by John Walker
“Hurry!” Kivda slapped the arm of his chair. He lowered his voice to speak with Renz even as the ship dropped suddenly, too fast for the artificial gravity to keep up. His stomach jumped into his throat. “This is… incredible. If you and the people on this ship made the mistake of underestimating these creatures, then my soldiers might do the same.”
“Yes, they sent a shuttle.” Renz waved his hand. “I suppose we’ll find out how good your people are. Pray that they are amazing because if they are not, they’d better not survive. I won’t tolerate failure.”
The ship took a blow that caused quite the rattle, still not as bad as when he arrived on the bridge, but enough that he winced from it.
“You’d better pray we succeed,” Kivda said. “At this point, we’re taking quite the beating.”
“Not for long.” Renz gestured at the screen. “Lock weapons on the surface. Prepare to blast the entire region down there.”
“You’re risking our men!” Kivda stared at him with wide eyes. “What’re you doing?”
“Testing their compassion,” Renz replied. “Seeing what they’ll do.”
“There’s nothing they can do short of trying to rocket in front of us!” Kivda checked their positioning. “And there’s no way they can catch up in time to do that!”
“Then I hope your people have yet to land.”
Kivda scowled, keeping his mouth shut. Renz made up his mind, there was no point in arguing. All I can do is pray we’ll have a few moments before he obliterates the entire region. Even though all the evidence we need might be down there. He sighed. This won’t win a fight. But it very well might lose us one.
The thought of going back home without anything worried him. Renz’s father would look for someone to blame. Kivda may be the best choice. And I’ll suffer for something my friend caused. Wonderful. He had half a mind to take command somehow. I need to give him another few moments, but then… well… self-preservation may require action.
***
“Ha!” Violet clapped her hands. Rhys cleared his throat, drawing her attention. “Sorry, sir. I’ve got to use a scan technique in context. They are targeting the surface of the planet. ETA to firing solution, ninety seconds. And given their firepower, they can easily obliterate three square miles.”
“Enough to kill everything down there,” Rhys said, “correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
Rhys considered the situation. He watched the enemy ship as it performed evasive maneuvers, dropping and climbing, veering to the left and right. They desperately struggled to keep out of range of the main cannons and so far, they succeeded. The Triton’s turrets kept their shields from charging too quickly but that wasn’t victory.
As long as they can keep this up, we’ll be at a stalemate.
“I feel like I should recall our soldiers,” Rhys said. “Captain?”
“We’ll stop them from firing,” Titus replied. “I want those people aboard. We didn’t come all this way to let them die.” Medics came on the bridge, helping Ronin from his seat. They took him out of the room, muttering to one another. “Jane, what can you do for me here? What’ve you got?”
“Pretty crazy maneuver,” Jane said, “but it won’t be pretty or comfortable. Permission to free fly?”
“Go for it.”
Jane tapped the center console, gripping a lever that she shoved forward. The ship lurched to the side as their tail spun. It lined them up perfectly with the side of the enemy vessel. Their main cannons blasted it, a solid blow that brought a dance of electricity across the hull.
She let them have it three more times before their engines burst to life, turning them abruptly in their direction. Violet shouted something but Rhys missed it as they were struck with some weapon, a powerful blow that jostled him in his seat. Once again, they found themselves in a slugfest, knocking each other with dozens of beams.
Jane held her ground, not flinching even for a moment. Rhys felt like they were playing chicken with the most advanced weapons in the galaxy, neither side willing to move away but both taking a real beating as it went on. Mounting tension in the bridge made him tense up. He turned to Titus, watching the man sit on the edge of his seat.
“Shields?” Titus called out.
“Forty percent and dropping,” Violet said. “Enemy is at fifty percent.”
“How the hell did we get lower than them?” Titus sighed. “Jane, disengage. Evasive maneuvers. Pull us away and out of their range.”
