure.

  As a SINSTER agent, he had been on many different spacecraft which were designed and manufactured by a variety of different cultures and nationalities across the universe. He found this one to be somewhat odd and ill configured. Einar took what seemed like an obvious route to the bridge but found that it led to a dead end. It was somewhat perplexing. He turned and looked up to see an open hatch. In the wall were four oddly shaped openings that were obviously designed for the Tisht’s hands and feet. He punched his hands and slid his feet into the openings. The wall came alive and moved upward like an automated ladder that required no climbing but was difficult to hold on to. The openings were too large, so Einar hugged the wall trying not to fall as the panel moved upward. The ceiling above opened and closed again just as his feet passed the opening.

  Eerika could be heard talking to someone and he followed the sound of her voice. When he entered the bridge, she was talking aloud to herself in frustration as she attempted to get her bearings on the ship’s controls. She had figured out how to engage the thrusters, but not how to control them.

  Einar reached over and slammed his hand in an unmarked location on the control panel. “It is hidden so that anyone who isn’t familiar with it, can’t steal it,” he said as a four pedal panel popped out of the floor and met the bottom of his bare, sand-covered feet. “Use your feet,” he instructed while placing them in a location that allowed him control of all four pedals.

  He accelerated the thrusters and the transport struggled to lift off. Einar looked over at Eerika surprised by the lack of willingness of the craft to get airborne. He pushed harder with his feet and it began to liftoff. “This thing is excessively heavy. It is taking a lot of thrust to get off of the ground and stay airborne.”

  Einar slammed his feet onto the controls and the transport took flight over the city. Blue and red lasers lit up the evening sky as the Redum soldiers cut down everything in their path. Clouds of dust billowed up as sections of the mud walls of the modest homes exploded at the impact of the random gunfire. The Egyptians ran for their lives while being shot in the back as they did so. His eyes darted back and forth across the city as men, women, and children were cut down by lasers and sections of the outer walls of the homes as they fell to ruin. Einar’s stomach churned at the sight. It was like reliving the Baraza Zima slaughter all over. He felt responsible and even worse, like a coward for running.

  “I can’t do this. We can’t let this happen. I know the Egyptians, as you call them, were going to kill us, but this is a slaughter. We have to stop this. We need to find a clearing and let me out. I can’t run away from this.”

  “No, I can’t fly this thing. You stay, then I will stay.”

  Frustrated, he slammed his hand on an emerald green touchpad. A panel flipped over. Most of the large screen was a live image of the assault on the ground. On the edges of the display were various symbols that Einar knew were the different types of weapons. He quickly considered a strategy then settled on the blasters, “We can make a pass and take out as many as possible. Perhaps we can turn their attention toward us. We cannot linger here too long in this slow, bloated, piece of space junk,” Einar noted.

  Einar moved to a second seat on the starboard side and used the touchpad to aim the guns while firing them by tapping his finger on the object he wanted to hit. The Redum soldiers began to fall two and three at a time. Realizing that they were being fired upon from the air, they turned their weapons to the sky and began firing back at the transport just as Einar had hoped. Einar nosed the bulky craft upward and portside getting as far away from the incoming fire to warrant the rounds ineffective. He circled around for a second pass and was just in the ‘cooling’ range of the Redum�
�s rounds as they called it. It was usually a hundred feet when lasers from handheld weaponry began to cool off and become less impactful. At two hundred feet it could still kill a person but could not burn through metal. Mounted weapons were far more powerful with very little limitation. So, Einar utilized the advantage and fired relentlessly cutting down the Redum soldiers. It took only a few minutes to take down the twenty that had invaded the alleyway.

  A warning came across the screen in front of the captain seat where Eerika was stationed, “We have to go!”

  “Where are we going? Let’s make another pass to make sure that we got all of them,” Einar said.

  “You were the one who said we shouldn’t linger. So, let’s not linger any longer. We can’t risk it. We disrupted them; you may have killed them all already. We need to get out of here. It looks like we may have visitors,” Erika replied firmly.

  He reached over and kicked the thrusters to maximum power. The behemoth lunged awkwardly forward but moved far slower than either had anticipated. Einar watched as the city and palm lined river slowly disappeared to their aft.

  Within seconds they were over a desert so barren it seemed that all one needed to do in order to fall victim was simply to look upon it. The weight of the transport made it difficult to keep it level and prevent yawing while flying at maximum capacity at low altitudes. But it was the only way to get out of range of the fleet that was just on the fringe of the atmosphere. They would exit on the far side of RA under the cover of darkness and hope that no one detected them before entering celerity.

  “I wish we could lighten this thing. It seems excessively heavy. We will burn through the telenium rod quickly with this weight, this low to the surface,” Einar noted in frustration.