by G J Ogden
“It’s just a standard outer-colony ID card and founder’s rights claim,” she said, allowing Sterling time to scan the card before tossing it into the mud. “This place is a graveyard. If the Sa’Nerran warrior did bring Colicos here, all they would have found was a whole lot of nothing, just like we have.”
Sterling cursed and peered up into the sky again. The rain was now coming down so hard that each drop felt like a ball-bearing being shot into his face. The wind had also picked up and the distant rumble of thunder was growing less distant with each passing minute. Shade’s computer then bleeped an update and the weapons’ officer raised her arm to check it. Sterling observed a hint of quiet concern on Shade’s usually unreadable expression.
“Is there a problem, Lieutenant?” said Sterling, stepping closer to the weapons officer so he could be heard. The howling wind was stealing his voice and carrying it away into the darkness.
“I’m detecting movement, Captain,” replied Shade, getting straight to the point. “The storm is interfering with the readings, but it looks like it’s from inside the administration building up ahead.”
Sterling checked his own computer then updated the weather report. The storm was worsening and it had also changed direction. The worst of it was now going to roll straight through Thrace Colony, rather than skirt around the edge.
“Let’s give it another thirty minutes, then head back,” Sterling said, lowering his arm and raising his rifle. “If we don’t find anything by then, we’ll come back after the storm has passed.”
“We might be here a while in that case,” said Banks, who was also studying her computer. “Based on these projections, the colony is going to be hit worse over the next few days than it is now. Believe it or not, this may be the calmest spell of weather we’re going to get for some time.”
Sterling cursed again then glanced ahead to the administration building. He hated having decisions forced on him by circumstances out of his control, but even an Omega Captain couldn’t bend the elements to his will.
“Okay, let’s check out the administration building,” he said, taking the lead this time. “Everyone switch to neural communications. I can’t hear anything over the sound of rain drilling into my head.”
Sterling pushed on, reaching a narrow flight of stairs that led up to the administration building. Sections of the structure had been smashed open, allowing him into the foyer without needing to employ the equipment in Banks’ backpack. The relief from the driving rain was instant and welcome. However, the damage to the structure was so severe that water cascaded down the walls and streamed in through holes in the ceiling.
“The computer console on the reception desk looks intact,” said Banks, moving over to the machine. She tried to activate the computer, but the screen remained blank. “The power is out, I’ll try to connect an external source,” she added. Banks then unslung her pack, removed a portable power cell and a toolkit, and set to work.
Sterling left his first officer to the task at hand. Then another alert chimed out from his and Shade’s computers.
“Movement again,” said Shade, who was quicker on the draw than Sterling and had already assessed the reading.
“Where?” said Sterling, holding his rifle ready.
“West side,” said Shade, indicating the direction with her hand.
“Commander, hurry it up, we have company,” Sterling said to Banks.
“I’ve got this thing live,” Banks replied. “Give me two minutes to interface my computer with it.”
Sterling saw that Banks’ face was now illuminated by the cool glow of the administration computer’s screen. The opportunity to retrieve valuable information from the console was worth the risk, he judged.
“Two minutes, Commander, but look alive,” Sterling replied as the sound of glass smashing and heavy blocks crashing to the deck reached his ears. This was followed by a series of reverberant thuds through the building’s concrete floor. “Weapons ready, take cover,” Sterling called out, upturning a steel table then ducking behind it. Lieutenant Shade had slipped behind a support pillar; weapon also held ready. However, Banks was still exposed.
Hard thuds continued to hammer through the floor, then suddenly stopped. Sterling concentrated, trying to filter out the near constant white noise of running water. Then a deep bass rumble cascaded through the floor, like the sound of percussionist beating a timpani drum. However, this time it was not thunder that had rattled Sterling’s chest. This was something else, and it was coming closer.