They veered off, taking another series of shots to the belly before getting up to full speed. On one hand, it worked out because they saved the surface. The enemy ship gave chase. The bad news involved the fact the tides had turned. The Kahl had them on the run, looking for that elusive rear firing solution.
“What happened?” Rhys asked Violet. “Did their weapons somehow start doing more damage?”
“Negative,” Violet replied, “we finally felt the full brunt of all their weapons. The other ships we faced had guns at every point along the hull. This one doesn’t but rather channels all that energy toward the front. When we took up position in front of them, they were essentially using more guns than we were.”
Titus added, “Not to mention the fact we just exchanged over fifty blasts with them. That was still impressive.” He tapped his comm. “Huxley, how’re things down there? Any damage to speak of?”
“A few shorts,” Huxley replied. “Shields are recharging. I wouldn’t want to take that kind of beating again right way. If you can avoid it, that would work best for everyone involved.”
“No promises.” Titus tapped the comm. “Rhys, let the people on the surface know they don’t have a lot of time. I want them topside fast.”
***
Kyle sat up suddenly, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain rushed through his skull. Pain in his stomach mirrored muscle cramps in his legs and arms. He stretched then looked around, finding Lysa nearby. She was curled on her side, legs drawn to her stomach. The sun beamed down through the trees, indicating they’d been out for at least a couple hours.
How the hell did no one find us? Kyle nudged Lysa with his foot. “Wake up! We must’ve passed out or something. I want to know why we’re not prisoners.”
“What?” Lysa stirred. “Oh my God… are we…” She sat up, slapping her mouth to cover the fact she cried out. Her free hand rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke. “Did they leave? What happened? How did we… how are we not prisoners?”
“Best guess?” Kyle gestured over his shoulder. “The explosion killed them all. They haven’t had a chance to regroup and send another detachment. Couple that with I’m sure this area has been blasted with radiation and that makes it pretty hard for a scanner to work. Am I right?”
“All that seems accurate, yes.” Lysa crawled to her feet. She checked her scanner. “Yeah, scans are for sure right now. Even nice ones.” Scanning the area, she cursed under her breath. “I didn’t scope this area out. I have no idea what to expect over here. Looks like the forest goes on for days though.”
Best logging opportunity in most of the colonies. Kyle stood as well. “We’d better make our way down. The further away we get from the explosion, the longer we’ll evade any sort of search pattern.”
“How’s that?”
“When they come back, they’ll start searching in circles.” Kyle started walking. “First nearest the explosion to see if we’re trying to trick them by staying close. Then ever widening until they find us. The farther away we get, the better chance we have of evading the bigger patterns.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Good call.” Lysa grunted. “My legs feel like rubber. This is going to be fun.”
“With all our bumps and scrapes, we’re lucky to have made it out of there alive. That tunnel… shit, I think it barely qualifies for the title. If you hadn’t gone first we might never have made it through.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me.”
They walked in silence for a good hundred yards. Lysa grabbed
the canteen from his back, taking a couple swigs. She handed it to him. He let the water cool his tongue, wet his mouth but he didn’t drink. Just absorbing a little worked better than risking the stomach problems after all they’d been through.
Time enough for that later… when we’re not about to be butchered by alien monsters.
The sounds of engines caught Kyle’s ear, making him twitch. He looked up and behind him, frowning at the trail of smoke coming from orbit… no, not one. Two. Are you kidding me? You assholes think we’re important enough to waste two ships? He scowled, picking up the pace.
“We’ve got two sets of company.”
“What?” Lysa looked then checked her scanner. “I can’t get a silhouette on either one. Not even directional scans. This is annoying! And I’ve got worse news.”
“I can’t wait.”
“We’ll need some medical treatment in the next twelve hours.” Lysa tapped her screen. “Neither of us seems to have been directly blasted by the radiation but enough low level exposure… you know the rest.”
