Valiant (Jurassic War Universe Book 1)

by Kristoff Chimes

  “If anyone is to kill Morlok, it’s me.” She fixed him with a look that he knew not to argue with. “Got it, Glaw?”

  Glaw nodded and reached down to her. He pulled Myf up into the saddle of his T.Rex. He smashed his fist down onto the T.Rex’s head.

  “Buckle up.”

  Myf clung to Glaw’s fur between the chinks in his chest armor.

  The Rex sprinted down the troop ramp. It bucked its armored head from side to die. It tore into the heaving throng of ten thousand Vanguard legionnaires.

  The T.Rex charge crushed rows of fixed wing fighters. Sending them spinning off into the Vanguard legionnaires, disrupting their formations and annihilating their resolve.

  On hearing the Vanguard cry to retreat sound out with a long horn blast, Glaw urged his T.Rex legion to pursue and cut down the Vanguards. They chased the Vanguards down the wide, tall archways of the corridors, until they fled into the vast expanse of a temple.

  Above their heads, spider-bots criss-crossed the vast expanse of emptiness and weaved silk-glass webs to seal off the shattered roof. They created a shimmering blue and pink lattice of stronger-than-steel glass protecting the breathable atmosphere from the harsh, freezing vacuum of space.

  One small gap in the webbing allowed the icy death to reach inside and suck precious air out on a ferocious jet stream. A howling gale of vanquishing air that blew over Glaw’s head.

  Glaw’s T.Rex legion pushed forward. The Vanguards retreated to the far side of the temple nave.

  A vast set of doors opened and in swept another legion of T.Rex. On their saddle antennae they flew black flags heralding the flaming Wheel of Death crossed with the iron ‘V’ of Vanguard.

  Glaw swung his T.Rex around to face the Vanguard advance.

  “Party’s kicked off, big time, people,” Glaw shouted.

  The lead Vanguard bull Rex charged Glaw. Glaw recognized its rider’s flag. The Vanguard standard’s black replaced with a red background denoting the Vanguard High-Command.

  A full blown general… Come to papa!

  Glaw charged at the Vanguard general. As he approached, Glaw realized the Vanguard general’s Rex was a full two feet higher and wider. A full grown adult, compared to Glaw’s adolescent Rex.

  The general forced his Rex to shoulder barge Glaw’s smaller Rex. Glaw struggled with the chain reins. Both Rex’s roared and snapped their ferocious jaws at the neck of the other.

  The general’s Rex headbutted Glaw’s and his beast staggered across the temple floor as if it were punch-drunk. The general’s Rex leapt on Glaw’s Rex and bit heard into its neck armor.

  Glaw felt Myf’s hands grip his shoulders tighter. He glanced over his shoulder at her.

  “We’re outgunned,” she shouted.

  “I got this, hang on,” he shouted.

  Glaw felt Myf’s grip vanish. She leapt off the back of his saddle and across the distance between the two Rexes. She kicked out at the Vanguard general and struck him in the dead center of his chest armor.

  The Vanguard general fell backwards from the saddle.

  Myf hammered on the crown of the Vanguard Rex’s head and set the console to its rampage setting. She directed it back at its own legion and leapt from the saddle.

  Glaw grabbed her arm and hauled her back onto his saddle. Myf glanced over her shoulder at the general. His ankles seemed caught in the chain reins.

  He screamed as his Rex dragged him across the temple. The Rex headbutted the next two Vanguard Rex’s and broke their formation. It then twist its neck around to the General and lashed out.

  Its jaws severed the General’s head from his shoulders and then spat it out.

  “Least you can say a Vanguard Rex got taste,” Glaw shouted.

  Myf pointed out a contingent of Vanguard Rexes splitting off from the main group and chasing down Valiant’s marines.

  She pointed out Fyre fleeing a T.Rex. The Rex leapt on her and opened its jaws.

  ***

  Commander Iago cried out with blood lust. He stood up in the saddle of his T.Rex as his beast pummeled Fyre’s power-armor with ferocious headbutts. It stamped on her chest, and created a large dent in her armor. It pinned her down with its toes.

  It leaned in for the kill.

  “I should have killed you at the Colosseum of Death,” Commander Iago shouted. “It would have prevented all this bloodshed.”

