The Beast of Tsunam (Rev Smalley: Galactic P.I. Book 1)

by Combs, Scott A.

  “Then get your butt in gear and save us before you haven’t got any choices.”

  Rev put another bar into the hinge of the door and tugged on the handle until it snapped. Cassie was already running along the passage. Tuloff and Flint were waiting by the temporary transmat tube. Rev arrived moments later in a rush.

  “What are you two waiting for?” he said. “An engraved invitation? Get your asses in.”

  Tuloff opened the flexible door with his good arm and waited for Cassie to enter. “No,” she said. “You and Flint first. I’ll go with Rev.”

  Tuloff nodded seeing there was little to gain from arguing and entered with Flint right behind him.

  “Flint,” said Rev getting the little automaton’s attention. “Protect the Regency.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “Do what I do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Wing it, little buddy.”

  Flint flashed the thumbs up sign with a thin mechanical hand while Rev closed the cover. Rev nodded and they folded up and winked out of sight.

  “That kills me every time I see it happen,” said Rev.

  Cassie was amazed at how calm he acted with that boyish grin on his face. How he did it with certain death just beyond a badly reinforced door she couldn’t fathom. They heard the door being ripped off its hinges and the clamor of the creatures pursuing. She entered the transmat tube with haste and watched Rev peel one of the grenades from his forearm. He entered the tube and held Cassie’s hand from pushing the send command on the transmat control panel.

  “What are you doing?” she screamed.

  He stuck the explosive on the outside of the tube. “Count.”

  “You’ll kill us,” she yelled.

  “Maybe,” he replied. “Maybe I’ll kill a few of them.”

  Growls and howls echoed from the hallway as they sat there waiting for the creatures to gain entrance to their unprotected room. A horde of creatures scrambled through the hallway in a frenzy to reach their prey, slashing and biting each other.

  Cassie saw the first beast turn the corner and their eyes met. Five more pushed the leader against the wall in their haste and received an angry response from the leader.

  It grabbed two of its brothers by the throats and crushed their heads together in a bone crunching slam. The leader flung the dead at the remaining three and regained his status as the one in charge. With a nod of the leader’s head, he crouched on all fours and ran full steam towards the humans. Cassie saw her death racing towards her in slow motion.

  “Rev!” wailed Cassie trying to force her hand down on the button.

  The creature stopped close enough for Cassie to smell the stench from its body. Then the creature pulled its massive clawed hand back to slice them in two when Cassie felt Rev push her hand down on the send button. Her body folded in half and then in half again. In a blink of an eye they were gone.

  The creature’s head reared back in rage and howled as it watched its prey disappear. It slashed the plastic transmat tube to shreds. There was a tiny beep. Then there was a flash and a deafening explosion that tore apart the lead creature and its brothers. The explosion engulfed the small inner chambers and ruptured the inner reinforced command center. A series of explosions chain reacted and the whole subterranean chamber that once protected Tsunam collapsed in fire and chaos.

  PART 4: IN FOR A PENNY⁠—⁠IN FOR A POUND

  Chapter 35

  TAKI WATCHED THE LAST of the serum being pumped into distribution tanks. The doctor was true to his promise and in under an hour the last ingredient necessary was being synthesized. Millions of doses spread out from the tanks distributed by automatons. These machines were nothing like Flint, merely tools assigned a task. They filled themselves with serum from the outlet ports and flew off to some predefined destination point where they injected their loads into administration tubes on the tanks of the cryogenic bays each filled with a lifeless Tsunamian body. Hundreds of thousands of automatons covered the underground facility and swarmed like angry bees.

  Taki smiled and thought about what was to come. Something deep inside him felt remorse but he was the leader of the Charrel⁠—⁠an ancient parasitic species that cohabited with its host. In this case, he was the Tsunamian who inadvertently came across them in the early days when Tsunam had explored the outer galaxy.

  “You’re pleased with yourself.”

