by Caleb Selby
Darion nodded solemnly. “You be careful too Admiral. Clear Skies isn’t the answer to all of our problems. We still need you and the fleet for protection.”
“Just be sure there is something left for us to protect, Darion.”
“Will do, Fedrin.”
“Eleven-G-three,” Radford named the door tags aloud as the team of Raiders crept down the hallway, all weapons drawn, and all nerves on edge. They were deliberately walking into an area that had hundreds of dead bodies in it, killed by an unknown and unseen enemy. A team of six raiders had already gone missing in the area just a little over an hour ago.
“Eleven-G-seven,” Radford said quietly as the team approached their destination.
Captain Carter was holding up the rear. He spotted the next-door and whispered into his helmet transmitter. “This is it boys.”
Everyone stopped.
Carter stepped forward and took the lead. “Malek, you got our six. Radford drop and give cover fire if needed. Everyone else follow my lead.”
The team nodded in response to their orders. Quietly and smoothly each man assumed his instructed position. Carter then approached the doorway to the cargo hold and reached for the handle. Malek laid down directly behind the group with his weapon pointed down the hall away from the team. Radford took up the same posture as Malek only faced the opposite direction, his weapon pointing directly at the door. The other two Raiders stood up with Carter, a slight bend in their knees to lower their profile and weapons at the ready.
Carter reached for the handle and gave it a small turn; it was unlocked. He then breathed in deeply before pushing the door open forcefully, and bringing his hand back to stabilize his weapon.
The room was completely dark other than a small light fixture dangling down from the ceiling in center of the room barely giving off enough light for a room a tenth of the size. Carter quickly activated his helmet lights. The others followed his lead.
“Poor souls,” muttered one of the men when his lights illuminated the grisly contents of the room.
Another gasped as his gaze discovered the same sight. Strewn upon the floor were Melisi and the rest of the Raider team, each sucked dry! Their faces were so badly mutilated by the attack that it was hard to tell them apart had not their names been stitched into their uniforms.
“How did they get in here?” Malek asked. “I thought they were in the engineering room.”
“They must have ran in here to hide,” Radford suggested from the floor.
“Fan out!” Carter ordered, walking directly toward the grizzly scene and kneeling beside what was left of Melisi. Her once lively eyes were distended and contorted by the heinous act of the monster. They were still open and bore the final expression of complete and total terror that she must have endured. Carter’s heart ached as he looked at her. He shook his head in profound sadness as he reached out and gently closed her eyes. “I’ll be seeing you honey,” he said and then promptly returned to his feet and began to examine the room in earnest.
Dozens of huge storage containers and holding crates were stacked along the perimeters of the windowless room. A large crane and loading station was positioned on a pedestal in the center.
The two other Raiders were already well into the room and had spaced themselves out when Carter called Radford and Malek to drop cover and get in the room, wanting to keep the group together for mutual protection. The others were just entering when Carter called out into the darkness.
“Ensign Arteena, are you here?”
There was no reply.
“Answer me if you can hear me!” Carter called out again, this time louder.
Still nothing.
“Move up!” Carter finally said after he had heard no answer, keeping a sharp eye on the unnerving shadows of the massive storage room. As ordered, the Raiders followed their leader and moved up in a semicircle pattern as they made their way deeper and deeper into the foreboding room.
“Ensign Arteena,” Carter called out again. “Are you here? Answer if you can!”
Still there was no answer.
“I don’t like this Captain,” remarked Radford when again Carter’s hail went unanswered.
“Its starting to feel like a ploy,” Malek added when it was becoming more and more apparent that the room was empty.
They were nearly to the crane when the door slammed shut and the small light that hung above them went out. In unison the team did an about face, ready to pulverize anything.
“Who’s there?” Carter yelled out into the darkness.
There was no answer.
“This is Captain Carter of the Hornell Raider Division! Identify yourself!”
Still there was no reply.
The group of nearly petrified Raiders huddled together, back to back, their helmet light rods casting narrow beams of light in all directions.
“Ok guys,” Carter spoke up, his own voice shaky. “We’re going to go toward the door, nice and easy. Follow my lead…slowly.”
He had just taken his first step toward the door when a blood-chilling scream directly behind him rang out.
Quick as a flash Carter turned off his helmet lights and fell flat to the floor. As he looked up from the ground he saw his team scatter in all directions, obviously in a panic. He didn’t even have time to properly assess the situation before he saw a grotesque shape come up from the ground and envelop one of his team and bring him down in a loud thump. Carter watched in horror as the Raider, whom he could not identify, thrashed wildly in the air as some horrible creature ravaged his body. No sooner had the last moans rung out from the dying man when another terrifying scream rang out, this time from behind a stack of large food crates across the room.
“Turn off your helmet lights!” Carter screamed into his transmitter, furious with himself for not saying it sooner. “He’s hunting you with the lights! Turn them off!”
As he finished his warning, he saw one of his team across the room feeling for the button on his harness when an ominous shape seemingly lunged at him.
