by Mark Iles
“Do you know if there are any of our vessels with them?” Selena asked.
“I doubt it. The impression I got was this world’s too far away for either the Manta or ourselves. Our only road here is through those rabbit holes but the Sken ships are far more advanced, so the distance isn’t a problem for them.”
As Braxis and the female prisoner, whose stump of a hand was now bound, joined them in the street. They quickly took cover as there was a brain numbing rumble and a huge part of the metallic building opposite collapsed into the road, shrapnel flying in all directions.
“Interesting building material,” Singh observed, as they climbed to their feet from behind a wall-like structure. “At this rate I can’t see there being many survivors.”
“Hopefully not,” Selena replied. “But then we both know what the Manta are like, they won’t stop the slaughter until one side or the other is finished.”
“I still wish we’d killed them all with the Dutch Lady,” Singh stated bitterly. “I don’t trust those bugs as far as I can throw them, and given their size that’s not very far.”
Kes’s voice came over the battle-net. “Captain, we’ll be with you in a minute or two. Oh, and we have someone with us you’ll be delighted to see. We’re tracking you and have some friends with us.” True to his world Philips and Roberts appeared in a skimmer a short while later, along with several fluttering Sken, the gigantic Skar...and Arthur.
“Well well…” Selena purred. “Hello, Arthur, though I shouldn’t really call you that. He was a good and honest man, someone with integrity. I was kind of hoping we’d catch up with you sooner or later.” Then she punched him straight in the face and knocked him to the floor. “Shutting down Capulet’s defence systems cost us a lot of lives. You ran away once, I’m not going to let that happen again.”
Selena watched him whiten as she stood over him and pointed her rifle at his right knee.
“Wait,” he gasped. “Don’t…”
Selena smiled coldly as she blew his leg off below the knee. “Never mind,” she said, as his screams ripped at their ears. “I’m sure your medical expertise will allow you to grow another. Singh, put a battle dressing on that. If he still tries to crawl away then shoot his other goddamn leg off. Braxis, once he’s patched up take this heap of shit with you as well. I’m sure Admiral Van Pluy would like to have a little chat with him. There are some questions that need answering, such as how he got away; and I want to see if he can help with the lenars.”
Selena turned to the Manta, knowing it could understand her. “Do you mind if I ask where you received that head wound?”
That orange, glowing ball appeared over Skar’s right shoulder and in an eldritch voice replied, “In the forests of Loreen. If anyone would know that, you would. I tracked the projectile.”
“I thought so,” she replied brightly. “Yes, you’re right. It was me who gave you that wound. You were trying to escape by entering one of the Sken craft at the time with a chrysalis, if I recall correctly.”
There was silence for a while and then the ball swirled. “That’s correct, but would you have shot at a human carrying a sleeping child?”
Selena didn’t know what to say for a moment, then blurted, “Your race attacked us, remember, not the other way around! You killed billions of our people, including the old, sick and infirm not to mention women and children. Then you have the gall to ask me that? Don’t you dare, ever!” she fumed, her hands tightening around the assault rifle. “I wanted to be straight with you and, to be honest, ask you a favour. Perhaps, after that comment, now isn’t a good time.”
The orange ball swirled as Skar faced her squarely, looking down at her. “What favour?”
Selena tried to calm down. “The lenars are dying,” she replied. “They were infected by a disease given to them by the ForeRunners, those you call the Cetra. As you were the architects of the original disease, my intention was to ask if you could help them.”
The orange orb stopped swirling for a moment. “You care about these people?”
“Of course I bloody care,” she spat. “They’ve done nothing wrong and just got caught up in your war, just as we did. Yes, so we fought them once before but that was a complete misunderstanding. The important thing now is there aren’t many of the lenars left and, to be honest, their race doesn’t deserve to go out like this.”
“Then you are indeed different from the ancient ones,” Skar said, rising up and down on his legs in a rhythmic motion, as if irritated. “They would have rejoiced in the lenars demise. So yes, we will help as much as we can, though that may not be much at all. There are so many variables. Your ForeRunners created this particular disease, not us. However, some of our people will need to be on Capulet if we are to help you.”
“Agreed,” Selena replied, a feeling of relief rushing through her. “Let me know what you need, and by the way we have one of the ForeRunners as a prisoner.”
“We kill any of the Cetra on sight, so if you need it alive keep it away from us. We will also need access to the creatures.”
“If you mean the lenars,” Selena snapped. “Then we can transport you, or you can use your own ship to get to Capulet, but I’ll need to know the details and arrange everything in advance or the vessel will be destroyed. As you can imagine, our people are a little touchy about your race at the moment. Once you are there your people can work with one of our scientists by the name of Cox, in the hope that between us we can find a cure. Oh, one more thing. The Cetra told us that sooner or later you would have used the weapons that devastated them against us as well. I need to know if that’s true.”
“No. We only used it against them once and that was because we had no choice. We would not do such a thing again.”
“We need to leave, now,” one of the Sken interrupted, the urgency of the thoughts pouring through their minds.