  Taki followed the voice to see Magnus walking in. “So you’ve turned up finally.”

  “A slight delay,” said Magnus. “A mere inconvenience.”

  “Smalley is no ‘slight delay.’ He could be a real threat if he’s aware of our plans.”

  Magnus shook his head. “You’re a bigger fool than I thought if you think he doesn’t know. But whether he knows or not, he will be dealt with in my good time.”

  Taki raised his fist to strike the human.

  “Go ahead,” sneered Magnus. “Make me bleed. I’d love to watch you die in agony when I spit my wrath back in your face.”

  Taki lowered his fist. “You shouldn’t provoke me to violence. Neither of us would benefit from the encounter.”

  “I’d say not,” said Magnus. “Remember just one drop of my blood in your system is lethal.”

  “I’m fully aware of that.”

  “Besides, aren’t we great friends on the verge of a momentous event?”

  Taki shrugged, still angry. “I could have you taken away and disposed of safely.”

  “Many would die needlessly.” The human gave Taki a threatening glare. “We need each other since we’ve given so much to the cause,” said Magnus. “We’re business partners on the cusp of becoming immensely rich and powerful.”

  “Money means nothing to us.”

  “That’s fine for you,” said Magnus. “Myself? I will exploit all the gains from our venture.”

  “You humans are selfish.”

  “Now that’s not very fair,” weakly protested Magnus. “The human race on the whole is a good and selfless species.”

  “Then how do you explain yourself?”

  “Me?” Magnus looked shocked. “I don’t think of myself as a human. I’m something more than human and can’t be held to simple unprofitable ideologies. If I had to categorize myself, I’d say I’m complex. How do you see yourself?”

  Taki looked intrigued. “For us we wish only to coexist in peace on Tsunam but that’s not going to happen now. Thanks to you. We’ve been sharing a small percentage of the populace for thousands of years with only an occasional conflict. Since you’ve proposed this venture, escalations have arisen and we’ve suffered tremendous losses.”

  “You’re avoiding the question.”

  Taki was tiring of the idle banter and conceded by telling the truth. “I see our race as victims of circumstance,” said Taki. “Either we fight for survival or die trying. We’re locked into a path of destruction.”

  “You could leave,” commented Magnus. “But I’d rather you’d wipe out Tsunam so my personal plans can move forward.”

  “Another selfish thought,” stated Taki. “You would betray your own people, sacrifice them for your cause, just to fill some institution with wealth.”

  “I like nice things,” said Magnus. “It takes a lot of money to buy them.”

  “When you have all the money you need, will you betray us too?”

  Magnus smiled and placed his hand on Taki’s shoulder. “I won’t need to if I have all that money.”

  Taki didn’t feel reassured. “I guess I should be thankful that you found the right combination to create the serum.”

  “I did work very hard,” agreed Magnus. “The metamorphosis is spectacular. You’re going to be one of the strongest races in the galaxy. No one will attempt an attack on this planet when there are billions of you changed.”

  “You still need to supply more antidote like you promised.”

  “Certainly,” he said producing a small vial and slipping it into Taki’s front pocket. �
�Here’s a little for personal use. Besides, we can’t have your people running around for an eternity as mindless killing machines.”

  Taki hated to admit that Magnus was necessary for the time being. “Bad for business?”

  “See, you’re thinking like the leader I’ve come to know,” said Magnus. “Very soon you’ll remove all the opposition and the Charrel can live in peace and tranquility with plenty of spare bodies to do with as you wish.”

  “Yes, it does appear that we are almost ready. I wish there was another way to solve our differences with the Tsunamian people.”

  “Tsk-tsk,” hissed Magnus. “Spilled milk. A few will have to suffer for the greater good.”

  “Billions will die before this day is done.”

  “They’ve lived long and meaningless lives,” said Magnus. “Why worry about them so?”

  “Charrel still empathize with our hosts. It’s instinctive.”

  “Sounds a little like you need to clear your conscience,” said Magnus.

