Kodiak: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book I

by DJ Morand

  It was some sort of park where the debris had not fallen. Echo hoped it would be big enough for the Kodiak. She steered the ship in the direction of the park and ran headlong into three of the Hawkeyes. She, and Zee, had been maneuvering and dodging the gunships trying to fly them into the buildings, but the smaller gunships had broken off the pursuit. Without weapons the Kodiak was just a large ship in a small space and Echo was trying to be creative.

  “If I disrupt their magnetic fields it will disrupt ours as well. We need to shut down and retract the quantum plates prior to disabling theirs.” Zee explained.

  “Alright, do it and give me the signal when to engage the disruption.” Echo said as she narrowly avoided a collision with another building. The Hawkeyes were smaller ships and able to fly in a more spread formation. Echo was strained in her ability and frustrated she had no sort of defense aside from the problematic disruption. As she banked left another Hawkeye was in her line of sight. She checked her systems and noted that one of the three behind her out-maneuvered her and moved around to the front, cutting off their escape.

  “Zee! Don’t retract the front plates!” Echo called frantically.

  “Understood. Retracting rear plates in 3 … 2 … 1.” The quantum plates at the rear of the ship folded under the gunship and retracted into the storage. The magnetic strips along the back half of the Kodiak powered down. Echo motioned against the Transteel view screen, engaging the disruptor they had jury rigged out of the communications array.

  The front of the Kodiak groaned in protest as the forward plates tugged against the front of the ship. With an echoing crash the front end of the Kodiak snapped up and back as the forward plating launched away from the sudden change polarization. Unable to adjust for the lift from the rear of the ship Echo and Zee plunged forward as the gunship crashed into the balcony at the port side of the ship. Without the forward plating the metal underneath took significant damage, crushing the anti-matter cannon.

  In more spectacular fashion, the Hawkeyes burst in a massive explosion of metal. The plates of the Hawkeyes crashed into the buildings around them and caused debris to crash down onto them. The two behind the Kodiak lost control and crashed into each other and the forward plates of the Kodiak completely demolished the ship in front of the gunship, tearing it in three as the two plates sheared through it. Echo steered the gunship to the open field, about one half a kilometer away and cycled the landing gear. Settling down a bit harsh she heard a mumble from Zee, she looked to him and shrugged.

  “Zee open the cargo hatch please.” Echo asked.

  “Already doing so Captain. We’ll soon have Captain Abel Cain aboard.” Zee intoned, trying to keep back emotion from his voice. He had been hard on himself for suggesting they follow the rules and seeing the predicament it had put Abel into.

  Echo tried to give him a reassuring look. Zee turned away. They both heard the clang of a small bit of metal in the cargo bay. Then they heard Abel, his voice practically rang throughout the ship.

  “GO!” he cried. Echo wasted no time and angled the nacelles to take them up. Zee heard the blasts from a plasma weapon as they impacted and he shut the cargo door.

  “MEDIC!” they both heard Abel cry from the cargo bay. Zee started then looked back to Echo.

  “Go help him, I’ll get us going. See if you can convince him to relinquish weapons controls.” She said somewhat testily. Zee nodded and ran to the cargo hold, leaping - instead of climbing - down the access stairs to crew berthing.

  “Hang on tight you two.” Echo whispered to herself as she punched the throttle for the rear thrusters. The Kodiak lurched as she did so and she felt a pang of guilt. She didn’t know if she had enabled the inertial dampeners yet. She checked the panel and saw that Abel had accessed the gravity and inertia settings from his neural implant the moment he leapt onboard.

  She considered this and for a moment thought about the benefits of a neural implant like Abel and Zee’s. Echo shrugged again and decided against it. There were plenty of benefits, but the fear of being taken over by one of the EXOs and the anger of the true Quintarrans changed her mind.

