by A A Warren
B’Turo shot her a sideways glance as he increased power to the main thrusters. “Beg your pardon, miss! It’s not everyday I take off from an unstable platform on a planet that’s falling apart. The atmosphere beneath us is already starting to super-heat. It’s only a matter of time before—”
“Stop your bickering, both of you.” Talon made an adjustment on his control panel. The holo-display expanded, hovering in the air before them as the ship continued to climb. “We’re about to enter low orbit. And it looks like someone is waiting for us.”
A cluster of tiny red dots hung around the wire-frame image of a larger ship. Vaki leaned forward in her chair, studying the readouts. “Consortium dreadnaught, with a full complement of fighters. Probably the Toho Clan, come to clean up Katara’s mess.”
Talon narrowed his eyes as he watched the tiny red dots peel away from the main ship. He tapped his display controls, magnifying the sector of space around them. A series of blue dots blinked to life, rushing past them from the dying planet.
“Those fighters are engaging the emergency transports,” he said. “They’re trying to shoot down any survivors fleeing the surface!”
B’Turo glanced at the readings, then returned his attention to the bucking ship’s controls. “Trust me, that’s not our biggest problem right now.”
“How can you say that?” Vaki snapped. “Those are innocent people! Workers, like you and—”
“Look here,” B’Turo replied, cutting her off. Keeping his eyes focused dead ahead, his fingers darted across the holo-display, rotating the view to show the planet beneath them. The giant sphere of light was turning from ice blue to a deep, hellish orange.
“Neros is collapsing even faster. We only have minutes left. And when it goes, it’s gonna send a shock wave rippling through this entire system. Make a pulse canon look like a stiff breeze.”
“By the gods!” Vaki gasped. “Most of those ships don’t have portal drives! They’re just short range transports.”
Talon studied a series of technical readouts on his display. “This ship has a portal drive. Can we open a stable star-path, and let the others escape?”
B’Turo shook his head. “What in blazes do you think I’ve been trying to do, boy? I can’t get the portal drive to fire up. I think all that black jade in the cargo bay is causing feedback with our dark energy cell.”
Suddenly, the view through the cockpit changed. The burning orange sky gave way to wisps of cloud. Tiny pinpoints of light became visible… distant stars, bright enough to pierce the atmospheric veil of the dying planet. A velvety black curtain surrounded the ship as they raced into low orbit. Tiny explosions lit up the dark void in the distance. Toho fighters wove a curtain of glowing beams through space as they engaged the fleeing refugee transports.
“The black jade…” Vaki stared out the clear dome of the cockpit, as one of the distant transports exploded into a cloud of shredded metal and burning gas. “That dreadnaught's scanners will pick up the black jade's energy signature. If we fly closer to the big ship, we may be able to get their attention. Draw the fighters to us, give the transports a chance!”
“Closer?” B’Turo stared at her in disbelief. “You want to get closer to—”
Suddenly, the ship bucked to the left. A loud crash echoed from its rear compartment.
“What was that?” Vaki asked, glancing at the bulkhead door behind them. “Is someone shooting at us?”
B’Turo examined the sensors. “Negative. Impact came from inside the ship.”
Talon unbuckled his crash harness and stood up. “Whatever it is, I don’t like the sound of it.” He slid the shaft of his axe from his battle harness. “I’ll go check the cargo bay.”
He rested a hand on the old man’s shoulder. “Do as she says, B’Turo.”
B’Turo shrugged. “Okay, sure. Closer. Your funeral.” He adjusted the controls, and the ship veered towards the larger Toho vessel. “Mine too,” he grumbled, as Talon strode to the rear of the bridge.
The ship dipped as another crash echoed through the hull. The rear door ballooned inward. Something slammed into it from the other side, with enough force to dent the metal panel. Talon reached up with his free hand and braced himself against the roof of the transport.
“What in Nitara’s name—” B’Turo hissed as he struggled to maneuver the ship towards the dreadnought.
