Sodenia- The First Space Bastion

by Luigi Robles

  “What a marvelous day this has turned out to be,” Jonathan said as he continued walking.

  The Acram became aware of him as he walked, and they faced him directly. Within seconds, one of them broke into a sprint towards Jonathan. He didn’t seem to mind; he kept walking at his leisure.

  “Impressive speed,” Jonathan said. “But I had already imagined that you would be at least this fast, if not faster. Please give it everything you’ve got; don’t disappoint a lifelong fan.”

  As if the Acram was able to understand Jonathan, he doubled his speed as he ran down the corridor. The Acram jumped into the air and extended his hand to attack Jonathan, but as he was coming down, the alien stopped his attack and missed Jonathan completely.

  “You sense me, don’t you,” Jonathan said in Acro.

  “Who are you?” the Acram asked, and Jonathan was fully able to understand the alien beast.

  But understanding was not all that happened. As the beast talked, Jonathan felt it in his body—the beast’s name, its intentions, its thirst to kill, and its intensity. He also felt doubt from within the beast. And their full code of conduct flashed before him. Jonathan saw a loophole that he would be able to exploit. At first, he thought that they wouldn’t kill him, at least not right away. Now he was sure of it. What’s more, he would be able to use them to his advantage.

  “Afeliel, I am you,” Jonathan said in Acram. “But I am not your equal. I am your superior, for I have learned your ways on my own.”

  The Acram stood there, baffled, without saying a word and breathing heavily. Soon after, the other two joined it.

  “What’s happening?” one of the other Acram asked. “Why haven’t you killed this lowly human?”

  “Because he is not a lowly human; he claims to be our superior,” Afeliel said. “He can understand us and speak our sacred language.”

  “Impossible. A human can’t learn our language,” the other Acram said. “Humans don’t have that capacity.”

  “That’s why I couldn’t kill him,” Afeliel said. “He learned the language without the Acram; he is our superior.”

  “Human, identify yourself,” one of the other Acram said.

  Together with the request, Jonathan was able to see the alien’s name, along with its full intentions. This one’s name was Cannen. Jonathan was now safe, as he knew for sure that they wouldn’t kill him.

  “I am Professor Jonathan Kepp, and I am the bond for the Acram race,” Jonathan said in Acro, trying to convey as much feeling as possible. “I am also going to be the new commander of this ship as soon as I take care of something down that way.” Jonathan gestured towards the council room.

  The Acram looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces.

  “Do you mind helping me take out the trash,” Jonathan asked in Acro.

  “We are at your service for the time being,” Kelleo, the last of the Acram to speak, said. “At least until we can confirm with our superiors.”

  What outstanding soldiers you are, he thought. Taking orders from a human that can speak your language because you are afraid to break the ranking code. A code that you have that must not be questioned. The only disadvantage the Acram race has, and the advantage that I am exploiting right now, is the ability to lie.

  Jonathan walked over to the council room casually, and the three Acram aliens followed, killing any humans that moved or asked for help along the way.

  “Council members of Sodenia,” Jonathan said. “Please open the door. I have to speak with you. I can assure you that the matter is of dire importance.”

  “Professor Jonathan Kepp, you are now officially a traitor against humanity,” one of the council members said. “We will do everything in our power to stop you.”

  “Afeliel, do you mind opening the door for me?” Jonathan asked in Acro.

  Afeliel went over to the council room door and dug his hands into the edges, removing the door with ease. The Acram turned and threw it across the corridor.

  “Thank you,” Jonathan said in Acro as he walked inside the council room.

  “How dare you?” one of the council members shouted.

  Five large, bulky security robots activated, went to the middle of the room, and pointed the weapons on their shoulders at Jonathan. Without Jonathan having to ask, two of the three Acram attacked the security bots, easily splitting their metal frames in half. At the same time, Jonathan was able to hear the futile commands the council members were giving the already dismembered bots. As the robots were defeated, thick steel walls began to fall around the room, turning the room into a bunker-like structure. But before the last slab of steel fell, the third Acram got in between, holding up the wall with ease.

