It was Foster and Chevallier’s turn to speak with her as the queue shrank. “You must be Norauk’s wife Yalauk, right?”
She looked at Foster and Chevallier with a puzzled look on her face. Right, she doesn’t understand our language, Foster thought.
Yalauk reached out and touched Foster in the same manner Norauk did when he used his psionic gifts to instantly learn English. Foster began to wonder if the range of talents a psionic could use varied from species to species. No Hashmedai psionics or Radiance psionics were able to scan the body of someone and fully learn how to speak their language instantly. Yet the Qirak could, but lacked some of the common powers psionics could use such as telekinesis, at least from what she had been able to observe.
“Ah, greetings traveler,” Yalauk said. “You speak of my husband’s name? You must be the two he spoke of.”
“Howdy, name’s Captain Foster. Norauk said we could meet the Architect.”
“Ah yes, yes, the Architect’s bodyguards will be here soon, they can lead you right to him.”
Yalauk pointed to the group of Poniga beyond the crowd next to her. Now that Foster and Chevallier were closer, they were able to see what the vivid sunshine from above had obstructed. There was a large gathering of Poniga, beyond them were the chained and shackled ones the two had witnessed being sold to Yalauk for whatever reason. Their robes were torn and dirty, while their faces were drenched with blood and despair. Half of the chained and beaten Poniga had weeping children with them, it made Foster’s gut wrench. The more she looked at it the more she began to think they were indeed slaves.
“What do you figure is going on here, Captain?” Chevallier whispered to her.
“I don’t know.”
“Slaves, perhaps?”
Foster grimaced, even Chevallier started to wonder the same. She faced Yalauk and asked. “What are these people here for?”
“Ah, people of your kind should not associate themselves with this. These are the Poniga that worship the goddess and plot against the Architect.”
“What exactly did they do?”
“You will have to ask those that live here. My kind is just here for profit! The Architect rewards those that bring him these people; I share the reward with those that hunt them.” Chanting and cheering erupted from the crowd as the chained Poniga were forced to walk forward. “Ah yes, yes, the Architect’s entourage is coming, follow those low-lifers to them.”
Foster reached down to make sure her ePistol was still on her. It was. “Let’s keep our distance, don’t want people to think we are part of this bunch.”
Chevallier nodded and they followed slowly behind the group. They watched as the chained Poniga were forcibly assembled in front of a building with large wooden barn-like doors. The doors swung open and the cheering crowd grew louder as they saw what was inside the darkened structure.
It was a wormhole. The very same oval-shaped one they passed through to get to this planet.
The wormhole activated, and its center glowed brightly then transformed into what looked like the interior of a dark and grimy ship. One that looked familiar, like from their encounter with the aliens back at the ice world of Sirius B. Correction, it was the same interior, as the same armored aliens marched out of the wormhole and into the city, spear-wielding overlords in the back, limping laser-wielding grunts in front. They began to examine the chained Poniga harshly. Armored hands gripped onto chins and forced their mouths to open, hoods were torn off to closely examine their hair.
Frightened, chained children began to whimper and shed tears, angering the overlords that were overseeing everything. The overlords pointed to the crying children, prompting their grunts to kick them to the sandy ground below. The parents of the assaulted children objected, naturally, and some tried to attack those that brought harm to their offspring, only to have the side of an arm-mounted laser cannon send their bodies to the ground with their children with a loud, clobbering sound. Defiance grew stronger in the chained crowd as the first batch was dragged into the wormhole, their feet flailing about as their lips cried out in terror. Three chained Poniga refused to sit back and watch as their own kind and children were beaten endlessly and tried to fight despite being chained. The grunts with laser cannons mounted to their arms put them down, for all eternity.
Foster hated every second of it.
She wanted to fight, she wanted to save these people. Whatever happened she knew that the children couldn’t be faulted. They were being taken away because of the actions of their parents, nothing more.
The chained Poniga were herded through the wormhole onto the ship, the ones that weren’t killed by laser blasters. Their bodies were left to cook in the streets as smoke rose from their wounds and the sunlight beat against them. A familiar face glanced back at Foster from the crowd of the chained and condemned, it was Mavron, the robed woman next to him, no doubt Eisila. The two people that helped guide Foster’s team into the city was now on the receiving end of some sort of punishment.
The group of chained Poniga quickly shrank as they continued to be pushed or dragged into the wormhole along with their children. The armored grunts made their way back toward the end of the shrinking group and toward Foster and Chevallier. They did, after all, request a meeting with the Architect, too bad neither of them knew that the Architect was one of the aliens that attacked them.
