The Mothership

by Renneberg, Stephen

  The drone Beckman fired at rose rapidly, drifting out from the hull before it reached him. When it drew level with his chest, it drove its needle toward his stomach. He jumped sideways, dodging the point, which clanged harmlessly into the hull, then he kicked it with the heel of his boot. He fired as it spun away, punching a hole through its central disk, then it fell end over end, striking several other drones rising from below. Other med drones circled out away from the hull, to avoid being hit, then lunged at them quickly before darting away again to avoid being shot. Markus fired several short bursts at the drones swarming around him, hitting several, but crippling only one, while Beckman fired sparingly to conserve his ammo.

  Beckman loosened his grip on the rope to drop through the machines. When Markus saw the maneuver, he immediately copied it. Some of the med drones dived after them, while others climbed toward Nuke and Xeno who were descending rapidly into the swarm. Beckman and Markus fired up at the drones diving after them, unaware of the men watching from below. When they cleared the top of the hull breach, they were startled when helping hands caught them. Beckman whipped his gun around toward them in a reflex action.

  “Easy mate!” Cracker yelled as he stared down the M9’s barrel.

  Beckman suppressed his surprise, shedding his backpack and dropping to one knee, firing two-handed at the med drones swooping toward them. Markus unclipped himself from the rope and began firing short, well aimed bursts at a controlled pace. Several drones flashed with sparks. One crashed in front of them, another hit the hull below the breach and a third plummeted out of control towards the ridge below. A fourth drone flew in over their heads, turned sharply and came at Beckman from behind. It raised its needle, aiming for his spine, then Slab slammed the butt of the rifle into it, smashing into the tunnel wall.

  Above, Nuke and Xeno dropped into the swarm. One drone tried to stab Nuke, but he turned his backpack toward it, deflecting the attack. Xeno kicked the needle arm of one machine away, but another shot in behind her and drove its needle into her neck. She groaned, then turned to Nuke with a surprised look on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, blinked twice, then her head fell forward. Nuke kicked off the hull toward her, but she rolled unconsciously to the side and released the rope, which started whipping through her repelling gear as she fell. Four machines rose toward him from below, forcing him to dart back across the hull as needles jabbed after him. Now that Xeno was unconscious, they focused all their attention on Nuke.

  The familiar burp of Tucker’s machine gun sounded above. The drone nearest Nuke shattered, then another. Nuke glanced up to see Tucker free falling face-first, the machine gun in one hand, the rope in the other. Tucker raked the two remaining drones, cutting one in half, exploding the other. He continued past Nuke like he was performing a HALO jump, his eyes locked on Xeno’s limp body as she bounced against the side of the ship. The rope kept snagging in her harness, slowing her fall as she dropped past the hull breach before anyone standing there could reach her. A moment later, Tucker swept past like a hawk diving on its prey. He threw the machine gun away, sending it off on its own course to the valley floor, freeing his right hand as he neared Xeno.

  Her helmet crashed sickeningly against the hull, the impact whipping her around, causing her legs to strike the gray armor and snag the rope across her chest. The rope shredded her jacket down to her Kevlar body armor, slowing her descent with a jarring impact, then Tucker grabbed her backpack’s shoulder strap, and spun mid air, throwing his hip hard against the rope. Wisps of smoke licked from his gloves as he dragged the rope across onto his leather belt, using it to brake one-handed.

  They slowed as the end of the rope whipped through Xeno’s karabiner, and Tucker’s grip was all that saved her from falling. He arched his back, straining with all his strength to drag the rope harder against his belt, almost stopping them, then the end of the rope slid through his hand and whipped against his karabiner. He grabbed the rope above the karabiner and squeezed hard, bringing them to a stop before the rope ran out.