  “That’s enough for now,” Jonathan said in Acro. “I must have a little chat with the person controlling this trash.”

  The two Acram stopped and took two steps back.

  “Those were great commands. ‘Kill him,’ ‘fire,’ and ‘protect the council’; but I fear that they were just a little too late,” Jonathan said. “You see, now I have complete control over the Acram. Just like I have complete control over you and this ship.”

  “This is outrageous, Professor Jonathan Kepp,” one of the council voices yelled. “Cease and desist this moment and you may keep your life.”

  “May keep my life?” Jonathan chuckled. “I don’t think you understand. I now control the greatest force in the universe. Who are you to me? Not a blasted thing. Now, I won’t say this again: Surrender peacefully. Come out from where you are hiding so we can discuss the terms of your surrender like civilized people.”

  “You have clearly lost your mind, Professor,” the female council member said.

  “What a pity. You leave me no choice,” Jonathan said with a sigh.

  “Good luck trying to find us on board the ship,” one of the council voices said. “This room was just a decoy.”

  “As if I would believe that,” Jonathan said. “I’ve seen the blueprints for the newly added rooms, and this room is by far the most heavily fortified. Four-foot-thick solid concrete walls? Please tell that to someone else.”

  “If you desist, we will make you a member of the council,” one of the council voices said.

  “Just leave one alive,” Jonathan said in Acro.

  Afeliel and Cannen, who were standing behind Jonathan, walked over to Kelleo, the Acram that was holding up the thick wall. The three of them began to pull the heavy wall from the ceiling, yanking it from the hydraulics that were pushing it down. All three of them grabbed the heavy-looking wall of steel, swung back, and, with force, rammed into the concrete wall. Some of the steel slab rolled up onto itself, but eventually the wall gave under the force, making a large opening.

  The five council members were standing behind their lavish seats as the Acram entered the room. Jonathan was able to see the expressions of horror on their faces through the large opening. The Acram acted fast, quickly killing off four of the five council members.

  “Bring that one to me,” Jonathan said in Acro.

  Afeliel grabbed the last council member who was still alive and took him to Jonathan without causing him any harm. As he neared Jonathan, he let the last of the council members go.

  “Jonathan, stop this now,” the council member said, adjusting his five-star suit. “I am Army General Andrew J. Masters, and with the authority that has been given to me, I order you to stop.”

  “Kneel before me,” Jonathan said.

  “I will do no such thing,” Masters said, standing stiffly.

  Afeliel was breathing heavily next to Masters. The general hesitated and then, with an audible sigh, bent his knee before Jonathan.

  “Good,” Jonathan said. “Too bad for you that I will kill you regardless. That was the plan all along. I was simply testing my newfound power of persuasion.”

  “Jonathan, please,” Masters said as he got up. “Together we can do great things.”

  “Kill him,” Jonathan said in Acro. �
�But make it slower than usual.”

  Afeliel grabbed Masters with one hand and took him outside to the corridor. Masters struggled and tried to tug himself loose, but he gave up just a few seconds in. Afeliel’s grip must have been ironclad. The Acram then tossed Masters across the corridor, ending his life.

  What a power this is, to be able to do as I please, when I please. How interesting, he thought as he too walked outside to the corridor. Now Sodenia has no council; no one to disrupt her path to greatness, her ascension.

  “Are we done playing with this Acram usurper?” Cannen said.

  “To whom are you referring?” Jonathan asked in Acro, thinking they were talking about him.

  “To you,” Cannen said, standing at his full height, towering over Jonathan. “Did you actually think that you could be our superior just because you learned our language?”

  “I am your superior,” Jonathan said in Acro, standing his ground. “You will obey.”

  “Do as you wish with him,” Afeliel, the real leader between them, said. “I thought that he would make a good specimen to take back to the mother ship.”

