“A natural gas called ruthane. It’s such a powerful fuel you can run ships on it at a tenth of their normal running cost.”
Already magnified through her glasses, Sparks’ purple eyes spread even wider. “So it’s highly explosive?”
“Yep.”
Seb watched his small friend turn pale before he asked Moses, “So no blasters?”
Another spreading of his pinched fingers allowed Moses to take them farther into the colony. They went through the hangar past several ships and tanks parked up inside, and dived down into an underground section. Among other things, it had a toilet block, a shower block, and rooms with beds in.
“There are three areas to the colony,” Moses said. “They should all be sealed off from one another. The first section is where the people slept. There are gas readings on the screens before you enter each area, so you’ll know when you get there, but we believe each section is still sealed. You should be able to use your weapons in the first two areas without any problems.”
“What’s in the second section?” Sparks said.
A wave of his hand and Moses took them deeper into the complex. “This is the recreational area. They have a sports hall, games room, and canteen down there. The third section is where they pull the ruthane from the ground. That’s a blaster-free zone. Let a shot off down there and you’ll turn the entire planet into a flaming ball.”
Although Sparks didn’t say anything, she stiffened in her seat next to Seb.
“So we’re going there to …?” Seb said.
“Eradicate the parasites and clean the place up. We need to get a new community down there capturing the ruthane. The people who own this planet will pay a lot of money to get their supply back.”
“Ruthane’s that valuable, is it?” Seb said.
Moses offered a monotone reply. “Obviously. You think we’d be going to this shit hole if it wasn’t?”
Another chill snapped through Seb. “Is there seriously nothing you can do with the AC?”
Silence.
“Okay,” Seb said. “So that’s why we’re going in rather than just turning the entire planet to dust?”
“Obviously,” Moses said again. “Any more inane questions?”
“Actually,” Seb said, “I do have one more.” A look at his team and then back to Moses and Seb leaned towards the large shark-like creature. “Does this planet have anything to do with the Camorons?”
Silence met Seb’s question for a few seconds before Moses finally said, “Yes.”
“What are we, their employees or something? Are you their little pet?”
Tension snapped through the room, and even SA squirmed in her seat this time.
“I ain’t no one’s pet,” Moses said. “You’d do well to remember that. The Camorons pay well. We work for credits. It isn’t any more complicated than that. Now, are you done?”
Before Seb could say anything else, Moses produced a glass case about the size of a shoebox. It had a grub inside about six centimetres long. It looked dead.
“What’s that?” Seb said as he reached forward and tapped on the glass.
The grub exploded to life, launching itself at Seb as if it had been loaded up with ruthane. It hit the glass with a tock and fell back to the bottom of the box, stunned. A few seconds later, it recovered and went at him again as if getting to Seb were its sole purpose. Seb pulled back from the violent thing. The sound of its hard, little body tapped again and again against its glass prison.
“We don’t know where these things have come from, but they’ve taken over Carstic.” Moses put the glass box down, screwed up the image of the planet he’d left floating in mid-air, and brought up some recorded footage on the screen at the front of the room.
Seb squirmed as he looked at what appeared to be a CCTV recording. It wouldn’t be a pleasurable viewing experience, that much seemed obvious. It made it even worse that the footage focused on what looked to be a dad and his daughter. Dryness spread through Seb’s mouth, and although he wanted to look away, he didn’t.
“We’ve slowed this down so you can see what you’re looking at.” Moses drew a line with his thick finger, tracing one of the worm creatures as it flew across the screen at the dad in the shot. The dad had his back turned to the thing. “This is one of the worms. One of the first ones we’ve captured footage of.”
The worm hit the man’s back.
“They move as quickly as a fired bullet,” Moses said, “and cut through flesh like one.”
The man on the screen arched his spine from the impact of the creature and screamed. The little girl next to him couldn’t have been any more than about six years old. She screamed too.
“But it hasn’t killed him?” Seb said.
“No,” Moses replied. “I’m sure he wished it had though.”
A twist of nausea tightened in Seb’s stomach.
The man on the screen roared. Then, a few seconds later—and even through the grainy footage—Seb saw his red eyes when he turned to face the camera.
A hunched frame and with heavy breaths rocking through him, the man then spun on the little girl. He pounced on her and bit into her throat. The small girl twisted and fitted against his attack, her fight kicking through her spasming limbs. She tried to push him back with her small hands, but then the fight left her and she turned floppy.
The man dropped the little girl and she fell limp on the ground. Her blood ran from his chin.
Seb’s breath caught in his throat as he watched the girl lie still. Then another worm flew across the screen and bored into her.
In the blink of an eye, the girl went from seemingly dead to jumping upright. She screamed and hunched over as if looking for someone to attack. A snarl sat on her previously innocent face. Her eyes burned with the same rage as her dad’s.
“And that’s what we have to fight?” Bruke said, his voice wavering as he watched the footage.
Moses nodded and let out a sombre, “Yep.”
The small girl focused on the camera as if she knew they were being filmed. She bared her teeth before she ran straight at the screen.
