The Omega Drive

by Nik Whittaker

  The tunnel had been their main target for access to the Castle, which loomed ahead of them. Unfortunately, it was in the centre of no-man's-land in the war.

  “Is this is?” Tanner paused, glancing at a small metallic grating which was half covered with debris.

  “It is, according to the map,” Dack had taken the map from Tanner.

  “Where the hell is Tylr?” Lyla asked, “They can’t hav’ gotten far.”

  “We can’t wait, if they haven’t found us yet, then they’ll have to catch us up. They can handle themselves,” Tanner had cleared the rubble from the grating.

  “Aye, all right,” Lyla crouched to help with the clearing process, as Dack started pulling at the grating.

  Several struggling minutes later, they got the grate free. It was half a meter square, barely enough space for one person to enter at a time.

  “After you,” Tanner motioned to Dack.

  “No, I insist, after you,” he replied.

  “F’god’s sake, I’ll go first ya babies!” Vittoria slung her medical supply backpack into the hole, listening for the time for it to hit the ground. Only a few seconds, about ten feet deep. She put her feet over the edge and began to lower herself.

  A shot fired, hitting the dirt beside her.

  “Freeze!”

  The voice came from behind them. In the excavation they had lost track of the surrounding area. The smoke had finally vanished, and it exposed them to anyone who looked in their direction.

  “Don’t even think about going in there,” the voice belonged to a large, fully armoured, Galactic Syndicate trooper, who was aiming down the sight of his Alpha-Modified LMG. Beside him, seven more, similarly suited and equipped, troopers were also aiming at them.

  “Shit!” Lyla shouted.

  “I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Dack said, his eyes glancing down at their own rifles, which lay at their feet; put down during the digging efforts.

  “Shut your mouths, and step away from the hole,” the voice barked back.

  “I don’t think they will listen to reason,” Tanner said to Dack.

  Lyla swung her legs back onto ground and stood slowly, approaching the others, her hands held high in surrender.

  “I thought one o’ you would have watchin’ the perimeter,” she snapped at the other two. Their sheepish smiles the only reply.

  “You’ll be coming with us now,” the trooper shouted, showing the direction they needed to go with the barrel of his LMG.

  The crack of a sniper rifle firing rang out in the air.

  4

  Tylr Snow, had been scavenging the battlefield. After the explosions had separated them from the rest of the team, they'd decided the best course of action was preparation. If nothing else, they knew that the plans of Tanner and Dack, whilst tactically sound, had a tendency to go awry.

  Tylr was short in stature, and the tight-fitting body armour they wore gave them good agility on the battlefield. The long dust jacket over the top was more for style. Strapped to their side, were two Alpha-Modded Pistols, the only Alpha weaponry in the entire Coyotes’ armoury. On their back was a large Bolt-Action Sniper rifle.

  Despite all this Tylr picked up a rifle which had belonged to an unfortunate soldier from the Assembly, they had a feeling it wouldn’t be needed anymore.

  Tylr made their way across the battlefield, hidden in the smoke which had formed in the area. They could only assume it was one of the Coyotes who’d released it, but so far they hadn’t located them.

  That was when the scream alerted them, it had come from some distance away, but the direction was clear. Tylr was a highly trained combat soldier, their senses trained to perfection. It had only been semantics that they hadn’t ended up in a high-ranked position in one, or the others, armies. Being of non-binary gender had meant that the powers that be couldn’t decide what was the best position for them. Even in this century discrimination was rife.

  Regardless, Tylr had found a home with the Coyotes, the band of misfits felt more like family than anywhere before.

  They arrived at the place the scream had occurred, finding a wounded soldier, whose side had been bandaged up.

  “Who patched you up Solider?” They asked, the boy was just coming to.

  “I… Who are you?” The boy looked into Tylr’s pale face, the skin an almost ice-white colour.

  “It doesn’t matter who I am, just tell me who healed you!” Tylr ordered, their voice commanding respect. They would have made a great general.

