IRON SPEAR

by Anthony Thackston

  “That’s what happens when you have a good crew. People you trust.”

  “I don’t need trust. I need loyalty.” She stepped toward Irons and, even though a few yards away, she still towered over him.

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Would any of your crew fall on their swords for you?”

  “I wouldn’t ask them to.”

  “Perhaps you should try. How else could you know if—”

  “You wanna tell me why I’m here and not on my ship blowing up more of your loyal servants?”

  J clenched her fists. If it weren’t for the fur on her hands, the whites on her knuckles would have shown. She was not accustomed to such impudence. Especially not from someone who she saw as so beneath her.

  “How is it you dare speak to me in such a way?”

  “That’s easy,” Irons pointed to his good eye. “You look death in the eye enough times, you start ignoring him.”

  “When this is over, I shall make you my personal slave.”

  “Sorry to be the one to say it but near as I can tell, it’s already over.” Irons smirked. “We beat the deadline and saved the fleet. Better than just one ship.”

  J laughed. It was definitely an unnerving sound. Worse when the warriors around Irons joined her in it, it was like the sound of a cat yowling to come inside the house. Only louder and with more of a stutter. Irons wasn’t too sure what it was.

  “That the noise you all make when you’re hungry?”

  The Catters in the room immediately went silent. Irons may have not understood their reaction but they understood his insult.

  “You have far from won. You think freeing the others is the same as escaping with them?”

  “Now wait a minute,” Irons said.

  “The arrogance of Earthlings.” J threw up one of her hands and a holographic display appeared in the air above the floor.

  Irons watched the display as one of the Earth Fleet ships exploded.

  “This game is not over, human,” J said. “I admit, your warriors are efficient in battle. I hadn’t expected this kind of response since our last encounter. Clearly you have intelligent engineers on your planet. But you are still outnumbered and my homeworld is far larger than this one. To win, for you, is impossible.”

  Irons let out a laugh of his own. The Catters grimaced at the sound of it.

  “I’m sure that’s what you figured last time you tangled with us.”

  “Last time we tangled with you? As I recall last time we stunted your forces and took the others.”

  Irons clenched his fist. “I’m taking them back.”

  J said something in her native language. Unfortunately Irons did not know what she said and was taken by surprise when a large furry fist came swinging at him.

  Thirty

  One Sided

  “Easy come, easy go,” Durham said seconds before the Lucky Liberty took a direct hit, jarring him and the rest of the crew.

  “Commander, we’re getting too close to the storm,” Hannah warned.

  “Gotta put a little more distance between us and those tanks.” Syracuse held the wheel steady. “Brooks, how’s the main gun looking?”

  “It’s out, sir.”

  “Durham, get to the guns and reload. I want us back in the fight in two minutes.”

  “I’m on it.” Durham jumped out of his seat and ran to the bridge exit.

  “Brooks, get over here and give me hand with the wheel. This wind is picking up.”

  Lindsay joined Syracuse at the wheel and the two fought the wind gusts trying to knock them off course.

  “Sir, two tanks on approach from the starboard side,” Hannah said.

  “That’s the side we don’t want to be on.”

  “We can’t keep going up or the storm will our ship apart.” Lindsay strained to keep the wheel steady.

  Syracuse didn’t like the options on either side of him: the storm above and the Catter ships on their right. His plan to distance the Lucky Liberty from the enemy wasn’t working and there were still more enemy ships joining the fight while more fleet ships were being taken out. Ultimately this was a numbers game and Earth Fleet simply didn’t have the numbers.

  “Let go, Brooks,” Syracuse said.

  “The wind will push her, sir.”

  “That’s the idea. Until Durham gets us reloaded we’ll just be a battering ram.”

  “Sir?”

  “The Bull Head can take it. Let go.”

  Syracuse powered off the thrusters and both he and Lindsay released the wheel.

  The Lucky Liberty coasted up a few more yards until a powerful gust forced it to the right. Her hull creaked and groaned as the giant cruiser was buffeted by one more wind-shear that slammed it to the right. It knocked her into the nearest Catter tank, spinning it off course.