Seb jumped back in his seat when she leapt impossibly high, grabbed the front of the camera, and yanked it.
The screen turned black as the connection was severed.
Not even Seb had anything to say, and silence fell on the room.
Chapter 4
Seb, SA, Sparks, and Bruke all stared at the now blank screen. Were it not for the sound of Moses’ heavy breathing through his conical, yet stumpy snout, there would have been complete silence in the room.
The cold bite of the air conditioning added to Seb’s discomfort and he nearly asked Moses to turn it down again. Although, he knew the air conditioning served as a distraction for a deeper discomfort within him. No matter how much he squirmed on his chair, he couldn’t wriggle away from the image of the little girl with the blood-red eyes. He’d take that sight to the grave. Even when he blinked, her crimson glare flashed through his mind.
When Moses cleared his throat, Seb snapped out of his thoughts with a jump and looked up at the shark-like creature.
“There have only ever been humans on Carstic,” Moses said. “The place was uninhabited until the Camorons found ruthane. Humans took the job to mine it.”
An ironic laugh and Seb said, “We get all the good jobs, don’t we?”
The same cold, onyx glare fixed on Seb. Devoid of any emotion other than rage, Moses stared down at him in his seat. After a few seconds, he said, “My point is that as long as you stay underground in the complex, you’ll be perfectly safe from radiation. And if a human can withstand it down there with their precious little immune systems, then you others should be okay too.”
Seb looked up at Moses, who flashed a wide grin down at him. For the first time that day, he chose not to react.
“There haven’t been any reports of any humans getting ill,” Moses added.
“Did you see that footage?!” Seb said while pointing at t
he black screen. “Are you trying to tell me that wasn’t ill? I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d class turning into a zombie as ill. I dunno about you.”
“They’re not zombies,” Moses said. “They’ve been taken over by parasites.” After a pause, he added, “Besides, zombies? You’re not in a video game.”
“You’re right.” After Seb released a long sigh, he added, “If we were, we’d have more than one life to take down there with us. There ain’t no extra credits where we’re going.”
A few seconds passed where Moses breathed through his nose. A snort rode his heavy breaths as he clearly became more agitated. “What I mean is the lead lining will keep you safe from radiation like it has kept the humans down there safe.”
The glass case with the grub thing sat on the floor. Seb looked at it as he said, “It won’t keep us safe from those creatures though, will it? Now I’ve seen what they can do, I think I’d rather take my chances with a thousand tumours out in the desert, thanks.” Although he watched Moses, he caught Bruke nodding in his peripheral vision.
Moses looked up at the styrofoam ceiling tiles and drew another deep breath before he returned his focus to Seb. “The fact that only humans have ever worked there means you’ll know your opponent. Sure, they’re infected and seem dangerous, but they’re only humans.”
“You think our opponents are the humans down there?” Seb stood up and Moses tensed, his thick shoulders lifting as if readying himself for a fight.
The attention of the room on him, Seb walked over to the glass box with the grub in it. He tapped the case and the grub exploded to life again. It collided with the inside of its clear prison and the entire container shifted about half a metre forward from the impact. “I’m not sure I agree with you about who our enemy is.”
As Seb watched the creature in the box losing the plot, repeatedly crashing into the glass case to get at him, he thought of the red-eyed girl. A look first at Moses and then the others, his teammates all staring at the fitting grub in the box, and Seb returned to his seat.
The cold air conditioning wound through Seb again, and the seat felt more uncomfortable than ever. When he finally looked back at Moses, he found himself in the spotlight of the creature’s angry glare. Nothing unusual there. “Are there any survivors?” he said.
A few seconds later, Moses spoke with a slight resignation in his deep voice. “Not that we know of.”
Bruke let out one of his anxious whines and snapped tense in his seat.
A look at his scaled friend and Seb saw him sit pole straight. Sparks wrung her hands, and even SA frowned. When he returned his attention to Moses, he shook his head. “I’m not doing it.”
Moses leaned forward, his scowl as fierce as ever, his voice so deep it seemed to shake the flimsy walls of the briefing room. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be sorry.”
“Stop being smart.”
Seb pointed at the floor. “Smart is staying here and not going anywhere near that bloody planet. Smart is recognising ruthane is never as important as my life, especially as we’re only going so the Camorons can make more money. Send George again, he seems perfectly capable.”
Moses opened and closed his large fists, his jaw widening and then easing off as he clenched it. “You know I’m not offering you a choice, right?”
“There’s always a choice, Jaws.”
Bruke flinched next to Seb.
Moses bared his teeth and rushed forward. “Not when you belong to me there ain’t.”
The smell of fish forced Seb to turn his face to the side. After a few seconds, he pinched his nose against the reek. “Can you step back a pace, big man?”
To Seb’s surprise, Moses did as he asked.
“Thank you. It’s still no though. I’ll say it again; have you seen the footage you’ve just shown us?”
“Of course.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you as to why I won’t go, then.”
“You want to go back to a prison cell?”
The little girl with the red eyes flashed through Seb’s mind again. “A prison cell seems like a better place to be than that damn mining community. So, yeah, why not? Lock me up. I’d rather be in a cell than in that place. Especially as the only reason we’re going there is because someone’s paying us.”
