Backlash Rising

by Brandon Ellis

  They lay face down, the ebb floor cold against Koda’s body. A horrible thought entered his mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut. “Devon, if this is Payson and his team, we have to do something…” He didn’t want to say it.

  “Like what?”

  Koda kept his eyes closed tightly. His desire to become the greatest politician ever to grace the governance screeched to a bitter end. His next actions would never see the light of day, never don a holovid recording, and never meet the eyes of Matrona’s population. But, for the good of his people, he must do the unthinkable.

  “We manually open the airlock and let the toxin out.” His voice cracked. He had single-handedly steered Devon to his death.

  Devon let out a long breath. “Dammit.” He slowly nodded. “Yeah, we don’t have any other option. Are we sure it’s Payson’s men?”

  “They’d be inside by now if it were the Matrona Guard or any other Star Guild Marines. So, yes, I’m sure this is Payson and his assholes.” Koda’s face went pale, not believing his next question. “Do you know how to manually open an airlock?”

  “Yes.”

  The airlock was attached to the wall across the room, space-side. A lever mounted next to the airlock allowed manual openings. Warnings painted on the walls and above the airlock, read in big letters, DO NOT MANUALLY OPEN IF VESSEL NOT ATTACHED TO AIRLOCK. They only used the manual lever when all else failed. And today, Koda had no other choice. But regardless, he’d never opened one and didn’t know how.

  “How do you open it?” asked Koda.

  “It’s easy,” said Devon. “You just push the lever down, and the airlock’s door spins open.”

  “I’ll stand and block their view, okay?”

  “No.” Devon’s voice echoed through the room. “Guild, no.”

  “One…”

  “Listen, there has to be a better way.”

  It was now or never. They couldn’t wait it out. If Payson broke in and released the toxin through the air channels, he didn’t want to think about the death toll.

  “Two…and you better run your ass over there the moment I stand, got it?”

  “Shit, Koda. I don’t know.”

  “Do it.” He knew they’d both be dead, but if Devon’s prophecies were real, they had no other option.

  “Okay, okay.” Devon moaned. “Start the count over.”

  A hiss and the door to the room opened. Boots marched in, and a hand grabbed Koda by the back of the shirt and pulled him up. Someone spun him around and forced him against the wall, a gun to his temple. “Do. Not. Move.”

  Koda’s eyes went wide, and he looked the man up and down. “Oh, my Guild.” He let out a sigh of relief. “You’re not Payson or his crew.”

  “No,” said the man, the smell of coffee wafting off of his breath, and veins popping out of his neck. “You better not be one of his men either, or I plug a hole into your pretty face.”

  Koda smiled. Brigantia guardsmen, and from the sounds of it, a handful of them stood in the room. Another Guard enjoyed a similar conversation with Devon.

  “I’m Prime Overseer Koda Lutz. I was just in the infirmary with you guys.” He wanted to point to his face, but moving his arms probably wouldn’t be the smartest move at the moment. “Do you recognize me?”

  The guard spat on the floor. “No, and I don’t care. They can confirm who you are later.”

  “I have my ID Card on me.” Koda went for his pocket, chiding himself a second later.

  The guard slammed him into the wall. “What part of ‘don’t move’ don’t you understand?” He twisted Koda around and pulled Koda’s arms behind his back. Steel wrapped around his wrists, clicking shut. The Brigantia guard nudged him toward the doorway and out of the hangar. The rest of the soldiers and Devon, handcuffed as well, followed.

  The door shut, and they were pushed toward the docking bay. Koda pulled back. “Listen—”

  His head whipped forward as a guy’s palm whacked him across the back of his head. “Shut up and keep moving. We’ll identify you later, but right now, you’re one of Payson’s men.”

  “I am not.” Koda dug his boots into the floor. “No, you will not identify us later. Identify me now and get me back into that airlock. The toxin needs to be—” A heavy boot sank into his back, sending him forward. He stumbled but maintained balance and stayed on his feet.

  “Shut your mouth.”

  Koda turned, his eyes tightening. “Your very survival depends on getting that toxin off of the starbase. Open that hangar’s airlock.”