Chapter 13
Uninvited guests
Suddenly a section of the west wall exploded as if a bomb had gone off, sending breeze blocks and rubble soaring across the room. Shade narrowly missed being struck by one of the missiles and was then consumed by dust and smoke. Sterling instinctively ducked behind the table, which was then peppered with flying debris and glass. Coughing dust from his mouth and lungs, Sterling recovered then aimed his rifle over the top of the table, looking for the source of the blast. What he saw was enough to chill the bones of even the coldest killer. Red eyes the size of tennis balls stared back at Sterling from what remained of the west wall. The creature had rough grey skin with a head like a rhinoceros, but a body that more closely resembled a gorilla. It rested forward on claw-tipped knuckles, attached to arms that looked like they could have supported the weight of a combat shuttle. The creature roared and the rumble of its voice almost bowled Sterling over. It then hammered its fist into the deck, cracking the concrete, and charged directly at him.
Sterling opened fire with his rifle, striking the creature three times before it bundled through the table like a bulldozer. The blow sent him crashing against the far wall and left him in a heap on the floor. He was dazed and winded; the protection of his commando armor saved him from what otherwise would have been a fatal impact. Plasma blasts then cut through the clouds of dust, striking the massive animal in the chest. Sterling saw Shade advancing on the creature until she was blasting it at near point-blank range. The beast’s skin was now blackened and burned in places, but incredibly it was still alive. Shade’s onslaught would have been enough to kill a whole squad of Sa’Nerran warriors, but the creature refused to die.
There was another roar from the beast then a swipe of the animal’s claw hammered Shade across the room. She skidded over the smooth concrete like a hockey puck then Sterling lost her in a cloud of dust and rubble. Pushing himself up, Sterling saw his rifle on the ground and threw himself at it. The creature spotted him and advanced, but was then hit by more plasma blasts, this time from Commander Banks. One of the beast’s enormous claw-tipped arms now hung limp at its side, burned in a dozen places. The animal roared again then raised its good arm to shield its face before charging at Banks. Due to the injuries it had sustained, the creature’s movements were less explosive than before, but the impact of its charge was still like a grenade detonating at close range. Sterling saw Banks’ dive over the counter moments before the beast piled through it, wrecking it and the computer system that she had been working on. Sterling’s first officer was back on her feet in a flash, but the creature reacted just as swiftly, stabbing at her with its claw. Banks managed to deflect the attack with her rifle, but the impact smashed the weapon in half. The creature then drew back its claw and thrust it at her again, but Banks caught the beast’s talon and pushed back with all her strength. The sheer mass of the creature was too much for Banks to overcome and she was driven back against the wall. Sterling saw the claw begin to penetrate through the chest armor of his first officer. It was only because of her inhuman strength that she was able to resist the beast at all.
Knowing he had mere seconds to act, Sterling grabbed his rifle, turned the power setting to maximum, then ran at the creature. The beast’s red eyes saw him approach and the creature tried to kick out at him with its shorter, but still stocky rear legs. Sterling evaded the kick then ducked under the beast’s massive arm, which was still crushing Banks hard against the wall. With
its other arm still limp and useless, the creature was unable to intervene as Sterling thrust the barrel of the plasma rifle underneath the beast’s head and fired. Even at point-blank range the creature’s impossibly tough shell repelled the blast, but Sterling fired again and again and again. Finally, the creature’s head exploded, splattering Sterling with chunks of hot flesh that were harder than lumps of coal. He fell back and slid down against the wall alongside his first officer, who had prized the dead creature’s claw away from her body. Turning to her, Sterling held the back of Banks head and peered into her eyes. She was breathless and too exhausted to speak, either with spoken words or through their neural link. Then she raised her own hand, grasped Sterling’s wrist and nodded to him. This was all the reassurance Sterling needed to know that she was okay.
“Lieutenant Shade, come in,” Sterling called out through the link. He released his hold on Banks and pushed himself to his feet. “Lieutenant, report!” Sterling called out again. Sterling then saw his weapons’ officer through the cloud of dust that was still billowing inside the building.