  QUINTAR IV

  Quintar VII - Kodiak: Kodiak Exit Vector

  2972 ESD - Tuesday, November 11th 07:15 hours

  The Kodiak tore through the upper atmosphere of Quintar VII fleeing from the carnage below. Echo was now at the secondary weapons station and Abel - sans his right leg - sat in the Captain’s chair. He had linked with the gunship and took control as soon as Zee wrapped his leg and ensured medical grade nanites were applied. Abel’s own nanites eliminated any trace of anesthetics inherent in the medical nanites. The plasma had cauterized the wound, so Abel knew he had lost the leg already. He agreed to the nanites to ensure the nerves were repaired and he could eventually find a replacement. For now, he occupied himself with escaping from the planet and New Exodus. Abel was aware that the danger would not be over once they left, and he was sure Mercury, and the EXOs, would follow.

  “Shade.” Abel said gently and waited for her response.

  “Yes Captain?” She asked; a spark of inquisitiveness in her tone.

  “Where are the remaining EFNF forces? I think it is time we joined up. The EXOs are getting too powerful and the Kodiak, plus Zee and I, aren’t enough alone to stop them.” He swallowed his pride and remembered his time in New Exodus. The prison cell was trying, but the collar reminded him too much of what it was like to have no resources, no help, and no hope. He wasn’t going to allow that to happen again. If it had not been for Mercury Frinz and his insane vendetta, Abel would have died in that city.

  “I hate to cut the conversation short Captain,” Zee started. “But I am reading multiple contacts on our heading. If we are going to join with the EFNF we are going to need to finish our escape first.” Zee said.

  “I hear that Zee.” Abel whooped as he spun his chair around. “Echo prime the weapons, we may not have our anti-matter cannon or half our defenses, but we’’ve still got the Kodiak and she hasn’t let me down yet!” Abel excitement was not as catching as he had hoped.

  “Four Vulture BAA-Cs incoming sir.” Zee said. “I am also reading the modified RAVEN. Odd …”

  “What’s odd Zee?” Echo asked.

  “The modified RAVEN is broadcasting its call sign, over and over again.” Zee said in confusion.

  “Well don’t keep us in suspense.” Abel said with a hint of sarcasm.

  “It is the Nevermore.” Zee said.

  “Sounds like Mercury has finally cracked. It’s from an ancient poem, from a man as mad as Mercury Frinz; suiting. Cut that signal, don’t let anything else through. He’’s trying to get us to focus on him and ignore the EXOs moving in on us.” Abel explained.

  “Sir!” It was Echo’s turn to be startled.

  “What now!?” Abel heard the panic in her voice.

  “They have Warthogs.” Echo said, pointing to the readings on her screen.

  “Flak it! Hang on tight folks this is going to be a rough ride.” Abel said as he banked hard to starboard. The inertial dampeners took a moment to adjust. The quick maneuver and the crew felt the tug as Abel rolled the Kodiak and twisted it to face the oncoming ships.

  The Vulture BAA-Cs, several more Hawkeyes, and the Nevermore all bore down on the larger gunship. From behind the oncoming ships, six Warthog UM fighters followed up from the rear. Without the forward plates, Abel was relying on the shield emitters to give him enough protection against the coming onslaught.

  “Zee give me full power to the forward shield emitters and activate the quantum plating, I am going to do something stupid.” Abel said with an air of excitement.

  “Forward emitters online Captain, full charge. Rear plating deployed, magnetic field activated.” Zee confirmed.

  “Disable the magnetic field Zee.” Abel said looking intently at his co-pilot.

  “Captain?” Zee said, confused.

  “Just do it, we don’t have much time Zee.” Abel ordered.

&n
bsp; “Magnetic field deactivate in 3 … 2 … 1.” The field deactivated and the quantum plates began to drift away from the Kodiak. Abel powered on the port and starboard nacelles propelling them backward.

  “Activate the front magnetic field Zee on my mark” Abel said a single hand in the air, with his fingers he counted down from five.

  “3 … 2 … 1 … mark!”” Abel commanded. Zee activated the forward magnetic field and the plates swung towards the Kodiak and crashed into the gunship, forming and attaching to the front of the ship. The connection made a horrid metal against metal sound inside the command center. Warning lights and sirens blared all around them. Abel knew he had further damaged the forward prow of his ship.

  “Echo, give me a full salvo of whatever we have! Fire at will.” Abel yelled to Captain Shade.