“That’s the only reason to do anything,” Moses said.
“For you maybe. I ain’t risking my life for a few credits. There’s nothing there to rescue other than gas. Ruthane ain’t that important to me.”
Chapter 5
“You sure you want this?” Moses said as they stood outside the prison cell. The large steel door in front of them might have worn its rust like psoriasis, but it still stood strong enough to only be opened when the guards wanted it opened. If Seb stepped inside, someone else would decide when he came out again.
After a pause, Seb shook his head. “Of course I don’t, but if it’s a choice between a prison cell with three square meals a day, or the carcinogenic Carstic full of zombies, I’ll take the prison cell, thanks.”
The now familiar low growl—so deep Seb felt it in his chest and it blurred his vision—and Moses turned away from him. Six guards had led Seb to the cell, three of them with long cattle prods. They raised them in Seb’s direction again to show him they weren’t afraid to use them. In fact, if the wicked glints in their eyes were any indication of how they felt, they’d relish the opportunity.
One of the guards opened the door and the others waved the blue ends of their prods at him. Seb raised his hands in defence. “I know it must make you feel powerful to wave them at me, but don’t kid yourselves, I’m choosing to walk into this cell. It has nothing to do with your threats. If I wanted to, I’d drop every one of you and walk away. Know that I’m the one making the decisions here, not you.”
Three dark scowls responded to Seb, so he walked into the cell backwards to keep an eye on them. They looked like the kind to prod him in the kidneys if he left an opening.
The second Seb crossed the cell’s threshold, he baulked at the smell of sweat and shit. Although he felt the tight press of bodies around him—and was tempted to look at them—he kept his attention on the guards with the prods.
When they closed the door and the lock clicked shut, Seb finally turned around to face the other prisoners.
There were about twenty-five beings in total in the small room. All of them were scarred, dirty, and angry. Each of them stared at Seb like he’d been the one to land them there.
Even amongst the press of bodies, Seb saw the mandulu in the corner. Just one bed in the room, he sat on it like the king of the dump.
The cell looked to be about the same size as the one on the Black Hole. A couple of metres wide and maybe three metres long, it had dirty white walls where at least half of the paint had peeled off them. The cell Seb had shared on the Black Hole had been with just one mandulu. Even then it had seemed crowded. Other than the bed and metal toilet, the room had no other features.
The tension surrounding Seb made it hard to believe it wouldn’t kick off at some point. He inhaled the shitty air and looked at each prisoner in turn, his heart rate slightly elevated in anticipation of the fight. He didn’t want to fall out with them, but he wouldn’t be pushed around. If the glares on their faces were anything to go by, they looked like they wanted to push him.
In a space in the middle of the room, Seb found himself surrounded on all sides. A look around the small cell showed him he had nowhere else to go. As if operating on a hive mind, the creatures stepped closer to him, cutting off what little personal space he had. Halitosis added to the reek of sweat and shit, the hot breath of several of the creatures pushing against him, turning his skin clammy.
The press of bodies consisted of creatures from all over the galaxy. Seb did his best to ignore them and focused on one corner in the room. If he made his way over to there, he could put his back against the wall and only have to fight what came at him from the front.
However, when Seb stepped towards one of the corners, a large beast blocked his way. A wall of a creature, it had a broad chest, brown, leathery skin, and looked down at him, its hands on its hips.
The beast had bright yellow eyes. They looked feline as it glared confrontation at Seb. A simple shake of its head told Seb his plan wouldn’t pan out. It remained rooted to the spot.
When Seb looked for somewhere else to move to, the creatures around him closed in another step. He had nowhere to go. The edges of his world blurred as everything shifted into slow motion. If he needed to fight, he would.
Seb returned his attention to the brown, leathery creature. As the largest thing in the room, it made sense to focus on it. Dominate the strongest of the pack and the others would often yield. He pushed a strong hand against its upper right arm and shoved it to one side. He stared into its cat eyes the entire time, which seemed to catch the brute off guard. It raised its top lip in a snarl, but it went with his encouragement and moved out of his way. The look of shock on its brutish face suggested it surprised even itself.
Seeing several creatures behind it, Seb shoved them all aside as he moved over to one of the corners, turned around so he faced outwards, and pressed his back against the wall.
Every being in the cell continued to watch him, including the mandulu on the bed.
“This is going to get old very quickly,” Seb said to the room.
Many of the creatures bristled at him addressing them.
“What is it that’s upset you all?” He smiled. “It’s got to be that I’m so much prettier than you lot, right?”
A look over the stinking crowd and Seb laughed. “Although, I’m probably prettier than you lot simply because I’ve washed today. I suppose it’s a low bar.”
“It’s because you’re human!”
When the crowd parted, Seb stared at the mandulu in the corner on the bed. “Ah, so you’re the leader of this band of degenerates, eh? You’ve got your throne, I see.” A look over the rusty bed frame and soiled mattress and he raised his eyebrows. “Very nice; you must be proud.”
The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera Page 62
