Strand_Delarus

by Don Chase

  “We got about half of them sir, the rest were too spread out to be able to contain,” Talis announced.

  “Where are they?” Graunt asked.

  “They’re heading in all different directions in small groups but mostly they seem to be heading toward the higher levels,” Talis answered.

  “That’s where most of the people are,” Rihn said.

  “Yep, civilian quarters, retail and agriculture, not to mention the infirmary,” Graunt said.

  “Talis can you announce it only on those levels?” Rihn asked.

  “Yes sir,” Talis said.

  “Now can we talk about getting people off this station as soon as possible?” Graunt asked.

  “How’re we going to get everyone to the hangars if they’re already on their way up to the civilian sections?” Rihn asked

  “Most of the levels have life pods. If they can’t get to the hangar they can get off the station that way. The pods have beacons that send out a broad band signal. If we can’t help them then they at least have a hundred hours of air, food and water. That should be plenty long enough for local militia or the GF to get to them. I don’t like it, but it’s the only way we’ll be able to save some of them, we have to do something.” Graunt said.

  “You’re right. So we just let them have it?” Rihn asked.

  “I didn’t say that,” Graunt said.

  “Well we can’t blow the station from space, we don’t have the fire power,” Rihn said.

  “No, but we can turn off the safety shut offs and overload the reactors so they’ll go up once most people are away. It’ll take a couple hours but it’s better than leaving it for these bastards.”

  “What if we don’t get everyone off the station?”

  “We’re going to lose people anyway, better to not leave a threat this large alive, what if they get to an inhabited planet like Denbarton?”

  “I don’t like it but I don’t see any other way. Talis give the orders to evacuate, make sure everyone can hear it. Then you and Corgan get to work on shutting down the safeties on the reactor cores,” Rihn said trying to sound confident.

  “Aye sir,” both men answered simultaneously.

  “After that’s done we need to get us to the nearest life pod and get the seven hells out of here,” Graunt said.

  “Wait, can’t we go to the hangar?” Rihn asked.

  “We’re only two levels up from where the breach is. I don’t think we have enough firepower in here to get to through all of them to get to the hangar. Plus there’s an expanded life pod attached to this section to evacuate command personnel in case of an emergency,” Graunt said.

  “Great, looks like we’re going to need saving too,” Rihn said with a sigh.

  Chapter 7

  The incessant clanging of the alarm was driving Gaeden insane. He jogged out of the fitness center, through the lobby and over to the elevator. As he pulled up in front of the two doors he thought that maybe he should take the stairs. He was pretty sure the alarms had gone off for no good reason, but in all the time he had been on the Delarus he hadn’t heard an alarm sound for this long. Finally, he nodded to himself and took the stairwell just in the off chance that there was a fire or something.

  It was only a few levels up to the closest information desk. Working in the fitness center kept him in good shape so the stairs were no problem. He was hoping they would be able to tell him what was going on. In truth he just wanted something to do beside listen to the alarms scream. Everyone had left the gym when the alarms started. They either went home to check on their families or back to work to see if anyone knew what was going on so he had been left alone with only the alarms to occupy his mind.

  He gave the heavy steel door a shove and stepped out into the info center lobby. He didn’t even get three steps into the lobby before he stopped with a gasp. A huge thing held what looked like one of the security force against the wall with one hand. The beast heard his gasp and his head spun to meet his gaze. The eyes he saw were black with a blood red rim around the edges. It stood a good two feet taller than Gaeden and was almost twice as broad at the shoulders. It was covered in filthy shredded rags and its skin was a mottled grey.

  The guy he was holding against the wall had tried to choke out something to Gaeden, probably trying to tell him to run. The creature let out a grunt and flicked his free hand. The two nails in the middle of its hand shot out two inches from where they had been. The beast turned his attention back to the man against the wall for a moment and stabbed him with his sharp nails in the side of the throat. The man let out a sharp yelp and went limp against the wall. The creature let go of him and he slid down the wall and landed heavily, unmoving.

  Gaeden started to panic when it turned its attention back to him. He wanted to run, but he was having trouble getting his feet moving. He turned and tried to bolt for the door, tripping over his own feet. He felt a thud and saw the shadow of the thing standing over him. He started to crawl for the door and felt the powerful hand grab the back of his neck. He screamed as he was pulled up into the air. He felt himself turning and bit his tongue as he came face to face with the brute.

  The things breath was disgusting. It reminded Gaeden of rotting meat. It stared at him studying his features. It made a low growling noise in the back of its throat as it tilted his head up by sliding its thick thumb up under his jaw. He kicked at the beast which did nothing to help his situation. The giant creature just looked down and then back up at him.

  Without another sound the beast put Gaeden back onto the floor, its hand still firmly holding the back of his neck. He gave Gaeden one final look over and jammed his two fingers up against his neck, burying the sharp tips deep into his soft flesh. Gaeden tried to squirm away but the brute held firm. Suddenly Gaeden felt dizzy, his legs were like rubber and he swayed. He vaguely noticed that the giant had let go of his neck. His brain screamed for him to run and hide but his body stood still. His arms were heavy and his legs went out from under him. His vision grew blurry and he tried to speak but couldn’t. The last thing he saw was the brute lumbering off before everything went black.

