First Assault

by Kliment Dukovski

the ones on Talam, though they were just as sinister.

  And then a light flashed. For a moment Ailios thought they were attacked by the planetary defenses, but it turned out it was only a lightning. Their entire ship was surrounded by thunderstorms in a cloudy grayness of their steep descent.

  Under the clouds, heavy drops of rain slammed on their windows. I hate rain and I hate water, Ailios reckoned, but this was no ordinary rain. Radioactive, he heard someone say back on Talam. It had dreadful consequence on cybernetic bodies, especially the cheap ones. They would rust away if they stayed long enough in the open. And he knew rusted metal was easier to breach with bullets.

  “How much longer?” he heard himself say despite his best efforts to stay quiet.

  “We’re almost there. Hold on.”

  Like there was anything else he could do. He tried to peer through the window but all he saw were drops the size of Luthis’s ball, splattering down. A lightning bolt would flash from time to time and scare him to death.

  “Hmm,” Olivia tapped her finger on the dashboard, thinking. “It turns out we are lucky.”

  “Lucky means being on a peaceful beach, sun warming my feet, and a bunch of girls to give me massage.”

  Olivia turned and gave Ailios a cold stare. “And today lucky means that their planetary defense grid is down.”

  Ailios leaned forward in his seat. “No way.” That was lucky indeed.

  “Yes way. We can fly over the palace, drop bombs, and get back into space and no one can do a damn thing about it.”

  “It sure sounds like a better plan than this,” Luthis mumbled. He was examining his bandaged wrist. “Do you think a limb repair DNA can bring my hand back?”

  Olivia didn’t seem to hear what he said. “Unfortunately, we are not here for that,” she said. “I will gladly do it on our way out. For now we’ll have to do what’s best for finding a doctor. And that means landing outside the capital to avoid attention. We’ll have to walk from there.”

  “On this weather?” Ailios asked. “And I thought Talam’s rains were bad.”

  Ailios watched through the window into showers of radioactive water and gray clouds until a flash lit up the sky and let him catch a glimpse of dozens of gigantic towers over a vast ruined city.

  Where in the name of gods are you going, he almost asked her, but then he realized the towers were deserted as much as they were ominous, a remnants of long gone Cyon ancestors. Olivia was probably going to land behind the abandoned city and from there they would have to make their way to the capital. Ailios tried to estimate how much time they would need to reach their destination by foot in this weather.

  “I still can’t believe we’re doing this for a bloody Cyon,” said Luthis, finally letting his wrist drop on the armrest.

  Ailios turned to him. “We’re not doing this for a Cyon. We’re doing this for our people.”

  “Somehow I can’t see a connection between the two.”

  “That’s your problem.”

  Olivia took them almost to the ground at the edges of the abandoned city when she halted the ship in mid air and let it hover. “Change of plans,” she said. “Our spy just told me it was safe to land in what he called the garbage disposal complex inside the city.”

  “Couldn’t he choose some better spot?” said Ailios. “Like somewhere with a view over the palace?”

  “He said the upper parts of the city are in chaos,” said Olivia, “poor people attacking homes of the rich. We should be fine in the coordinates he gave and closer to the doctor we need.”

  There was nothing Ailios could approve or disapprove as their team leader. The fact that they were on the Cyon home world made their plan crazy enough. Whatever needed to be done to succeed he was ready to do even if it meant landing on Cyon garbage hills.

  The ship ascended back up and headed straight for the capital. Ailios watched through the window, waiting for a flash to light up the city he feared the most. And just as he hoped a bright flash almost tore the sky in half. The vast city spread underneath the yellow dolphin; the gigantic pyramid that he knew was the emperor’s palace was dark and glistening in the rain. In front of the palace was the city square they called Forum Magnum, sprinkled with puddles of mud. In the streets branching from the forum, he noticed groups of Cyons running amok. They were exchanging flashes of light.

  I hope they kill themselves before we land.

  But all in all he was disappointed by the sight of the capital. He expected towers like the deserted ones outside the city, many shuttles and transports flying over their buildings, Cyons walking and trading … and a damn sunny weather. Even a dust storm would be more welcome than rain. However, there was none of it.