  Fyre felt unable to speak. Her body screamed out in pain. She felt the dulling sensations of her power-armor sending painkillers into her system.

  I need a clear mind.

  She disengaged the medi-bots and halted their pain relief. She tried to focus her mind. Retreat to some calm sanctuary in her mind. From there, project a powerful mental jolt of energy to Glaw and his legion. A plea for help.

  But her body’s screaming pain washed over her like an uncontrollable Tsunami wave.

  “Your tricks won’t work here,” Iago shouted. “I can block your puny thoughts with my mind. But soon you’ll be dead.”

  He drew his Makhaira and ignited it. “Your head will make a fine addition to my collection,” he said and removed his helmet. “Before you die, I want you to feel my fangs on your neck.”

  Her stomach churned with revulsion.

  “I shall feast on your blood and when this battle is over, I shall take your body and—”

  A fiery blue arrow pierced the eye of Iago’s T.Rex. It bucked its head backwards and roared. It shook its head back and forth in inconsolable pain.

  Iago’s eyes rolled back into his head. His neck snapped back as an arrowhead burst out through his throat. Blue plasma fire raced along his neck and consumed his face.

  Razor sharp hawk wings of a crossbow severed Iago’s head from his shoulders. A T.Rex rider’s flaming Makhaira slashed through the air and thrust up inside a chink in the armor of Iago’s Rex. The rider tore at the thick skin, gouging a deep wound across its neck.

  The beast howled and stumbled onto its knees. It slumped onto its snout. It began toppling onto Fyre.

  She frantically dragged herself out of its shadow. The Rex hit the ground. With a screeching wail that dulled to a whimpering cacophony of snorts, the T.Rex bled out a lake that engulfed Fyre.

  Fyre raised herself up on her elbows as a Vanguard slipped from a T.Rex saddle and landed expertly at her side. A black gloved hand stretched out to her. Fyre recognized the hawk and snake design of the studded knuckles and wrist.

  She took the hand as the Vanguard removed her helmet.

  “Zania, you will be an outcast from this moment on,” Fyre said. “Join us.”

  “Your pathetic rebellion sickens me,” Zania said.

  “Then why save me? I’d be dead by now and your problems resolved.”

  “After your death,” she said, “Iago would have come after me. After my death, Iago would go after our father and gloat about how he killed us. Then he’d kill our father in as painful way as possible.”

  Fyre swallowed hard.

  “Zania, there’s something I need to tell you,” Fyre said. “Father… he’s—”

  Zania’s eyes popped wide. She turned away. “How?”

  “We found him crucified at the foot of Temple Mountain, the way they—”

  “Crucify traitors.”

  “Yes. His only crime was possession of a conscience.”

  “It should not be a crime to be a fool. Did he last long?”

  “Longer than most.”

  Zania fought her tears and twist her crossbow in her hands. She grasped a glowing plasma arrow from her quiver and snapped it with the fingers of one hand. She felt it slip from her grasp. She stared at the smoldering palm of her trembling glove.

  “There is one,” Zania hissed, “who shall pay for his crimes.”

  Zania leapt to the saddle of her T.Rex and sped away.

  “I’m sorry, “Fyre shouted and took a step after Zania. She slipped in the lake of blood. She fell to her knees. She stared at her blood drenched reflection.

 
She no longer recognized the woman staring up at her. She knew she couldn’t be heard. Not now. Not ever.

  CHAPTER 115 - A FAREWELL TO HEROES

  Glaw spotted Sol Morlok with his infantry legions. The Vanguard unnerved Glaw with a smile and then looked up at the repaired dome. He brought his arms up above his head and clapped his hands together.

  “Descend, my pets,” he said. “And devour our enemies.”

  Glaw glanced up at the thousands of scurrying shadows as they dropped on thin strands of steel-silk and set upon the Ursu. Metallic pincers bit into Glaw’s armor and tore at his fur. Glaw roared and slashed at the spider-bots as his T.Rex bucked in panic.

  The spider-bots swarmed over the Ursu, pulling them from their saddles and provoking the Vanguard legion to regroup and advance.

  A dozen spider-bots dropped onto Colonel Rage’s back. He slammed himself against a wall and crushed several of the spider-bots. Others clamped their jaws onto his armor and chewed through to his skin.

