by Joe Crouch
“Don’t be ridiculous, Human, you wouldn’t even make it past the fighters let alone do any damage to a destroyer,” he scoffed, shaking his head, “It’s admirable you would sacrifice yourself for this crew…”
“- No one said anything about sacrifice…” he interrupted.
“- But it just isn’t worth the risk, you’re better off where you are, if we go down, we all go down.” The passion in Fez’s voice was commendable, especially seeing as the Mar’Ell wasn’t far from being torn in two by the remaining vessel, but he couldn’t help but feel useless. “Nav, plot a course out from here, syphon power from every system and sub-system that isn’t life support or shields and put it towards the engine’s thrust, if we can get out of their weapons range maybe someone will pick up on our distress beacon.” It was a final effort from the Ioution, they were defeated and limping away, praying for mercy from their relentless enemy. He watched his display as power was drained from every vein of the ship and pumped towards a single beating heart, it would either work and they survive long enough for another to slip in and clean up the mess or fail and die a miserable death.
The increased thrust aboard the ship could easily be felt, the grav-plating tried its hardest to compensate for the increase as alarms blared throughout the bridge warning them of imminent systems failure. The gap increased between them and the Xuron, but they couldn’t outrun the small fighters who now instead of attacking the ship merely followed beside them, watching and waiting.
“What are they doing?” Sean asked, Fez looked around for answers but none were forthcoming, instead he turned to his display, a frown distorting his features.
“The destroyer seems to be keeping its distance as well, most unusual,” Fez mused, staring off into the distance, lost in thought. “There must be something happening… Increase the sensor sensitivity, see if there are any stealth ships out there.” An affirmative reply came back to Fez as the officer concentrated on his display, working furiously to change the sensors on the fly, it wasn’t long before they had their answer. Popping up in between the swarm of fighters and the destroyer was a new ship, much smaller than the destroyer but bigger than the fighters, it lumbered across space in a type of stealth mode, not allowing any wayward signals to give away their position. “Weapons, get a lock on that new vessel, use point defence to try and disable it if we can get a better look at it that would benefit us all,” a faint rumble rippled through the walls as the Mar’Ell’s point defences opened fire on the slow ship. Looking down at his display, he watched the projected flight path of the bolts as they lanced across space towards their target, the wayward ship noticed their fire because before long they had dropped all pretences of stealth and came at them hot, not even attempting to hide their signatures.
The small craft danced around their weapons fire, dodging between the bolts with an agility not seen on a typical Xuron craft. Breaking away from the Mar’Ell the fighters formed a protective barrier around the vessel. “Continue firing, give them everything we have,” Fez shouted becoming ever more agitated as his pride and joy sustained massive damage, again the walls vibrated as the point defence lit the space around them up in an inferno of colour. The agile fighters threw themselves towards the streaking bolts intercepting them before they reached their target, sacrificing themselves to protect their larger cousin, what could it be? he thought, it must be important.
“Captain, we’ve detected a large power build-up on the Xuron destroyers aft section, it seems they’re preparing for a massive weapons discharge.” the tactical officer reported.
“Nav put us on evasive pattern two, execute when ready.” Veering across space, the large Ioution ship began to dodge and weave on a predetermined path, trying their best to avoid any potential weapons fire in their current state.
“Captain, a section of the fighters has broken off and are targeting our port nacelles, we’re going to be dead in the water if something…”
“Weapons fire,” the tactical officer shouted, “Massive weapons discharge from the Xuron destroyer, it’s heading our way, Captain, we won’t be dodging it.” Fez keyed his terminal, patching himself into the ship wide communications.
“Brace for impact, I repeat, brace for impact.” The bridge crew held on tightly, displays around the room flashed onto a new screen tracking the incoming projectile, Fez’s terminal showed the massive, pulsing red lightning that headed towards them, stopping for nothing but its intended target. It didn’t take long for it to slam into their shields which exploded with a loud crack as energy sparked off and dissipated into the surrounding space before failing completely, allowing the remainder of the Xuron projectile to slam into their outer hull. The impact whipped everyone around in their seats as if they had just crashed a car, moments later new alarms began to shriek across the ship as sparks flew from every surface as terminals overloaded and exploded.