“Get down now!” Carter whispered harshly into his transmitter. The figure looked up just in time to see the black shape envelop him. Carter turned his face away as he heard the screams ring out in agony. The assailant brought down the Raider with force so powerful, that Carter could actually hear the bones breaking as the body was hurled into the ground.
In near panic himself, Carter crawled on his belly toward the center of the room. He had disbanded his bulky weapons somewhere behind to reduce noise. He didn’t need them. The enemy they were facing was obviously beyond the tools of war they possessed. He kept crawling, in no general direction.
Another scream rang out across the room. Carter winced in emotional torment as he easily identified the voice of his friend and long time team member, Radford.
“No, no, no! Help! No!” Radford screamed out.
Carter fought back tears as he shrugged off his friend’s painful pleas for help. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t see a thing and even if he could, what could he do? He bit his lip and continued to crawl around the room as quietly and as quickly as he could. Moving was the key. If he was moving, his silent hunter couldn’t find him, or so he reasoned.
He was just rounding a large stack of crates when a cold hand grabbed his wrist. His first inclination was to shake it off and kick, punch and thrash at the unseen limb but there was something about the touch that seemed genuine that promptly quelled his panic. The hand wasn’t strong but wasn’t weak. It felt smooth and small like a woman’s, confirmed moments later after a single finger was pressed against his lips and a feminine voice whispered in his ear. “Shhhh. It’s Arteena.”
Carter gently took hold of her hand and slowly nodded. He had no intentions of speaking. He had questions of course but they could wait. It felt like hours had passed when the door that led to the hallway dr
amatically swung open. Dim light from the hallway spilled into the cargo hold showing the dead Raiders all over the floor. Carter crouched deeper into the shadows with Arteena as they looked at the horrid sight before them.
Suddenly, a figure of a lovely woman, complete with uniform and perfectly styled hair, appeared in the doorway, silhouetted by the faint light of the hall. She faced the carnage-ridden room as if making sure everything was as it should be. Carter’s jaw dropped as he recognized the woman as none other than Tropnia, the famous bombshell Commodore that served under Admiral Caton in the Second Fleet. She was the Unmentionable!
After her quick glance, she spun her head to one side, tossing her thick hair back over her shoulder and then in one smooth motion, walked into the hall, closing the door behind her.
Carter moved to stand but was pulled back down by Arteena.
“She’ll be back,” she said in a near crazed voice.
“She always comes back!” another raspy voice sounded out from further back in the darkness.
Carter looked back quickly, startled as over a dozen ghostly faces emerged from a shadow filled crevice like rats ready to scurry after the lights go out. As each figure entered the faint light, Carter noticed they all shared a terrified and exhausted countenance. They looked as if they hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days prompting Carter to remove a small canteen and two protein bars from his pack and hand it into the group without a word. The small rations were eagerly accepted and consumed, the water being in the greatest demand. After they had all wet their lips and had a small nibble of the bars, Carter once again stood up, much to their collective uneasiness.
“Don’t go!” Arteena pleaded. “She’ll kill you!”
“Just like she killed the rest of your team!” another said.
Carter shook his head. “I have to try and stop her. If I don’t try, my team died for nothing.”
Arteena stood up uneasily but put a stern countenance on. “I’ll go with you,” she said resolutely. “Its the least I can do after asking for your help and getting more of your team killed.”
The others followed Arteena’s lead, albeit reluctantly. They all knew that challenging Tropnia was the same as putting a gun to their head and pulling the trigger. Yet, duty and guilt overcame their reservations and fears and one by one they stood until all had silently pledged their services to Carter.
Carter was moved by their willingness to fight but slowly shook his head. “I appreciate your zeal, but you’re all too weak to help me. You’ll all be of better use to me by getting off this ship.”
“How do we do that?” someone voiced up from the back of the group.
Carter nodded. “I have a boarding ship docked amidships near the officer’s quarters. Take the maintenance shafts there. I’ll instruct my last man to wait for your arrival before taking off.”
Arteena raised a hand to protest the plan but Carter took her small hand gently and slowly guided it back to her side. “I’ll be fine,” he said so confidently that some believed him. “What you need to is get off this ship. Can you lead everyone off?” he asked looking intently at Arteena.
She reluctantly nodded.
“Good girl,” he said and patted her shoulder.
Carter led the way out of the room. Once he was sure the hallway was clear, the small group of survivors slipped out one by one and made their way to the nearest maintenance shaft several corridors down. Carter saw them off and was just about to turn and begin the hunt when he heard “thank you,” behind him. He turned sharply and saw Arteena, tears running down her face, just as she was lowering herself into the shaft. He nodded toward her solemnly, acknowledging her thanks, and then turned to begin his slow trip, in search of a demon.
“What’s keeping them?” Hoirs asked the lone Raider standing guard near the door of the Defiant’s bridge.
The Raider looked at Hoirs incredulously and offered no reply. They had been waiting in the bridge for nearly forty-five minutes and all were getting restless. Suddenly, the Raider put his hand to his helmet to stabilize a transmission coming in. The Raider shook his head.
“Is everything ok?” asked Commander Drezden.
“That was Captain Carter,” the Raider answered. “The rest of the team was just killed.”