“What’s the hurry?” Selena replied, with a frown.
“This place will be gone soon,” came the reply.
Selena caught the feeling of unrest from Shadow and acted immediately. “Move out people,” She ordered over the battle-net. “Get out of the city and back to the skimmers, something’s coming and I’ve a feeling we don’t want to be here when it arrives.”
She watched as the Manta and lenars raced through the streets and out onto the ruddy plains beyond the city limits. As the skimmers filled up they flittered away. The Manta continued to lope along below them, while the Sken and remaining humans rose into the sky on their gravpacks and jetted away to safety.
“Officers, account for your men. I need to know how many we’re down.”
Landing at what they were told was a safe distance Selena and the others turned back to face the ruined city and saw hundreds of Sken ships swirling in clouds overhead. They flowed into one massive twisting multi-coloured blob and a huge black jellied mass detached and dropped towards the city, engulfing it. Moments later the black dust blew away, drifting over the sand dunes. Stunned she saw that most of the city had vanished. Then a second and third jellied mass fell, covering what little remained. Behind them the woman prisoner screamed and screamed, before reducing her cries to heart wrenching sobs.
“I’d save those tears if I were you,” Selena told her. “I’ve a feeling you’ll be shedding a lot more of them soon.”
Chapter Fourteen
“What about any other bases on this world?” Selena asked, as she looked at the Sken. “There must have been far more than one.”
“There were no other bases,” came the reply. “Once the city was gone we destroyed their remaining weapon emplacements and production facilities. We can go now.”
“What was so special about this planet?”
“It’s from here they launched their attack on Loreen.” The thoughts were like a wind blowing through the corridors of Selena’s mind. “We’ve removed the threat.”
“Well, surely they’ll have other facilities elsewhere?”
The Sken said nothing but re
turned to their ships and entered the rabbit holes once more, followed by their ground troops and the marching Manta. In no time at all only humans remained on the alien world, listening to the red sand rustling over the dunes.
“Thank God they’re on our side,” Kes said, from besides Selena. “There’s not a lot we could do against that weapon if they decided to use it against us.”
“Precisely the point, isn’t it,” Selena replied. “We need to work out a defence, and quickly. You never know what’s around the corner. Come on, let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
The line of skimmers and soldiers who’d lost their transports re-entered the rabbit hole, and left the now desolate planet behind them.
*****
On returning to Loreen Selena ensured the two prisoners were safely locked up and then went to brief the Admiral.
Van Pluy was rapturous at first but stunned when she told him about how the Sken destroyed the city. He shared her concern. “I don’t know how we’re going to combat a weapon like that,” he said. “Thankfully they’re our allies, at least for the time being.”
“Those are my sentiments exactly, Sir.”
“Hmm…oh, Dillon I meant to tell you, a message came in from Capulet. Apparently your Aunt’s back.”
“Aunt May?”
“That’s right. One of her neighbours contacted us. Apparently your aunt fled for her life after you got busted, but it looks like she’s finally decided to return. You have some leave owing, so why don’t you go see her and say your hellos? You should be able to hitch a ride from one of the traders at the spaceport, just check with the docking agents. They leave for Capulet all the time. Go ahead, you’re dismissed Dillon. But be back in two weeks.”
*****
Shadow travelled with Selena but left her once they touched down on Capulet. He’d decided to return to the forest, to frolic with friends and family, and no doubt update them on what had been happening.
As Selena walked up the road towards her aunt’s house she felt a moment’s trepidation. The last time she’d seen her aunt was before being sentenced for attempted murder. She paused for a moment to gather herself then, swallowing, knocked and waited. A few moments later the door opened and there she was.
Aunt May froze when she saw her, before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around Selena’s shoulders. “What are you doing here? I heard all about what you’ve been up to. People are so proud. Fancy you turning out to be a hero, and then there’s all this with the lenars. Oh my, when your mother and I were children they used to frighten us with stories about them.”
“I expect the young lenars’ heard pretty awful tales about us too,” Selena replied, offering a silly grin. “But it’s okay now. These days they’ll only hurt you if you annoy them.”
May rolled her eyes and planted a kiss on her cheek. “In any case, you’d better come in,”
“So, are you pleased to see me?” Selena asked, walking into the hall. She relished the comforting smell of cooking, spices and the floral freshener favoured by her aunt. The two-bedroom bungalow wasn’t large and the burnished wooden flooring in the dining room still bore the same green hand-woven rugs she remembered so well from her youth. Aunt May’s hair was now pure white and she’d put on so much weight her face seemed somehow cherubic. May was much smaller than Selena remembered, but how those family blue eyes still sparkled.
“Of course I’m pleased to see you, daft girl. I was surprised at the sentence they gave you, I’d expected execution. I know the others refused the offer and were killed. A lot of us left when they did that, and the riots kicked off, we were scared for our lives. When I heard the Manta had invaded I wondered if they’d let you back here to fight. I hear you met my gardener, she sent me a message to say you’d returned.”
