by Colin Weldon
“I gotta go take care of some business. Get these people off as fast as you can, I’ll see you on board. Trust me,” she said.
“What if there are more of those grey aliens left on board?” Aron said.
Carrie looked over to Maya.
Maya come here, she told her in her mind.
Maya turned and nodded, making her way through the colonists to get to Carrie.
“Look after these people, Aron, I know you’ll get everyone off,” Carrie said.
Aron looked at her.
“What about you?” he said with feeling as his eyes met Carrie’s.
“This is what I was meant to do,” she replied.
Maya reached the pair and stood smiling at Carrie.
“Maya, you need to protect everyone while I’m gone. You’re in charge now,” she said.
Maya nodded.
“Are you coming back?” Maya said.
“Of course, I am,” she replied.
She turned to Aron and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. She suddenly thought of Chavel, how she hadn’t seen him, hadn’t spoken to him. Maybe she’d never speak to him again. Maybe it was better that way. She turned to Maya and gave her a hug before turning back to Tyrell.
“Keep sending them over, no matter what happens, get these people off,” she said pointedly to him.
Tyrell nodded as he gathered another large group onto the pad. Carrie turned, gave Aron one last look, and then made for the entryway. The quickest way off this ship was the hole she had just created on the bridge, so that’s where she was headed.
***
Carrie moved through the stream of colonists as she made her way to the end of the corridor. Every glance told her all she needed to know about these people. They were afraid. She caught the eye of an elderly man holding the hand of a young girl with light blonde hair. She was holding a stuffed lion. She stopped for a moment and smiled at the girl, she grinned back. Carrie then moved past them with purpose. She reached the end of the hallway and waited until the next group of people had materialised on the small pad before stepping on and activating her face plate so that she could breathe once she reached the bridge. She pressed the controls, felt the cold air and was whisked away.
BRIDGE
She stood on the pad for a moment and looked up at the damage she’d caused. It was extensive. Streams of ambient light flooded through the gaping hole. There was still gravity on the deck. One of the panels flickered from light to dark as its broken circuits connected and disconnected. She looked back up at the hole and saw it. Where there should have been stars, there was only darkness. The huge mass of the Targlagdu ship blocked everything from view. It was much closer than she had realised and had already split apart. It was ready to encompass both ships. She saw the aft section of The Agathon as it drifted past and took a breath, activating the thrusters on her feet. She lifted off, fighting the pull of the gravity, and propelled herself out of Jack’s ship and into the wide openness of space. She used her palm thrusters to turn in mid-flight, trying to get one last look at both ships.
“Carrie to Agathon,” she said activating the voice command system inside her faceplate.
“Carrie?” her father said.
“I’m going to try and hold this thing off,” she said, “I’m off your port bow.”
“We have you on the scope,” he replied, “stay close, Carrie, we’re going to have to pull you out at a moment’s notice.”
“Understood, enjoy the show,” she said smiling as she stared down into the belly of the beast.
She glanced back and saw an apocalyptic battle. There were Targlagdu ships all over the place, converging on their position like magnets drawn to a galactic sized chunk of metal. Energy weapons from the alien fleet were erupting from all directions. She saw one wrapped in tendrils, firing wildly before being crushed and exploding. She saw one ship appear to do a suicide run into the surface of one of the Targlagdu planets, exploding on impact, like a fly attracted to a buzzing light trap. She looked back and faced the planet closing in on their ships.
“Hello, my old friend,” she said activating her palm thrusters and moving closer.
She could see far inside its central core, thousands of kilometres of distorted and twisted metal stretching as far as her eye could see. It was from the centre that the tentacles were emerging. Then she heard the voice.
Tar … Gla … Gdu!
“Yeah, I know,” she said to herself moving closer.
She moved roughly a hundred or so kilometres away from The Agathon and The Sienna Clark, before she stopped. The Targlagdu ship seemed to be slowing down. The tentacles continued to extend from its core.
“Learned your lesson, did you?” she said.
The long snake-like tentacles began to grow quickly now, shooting out from its centre, straight towards her. She waited.
“Carrie, watch yourself, another one has just changed course and is en route to intercept with your location,” came her father’s voice in her ear.
Carrie turned her head and saw it. A second Targlagdu, coming up at a right angle from the opposite side.
“Shit,” she said turning back to the oncoming attack from the first, “all right, let’s do this.”
She took a breath, summoned her power and let loose. A powerful beam of energy erupted from her arms, travelled across the emptiness, and made contact with a cluster of tentacles. They exploded, in unison, leaving broken and flaming stumps recoiling back into the centre of the planet, but were soon replaced by another grouping equally as fast, which in turn began uncoiling and moving in her direction. Carrie pulled back and waited. She turned to the other planet approaching her. Fresh sets of enormous tendrils were almost on top of her.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said firing off another bout of energy towards them.
They too, exploded. She increased the intensity of her energy discharges and sent a fireball down the length of the tentacle, all the way back to its core.
