by John Walker
Cassie strained, listening carefully but the silence made her ears ache. She ran another quick scan but the walls prevented her from gathering anything. “I don’t … What is it?”
“Movement.” Heat gestured to the opposite door. “Over there. I swore I heard something.”
“You’ve got damn fine hearing then,” Vincent replied.
Gorman lifted his weapon, moving closer to the stairs. “Everyone start down the stairs. It’s the only cover we’ve got.”
Cassie put her tablet back in her pack and drew her weapon, hustling with the others. They went halfway down before they heard the door hiss open. “Contact!” Heat shouted, firing his weapon. Shouts broke out in the room and total chaos ensued. Energy blasts splashed against the walls, causing no damage and the two marines went on the attack.
Vincent grabbed her arm and dragged her down to a landing. The stairs doubled back, leading to an area beneath the room above. “Let’s see if we can find what we’re looking for down here.”
“We have to help!” Cassie cried. “Do you know how many they’re dealing with?”
“No, I didn’t see,” Vincent replied. “But we have to get the Gnosis freed. If we engage in a fight up there and all die, then we condemn the entire ship. Come on, Gil! Move it!”
Gil didn’t hesitate, plunging into the darkness. Cassie followed, albeit reluctantly. Heat and Gorman called to one another, some kind of battle order but she had no idea what it meant. The shooting continued, quick bursts mixed with the hum of beam weapons. She felt like one of them should’ve remained with the marines.
We don’t even know what we’re going to find down here! We could be walking into another fight.
Lights came on overhead as if motion sensitive. Thick pillars took up the center of the room, each one stuck into the floor and ceiling. At first, they appeared to be for support but it quickly became apparent they were like the panel that came out of the wall, this culture’s version of a computer system.
“I do believe we have found the central control area,” Gil said. “However, I am not sure how we are going to access these or which one would be most beneficial.”
“Good question.” Cassie glanced back at the stairs. “Vincent, we need coverage while we work.”
“I’m on it.” Vincent hurried back. “Just … Let me know if you need me over there.”
“Will do.” Cassie withdrew her tablet again and peered at it, unsure how to proceed. She tried a scan but it came back with nothing. Tapping one of the columns with her foot didn’t help either. Gil examined one nearby, running his fingers along the surface. He seemed unusually calm considering the conflict going on above them.
Cassie struggled to keep her mind on the task at hand. Every instinct screamed at her to think tactically, to take cover and remove the violent threat above. The pillar terminals would make good cover should they need it and they weren’t working immediately anyway. Perhaps the attack was another test.
The doors didn’t close until they all entered the room and the next section did not become available without completing a task. Even though they arrived at the terminals, they hadn’t completed the goals set by the creators. Whether these beings were present or not didn’t matter. They somehow set this process in motion and it needed to be completed.
“Wait!” Cassie called to Gil. “We’re not going to be able to turn these on. Not yet.”
“What do you mean?” Gil cocked his head, brows furrowed. “We simply need to find the proper switches.”
“No,” Cassie said, “think back to the tile room … and the one with the terminal. The doors didn’t open until we completed the puzzle and discovered more information about the people who lived here before. They were tests and this is no different. Those people fighting upstairs were admitted when we were on our way to the stairs.”
“You believe they are somehow part of this …” Realization washed over Gil’s face. “And perhaps we are part of theirs.”
“Exactly! They must’ve gone through something else as well and now, we’re facing off.”
Vincent cursed. “And it’s winner take all. Damn it!” He started up the stairs. “We’d better hurry. I’d hoped we could just hold them off and free the ship. I should’ve known nothing was so easy in this place.”
***
When the door opened, Heat knew the situation was bad. He darted for the stairs, opening fire as he moved. The first person to bolt through the door took a full burst to the chest. He flopped on the ground and his fellows hopped over the body, shooting back as they moved.
Heat reached the stairs, moving down two steps to give himself a little breathing room. When Gorman opened up, it kept the enemy from advancing and they instead moved closer to the wall. This meant to shoot at each other, they had to lean out or around the stairs and that caused a form of stalemate.
