Needing more situational awareness on the station, Burke walked over to the giant spider that was pushing buttons at the battle commander’s station. Getting a closer look, he realized that the creature didn’t really look quite like a spider. The body only had one circular section, from which all of the legs grew out, and that there were way too many legs. Burke couldn’t count them all because they were continually in motion, but he could tell there were more than eight. A lot more. “Can I help you?” the creature asked, without stopping what it was doing. Burke jumped. He hadn’t noticed previously that the spider had a set of eyes and a mouth on both sides of its body. Burke wondered if the creature had two brains, too; as it continued to work with one side while talking to him with the other.
“Um, hi,” Burke said to the creature. “Can I ask what you’re doing?”
“I am searching the computer system to watch for things that might give us away,” said Bzzzeedlezzzzz. “When I find them, I erase them and make sure that the computer system forgets that it ever saw them.”
“Can you see where the other groups are?” Burke asked. Watching it carry on a conversation while half of its legs worked so fast that they were a blur was...creepy...to say the least.
“Not exactly,” said the creature. “I can usually tell where they’ve been, but can’t be entirely sure where they are at any given moment.”
“What about the battlecruiser?” Burke asked. “Can we kill it from here?”
“Yes,” Bzzzeedlezzzzz said. “It shouldn’t be a problem to destroy the ship if it moves forward into our zone of fire.”
“That sounds more like a “no” than a “yes” answer,” Burke replied. “Can we kill it or not?”
“Oh, we can absolutely destroy it,” said the alien, “as long as it moves forward a little bit. Right now it is too far back for us to aim our weapons at it.”
“Shit,” Burke swore. “We need to destroy that ship.”
“That will be important at a future time,” Bzzzeedlezzzzz replied, “assuming that we are still alive.”
“Why wouldn’t we be alive in the future?” Burke asked.
“Because the Drakuls on watch normally change out now,” the alien said. “The oncoming watch is approaching and will be here in less than a minute.”
Burke looked over to where the soldiers were working on welding two desks together. “Load up, boys,” he said. “We’re about to have company.”
Task Force Night, Asteroid Weapons Platform, Gliese 876, February 19, 2021
The Hooolong that Night was following crawled past two Drakuls standing at attention in front of a doorway, went around a corner and entered a storage room full of boxes and crates. The platoon followed him, becoming visible once they were in the room to conserve their batteries.
“The operations center is behind the door guarded by the two Drakuls,” the Hooolong said.
“That’s going to be tough to get into unnoticed,” Master Chief observed. “They had their backs up against the wall and will be hard to take out silently. Anything we do has a good chance of alerting someone. That door is probably locked, too, so we’ll have to burn our way in.”
“Agreed,” said Night. He looked at their guide. “Is that the only door?”
“Yes,” the Hooolong replied, “that is the only doorway into the room.”
“That can’t be the only way in, though,” Master Chief said. “There have to be air ducts or something like that going into the room, right?”
“Well, of course there are air ducts,” the Hooolong said. “How else would anyone breathe in there? You didn’t ask about them.”
“All right,” Master Chief said, his fists clenched, “I’m asking now. Are there any other means of access into the operations center, beyond using the door?”
“Yes, there are,” the Hooolong replied. “You can use the air duct in this room to access the ops center.” He indicated a grate in the ceiling. “If you can get up there, you can get into the ducting. I believe that the ceiling will hold your normal soldiers, but I do not think that it will hold your metal men.”
“I don’t think I want to go into an air duct anyway,” said Staff Sergeant Randolph. “I’ve always been a little tense in close places.”
“Before we decide anything,” Night said, “let’s get someone up there to take a look.”
“I’ll go,” said Mr. Jones. “I’m probably the most qualified.” A professional combat spy, Mr. Jones had been a SEAL and a Delta operator before being recruited by the CIA. He had been given the rank of Corporal when he joined the platoon, but everyone knew he had a much higher government service rating. He wouldn’t say how high, but Night figured it was a lot higher than his own rank. Jones had always played the part of a corporal well, though, so it had never been an issue.
