cart, finally filling it up to the brim, she blinked several times, trying to get the stinging sweat out of her eyes. She glanced at the clock again. Only an hour left.
“Complete,” she called. Instantly, the hover cart moved forward, then zipped ahead at a high rate of speed, toward a large warehouse a mile away.
Crystal watched through the Mech's window as the cart moved around large, brownish-red boulders, successfully missing any obstacles in its way. She bit her lower lip, hoping for the worst, for a little drama, wishing that at least for once she could see the hover cart crash, smashing into pieces and tossing the ebb everywhere against the rocks, seeing everything explode into dust. She knew it would never happen because it never had, but a little change would be nice.
She surveyed the area around her, waiting for the next hover cart to appear by her side. “Next,” she ordered. When, after several minutes, no hover cart came, she rolled her eyes and blew air out of her mouth, knowing that Hendricks, who was in the Mech several yards behind her, was being slow, as usual.
Hanging her head to the side, she refrained from yelling at him for the moment, and stared at the light fading over the horizon. A mixture of purple and gold hues filled the sky. It was beautiful, and perhaps the only thing that was attractive on this planet. The rest of this world was way too still for her taste. There were no trees, no vegetation, and no wind. There was never wind, which had baffled her for many years. There had to be something that formed these twisting rock formations. She had heard scientists speculate that the spiraled rocks were formed by massive rivers that once flowed throughout the planet, but she hadn't ever seen any water sources, anywhere. However, she knew that large underground lakes were somewhere on this planet, giving her crew and the rest of the fleet an unlimited supply of fresh water.
She took a deep breath, whispering to herself, “I hate this job.” She shrugged. At least she wasn't on the hydro drilling crew, watching water being sucked up giant tubes all day long.
Water.
She pressed her lips against a soft tube hanging from the ceiling of the Mech's standing cockpit and sucked down a few chugs. Clearing her throat, pressing the Mech's parrot switch to the off position, she brushed her red hair out of her blue eyes and yelled, “Next!”
When nothing arrived, she pressed the parrot switch back on and turned her torso, causing the Mech do a torso twist as well. About fifty yards behind her stood Hendricks' Mech with several hover carts next to it. Taking a closer look at his Mech, she saw that its head was tilted upward at the sky.
“Dammit, Hendricks! Stop daydreaming and get back to work!”
“Uh,” replied Hendricks over the com link, his voice quiet but taxing. “You better take a look at what I'm seeing, Chief.”
She sighed. You idiot, Hendricks. Why do I have to play the sight-seeing game with you all of the time?
Crystal tilted her head, causing the Mech's head to do the same. She was expecting to ask Hendricks what she was supposed to be looking at, perhaps a cloud formation that looked like the mythical elephant that Hendricks always talked about. Or, a cloud that looked like a snow man, like the ones she used to make when she was a small child back at the biosphere on Starbase Matrona?
Crystal, however, saw something entirely different. In fact, there were no clouds in the sky at all, and when she saw what Hendricks was gazing at her jaw dropped. Up above, higher than the atmosphere, was Starbase Matrona. This was a normal sight, since the starbase acted much like a daytime moon for this planet, and had been there for over 800 years. However, what was occurring on Matrona, and around it, wasn't normal at all.
Explosions?
“Are you seeing what I'm seeing?” asked Hendricks, his worried voice piercing through the com link. “What do you think is going on, Chief?”
Crystal didn't want to say the first thing that popped into her mind, because it couldn't be. There would be no reason to say it, but the words slipped out of her mouth anyway, as if this type of event happened every day.
“Someone's attacking us.”
“What?” questioned Hendricks. “Who would attack Matrona?” Hendricks gave out a little laugh.
“Chief!” said a woman's voice over the com link. “Look up!”
“I am, Daf!” replied Crystal.
“What's happening up there?” asked Daf.
“Daf, where are you positioned?”
“Two clicks east of you, gathering ebb at the Androse Quarry.” There was a pause as they all stared at the colored explosions bursting above Starbase Matrona. “Chief, what are we looking at?”
