The four walking seals, their skin flashing complex patterns of rainbow colors, walked silently through the grass. They were spread out in a skirmish line that was aimed at the right side wall of the room. The wall had painted nature murals on it, which made it look as if a steep ravine began there. The ravine cliffs reached nearly to the room’s ceiling. Which was ten meters high, a necessity for the trees that had been growing here over the five years since the commissioning of the Lepanto. The alien actions fit the shark-head term of Martha. But what were they doing? Were they on the hunt for the half dozen pigs which Jane had let loose after the white mice proved too small for the high energy physiology of aliens who were four meters long and weighed over a hundred fifty kilos each? There were few humans on the Lepanto who hit 350 pounds. Willard was portly but not heavily overweight. Course, any Marine who wore a Shinshoni came in at 350 pounds, counting suit, weapons, ammo and backpack rockets. A yellow streak of electricity shot out from the largest walking seal, covering seven meters. Whatever it had hit gave off a whiff of white steam. All four seals galloped toward their evening meal. The movement was faster than anything he had seen to date.
“Jerry, give me a scope view of what just got killed.”
“Your reticule is now scope adjusted,” the AI said.
Richard peered through the right eye reticule that had swung down from the inside of his helmet. The suit’s scope function could enlarge any location targeted by the refractor scope mounted on the right side of his helmet. He blinked, then blinked again, moving the enlargement up ten times. That did it. The brown carcass of a pig that must weigh 20 kilos came into view. White steam was rising from its flank, which showed a blackened hole where the electric bolt had hit its flesh and entered some distance. Damn.
“Troops, scope that bolt target,” he said. “The pig is not just knocked out. There’s a hole burned into its flesh.”
“Caaa-rap,” muttered Martha, her New England accent coming out strong.
“Not good,” Auggie grunted.
He agreed. “What’s the max range for one of those bolts that you’ve seen?”
“Ten meters,” Martha said quickly. “But the target was one of those mice. It was dead but intact, according to what my scope showed. No evidence of flesh penetration.”
“Well, either the bolt penetrates when the target is closer, or that big bastard is extra strong in generating electric bolts,” Auggie growled.
He did not like either option. “Troops, do not allow any shark-head to approach within ten meters of you. Fire some shotshells just ahead of them as a warning. If they keep coming, taser them. If there is a group attack, fuck it. Torch ‘em.”
“Ooh rah!” yelled Martha.
“Ooh rah!” added Auggie.
He grinned. Unit cohesion was outstanding with these two. “Ooh—”
Behind him the slidedoor swished open. His HUD showed four wasps flying in.
The impact on the back of his helmet was massive. Briefly his mind held the HUD image of two other wasps slamming into Auggie and Martha, while a fourth wasp sped ahead.
His visor was green with grass. The impact shock had been transmitted to his body despite the buffering pads of the exoskeleton. Dizziness blurred his vision, then cleared. He rolled over. So did his troops.
“Taser those bastards!”
Auggie had already fired at one wasp, pulling his taser sidearm faster than Richard.
Martha and he fired at the same time, hitting the same target.
Two wasps fell to the meadow just ten meters ahead. Two others flew on toward the shark-heads. Whose skins were now one big red splotch. In unison the four turned, leaned back on their thick tails and lifted their heads up toward the wasps.
♦ ♦ ♦
Hunter One flew past the knocked down humans and took flight toward the wet ones who had killed the Swarmer larvae on Warmth. A Servant Swarmer flew beside him, having escaped the touch of the electric threads shot out by the human Fighters. But two of his fellow Swarmers were fallen to the ground, silvery threads reaching back to three humans in their white hard shells. Well, he and his Servant were beyond the range of those weapons. And he had instructed his Swarm to not harm the humans in any way. They only needed enough time to fly past the guards and then close on the Soft Skin wet ones. The stinger of each Swarmer held powerful venom. And unlike other hard shell beings on Nest, it did not come out whenever a Swarmer stung an enemy of the cohort. He whirred his wings fast, changing the angle of his flight and aiming for the largest wet one. But why were all four wet ones looking up at him and his Servant?