  “Did you see that?” Friseal asked, his focus somewhere between houses. “Five Cyons against one.” They tore the man in half – or the woman, or whatever it was – and then they tore his limbs apart. Friseal made a grimace. “And they call us savages.”

  Ailios shifted in his seat. “Once we land we better watch out.” He hoped it would be an easy mission with no soldiers to worry about. It turned out poor people were just as dangerous as the soldiers on Palatine.

  Next they passed a gigantic wall that separated the capital in two disproportional areas. It didn’t take long to figure out what they were separating. It was obvious enough from the first glance.

  Ailios wiped the sweat on his forehead, trying to avoid the bump. “I think it’s time we prepared for our little excursion.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. Friseal did the same while Luthis struggled a bit with his injured hand.

  The archeologist was the only one who didn’t move. “I think I better stay here,” he said. “I will be nothing but a burden to your group. Here I can be productive – I can search through the military database and find the exact location of Eve now that I know it’s definitely on Talam.”

  “You do that, my friend,” said Ailios. He didn’t want to hear anything more about this Eve thing, and he didn’t have Faragar to carry the man on the surface. Ailios then turned to his pilot. “Olivia?”

  “Just a second.” She did few maneuvers and they landed in an open area full of metal parts stained with blue liquid. There were tons of cables and all sorts of Cyon junk, swimming in water. What seemed funny to Ailios was that the area was surrounded by rusty walls, as if someone was going to come and steal the garbage.

  Olivia turned her seat. “You were saying…?”

  “Stay inside the ship in case we need to leave faster than–”

  “And let you prowl this dangerous place alone?” She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. “No way, babe.” He loved it when she called him that even when it was nothing more than a jape on his account. “And I need to stretch my legs,” she said. She turned to her plants, caressed a leaf with her fingers. “Wait for me darlings.”

  All four climbed down to the lower deck.

  “Okay, so we’ll need our Bio-suits,” said Ailios. He knew the atmosphere had oxygen, but was it enough for humans to freely breathe? He didn’t know. He wouldn’t risk it.

  Friseal opened his locker first. “We have special environmental suits designed for Palatine.” He pulled out a box. Inside, black rubber suit was neatly folded. Friseal brought the suit up and let it unfold.

  “Special suits, Bio-suits, it’s all the same,” said Luthis. “They will cause suspicion however you call them.” He tapped his finger on the shoulder emblem on the suit in Friseal’s hands. “You think the Cyons never saw this?” The blue seal of the united human tribes poked the eyes however you looked at it.

  “That’s easy,” said Friseal. He ripped the emblem off. “Better?”

  Luthis scoffed and pushed past the chameleon on his way to his locker. He pulled out the box and muttered more complains as he started dressing.

  Ailios peeled off his clothing and put on the lower garment. Then he pulled on the special environmental suit. He then sat to tie his boots and looked up at Olivia. “Where do we meet our guy? Is he far from h
ere?”

  “He said we’ll need to walk out the main gate of the garbage disposal complex and he’ll wait for us across the street. He said the doctor’s location is nearby in the city slums.”

  “Garbage disposal complex, city slums,” said Ailios. “And I had high hopes about this place.” He smiled, but no one seemed to get his joke. “Okay, team, our mission is simple – we get to the slums, kidnap the doctor, and we get out.”

  “Very simple,” said Luthis. He struggled to put his gloves on. Friseal helped him with that.

  “Any questions?” Ailios asked. Once he got only scowls and not a word, he clapped his hands. “Okay then, gentlemen and dear lady, let’s get this over with.”

  Luthis gave him a mocking salute with bent fingerless glove. “Aye, aye, major.”

  Ailios put on his gloves and then his helmet and he was ready to get out. Friseal was almost suited up. He put a helmet on and turned it until the locker rings clicked. He kneeled, opened a crate, and took out his heavy weapon and then flung it over his shoulder. If it was Faragar carrying that thing it would fit well. On Friseal it looked funny – big gun, small man. Olivia on the other hand looked perfect in her suit. Ailios expected it to be baggy like the pilot uniform she usually wore. He though it would hide her breasts and curvy hips in its shell, but it wasn’t like that at all. It was as tight as it can be. She bent over to tighten her boot and Ailios couldn’t help but stare. He thought her suit will tear