  The old Earth mining ship fell straight toward the Flagship, thrusters still off. She was gaining speed solely on the giant pull of Jupiter, batting aside LAVs as she fell.

  “Main gun loaded,” Durham said over the intercom.

  “Brooks!” Syracuse ordered.

  Lindsay ran to her console. The trigger was pulled before she’d even dropped the AR visor back over her eyes.

  “Auto turrets, Durham,” Syracuse said. “Hang on kids!” He shoved the throttle back up.

  Rear thrusters rocketed the ship well out of the high winds of the storm and back into the fight as Catter tanks bore the brunt of the main cannon fire.

  * * *

  James Irons saw the next attack coming. He grabbed the boot swinging at him and rolled to his side, dragging the Catter warrior to the ground with him.

  The next move was basic wrestling, street fight style. Irons rolled toward the Catter, pushing its leg up and over its body. Irons then got to his knees and pressed down, stretching the leg beyond what the Catter was ready for. The alien hissed and yelled what Irons imagined was an obscenity.

  Two sets of powerful hands grabbed his shoulders and threw him off of his prey.

  Irons hit the floor and rolled to his feet. The Catter he had pinned stood up and limped a few steps before standing straight.

  That’s the easy target, Irons thought. His eyes darted to the other three Catter warriors who had no handicaps.

  The Iron Albatross cracked his neck and tensed his muscles before smiling. Win or lose, this was the kind of challenge he lived for.

  Two Catters rushed him but Irons dropped, foot sweeping one then popped back up to back spin kick the other. Both hits were solid enough to jar the two but not take them out. It did give him time to rush the handicapped Catter. Irons leaped into the air and came down, one leg extended, right into the wounded Catter’s overly stretched leg.

  The alien hissed and dropped to the ground where Irons pummeled it in the head with his fist. His continued assault was cut short when a third Catter warrior tackled him to the floor.

  The two rolled and tussled across the Silvranium floor, with Irons losing the upper hand.

  Cheating was not an approved method of winning in Irons’s mind. But this was not a wrestling match. This was life and death. Irons dug his fingers into the furry wrists as he tried to hold off the Catter’s claws from digging into him. As strong as James Irons was, the Catters were just a little bit stronger.

  Irons would never hit a woman. But he didn’t know whether or not this particular warrior was male or female. All he knew was that it was trying to kill him and that the next hit was gonna hurt no matter the gender. It was a dirty move but he slammed his knee between the Catter’s legs. The big alien hissed and fell to its side, hands between its legs.

  Irons got to his feet quickly and looked down at the pained Catter. “I don’t care who you are. That hurts.” He then swung his own boot at the fallen cat alien’s head. He didn’t bother checking if it was a killing strike. That Catter wasn’t moving after that which was good enough for him. That left two more for him to deal with then the Queen.

  “You fight well for a h
uman,” J said, having moved back to her throne.

  “That supposed to be a compliment?” Irons asked. He was encouraged to find he wasn’t breathing very hard. “Or you just trying to make yourself feel better?”

  J said something to the two Catters left standing. Irons only figured out what she said as the two drew large blades from their boots. Seeing the weapons prompted him to look down at his leg but his boot was empty.

  “I guess claws ain’t enough.” Irons readied himself for the next attack.

  * * *

  The Bull Head on the Lucky Liberty took a direct hit. The Catter shell smashed into it, denting the thick steel plate but not puncturing it.

  Syracuse turned the wheel. “I’ll line her up. You take that tank out, Brooks! Xuyen, get Irons back on this boat!”

  “I’m running the math, sir.” Hannah’s fingers blazed across her console.

  “Can you run it faster?” Durham rocked to the left as an explosion went off on the port side. “We’re getting hammered out here!”

  “Durham, find a weak spot on that flagship. I’ll bet this whole planet that’s where the Captain is.”

  “Commander, I might be able to do better,” Hannah said.