  The guard flattened his lips and widened his stance. He glared at Koda for what seemed to be several minutes. He slowly pulled the comm device on his shoulder closer to his mouth. “Fleet Admiral Shae Lutz, do you copy?”

  “I’m on my way,” replied Shae.

  “I’ve captured the trespassers. One claims to be—”

  “That’s my uncle,” yelled Koda. A fist crashed into Koda’s face, and he dropped to the ground, his chin aching.

  “Fleet Admiral, where would you like us to put these two captives?”

  “Somewhere enclosed. I’ll be there any minute.”

  Devon took a step forward, his hands cuffed behind him. “Tell him you have Prime Overseer Koda Lutz. They are related.”

  The guards looked at each other. The lead man pointed to a Starhawk Transport. “In there.” He grabbed Koda’s shoulder and lifted him off the ground, escorting him toward the ship.

  Koda leaned back, doing his best to fight against the guard’s strength. “No, listen. Open the damn airlock and—”

  “You won’t shut up, and I don’t have time for this.” The guard wrapped his arms around Koda, giving him a bear hug. He picked him up off his feet and carried him to the Starhawk. “Open the side panel door.”

  A guard stepped in and slammed his palm into the side door panel. The Starhawk’s door opened. They threw Koda in, and then Devon. The door shut, and the cabin light dimmed.

  Koda moaned, wanting to rub his face. “That smarts.”

  Devon scooted back against a wall. “We almost changed the prophecy. Almost.” He eyed the floor, shaking his head, his eyes drooping.

  Koda looked around. They were in the ship’s cargo hold. “Almost? We’ll get that toxin out. Wait for my uncle. He’ll be here any minute.” He looked into the cockpit at a heavily tinted window that blocked anyone from seeing inside while allowing the pilot to see outside fairly easily. He’d never been inside one of these, and for all he knew, not a single human alive had been in one of these transport ships either. This one was unlocked, or the guard somehow hit the right codes with his palm, deactivating the locked door and opening the ship up. “Does the pilot and co-pilot seat look abnormally large to you?”

  Devon shook his head. “Not large, huge.”

  He threw Devon a look, and from Devon’s pinched expression, they both knew Anunnaki piloted these craft.

  Koda went to stand. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  The Starhawk rocked back as an explosion blasted near the ship’s nose. A handful of ebb chunks cracked from the flooring and ricocheted off the cockpit window.

  Koda rested his shoulder against the bulkhead. “I'm not getting the best feeling right now.”

  The door opened, and there stood Shae, smoke twirling into the air beside him. His eyes widened. “Koda?”

  Another blast lifted Shae off his feet and threw him inside the Starhawk. Ebb flooring cracked upward, sending dozens of pieces spitting into the Starhawk's cabin, riddling the walls.

  Koda ducked low, turning away from the concussion blast, his forehead against the floor. A moment later, his uncle tumbled into him, sending Koda hard against the wall.

  24

  Shae

  Starbase Matrona

  Shae pushed himself up and faced the open door. Payson and his men, at least a few, ran down the street. They headed to the docking bay, guns in hand. Either the rest of Payson’s team had died, or they’d stayed behind to fight the Sp
ace Templars. Shae bet the latter.

  Brigantia guard fired their rifles, and Payson’s men dove behind a gray and black ebb constructed building. Trees and shrubs next to the sidewalk and building shook, bullets slicing through leaves and bark. Sparks bounced off the building, the ratatatat echoing inside the Starhawk’s cabin.

  Shae hurried to his nephew and helped him up. “What are you doing here?” Shae put his hand on his helmet, not waiting for Koda’s response, and patched through to a nearby guard. “I need you to uncuff these men you placed in the Starhawk Transport.”

  “I’m on my way,” replied a Marine.

  Another explosion rocked the area, and more dust kicked into the air, clouding the view outside the ship cabin’s open doorway. A guard entered, waving his hand in front of him, clearing the dust cloud out of the way and coughing. He tossed the keys at Shae, and turned, He held down his rifle’s trigger, blasting through the cloud at Payson’s men.

  “Go, go,” yelled Shae. “Get to the airlocks and find the toxin.”

  “I know where the toxin is,” said Koda, turning his back to Shae.