“Hull breach on decks four, five, and six, we’re losing atmosphere down there, Captain, I’ve closed off the bulkheads,” the tactical exclaimed behind a panicked voice.
“Captain, that new ship, it's picked up speed and is heading right for the hole in our hull, what do you think they could be doing?” Fez opened a comms channel to the marines stationed aboard.
“Marines, make your way down to deck four, ensure to take atmospheric equipment, the hull has been compromised in that section,” Fez said, receiving an affirmative response from the marine commander. Time passed slowly, the crew went about their work as best they could but they knew this could be the end, all they had worked for, lost in a Xuron ambush, it was the realities of war, one moment everything’s fine, the next your upside down and calling for help, although out here it wasn’t a quick trip in the skies, it was light years before anyone could get to them, in space people could hear you scream through the radios, it was just often futile.
A crash rocked the ship, the small Xuron craft impacted straight into their hull rupture, but nothing came, the explosion Sean expected was curiously absent, “No explosion?” Sean asked Fez.
“No, I think it's…” he was interrupted by a marine calling over the radio.
“Intruder alert, Captain,” the marine shouted over the sound of gunfire, “Xurons are exiting the crashed craft and coming aboard…”
Chapter 16
“Yumie, Sean, follow me, we have to get to the armoury,” Fez yelled as he shot up out of his seat and turned to face the bridge door, sprinting as fast as he could. The ship was under attack from within, the Xuron Lander had crashed through a breach caused by an enemy destroyer and deployed foot soldiers. Marines aboard had responded to the attack and met them on deck four, but they were caught unprepared and undermanned, the ship would need everyone at the top of their game if they were to survive. Faint weapons fire came from the distance as a fierce battle was being waged below, they had little information to go on but all they needed to know was that this was a life or death situation, and no one else was here to save them.
Arriving at a service elevator, the group were dismayed to see that the doors were crippled and buckled as sparks flew from an access terminal. “It looks like we’re taking the stairs then,” Sean bemoaned, kicking the already broken doors. Nodding, Fez pushed Yumie along, he had recovered from his earlier wounds and he might not be fighting fit, but they knew he would give everything if and when they needed it. The trio trudged through the barren hallways, terminals hung from the scarred walls as the lighting flickered in and out of existence. The air bit at their skin as the temperature dropped as the environmental systems struggled to cope, excess heat escaped into space as power from life support was diverted in a futile attempt to combat the outside vacuum. Standing atop the stairs the gunfire was only interrupted by the intimidating hisses that sent a chill down his spine, the fighting was directly below them, he fought against every fibre of his being that screamed at him to rush in and help, however foolish it may have been. “We can’t go down there,” he said, “We’ll be walking into the middle of i
t all,” Fez looked around and ran his hands over the freezing walls.
“Here,” the captain said as he slammed his weight against the wall, a service hatch cracked open and split in two as the parts receded allowing the team access. “You go first, Human,” Fez motioned for Sean to slide into the narrow crawlspace and obliging, he climbed in on his knees and moved forwards. The soft glow of the emergency lighting barely illuminated the way, the walls felt as if they were closing in, but compared to what was happening outside the tranquillity was refreshing, a faint hum buzzed through the crawlspace, this is where I’m coming for a nap he thought.
“Sean, go right and there should be a ladder, it will take us straight down multiple decks to the armoury, at least it’ll save us a bit of time,” Yumie voice echoed through the confined space. Turning right, he grabbed onto the oddly warm ladder and started his descent with Fez and then Yumie following above. As they descended the ladder the gunfire once again became apparent, stepping off onto the platform for deck two, he let the others catch up. The sweat began to bead on his forehead as the area was uncomfortably hot, noticing the wall terminal to his side he pressed his hand against its smooth surface to open its associated hatch. As the access split in two, flames spat out and licked every surface.
