The Vampires of Antyllus

by Michael E. Gonzales

  Illat could see how this was indeed a puzzlement and could be even more so in the future. On the spot, he made a decision, "From this time on," he declared, "the metal bones and those of the red blood who are helping the E'meset will no longer be known as Ukse, they are to be called Tuva…friends."

  The E'meset under Illat ran with great speed to the cleft in the hills, a natural path relatively free of vegetation and bordered by ridges of low hills, the tops of which were choked with trees and undergrowth. The mercs were staying off the main trails, doubtless to avoid detection. This was their only route north through the densest part of the forest. Other than the trails, this gap was the only path. Here, Illat deployed his people on either side. He also sent scouts south to report the progress of the advancing Ukse.

  Illat and his people melted into the top of the hills. They lay perfectly still and waited. An hour passed in silence. As he waited, Illat ate some plant tubers and grubs he found where he lay.

  He heard the sound of a Nowreva Vee ka, a large insect that produces a loud chirping noise, and he knew. "Nay Ovat ulavatsa!" They are coming!

  The vehicles rolled into the cleft at about thirteen kilometers an hour. They were moving without security, no point vehicle, no flankers, and no rear guard. Just ducks in a row trying to make the best time they could over the path they had chosen.

  Once he saw the length of the convoy Illat decided that when the lead vehicle reached the rock on the side of the road to his far right, he would initiate the ambush—what Dave would call a trigger line.

  As the lead vehicle grew closer Illat turned the selector switch on his weapon from safe to fire. He brought the weapon to his shoulder, placed his finger on the trigger, and slowly took aim.

  He was halted by the sight of two flashing lights out in the woods beyond the northern end of the cleft. Then he heard the blaring sound the Ukse machine makes to scare others and get attention. He recognized the approaching vehicle as the one with his friends inside. It was moving very fast. When it hit rills, and rises in the path it bucked violently. It was heading right for the lead vehicle inside the cleft which swerved left, out of the way, to avoid a collision.

  The incoming machine began to veer left and right weaving wildly between the vehicles of the convoy. It drove up onto the embankment of the hills nearly to the trees on the ridge several times. Soon it had passed out of Illat's sight to his left against the flow of the Ukse traffic, having caused many of the Ukse to stop, or swerve out of the way.

  Illat’s attention was quickly drawn back to his right. At the north end of the cleft a cloud of dust enveloped the trees obscuring his vision, the ground shook, and there came a sound like the roar of a great waterfall. The roaring echoed and quickly grew louder. The stunned mercenaries on foot around the PCs looked about mystified.

  All eyes were glued to the north when the woods seemed to explode in front of them and splintered wood, branches, and large pieces of tree trunk went hurtling through the air.

  Chasing the vehicle that had just run the Ukse off the road came a thirty-two thousand kilo T'Pu Iya. With its huge blunt head, it rammed into the PCs one by one. Its thick, short legs kicked and crushed vehicles and men alike.

  When the massive animal smelled blood, it stopped its running, and turned to feast. Its claw-like tongue was as fast as lightning as it sprang out from between those massive jaws to grab individual Ukse. When they were in groups, its jaws simply scooped them up. At one point, it bit a PC in half with its jaws, tilted its head back, and the men fell from the vehicle and into the creature's gullet.

  The mercs fired on the beast, but their puny weapons seemed to have no effect.

  The attack had taken place in an instant and was only the beginning of the carnage. Illat did not stay to watch. He gave the signal to withdraw and head south. All the E'meset ran with great speed to the south end of the cleft where they set up and awaited those fleeing the T'Pu Iya.

  When they came, they came as a panicked rabble—damaged vehicles and men on foot fleeing like hell itself was after them.

  They ran directly into Illat's ambush. Perhaps it was the panicked adrenaline rush, but very few Ukse returned fire. They just continued to run, seemingly oblivious to the E'meset’s fire. Only a few dozen actually made it out of the caldron. The battle ended, at least for the E'meset. The Ukse in the cleft could still be heard screaming and firing uselessly on the indigenous animal that was devouring them, thirty to a mouthful.