  “Aye aye Captain!” she said with a full smile. The laser cannons and anti-matter rockets poured forth from the Kodiak arcing towards the EXO forces. Abel looked to Zee and gave him a mischievous grin to which Zee rolled his eyes.

  Pushing the throttle to full, Abel switched the port and starboard nacelles to align with the rear thrusters. At near full speed the URSA GS-I launched towards the miniature EXO fleet. Still picking her targets Echo Shade took out several of the Vulture BAA-Cs with a vengeance. She growled each time one appeared on her targeting computer and she remembered what the EXOs had done to her RAVEN.

  “Zee! Power the magnetic disruptor!” Abel said remembering the description Echo had given him as they were exiting out of Quintar VII’s atmosphere.

  Zee did not hesitate, finally understanding Abel’s plan. The magnetic disruptor powered on and the quantum plates at the front of the Kodiak began to rattle.

  Abel powered off the main thrusters and twisted the nacelles. He activated the magnetic disruptor. Propelled by opposing magnetic force the plates flew off the front of the gunship. The inertia from the plates detaching caused the Kodiak’s nose to buck upward.

  Abel tilted the forward nacelles to provide additional thrust and the Kodiak went up and over, flipping on its center axis. Abel waited until the ship maneuvered itself away from the EXOs and then pushed the throttle to full power. The nose of the ship continued upward and the Kodiak burst forward, the forward shields heating with the radiation of space. Twisting the rear nacelles put the Kodiak into a spiral, turning them away from the EXO fleet and out into space. Abel watched the sensors and waited. The twirling quantum plates collided with one of the Warthogs. The ship exploded starting a chain reaction. The nuclear warhead in the ship’s nose exploded next.

  “Zee! Give me a warp tunnel now!” Abel bellowed over the internal roaring of alarms and alerts. “Set us for a course that lets us out near Quintar IV.”” Zee obeyed despite his own better judgement. The warp tunnel opened almost directly on top of the Kodiak’s nose as their momentum carried them forward. The tunnel swirled and drew them in as they propelled through it.

  * * *

  Quintar VII Orbit - Infinity: Command Bridge

  2972 ESD - Wednesday, November 12th 06:47 hours

  The EXO Prime watched the Kodiak from the bridge of the Infinity, even after all it had been through planet side it was still a formidable ship. He needed the research aboard the URSA GS-I’s computer. The gunship, and its captain, would prove to be the deciding factor in his domination of the Quintar system. Once he established his rule on Quintar worlds he would turn to the humans’ home; the Sol System. With a fleet of quantum shielded ships and the technology Abel had inadvertently designed, he would be unstoppable.

  “Send three squadrons, and inform Mercury Frinz I want him to lead them.” He ordered in a rasping mechanical voice - almost human, and almost machine, but not entirely either. The EXO Prime understood his place in the galaxy. He was destined to rule it.

  “Oh,” he paused, “let Mercury know if he fails this time I will kill him myself.” The EXO Prime was still angry over Mercury’s debacle on Quintar VII. Not only had he ruined the infrastructure the Prime was building there, but he had nearly killed Abel, again.

  The EXO beside him did not salute and it did not speak, but merely walked away. This is what he expected; obedience without the need for words or compliments, or groveling like the one called Mercury Frinz.

  He despised all non-EXO beings, but he especially despised humans. Somewhere deep in his brain - what could still pass for one - he knew he had once been the human Alek Vale, but the virus he had been attacked with and the tempting offer from the AI changed all of that.

  He was no longer Alek Vale, but neither was he the AI that controlled the Quintarrans for so long. No, he was the Prime; the basis for which all other life should flow and the apex predator it should fear. He was a god among mortals. Like a god he did not need a name, EXO Prime, Alek Vale, or AI. None of it mattered. He was and would be, all would bow to his will or they would be crushed beneath his boot.

  He watched as the squadrons took flight from the hangar. The Raven HAW-K, Mercury had designated as Nevermore, led in the front. He disliked Mercury Frinz more than he did most humans, the man was thoroughly despicable, but he was at least nominally capable as a human, until recently. If the Prime were to ex him he would lose that small bit of usefulness.

