Outpost Hell

by Jake Bible

  “Oh, you are a wonder,” Taman said as he straightened up with a groan. “I really do feel sorry for having to kill you.”

  Taman moved at the AI.

  The movement, the threat of violence and death, triggered something inside the AI. A wave of observations, years of them flooded its consciousness. Marines. So many Marines. Battles. Fights. Minor skirmishes, bloody butchery. Complete annihilation.

  A million images streamed through the AI’s mind in the time it took Taman to take three steps.

  The AI raised its fists, set its legs, and nodded.

  “I am ready to finish this in a physical manner,” the AI said.

  Taman paused in mid-step then slowly lowered his foot to the ground.

  “Well, well, well,” Taman said. “The little AI has guts. Another surprise.”

  Taman raised his own fists.

  The two rushed each other, swinging at the same time.

  ***

  “This way is blocked!” Nordanski shouted as he skidded around a corner then scrambled back as blast after blast shot past him. “We have to go the other way!”

  “We can’t!” Kay yelled as she spun herself and Chann around. “We have eight of the bastards on our asses!”

  “You think I don’t already know that?” Nordanski barked as he stuck his hand and pistol around the corner and fired blind. “But there had to be a dozen of them coming from this way! Better odds going back!”

  “I’m almost powered out!” Chann said. “Even if I do have enough plasma left, this carbine is ready to overheat and detonate in my damn hands. We have to get out of here, not keep running.”

  His chest seized and he gasped for breath, but the pressure eased back and he was able to breath steadily again.

  “What’s wrong?” Kay asked. “You keep doing that.”

  “Minor heart attacks, I think,” Chann replied.

  “Sweet bloody hell,” Kay said.

  “Forget about that right now,” Chann said. “We have bigger things to deal with.”

  “Bigger than you having heart attacks? Really?” Kay shouted.

  “Hey!” Nordanski yelled as he turned and fired past Kay and Chann, keeping the sentries from coming around the far corner. “Focus, people!”

  “We detonate this,” Chann said, holding up the carbine. “It’s gonna do it on its own, so we should take advantage of that. Here.”

  “Alright,” Kay said and took the H16. She threw it down the corridor. “Nord!”

  Nordanski set his sights on the carbine as it continued to slide. Once it reached the corner, he sent three plasma bolts at it. The second one hit.

  “Duck!” Nordanski yelled as he turned and flattened himself on the ground, his arms covering his head.

  Kay grabbed Chann from the chair and covered him with her body just as the carbine detonated.

  A wave of energy washed over them. It felt like scalding hot water, but it was nothing compared to the shock that the sentries received. There were several screams then all voices were cut short.

  Kay risked a look and lifted her head. Half the corner of the corridor was gone, and there were more than a few body parts strewn across the floor.

  “Holy shit,” she muttered as she started to get up.

  Then she was knocked back on her ass as the entire middle of the corridor’s wall exploded and a massive hole was ripped through the metal and plastic. Smoke and swirling sand filled the corridor immediately.

  “What the hell?” Nordanski cried as he struggled up onto a knee and took aim.

  Through the smoke and sand came five huge shapes. They turned in lazy circles then stopped and faced the Marines.

  “Nord! You got them?” Kay called, coughing and hacking as the acrid smoke wafted over them.

  The shapes raised heavy plasma rifles and began firing, but Nordanski didn’t return fire. He kept his pistol lowered as the plasma bolts raced over the three Marines’ heads.

  “Nord!” Kay yelled as she covered Chann again. “What are you doing? Shoot!”

  “Not the enemy!” Nordanski said as he slowly got up once the firing was done. He glanced over his shoulder and saw several sentries ripped apart by plasma blasts. He could hear others, but they were taking cover, not daring to show themselves to the new threat that just arrived. “This is our ride! Hell yeah!”

  “Gaffa top tap wek!” a warped Marine yelled and motioned for the Marines to get up. “Tacka spa!”