  Janelle walked down the long hallway. She had left her small apartment and was worried that the alarms hadn’t stopped yet. She was on her way to the command center to check in with Dalon Rihn to make sure everything was okay and to hopefully get him to come by her place later on that evening.

  She smiled to herself as she thought about last night and how nice it would be to date the station commander. If she got really lucky she might not even have to work at the club anymore serving drinks. Her steps lightened and she bounced a bit even with the alarms blaring all around her. The buzzing noise in front of her couldn’t be heard over the ruckus.

  She saw them come around the corner but they were halfway down the hall, coming at her quickly, before she realized what they were. She screamed and turned to run away from the swarm of giant insects that was descending on her. They were at least half a meter long and their twig like legs dangled, swaying from side to side as they flew at her. She took only a few steps before she twisted an ankle and fell to the carpeted floor. She covered her head with her arms and continued to scream.

  They were so close now that the buzzing of their wings drowned out the sound of the clanging alarms of the station. She felt pincers grab at her and she began to flail as she looked down and saw the floor passing beneath her. Three of the creatures had lifted her and were carrying her down the hallway back the way she had come. She tried to swat at them to get them to drop her but to no avail. She turned her head to the side and saw one of the disgusting creatures hovering next to her, she took a swipe at it but it just scooted back a few feet before returning to its prior spot above her neck. She squealed as she felt a sharp pinch on the side of her neck and again swatted at it. Her head felt as if it weighed thirty pounds and quickly sagged until it was hanging straight down. Her vision blurred and the droning of the insect wings was the last thing she heard as her vision blurred an
d went black.

  Marcus peeked out from between the open elevator doors to make sure they were alone before stepping out into the small lobby. He motioned for the others and slowly made his way down the hall in front of them. He was heading to the maintenance office and had to fight the urge to bolt toward it. Once he got around the bend in the hall, he could see that the way was clear. He motioned again to the others and jogged to the heavy steel door. The door slid open with a soft hiss and they quickly moved inside. Marcus waited until they were all inside, gave the hallway one final check and darted into the office. He tapped the keypad next to it, locking the door, before he slumped against it and slid down to sit on the floor.

  “What do we do? Burten asked.

  “I don’t know,” Olivia said as she sat down at her desk and slid her headset on. “I’m gonna see if I can find out.”

  “What’s she doing?” Burten asked.

  “She knows people. She’s probably trying to get in touch with some of the other dispatchers to see what’s up,” Marcus answered as he started digging through a pile of stuff on a long table against the back wall.

  The room wasn’t bright and cheery like the civilian parts of the station. It had dark grey walls and was a bit on the messy side of things. Compared to the faux sunlight of the agricultural center where Burten and Stella worked, the place was downright dank and dismal. The two watched as Marcus continued to root through old parts and scraps around the room.

  “Ah ha found it!” he said finally swinging around to them waving what looked like a pistol.

  “Where’d you get a gun?” Stella asked with that motherly tone that sounded disapproving.

  Marcus laughed. “It’s not a gun. It’d be nice if we had some of those but this will have to do for now.”

  “What is it then?” Burten asked.

  “This is a torch, we use them a lot in tight spaces down here,” Marcus explained. “But with a couple little adjustments I should be able to turn it into a decent flame thrower.”

  “Why do you need that?” Stella asked.

  “Trust me mom, if you had seen the thing outside the elevator you’d want a lot more than this,” he said as he sat at the table and began to tinker with it.

  “There’s a few of the big power torches in the back,” Olivia said over her shoulder.

  “I’ll start on those after. I’m not sure how helpful they’ll be, the packs are massive and heavy.”

  Burten rummaged around the parts and scraps and came up with a heavy metal pipe that gave him an evil grin. “This might work well,” he said as he slapped it across the palm of his hand.

  “Trust me, you do not want to get close enough to these things to get to use that,” Marcus said without looking up from his work.

  “Huh, good point I guess,” Burten said before returning to go through the piles of stuff. He held on to the pipe though, just in case.

  “Marcus hon, I’m not getting a hold of anyone,” Olivia said sounding worried. It was a simple term of affection between friends and coworkers yet it was enough to earn a raised eyebrow from Stella.

  “That’s probably not a good sign,” Marcus mumbled.

  Just about then the alarm stopped blaring. Marcus noticed it first and cocked his head to the side in curiosity. There was silence for five seconds before a voice came through the speakers. “ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS, EVACUATE THE STATION. WE HAVE BEEN BOARDED AND ARE EVACUATING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE HANGAR DECK FOR IMMEDIATE EVACUATION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT PROCEED TO THE HANGAR DECK FOR IMMEDIATE EVACUATION. IF YOU CAN NOT REACH THE HANGAR DECK PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST LIFE POD. AGAIN THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

  “Wow, that’s really not a good sign,” Marcus said.

  “You heard the man, we should get to the hangar,” Burten said.

  “What if we run into a bunch of those things?” Stella asked.