Great. Now if the bad guys don’t get us, we’ll die from being poisoned. Kyle ushered her on, falling silent for a good distance. The comm in his ear buzzed, a horrible grinding sound that lasted a good thirty seconds before it calmed down. He reached to remove it when a voice sounded in the midst of the noise.
Kyle grabbed his tablet, trying to clear up the interference, at least enough to make out the comment. A garbled text message appeared, clearing up after a good dozen paces. He nudged Lysa, showing her what was happening. As they appeared engines roared over them as one of the two ships made the trees sway around them.
“Our names…” Lysa pointed out, “looks like the TCN showed up. How the hell is that even possible?” She met Kyle’s gaze. “There’s no way! At maximum speed, they couldn’t have made it here in less than a week. Even in the absolute best starship in the fleet. Their most impressive is the battleship and those couldn’t do it!”
“They figured out a way,” Kyle replied, “unless you think it’s a trick.”
A beam slammed into the tree not ten feet away, bursting the trunk into flames. Kyle slapped her back, gesturing for her to go. He drew his pistol, returning fire in the direction it came. The cracks of his weapon echoed, competing with another series of quick, high-pitched noises… more beams trimming the bushes near him.
He glanced back, noting that Lysa had made it a good twenty yards ahead of him when he started after her. Putting some distance between them meant making themselves harder targets for explosives or burst fire. I’m half surprised she didn’t protest me telling her to make a run for it.
“We’ve got another problem!” Lysa shouted. “You’re about to be really unhappy!”
Like I’m thrilled as it is!
Kyle leaned back as he ran, struggling to maintain his balance. After starting to run, the enemy fire stopped. They must have been too distant to get a good firing solution on them. They’d have to move for another one, potentially above them. That didn’t bode well but at least they had plenty of cover all around.
Lysa stopped ahead. He came barreling up on her. She grabbed him by the arm as he snatched a tree with his free hand. A steep drop in front of them went down to a stream some two hundred feet below. If they wanted to continue in that direction, they’d need to slide or pull a controlled fall.
A glance to the left and right offered no other solution. While he considered their options, more beams danced through the air, blasting the trees all around them. Why are these guys such bad shots? Something dawned on him. They’re not trying to kill us. They’re driving us down. They want to exhaust us.
“They want to take us prisoner,” Kyle moved into cover behind a tree. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“We have to go down there.” Lysa pointed. “Rolling’s a bad idea though. Even sliding will be treacherous. We hit a tree or a big rock, we’re dead. Just… that’s it.”
“I know.” Kyle peered at the decline, mapping the path for at least the first fifty feet. “Start over there about two feet to your left. I’ll go down right here. Once we start, we’ll be out of range but don’t stop. Whatever you have to do, keep moving quickly. When you get to the stream whether I’m down or not, follow it down.”
“Why down?”
“Because we need speed,” Kyle replied. “And if we try to climb, we’ll slow down. Presumably, the water flows toward a valley. Go!” He hopped forward, leaning back so he landed on his rump. A rock dug into the meat on the left side, making him hiss as he started sliding down the dirt.
The first root he hit threatened to toss him forward. Kyle rolled to the side instead, scraping down his stomach for a good five yards before regaining control. As he came up, he scampered for the nearest tree, putting that behind him and the top of the decline. A glance to his left showed Lysa had made it a little further than him.
Keep going, woman. They got to the halfway point, roughly one hundred feet toward the stream, when the weapon fire picked up again. So much for the search pattern. They must’ve found a way to get their sensors working. There’s no other explanation for finding us so fast.
The buzzing in his ear started up again, this time the distraction brought on a tension in his chest. Frustration with the interruption while trying to preserve his own life. He came up on his feet, managed to run a good ten feet before feeling his balance tip. He started to go forward, flailed his arm, got hold of a tree.