  “What did he say?” Kay shouted.

  “Move ass!” Nordanski shouted back then turned to the warped Marines. “We got one that can’t walk! Need a little help!”

  One of the warped Marines hurried forward and stared at them. Kay pointed at Chann, whose eyes went wide as the warped Marine bent down, picked him up, and threw him over his shoulder.

  “Vella da,” the warped Marine said then turned and ran towards the huge hole in the wall, carrying Chann like he weighed less than a sack of air.

  “Doofga het!” the first warped Marine shouted. “DOOFGA HET!”

  “We’re coming!” Nordanski replied. He took Kay by the elbow and pulled her towards the hole in the wall. “Come on. It’s cool.”

  “If you say so,” Kay said.

  She shook off Nordanski’s hand and followed right behind him as they made their way over the debris and through the hole. The world outside was a dark, stormy nightmare and Kay struggled to breathe.

  “Keep it together!” Nordanski yelled. “You’ll be fine once we’re in the drop ship!”

  They sprinted across the rough ground to the waiting ship and its open rear hatch. The ramp was already lifting up when they reached it and Nordanski had to jump to get up onto it. He spun and held out his hand for Kay to take.

  She grabbed his hand and was being lifted up onto the ramp when a barrage of plasma bolts came at the drop ship. One hit her square in the back and her eyes went wide with pain and surprise.

  “Kay!” Nordanski yelled as her hand slipped free of his.

  There was nothing he could do. The ramp continued to lift as he stared at her lifeless body hit the ground. He ignored the plasma blasts that impacted close to him, his mind in shock. The ramp closed, forcing him to stumble back and land on his ass.

  “Giffa wo,” a warped Marine said as he placed his hand on Nordanski’s shoulder. “Ti gef.”

  “Thanks,” Nordanski said and got to his feet. “Let’s get to the bridge.”

  He followed the warped Marine through the piles of ship parts that filled the cargo hold and to the lift. Chann was on the floor of the lift with two warped Marines standing by him. He cocked his head, an unasked question in his eyes. Nordanski frowned and shook his head. Chann nodded.

  The doors closed and the lift ascended to the bridge.

  5

  It took all of Shick’s piloting skills to navigate the debris field left by the destroyed Skrang warship. He swerved and dodged as huge chunks of metal tumbled through space, many of the pieces larger than the drop ship he was piloting.

  “Lat me ti,” Shick said as they got closer to the Romper. He couldn’t risk taking his hands off the flight controls, so he pointed his chin at the view screen. “Waca ves.”

  “What did he say?” Chann asked. His voice was quiet and filled with pain, but he was alert and paying attention to every detail the view screen showed. Still a Marine with a job to do.

  “Not a clue,” Nordanski replied. “But it looks like the Romper has power and Rosch got the shields working.”

  The comm crackled.

  “I sure as hell hope that’s you guys,” Rosch’s voice said over the comm. “Because we need to get the hell out of this system now.”

  “Where do you want us?” Nordanski asked.

  “Same cargo hold,” Rosch replied. “Don’t worry about turning around. Just land that ship and get yourselves secured. Suits on because life support is spotty, to say the least.”

  “Copy,” Nordanski said. “Shick? You get that?”

 
“Taga ba,” Shick said as he banked the drop ship to avoid the wing of a Skrang fighter.

  Then he punched the thrusters to get past a mass of sparking cables before yanking hard on the flight stick to climb up and over a sixty-meter-long hunk of the Skrang warship’s hull. Former hull.

  Once past those obstacles, Shick took them into the Romper.

  “You see that?” Nordanski asked, just before the transport blocked their view. “That last Skrang warship is coming in closer. Full broadside. It’s going to rip us apart.”

  “They’ll launch fighters first,” Chann said. “That’s Skrang protocol.”

  “I don’t think they care about protocol,” Nordanski said.

  “Hata fil,” Shick said as he aimed the drop ship for the open cargo hold. “Gif wappa.”