“I’m here, sir,” Shade replied, moving close. Sterling could see that she was walking with a limp. “But we have to move out now. There are more,” she added in between bitter bouts of coughing.
“How many more?” Sterling replied, helping Banks to her feet.
“Unknown,” Shade replied while slapping a fresh power cell into her rifle. “There are at least two between us and the ship,” she added, meeting Sterling’s eyes. He could see that she was clearly in pain, but Shade’s expression was otherwise as calm and businesslike as ever. “And I estimate another one or two out west of this structure.”
Sterling released the power cell in his rifle and reloaded. “We only have two weapons left,” he said, keeping the power setting of the rifle dialed to maximum. “That will barely be enough to take out one more of these things, never mind four.”
“This building is on the verge of collapse, so if we’re cut off from the ship, we should shelter in the accommodation block,” said Banks. She then spotted the backpack of equipment amongst the rubble and slung it back on. “We can get to the higher levels and block off the stairwell until reinforcements arrive. These beasts are powerful, but they don’t look especially agile.”
Sterling nodded, “Okay, let’s move,” he said. Then he saw blood leaking from a crack in the armor on Shade’s thigh. “Assuming you can make it, Lieutenant?” he asked.
“Sir, even if that thing had torn my leg off, I’d crawl through the mud to get there if I had to,” Shade replied. As usual from his weapons officer, this was not mere hyperbole. Shade was being completely serious.
“Then you set the pace,” Sterling said, inviting Shade to take point. “And make it brisk.”
Shade led the group back into the driving wind and rain and pushed on toward the accommodation block. Sterling checked his computer, studying the markers that Shade had highlighted as other possible beasts. The positions of the markers shifted constantly as he watched. The accuracy of the data feed was still being affected by the storm, which meant the true locations of the creatures was unknown.
“Lieutenant Razor, do you copy?” Sterling reached out to his engineer through the neural link.
“Barely, Captain,” Razor replied. Her voice was thin and distant, as if she was speaking to him through a dividing wall.
“Recall the commando squads and seal the cargo bay,” Sterling continued as rain stung his face and neck. “Arm the point defense guns and calibrate your scanners to look for lifeforms. This planet has a few surprises up its sleeve.”
“Aye Captain,” Razor replied. “Am I looking for Sa’Nerran life, sir?”
“No, think bigger, Lieutenant,” Sterling answered. “You’ll know it when you see them.”
“Understood, scanning now,” said Razor. “Should I send a squad to reinforce you?”
“No, in this weather they’ll just get ripped apart by the things out here,” Sterling replied. “We’re aiming to reach the roof level of an accommodation block in the main colony,” he continued, willing his body to push on harder through the rain and mud. “Once the storm has died down enough for the shuttle to take off, I’ll let you know when it’s safe to extract us.”
“Aye, Captain, I’ll be standing by,” said Razor. The engineer’s composed, no-nonsense reaction was both calming and reassuring. It was good to know that amidst the chaos and carnage, his crew had held their nerve. Sterling closed the link, confident that the Invictus was in safe hands. He then squinted ahead through the rain toward the accommodation block. Lieutenant Shade had already made it to the door.
“It’s locked,” Shade called back. The sky then trembled with the growls of the creatures that had attacked them.
“Let me try,” said Banks, taking Shade’s place.
Banks grabbed the handle and heaved back on it with all her unnatural strength, but the handle merely snapped off in her hand. Cursing, she tossed the handle aside then tried to manually force the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.
“It’s no use, it looks like the door and the ground level walls have been heavily reinforced,” Banks added, hammering the door with her fist out of frustration. “It would take a blast from the Invictus plasma cannons to punch a hole in this.”
More rumbles and roars then penetrated the veil of darkness, and Sterling could tell they were coming closer. They were running out of time.