  Those few who escaped the cleft returned to the clinic, where they stayed.

  To avoid the eating frenzy of the T'Pu Iya, the E'meset moved to the east several kilometers and eventually made their way to the mossy stone where Cassie told them to meet.

  Very little time had passed before Mitch and Cassie came running, on foot, toward them at an incredible speed. They stopped in front of Illat who was ecstatic to see them.

  He knelt and encompassed them both in his long arms. "My friends, ours was a great victory. I have lost no E'meset and the Ukse are little more now than leaves in the wind."

  Cassie's face was decidedly not one of joyous exuberance. She was subdued and sad. Illat saw this.

  "I am sorry," he murmured. "I forget that the Ukse are your people."

  "That was a horrible thing to see," she shuddered. "Illat, I have seen war on my home world, and I have seen many people killed. This was just…well, I guess I was revolted because this was not something I'd seen before. You can grow accustomed to seeing your own kind dead. I hope that never happens to you."

  "I'm afraid the war is not yet over," Mitch interjected. "Now, we have to return to New Roanoke, as Le'ha asked Illat to do. Now we need to move north, and quickly."

  ○O○

  Dave and the CDF were closing in on New Roanoke. The general and his staff had joined Dave toward the front of the column.

  With only four kilometers to go, the main body stopped as Dave sent scouts all the way forward to put eyes on the city's east gate. An hour later, a scout returned with the report that the path was clear and no mercenaries were visible at the gate, which remained open.

  Dave turned to the general. "Sir, to make better time, I'd like to move the column south onto the trail."

  "Major, this is just too easy, I don't like it."

  "Sir, there are any number of reasons why, in this forest, Wilmington's convoy could have been delayed. I fear if we're too timid now, Wilmington will catch up to us. Sir, I suggest we blitz."

  The general stood looking at him a moment then nodded, "All right, but let's keep our guard up."

  Dave led the column south and west so they approached the trail at a diagonal. Everyone increased their spacing and watched their flanks carefully once on the trail. Fortunately, the trees of the forest were widely dispersed which would not allow an enemy much cover or concealment. If they were out there, they would be seen.

  Not twenty minutes after the entire column had gotten onto the trail, the rear guard reported movement in the forest to their south east. Dave had everyone go to ground. They took cover at the base of trees and in a shallow ditch alongside the trail. Dave moved quickly back and toward the flank where the observation was made. He joined the flank guard, and they waited.

  Within a few minutes, silhouettes could be seen moving through the woods, but just silhouettes. With his zoom vision, Dave looked harder. It appeared to be the form of a female carrying a rifle. Dave knew there were females among the mercs. To the right of the female, he saw another silhouette and then another to her left. These people, however, were most definitely E'meset. The mercs had no E'meset among their ranks. That could mean only one thing.

  To the utter shock of all present, Dave leapt up and started running toward the advancing figures.

  As Dave ran toward the female human silhouette, he could distinguish more detail, her figure, her blond hair.

  She was not the first to notice him running at them, but she was quick to respond. Several muzzles came up and pointed directly at
Dave. He saw Kathy drop to one knee and take aim. Dave's euphoria vanished as he realized he was but an instant away from total obliteration. He stumbled to a stop and intentionally discarded his weapon. He threw his arms up and screamed, "Kathy!"

  "Dave?" She shouted back and jumped up, running toward him. They met in the blue, dark, forest and fell into each other's arms. In her kiss, Dave felt all the longing and desire that he, too, endured.

  ○O○

  Kathy and Dave were soon joined by Le'ha who had been their small group's rear guard. Again, she dropped to her knees to embrace them both.

  As they headed back toward the trail, Kathy listened as Dave quickly ran down his story. Then she explained all that had happened to her. It was clear that they had to hurry to secure the city. If Wilmington was not already back inside the city, he would not be far behind.

  Just then a voice cried out, "Major Mitchel, you better get up here, sir."