  “It was, a… loud woman,” the boy stuttered.

  Lyla, it had to be.

  “Which way did they go?”

  “I, I passed out, I don’t know where they went.”

  A shot rang out in the distance. Despite many bullets being shot from the lines of the armies, this shot was distinctly closer.

  Without a word to the boy, Tylr jumped out of the crater, the smoke was clearing now and they could see across the debris of the battlefield. They pulled the sniper rifle over their shoulder, and glanced down the scope, bringing the distance closer into view.

  Scanning the area, they stopped as they saw six troopers with guns aimed at three figures.

  For god’s sake.

  Tylr adjusted the grip on the rifle, and took three deep breaths letting them out fast, then one deep intake and held it.

  A shot expelled from the rifle.

  *

  Dack blinked as the blood sprayed over him. The trooper that had been aiming the LMG at him seemed to disintegrate, his head turned into a mist of red, with large chunks of flesh spinning in the air.

  The remaining troopers spun to look at their fallen comrade, as the rest of its body flopped to the ground. They began to search around the area, hoping to locate the shooter.

  Another shot, another red mist filled that space around them.

  “Take cover!” Shouted one of the remaining four troopers.

  They all dove to the ground as Tanner, Dack and Lyla retreated, picking up their rifles from the ground.

  A moment later another shot fired, and the neck of another trooper ripped in half.

  “They’re being fantastic shots today,” Dack said, checking the ammo clip in his rifle.

  “They always are,” Tanner nodded.

  A blur on the horizon started to run towards them, then a blue glow seemed to illuminate from the blur.

  “Get down y’fools!” Lyla grabbed them both by the collar and dragged them down.

  A second later, two blue orbs of energy blasted into the three troopers, who were still trying to see where the shots had come from. The impact created a larger blue cloud of electric as the Alpha energy dissipated. The Troopers fell unconscious on the ground.

  As the cloud dispersed, Tylr stood in its aftermath.

  “Hello guys,” they smiled, walking towards them.

  “Perfect timing, as always Tylr,” Dack nodded in appreciation.

  “No problem, have we located the access point?”

  “We have, y’ready to join us?” Lyla pointed at the hole in the ground.

  “Always,” came the reply.

  5

  The four dropped their gear down the hatch, keeping only a sidearm each. Tylr gave Tanner her second Alpha-Pistol, whilst Dack and Lyla held onto their Cycle Pistols.

  “Let’s go over this a last time,” Tanner said, just before they climbed down. He felt a recap was a good idea after the disruption.

  “We go in through the access tunnel…”

  “Sewer,” Dack interrupted.

  “… Sewer,” Tanner nodded, “which should bring us several rooms away from the storage area of the Castle. Once there, it’s a simple task of grabbing as many Alpha batteries as we can carry, then head back this way. We’ll need to make sure we have a clear extraction, we can’t risk any wayward shots detonating the batteries.”

  “We know how dangerous they are,” Tylr smirked.

  “Ok, ok, I just wanted to make sure,” Tanner put h
is hands up in surrender.

  “F’god’s sake let’s just get on w’it!” Lyla shouted, patience was not one of her virtues.

  The floor of the moon began to tremble, like an earthquake was beginning. Above them a rumbling sound filled the air, deep and low.

  “What on earth?” Dack looked up, as the light in the sky was blocked out.

  A large monolith of a ship was travelling above them, colossus engines the size of small asteroids burning red, propelled the freighter towards the castle. It spanned several kilometres front to back and half that across.

  “What is that?” Lyla asked, almost in a whisper.

  “It’s the Royal Freighter,” Tylr answered, “Usually it only transports High Officials for the Syndicate.” Tylr had worked in the Syndicate Army, another lifetime ago.

  “What would they be here for? In a war zone?” Dack asked, having to shout as the freighter passed overhead.