“I’ll go with him,” said Irina Rozhkov. Whatever Jones did in the CIA, Night knew Rozhkov did something similar for Russia’s spy service (whatever the KGB had become in its current incarnation), and he knew that Rozhkov was equally qualified as a spy. She also had a history with Jones, although neither would talk about it. Whatever their relationship, Night knew they worked well as a team and could be counted on to get the job done. Any job.
“All right,” Night said, making a quick decision, “you two go and take a quick look and come right back. No impromptu assaults. Got it?”
“Got it,” they replied. The rest of the team moved the stores out from under the vent’s entrance and formed a pyramid to get them up to the ceiling while the two spies stripped out of their suits. The two cyborgs formed the lowest level. Facing each other, they put their hands on each other’s shoulders, forming a solid base. The two tallest members of the squad, Petty Officer Sherkov and Petty Officer Levine formed the next level, standing on the cyborg’s shoulders. Sherkov removed the access plate on the ducting, and the two operatives were boosted into the ducting.
Mr. Jones turned on a small flashlight as he entered the ducting. He was pleased to see that the duct was a square about four feet on a side, plenty big enough to move around in. He knew a lot of air would have to be moved on a station the size of the asteroid, so he wasn’t surprised that the duct was as large as it was, just happy. There also didn’t appear to be any vermin living in it, which was another plus. Receiving a thumbs-up from Rozhkov, he started down the duct on his hands and knees.
Several passages went off in different directions, but he made it back to the operations center without much difficulty, stopping at a vent where he could see down into the room. He crossed to the other side and looked through the vent for about 15 seconds before giving Rozhkov a turn. When she looked back up, he whispered, “What have you got?”
“Circular room, about 30 meters in diameter,” Rozhkov replied. “Looks like weapons control stations around most of the perimeter of the room, with overseer positions located behind them like we saw in the laser control room. Very narrow span of control, about four technicians to a boss. There are four groups of stations. At a guess, I would say one for missiles, lasers, counter-missile missiles and counter-missile lasers. One door out of the room. Big conference table underneath us that could seat about 20 of us or 10 of them. Overall, looked like about 28 Drakuls in the room. It’ll be tough to get in there.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be a bitch,” Jones agreed, shaking his head. “I had 29. Let’s get back.”
Task Force Calvin, Asteroid Weapons Platform, Gliese 876, February 19, 2021
“We can save them if we go now,” Smetlurge urged, bobbing his head up and down in his excitement.
“What about the airlock?” Calvin asked. “Saving them doesn’t do us any good if we can’t get off this asteroid.”
“That is truth,” Smetlurge agreed, obviously not having given that part of it any thought in his haste to rescue the hostages. He paused and then said, “A small group should be able to take and hold the airlock. The rest of the force would probably be enough to go and rescue the prisoners.”
“How many Drakuls
are there?” Calvin asked.
“Well, there are over 500 that are waiting to be fed in the auditorium,” Smetlurge replied. “You wouldn’t have to fight them if we could make it down to the holding pens before the Drakuls begin taking the prisoners out.” He indicated the Archon. “Ezekiel could lead you to where you need to go to rescue the prisoners while I take part of the force to capture the airlock. He can move much more quickly.”
Damn, thought Calvin, who didn’t want to split his forces again. This has the potential to end really poorly. Still, he knew that he couldn’t let the Drakuls eat all of those civilians if he ever wanted to feel good about himself again. He just couldn’t. “Master Gunnery Sergeant Kinkead,” he said. “I want you to take the Three Caballeros and Corporal Lawrence and go secure the airlock. You’re our way out; you need to take it and hold it, for as long as is necessary. I’ll take the rest of the squad and see if we can rescue the civilians.”
“Yes, sir,” said Kinkead. “We’ll keep the light on for you; just try not to stay out too late, OK sir?”
“We won’t be long,” said Calvin, “but when we come, we’ll probably be in a hurry.” He became visible so that Ezekiel could see him. “Lead on,” Calvin said. “Let’s go get them before the Drakuls do.”
