by C. W Tickner
‘I never said to murder anyone.’ Harl said, ignoring the accusations. He took a deep breath, he didn’t want to provoke Marlin. ‘We can still work this out, you could come down with us and we’ll go our separate ways.’
‘You think that’s what I want?’ He held the gun straighter at Harl. ‘Open sky, with giants walking around and dangers at every turn? I would not put my people in such unnecessary danger. It’s safer here, always has been.’ It sounded to Harl like he said the last words as if to convince himself.
‘Not with a murderer up here,’ Screw said taking a step forward, fists clenched.
‘A-ah,’ Marlin said, twitching the pistol at him as all the guards raised their rifles simultaneously.
Screw froze in place and a low growl escaped his cracked lips.
‘I did what I had to do,’ Marlin said, ‘what no one else could do, and now I have to finish the job.’
Screw roared and ran at Marlin who squeezed the trigger. The shot hit the engineer full in the chest, blasting him backwards, melting a dent in the chest plate as he fell smouldering to the floor.
Damen bolted for the tank, smashing a fist into the nearest guard as the others unleashed a torrent of shots at him. He leapt up on the machine, dropped inside and slammed the heavy hatch shut.
Harl split left with Troy, ducking as shots soared above them and dived over the closest pod, rolling hard to the floor between the rows. He scrambled between two pods further back in the darkness. Troy sunk, lying flat five paces from him behind another pod, eyes wide as the guards fired overhead. The blue shots soared passed to light up the gloom.
An explosion burst a dozen pods apart, flinging them up in the air and flooding the room with a blinding flash as thick glass pieces rained down on them. Two guards tumbled like rag dolls, spinning high above the pods before crashing to the floor with a dull thud as Damen wheeled the tank’s turret around for another shot.
How many were left? Harl peered up over the dusty, shard strewn pod, risking himself to know what was happening.
A pair of guards were attempting to stop Damen, fruitlessly trying to open the tank’s hatch as Damen jerked the vehicle around causing them to stumble on top while a third was firing at the tracks, side-stepping the turret as it pivoted around.
Heat washed over Harl as a shot whipped passed his face. Marlin had spotted him and almost taken his head off, only the second shell from the tank had saved him. Shock-waves coursed through the air and floor as it tore a hole in the side of the room, blasting metal pieces outwards. Shards peppered the guard shooting at the tracks pushing him forward into the wheels, mangling his body and his screams added to the ringing in Harl’s ears.
He turned to Troy hoping together they could rush Marlin or make a break for the exit but his friend was staring at him in horror. Was he bleeding? The warm barrel of a gun pressed into his temple.
‘Get up slowly,’ Marlin said. ‘Make him get out of the tank or you’ll find a spot in one of these coffins and it won’t be in one piece.’
Harl tried to reply, his throat dry and his mind blank.
‘How?’ was all he managed to say.
‘Shut up and walk in front, towards the tank.’ The gun pressed harder, emphasising the point.
Harl eased himself up. One wrong move and he’d join Screw and all the others.
He’d hoped Troy would go unseen but Marlin’s call of, ‘You get up as well,’ broke his hopes.
Side by side, Marlin marched them both ahead into the light, the hairs on Harl’s neck rose as Damen swivelled the turret to face them.
Two remaining guards risked standing in front of the tank, guns pointed up in expectation of Damen’s exit. The gun at Harl’s head forced Damen to throw open the hatch and jump down, swearing as he stomped over.
‘Bloody cowardly,’ he muttered.
Marlin shoved Harl and Troy forward beside Damen.
‘Where is she?’ he said, looking around the room, ‘the last Hoarder.’
‘You killed the only one who knew,’ Harl said.
Marlin glanced down at Screw’s still form and looked quickly away.
‘Why?’ Harl asked, hoping to catch him in a moment of weakness.
‘Because she’s the last of a plague,’ he said, stopping and looking down into the nearest pod where Screw had placed the bodies of the fallen. ‘We’ve had plagues, Harl and they wiped our numbers in half every time. Only when we sealed our decks off from the Hoarders did they stop happening.’