  Nuke abseiled into the hull breach on the other line, then helped Beckman and Markus blast the med drones circling nearby. One drone avoided their fire and dived toward Tucker, its needle aimed at his straining neck muscles. He locked his eyes onto the machine as he struggled to hold the rope with one hand and Xeno’s unconscious form with the other. Conan hung in its sling by his side, but he’d have to drop Xeno to reach it. The machine’s arm retracted slightly, preparing to plunge the needle into his neck, then a solitary crack rang out from above. The drone shuddered and rolled sideways, revealing a single large caliber hole in its side and tumbled away into the void. Tucker looked up to see Slab standing on the edge of the hull breach, sighting expertly along the Browning A-bolt’s barrel, its last cartridge expended.

  Beside Slab, the others grabbed the rope, and began hauling it in. When Tucker reached the lip of the hull breach, many hands wrapped around his backpack’s straps and pulled him up, taking Xeno’s weight as soon as she was within reach. Tucker rolled onto his back, sweating and breathing heavily. He glanced sideways at Xeno, who lay face down on the deck, a trickle of blood seeping from the tiny puncture wound in her neck. Her face was ghostly white but she was breathing.

  Markus felt for a pulse. “She’s alive.”

  Tucker sat up, flexing aching shoulder muscles, studying the hunting rifle in Slab’s hands. “Good shot.”

  Slab shrugged. “Dropping a roo doing seventy’s harder.”

  Tucker nodded appreciatively.

  “Where’s the rest of the army, General?” Bill asked.

  Beckman turned toward him, running a quick eye over the five men. “We’re it. What are you doing here?”

  “Trying to find a way out,” Dan said.

  “They were going to dissect us,” Wal declared.

  “But we dissected them instead,” Cracker added with a sly grin.

  Bill glanced meaningfully at the ground far below. “Get us a chopper, and we’ll get out of your way.”

  Beckman shook his head. “There are no choppers.”

  “No choppers! What kind of a rescue is this?” Wal demanded.

  “It’s no rescue. We’re here to blow this thing.” Beckman thumbed his mike. “Doc, we’re in. Which way?”

  Dr McInness voice sounded in his earpiece, “Ahead to the first junction, then left.”

  “Excuse me, General,” Bill said. “You’re going to blow this thing up, with us inside?”

  Beckman nodded as he reloaded his pistol. “That’s the idea.”

  “This is a big ship,” Cracker said doubtfully. “It’s going to take more than a few kilos of C4.”

  “I know. You need to be five clicks from here when it goes up.”

  The four hunters exchanged stunned looks, then Bill said incredulously, “You’ve got a nuke?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Holy crap,” Slab said slowly. “How long have we got?”

  “Thirty minutes. No promises.”

  “Five kilometers from here?” Wal looked out at the ridge far below, scratching his head. “Anyone got a parachute?”

  “If there are no choppers, how are you blokes getting out of here?” Bill asked.

  Beckman turned to Tucker, ignoring the question, and motioned to Xeno. “Can you carry her?”

  Tucker nodded, then climbed to his feet, rubbing his shoulder.

  “Hey,” Slab snapped. “He asked you a question.”

  Beckman turned back to them. “We’re not getting out. OK?”

  It took them a moment to realize what he meant, then Slab said, “Well that bloody sucks. What frigging half wit thought that plan up?”

  “I did,” Beckman snapped.

  “Wait a minute?” Wal said confused, glancing at Xeno’s unconscious body. “You rescued her, so you could nuke her?”

  Beckman nodded. “Nuts, ain’t it.”

  Slab shook his head, turning to his mates. “I told you blokes we should have gone to Cab
le Beach, not this bloody jungle!” He sighed, then lifted Xeno off the ground, slinging her easily over his shoulder.

  Beckman gave Slab a surprised look.

  “Well I’m not getting out of here in thirty bloody minutes, am I?” Slab said.

  “He’s right,” Bill said as he retrieved Xeno’s M16 from the top of her backpack. “One in, all in.”

  Beckman watched Bill warily. “You know how to use that thing?”

  Bill checked the ammo clip, sighted expertly along the barrel, then rested the weapon casually on his shoulder. He nodded to Slab, holding the browning rifle in his free hand, “I’m a better shot than him.”