“Shit,” he shouted, “Watch out.” Covering his face, he slammed his hand back against the panel, snapping the flames path of destruction in two, the remaining embers dissipated in the air.
“Right, he isn't allowed to touch anything else aboard this ship ever again,” Fez coughed, stepping onto the platformhewiped the ash from his face. “Only a few more decks to go, we’re going to have to pass the invasion force, they shouldn't notice us, but let’s keep our heads up and remain alert.” The trio descended towards the armoury, only stopping to listen out for the enemy’s position, the weapons fire seemed muted, almost distant, even though they were closer to it than ever.
Pulling the hatch apart, Sean climbed out from the tight crawlspace and stepped into the cluttered hallway that greeted him, he moved aside to let out an exhausted Yumie. Their destination was in sight as they saw the armoury down the long faintly lit hallway. As Sean took a step forwards he was pulled back by an alert Fez who nodded down towards the ground, a set of what appeared to be Xuron footprints were pressed into the thin layer of grime that covered everything. “We must proceed quietly,” Fez whispered, “These are recent, whoever made them is still nearby,” Yumie and Sean nodded together and let Fez take point.
Pressing himself up against the ruined wall, Fez pushed the exposed wires to one side as he motioned for his team to follow and stay low. They moved silently and cautiously, the group were acutely aware of any traps a lone Xuron may have laid. The air grew thicker as they advanced, the dust clung to their internal organs and restricted their breathing. Following the footsteps led the team to the armoury, “It must be inside,” Fez exclaimed, “It’s footprints stop right here,” the team pressed their backs firmly against the wall and slid across, making no noise apart from their laboured breathing. The door was wide open, peeking his head around the corner, Fez saw a single Xuron picking up and inspecting different weapons and throwing them into a case.
“Right, Sean, you form up on me, pick up whatever weapon you can, then we sneak up to the bug and kill it without it ever knowing we were here,” Fez said.
“Alright,” he replied, the excitement tangible in his voice, “Let’s get ready to…” before they could get into position, Yumie slammed a hand over his own mouth, trying his best to stifle a sneeze. The noise drew the Xuron’s attention, it spun quickly around and let out a deafening hiss, “Fuck,” Sean sighed. The Xuron stood proud, taller than Fez its small wings fluttered knocking over empty racks that stood freely. In an instant, the scaly alien raised its weapon and let off repeated rounds in their direction, scorching the frames of the door as it dove to one side and took cover behind the clouded glass container. The break in fire is all Fez needed to roll into the room, taking up position behind a rack of high-energy weaponry he grabbed a small pistol and fired blindly over the rack, suppressing the alien long enough for Sean and Yumie to rush in beside him, each grabbing a different weapon.
Poking his head over the flimsy cover he saw the Xuron holding a device in its hand, before he could get a shot off the hissing alien threw a rounded object towards them, its bright green pulsating light illuminated every surface it flew past. “Run!” Sean screamed, the trio scattered in every direction as the device squealed loudly, its pitch becoming increasingly deafening before exploding in a cloud of green flame, obliterating the cover they had escaped from. The bright, hot flames licked up against the weapons that now were scattered about the floor, causing their energy packs to lose containment and create secondary explosions that threw shrapnel across the room. Looking to his left Sean saw Yumie pulling himself up, dusting down his jacket and reacquiring his damaged weapon, “You all good?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m ready to fight,” Yumie replied, pulling back on a lever attached to his short, snub-nosed weapon. Fez had gotten himself into a defensive position, red bolts fizzed away from him as he took pot shots towards the Xuron’s location, a repeated burst of weapons fire tore a hole through the metallic cabinet Fez had taken cover behind. A thick smoke descended upon the room as objects were melted and incinerated by the Xuron’s plasma fire. Looking about the room, Sean noticed a rack full of small handheld devices. He locked eyes with Yumie and pointed towards the rack, he counted down from three and on go he shot up from his cover. The fluttering of the Xuron’s wings pushed the fog away as it turned to face him, but before it could get a shot off, Yumie opened fire with his weapon expelling a sonic wave towards its target, the Xuron flew back, impacting hard onto the solid floor. Angrily, it stood, aiming its weapon towards Sean as he bolted across the room. Plasma bolts impacted all around him as he darted between cover, sparks and hot slag flew onto his uniform, sliding down onto one knee he took cover behind a metal crate.