“Fly sideways!” he scent-cast in a flow of alarm and aggregation pheromones. “These wet ones have large mandibles.”
“Angling!” scent-cast the propulsive device Servant.
As he closed to within a few body lengths of the four wet ones, something strange appeared. Two wet ones ran under him. And the two ahead changed appearance. The colorful wetskins of those wet ones now went sharp blue. Then yellowness flowed over the blue, resembling the morning clouds when touched by the sky glow of Nest. Were the wet ones scent-casting in their own way? Were they—
A yellow bolt reached out from the largest wet one and touched his abdomen.
The pain was intense. He scented the odor of burning hard shell. Worse was how his entire body felt.
It was as if he had no control of any part of his body. Wings, stinger, head, thorax arms, none them responded to his thoughts. Which now went cloudy. As did his vision.
Darkness came over him.
♦ ♦ ♦
Richard pushed at the ground with one hand, rising to his knees. His visor now clear of the grass, he saw what no Marine ever wished to see.
Two shark-heads were running toward him and his troops. They had ignored the attacking wasps and spent the seconds he had been down to rush toward him. He moved his taser hand to the right, aiming at one of the seals. It was almost within the ten meter rang of the taser. Beside him Martha was doing the same. Auggie had risen to his feet, both arms aimed outward. The man held a .45 in his left hand and a taser in his right.
“Troops, taser—”
Yellow bolts shot out from the running shark-heads.
The bolts crossed fifteen meters of distance. Martha and Auggie were both hit. The two staggered as their suits lost electromotive control, then they fell to the ground.
“I’m out, chief!” yelled Auggie.
“Me too,” cried Martha.
He thrust hard with his magboots and stood up. He aimed his taser at the closest shark-head. Silver wires shot out.
The alien was hit just as it came within ten meters.
The second shifted its head toward Richard. His all-around HUD display showed the largest shark-head running his way, but twenty meters out.
He snipped loose the wires, reaimed at the other alien and fired.
Two yellow bolts hit him, one from the nearest shark-head and one from the larger shark-head. His skin felt like he’d touched a battery terminal.
“Jerry!”
“Functions are lost,” the AI said very softly. “Helmet battery is at full power. Air flowing inside.”
As he fell, his HUD showed the battlefield.
All four wasps were on the ground, two nearby and two out where the aliens had been stalking prey. Two aliens were not moving. Two, including the largest one, now moved close, their heads shifting. Yellow bolts shot out.
The bolts passed over him and his troops, hitting the slidedoor control panel. The door slide open as controls died. Opening was the emergency default setting for every slidedoor on the ship. He tongued his helmet comlink control.
“We’re under attack!” he yelled. “In the Park Room. Send troops!”
♦ ♦ ♦
As Daisy passed the Forest Room and closed on the Park Room slidedoor, Jacob reached into his left jacket pocket and pulled out something metallic and shiny.
“Daisy, here!” he said, tossing back a handgun. “Th
e clip is loaded. And there’s a round in the chamber. Use it if you have to!”
She grabbed the spinning semi-auto out of the air, her piloting reflexes coming to her rescue. Ahead, Jacob pulled a taser handgun from his right pocket.
“Quincy!” Jacob yelled. “You got any weapons?”
“Just my hunting knife,” called the man who was used to firing the right side laser mount, as his footsteps thudded loudly behind Daisy.
Ahead the hallway was empty of people. But a slidedoor opened just to the right of Jacob. It was the entry to Med Hall.
“Back inside!” he yelled to Huáng as the woman came out, dressed in a Ming dynasty style brocade outfit.
The woman glanced at Daisy as she ran past, then retreated. The slidedoor closed. Ahead thirty meters was the entry to the Park Room. Orange light shone out from the left wall as its slidedoor opened.
Two alien seals galloped out into the hallway on short legs and flipper feet, both moving as one. Seeing Jacob, Daisy and Quincy coming their way, the seals shifted to point their shark heads toward the three. The red skin color changed to a medley of other colors.