  “Perhaps there’s more to this castle than we expected,” Tanner offered, “regardless, we better get a move on!”

  Lyla lowered herself into the hole, followed by the others.

  Once inside, they gathered their equipment, and Lyla lead the way. Her medical visor’s scanner allowing her the best navigation of the darkened space. The tunnel was lower than comfortable walking height, causing them to hunch over as they moved.

  They travelled in silence. Despite appearances, they were all high trained soldiers in their own specific field, instincts they fell back on any time they were needed.

  The silence broke when an explosion rocked the whole tunnel; it sounded like several smaller explosions all converged in one large eruption. Large debris collapsed from the ceiling, knocking the team off their feet.

  “Everyone ok?” Dack called out.

  Several grumbles came back, confirming.

  The comms units sparked into life in all their ears.

  “Ground team, this is Azimuth, do you, erm, copy?” Jako’s voice burst out.

  “Jako! Yes, hello, we copy,” Tanner answered, rubbing a graze on his head.

  “Tanner, hi, erm we have a situation you need to hear about.”

  “I don’t s’pose it’s anything to do wi’ the big explosion that just rocked us?” Lyla asked, half jokingly.

  “Well, erm, kind of, I think. Listen, the Assembly forces are like, erm, retreating yeah?” Jako’s laid back tone still present, even in delivering important information.

  “What do you mean they’re retreating?” Tanner shouted, they based the whole op on them being undetected in the heat of the battle.

  “Yeah, retreating. I don't suppose you saw a giant ship come in a few minutes ago, or, erm, the firestorm bomb that just went off?”

  “As a matter of fact, we’ve been pretty close to both those events,” Dack replied, the firestorm would explain the explosion.

  “Cool, well not really, but yeah. The freighter was the Prime Leader of the Syndicates’. It, erm, dropped the firestorm in the middle of the Assembly lines, pretty much wiped out the entire front line of attack.”

  The four stared at each other, a few meters above them the whole battlefield was most likely a burning mess of flames. The firestorm bombs were a remnant of the old wars, a pure carpet of fire raining down over a select area. A freighter the size of the one that had passed overhead, would have been able to cover most of the Assembly lines in one easy swoop.

  The Coyotes were trapped, there’s no way they could risk going back out the way they came in now.

  “Please, tell me there’s some good news to go along with this?” Dack said.

  “Oh, well, erm, sort of?” Jako replied, “Captain Jen… I mean Admiral Jenkins contacted us just before that attack.”

  They all paused, Jenkins had been a huge factor in all their training and formation several years earlier.

  “What did he want?” Dack asked.

  “He needs our, erm, help. He wants us to break into the castle, and assassinate the Prime Leader.”

  “Hold that thought!” Lyla shouted, causing the others to jump.

  She pointed back down the tunnel, in the direction they had come from. Her visor had allowed her a few seconds head start on what they now could all see.

  A ball of flame was making its way down towards them, the firebombs rolling effect must have lead it down the hatch and into the tunnel with them.

  “Oh, come on! Can we just get a break here, please!” Dack sighed, grabbing his gear together and starting to run as fast as his crouched posture would allow. The others were close behind.

  “How far to the exit,” Tanner panted, trying to stay in line with Dack.

  “About a kilometre further,” he replied, daring a look behind them. The fireball was looming larger as it got closer.

  “You wanted to try the smoked salmon earlier,” Tanner grinned at him, “now it’s time for a little flambé,” he laughed.

  Dack shook his head and laughed, whilst Lyla and Tylr rolled their eyes. The exit of the tunnel came into view as the heat of the fireball began to lick their heels.

  6

  “We won’t make it!” Lyla shouted, as she glanced back, seeing the flames rolling down the tunnel.

  “Half a klick to go,” Tanner shouted back, “we can make it!” His optimism wasn’t shared by the rest of the team.

  “Screw this,” Tylr shouted and stopped running.

  It took a moment for the others to realise they’d stopped.