‘Doesn’t mean it was them,’ Harl said, ‘if you had integrated earlier-’
‘Nonsense,’ Marlin said. He leant on the pod placing a hand on the smooth glass and staring at a body inside. ‘They would have come for us eventually, to take what we had, sneaking, thieving, killing-’ He stopped, frowning as a thump sounded and he cocked his head to peer intently inside. His eyes shot wide open as a blade tip smashed up, crashing through the pod’s glass and burying itself under Marlin’s mouth, his lips drew back in a snarl as blood trickled out. The slender hand that held the copper hilted knife tugged back down, battering Marlin’s face against the broken glass.
As the guards stared horror struck at the brutal scene, Harl dived at the nearest. He grabbed the man’s rifle before he could react and wrestled it aside as shots blasted from the end into the nearest pods. Harl shoved hard pressing him against the tank’s metal plating. Their muscles battled for supremacy, each tensing, waiting for the other to loose strength. Harl felt himself grow weak as the veins bulged in his neck. He couldn’t hold on any longer. The guard was fresh while he was exhausted from being on edge for so long. As his elbows bent inwards the guard grinned, sensing the victory. Harl clenched his eyes shut willing strength into his arms as blue shots seared from the end of the rifle but he couldn’t summon any reserves. He felt his weight shift to his back foot and he felt the other rise up giving him the idea. He lashed out, kicking hard into the guard’s shins. The man weakened from the pain. The rifle flung back cracking the man on the nose. His eyes rolled and Harl felt the resistance disappear. The unconscious man slumped as Damen and Troy tackled the last guard and Dana pulled herself up out of the pod, grinning as she wiped red smears from her face and hands.
Troy ran and embraced her. As he held her she was staring down at Screw, clad in his copper suit. Troy stepped back covered in Marlin’s blood.
‘Urgh,’ he said smearing it around in an attempt to clean it.
Harl knelt beside the Screw, wondering if they should place him inside a pod, the same as he had the others.
A finger twitched.
‘He’s alive,’ Harl said, almost falling on top and pressing a digit against the thick neck beneath the orange plating. A strong beat pulsed within. He turned to the others.
‘Get Tess,’ Harl said, ‘Go!’
Troy looked from Screw to Dana.
‘I’m fastest,’ he said, ‘I’ll go.’
‘We’ll see,’ Dana said softly. She sprang for the door with Troy in pursuit.
Harl turned to Damen.
‘What now?’
‘Nothing we can do,’ Damen said.
Harl felt useless. ‘Could we carry him closer to the door?’
‘Not with all that armour strapped to him.’
Next time Harl saw Tess or Sonora he would ask them what to do in such a situation. Anything would be better than waiting beside a dying friend, unable to do anything.
They tied the stirring guards together as they waited.
When at last Tess rushed in through the twisted gap she brought half a dozen doctors, a battered gurney and a panicked Kane.
They heaved Screw on to the bed.
‘You could have removed the armour,’ Tess scolded once they had stripped Screw. She helped wheel the squeaking gurney away, giving orders to the doctors as they left.
‘Vorock’s made contact,’ Kane said, scribbling in his pocket book. ‘Harvest Ten have tracked him. He’s already left for the Compassionate’s island.’
‘Nothing came through the wristband?’ Harl asked, looking at Dana. She shook her head.
‘He’s using the dropship computer via remote relay.’
‘Whatever that means,’ Damen said.
‘It means we’ve less than a day to free the ship and get everyone down to the surface.’ Kane said.
‘It’s not enough time,’ Harl said. ‘We still need to let people know what happened here, get them on the ship, detach from the Aylen probe and fire the cannon.’
‘I know how to free us,’ Damen said.
‘You do?’ Kane and Harl asked at the same time.
‘Blow the arms off,’ Damen said, ‘Use the suits Screw gave us and go outside the ship. Attach some bombs to the arms and blow ourselves free.’ He beamed at them, daring them to counter his bold plan.