  * * *

  Irons jumped backwards as the Catter blade swung at him. If it hadn’t been for the heavy steps of the Catter from behind, he would have been skewered.

  Irons side-stepped and grabbed the arm holding the thrusted knife. He pulled the Catter forward then used its sudden lack of balance to pull the arm sideways and bang it on his knee, forcing the Catter to drop the blade. Irons released the warrior only after his knee plunged into the alien’s gut, knocking out its air and making it double over.

  J hissed something, pointing at Irons but he’d already grabbed the knife and repositioned himself, planting his feet. He was ready for the next move.

  The armed Catter darted toward him, knife slashing. The blade glanced off Irons’s upraised knife. The force of the stronger alien knocked him back several feet. It was better than that blade hitting him. In Irons’s hand the knife was more like a machete. In some ways that made him feel better about the weapon. It was a short lived feeling as that same weapon type came back around— this time at his head.

  Getting pushed back once was enough. He’d never gain any ground if he stuck to defense. Irons ducked the blade and slashed at the legs of his opponent. The knife cut deep but Irons didn’t let up. As he rose, he brought the knife back around, through the Catter’s torso. The last cut had to be made with a leap. Irons launched himself upward, knife rising in front of him and cutting a vertical slash on the Catter’s face.

  James Irons hit the floor as the Catter fell, its blade clanging on the royal floor. The only standing fighter left watched as the human picked up the second knife. Now Irons had two blades. After taking out three of the enemy, the fourth should have turned and run. But as a warrior species, Catters knew little in the way of fear. It was their one respectable trait.

  J watched her last warrior rushing toward Irons. It was the only thing left standing between her and the human. It stopped just short of the Earth soldier and its arms dropped to the sides as the tips of both knives stuck out from its back. The last Catter warrior in the royal hall stumbled backwards and fell down, leaving James Irons and Ju’T-Leen alone.

  “Now.” Irons’s breathing was labored now and blood streaked down his arm. The last warrior got a good hit right in his shoulder. “It’s done. Let the fleet go.”

  J smiled. Her rows of small, sharp teeth gleamed in the light of the room. “You must think I underestimated you.”

  “I don’t care what you think. We won…Again.”

  There was no way he could have anticipated her speed as J raced toward him. Before he realized she had moved, she wrapped one hand around his throat.

  His blood trailed down his arm to the floor under his boots as J lifted him up.

  “Such arrogance to think that you ever stood a chance.” She pointed to the holo-display. “Even now as you struggle to find breath, your planet’s best are being destroyed by my superior forces.”

  “Who, them?” Irons worked to look at the display. “They ain’t the best.”

  “No?”

  “Nah. They are.” Irons pointed at the Lucky Liberty streaking by on the display and taking out one of the tanks.

  “Ah, yes. Yours. Rest assured, it will be destroyed soon along with everyone on it.”

  Those words angered Irons to a degree he’d not felt in a long while. No one threatened his ship or his crew.

  The blow came slow under the duress of J’s grip and was easy to block. She pushed Irons’s leg off of her forearm and it swung back down, clunking into his other boot.

  “You are old, human. Like your ship.” Another furry fist collided with his jaw, twisting his head in her grasp. “Bleeding and broken like your ship.” Another strike. “Soon to be destroyed like your ship.” Another hit to the head.

  The room started to spin after the blows from the Catter Queen.

  “You needn’t worry, human.” J pulled a Wormhole Activator from beneath her robe. Switching it on, she opened a portal behind Irons. “I am not without some mercy. You will die with the ship and crew you love so much. Secure in the thought that victory was never yours.”

  The gargling sound from Irons was unnerving, even for her as her grip on his throat distorted his bloody grin.

  Thirty-One

  Like a Gun

  J snarled at the Iron Albatross. The sound he was making was like nails on a chalkboard to her.

  “What is that noise?” she asked, irritated.

  “What’s the matter?” Irons gargled. “You don’t think it’s funny?”

  “What is funny?”

  “That I don’t hit ladies.”

  “Then your weakness makes you easy to dispose of.”