  Shae uncuffed him and threw the cuffs on the cabin floor. “Then show the guards the way.” He unholstered one of his sidearms and handed it to Koda.

  “On my way.” Koda rushed out of the ship, firing toward Payson’s soldiers.

  Shae grabbed Devon’s arm and spun him around. “Turn around.” He fumbled with the keys and dropped them on the floor. “Dammit.” He bent down, picking them up and fit the key in the keyhole. Just as he went to turn the key, the co-pilot's door swung open in a hurry. Devon moved toward the back of the cabin in a start, and the key fell to the floor again. Shae turned, eyeing the cockpit.

  An Anunnaki taller and more robust than Prime Director Zim Noki, fell over the co-pilot seat in a hurry, her breath coming fast. She landed hard on her shoulder, then somersaulted onto her back. She sprang to her feet and flung herself at the cockpit door, slapping a button and shutting it quickly. The cabin door hissed and closed, clicking in place.

  “Oh my, oh my, oh my,” cried the woman, plopping on the pilot chair. She flicked a few levers and pressed several buttons on the cockpit ceiling. The holomonitors activated and a vidscreen appeared on the cockpit window, brightening the tint. The cockpit and cabin dimmed to a darker blue hue.

  She turned on the commlink. “Control HQ Eos Two, this is Kalista. I’m experiencing heavy fire. I need the launch bay doors open.” She eyed to her right. “A battle rages, I repeat, a battle is raging. I need to get out of here as—” Her voice cut off as the launch bay doors opened, displaying several launch tubes before her. “I’m leaving Starbase Matrona right now, soon to land on Eos Two. Thank you, Enlil, if you’re listening.” She pressed several more buttons, and the engines roared, the Starhawk shaking.

  Shae pulled out his other sidearm and aimed it at the back of the woman’s head. He tightened his lips. “Open the cabin door, now.”

  She gasped and slowly raised her hands. “Who are you?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Let us off of the ship and I won’t pull this trigger.” Shae’s heart pumped quickly, his stomach churning in many directions he didn’t want. If the toxin indeed resided in an airlock, he needed to get it into space. He didn’t want to visit Eos Two.

  The craft lurched and shuddered violently. Another concussion blast hit nearby. Shae lost his balance and fell on his back, Devon doing the same and slamming hard into Shae. The gun was flung from Shae’s hand and slid across the floor, knocking into a wall. Shae grimaced and pushed Devon off of him. He dove for his gun.

  A phtah echoed in the ship and a bullet cracked Shae’s gun barrel in half. Another loud crack split the air, and a sharp bite went deep into Shae’s shoulder. He grunted and brought his hand to his shoulder, feeling warm blood from a fresh wound. He rolled onto his back, his eyes wide, to see if a bullet had sunk into Devon too.

  Devon lay on his side, frozen, obviously not knowing what to do, his hands cuffed.

  “Devon, are you hit?”

  “No.”

  “You move another muscle, you die.” The large Anunnaki woman stared at Shae, her lips downturned. She held a gun. “I’m not a killer. I don’t want to kill you.” She sat down in a huff, and held onto the control stick, pressing holographic buttons on the flight console.

  Shae went to stand, to run at her, to stop her from taking off. The Starhawk rose violently, and he fell yet again, yelping loudly when his wounded shoulder hit the floor. He clutched his bloodied arm and winced in pain.

  “Fleet Admiral, you’ve been shot!” Devon crawled toward Shae, looking like a fish out of water with his hands behind his back.

  The Starhawk pitched. Devon and Shae slid toward the stern, moving deeper into the cargo hold.

  “This is Kalista,” said the woman, leaning into the commlink. “Heading into the launch tubes, preparing for takeoff.”

  Shae shook his head. “No, no. Let us off. We have—”

  She turned, her gun pointed at Shae, her voice sharp. “Don’t talk.” She turned and steered the Starhawk into the launch tube, pressing another button on the holodisplay. She jostled her control stick and pushed on the throttle, slowing the ship down and stopping it in the middle of the tube. The cockpit and cabin changed to an amber glow from the launch tube’s lights beaming inside the craft.