Talon’s axe hummed to life, as another dent erupted in the door. “B’Turo, Vaki, strap yourselves in, quickly!”
Vaki clicked the straps of her crash harness into place. She glanced over and saw the old man had already secured his. “What in blazes is that?” she shouted back.
“I don’t know,” Talon replied. “But whatever it is, it’s strong enough to punch dents in solid metal!”
A third dent rippled through the door. The frame surrounding the panel buckled. With a final groan, the door exploded inwards.
Talon leapt back as the bent sheet of metal sliced through the air. It struck the cockpit window and ricocheted backwards, sending a network of cracks through the transparent dome. Vaki ducked, as the jagged metal whirled a few centimeters above her head.
“Orion’s blazing bow!” Talon gasped.
A thick, fleshy creature surged through the opening, and reared up on the bridge. Armored scales covered the thing's serpentine body, like the dorokuma worms. But the jagged plates lining this monstrosity’s hide were a deep obsidian black. Tufts of silver fur circled the beast's head, like a lion’s mane. The four-way snout was malformed, and larger than the other worms. A curved, bony beak tipped each mandible. The thing’s maw split open and emitted an ear-piercing shriek. Glistening purple tentacles shot out of the creature’s mouth and whipped through the bridge.
Talon pivoted, slashing through the air with the fiery blade of his axe. The beast howled as he severed a pair of the smaller tendrils darting towards him. The massive worm swung its head side to side, slamming one of its hooked beaks into Talon’s abdomen. The force of the blow tossed him through the air. Sparks cascaded around him as he slammed into the wall, and slumped to the ground.
B’Turo gasped, as one of the fleshy appendages wrapped around his pilot’s chair, pinning his arms to his side. The ship began to dive, and veered off course. The luminous planet below filled the cockpit windows. An orange glow lit up the cold, black space surrounding the vessel.
“Too… steep!” the old man gasped, as the tentacle’s embrace crushed his ribs, forcing the air from his lungs. “We’re… Burning… Up!”
As the ship plunged into the atmosphere, the heat in the cabin grew more intense. Beads of sweat rolled down Vaki’s face, as she struggled to reach the controls in front of B’Turo. It was just inches away, but she had to fight against the crash harness holding her in her seat, and the massive G-forces pummeling the ship. She groaned as she strained to lean another inch forward. She felt her fingertips graze the contoured surface of the control stick…
Suddenly, she felt a tremendous pressure yank her back. Glancing down, she saw another tendril of flesh, wrapping around her body and crushing her ribs in a lethal embrace. A blast of putrid air from above blew her hair back. She looked up and stared into the fanged maw of the enormous black worm.
Its four beaks parted, emitting a howl of rage that drowned out Vaki’s scream.
Ensign Koshigi raised a furry brow as a new dot of light blinked onto her holo-screen. Her delicate clawed fingers danced over the glowing controls of her console. As the dreadnaught’s sensors scanned the new object that had entered their battle space, a stream of detailed readings ran up the side of her display.
She gasped.
“Captain!” She spun around in her chair, facing the raised command bridge where the Captain stood. “I have a new target reading. A small cargo transport, leaving the mining colony. It’s entering orbit now, sir!”
The Captain stood with his arms behind his back, staring up at a giant floating holo-display. Glowing wire-frame models of the Toho s
hips, and the transports escaping the doomed planet, flickered in the air.
“Put it on my display, Ensign,” he muttered.
“Already done, sir. Sector Alpha four zero—”
The Captain glanced down at the glowing edge of the planet on the display. He could see the new ship, blinking on and off to show it had just entered the field of battle. “We’ve had a steady stream of ships leaving the surface. What’s so special about this one?”
Koshigi tapped the keys on her console, then made a swift waving motion with her hand, sending the data stream to the Captain’s display. “Sir, the crown prince said to shoot down any ship that left the surface, unless sensors showed black jade onboard.”
“Your point, ensign?”
The fox-like alien grinned, revealing her razor-sharp front canines. “Sensors show a unique energy signature on this one, sir. The readings are consistent with black jade emission patterns.”