  “Tylr! Come on!” Dack screamed, sweat was pooling on his face as the heat of the tunnel intensified.

  The flames were coming fast as Tylr opened their long black jacket. Inside they pulled out two small metallic orbs.

  “Keep running! This might not go to plan,” Tylr shouted back as they pressed a button on each orb and threw one upward, and the other to the floor.

  The orbs stuck to the concrete of the tunnel. A high-pitched drilling sound emanated from them, as they burrowed into the stone until they were half embedded.

  Tylr gave them a quick pull, making sure they were stuck into the rock, before turning and running to catch up with the others. Tylr pushed a button on their belt as the flames were just reaching the orbs, they lit up with a bright glow.

  The orbs were devices used to help transport equipment. Each equipped with a high power magnet which, once activated, caused an unbreakable bond with its paired orb. They latched onto whatever surface they were placed to ensure a secure connection.

  When these two activated, however, they were determined to come together, from the magnetic force, however the concrete of the tunnel was holding them back.

  It only took a few moments for the stone to give way, the ceiling orb starting to pull the brickwork away in its attempt to join its companion. The flames were just beginning to engulf the orbs when the ceiling caved in.

  A small trickle of bricks preceded a full collapse, which filled the tunnel with dust and debris.

  “It worked!” Dack laughed, as they watched the cave-in block the tunnel, and along with it the flames. The fire’s progress stopped.

  “Good work Tylr!” Tanner added.

  “Second save of the day, mah hero!” Lyla gave Tylr a punch on the arm.

  “Though that confirms we won’t be heading back that way,” Tanner said.

  “I didn’t fancy heading back into a fire stormed battlefield, personally,” Dack replied.

  They continued their travel down the tunnel with no further incident.

  “Jako, you still there?” Tanner asked.

  “Erm, yeah here,” the response came.

  “Sorry about the pause, what was that about Jenkins?”

  “He wants us to kill the Prime Leader!” Vittoria’s voice shouted out, taking the comms from Jako.

  “Why us?” Dack asked, they were reaching the end of the tunnel.

  “The Royal Freighter that was transporting him sent a small dropship within the castle walls, the Assembly believe the Leader was on it. After the Firebomb, however
, the Assembly forces can't move in,” Vittoria continued, “they’ve begun to evacuate the Moon already.”

  “Why is this our problem,” Tylr asked.

  “Because Coyotes, the Syndicate will not be as sympathetic to your endeavours as the Assembly,” a deep-toned voice spoke through the comms.

  “Jenkins, a pleasure as always,” Tanner replied.

  “Listen to me, I know you aren’t affiliated with either side in this war, but if the Syndicate get their hands on the stockpile of Alpha here, it will be all they need for a big push into Assembly space. I’m not being dramatic when I say that this moon will be the turning point of the entire war. I honestly believe that with the Alpha, they would have a high chance of taking the Capital Planets, and with that the whole system.”

  The team listened to Jenkins without interrupting; they had all served under him in the beginning and the respect had been earned.

  “That is why the Royal Freighter is here, the Prime Leader also knows the importance of this battle. The chance of taking him out at the same time, is a chance that we cannot lose.”

  “Why us though? You have plenty of forces and special op teams you could use?” Dack spoke.

  “We do, and they are highly trained, but they aren’t on the moon, seconds away from the target. To get a team in now would be suicide, the forces that have arrived with the Freighter are protecting their Leader. And frankly, if you can’t do this then I don’t believe anyone can.”

  “What’s in it for us?” Tanner said, his jovial tone missing, “seems like we’d be risking our lives for your cause, with all respect.”

  “You would be, but when all this is over who would you rather see in power? The Assembly, flaws and all, but striving for the best for everyone. Or the Syndicate, greedy corporations running the galaxy for their profit? And, of course, the Assembly will be in your debt, you’d be heroes, along with all the Alpha you could want. With all your prior misdemeanours swept under the carpet.”