  “Close rear launch tube door,” said Kalista. “Thank you. Open forward launch tube.” The forward launch tube door opened, the cosmos like a black abyss set before them, ready to swallow them.

  “Please, don’t,” pleaded Shae, his arm going numb. “I need to get to my people.”

  She kept her eyes toward the stars. “This ship and me aren’t prepared to fight. Hold on. We’re blasting out of here.”

  Shit.

  Shae tapped his helmet, bringing up his com. “Louise, status, please.”

  Heavy breathing came on the other end. “Manning and I, and several of our Brigantia Guard, are heading your way. The Space Templars are having their way with Payson’s men, but Payson and a few of his soldiers slipped through. They’re on their way to the airlocks.”

  “Yes, they attacked us from behind. Get to the airlocks fast. We need you there. Keep Koda safe.”

  “Where are you?” said Louise.

  The Starhawk launched out of the tube and Shae felt the rush, the high blood pressure, and instant weight increase grab his body, pressing him against a back wall. When they exited the gravity field, his body lightened and his commlink went to static. He pressed his hand against the side of his helmet, whispering, “Louise, do you read? Louise?”

  No reply.

  His shoulder’s drooped. The last thing he needed was to leave the starbase and his soldiers behind. Shae glanced at Devon and raised his brows. “You all right?”

  Devon nodded. “We need to stop that bleeding.”

  Shae leaned his head back, taking a deep breath. He had to think of a way out of this.

  “Setting course now,” spoke Kalista. “Things have gone awfully wrong. Is it safe to land on Eos Two?”

  “It’s safe,” a voice replied. “However, we’re re-routing you.”

  Kalista gave a curt nod. “Coordinates?”

  “Zero-zero-one,” responded the voice.

  “Zero-zero-one?” She thought for a moment. “Nibiru?”

  “Yes, and we see two heat signatures on your craft. Two humans. I repeat, two humans are in your craft. Eliminate them. They pose an immediate threat to classified operations.”

  Shae flexed his good hand and pressed his fist against the floor, helping himself to a standing position. Although she bested him in weight, height, and strength, he wouldn’t allow her to end his and Devon’s life without a fight.

  Kalista flicked off the com, sighing. She bounced the back of her head against the pilot seat’s headrest as if shooting Devon and Shae ruined her already horrible day. “Activate autopilot,” she said as she stood. She turned and faced Shae, her fingers w
rapped around her gun’s grip.

  Shae remained silent, gritting his teeth. He could run at her, but she’d pull the trigger. Perhaps if she took a few steps closer, he could do something, anything, but he knew she had the advantage, had the easy kill shot.

  She slowly walked toward Shae, then motioned with her gun toward the stern. “Back up.”

  Shae shook his head. “No.”

  She turned her weapon on Devon. “Do you want to watch your friend die?”

  He looked at Devon, who gave Shae a nod, his arms tucked into his sides, making himself smaller. “I’ll go first. Don’t worry about me. I’m okay.”

  Shae faced Kalista and stepped in front of her aim to make sure her bullet hit him, not Devon. Not that it really mattered. She’d take Devon out next. Perhaps he didn’t want to witness another person on his watch die, he didn’t know, but the young man should live a lot longer. That he knew for sure.

  Shae thought of Ali and briefly squeezed his eyes shut, sending her a silent apology. They had been together, and although short, it had been the best day of his life. He wanted to be with her, to see his wife, and to reunite his family back together again, but sometimes fate had other plans.

  “I said, back up.” Kalista lurched forward, her gun extended. “Now.”

  Shae slowly moved toward the stern, focusing on her trigger finger. She held fast, keeping her finger outside the trigger guard and not through it. She walked toward a bench attached to a cabin’s side wall. She bent down and reached under the bench, unclasping something, keeping her eyes on Shae, her other hand holding the gun.

  She pulled out a large toolbox, and still keeping her attention on Shae, she opened it. Reaching in, she lifted a giant snip cutter, similar to something Shae had seen in the biosphere, usually used to cut large branches. Kalista eyed the tool, then eyed them. She frowned and walked toward Shae.

  He swallowed hard. Was she going to cut them up first, or after she blasted them with her gun?

  25