“Carrie!” came her father’s voice, “there’s ...”
The comm system went dead.
“Father?” Carrie said as she watched several more secondary explosions erupt near the Targlagdu’s core.
No answer. She watched the second Targlagdu as it approached. It was getting close. They were coming for her. She needed to neutralise the one closest to her, while also drawing them away from The Agathon, so she fired her palm and feet thrusters and moved in. The one closest to her began to change. The opening across its equator was closing and it seemed to be growing larger, becoming bulbous on the top. That’s when she realised her mistake. There was a second vessel, directly behind this one that she hadn’t seen. Like a moon eclipsing the sun. She placed her palms in front of her and stopped.
“Okay,” she whispered to herself.
The two mechanical planets began to separate, with the one behind it, gaping wide open. She turned to the one closet to her. There were three headed for her now.
I see you, said a growling voce from inside her mind.
Carrie stopped. Something was wrong, she couldn’t move her arms.
I see you, said the growling voice again.
“No!” she shouted in her helmet, “not now!”
You can’t defeat me, said the voice, you never will.
Carrie’s legs stopped moving. She began tumbling through space, her thrusters still firing. She was frozen, every muscle.
“Let me go,” she said, feeling the pressure of the increased G’s as she was flung ever closer to the Targlagdu ship.
No, I don’t think so, said The Black.
Carrie was spinning in an awkward cartwheel. Flipping over and over. She saw hundreds of curling tentacles. She spun towards them. She closed her eyes and tried to focus, tried to find the invading thing inside her. It was hiding, somewhere deep. She began to get dizzy, she
wanted to vomit. Suddenly, she felt something wrapping around her waist, stopping her. Something hard. She opened her eyes and tried to regain her equilibrium. Something had her, a snake-like thing, curling around her waist, trapping her arms against her sides. She looked up and saw the mechanical planet. Its gaping mouth was wide open. She felt a powerful tug as it began pulling her inside.
34:
THE AGATHON
“Lock onto that thing and fire everything we’ve got,” said Barrington to Boyett.
She obeyed instantly. He watched the screens as the cannons unloaded a barrage of energy pulses towards one of the Targlagdu ships. He saw an explosion on its surface.
“Report,” he shouted desperately wanting to break away from the alien ship and go after his little girl.
Another flurry of light filled the screens, as his ship fired again and again. More explosions on the surface of the Targlagdu ships. They seemed to be ignoring them. They were moving away from their position, back on a course for the Ruthenium home world.
“They’re moving out of range, sir,” Boyett said.
“Keep firing,” Barrington said trying to control his heart rate.
He watched as the energy beams from the alien cannons fired over and over, each strike a direct hit, but with fewer and fewer indications that any damage was being done. The Targlagdu ships had moved too far away. They were now out of range. The bridge went quiet. They had gotten her. He had seen it. His daughter’s body trapped and pulled inside. Boyett turned to the captain looking for orders. Barrington felt numb. He did the only thing he could. He focused on the moment. He turned, took a step back to his chair and slammed his fist down on the comm system.
“Tyrell!” he shouted.
“John?” came Tyrell’s voice.
“Talk to me,” he said.
“We’re nearly there, John, a few hundred people to go,” he said.
“Then stop talking to me and get on with it,” Barrington said severing the channel abruptly.
He turned to Ripley.
“Track that ship, I don’t want to lose it,” he said to her.
“Yes, Captain,” she replied.
He tapped the comm again.
“Agathon to shuttle one,” he said.
“Chavel here,” came the reply.
“Lieutenant, I need to speak directly to Tark’An,” said Barrington.
“Yes, sir, stand by while I try to get him on the line,” came the reply.
Barrington waited, watching the images on the screen of the firefight ensuing next to the planet. Ships were scattered now around the huge circular ring portal. Energy weapons were firing at a constant rate.
“Tark’An is on the line. I’ll translate, go ahead, Captain,” said Chavel.
“General, can you spare one of your escort ships? We need to intercept a Targlagdu ship to try and get one of our crew members back,” Barrington said.
Barrington could hear Tark’An’s voice growling in the background.
“He says yes, Captain, but be advised that The Agathon should enter the porthole as soon as possible,” Chavel said.
Barrington rubbed his cheek.
“How long can he give me?” he said.
Chavel asked the question.
“The sequence has already been activated,” Chavel said.
Barrington thought for a moment.
“Okay, David, one of those things has got Carrie. We’re going after her, but we may not have time to come back to get you. So, you’re gonna have to come to us. Keep your engine outputs to a minimum, and whatever you do, don’t engage. This one’s gonna be close,” Barrington said, “you can make it.”
“Sir, I can go get her, the shuttle is more manoeuvrable anyway. Just send me the coordinates of the ship,” Chavel said.
Barrington thought about it. He was right, the shuttle was more manoeuvrable, and Chavel was one hell of a pilot, but it was a suicide mission on his own.