Task Force Kinkead, Asteroid Weapons Platform, Gliese 876, February 19, 2021
Master Gunnery Sergeant didn’t have far to go after the squad split up.
“The airlock control room is the next door on the left after this corner,” said Smetlurge, stopping in the middle of the passageway. “How do you intend to capture it?”
“I haven’t decided,” replied Master Gunnery Sergeant Kinkead. “How many Drakuls are in it?”
“Usually, there are two in the room,” answered Smetlurge. “It is not very big...maybe a 20’ square.”
“In that case,” Kinkead said, “I intend to apply superior firepower from a position of advantage and a condition of surprise.” She smiled. “You’re going to get them to open the door and then quickly move out of the way. After you move, we’re going to shoot them in the face.”
“Don’t miss, please,” Smetlurge said. “They will be very angry.”
“Don’t worry,” Kinkead replied. “We’re Terran Space Marines. We don’t miss.”
“Hmph,” Smetlurge said. “Everyone misses some time. I’d appreciate it if you just didn’t do miss now.” He walked to the door and watched with his sonar as the five soldiers lined up behind him, with Master Gunnery Sergeant Kinkead on the left end and a little closer to get a flanking shot at the second Drakul when the door opened.
“Ready,” said Kinkead, getting a green light from all of her group.
Smetlurge reached up and pressed the button next to the door’s access panel. After a short pause, a voice said, “What do you want, minion?”
“I have a message for you,” replied Smetlurge.
“OK,” the voice said. “Give it to me.” The door didn’t open.
Oh, crap, thought Kinkead. I hope he has a Plan B.
Smetlurge shuddered. “The message was that the general was sorry you missed his presentation,” Smetlurge said, “and I was supposed to make up for it. The lieutenant that sent me said you’d know what that meant.”
The door slid open and a Drakul filled the doorway. It was huge, nearly 10 and a half feet tall and well over 400 pounds. Saliva dripped from the two fangs that protruded from its mouth. Before Smetlurge could move, the Drakul reached out and grabbed him. It picked Smetlurge up and inspected the Hooolong, trying to figure out the best place to bite it. “Yes,” he said, “I know exactly what the general meant.”
“Hey!” said a voice from inside the room. “Save me some!”
The Drakul looked over his shoulder and said, “You can have what’s left when I’m done.”
“Help!” yelled Smetlurge. He struggled to get away, but his struggling form only blocked the troopers’ shots as he flipped back and forth in front of them.
The Drakul looked back at Smetlurge, and Kinkead could see the creature smile as the Drakul decided where it wanted to bite Smetlurge. She had no shot, so she did the only thing she could. She charged. Taking two running steps forward, she planted a foot on the Drakul’s knee and used it to jump up and head butt the Drakul on the chin with the top of her helmet. She wrapped her arms around the Drakul’s neck as the creature fell backward into the room, stunned.
The Drakul released Smetlurge, who landed on one of his ends and bounced out of the way down the corridor.
The second Drakul jumped up from the control panel as its superior fell backward into the room. “What? Did it bite you first?” the Drakul asked with a laugh. The question was cut off as the first Drakul hit the floor. With a clear line of fire, all four of the other soldiers fired. Three lasers hit the Drakul in the face, and the creature dropped. Corporal Lawrence’s shot went high and right, hitting the monitor that showed the airlock. It disintegrated in a shower of sparks.
As Kinkead and the Drakul hit the ground, she could feel the monster regaining its senses. The Drakul couldn’t see her, but it could feel her, and it grabbed her around the waist. Face to face with the Drakul, she smashed her helmet into its face again, head butting the creature between its bug eyes. The Drakul didn’t flinch; instead, it shifted its grip and grabbed her shoulder. The monster pulled her off, made a fist with its other hand and punched her, hitting her in the facemask. A long crack appeared; it only grew worse as the Drakul hit her again.
Her head rocked back, and she saw stars from the impact. The Drakul rolled to its side and slammed her into the floor, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping for breath and seeing two images of the creature in front of her, she drew her laser pistol as the Drakul lifted her back up to slam her again.