Glancing over the box, he saw Fez firing blindly over his cover, the energy bursts dissipating harmlessly against any surface they touched in a bright red fizzle. Yumie had started to sneak around to get in position behind the enemy, sliding himself along behind the low-lying racks. He turned back and sat, staring up at the small devices which lined the wall, they were ovoid in shape, a tiny terminal built into its surface. As he picked one up off the hooks the screen began to glow with a list of options that scrolled along. The text made very little sense to him, but he tucked it away in his pocket and got on his hands and knees, making his way towards where Fez was hiding. “What’s this?” he asked, “It sort of looks like the thing the bug threw at us.”
“That thing is a high-impulse explosive device, you input the correct parameters and toss it up, I’m glad you brought it to me instead of just throwing it,” Fez yelled over the weapons fire whilst snatching the device. The room was filled with the chest-pounding pulses of Yumie’s weapon discharging towards the cowering enemy, the shock pushing over anything it touched as the oscillating wave spread out. He grabbed his weapon and peered through its scope, the Xuron’s exposed leg flashed a bright red, so without hesitation, he pulled back on the trigger and let out a high-energy blast that tore through the fleshy exterior of the alien. The high-pitched scream let him know he got a direct hit. “Good shot,” Fez said, fiddling with the device, “This will all be over with soon,” as he was keying in the correct commands, the Xuron rose and rushed Yumie picking up the Ioution pilot, he flailed about pointlessly as the Xuron launched him across the room, slamming against a wall with enough force to crush Human bones.
“Nice to see you joined us,” Sean smiled, giving the gasping alien a once over before returning his attention to the impending danger. The Xuron was gone, there was only one way in and they had taken up position beside it, so it hadn’t left, but it was hiding, waiting for the right moment to strike. Not having to wait long, the main door hissed open and strolling in without a c
are in the world was Taris and with a loud squeal the Xuron rose from cover and took aim at the clueless Ioution. Sean saw the danger and got onto his feet, he sprinted tackling her to the ground as energy blasts zipped past.
“Now this I could get used to,” Taris smirked, staring at Sean as he lay on top of her, in a moment of realisation he pushed himself off and rolled to the side, ducking behind a rack of weapons. He turned to look at Taris as she lay on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.
“Don’t get too used to it, get your ass over here,” he shouted, grabbing her arm and dragging her over, “You recovered quickly.”
“Doctors and their fancy gadgets,” she shrugged, “So what’s going on here,” she asked as blasts tore through the wall next to them leaving large scorch marks. Shaking his head, he grabbed two weapons and handed one over to the nonchalant Ioution.
“We’re just having some fun, that’s all,” he beamed as the room went silent, the mist started to clear, revealing the devastation that had become of the room. The pair peeked around their corners scanning the room for any movement, he looked over to Fez who seemed to be equally confused as he slowly stood with his weapon raised. The pair turned back to see the Xuron towering over them, a mucus-like liquid dripping onto the floor next to them. Taris tried to raise her weapon but it was kicked out of her hand. Trying to scamper away, the alien grabbed Taris by her leg and yanked her back, Sean closed his eyes and clutched his weapon tightly as he let off a stream of energy. A sudden thud and an exasperated gasp signalled for him to open his eyes, the first sight he witnessed was the large alien corpse laying on top of Taris, “Him or me, make a choice,” Sean smirked.