Drezden hung his head.
“Carter said it was Commodore Tropnia,” the Raider added. “Or at least something pretending to be her, if she ever existed in the first place.”
Drezden shut his eyes and shook his head. Fedrin had been right. Tropnia must have boarded his ship using a rocket-equipped space suit when they passed through the wreckage of the Second Fleet. There was nothing they could have done to stop her, but that didn’t stop Drezden from feeling guilty just the same.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Hoirs asked as he looked nervously around, his eyes betraying the panic he felt inwardly.
“Carter wants us to head to the boarding ship,” the Raider replied. “There’s a small group of survivors heading there too. He wants us to wait for them before leaving.”
“What about Carter?” asked Hoirs.
The Raiders shook his head. “He will do his duty.”
Drezden nodded, seemingly agreeing with the plan. He then placed a hand on the Raider’s broad shoulder and spoke with authority. “Take my two officers with you. I’m going to help Carter.”
“You aren’t going with us?” Hoirs asked in dismay as he looked at his beloved Commander. “You must! Staying here is suicide!”
Drezden smiled and shook his head. “This is my ship and there is no way I’m letting someone else have her without a fight!” he answered. He turned to an adjacent station and began rapidly typing in a series of override codes.
“There’s no fight to have!” the other officer protested. “This thing has ripped through the entire crew and a full Raider team! There is nothing you can do to fight it, Commander! Come with us!”
Drezden shrugged as he finished typing and looked up at his officers. “I have to try,” he said with a shrug. “I owe it to all those kids down there that aren’t going home. I owe it to myself for allowing it to happen. I owe it to Fedrin for giving so much to me.”
The officers shook their heads in disapproval but Drezden’s resolve would not be shaken.
“We have to go,” the Raider said after listening to another post from Carter. “We don’t have much time.”
Drezden promptly walked toward the door and flipped a switch causing the huge door to slowly roll to one side. The Raider and two officers walked past Drezden.
“Good luck,” the Raider said as he walked past the Commander. “You’re going to need it.”
“You too,” replied Drezden genuinely. “Give everyone my best.”
The other officer and Raider started down the hall, but Hoirs held back. “I saw what you did,” he said, nodding to the workstation where Drezden had typed several lines of override code. “You don’t have to do this, Commander. You can come with us.”
Drezden smiled and patted Hoirs on the back. “Thanks, Lieutenant, but my mind is made up. Take care of yourself.”
Hoirs reluctantly nodded and then turned to follow his other companions down the deserted halls toward the boarding ship berth. Once they were well on their way Drezden turned to walk down an intersecting corridor leading to the engine room and storage holds.
As Drezden walked, he pondered what he was about to do. It was interesting, thinking about dying. For years he had avoided it, for years he had dreaded it. Being enlisted for his entire adult life, death was always near, but Drezden had always seemed to be one step ahead of it. Even when his comrades had fallen to his left and to his right, he had always managed to survive; but now, as he walked willingly toward a beast too horrible to imagine, he felt a new sense of calm come over him. The closer he got, the calmer he felt. There would be no more running, no more
fighting and no more worrying. In just a few more minutes, all the troubles of his life would be over. He smiled as he thought about how many years he had fought off the serene feeling now washing over him.
Carter crept along the Defiant’s darkened halls, lurking in the shadows where he could, like a fugitive on the outskirts of prison walls. The silent, dimly lit halls were eerier than ever, now that he was alone. He wasn’t sure what his plan was. All he knew was that he had to keep Tropnia aboard the Defiant and somehow warn the rest of the fleet.
He was musing on the near hopelessness of his predicament when he rounded a sharp corner in the winding hallway and came face to face with her! The sight was so startling, so unexpected that it took his breath away.
Tropnia’s looks were legendary in the fleet but Carter had never really understood what all the fuss was about until this moment. Her alluring eyes caught Carter’s gaze and held him fixated, unable to look away. He tried to run but found his legs were as leaden pillars. He tried to yell but his throat groaned as if it were on fire. He was in essence, frozen in place by her enchanting power.
After what seemed like forever to Carter, Tropnia blinked her bewitching eyes and lowered her face close to Carter’s. Her breath caressed his face warmly while her scent filled his nostrils and seemed to momentarily transcend him out of mind and body. The feelings were unlike anything Carter had ever experienced. Profound terror coupled with wonder and fascination pulsed through his body. He simultaneously loved Tropnia and loathed her. He wanted to be with her, and also run away for his very life.
“Get me off this ship,” Tropnia finally said in an intoxicating whisper that left Carter wanting her to speak more while also wishing he could strike her dead where she stood. “Get me off this ship,” she said again, this time with more force in her voice. “I want to go home.”
Carter looked at the desperate look on Tropnia’s face in wonder. Could this really be the same person that had just killed Melisi, Radford and the rest of his team? Could this beautiful woman really be a monster? He quickly shrugged off his momentary thought. It had to be! He had clearly seen her face in the cargo room! Whatever she was, whatever charms or spells she was putting on him even now, he was sure of who she was and what she did. He would not let doubt of this creep back into his mind again.