“There’s black jade onboard? Can you tell how much?”
Koshigi checked her sensor display. “I can’t be sure, but the readings are off the chart. There must be tons of it, at least.”
The Captain squinted at the tiny blue dot on the display. “Tons? That would be enough to power the entire Toho fleet for—”
“Decades, sir.” Koshigi finished his sentence.
The Captain leaned forward and grabbed the railing. “Ensign, you may have just earned yourself a promotion. Alert all fighters. Order them to break off from their targets and pursue that ship. Target engines and life support, but do not destroy it!”
Koshigi grinned wider and turned back to her console. "By your command, sir!”
The Captain activated his comm unit. A glowing hologram of the crown prince loomed over him. The glowing figure stroked his long mustache and glanced down at the Captain in annoyance. “What is your report, Captain?”
The Captain bowed, then clicked his heels and stood at attention. “Your Highness. You may want to come to the bridge…”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Talon lifted his head. A salty tang filled his mouth… a trickle of blood, flowing from a bruised gash across his forehead. His eyes blinked as the haze cleared from his vision.
He saw the worm, rising up from the deck and towering over Vaki.
Talon staggered to his feet. He wiped the blood and sweat from his face, and glanced left and right… the shaft of his axe was several meters away, rattling across the deck plates. He staggered towards the weapon.
The creature’s body writhed and undulated through the air. As the ship dove into the planet’s atmosphere, the axe rolled beneath a coil of black armored flesh. Cursing, Talon ducked into a low crouch. He struggled to keep his balance in the plummeting ship.
Vaki screamed again, as a thick stream of drool fell from the beast’s mouth and pooled around her feet. Another tendril, slimmer and more delicate than the others, emerged from the four-beaked maw. It curled down, caressing the girl’s flesh with long, slow strokes.
A sound emerged from the creature’s innards. It was a voice… a hissing chorus of clicks and groans, shaped into a semblance of human words.
“Now, little one… My patience has come to an end.”
That voice, Talon thought. This thing… could it be her?
He drew one of his cryocite blades. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he raised the gleaming weapon over his head.
The worm’s probing tendril wrapped around Vaki’s throat, choking off her scream. The creature's jaws gaped even wider as they approached her head.
“You will join me,” the worm’s voice hissed. “You will become one with my greatness. And I shall taste of your flesh…”
“Katara!” Talon bellowed. “All you will taste is my blade!”
Talon plunged the weapon down, stabbing through a gap in the beast’s armored scales. A wail of pain assaulted his ears, drowning out the ship's alarms. The creature thrashed and heaved, whipping through the air like an enraged snake. Talon ducked, as a coil of sinewy black flesh lashed towards him. Diving under the giant worm’s undulating hide, he rolled across the deck towards the opposite side of the bridge. The metal plates beneath him were hot to the touch, and his skin burned as he brushed against them. The ship was heating rapidly. If they didn’t pull up soon, they would burn in the atmosphere.
B’Turo and Vaki gasped as the crushing tendrils released them both. The fleshy tentacles retreated into the beast’s innards, and the thing’s jaws snapped shut.
As he popped to his feet, the worm swung towards him, slashing at him with its bony, pointed snout. Talon ducked again and reached towards the floor. His lips curled into a grim smile as his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his axe. He pressed the power button, and the fiery blade hummed to life.
Bellowing a fierce battle cry, Talon swung the weapon, tearing through the worm's armored belly. A spray of crimson blood washed across the deck, hissing and smoking as it touched the heated metal plates.
The creature roared and darted back, snaking away from the burning touch of the plasma weapon.
“Pull up, old man!” Talon shouted. “Now!”
B'Turo grasped the controls and yanked the stick towards him. The ship leapt upwards, screaming out of the burning atmosphere in a rapid ascent. The worm rolled across the floor, as the sudden climb threw it towards the rear of the bridge. Talon fell backwards as well, slamming into the mangled doorframe that led to the cargo bay.