  “I believe I will live to regret ever listening to your plans,” said Taki.

  “No more of that,” demanded Magnus. “It’s far too late to back out now. Just look at the machines distributing all that serum. Soon your army will wake from its sleep and cleanse this planet of all that want to destroy the Charrel. What do the Tsunamians call your kind?”

  Taki felt ashamed trying to avoid Magnus’ question. Then he mumbled, “Deviants.”

  “See what I’m saying? What an awful name to be called. You look like any other Tsunamian. All eight kinds of them. Why discriminate against your kind just because you make the body think about natural urges?”

  Taki listened with a growing hatred for the Tsunamians. “You’re right. They don’t deserve to live on this planet. They’re pompous narcissists who’ve lived far too long without proper feelings. The sooner we kill them the sooner we can reshape the planet to Charrel ideals.”

  Magnus clasped Taki’s hand and shook it vigorously. “We will cleanse them from the universe and you will lead your race into a renaissance of peace and prosperity. And my little trap will put an end to Rev Smalley.”

  “We?”

  “I’ll be right here to help you with running all those planets.”

  “You mean the financial side I presume?” Taki rolled his eyes.

  “Absolutely.”

  * * *

  REV FELT HIS BODY arrive and wondered why Flint wasn’t helping them out of the portable transmat. He ran his hand under the cover and pulled back the flap. He recognized the place where they arrived: the underground storage facility that he and Flint went through to find Cassie. He watched automatons flying overhead busy with the endless lines of disembodied Tsunamian citizens in cold storage. It appeared that production was ramping up and the air seemed alive with the buzzing of the little drones flitting back and forth. Rows of lifeless shells were plucked from bins and injected into translucent cylinders. Rev watched in fascination as the clear tubes filled with some viscous material. The force and speed of the injecting liquids swayed the bodies gently like some sensual dance in their suspension.

  Cassie opened one of her eyes expecting to still see monsters about to tear them limb from limb. She let out a sigh of relief when none appeared. Then she saw the curious activity of the automatons. “Are we safe?”

  “Not sure,” he said looking around for any signs of Flint. “I thought we’d end up in the same place as Flint and the Regency but my guess is Magnus had other plans for us.”

  Cassie clung to him and buried her head on his chest. She heard his heart pounding and felt his warmth. She realized all she wanted was this man. Not knowing why, suddenly wanting him bothered her subconsciously but her body had other plans. Maybe it was just the oddness of the surroundings with hundreds of perfectly shaped naked males in glass tubes. It was very erotic to watch the machines build the bodies but in the end, it must’ve been the fear of escaping death for the umpteenth time that made her snap slightly. At any rate, she tried to divert her desire.

  “He’s going to kill us you know,” she said.

  Rev raised her face and kissed her forehead trying to comfort her. The fear subsided and the desire returned. She pulled him closer and kissed him long and deep. These last few days were more than she could handle and the stress she contained made her want to be held tight until the fear faded. Rev was a man who exuded calmness and strength. Something she desperately needed right now. His smell excited her. She wrapped her long legs around him and led his hand to her breasts. She then stroked down his chest until she cupped him below the belt. With an effort she kissed him hard, exploring his mouth. A warm feeling spread through his groin and he knew he was about to be swept away in the moment if he didn’t take control. With an effort he pulled away and removed her hands. She looked puzzled.

  He smiled. “Our timing sucks.”

  She looked disappointed. “If you say so.”

  “Rain check?”

  She nodded reluctantly. The mood was broken and she fussed with her hair as she watched the machines overhead on their busy tasks. Still frustrated she asked, “Where the fuck are we anyway?”

  Rev had that look on his face⁠—⁠one that says, that’s my Cassie. “A storage facility below the Eugenics Lab. Flint and I went through here when we were looking for you. They engineer their prospective citizens here for the next generation.”

  An automaton flew past them with a severed head in its thin arms.

  “Storage for corpses?”