‘A few technical issues with that,’ Kane said as Damen scowled, but Kane ploughed on.
‘There’s no gravity outside.’ He scrawled something in his notebook before going on. ‘And where will we find these explosives in time?’
‘We got enough explosives in these,’ Damen said, banging the side of the tank’s turret. ‘found thousands of shells in the vehicle deck. We can send a few fast runners to get them.’
Kane nodded. ‘and your solution to no gravity?’
Harl wondered if Kane was purposefully goading Damen to violence while engrossed in his pad not even looking up. An idea struck Harl.
‘Could we use the drones?’ he said, ‘would they work out there?’
Damen grinned and clapped him on the back. ‘See?’ he said. ‘Always a way.’
‘Possibly,’ Kane said, ’send for the shells and I’ll see what I can put together.’
‘I’ll get the suits,’ Damen said, ‘how many?’
‘All of them,’ Kane said. ‘We can use the bracelet to bring up the drones.’ He looked at Dana and she unclipped the accessory and handed it to Harl.
‘I’ll take good care of it,’ he said.
He tapped the bracelet, calling up as many drones as possible from Vorock’s wristband and sent orders for them to gather at an airlock close to the uppermost deck.
He’d trust Tess to spread word of Marlin’s actions among the original inhabitants and Sonora and Gorman could easily sway those he’d brought up with them. From the start the situation between the two groups of inhabitants had been tenuous at best and anyone who wanted to stay were welcome to it. He’d not force any to leave their homes but he’d make it clear the risk of staying.
‘I’ll be in the meeting room,’ He said as they split up, heading to the survival deck.
Troy and Dana entered the meeting room where Harl sat with Sonora as she nursed Elo in a chair beside him.
‘You wanted a word?’ Troy said.
‘Damen has found plenty of suits,’ Harl said, ‘but Vorock had only thirteen drones to use in planting the bombs. Do you want to come?
Sonora frowned at Harl.
‘Yes,’ Dana said without hesitation. ‘But I’ll use my own.’ She turned leaving Troy alone with Harl.
‘I can't,’ Troy said not meeting his eyes.
Sonora must have sensed the tension. She stood calmly and left smiling as she cooed Elo on the other side of the door.
‘I’m terrified of the things.’ Troy went on when the door slid closed.
Harl nodded, after watching Troy on the flyers he understood.
‘But I want to…’ Troy went on, ‘for her,’ he looked back at the door.
‘I don’t think Dana cares about your flying ability,’ Harl said.
‘I’m not a coward.’
‘I know that better than anyone,’ Harl said. ‘The amount of times you’d go places I wouldn’t when we grew up but this isn’t about being brave.’ He stood and walked around the scratched table to Troy, placing a hand on his shoulder. ‘I need someone inside and if anything should go wrong-’
‘You’ll do fine,’ Troy said not letting him finish, ‘you always do.’
‘Would you do me a favour then?’ Harl asked.
‘Name it.’
‘Make sure everyone gets on the dropship, especially Elo, Sonora and Gorman, Yara too or Damen will hunt you down.’
Troy smiled, ‘of course. And in return you’ll look out for Dana?’
‘Not that she needs it,’ Harl said, ‘but you have my word.’ He raised an open palm to his heart, the old promise sign of their tank and Troy smiled.
‘I know she’s a bit wild at times,’ Troy said, ‘but there’s something about her.’
A knock sounded at the door. Kane and Sonora filed in, Kane took a seat as Sonora put hands on her hips.
‘Your going on another perilous mission again,’ she said, ‘aren’t you? With bombs?’
Kane studied the walls, guilt written on his face for spilling the information.
‘I don’t have to go,’ Harl said stepping forward, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close.
She laughed in his ear. ‘Yes you do,’ she said, ‘or you’ll have to change Elo and do all the other fatherly things.’
‘I’ll stay,’ he said, her words cutting him.
‘No you won’t. If you don’t go then you wouldn’t be the man I love, Harl Eriksson.’