  “Shatter,” Cannen said as he looked at Jonathan.

  At the same time Cannen said those words, Jonathan felt a searing pain in his legs, followed by the loud sound of his bones shattering into a thousand pieces. Jonathan fell to his knees in front of Cannen, screaming in pain.

  “How ironic is this?” Cannen said. “If ironic is the word humans use in this case. Forgive me for my carelessness regarding your kind.”

  “But why?” Jonathan wept.

  “We are the conquerors,” Cannen said. “This means there’s nothing and no one above us, especially not a lowly human like you that got lucky learning the language.”

  “Why are you here?” Jonathan asked in Acro, panting with agony.

  Cannen grabbed Jonathan and threw him over his shoulder. Jonathan yelled some more.

  “Let’s go,” Afeliel said as they began walking back to where they came from.

  “We are simply the distraction party,” Cannen said. “A party that is meant to gather information and hand it over to the overloads of the real Acram battle fleet. Soon this ship and Earth will be no more.”

  Someone opened fire with a hell-storm of gunshots.

  The Acram armor had a sort of shield to it, but if it got struck repeatedly and enough times, the bullets finally began to hit their target. Such was the case with Cannen’s right shoulder.

  Cannen roared and hurled Jonathan to the wall as he tried to fire back. But the gunfire never stopped coming, overwhelming the three Acram aliens.

  Jonathan tried to move his head to see where the shots were coming from but failed to do so. His head felt too heavy, and his eyes were too tired to keep them open for much longer. His body felt cold, colder than it had ever felt before.

  Soon the firestorm stopped, and Jonathan heard footsteps and then a familiar voice calling for him. But everything felt hazy.

  “The Acram battle fleet is coming for this ship and…” Jonathan managed before the world left him.

  13

  Chaos

  Fain approached the area where the three Acram lay unmoving on the floor slowly, but as fast as he dared, to try and save the doctor. Pycca and Benson followed.

  “Make sure they are dead,” Fain murmured. “And that they stay that way.”

  Pycca and Benson went to check on the Acram aliens while Fain made his way over to Jonathan.

  “Professor,” Fain said as he grabbed Jonathan’s moving hand. “Just hang in there; you are going to be alright. We’ll get some medics here soon.”

  The injuries that Jonathan had sustained were traumatic, and there was little that Fain could do. There was a pool of blood behind Jonathan’s back. By the time the medics arrived at the scene, it would be too late. It was already too late.

  “The Acram battle fleet is coming for this ship and…” Jonathan said before falling limp.

  “Professor! Professor,” Fain yelled. “Stay with us.”

  But there was no response. Professor Jonathan Kepp was no longer among the living.

  “Dammit,” Fain said as he punched the floor.

  Regardless of the professor’s antics or beliefs, he was still human, and his loss made Fain angry. He was one more human taken by the Acram, one more on top of the hundreds of officers and guards that they had taken just now. Fain despised the feeling of not being able to do anything about it.

  “Fain. Come in, Fain, it’s August,” August said through the wristband. “Come in.”

  “August,” Fain said, standing halfway up.

  “It looks like the coast is clear for Sodenia,” August said. “But it’s not so clear for us. Kya filled me in on what’s happening, and I believe there are more Acram on board the ship in addition to the ones you’ve just slain. There’s a great deal of electronic disruption near the apartment complexes. I’m sending backup, but it might take a while to reach you since there are still a good deal of council loyalists who don’t know what’s going on.”

  “On our way,” Fain replied.

  “I’ll send a message to the council officers to stand down,” August said.

  “How much ammo do we have left?” Fain asked as he unhinged the backpack and began to count the unused clips within. “I have a little less than half.”

  “Same,” Pycca said.

  “I have full shotgun shells and about a quarter of machine gun clips,” Benson said.