I guess we’re lucky they didn’t finish their charge, Heat thought. He counted six enemies besides the one he already took out. The others rushed downstairs to free the Gnosis, meaning he and Gorman needed to buy them time. It probably wouldn’t be too hard if their opponents wanted to exchange blind shots in an effort to drive them back.
Heat tossed his last grenade around the corner but the moment it hit the ground, he heard it bounce off to the other side of the room. One of those bastards must’ve kicked it! The explosive popped harmlessly against the wall. It didn’t even cause the wall to darken where it went off.
So much for that. Close quarters made it dangerous. Heat felt compelled to go the rest of the way down the stairs and make the enemy follow them. There’d be better cover down there but stray shots might disrupt the efforts to turn off the strange tractor beam. We have to keep them up here for as long as possible.
They took pot shots, leaning their weapons around the corner and peeling off some rounds. Gorman reloaded. Energy blasts hit the walls, surprisingly causing no damage. To that point, their bullets weren’t ricocheting either. Whatever substance blocked their scans also seemed to absorb all forms of assault.
I wonder what bombs would’ve done to this place. Heat dropped to a knee, taking his turn to fire. He nearly jumped out of his skin as Vincent came bursting around the corner below them, pausing on the landing.
“Dude,” Gorman grunted. “If we would’ve been aiming down there, you’d probably be dead.”
“Lucky me then,” Vincent replied. “Listen, the terminals aren’t turning on down here. We think we have to take out those enemies before we can proceed.”
“There are six of them,” Heat replied. “I guess we can try my plan of luring them down the stairs.”
“Let’s do it.” Vincent went back down the stairs and Heat exchanged an annoyed look with Gorman.
“Just go, huh?” Heat shrugged. “I guess we might as well. We’ll be standing here all day if we don’t.”
“Go for it.” Gorman fired two bursts. “I’ll cover you and follow in a moment.”
Heat pushed off from the wall and hurried down the stairs, pausing at the landing and aiming up. “I’ve got your back!” He shouted. “Go!”
Gorman ran down to join him, taking two steps at a time. Two of the enemy gave chase, firing as they came around the corner. Heat depressed the trigger, catching one of them in the gut. Energy beams lit up the area, smacking the walls. Gorman shouted, hitting the landing hard on his shoulder and rolling into the wall.
“Jesus!” Heat finished the other one off and grabbed his companion by the scruff of his shirt, dragging him to the stairs. “I need some cover here! Now!”
Cassie rushed up beside him, pausing for half a moment. “Is he …”
“Aim up those stairs!” Heat shouted, dragging Gorman as carefully down the steps as he could. “Shoot anything that moves, do you understand?”
“I do.” Cassie braced herself, holding the pistol steady as she covered his motion.
Gorman struggled to breath, twitching every time his boots tapped the floor from the descent. Heat got
him to the bottom and turned to Vincent. “Commander, assist the sergeant.”
Vincent dropped to his knees and rolled Gorman over but Heat didn’t stay to see what happened next. Cassie’s pistol went off and it drew him back to the stairs. He shoved her toward the wall. “Take cover and lean around the corner. Stairs are a tactical nightmare. If they try to come down here, we’ll finish them off.”
“How many did you get?” Cassie asked.
“Two for sure. That should leave five.” Heat aimed down his scope, trying to ignore the strangled grunts of pain from his friend. They’d been on countless missions together. The thought of him dying didn’t even register in Heat’s head. Everything Gorman faced, he walked away from. A lucky shot from some bastard alien seemed grossly unfair.
“Don’t we have grenades?” Cassie asked.
“I’m out,” Heat muttered. “Gorman has his left but I wouldn’t count on them after he was shot in the back. That pack got torn up.”
Gil joined them with his weapon drawn. “I can now confirm we are unable to proceed while the enemies are still alive.”
“How?” Cassie asked.