He smiled. ‘Where’s Elo?’
‘With gramps,’ she said. ‘He’s doing brilliant as great granddad, even knows when she needs changing before Elo does I think.’
Harl chuckled. ‘His other senses come in handy then.’
‘Just come back safe,’ she said, all seriousness returning.
‘He always does.’ Troy said, ‘no matter how hard we try to get rid of him.’
Chapter 33
Success. I have obtained a skin scraping while close to its hand. It seems it understands trust and the need to study each other. Now I just hope it doesn’t take one in return...
Twelve suited men and women stood around the inside of the airlock holding drones and rifles. The small compartment seemed newer than the rest of the ship and Harl assumed it was one place left well alone by the inhabitants and had escaped the general wear and tear of time. Harl shifted, banging the oxygen cylinder on his back against the wall. The last thing he wanted was to knock over the four bombs stacked on the hovering drone in the center of the room.
‘You’ll be happy to know,’ Kane said with a smile, ‘that when I tested the drones in a vacuum they opened up revealing small jets, allowing flight in space. Fascinating really, but a genius piece of design considering-’ He looked at their blank faces and sighed. ‘The usual means of movement via the fans would be useless in an environment that had no air to offer resistance-’ he stopped again and shrugged. ‘Nevermind. They will work out there.’
Kane adjusted something on the drone in the centre of the room. He’d outfitted it to make it wider, a feat more impressive considering he’d also made the bombs in such a short time. They were each an arm length cylinder tube as thick as man’s thigh with handholds on either side. Three large buttons sat in the middle of each bomb. On and off were written on two and a third square button had magnet scrawled across it. He left the room and a moment later everyone jumped as Kane’s voice from the control center blared in their suit helmets. ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME?’
‘Volume down please sir,’ one of the men said as he made adjustments to the bombs, ready to guide them out to each strut.
‘Stick to the plan,’ Damen said, checking his rifle over. ‘Get the bombs safely to the struts, attach them on the joists midway up the arms, hit magnet, turn em on and get out of there.’
‘You got thirty seconds once you hit on,’ Kane said, his voice at a steady level. ‘Blow the outer struts first, then the central one or we risk them twisting off and tearing Orbital apart.’
The room hissed, then silently the door slid open revealing a million stars against a black backdrop.
The airlock was perched at the highest point of Orbital, leading off the medical deck onto the top of the ship.<
br />
Sunlight blazed off the two struts connecting the huge ship above, the third strut attaching behind the airlock’s doorway was out of sight.
Harl felt his hair rise and arms gently lift as the ship’s gravity disappeared before he switched on his his drone. Small jets unfurled on every side as he switched it on and tiny puffs of blue flame pumped out to keep it hovering. The flames would flicker out one side then the next to counter the movements.
Dana and Damen were beside him as he leant forward, easing himself out under the hidden weight of the giant Aylen ship above. Its sleek, smooth metal underside stretched out above them in all directions like a steel canopy hanging over Orbital. As he took in the view Harl noticed the similarities with the material the ship was made from and the wall of the tank he had lived in for so long.
‘We got to keep moving,’ Damen said, snapping Harl from his musing as the others waited for him to move.
Tucking his legs in, the drone responded with bursts of blue. Rising up and swivelling around to face the third strut behind the airlock. It was a hundred paces away over the crater strewn hull, a solid cube at its base acting as some sort of magnet, inexorably drawing the two ships together. They would have to attach the explosives to the giant hinge midway down the arm as it was the weakest point.
Dents pitted the hull all the way to the base of the arm and Harl was glad they could fly over them. If they had to navigate a hundred craters on foot they would lack the oxygen to make it without extra canisters.
‘Move it,’ Damen said. ‘Keep the group tight and fly as one.’ They had to move slowly for fear of the bombs falling and only Dana defied the order, zooming around the group.
She stopped suddenly, leaning hard backwards, staring up at a square opening up in the bottom of the Aylen drone. ‘I’m tracking movement,’ Kane said in his ear, ‘drones of some sort.’