  He aimed his plasma pistol carefully and blasted a spider-bot. Its legs collapsed under its molten body, but five more replaced it.

  “There’s just too damn many of them,” Rage shouted as the spider-bots threw him to the floor and gorged themselves on him.

  Rage scrolled through the weapon options on his helmet visor. He selected an audio disrupter. He set it to wide band with maximum amplitude.

  “This is gonna give us one hell of a headache,” she shouted. He engaged the disrupter.

  The disrupter’s signal wave oscillated through the audio receptors of each of the thousands of spider-bots. The frequency jammed their processes and sent a vicious feed-back loop through their bodies until it blew their circuitry. Thousands of metallic spider-bots exploded.

  Glaw brushed them off his shoulders and glared at Sol Morlok.

  “That the best you can do, Morlok?”

  Glaw looked over his shoulder. “You want my Kopis?”

  Myf shook her head and drew a plasma pistol from her hip holster.

  “Flame swords are for posers,” she said into the screen of her skinphone. “Can’t beat the new AC-9 viper semi-automatic plasma pistol. For ease of use, comfort, style it scores a ten for budget conscious killers out there. Comes in a wide range of colors for accessorizing, too.”

  “Are you on sales commission?” Glaw asked. “Kill the dude, already.”

  “I’ll take one,” Sol said.

  “Under the circumstances,” Myf said, “we accept only cash.”

  “I’ll take one off your dead body,” Sol said.

  “Oh,” Myf said and checked the magazine was fully charged. “I see, well, this model is for demonstration purposes only. I’ll need to see two forms of ID and do a twenty eight day galactic background check. Which is just a formality for you, as I can see you are a total scumbag.”

  Glaw swiveled the tiny camera on the head of the T.Rex’s armor. He yawned as he took a selfie picture. The camera launched a head and shoulder hologram of Glaw, wide mouthed and crossing his eyes, as his tongue flopped out and licked his snout.

  “One for the archives, Glaw?” Myf asked.

  “This is a picture of me getting bored now, Myf,” he said and rubbed his rumbling stomach. “Kill him quickly, I’m hungry.”

  “You caught your good side,” she said and blew him a kiss.

  She slid from the saddle and landed in a crouch. She flicked off the safety gauge on the plasma gun and aimed at Sol Morlok.

  Sol drew a Makhaira and ignited it.

  Myf yawned. “And now for the demonstration,” she said. “You’ll see the recoil is minimal. Over-heating is not a concern, thanks to its new gas-cooling feature. Those of you juggling multiple Q-NET streaming broadcasts maybe be delighted to know the new AC-9 viper comes with Voice Activated shot-sequences for all eventualities as I shall now demonstrate for you. Rapid-fire.”

  She squeezed the trigger, sending a volley of shots at Sol’s head.

  Sol Morlok sliced the flaming sword through the air and parried away the plasma bullets. They ricocheted off the temple walls and slammed into the head armor of Glaw’s T.Rex and burrowed deep between the chinks in Glaw’s chest armor.

  Glaw roared. The T.Rex roared and bucked. Glaw grabbed at the chain-link reins. But the T.Rex threw Glaw from its saddle.

  Glaw tumbled over its snapping jaws and landed on the temple floor. As he landed he drew his Kopis and ignited it.

  “The AC-9 Viper,” Myf said. “For the girl who finds confronting basasses a daily chore she can do without. Buy the Viper for that extra special bite. We have a limited time only two for one order, with free matching shoulder holster. I’m taking orders now while stocks last.”

  Glaw staggered forward, clutching his chest and leapt at Morlok. Glaw slashed his flaming sword in a vicious arc at the Vanguard’s head.

  Morlok parried the blade and thrust his counter strike into Glaw’s chest armor. He then sprang forward, kicked off Glaw’s chest and soared up to his shoulders. He pushed off Glaw’s shoulders and spread his cloak out wide. He leapt into the jet stream of escaping air and soared upwards.

  Myf aimed her plasma gun and fired three shots. Morlok twist sharply in the air and dived at her. He slashed his Makhaira and deflected the plasma bullets. Sending one recoiling back at her. The plasma bullet embedded deep into her shoulder. The velocity of its flight slammed her backwards, and sent her spinning head over heels.

