The Venerate Redemption

by Troy Dukart

  I maneuvered my way around tacitly to the soldier's flank. While the soldier was kneeling down, I figured the best way to take them down would be to choke them out. I didn't want to kill him, but if I had no choice, I would.

  Brutus stayed behind but was ready to attack. After a deep, calming breath, I tip-toed my way behind the soldier before I put an arm around their neck. With a quick motion I pulled them down to the ground and then rolled on top of them so that he was lying beneath me. He put in a good fight, but after a few seconds went fast asleep.

  He was heavier than he looked; I dragged him into a half-destroyed room from the ship. This version of the Senti armor completely covered the entire body, even the face, which made it a perfect disguise to get in.

  What was strange was the fact that I couldn't see any armor separation. It seemed to be as if it was one whole piece. The helmet itself had no openings, instead looked like a shield that covered the entire face. The purple armor was skin-tight and had silver gauntlets, leggings, and a chest piece. Brutus came over and tilted his head in confusion.

  “Damn, I don't know how you got this on, but you're pretty talented for doing so,” I whispered.

  After trying to find a way to release the armor for a few minutes, I was giving up hope. There was some trick to it that I couldn't figure out. In my frustration, I kicked some sand. Out of the blue, Brutus lightly tapped the chest piece with his nose, and then the soldier's armor began to recede off his body back into the helmet, almost as if it had melted off. It was the only piece to his armor that remained.

  “How did you do that?” I asked him.

  “I was watching the soldiers do this in Yuwheria. Their armor is a lot like this one,” he mentioned.

  I chuckled as I removed the helmet from the soldier. After a quick examination, I put it on myself, but nothing happened. Brutus tapped the helmet with his nose again and the armor had begun to cast itself over me.

  After the armor “molded” to me, I took a minute to get used to it. My movement was a little restricted. The helmet was the tricky part. I couldn't see anything out of it. It was like being trapped in a shell.

  With a wipe of my hand across the visor of the helmet my vision was restored. Still shielding my face, the helmet had turned translucent, allowing me to see again. Just to make sure, I looked into cracked glass and saw the armor remained solid in color on the outside. They wouldn't be able to see my face.

  Before I was able to say another word, there were five Senti soldiers to our right and a giant Slate looking over us on top of some scrap. Brutus had already hid under some rubble. I stood up and awaited their command.

  “Status?” the soldier asked me.

  “Ah, all clear,” I mumbled out before being interrupted.

  “Status of downed enemy?” the soldier continued.

  “Oh, deceased. I didn't find anyone alive,” I reported.

  “Good. The Yuwherians will be pleased,” they told me.

  They began to turn away but I thought they might know if there were other survivors, “Oh, sir, did we find any survivors?”

  The soldier turned around and the others followed suit, this time they looked a little tense, “Why does that matter?”

  “I, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any danger,” I nodded.

  He shook his head, turned and began patrolling the wreckage with the other soldiers. I looked overhead and saw the Slate turned around, jumped down off the scrap and ran off. Damn that was close, I need to be smarter than that.

  I went back and tied up the soldier I got the armor from to prevent my cover from being blown. I gathered up some scrap and folded it around his body to immobilize him. Afterward we began to walk toward the xenolith.

  When we got to the entrance, a soldier walked out. On top of where their left eye would be was a red, ruby-like, jewel resting on top of the faceplate. They were holding a Senti rifle and wore a silver cape. I stood there for a moment before speaking.

  “I was instructed to bring this one back to the holding area,” I pointed to Brutus.

  They paused for a second, and looked me up and down before responding, “With no restraints and no weapon, this animal is following your command?”

  “The, ah, the officer I was with told me he was very obedient. He will do what I say,” I replied.

  “Commander Valender made it very clear that all survivors were to be treated with extreme prejudice. Tell me the name of the officer who gave you this command,” the soldier commanded; I could see their grip around the rifle tighten.

  “Sure, it was…Get him Brutus!” I ordered.