“The terminals are not working.”
Cassie groaned.
“Professional to the end, huh?” Heat shook his head.
Chatter up above broke out between the enemies. They shouted back and forth, carrying on for a good ten seconds. Heat assumed they were speaking Pahxin and he turned to Gil, waiting for the man to translate. He didn’t seem worried about it, standing with his weapon aimed up the stairs.
The banter ended as abruptly as it began. Heat exchanged a look with Cassie. She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, Gil. Spit it out, man.” Heat bit back his frustration, trying to keep his cool. “What the hell did they just say?”
“They are going to charge down here and kill us all,” Gil replied in an even, calm tone. “Here momentarily.”
“Are you serious?” Cassie whacked him in the shoulder. “Don’t you think you should’ve told us that without prompting?”
“I assumed it did not matter,” Gil said. “After all, we knew one side or the other had to traverse these stairs to finish the fight. We were not going to be the ones so they would have to do it. And now they will.”
Vincent joined them, taking Gil’s side to the right. Heat glared at him, waiting for a status update on Gorman. Their eyes met and the commander shook his head. “It’s bad, Geoff. I’m sorry. We have to finish this so we can get him back to the ship. If we don’t get him to the hospital soon …”
Heat nodded once. “Understood.” He directed his gaze up the stairs. “If we kill these bastards, you think the panels will turn on, right?”
“That is the idea,” Gil replied. “The test.”
“Done.” Heat took two of the steps, turning as he walked to aim up the way. His first target presented itself, aiming at the landing. He fired once, catching him in the forehead. The body flopped down, bones cracking on the stone before it fell still.
One of the man’s companions leaned over the rail to return fire but he was rewarded with a bullet to the neck. Heat tried for a second round, missing when the man stumbled out of his line of fire.
Dashing to the landing, he dropped into a crouch. His wounded victim held his neck, pressing a gushing laceration. Heat finished him off and aimed up, looking for the last three. Vincent shouted at him but he ignored the complaint. When the aliens didn’t present themselves, he started up the second flight of stairs, finger poised on the trigger.
A blast hit the wall near Heat’s head. He redirected, firing in that direction without a solid visual. His target leaped in the air, landing on his stomach and rolling to get a shot off. Heat lit him up with two bursts, making his body jerk as bullets riddled his chest and sprayed blood across the floor.
Searing pain lanced through Heat’s body as a blast slammed into his left leg. He dropped to the ground and blind fired, loosing a good ten rounds. Each proved to be a clean miss but he couldn’t reposition for a better shot. The last two enemies approached slowly, their rifles hanging at their sides.
Heat lifted his weapon but one of them stepped on the barrel, holding it against the ground. The one on the left said something in Pahxin, lifting his own gun to take a shot. A loud pop sounded from the stairs and a blood cloud erupted behind the man’s skull. He dropped heavily to the ground as his companion turned a shocked look in the direction of the attack.
Heat slammed his fist into the man’s groin and as he began to bend in pain, another two bullets tore through his chest, ending him.
“Clear!” Heat shouted. “You got ‘em.”
Vincent’s face appeared above his. “You’re a damn idiot, Geoff. What the hell was that?”
“You said Gorman didn’t have a lot of time.” Heat sat up to assess the damage to his leg. “I didn’t want to waste anymore.”
“You almost got yourself killed.” Vincent sighed. “This looks bad but you’ll live. Jesus Christ.” He turned to Cassie. “We need to figure something out. Carrying both these guys back … We’ll need to communicate with the ship and get some help over here. I doubt Gil can hoist one of them.”
“Just … get the thing off,” Heat said. “Hurry up. I’ll be fine here.”
“The panels are on!” Gil shouted. “I am accessing them now!”
“Finally some good news.” Vincent stood up. “Keep an eye on the door, marine. We’ll be right back.”
“Just make sure Gorman’s okay,” Heat replied. “I’ll hold the position.”