  “They gather parts and salvage remains from the dead and bring them here ready to be assembled into new citizens of Tsunam.”

  She stared at the immensity of the underground facility. “This is wrong on so many levels I don’t know where to begin. How screwed up are these people?”

  “Remember, I was made like this.”

  “No way!”

  “Way.”

  “I can’t believe it,” she said. “No wonder Earth put a stop to this. It’s inhuman.”

  “Not to Tsunamians. And they’ve perfected the art of eugenics. To them this has been the way everyone is created for eons.”

  “A giant assembly line for people?”

  “Yep.”

  “I just don’t believe you were made like this. Is there video or documents on how they made you?”

  “All the records were destroyed as far as I know⁠—⁠but I’ve been told from some of the doctors who worked on me. Shortly afterwards they disappeared and were never heard of again.”

  Cassie nuzzled beside him reassuringly. “I’m sorry.”

  “They were the closest thing I had to a family.”

  Cassie hugged him. They both watched as several automatons gathered and fitted a new body together knitting first the legs and then a torso, some arms and finally the head. The drones then moved over a few feet and the process began again while another drone lifted the new body to an empty tube. Fluids bubbled up and ran over the naked shell of a male until he was completely covered. Then the cylinder was sealed and a thin metallic rod snaked down from the top and penetrated the top of its skull. Similar flexible rods found other parts of the body and penetrated deep into the flesh until the male looked like some morbid puppet on strings.

  Cassie turned and took in the expanse of the facility watching uncountable assemblies being conducted. “How many do you think?”

  Rev followed her gaze. “Millions at least.”

  “Certainly the only reason to build so many is to go to war.”

  “Yep,” agreed Rev.

  She didn’t want to say but it slipped out. “For which side?”

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Rev. “I have a feeling these aren’t the good guys.”

  “I hope you’re wrong.”

  Rev pointed up at the ceiling far above. They could see large clear pipes running the length of the complex. To their amazement, those pipes began to fill with fluid, churning and bubbling en route to every corner of the facility.
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br />   They continued watching as the iridescent green fluid pumped downward from overhead and was distributed to the newly assembled males. With morbid fascination they watched the slimy green substance entering the bodies and within seconds Rev noticed trails of squirming worms under the skin.

  “I’ve seen this before,” said Rev. “We’re about to witness the birth of a beast⁠—⁠or more accurately, millions of births.”

  Cassie eyes flashed with fear as she grasped the meaning. “Oh, my God . . . ”

  * * *

  FLINT TUGGED REGENCY TULOFF out of the portable transmat tube and found that they had arrived inside a holding cell. The portable transmat beeped then all the controls went dark.

  “Well,” said Flint. “I should’ve known it was preprogrammed to shut down after we arrived.”

  “Why?” Tuloff stretched himself and tested his broken arm.

  “To prevent further use. Someone wants us to be here.”

  It was dark in the cell with one dimly flickering light in the far corner of the ceiling. The shadows it cast draped along the floor like black sheets.

  Tuloff moaned when Flint brushed his broken arm as he searched the room. “Sorry sir.”

  Tuloff shrugged. “It’s just an arm.”

  “I can repair it more thoroughly,” said Flint, “but it’ll be painful.”

  Tuloff nodded and braced himself. Flint set the bones with a snap. Tuloff flinched but didn’t say a word. Flint took his fingers and tapered them until they were needle sharp. “This will be unpleasant.”

  Tuloff closed his eyes knowing what was to come. Flint penetrated the damaged arm with filiment-type fingers that snaked around the forearm. Tuloff stiffened suppressing the pain that seared his brain as Flint knitted the broken bones together. After retracting from the arm, he used small lasers to seal the entry points.

  “It will be sore but nothing like it was.”

  “Thank you,” gasped Tuloff.

  Suddenly Flint felt another presence in the room and turned to face the new menace in the shadows.

  “Who’s there?” asked a sleepy female voice.

  “Willa?”