  Sol landed on a platform high above them. He yelled out, “You shall regret vanquishing we Vanguard. I curse the Ursu, the Lupos and the Human races.

  “You shall discover that which we protected you all from. I curse you to live just long enough to know the merciless regret of your actions. To realize how you have doomed your people.”

  The wings of his cape folded away. He turned to a statue, and touched its face. The statue slid aside and revealed a doorway. He stepped inside the cabin of a life-pod and the door slid shut behind him.

  ***

  Sol’s life-pod had long range interstellar capabilities. As such, it was bigger than many. His eyes adjusted to the gloom. Something told him not to extinguish the flame of his Makhaira. He cautiously prowled the main galley to the pilot’s cabin. He took a deep breath and took the final step that would automatically release the door.

  It slid aside for him and there in the co-pilot seat he found Zania Tebrok.

  “Where to President?” she asked.

  He smiled and extinguished the flame. He sheathed his blade.

  “You anticipated my flight?”

  “Of course, but did you anticipate this?”

  Zania whipped around and thrust her Makhaira deep inside a chink in his armor.

  He collapsed as he raged and fell heavily into the pilot’s chair.

  She stood over him. Through the flames of her blade he recognized that look that despised him. The look of hatred. The same one he saw each morning in the mirror.

  “Why?” he gasped.

  “You betrayed Vanguard. You ground into the dust all that was wise, noble, just and progressive in the name of salvation. Your name shall ring out as the tolling bell of doom chimes for our people.”

  She spat through the flames and he felt the sizzling saliva burn his face as it dripped down his cheeks.

  “I give you the gift of a slow, painful death.”

  “Death Hawk arrowhead poison?”

  She nodded. She disengaged the environment sensors. She disengaged the auto-repair bots system and thrust her Makhaira through the small windshield. She then triggered the auto-pilot launch sequence.

  “It is a question of which shall kill you first,” she said. ”The Death Hawk poison in your blood, or the death-freeze, airless vacuum of space.”

  She stepped out of the pilot cabin and let the door slide shut on him.

  CHAPTER 116 - MY ENEMY’S ENEMY

  Hannibal walked around the holograph projection of the three ships surrounding Valiant. The battle damage appeared in real
time.

  Canis Dirus abruptly sailed under Valiant and came up at Invincible.

  “Captain,” Hanson said, “Canis Dirus is powering up its weapons.”

  An array of plasma torpedoes erupted out of the Lupos ship and buried themselves in Invincible’s engines.

  Ursidae broke formation and pummeled Nightwing with a wave of missiles.

  “Captain, we’re being hailed,” said Ryan. “By the captains of Ursidae and Canis Dirus.”

  “Accept holograph feeds,” Hannibal said.

  Two grey static balls appeared in the center of the bridge. They quickly resolved to less than perfect holograms of a nine feet tall Ursu in battle armor, and a seven feet tall Lupos, also in armor.

  Hannibal recognized the Lupos captain as Madog.

  “Captains,” Hannibal said. “I take it the earlier broadcast from my XO prompted your change of allegiance?”

  The Ursu snorted. “I am Captain Skatfall of Sun Bear clan. My enemy’s enemy is my friend. Our new king, Glaw of house Brynmor, sends greetings and salutations for a glorious battle.”

  His holograph shredded into staccato shards of static before resolving into a clearer image. Hannibal noted the hologram of Ursidae taking severe damage from Nightwing’s heavy barrage.

  “I am honored, Captain Skatfall,” Hannibal said and bowed as he knew was accepted custom with Ursu diplomacy.

  The Lupos captain spat at his feet. “I, Captain Madog, concur that the Vanguards have over stayed their welcome as this galaxy’s oppressors.

  “Our intelligence commander, Blaidd, confirmed the evidence of a Vanguard conspiracy and more. We share your desire to overthrow the Vanguard yoke and free Mars for all races.”

  “Might I suggest,” said Hannibal, “you leave Invincible to flounder and both assist Valiant’s battle with Nightwing.”

  Valiant rocked back and forth so hard, Hannibal thought she’d capsize.

  “Captain,” said Hanson, “we’ve lost our main battery. Only auxiliary gun are operational.”

  “Engineering reports complete engine failure imminent,” Ryan said. “Chief Engineer’s recommending shut down before meltdown.”