  “Since when?” Slab demanded.

  Cracker waved for a weapon, “Give me something.”

  Beckman hesitated.

  “Since we can’t get out of this shitfight,” Bill said, “We might as well have a bit of fun.”

  “This isn’t a game,” Markus said.

  “That’s a pity,” Slab said, “Because we play hard.”

  Beckman saw the casual determination in their eyes, then turned to his team. “We’ll use the specials, give them the guns.”

  They quickly passed M16s and pistols over to the four hunters and Dan, then Beckman pointed to Nuke. “No matter what happens, he lives. He’s carrying the package. Protect him at any cost.”

  Nuke casually saluted the civilians.

  “Right, he’s got the ball,” Slab said, nodding at Nuke.

  “Now what, General?” Bill asked.

  Beckman drew his midget special. “We go kick some ass.”

  “You mean arse, mate. Arse.” Cracker said emphatically. “That’s what we call it down here.”

  Beckman allowed himself the barest hint of a smile. “Works for me,” he said, then started down the blast tunnel toward the Command Nexus.

  * * * *

  Laura stumbled between skinny, white limbed trees clustered beneath an eroded sandstone cliff. The trees provided cover from the air, but made finding a way to the summit frustratingly difficult. It had been over an hour since she’d last heard gunfire, although several times she’d seen a distant black dot traversing the sky. From the way the striker quartered back and forth, she knew it was searching, but for who? She wiped sweat from her face as she halted to sip from her water bottle. It was less than a third full and would be empty long before sunset.

  An old survival mantra kept repeating involuntarily in her mind: Three minutes without air, three hours without water, three days without food. It was the outback’s recipe of death.

  She was rationing her water, but the heat and her physical efforts were bleeding water from her system at an appalling rate. Dehydration was the greatest enemy in this land, far worse than all the deadly creatures combined, although now she wondered with the black dot in the sky, if something more lethal had arrived.

  She screwed the cap tight on her water bottle then checked that Timer’s remote control was still in her pocket. She had an irrational fear that somehow she would lose it, just before she reached the summit. No one had shown her how to use it, but it was a simple enough device, with ‘arm’ and ‘fire’ buttons and a telescoping antennae. She looked up, preparing to move forward again and was surprised to discover little Mapuruma standing a short distance away, close to the cliff face. Mapuruma raised a finger to her lips, indicating silence, then pointed at the trees. Laura glanced anxiously back at the woods, but saw nothing.

  Mapuruma waved urgently for her to follow. Trusting the little girl’s instincts ahead of her own, she hurried towards her. When Laura drew near, Mapuruma darted toward a fallen boulder at the foot of the cliff face. Laura followed, uncomfortably aware of the click of her boots on the rock compared to the soft patter of Mapuruma’s bare feet. Once past the boulder, the little girl crawled under a low overhang, with barely a meter separating the rock ceiling from the rough stone floor. Laura dropped to her hands and knees and scrambled after her, trying not to think of the poisonous creatures that made such shadowy recesses their homes.

  Almost immediately the rock became cool under her hands and the air lost its stifling heat. When they reached the rear of the overhang, Mapuruma sat with her back to the rock wall, pulled her knees up under her chin, and stared at the horizontal slit of light between the overhang and rock floor. She made no attempt to speak, or even look at Laura. If not for the whites of her eyes, her jet black skin would have made her invisible in the darkness. Laura hunched up in the confined space beside Mapuruma and followed the little girl’s gaze. For several minutes, they saw nothing but the sun bleached boulders outside and the forest beyond. The only sounds that reached them were the interminable hum of insects and the occasional call of distant birds. Laura burned to ask Mapuruma what had spooked her, but the intensity of the little girl’s stare told her this was not the time to speak.

  Suddenly, Mapuruma tensed.