As the ship continued to climb, a series of violent vibrations rocked the hull. Emergency compartments flew open, spilling their contents into the air. Talon rolled sideways, as a container of emergency rations struck the wall beside him and burst open. Cans and plastic containers bounced into the cargo bay. A pair of regulator belts and some spare batteries pelted the howling worm, then disappeared into the bowels of the ship.
Talon glanced up at the cockpit. He saw B’Turo, piloting the ship through a series of evasive maneuvers as they continued to climb out of the atmosphere.
“Toho Fighters!” the old man shouted. “Looks like we got their attention. They’re targeting us now!” A series of glowing pulse bolts streaked past the forward windows. A pair of the sleek, tiny craft rushed towards them, splitting off into banked turns as they lined up for another shot.
“I’m… a little… busy!” Talon grunted. He rolled left, as the worm’s jagged beak dove forward, smashing into the wall and gouging a long dent in the metal. It reared back and roared, then struck again. Talon rolled in the opposite direction. His fingers flailed at the edge of the doorframe as he fell through the opening. Grabbing the edge, his body hung and swayed above the cargo bay. The ship was nearly vertical now, and it struggled to climb out of the gravity well of the planet below.
The worm’s head swung towards him, hovering above the opening. Its mouth split into four segments, and roared. Talon felt the deep sound rumble through his innards. Then the beast launched towards him, ready to engulf his entire body in its glistening, fanged maw.
Talon let go of the doorframe, allowing his body to plummet into the rear cargo bay. He grunted in pain as he slammed into the cargo container, held fast in a pair of retractable loading clamps.
The worm snaked through the opening after him. Talon rolled off the container and hit the slope of the rear cargo ramp. He rolled across the angled metal until he reached the stern of the ship, next to the loose regulator belts and other debris.
Looking up, he saw the worm coil around the cargo pod. The metal container buckled as the worm tightened its grip.
“My children…” the creature hissed. “I can feel them within. They long to take their place at my side.”
“They don’t belong to you, Katara!” Talon shouted. The ship lurched, and Talon smelled smoke wafting from the cockpit above. More pulse bolts had struck the hull. If the Toho fighter hit their engines, they would be dead in space.
The worm lowered its jagged snout. It bobbed and weaved through the air, hanging in front of Talon’s
face. The four jaws peeled back, and a new, fleshy appendage emerged from within. The tendril was as thick in girth as Talon’s arm. It curled through the air, pulsating and bubbling as it moved closer.
Talon watched the quivering lump of flesh shift and morph before him, taking on the features of a human face. Strands of hair sprouted from the amorphous head, falling down in a long, shimmering wave of mercury. A pair of white eyes blinked, then regarded him with a lustful stare. A mouth tore open in the black, bubbling flesh.
The features solidified into the face of a beautiful woman. It was Katara…
“Orion’s blazing bow,” Talon whispered.
“Talon,” she hissed. "We shared great pleasure, warrior. And now you have brought me my prize. You fought for me. Killed for me..."
“Not for you,” Talon muttered, pulling back from the beautiful yet horrific face.
“I have never met a man like you,” she said, gazing upon him with her strange, glowing eyes. “My husband, Makor, the others… So many men have failed me. But not you. Join me now.”
“Your greed destroyed an entire planet,” Talon said through clenched teeth. “You’ve killed hundreds, maybe thousands. All for vanity and petty jealousy.”
Katara smiled. “I was destined to be a queen, Talon. And a queen must protect her throne at all costs. Soon, I will return to my old body. You desired me once, did you not?”
Talon glared at her, but did not answer. Katara’s head moved closer. Her lips caressed his cheek. He felt her silvery hair move across his neck and chest.
“The dorokuma blood courses through my veins,” she whispered into his ear. “I feel what they feel. I see what they see. Like them, I can sense the dark energy bonds that flow through space all around us. I can give you what your heart desires most, Talon. Orex Griff lives. I can feel his presence. I can help you find him. If you join me… If you love me.”