“Melody!” yelled Jacob, his voice echoing over her earbud as he slowed his run. “Close the pressure hatch on the engine side of the Park Room. And close the hatch behind the three of us. Do it now!”
“Complying with your order,” came the sharp soprano of the AI. “Do I allow entry to anyone?”
“Yes! Let in any Marine. Keep out everyone else.”
Fifty meters ahead the gray metal of a thick pressure hatch descended from the hallway ceiling, the red painted rims thumping down loudly. Behind them Daisy heard the other pressure hatch do the same. It left the three of them in a hundred meter long stretch of hallway. Ahead stood two walking seals, their skins flashing colors so fast she lost track of the changes.
“Captain!” yelled Richard over her earbud. “The seal bolts outrange our tasers! One guy hit me at twenty meters. Watch out!”
Jacob stopped his running as he came within twenty meters of the two seal aliens. He lifted his taser, moved to the right, then approached slowly.
Daisy moved to the left side of the hallway, recalling the small unit tactics that had been drummed into her during her Stellar Academy classes. Behind her Quincy arrived.
“Captain! My knife outranges your taser,” he said, moving ahead of Daisy and heading for Jacob’s back. “Those wires run out at ten meters.”
“I prefer not to kill these bastards,” Jacob said. “But it’s clear they were planning to take advantage of any chance to get past the guards and out into the hallway. We can’t let them get to the Darts or the LCAs. Or the thruster room.”
“Well, those pressure hatches should prevent—”
“Captain!” called Richard. “The seals used their bolts to knock out the slidedoor control panel. What’s the default setting for the hatches?”
“They stay closed,” Daisy said quickly, understanding the Marine’s worry. “The seals can hit the walls and the ceiling with their bolts but nothing will open. Except for the Med Hall entrance,” she added, looking back to confirm the entry lay on their side of the pressure hatch barrier. She stopped to the left of Jacob and Quincy, holding the semi-auto in a Weaver two-hand grip. Its red laser targeting beam showed as a red dot on the toothy mouth of the smaller seal. The biggest one was on Jacob’s side of the hallway. Hooting came from the smaller seal.
“Daisy, fire two shots at the floor between the two seals,” Jacob said quickly. “Maybe that will send them back inside.”
“Right.” She shifted her aim to the right until the laser dot touched the hallway floor metal. The larger seal shifted its head so its front pair of eyes saw the laser dot. The line of eight eyes on its spine were looking rearward, sideways and forward. She pulled the trigger once, then again.
“Boom, boom!”
“Whang, whang!”
The two seals moved apart as the two bullets hit the floor and ricocheted away until stopped by the pressure hatch. Both shark heads fixed on her, two pairs of black eyes giving her a look she did not like. Neither moved back into the Park Room.
“Quincy, aim at the smaller seal on the left,” Jacob said fast and low. “Aim for the underbelly below the mouth. Maybe pain will work.”
“Tossing.”
The dagger shape of Quincy’s hunting knife flew past her, a silvery streak that arrived even as the smaller seal lifted its right front flipper foot to block the knife.
The knife penetrated the wet skin of the smaller seal, going inches deep, with the hilt sticking out. The seal’s skin became filled with red, silver, blue, green, brown and black colors.
The larger seal scuttled sideways quickly, reached out its right flipper foot and pushed at the knife hilt. The knife came free of the alien’s underbelly, clattering to the metal floor. A dribble of red blood followed it, causing a stain on the floor that grew to plate size. Then the blood dribble stopped as the wound closed up. Both seal aliens turned their front eyes toward Quincy. Their skins now showed red blisters amid multiple color shapes.
“Everyone, advance,” Jacob growled. “Let’s see if we can distract them long enough for me to taser both of them.”
Daisy ran forward a few feet, hugging the left side of the hallway.
Jacob did the same on the right.
Quincy zigzagged down the middle of the hallway, ending up just behind her and Jacob.
The three of them repeated the maneuver, coming within 15 meters of the aliens.