Vincent and Cassie left him alone and Heat dragged himself to the wall. Propping up, he winced at the pain in his leg, finally noting the blackened hole in his upper thigh. It was bigger than his hand and the clothing had melted into it, certainly causing more damage than the initial blast.
Well, that looks awful. Heat mused, turning his attention to the door. I wonder how long this will put me on my back. Something tells me I’ve got some downtime coming. At least I’ll be in good company. Providing Gorman makes it. Come on, buddy. Hold it together for a little while longer. We’ve got this.
Chapter 11
Dala Ahnshyr became a pilot to engage in combat. She didn’t have any interest in exploring space or visiting other words, only the thrill of fighting other beings and protecting her species. To that end, her assignment to the Stalwart provided her with everything she’d ever wanted.
She’d engaged with the Tol’An, pirates and criminal mercenaries several times. As Morala gave the order to disembark the ship, Dala looked forward to engaging a brand new threat in the middle of nowhere. These enemies would not employ common tactics that were tried and true and therefore required cunning to meet head on.
I shall test myself today. Dala pressed forward, scanning the black ships that were fast approaching. Her readings were blank, meaning they were deflecting her equipment somehow. One more nudge to the challenge facing her. This is certainly going to be an interesting engagement.
The order came to fire at will. Dala engaged her beam weapons, pulling the trigger. Her target dodged aside, flipping in a casual manner that suggested it might be unmanned. They can’t possibly have good enough inertial dampeners to protect a pilot from something so … intense.
Enemy vessels began returning fire, blue-green beams lighting up the sky around them. Dala dove, pressing her stick forward while engaging the afterburners. She went low and brought herself back up under the enemy wave. Firing as she went, she caught one in the belly and sent it cascading away to explode off to her left.
A sound erupted over the com, something like a scream but distant. Dala wondered if it was one of her own people but a quick check showed they hadn’t lost any of their own fighters. A couple had taken damage but they weren’t destroyed. So who’s yelling? The sound lasted for a good ten seconds before fading out.
“Did anyone else hear that?” Dala asked over the com.
“I did,” Morala replied. “Everyone on tactical must have. Repor
t, is everyone okay?”
All the pilots reported in, even as Dala had to go on full evasion to avoid a variety of attacks. Someone began pursuing her, following her tail. She flew straight for the enemy capital ship, then dove as she came within a few hundred yards. Turrets popped off a few massive beams in her direction and she rocketed back toward her allies.
Dala’s eyes narrowed in concentration as she evaded additional attacks, closing back in on her allies. “Note that the capital ship is willing to risk their own fighters to take us out. I believe I have confirmed these are unmanned vessels. Drones perhaps … but something seems off about it.”
“They are too good?” Morala asked. “I’m seeing some amazing maneuvers.”
Dala agreed with her. If they were controlled by a centralized location, they must’ve had pinpoint, instantaneous wireless connectivity. It seemed impossible. The Pahxin’s technology was incredible and even they experienced lag and delay in service. Each one might have been equipped with an individual computer but the cost would’ve been enormous.
It’s cheaper to put a body in a ship than it is to gear it up for independent flight. Dala took a shot to her left flank, her shields dropping to sixty percent. She braced herself for an uncomfortable motion and spun the ship in place, timing her shot as she made a complete circle. Unfortunately, her pursuer was flying slightly above her and she cleanly missed.
Another Pahxin ship flew by, weapons hot. They were firing beams long before Dala flew under them and her pursuing ship winked off the radar. Another odd scream hit the com and this time, it caused her forehead to ache. Wincing, Dala maneuvered back into an attack position, trying to put the pain out of her mind.
“There it is again,” Morala said. “Does anyone have a lock on where that’s coming from?”
Several voices sounded off a negative. Dala focused on the task at hand, re-engaging. If these things attacked the Gnosis, she figured the Earth ship must’ve been destroyed. The thought of it angered her. In the short amount of time she got to fly with Dennis Arden, she respected him. The thought of him dying at the hands of an unmanned vessel felt wrong.