  Although, it was not until his confrontations with Abel Cain that he had revealed his inadequacies. The fool humans had ruined their ability to ascend as Alek Vale had. He knew that the humans had built protective barriers around their minds, but the brain is a complex beast and the EXOs found their way around it. Due to the folly of their protection, humanity was now no more than cattle to be driven.

  He hated he was forced to ally with those who showed promise. He shook his head. He did not ally with them so much as he subjugated them. The dead were useful as well, but less so than the living. He desired to crush Mercury Frinz, to melt his control and transform his mind and body into a tool. It would be an inadequate tool though. The humans called them EXOs, but he did not need a name for them. They were tools, nothing more.

  The EXO Prime watched as the Kodiak executed complex maneuvers. He could not turn Abel Cain, or his Quintarran co-pilot. He had owned Zee once - when the Prime was still the AI, but that ownership was not absolute and had its limits. Abel had done something to the one called Zee though, protected him from intrusion and from becoming an EXO.

  The Prime disliked this. It was why he must capture Abel and wring the secret from his mind. The one once known as Alek Vale had tried to kill Abel and failed. It was ironic that he now needed him. The duo, Abel and Zee, represented the combined defeats of the AI and Alek Vale, both of which infuriated the Prime, but he would take them alive and he would learn their secrets.

  He dwelled on this particular thought for a moment longer. The EXO Prime watched absently, confident in the ability of the squadrons to take down the single gunship. He felt that three Vultures and three Hawkeyes with Mercury at the lead should prove enough. In his caution he sent six of the Warthogs should things become … dire.

  He watched the Kodiak now, firing and charging at the miniature fleet.

  Fools, he thought.

  The EXO Prime knew he could send an entire squadron after the gunship, but the small contingent should have been sufficient. He was astonished at the complex and daring maneuver the Kodiak had executed. The Prime pounded his fist as the gunship shed its quantum plating and … flipped.

  He tried to find another term, but the part of his mind that was Alek Vale recognized the action and filled in the words. Sometimes he wondered if he was just mad, with three personalities vying for control of the single vessel. Vale, the AI, and the Prime. It was the Prime that made the EXOs, it was the Prime that would rule. He turned his head as the Kodiak entered a warp tunnel.

  He watched as the quantum plates collided with the center Warthog. The explosion was bright, but it seemed the warhead was intact. A moment later it exploded. He knew what was coming next. Subsequent explosions rocked the Infinity as the other Warthogs were caught i
n the shockwave. Six warheads exploded arcing out radiation in droves.

  The large carrier absorbed the impacts and the radiation coming off the six nuclear warheads detonating in the Warthogs. He sensed the ship’s scanners already searching for survivors. He was the ship, and the ship was him. A small sardonic smile played across the once handsome face of Alek Vale, broken up by crackling electricity and part of a robotic jaw.

  Mercury Frinz lives, good I can show him my displeasure, the last thought came as he left the bridge of the Infinity.

  * * *

  Outside the Quintar Prime System - Infinity: Command

  2972 ESD - Wednesday, November 12th 07:32 hours

  Mercury piloted the Nevermore erratically back into one of the hangar bays of the Infinity. Abel’s bold attack had left the small force he led derelict and soundly defeated. Recognizing the tactic the Kodiak had utilized in New Exodus, Mercury fled the battle early refusing to allow Abel to kill him.

  So it was that Mercury Frinz found himself docking his modified RAVEN fighter. Smoke rose from three of the engines and there was a crack in the forward canopy. The crack had not cut through the Transteel entirely, but he was certain it was a matter of time before it did. When the crack broke through the atmosphere in his ship would be gone in seconds and he would be left to die.

  It was not the dying that frightened him though. He had seen the EXO Prime take a man on the brink of death and convert him into an EXO. Mercury desired nothing else, but to avoid that fate.

  The Nevermore passed through the force field at the hangar opening with a sliding sound. Upon crossing that barrier the ship’s smoke began to fill the hangar bay. He managed to land the bird, albeit crookedly and in a smoking smoldering mess. Mercury climbed down the short ladder to the cargo area and found the airlock. He placed his hand on the scanner and the airlock opened, jettisoning the door and letting in the billowing smoke. Mercury coughed and spat as he worked his way through the haze.