The two seals lifted their shark heads up, the black eyes fixed on her and Jacob, ignoring Quincy who had no weapon in hand. The legs of each seal now straightened, rising them up three feet or so above the hallway floor.
“Jacob, I’m putting a bullet into the small one’s flipper foot,” she said, moving the red laser dot to the bottom of the seal’s right front leg and down to where a flipper had become a foot good enough to move the creature at a gallop.
“Boom!”
A red gash showed in the right flippper of the smaller seal.
Hooting came from the wounded seal.
Both aliens now became almost solid red.
Jacob ran forward a bit. So did Quincy. She followed.
The skin of the smaller seal went shiny blue, followed by a yellow sheen. A yellow electric bolt shot out.
“Ohhh!” yelled Quincy, falling to the floor.
He did not move.
Things happened quickly.
Just as Quincy fell, Jacob ran forward, lifted his taser and fired at the smaller seal.
Silvery wires stretched over ten meters, touching the alien’s skin. Yellow sparks showed at the contact point.
The creature fell to the floor, its skin losing all color as it went gray to match the hallway floor color.
The bigger seal shifted his shark head, aiming at Jacob.
“No!” she yelled, firing at the bigger seal.
“Boom, boom, whang, whang!”
Two bullets missed the big seal as it rolled over the top of the knocked-out seal. Taking shelter behind the fallen seal, the big one lifted up its shark head and aimed at Jacob, who was shifting taser aim.
Daisy ran right, jumping toward Jacob, twisting in mid-air so her back would be to the big seal. And thereby offer the biggest shelter to her man.
In mid-air, many things can happen.
The far pressure hatch lifted up. A Marine in a Shinshoni appeared, flying on her leg jets.
“Ooh rah!” yelled a voice she recognized as Jane Diego.
Jacob pulled back on his taser as he saw Daisy flying toward him.
Just before she lost sight of the largest seal, a yellow electric glow formed in front of its head.
Twisting in space, she faced Jacob.
“Shield the captain!” she yelled.
Something electric, hot and painful touched her back.
“Tasered the bastard!” yelled Diego.
Surprise filled Jacob’s eyes.
&
nbsp; Her body trembled in the air.
Then her outstretched arms hit the wall, stopping her body. As she fell to the floor, she looked up at the man she loved.
Anguish filled his face. His eyes looked wet. His two big hands reached down for her.
His image was the last thing she took into the darkness that filled her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Pod Leader floated in his tank, most of his attention focused on the view lens ahead and the lenses on either side of his Swim Cove. Nearby were other pod-mates, each performing the duties involved in flying their sky floater to the far edge of this sky glow. It was the duty of all pod-mates was to chase off the new land predators. That they had done, though the two pursuing sky floaters had died in that effort. He felt sadness for them, torn from the warm waters of their tanks as the Dry Ones shot sky glow beams at them. Most surprising was the long black beam of nothingness that hit one sky floater, turning it into cooling gases. The new land predators had fought their four sky floaters with skill, swimming so fast the black balls of his pod-mates had trouble intercepting them. To his surprise, the new predators had used small copies of their floaters to intercept those balls that came close, setting off the shield collapse. As a result, the last floater of the flying land predators had escaped destruction.
But most shocking was the choice of a sky floater that had arrived with the new predators. It separated from its larger floater and swam to deadly impact on the surviving pursuer. That impact had created numerous fragments. Seven of those fragments held air, warmth and the likelihood of surviving pod-mates. So the Pod had followed his magnetic glow and swung to follow the swim track of those fragments. It was an action owed to any living pod-mate. And curiosity made him wonder at the choice of the new predators to stop and visit those fragments, before fleeing the local glow, clearly heading for another yellow sky glow. While the Dry Ones had long since left the magnetic embrace of the glow that warmed the world which they had newly claimed for their Podlings, perhaps a few of them had died while entering the warm fragments. They would have met violent resistance from any surviving pod-mate, that he knew without seeing any view lens record. Or hearing air signs or sensing body color signs from survivors. So five of the Pod’s sky floaters now touched the spinning fragments.
StarFight 3: Battlecry Page 18