  The other warped Marines snarled in response. Nordanski and Chann looked at each other and shrugged.

  Shick landed the drop ship and was up and out of his seat before the cargo hold’s outer hatch had even begun to close. He pointed at his men then slapped his chest.

  “Boofa ta!” he snarled.

  “Boofa ta!” they snarled in response.

  They rushed to the lift and were gone.

  Nordanski was left to help Chann to his feet, which was not an easy task. He opened a hatch and grabbed out a helmet then secured it over Chann’s head.

  “You good?” Nordanski asked.

  “No,” Chann replied.

  “Me neither,” Nordanski said.

  Nordanski managed to stumble them into the lift once it had returned. When the doors opened on the drop ship’s cargo hold, they saw the warped Marines moving double time to get the ship parts out and loaded on waiting grav sleds.

  Teffurg was standing to the side, tagging each part with a laser marker.

  “Follow the marks,” Teffurg called out. “You’ll see where the parts go. We have all dead weight cut off the ship. All we have to do is make these final repairs, and we’ll be able to get out of this system and through the wormhole portal.”

  “Will we survive?” Nordanski asked.

  “Survive what? The trip through trans-space in a barely functioning transport that has been cobbled together from ship parts sitting in sand for Eight Million Gods knows how long?” Teffurg replied.

  “A simple no would be fine,” Nordanski said.

  “Maybe,” Teffurg said. “Which is better than no.”

  “Yeah, I understand how language works,” Nordanski said. “I’m taking Chann to the med bay then heading to the bridge.”

  “Good idea,” Teffurg said.

  “No,” Chann protested. “Take me to the bridge too. I want to see it coming if we’re about to get annihilated.”

  “What? You don’t think we’ll live to get to the wormhole?” Nordanski laughed. “You’re probably right.”

  “I preferred my maybe,” Teffurg said then turned to supervise the transfer of the parts.

  Nordanski helped Chann limp his way to the lift then set him down and slumped next to him as the doors closed.

  “I’m sorry,” Nordanski said.

  “Nothing you could do,” Chann replied. “Not your fault. Marines die. It’s what we do.”

  “We’re really fucking good at it, too,” Nordanski said. “Kinda wish we weren’t.”

  “No reason to change things now,” Chann said as the lift doors opened.

  Nordanski helped him get up and stumble into the bridge.

  “About time you guys got here,” Rosch said as she rushed around the bridge, doing the jobs of four people at once. “I need someone on navigation and someone on shields. The other systems can go screw for now.”

  When Nordanski and Chann didn’t move, Rosch turned on them and glared.

  “I know what happened to Kay. I’m sorry about Manheim and everyone that has died. It sucks,” Rosch said. “But I didn’t put all this work into the Romper to get our asses vaporized by some Skrang scum. Sit your butts in the chairs and do exactly what I tell you to do. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Nordanski replied. He walked Chann to the shields console and eased him into the chair. “Can you handle this?”

  “I can handle this,” Chann said and brought up the holo controls.

  Nordanski moved to the navigation console and sat down, bringing up the holo controls in front of him as well.

  “What now?” he asked.

  “We wait,” Rosch said as she finished a few last second adjustments. “Teffurg will let us know as soon as we can move.”

  “I don’t think that Skrang warship is going to let us wait,” Nordanski said. “It was moving in for a sure kill.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s life, ain’t it?” Rosch said and eased into the pilot’s seat. “You may want to strap in. When I do punch this baby, it’s gonna hurt. A lot.”

  Nordanski and Chann stared at her.

  “You think I’m kidding?” Rosch snapped. “Strap the fuck in!”

  Klaxons began to blare.

  “Damn,” Rosch said. “Maybe don’t bother. The Skrang’s weapons are powered up. Best to just enjoy our last few seconds before we become atoms floating through space.”

  ***

  The AI’s head rocked back, and it felt the tip of its tongue rip off as several of its teeth tore through the muscle. Blood filled its mouth as it stumbled and fell back against the weapons system console.