  “Okay then lets jump in a pod then,” Burten said throwing up his arms.

  “Yeah about that,” Olivia said.

  “What’s wrong now?” Burten asked.

  “We don’t have a nearby pod. We’re a utility section not a civilian section. I think the closest pod is like two levels below the hangar deck,” she explained.

  “Well at least if we can’t get all the way to the hangar in time there’ll be a pod nearby, hopefully,” Marcus said as he spun in his seat. He pulled the trigger on the torch and a three foot pillar of fire leapt out from the nozzle. “Cool.”

  “Okay, everyone grab something heavy, sharp or in Marcus’ case burny and let’s get ready to go,” Olivia said. She slid open her desk drawer and pulled out a heavy pistol.

  “You have a gun?” Marcus asked.

  “Of course I do. A girl’s gotta protect herself,” she said with a smile as she slid it into a holster and attached it to her belt.

  The clattering sound of the grate on the wall falling to the floor made everyone jump and Burten screech. Olivia had her pistol drawn in a flash, training it on the now open duct. She eased her finger off the trigger as she heard choking and coughing. “Come out slow,”

  “Well of course I’m coming out slow ‘livia, I can’t hardly breathe,” A gruff voice said as a head poked out of the duct.

  “Grady?” Olivia asked.

  “Yep,” The man said as he slid out onto the floor, stood up and dusted himself off. He was short and somewhat stocky with a wild goatee that came down in two long points about six inches below his chin.

  “What’re you doing here?” Marcus asked.

  “I work here, you know that,” Grady answered.

  “Well yeah, but I mean right now,”

  “I was in a tunnel working when I heard the alarm go off. Took me until now to get back here since it was all the way across the station, well that and cuz I’m old and slow,” The short man said with a shrug.

  “From the sounds of it though, I should’ve stayed where I was and just got in a pod. Who in the seven hells boarded us anyway, pirates?”

  “They didn’t look like pirates to me. They didn’t even look like people actually.”

  “Huh?”

  “No time to explain right now, we need to get out of here,” Olivia said reminding them of the evacuation.

  “Sure thing, just let me grab my pack,” Grady said as he half jogged half limped toward the locker room.

  “We don’t really have time for that,” Olivia said after him.

  “Won’t be but a second,” they heard from the other room. A few moments later Grady was back carrying a canvas sack draped over one arm. “This here pack is pretty much everything I own. I’ve carried it for over ten cycles. I ain’t leaving it behind for any reason.”

  “Now that you’ve got it, can we go?” Olivia asked giving him a dirty look.

  “Lead on darlin’,” Grady said with a wink.

  “Do you have a gun in there?” Marcus asked.

  “Nope, my gun is right here,” Grady said as he lifted the bottom of his shirt to show Marcus the holster attached to his belt. “I keep better stuff in my pack.”

  “Like grenades?”

  “Maybe,”

  “Really?”

  “No unfortunately. It is where I keep my whiskey though.”

  “If you two are through,” Olivia said with a huff. She was at the door and waited for everyone to join her before she unlocked it and eased it open before peering out into the hall. “It seems clear.”

  “The elevator is down the hall to the right,” Marcus said.

  They jogged down the hallway, Olivia and Marcus up front and Grady bringing up the rear. The elevator wasn’t too far away, but with the alarms now turned off the hallway was eerily quiet and they listened hard for anything that wasn’t the sound of their own footfalls. Marcus hit the button for the elevator before he even came to a stop.

  After watching Marcus pace for over a minute Burten spoke up. “This is probably a bad idea,”

  “Why?” Marcus asked.

  “They jus
t called an evacuation of the whole station. Don’t you think every person here is going to be using the elevators, or at least trying to?”

  “Oh yeah, I hadn’t thought of that,” Marcus said scratching his head. “Stairs then?”

  “We’re eight levels below the hangar deck,” Grady said.

  “Do you have a better idea?” Olivia asked.

  “Not at the moment,” Grady said sounding defeated.

  “It’s about to get very busy down here,” Jax said to Morris right after they both heard the evacuation announcement.

  “Hopefully it’s just busy and not bloody,” Morris said.

  Jax heard a voice in his earpiece and tilted his head slightly as he listened. “Copy that,” he said after a moment.

  “What’s up?” Morris asked.

  “They were just calling to confirm that they are evacuating and that we are to get a safe distance away from the station or even head toward Denbarton.”

  “Okay and what’s a ‘safe distance’?”

  “Pretty far, considering the reason.”

  “Which is?”

  “They shut off the safeties to the reactor cores.”

  “Oh bloody Hells.”

  They still had seen no sign of the invading force down in the hangar area. The preflight checks had been done and the ships were lined up. The pilots stood at the end of each ramp holding their rifles, waiting for the flood of people they knew were heading their way.

  Jax opened the heavy steel door and stepped out into the hall. He saw the first group of people getting off the elevator and waved them on as they ran toward him. The hangar crew had set up pylons to guide people toward the awaiting shuttles and one of them was near the door to direct them. “Fill the furthest shuttle first!” She bellowed as the group hustled past her.