She fired at the image on the right and was rewarded with a splash of blue from its eye. The Drakul slammed her to the floor again, but not as hard as the first time. Her facemask shattered as she went face first into the floor. Her suit short-circuited, and she became visible.
The Drakul smiled as she came into view, and its remaining eye gleamed. Holding her with one hand the creature reached out toward her face with the other. She struggled in the Drakul’s grasp and tried to push away the claw, but the creature was too strong. Firing wildly with her pistol, she swung in the monster’s grasp, kicking it where she could, but she couldn’t stop the Drakul from reaching into her helmet and palming her head.
Already concussed, Kinkead saw a white light of pain as the Drakul squeezed her head. She fought to keep from passing out from the pain, but suddenly the squeezing stopped, and the Drakul released its grip on her. Her pistol fell from numb fingers, and she reached up and pulled the Drakul’s claw from her helmet. Rolling over, she looked at her enemy, and found that it now had a large knife from sticking out from its second eye.
Corporal Lawrence materialized next to the Drakul’s head. Stepping on the creature’s forehead for leverage, she retrieved her kukri. Blue blood and part of its eye dripped back down onto the remains of the Drakul’s face. With a sob, she dropped the weapon back onto the creature.
Kinkead got to her feet. She was woozy from the pain, but managed to stand. Stumbling over to Corporal Lawrence, she put a hand on her shoulder, part for comfort, part for stability. She could see tears on Corporal Lawrence’s face behind her facemask, and she realized that the Drakul was Lawrence’s first kill. “Thanks,” she said. “You had to kill it. I wouldn’t have lasted much longer if you hadn’t.”
“I know,” Corporal Lawrence said with a sniff. “Fucking bastards.” She kicked the Drakul in the head, and her kukri fell to the floor. Kinkead bent over and picked the large knife up. She wiped it off on the Drakul and handed it back to Corporal Lawrence handle first.
“Thanks,” she said. She took a deep breath and slid the kukri into its sheath. “I’m OK,” she said, standing a little taller. While Kinkead watched, her face transformed back to the one she had known for the last few
months. Lawrence was a soldier again; determined, focused and ready to do what needed to be done. Whatever the cost. “So, what do we do now?”
“First, we shut the door so that no one knows that we’re here,” said Kinkead. “Then we wait for the cavalry.” She paused and looked at Corporal Lawrence. “While we wait, I’d also appreciate it if you could check me out. I think I’ve got at least two broken ribs, and my suit is busted and won’t give me any pain meds. If you could come up with some, I’d even let you call me Master Guns. Once.”
“I can do that, Master Guns,” the medic said with a chuckle as she reached into one of her pockets.
Kinkead sat down heavily as the pain threatened to overwhelm her.
“Should I begin assembling my people to leave?” asked Smetlurge.
“Yes,” Kinkead said through her teeth as Corporal Lawrence applied some antibiotic to a slash down her cheek. I am tougher than the Drakuls, Kinkead thought...but not by much. Next time, shoot them from a distance.
“All prisoners proceed to Airlock #1 for evacuation,” Smetlurge transmitted. “There is a shuttle here to take off everyone that can make it to the airlock RIGHT NOW. DROP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND COME!”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bridge, Drakul Ship Butcher, Gliese 876, February 19, 2021
“That’s odd,” said the defender. “I just picked up a transmission saying that prisoners were going to be evacuated from an airlock to a waiting shuttle.”
“What the hell is that all about?” asked the Butcher’s commanding officer, Captain Frang, as he walked over to the defender’s station. “Do you show a shuttle anywhere in the area?”
“No, sir, I don’t,” said the defender. “The transmission was weak, though...perhaps it came from somewhere else in the system?”
Captain Frang hit him in the back of the head. Hard. “Do you know of any other place in this system that might be sending out such a transmission?” the CO asked. “There is none! If there is a shuttle anywhere around, it is stealthed. Call the operations center on the asteroid and see if they know what is going on.”
Theogony 3: Terra Stands Alone Page 19