  Without a second to react, Brutus immediately rushed the soldier and grabbed onto their arm. There was a slight struggle but I managed to pull the gun away and throw it to the floor. I felt something behind my leg, and before I knew it he had swept my leg from underneath me.

  We feel to the ground and the soldier was lying on top of me, trying to punch me out. Brutus bit onto his shoulder, but the soldier elbowed him and sent him to the floor. I got up to my feet and took a hard swing at his temple and knocked him out cold.

  “Thanks Brutus,” I said as I rubbed his head.

  “You know I'll always have your back Strafe,” Brutus nodded.

  After brushing off the dirt from my armor, I made sure Brutus was okay. He was bleeding a little around his mouth but was otherwise fine. The rifle I had wrestled from the soldier had been shattered. Luckily for us there was a storage bin next to the entrance where I could put the soldier and the broken rifle. I locked them both inside and we proceeded in.

  The door slid down behind us as we stood on a circular platform. It began to rise on its own. As we rode up, I noticed that the walls facing the wreck of the Bullrose were transparent, like my helmet visor, though they were purplish in tint.

  When I closed my eyes and looked around, I finally caught notice of Roya's yellow dot, but it was tiny. She was high up in the tower. As I looked down, I could see Rousseau's dot too.

  “Well, our friends made it out alive,” I said.

  “That's good. At least some of the Championship team will go back for a repeat,” Brutus joked.

  “I guess that's one way to look at it,” I replied.

  As we began our ascent, there was a small shake in the tower, like the one I felt at the stadium in Yuwheria. Only lasting for a second or two, the electrical power got shutdown and everything went dark. I closed my eyes to see what the others were up to and I could see Rousseau running around like crazy beneath me; maybe he did something to the power?

  Chapter 5

  Rousseau

  It was early morning on crew when the Bullrose was hit. The sun had just barely started to pop up over the horizon. The booze had made my night, but not my wake. I hated hangovers.

  Instead of coffee, I was slugging down water. Hell, I didn't even feel like showering. After making it on deck and rubbing my eyes, I took a deep breath and said, “Morning you scallywags!”

  The navigation hologram was floating in the middle of the cabin and it showed we were on course, soon to reach our destination. We were crossing the Numari Desert, on our way to Zindaqe but something caught my eye when I looked into the distance.

  It was a large tower over-looking a cliff, definitely not made by God's hand. As we got closer and I was able to lay gazers on it, I knew it was trouble! Before I had time to warn Smitty, I saw an energy blast shoot towards us. “EVASIVE MANUEVERS! TURN 90 DEGREES STARBOARD, NOW!” I screamed as I dropped my cup of water, but was too late.

  The blast had hit us hard. The Bullrose was obliterated and shattered to pieces. While free-falling I strapped into my seat and hoped for the best. I saw people bounce off the walls and blood splatters on the way down.

  Smitty was at the back of the cockpit and was swallowed into the hallway on our descent. The cockpit portion of the ship hit the ground with a thud. The glass cracked and sand rushed in, submerging me up to my neck!

  The impact conked me out for a
while. When I woke, I spit up some sand, “Those damn blokes! Who blows up a pretty ship like that!”

  After breaking free, I searched for survivors. Anyone I did find, was already dead. My heart raced when I thought about Tom; was he okay? I closed my eyes and picked up Strafe's and Brutus' dots off in the distance, as well as a Tom's Black dot.

  I got up and pushed away a cracked piece of glass on the cockpit to make an exit when I saw a door pop open out of the cliff. Dozens of Senti soldiers came marching out with Slates following. “Shiiiiiittt!” I whispered as I dived back into the cockpit for cover.

  Seemed like these bastards were waiting for us eh? They began to search the place, savagely, kicking around scrap and looking underneath. They must be looking for survivors. Sucks to be on clean-up duty, eh boys?

  One thing caught my attention though, and that was Roya. When I closed my eyes, I saw her yellow dot already in the tower, and rising fast, almost to the top. Without a weapon, I only had my speed. Tom, I will come back for you, I swear. I turned on my aura before making a move.