  “This is not good. But since we don’t have much choice, let’s go,” Fain said as he stood up. “Kya, the fastest way to get to the apartment complexes.”

  The corridor pod appeared right in front of them within seconds, even as it pushed one of the Acram corpses out of the way.

  “Attention to all under orders from the council.” August’s voice blared through the corridor as they got on board the pod. “Stand down. I repeat, stand down. The council has been slain by Acram that managed to get on board the ship. Report to your COs and await further instructions.”

  That’s good; he didn’t give anything else away, Fain thought. Once they find out that the council is gone for real, they will have no choice but to fall in line with ranking.

  The pod accelerated down three corridors, slowing to a stop at the end of the last corridor, which led to an open area where the apartment complex was situated. But the open area didn’t look at all how Fain remembered it. There was no one in sight, no sign of life.

  “Everything seems too quiet,” Pycca said as they got off the pod.

  “Yeah, there’s no one in sight,” Benson said. “There are usually people walking all over the place; even the supply shops are closed.”

  “Let’s proceed with caution,” Fain said, walking with his rifle held out in front of him. “And whatever you do, do not get near them. Stay away. If you think you can hear them, then you are too close.”

  “Got it,” Pycca said as she fell in step behind Fain.

  “Roger that,” Benson said.

  They walked towards the apartment complex. With nothing in their surroundings to hide them, they were right out in the open. Then he saw it: clear evidence that the Acram had come this way. Hundreds of lifeless bodies lay on the floor. The short but gruesome battle that had occurred in the area was all the more visible as they got nearer.

  “There must be hundreds of them,” Pycca said as she walked over the sea of corpses.

  “Stop,” Fain said with a low voice, putting his fist up. “Near the dock computer, at our three o’clock. Three of them.”

  “They haven’t noticed us?” Benson asked.

  “They look like they’re busy with the computer,” Pycca said.

  “Slowly,” Fain said as he turned halfway and began walking towards the Acram. “Weapons hot, ammo ready.”

  Pycca and Benson followed closely. As they closed in, one of the bodies that was nearer to the aliens than they were began to stand up. He wiped his blood-covered face and then t
ook a look at his hands. The stranger began to yell, “Help me, please, help me.” The Acram swiftly turned around and fired something at the stranger that made him explode.

  “Fire, fire, fire,” Fain said as he ducked and opened fire, barely avoiding whatever it was that the Acram were throwing at them.

  The three fired at the Acram, advancing whenever they could. The Acram were cornered. Then four more bridge officers arrived, heavily armed, cornering the Acram that much more. The Acram roared as some of the bullets began to breach their armor. Fain didn’t know why it took so long for the Acram armor to break; he only knew that if he persisted in one area, the armor would eventually give in.

  Two of the bridge officers were trying to get closer to the Acram.

  “Stay back,” Fain yelled. “Stay back!”

  The bridge officers didn’t hear Fain’s voice over the gunfire. They continued towards the Acram at a steady pace. But as they neared, both officers fell to the floor, yelling in pain. The other two bridge officers stopped their attempt to get closer to the Acram.

  Seconds later, Benson was incinerated when he was hit by an Acram weapon, and another of the two bridge officers suffered the same fate. The aliens were taking bolder moves to be able to hit their targets as their armor began to break.

  “Dammit,” Fain yelled as he ran towards the downed bridge officer. “I’m out of ammo.” He picked up the officer’s assault rifle and continued to fire.

  One by one, the Acram fell to the floor. But the last one didn’t linger around to be used as target practice. Instead, it took off running towards one of the corridors. Fain dropped any extra gear that he was carrying and ran after the Acram. Fain only carried the assault rifle with a new magazine and the combat knife. But the alien was fast, faster than anything he had ever seen on foot.

  I’m sorry to leave you behind like this, Pycca, but I must go after it, Fain thought as he ran. There’s already a weakened spot near its neck; all it’s going to take is a few more shots. I need to do everything I can to catch it before it can harm anyone else.