  Dave, Kathy, and Le'ha ran toward the front of the column which was now only a hundred and fifty meters from the city's east gate. Up ahead, from the gate’s left and right sides, came Wilmington's mercenaries…about a thousand of them.

  Above it all, from some unseen location Wilmington's voice came booming out over a PA loud enough that all could hear, "General Otto Steinherz, Lieutenant Colonel Kathy Selina, Major David Mitchel, and all your little minions—you SUBs, Bios, and pet anthropoids—it's been a merry chase. But now it's over. Here's my deal, and it's for a limited time only: surrender unconditionally and only your leaders will die, the rest of you will live. Otherwise, all of you die right here, right now."

  From somewhere behind them several Bios and SUBs began to shout "No!" The shouts became a chant and were quickly picked up by the others. In an instant, nearly seven hundred voices were shouting "No! No! No!" Even the E'meset were chanting. The cheer died down when eleven V-tols appeared from above the city and several hundred more mercs appeared out of the forest behind them. They were surrounded.

  General Steinherz stepped up to Kathy and Dave and looked Kathy in the eye. "That's it," he stated sadly, "checkmate. There's no way out of this. To proceed would be nothing more than the waste of all these people's lives."

  "General, our flanks are still open we—"

  "Kathy," the general stopped her, "please, it's over."

  "He's just going to kill us, sir."

  "Not them," he indicated the CDF and E'meset behind them, "They have earned the right to live."

  "Sir, Wilmington's word is no good; he'll kill us all and bleed the E'meset to death."

  "I do hope you're wrong, Kathy. But I will not give an order which results in a massacre." The general turned and walked forward toward the merc line. He stopped about halfway across and shouted, "Can you hear me, Dick?"

  There was a moment's pause before Wilmington responded, "I hear you, Otto."

  "I accept your terms."

  "My terms for what? I want to hear you say the word."

  The general glanced over his shoulder at his command, and then turned back in the direction of Wilmington's voice.

  "Surrender," he declared.

  "I'm sorry, Otto, I missed that."

  "Surrender…damn you," the general spoke louder.

  Wilmington chuckled, "I'm sorry again, Otto, but time's up."

  A single shot then rang out. The sound echoed off the blue wall of the forest then bounced off the concrete wall of the city. The bullet, fired by an unseen sniper, decapitated the general and his limp body crumpled to the ground.

  There was a moment of stunned silence before Dave shouted with his voice amp at max, "Charge!" And Dave ran forward. The CDF and their few E'meset allies followed right behind him.

  Kathy was quickly running at his side firing from the hip, "Charge?" she shouted at him.

  Several CDF fell all around them. The SUBs and the E'meset, being faster, were well ahead of the Bios, but in seconds, the battle was joined hand to hand.

  The V-tols had fired a few rockets, but the CDF had run under them. Now the V-tols were of no use as they could not fire without hitting their own people.

  The hundreds of mercs that had come up behind the CDF were now charging themselves, rushing forward to join in the melee.

  Kathy was back to back with Dave, and the fighting was very close and vicious. Butt stroking, punching, they used their SUB strength to defeat their enemies. Neither side was too eager to discharge a weapon as everyone was mixed together and there was no telling where a bullet might stop.

  Kathy tried to wound or otherwise disable an opponent without killing him. She broke arms and legs and delivered debilitating stuns with the palm of her right hand whenever possible. She quickly learned it was one thing to shoot a man at three hundred meters, and quite another to kill him with your own two hands.

  Neither Dave nor any of the others were making such distinctions, and soon the bodies were piling up beneath them. Attrition, however, was taking its toll on the CDF.

  By simple crowd dynamics, the battle moved north along the wall. From where Kathy stood, she watched as a bullet from the unseen sniper ripped into Illat's chest and the brave So torrie fell…this time no amount of Eya'Etden Metoe'Ay would help him.

  Kathy looked up; there in the ruins of the gate tower above them was the muzzle of the sniper's weapon. She grabbed Dave, "Come on, cover me!"

  Dave followed her through the swirling mass, through the butt stocks of rifles being used as clubs, through the fists and knives, to the corner of the gate. In that period, the sniper had fired four more times, killing three Bios and an E'meset—the same bullet went on to kill a merc…collateral damage.