  Taking gambles were my best trait. I ran as fast as I could into the opening in the side of the canyon. Nobody was there guarding it. When I got in, there were a few vehicles and some ammo lying on the ground but not much else. An elevator door was open so I ran inside. There were only two buttons, up and down, no fun at all.

  I pushed the up button and the door closed behind me. The elevator stopped with a thud a few moments later and the door opened slowly to a dark room.

  Small power lights on computers and screens provided the only illumination. Nobody was home. Cautiously, I tip-toed my way inside to find a large monitor providing a live-feed of some people. I took a seat in one of the chairs and put my feet up as I watched the screen. There were some science nerds walking around in front of a bunch of cylindrical tanks with clipboards. There was a joystick near my foot and it said, “Camera” on top of it.

  “Hmm, what the hell?” I chuckled as I flung my arms up. I started moving it and saw it actually controlled the camera! There were lots of bubbles swirling around in the tanks, I couldn't tell what was inside. I switched the camera feeds around to different angles until I got a camera view directly in front of one of the tanks. On the top was written “CAUTION” and I could see a figure inside behind the swirling bubbles. I tried to make out what it was, so I get zoomed in. I squinted at it before I got scared to death as the figure jumped toward the screen.

  It didn't break the glass it was in, but I saw the science nerds rush around and ogle it. It was hard to describe. It…had the face of a human. Long sharp, pointy arms and legs with a crystal body though; was it a Slate?

  “What the hell is that?” I whispered.

  As I pulled my hand away from the joystick, I knocked a clipboard to the floor. I picked it up and at the top read, “Slate DNA Integration: Testing Phase 3.”

  “Slate DNA?” I repeated. Reading through the pages I saw the researcher's notes and how they found a way to merge Slate and human DNA. Unfortunately, it required a live human specimen and the Slate DNA would overtake the host. It was truly horrific stuff, as I read that they had been experimenting on people they have captured. “There is no God in the place,” I sobbed.

  To the right of the joystick was a button covered by a clear plastic cover, and it read, “RELEASE.” If this was what I thought it was, then it was time for a little payback. Slowly, I flipped up the cover and put a finger on the button. I pushed down on it and on the screen it read, “CAUTION, PREMATURE RELEASE, HUMANS DETECTED. CONTINUE?”

  Below the text it asked for an administer name and password, “Shit!” I stammered. On the last page of the clipboard, to my amusement, written in scribbles was the administer name and password. I rolled my chair over to the computer and typed in both.

  I clicked the Return key, and looked up at the screen. The science nerds begin to panic as water flooded the floors. Lights begin to flash yellow and one of the creatures hit the floor. It got up slowly and looked around. It noticed the camera and screeched before taking a swipe at it, destroying the live feed.

  Soon, all of the other capsules began to release and the creatures stormed the place. I tried to switch from camera to camera but the room was dark and I couldn't see what was happening. All I could hear was screams. “This is what you sons of bitches get! This is for all the pain you've caused!” I yelled at the screen.

  Part of me felt guilty, but after I remembered what the Senti had done to the world, the guilt flew away like a fart in the breeze. I sat down with a bunch of papers I found at another terminal and read about this crazy project. They were using prisoners to help fight their war. They called them Proto-Slates.

  “So if they don't kill ya, they make you fight for them. This is…disgusting,” I muttered. One thing I didn't realize was how close the experiments were, because I began to hear the screams not only from the screen but close by. My hand brushed my leg on accident and I had remembered I grabbed a weapon from the ship. It was an old prototype. It was folded on my side.

  When I closed my eyes, I noticed Strafe's red dot entering the tower. I also heard the elevator coming back up from the ground level, “Damn!” I said. The door opened and the Senti soldiers walked in and saw me. They raised their weapons but on the other side of the room a claw slashed through the metal door and in burst two Proto-Slates. I dove behind the terminal in front of me and I heard the soldiers say, “Oh SHIT!!! FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!!”