Pain rushed through his wrist as his weight pulled his arm at the shoulder. Kyle cried out, pulling himself around as a beam threw dirt into his face. It had to have hit less than five feet away. They cut into his cover, blasting the top of it. It caught fire, flames making the bark stink of filth and pine.
Strange that it would smell like home.
The thought jumped in his head unbidden as he marveled at the anomaly but only for a moment. Lysa made it to the stream. He heard the splash, watched as she turned to face him. Even from their distance of forty feet away, he saw her eyes go wide.
She drew her pistol, firing at the men above them. They returned the shots, making the water steam with every hit near her. Still, she stood her ground, taking careful aim.
“You idiot!” Kyle shouted. “Get cover! They don’t need us both!”
Lysa heard, dropping low while moving behind a tree. Kyle let out a sigh of relief but he knew the moment of comfort would pass fast. He risked a glance behind where the enemy had been firing. Flickers in the trees made him drawback as beams continued raining down upon the dirt and water.
If I make a run for it, they can put me down. Try to lure Lysa out.
“You have to move! Lysa shouted. “Come on! Make a run for it!”
She doesn’t get it.
“I’ll draw their fire!” Kyle yelled back. “You… just make a run for it.” The soldiers came down the hill, somehow managing to make it without taking a tumble. At least they’re moving slowly. That small consolation salved the situation but not all that much. Not when he found himself totally stuck.
“Listen,” Lysa spoke in the comm, “get ready to move. I’ll fire on them and… gah!” She let out a strangled cry.
Kyle looked in her direction. He couldn’t see what happened but she didn’t appear to be in the same spot anymore. What the hell? “Lysa? Lysa, come in! Can you hear me?” Another glance around the tree. The enemy soldiers wore navy blue armor head to toe. They were drawing close… sixty feet away at most. Son of a bitch…
He watched for just long enough for one of them to snap a shot off at him. Ducking back didn’t matter, they went wide… and on purpose. He knew it. Drawing his pistol, he considered it for a long moment before thrusting it back in its holster. I only wish Lysa would’ve had the cube. The idea of their adversaries getting their hands on it infuriated him.
After everything we’ve been through… all that running, squeezing through that tunnel, blowing stuff up… they’ll take the prize right here and now.
Kyle looked all around, desperate for some inspiration, an idea… anything at all. If the cliff dropped further, if the stream had been rapids, he would’ve made a run for it.
But the water had to be less than ankle deep. It wasn’t even making any noise where he was. And the enemy continued to draw near.
No Lysa. No plan. No hope.
“Kyle Burgess,” a gruff voice spoke clearly through his earpiece. “You might want to get ready to run.”
“Who the hell is this?”
“Gunnery Sergeant Stefan. You’ll know when. Just be ready.”
Kyle’s heart raced in his chest. He looked all around in an effort to see this person who spoke. Still, even without visual confirmation, he dared to hope… to think there might be a way out of the situation.
Until a blast came close enough to his arm he felt the heat through his clothes. Instinct forced him to fade away. He fell, rolling down the hill as additional blasts filled the air. Quick cries barked from the different weapons, seeming to come from all sides but he couldn’t be sure. Not as he tumbled out of control toward the stream.
***
Alon, Tiller and Vesper dispatched from the shuttle first. They disembarked near a stream some distance from the greatest power readings. Their objective was to make their way along the water with a scanner to search for the archaeologists. The others would disembark further along the way to give the widest spread.
Then Andrews gets to fly around again. He had a feeling the pilot wanted a second shot at the Kahl much like Gunny and Hans. They were all interested in testing themselves against the force with their better guns. I’m more interested in the long-term plan. Victory over them so no one else has to die.
“I’ve got a reading,” Vesper said. “I’ll take point.”
Alon allowed her to move up ahead as she swept her weapon around the trees, clearing the path. Tiller took up the rear. They moved at a rapid pace, each vigorous and young, ready to prove themselves. He conserved his energy, keeping his eyes at the distance, watching out for any movement.