They entered the kitchen. It looked the same. The four old battle-scarred plain-wooden chairs with a matching but white-scrubbed dining table remained surrounded by household appliances and white-plasteel cupboards. Everything was in the same place it always had been. Selena glanced at the antique dust-covered hunting rifle that lay in brackets across one wall, then pulled out a chair and sat at the dining table watching her aunt make locally-grown Jasmine tea. The warm, welcoming smell of baking bread filled the kitchen. It took Selena back to her childhood, but the clink of cups on the table brought her swiftly to her senses.
“You know why I’m here, don’t you?” Selena asked at last.
“I imagine it’s not to ask how I am, despite the fact I brought you up after your mother died. Maybe you’ve come to ask why I didn’t attend the court case, when you were convicted of those awful crimes.”
“No, that’s not the reason,” Selena replied softly, “although I’d be interested to know why you weren’t there during the trial. We’re family. In fact you’re all I have left so naturally I was really disappointed you didn’t come to support me.”
“I would have,” May replied sadly, “but I couldn’t bear to see you sentenced to death, let alone taken out and killed. You’ve changed, Selena, I’ve followed your progress and been shocked at the things you’ve done. Look at you. Your eyes are like chips of pure ice, devoid of all warmth. What happened to the lovely young slip of a girl I once knew, the one who used to bring me a cup of tea every morning and help me with chores around the house?”
“She died a very long time ago, around the same time my parents did.”
May’s bottom lip quivered for a moment. She took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s start there, shall we? I was devastated when your mother killed herself, though she knew I loved you like my own daughter and would always care for you. It’s pointless dwelling on such things, what’s done is done.
“You know that I never married or had children of my own. So, can you even imagine how I felt when I had to watch how those so-called friends of yours twist and pervert you, imagining themselves revolutionaries to justify their evil plots? They dug away at you, Selena, filling your mind with ridiculous ideas until all you could think about was revenge and death. You should have been enjoying your childhood, but instead you were focused on murder. I knew what you were up to and tried to talk you out of it, as I’m sure you recall.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Selena, I told you time and again revenge never solves anything. It only gets more people killed. But you joined that gang of mongrels anyway, and yes I know what you’re going to say, they were your friends, but to me they were nothing less than a band of murdering scum. There’s was never any proof the Queens guard did anything wrong, despite what people claimed. Yet you killed them without a seconds thought. Oh Selena, I didn’t want to lose you as well as your parents. This works both ways. You’re the only family I have left too. Let’s face it, I did lose you and then had to run for my life. I’m sorry to say this, but I expected so much better from you.”
“You’re straight to the point, as always, Aunt May. So, we disappointed each other,” Selena replied, leaning back and balancing her wooden chair on two legs.
May’s lips thinned. “Don’t get smart with me, my girl. I knew your mother was up to something but not exactly what. I thought it would be some kind of demonstration. I was worried she’d end up in gaol and tried to talk her out of it. I kept telling her if she went to prison it would be unfair on you. It’s not that I don’t love you, because I do, but a girl needs her own mother’s love and upbringing.”
“She didn’t listen to you though, did she?” Selena leant forward so that the front wooden chair legs hit the floor with a loud clack, her eyes intent. “Maybe you should have tried a little bit harder.”
There was a loud ping from the far side of the kitchen, indicating that the bread was ready. Aunt May stood and walked over to the sideboard and, removing the contents from the pan, left the bread to cool on a wire tray. Then she returned to her seat and poured the tea, placing a small white cup of the fragrant deep-green brew in front of Selena. She watched her niece carefully over the rim of
her cup while blowing on the steaming liquid and finally taking a sip. “No she didn’t listen, which is where you get it from my girl. She was too twisted by grief.”
Selena was quiet for a moment, and rocked back and forth. “I met the Queen again recently. We had quite an interesting chat.”
May’s eyes narrowed. “Ah, so that’s why you’re here. I’m surprised you left her alive. That fiery temper of yours is something else you get from your mother.” Lowering her cup, she looked down into the green depths in which a few loose leaves lurked. “You’ve questions to ask?”
“The Queen told me you all used to be close friends. Is it true?”
“Yes.”
“So tell me about it.”
May’s gaze flicked straight to Selena, and then she took a deep breath and composed herself. “We all knew each other when we were children. After all, this city isn’t such a big place. We even attended the same school together. Your father and Miranda were childhood sweethearts, before she became Queen and, as per tradition, lost all her names.”
“You’re lying...”
“No, Selena, I’m not. Why would I? You’re all I have left and I have no reason to do so. You need to know the truth.”
Finally Selena dropped her gaze. She knew May was telling the truth. She could tell by her look, gesture, her tone of voice and the underlying sadness that told of complete honesty.
“I still find our adherence to those old protocols ridiculous,” her aunt continued, “for royalty to simply become known as ‘the King’ or ‘the Queen’. I expect you know from your school history lessons this tradition dates back to our colonisation, when our rulers were the only royalty on this world. Unlike Earth, who had so many Kings and Queens ruling various countries it was no wonder they got confused. Each of those needed a name to follow their title, so people could figure out who they were talking about.