  In making their way to the gate, Dave killed three mercs, Kathy had broken the ribs of one and the arm of a young man perhaps twenty years old.

  Quickly, she kissed Dave. "Cover me, I'm going up."

  "What?"

  Being a SUB, Kathy climbed up the gate with great skill and dexterity. She was about two thirds the way up when a bullet snapped past her ear. She looked down; the young man whose arm she'd broken out of compassion was firing at her with a pistol. "Dave, one o'clock!" she shouted.

  Dave dispatched the man without a second thought, but not before he had gotten one last round off.

  Kathy felt the bullet enter just to the right of her navel; it was traveling upward at a steep angle. It exited left of her right shoulder blade. The projectile had passed quite close to her G-buc. A myriad of warning lights erupted within her field of vision and she noted a loss of strength to her right arm. Undaunted and with no perceptible delay, she continued to climb. More bullets snapped passed her despite the admirable job Dave was doing trying to stop all who tried to engage her.

  Kathy reached the top and, with her left arm, pulled herself up and over the safety railing surrounding the maintenance chamber there. She looked through the window of the door. There lay a woman on the floor taking aim. In a microsecond, Kathy determined the shooter's next target…it was Le'ha.

  Kathy screamed "No!" as she used her left arm and shoulder to smash the door open. But the sniper had already loosed her round, and Kathy looked just in time to see Le'ha fall.

  An enraged Kathy grabbed the woman and threw her through the corrugated metal wall. She fell, kicking and flailing her arms, to her death.

  Kathy now took up the sniper's rifle. As she looked down, she was disturbed to see just how few CDF remained. But they were going down swinging, as Zolna had said. The field was littered with merc dead.

  Something made Kathy look over her shoulder. Inside the compound just rounding the side of the city, a new threat approached. A PC with a mini-gun mounted atop it. This weapon was the fulfillment of Dr. Gatling's forlorn dream of a weapon so terrible that it would end all war. This small machine gun could fire eight thousand rounds per minute. The effect on a flesh and bone target is devastating, to say the least. This thing would literally chew them to pieces. And knowing Wilmington, the crew of the PC probably had orders to fire indisc
riminately into the crowd.

  A motion caught Kathy's eye beyond the incoming vehicle, beyond the city, beyond the distant southern wall. Kathy zoomed in on the side of a treeless hill covered in low blue fern—part of the kill zone beyond the wall. Kathy spied a throng of several hundred E'meset running like demons, but to Kathy they looked like angels. This mass of friendly reinforcements would soon catch the eye of the V-tols, and when the survivors arrived here, the PC down below with its terrible weapon would be waiting for them.

  Kathy trained the snipers rifle on the mini-gun equipped vehicle and scanned it looking for vulnerabilities. She knew that her bullet would have no effect on the windshield or on the tires. Then her eyes fell on the gun itself. The flex chute feed tray for the weapon—that metal snake that bore the ammunition from the interior of the vehicle to the weapon—was perhaps the most vulnerable thing she could see. She took careful aim and fired. The bullet struck the stainless-steel snake, dislodging it from the weapon.

  Above her, she heard the V-tols increase power and move off toward the south. The E'meset coming to their aid had been spotted. Kathy took several shots at the aircraft, but they ignored her completely.

  Below at the gate, Dave was now in close hand to hand combat with three mercs but there were dozens all around him closing in.

  Looking down, Kathy could see there were still several hundred mercs and fewer than three hundred E'meset and CDF remaining. The E'meset to their south were not going to make it. They were moments away from being wiped out by the advancing V-tols.

  The general had been right. It was over. They had lost. The dominoes would fall here on Antyllus. All of Wilmington's enemies would be put to the sword. The E'lawvat E'meset would not submit to being farmed into extinction for their blood. Rather, they would launch their war and every human life on Antyllus would be snuffed out.

  Kathy looked again at the PC and found a fellow on top trying to fix the gun. Kathy casually shot him dead.