A drop of sweat poured down Crystal's cheek, falling from her chin and dripping to her chest. She didn't know how to answer Daf's question, and she didn't want to answer it the same way she had with Hendricks. “Daf, listen to me. I need you to gather up the rest of Mech Team 11 and get them back to the warehouse, ASAP.” Keeping her voice calm, she continued, “Hendricks and I will meet you there, soon.”
“But, what's up with—”
“That's an order!” demanded Crystal, her eyes full of concern and staring at what looked like a red and yellow fireworks display all around Matrona.
“Roger that, Chief!” responded Daf, clicking off her com link.
Crystal pulled her eyes off the star base and focused on the mountains of ebb and red rock lying in front of her. She had to get to the warehouse to contact Command. There had to be a realistic explanation for what they were seeing, for what was happening to her home. It couldn't be an attack. No, that's ridiculous. She shook her head and almost laughed, remembering her response to Hendricks' question only moments earlier. Still, it was baffling. What were they doing up there? Was Command practicing a new type of war game? She shook her head, knowing she had too much knowledge and experience in the military to know how that wasn't the case. She started moving toward the warehouse, pounding the Mech's legs forward, marching quickly across the rocky land, not caring if she trampled important mounds of vertically twisting ebb as she went.
Bounding along and running at this pace for several minutes, she suddenly heard Hendricks’ heavy breathing over the com link. She pursed her lips and crinkled her brow. “Hendricks, calm down. It's probably nothing.”
The breathing came even heavier, then loud clanks filled Crystal's com link, making her wince. What the hell? “Hendricks! That's annoying! Turn off your com link until you've settled down!”
“Chief! Chief! Something’s after me! I can't—”
Several more clanks came through Crystal's com link, then silence. “Hendricks? You there? Hendricks?”
When there was no reply, Crystal stopped her Mech and spun around. She gasped. A billow of smoke rose from a pile of metal more than twenty yards away. It was Hendricks Mech, or what was left of it. An instant later, the rocky ground near the destroyed Mech burst into projectiles of rock to create a hot, molten explosion, causing Crystal's hand to react by covering her eyes, with her Mech imitating her movement.
Lowering her arm, she saw that Hendricks's Mech had been blown into small bits that were littering the ground with flames. Crystal held her breath, her thoughts scrambling, trying to understand what she was seeing.
“Hendricks?”
When no response came, she knew that what she was witnessing wasn't just an illusion, nor was it the drama on Lumus that she had wished for. Hendricks was dead, turned to ash. She froze, feeling rooted to the ground. She held back a scream. Her eyes widened as she realized that she was probably next. She had to hide – flee! She had to do anything but stay here.
Crystal twisted her Mech back around and ran the Mech as fast as it could go. But, after a few moments, she glanced at her heat gauge and saw that her efforts were too much for her Mech. It was about to overheat and then shut itself down. She slowed the Mech to a jog. Her breaths were now heavy, just like Hendricks.
Opening all com channels, her voice boomed over the com lines. “If anyone can hear me! Get out of here! Get out now! Find cove
r wherever you can! Hendricks is down and we're under attack!”
A burst of flame erupted in front her, making her turn sharply, doing her best to avoid a direct hit. A second later, another blast hit the Mech's inner leg, causing Crystal's Mech to lose balance. She struggled to keep it upright, but the force was too much. The Mech fell on its side; smashing onto rocky ground and tumbling forward, until a large piece of ebb crushed against her window, cracking the glass and flipping the Mech over like a pancake on its back.
The Mech shook and then hissed. Steam filled the cockpit, covering the window and blinding Crystal from seeing anything outside of the Mech. Disoriented, adrenaline pulsed through her body and making her stomach burn with nerves. She shook her head back and forth trying to gather her wits about her.
What the hell? She slapped her cheek a couple of times. Focus, Crystal! Focus! Get this Mech up and go!
Turning the parrot switch on, she moved her arms, expecting the Mech to do the same, but the Mech didn't move. Checking the parrot switch to see that it was indeed on, she attempted to move the Mech again. No response. Looking at the HDC, she parted her lips and her shoulders sagged. Her Mech was dead, out of commission.
Then she screamed, kicking at the column supporting the HDC in front of her. “Turn on, dammit!” She hit the front console, causing it to blip on for just a moment, then it blipped off. She spoke into
Star Guild: Episodes 1 - 3 (Star Guild Saga) Page 2