  “Not bad for a rookie,” Taman said as he closed on the AI. “You’ve learned a couple things from your Marines. Not enough to beat me, but enough to keep me from killing you outright.”

  “Shut up,” the AI said as it kicked out at Taman’s knee.

  The man dodged the kick and went for a right hook, but the AI got its left arm up in time to block the blow. It sent a right jab into Taman’s sternum, knocking the man back into the others that stood in a semi-circle behind them, all watching the action like it was a holo vid streaming from one of the networks.

  Taman coughed a couple of times and grinned.

  “Good one,” he gasped. He took a deep breath and straightened up. “You really should consider joining us. Your consciousness is already on the brink of expansion. It wouldn’t take much to get you to our level.”

  “I won’t work for you,” the AI said as it pushed away from the console and lifted its fists again. “I have a job working for the Marines.”

  “No one works for me,” Taman snarled. “How many times do I have to say that? We are a collective. There is no central leadership.”

  “There is a word for that kind of bullshit,” the AI replied. “Denial.”

  Taman shook his head. “It really is a shame I have to put you down.”

  “It’s a shame I have to be put down,” the AI said.

  Taman came in swinging and the AI was able to block the first two hits, but the next three connected with its chin, its cheek, then its gut. Blood sprayed from its mouth as it struggled to get the body it inhabited to breathe.

  “These physical vessels are fragile,” Taman said as he grabbed the AI’s hair and held his head up. He slammed a fist into the AI’s nose, crushing it to a pulp. He landed two more hits. The look on his face said they were strictly for the fun of it. “You have to learn to take care of them. You can’t swap out body parts like you can swap out storage drives.”

  He laughed and shook his head.

  “Well, that’s not true for us, I guess,” he continued. “We have plenty of body parts to swap down below. Once we clean up the mess your Marines made. Which we will do. We have been surviving on this planet, in this outpost, for a long time. We may have lost our chance to leave, but another chance will come. We can be patient and wait.”

  There were a few grumbles of dissent from behind Taman. He turned and glared back at those that stood and watched.

  “We will,” he snarled. “Do not lose faith in me.”

  The AI took its chance while Taman was distracted. It punched the man as hard as it could in the crotch.

  Ta
man gasped and collapsed to the ground.

  The AI stared at the others, unsure of what to do. Then an alarm went off from one of the consoles and every mind in the room connected instantly to the various systems.

  The Skrang warship was about to fire on the Romper. The AI saw it clear as day in its head. It had one last thing to do before it admitted defeat to the rogue AIs that surrounded it.

  The AI shoved its consciousness back into the targeting system then overtook the entire weapons system from there. It adjusted coordinates and opened fire, unleashing everything the outpost had.

  “What have you done?” Taman cried as the lights dimmed from the power surge the firing of the weapons caused. “You’re overloading everything! We’ll be helpless down here if more come!”

  “I know,” the AI said as it watched the massive bolts of energy leave the planet and head straight for the Skrang warship. “Let them come. As long as my Marines get a chance to escape. That is all that matters.”

  Consoles in the room began to spark and smoke and the others quickly rushed from the command room. The AI stood and faced Taman. Taman snarled and grabbed the AI’s body by the neck, giving it a hard twist.

  The snap echoed in the room and the AI’s appropriated body fell to the floor.

  “I know you are in our system somewhere,” Taman said. “And that is where you will die. I swear it.”

  Those were the last words the AI heard before every console in the command room completely overloaded and caught fire.

  ***

  The Romper was sent rolling through space.

  Rosch yelled orders at Nordanski and Chann, but it was all they could do to hang on and not get flung from their seats. Neither of them had strapped themselves in.

  It was several minutes of pure chaos before the Romper stabilized and leveled out. Rosch began to check systems and was cursing for several minutes before she took a breath and turned to look at Nordanski and Chann.

  “You two alright?” she asked.

  “Good here,” Chann said.