“Cover me while I run a bypass,” Sterling said, unslinging his rifle and handing it to his first officer. “This is an old Fleet colony, so there’s a chance my command codes can still override the lock.”
Sterling connected the computer on his left wrist to the door’s keypad then began running the bypass program. Suddenly the rumble of the beasts’ roars filled the air again, harmonizing with the ripples of thunder from the dark sky above them. Then a creature stepped out from the shadows and turned its red eyes toward them. This time, the monster appeared to be in no hurry to attack. It was taking the time to study its quarry more closely. The beast knows it has us cornered, Sterling thought.
“Hold your fire until it’s closer,” Sterling said, willing the computer to work faster. “And aim for the head or neck, otherwise you’ll just piss it off.”
The creature snorted, ejecting a plume of hot breath into the air from its long, horn-tipped nose. Then the beast advanced, but was quickly met with plasma blasts from both Shade’s and Banks’ rifles. Plasma energy thudded into the creature’s head and neck, but its skin was as tough as starship armor and still it came on.
“Keeping firing, I’m almost there!” Sterling called out loud. His mind was too frantic for neural communications, though he doubted Banks or Shade could hear him over the fizz of their plasma rifles. Then there was a resonant thud followed by a dozen more like it in quick succession. A hiss of air slipped out from the seam of the door then it crept open, but only by a crack.
“It’s unlocked!” Sterling called out, shouting at the top of his voice to be heard over the storm. Sterling then pressed his fingers into the gap between the door and the frame and hauled back, but the door wouldn’t move. “Mercedes, I need you!” Sterling shouted, while still trying to pull the door open. The roar of his effort was almost as primal as the beast that stalked them.
“Take my place,” Banks called back, handing the rifle to Sterling then wrapping her fingers around the side of the door instead. “Keep that thing busy!”
Sterling moved beside Lieutenant Shade and both continued to batter the creature with plasma fire. Energy flashed through the darkness, each blast striking true. However, the beast just raised its thick, claw tipped arm to shield its face and continued to stalk toward them.
“Hurry!” Sterling called back, as the door began to slowly creak open.
A second creature then appeared out of the darkness and Shade adjusted her aim, striking it cleanly between the eyes. The beast howled, drowning out of the sound of the thunder with its ang
uished cry. Enraged, the monster charged.
“Get inside, go!” Banks shouted.
Sterling turned and darted through the opening, closely followed by Shade, but the beast was only seconds behind her. Banks swung herself through the opening moments before the beast collided with the door, slamming it shut like a trap. Banks was propelled into the corridor as if she’d been shot from a cannon. The lock system engaged, hammering thick bolts into the foundational walls of the accommodation block and trapping the creatures outside. Sterling rushed to Banks’ side and quickly checked her over. Her commando armor was cracked like the shell of an egg, but other than appearing dazed she was unhurt. Together, the three Omega officers collapsed against the wall, muscles tingling and chests heavy. Then a voice cut through the stillness like the flash of lighting through a midnight sky.
“Drop your weapons…”
Chapter 14
Reluctant saviors
Sterling turned to see a man and a woman in the hallway, both aiming old-fashioned firearms at Sterling’s chest. The weapons, while clearly antiques, still looked powerful enough to penetrate his armor at close range. However, the colonists holding the weapons did not look like pirates or mercenaries. They appeared more terrified of Sterling and his crew than Sterling had been of the beasts outside.
“I said raise your goddam hands!” the man barked again. The colonist’s voice quivered with fright, despite obvious attempts to disguise his fear in the barked command.
Sterling raised his hands, but kept hold of the plasma rifle, ensuring that the barrel of the weapon was pointed to the ceiling. Shade and Banks also raised their hands and turned to face the colonists.
“Take it easy, we’re not your enemy,” said Sterling, keeping his voice calm and level, despite the fact his heart was pounding in his chest.
Behind them, the beast continued to hammer its fist into the massive, vault-like door that was protecting them. Each thud made the colonists jerk with fright.