  They began to unload on the Proto-Slates as they charged at them. Gun fire and the screams permeated the room. After a few moments I heard a soldier trying to reload his gun. I peeked over the table and saw him hunched over in the corner, wounded, and the Proto-Slate tearing apart another soldier on the floor.

  After all other threats were neutralized, the Proto-Slate looked up and growled at the injured soldier. He tried his best to reload the gun, but it was too late, as the Proto-Slate had ran at him and impaled him with his huge claws. The Proto-Slate watched as the soldier slowly died in front of it.

  The weapon I had was untested, so I had to decide between fight of flight. I had no idea how bad my hand was shaking until I looked down at it; I grabbed it to stop the shivering. The door the Proto-Slates had burst through was still open so I turned on my aura and made a break for it. They heard me though and chased me as I exited the room.

  I found myself in a long hallway with all the doors closed except for the one at the far end. Bodies lied scattered across the way and the same flashing yellow lights were flashing. I ran to the far end of the hallway jumping over body parts but the open door slammed shut in front of me. There was a small monitor at eye level that read, “CONTAINMENT BREACH, LOCKDOWN SEQUENCE INITIATED.”

  “Fuck Off!!! Open up mates!!!” I banged on the door.

  I turn around and saw the Proto-Slate on the far side of the hallway. It began to charge at me with wicked speed. “Damnit, no choice,” I said as I reached for my weapon, “Please work! Please!”

  It is a large boomerang, based on an ancient Yuwherian design. I had worked on it a long time ago with Marcio as a child. It was only recently I had fabricated it.

  Tom kept it in the Bullrose for me when I was traveling with the Pirates. As long as I wore the brace I made, it would return to me, no matter how it was thrown. I pushed the button on my wrist strap and the laser-thin blades popped out. They were pink in color and translucent. I held my left arm out straight in front of me to aim and I held the boomerang over my shoulder. My wrist was shaking and I was having trouble finding the courage to throw it.

  “Shit!” I yelled as I tossed it with all my might. I remembered that I was fighting for those I love, and for my country. I wouldn't rest until my bastard uncle was put in his place. The boomerang flew extremely straight as it raced towards the Proto-Slate. Seeming to not care, the creature didn't slow down. At the moment of impact though, it lowered its body and completely avoided being hit. “Oh damnit!” I whined.

  The
Proto-Slate had almost reached me. I pushed another button on my wrist and made the blade spin around 180 degrees and return back to me. It wasn't flying back well. The boomerang was bouncing off the walls and didn't maintain balance like it did before. Now, about 25 feet away the creature leaped at me with its claws ready to sink into my flesh.

  I pushed the accelerator button to make the boomerang fly faster. Right as the Proto-Slate was to get me, the boomerang slashed right through it, cutting it diagonally from shoulder to its leg. Its body flew past by and smashed into the door behind me, shattering into millions of pieces which stuck into the wall. The only part that didn't was the part of the human face, which laid on the ground, motionless.

  “You know, I almost want to make a necklace out of you!” I ribbed. I yanked a few pieces of the Proto-Slate out of the wall and put them into my pocket. The sign on the door changed to, “NO ABNORMALITIES DETECTED: ALL CLEAR,” and it clicked open.

  “Ha ha, very funny,” I mocked, “I can't believe the Senti have done this, this, war crime. We cannot let them get away with it.”

  I put one foot through and looked around; it was safe. I closed my eyes and saw Strafe and Brutus nearby. I had to warn them.

  Chapter 6

  Strafe

  Emergency power popped on, leaving the hallway dimly lit. There were some noises emanating through the walls, mainly screaming. It sounded like a big fight had erupted beneath me. Something inside told me to keep climbing the tower. This time I was able to make it over to the control panel and select the top floor button. The sliding door closed and we were on our way up.

  The commotion had gotten even louder and felt closer, despite the fact we were rising.

  “I can smell blood Strafe. A lot of blood,” Brutus warned.