“Get going, David, rendezvous with our position and we’ll relay further instructions. Good luck Lieutenant,” Barrington said.
“Luck has nothing to do with it sir, see you soon,” Chavel said.
“Tell Tark’An to ask the escort to provide as much cover as they can,” Barrington said.
“Yes, sir,” Chavel said.
“Agathon out,” Barrington said sitting back in his chair and looking at Boyett.
“He’ll make it,” he said as she turned back.
Come on, Tyrell, get a move on, he thought.
TARGLAGDU VESSEL
Carrie cried out in pain. She was being electrocuted. She was in its core, suspended in mid-air by snake like tubes and staring down at the cube, essentially its brain. She’d seen the cube before and had been able to defeat it, but something was different this time. She was paralysed and unable to summon her power. She wondered why it hadn’t killed her already. She mentally kicked herself for not searching harder for The Black, to make sure it was really gone. It hadn’t taken over her mind, just her ability to move. She was furious. She glanced around at the endless array of twisted metal and flowing machine parts that made up the central core of the Targlagdu vessel. There were things moving on platforms below her. Spidery looking machines that would glance up at her with little red eyes from time to time and then move on to whatever it was they were doing.
She pressed against her restraints again, and was punished with a charge of energy that bolted through her muscles. It caused her mouth to contract with such force; she thought her teeth would break. She screamed again. It had found a way to capture and secure her. She wasn’t certain if it even knew the Black existed inside her and wondered if indeed, The Black had decided to sacrifice itself out of pure spite.
I really wouldn’t bother, Carrie, came The Black’s voice inside her head, It’s the end. It must be. If I can’t have you, then I assure you, you can’t have yourself. You want to waste our existence, then go ahead. It will dispose of you soon enough, but not before it attempts to duplicate you. Or … you can let me back in, it’s entirely up to you.
Carrie tried to move her arms again. Nothing. She looked down at the huge black cube as it turned slowly. The coiled metallic tendrils that were holding her suspended in mid-air began to vibrate. She looked up to her right and saw hundreds of the robotic spider things beginning to make their way down the long coils towards her.
“Shit,” she said out loud.
Time’s running out, Carrie, let me in. These things are going to remove your flesh, piece by piece, inch by inch, while you are still alive. Let me back in!
Carrie didn’t answer. She looked around her once again and tried to think of options. She still couldn’t move. She took a breath and tried to focus on opening her mind.
Mother! she screamed into the darkness, what do I do?
There was silence for a moment. She could see a darkness somewhere inside her, far away in the distance, then a voice.
Carrie, hold on, came her mother’s voice, they’re coming for you.
“I can’t,” Carrie said feeling weekend, defeated.
She turned and looked at the spider things as they made their way down the long tendrils. They were about two hundred meters away. She heard a crackle in her helmet and saw a little readout on her faceplate.
‘Communications restored’
“Carrie to Agathon!” she shouted into her faceplate.
THE AGATHON
“Sir, incoming transmission. It’s Carrie,” said Ferrate.
“Go,” replied Barrington.
“Carrie to Agathon, come in,” he heard Carrie yelling.
“I hear you, Carrie, talk to me,” said Barrington.
“I’m in trouble here,” she said, “The Black has taken control of my motor functions. I can’t move. I’m in the central core.”
“Can you hol
d on? We’re nearly finished transporting the last of the colonists on board, Carrie. Just a few more minutes,” Barrington said.
Then Barrington heard something so chilling the bridge froze, his little girl screaming out in pain. He leapt up as the howl came to an abrupt stop.
“Carrie!” he shouted.
Silence.
“Carrie?” he said.
“I’m all right,” she whispered back
Barrington fought his instincts to break off with Jack’s ship. His brain was racing through insane rescue options. He wanted to tear the whole galaxy apart to get her back. He looked back at Ferrate.
“Find out what’s happening with the transfer,” he shouted at him.
Ferrate nodded quickly.
“Carrie, listen to me, we’re coming. Is there any way for you to get me your exact position within the vessel?” Barrington said.
There was a moment of silence before his mind suddenly opened and began flooding with images.
Can you hear me? came Carrie’s voice in his head.
She had reached him.
I can hear you, replied her father.
Get the ship to safety. You can’t risk them all to come after me, Carrie said.
Bullshit, I can’t, replied Barrington.
No, you can’t. You know that. I’ll do what I can here, but do not come after me, Carrie said.
If you think I’m leaving you behind than you don’t know me very well, Barrington replied frowning and slowly taking his seat.
Father ...
“Hang on a second, Carrie,” he said out loud.
Boyett turned to him with a curious look on her face as he turned to Ferrate.
“Tyrell has just come aboard, sir, according to him that’s everyone,” Ferrate said.
“Right,” Barrington said getting up again and moving over to Boyett.
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Is that FTL algorithm that Tark’An inputted into the computer still good?” he said to her.
“Sir?” she said.
“Can you jump us inside one of those things at an exact pinpoint coordinate?” Barrington said.