  “Not quite.” Irons smiled. “I don’t hit ladies cuz I got one to do it for me.”

  “What are you—“

  The boot to her face came out of nowhere and it worked as intended. Irons hit the floor, gasping for air as J stumbled backwards.

  Irons coughed. “Good soldier.”

  Lindsay Brooks stood. Her defensive posture was tight, ready to expand. The portal behind her closed.

  “I hope you got a way out, Brooks.”

  “I left that to Hannah, sir. I’m glad you’re still alive.” She didn’t take her eyes off J. The Catter Queen stared back at Lindsay, looking for an opening through the new human’s defense.

  “Me, too. Enough of this reunion stuff.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Lindsay launched at J, faster than the Queen was ready. The first hit was a jab to the Catter’s stomach, followed by an uppercut to the chin. J reeled back and finally realized what she was up against. She took her own defensive stance. Her’s was similar to a kick boxer’s, two clawed hands up and one knee forward.

  J leapt into the air and came down on Lindsay, who spun out of the way and rammed her elbow into the Queen’s back as she landed. The suddenness of it toppled J forward but not down.

  The Catter Queen thrust her foot back, striking Lindsay in the chest. That blow sent the soldier flying several yards backward. Lindsay hit the floor but recovered by rolling backwards to her feet. J’s speed almost took her down again as two balled fists crashed down toward Lindsay’s head. She blocked the attack with both of her forearms but was pushed down to her knees.

  Lindsay tried to push back up but the Queen’s strength was far greater than her own. The Earth soldier swept at the Queen’s leg but J lifted it out of the way, tipping Lindsay’s balance and forcing her to one hip.

  The position was precarious at best and didn’t give Lindsay much leverage. Without being able to adequately use her legs to assist, she couldn’t get the strength to push J off her.

  “You have more fire than that one,” J gestured to Irons. “Perhaps we can play a little longer.” She opened her fists and raked her cl
aws across Lindsay’s arms.

  “Brooks!” Irons yelled as his soldier gasped in pain and surprise.

  “You had your chance!” J hissed at him.

  The Queen backed away, unconcerned about Irons while Lindsay stood, gritting her teeth in pain from the Catter’s claws. Crimson streaks across her arms glistened in the light of the royal hall.

  “I’ll decorate this room in your blood,” J said.

  Lindsay took a deep breath and bit back the pain before sprinting toward J. She pushed off the floor, attempting to tackle the Queen. J grabbed Lindsay’s arms and rolled to her back, using Lindsay’s own momentum to throw the Earth soldier over her.

  Lindsay soared over the alien queen, dove and rolled, recovering on her shins to slide across the floor. She used her hand as a pivot point and spun around. The rubber of her boots stopped her and she used that leverage to launch back up at the Queen. Once close enough, she flipped into an aerial cartwheel. Her boot heel struck J in the chest. The Queen was too tall for a head strike from ground level but the new attack worked. The K’traxis Brood were accustomed to staying on their feet. It was a gamble on which Lindsay won big.

  The unexpected technique took J by surprise, giving Lindsay time to attack with a flurry of punches that knocked the wind out of the Queen.

  One uppercut sent J reeling backwards but Lindsay didn’t let up. She thrust her foot into the Queen’s stomach, doubling her over.

  Reaching out, J grabbed the Earth soldier’s foot. That was a bad idea. Lindsay leapt up, kicking her free foot up at J’s head and backflipping. The Catter Queen stumbled backwards and fell to her back.

  Irons noticed a familiar illumination from behind him. He spun around to see the purple light of a wormhole right there in the hall. “Outstanding, Hannah,” he muttered. “Brooks, fall back!”

  “Sir, I can finish her!”

  “The fight’s out there, Lindsay! She’s done.”

  “But, sir!”

  “Look up, soldier!” Irons pointed at the holographic display of the battle in Jupiter. As the fight raged on, there were few Earth Fleet ships left. Even the Lucky Liberty looked to be on her last legs. “We’re getting slaughtered out there.”