  Laura sensed the fear in the little girl, but could neither see nor hear its cause until the chatter of metallic footsteps on rock penetrated the darkness. Laura swallowed as the sound of her beating heart drummed in her ears. The clatter of footsteps grew louder, then a blur of silver metal swept past, just beyond the white boulders outside, and was gone. Mapuruma continued sitting quietly, staring towards the edge of the overhang, listening intently. It was what a wild animal would have done, stalked by a dangerous predator. Laura forced herself to copy Mapuruma’s silent intensity, determined not to speak until the little girl said she could.

  After an eternity, Mapuruma whispered. “It’s gone.”

  “Where are the others?”

  “Watching. They sent me away to hide.”

  “Is Hooper still alive?”

  “Not for long. He don’t know how to hide.”

  Neither do I, Laura thought, certain if not for Mapuruma, she would now be dead.

  “Liyakindirr with him,” the little girl added sadly as she put her chin on her knees. “If he stay, he die too.”

  “Will he stay?”

  “He no leave soldier alone.”

  She sensed Mapuruma’s resignation that all she loved was being swept away, but Laura knew she couldn’t stay cowering in the cave. “Do you know how to get to the top of the ridge?”

  “Yeah,” Mapuruma nodded toward deep shadows off to the right, where a crevice carved through the rock by millions of years of wet season deluges lay hidden. It was a path Laura would never have found alone.

  “Can you show me?”

  Mapuruma released her knees and started crawling quietly along the back of the overhang into a deeper darkness. She glanced back at Laura. “Lili,” she said in Yolngu, ‘this way’.

  Laura glanced back through the slit of light, reassuring herself that the seeker had gone, then she crept after Mapuruma into the shadows.

  CHAPTER 22

  The sizzle of metal boiling under the touch of cutting torches grew louder as Beckman’s team approached the ship’s nerve center. Occasionally, a clang of metal sounded as they crept through the darkened cave of destruction left by the passing of an artificial nova. They passed the turn off towards where the surviving male amphibians clung to life, then climbed through a tunnel of melted metal and torn decks, reassured that here at least, internal sensors had been destroyed.

  “Lucky this tunnel is heading the same way we are,” Nuke muttered.

  “It’s not luck,” Beckman said. “They were shooting at the same thing we’re after.”

  “Too bad they missed,” Tucker said.

  After they’d climbed through three wrecked decks, the tunnel ended in a curved black metal wall, with a ragged, fifty-meter-wide hole in its center where a nova weapon had smashed through the chamber’s outer armor. Parts of the damaged outer shell had been removed, creating an enormous opening which revealed a brightly lit spherical chamber within. Maintenance drones flew through the opening, carrying twisted metal away to a factory deck for disassembly, or returning with newly fabricated structures.

  When
Beckman neared the light, he motioned for a halt while they studied the Nexus Chamber through the opening in the outer sphere. The chamber was several hundred meters across, with an inner black sphere at its center, supported by dozens of polished black pylons, each indented with walkways and handholds for access in both positive and zero gravity. The pylons nearest the puncture wound had melted into a variety of contorted shapes, while more distant pylons above and below the central sphere were undamaged, indicating a short distance had been enough to protect them from the primordial heat and radiation effects that had wrought so much destruction to the rest of the ship. Narrow walkways ran around the interior wall of the chamber, parallel to the decks outside and showing increasing signs of damage the closer they came to the outer sphere’s puncture wound. Already, some of the damaged inner walkways had been replaced, and repairs on a few pylons looked to be well under way.

  It took a direct hit, and survived! Beckman realized.

  Normally, a defense field far more powerful than the ship’s external shield enveloped the central sphere. Even though the field had absorbed most of the impact, it had been unable to fully protect the inner sphere, or prevent billions of logic patterns being disrupted by the nova weapon’s gamma rays. Glittering electric blue light shone through openings in the inner sphere, where a damaged maintenance door and several melted armor plates had been removed. The radiance illuminated a swarm of maintenance drones in the chamber, rapidly repairing pylons and polishing surfaces so the defense field could be reactivated and the severed data links restored. Once the inner sphere was fully functional, then repairs to the other sphere could be completed, and the Command Nexus could be safely resealed inside its near impregnable vault.