“Sainte merde,” Chevallier said as the armored grunts neared.
“You can say that again.”
“Holy shit.”
11 CHEVALLIER
Streets of Togi-toki
SA-115, Sirius A system
May 20, 2050, 14:25 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Chevallier slowly reached for her rifle that was strapped over her shoulder as she saw Captain Foster reach for her pistol. The two tried to backpedal and slip into the cheering crowd behind them, hoping that the aliens, rather the Architect’s soldiers, were too focused on gathering their prize. Aliens, Chevallier thought to herself. We’re the aliens, they are the locals.
They tried to slip away, all while trying not to draw too much attention to themselves from the crowd of Poniga that gathered to watch the chained-up creatures being taken away. The Poniga onlookers began to speak as the two pushed deeper into the crowd, Chevallier hoped it wasn’t about them trying to exit stage left. One of the Architect’s overlords made a noise, it sounded critical, like they saw something they didn’t like. More words in their strange language were spoken to one another, they didn’t sound happy.
Suddenly, the crowd they had slipped into began to disperse quickly as one of the overlords began to yell and aim their spears at them. Like a wave receding from the beach, Foster and Chevallier were exposed as the crowd moved away from them, their cheering and chanting stopped in the process. Whatever the overlords had said to them, they obeyed, and quickly.
The Architect’s soldiers in turn gazed at the two humans as two grunts stepped up to Foster and Chevallier in a threatening manner with their arm-mounted laser cannons aimed at them. Behind those grunts was an overlord who stood, holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, barking orders to the grunts like some kind of squad leader.
Nobody was interested in talking or bargaining at that point.
“Captain, you still got that piece on you?”
“I’ll need to make a sudden movement to get to it, but yes.”
Chevallier grinned and activated personal shields. “Good.”
Chevallier pushed Foster aside and drew her rifle quickly. She fired from the hip with remarkable accuracy and efficiency, perforating the chests of the two grunts that approached them. Their bodies dropped fast. She hoped that her sudden actions drew all the attention toward her and not on Foster who had no shields.
She hoped right.
Chevallier’s shields flashed as it deflected multiple shots of laser blasts from the two soldiers. Foster’s pistol joined the action and put down one grunt that began to react in the distance. The violent
exchange got the Poniga who had been watching running to hide within the buildings behind the market kiosks. Some leaped through windows in fear, paying no mind to what they might have landed on as they fell to the ground. They were doing something Chevallier and Foster needed to have done two minutes ago.
Flee.
The two ran through the streets, Chevallier firing blind shots to help cover their run. The overlord soldiers of the Architect’s army began to yell orders to their grunt minions. ‘Get them’ Chevallier figured. As she and Foster turned the corner, she looked back to see how many were chasing them and saw a terrifying sight. The three dead soldiers they had put down rose back up just like their first encounter. It was like they had been resurrected from the dead. The holes that were put through their bodies were still there, coagulating blood oozed out ever so slowly.
Shit, shit, shit!
“Too many bystanders here,” Foster shouted as they continued to run away, firing their weapons blindly behind them. “We’s gotta take this fight elsewhere.”
To Chevallier that meant not running inside a building as there was a good chance that bystanders would be hit in the crossfire. Even if they ducked behind furniture or a wall, eWeapons traveled nearly at the speed of light and were powerful enough to put a hole through the stone walls the buildings were made of.
Foster tugged Chevallier’s arm as they passed a stable, well what would pass as one on this planet. They entered and saw creatures that resembled horses, they were equipped with a harness and saddle that were of similar design. Foster approached one of them and tried to climb on.
“Ever been horseback ridin’, Master Chief?”
Chevallier eyed the horselike creatures and shook her head. “These aren’t horses, Captain.”
“Close enough.” Foster gave the harness firm taps with her hand. “They clearly use ‘em the same way.”
Chevallier wanted to object to her idea, but heard the stomping noise of the Architect’s soldiers. It grew louder. They were getting close, and they needed an escape that didn’t involve running. Chevallier climbed up onto the animal with Foster and hoped that riding one would be as effective as their Earth-based equivalent.
Foster tried to get the animal to move and ride out of the stable. “C’mon, giddy up you!” It didn’t move, much like other ones around it.
“Let me try.” Chevallier fired random bullets into the air, the thunderous roar of her rifle spooked all of the animals, including the one they sat on, to run away and flee into the streets. A raging stampede ensued.
A stampede that flattened four of the Architect’s soldiers as they literally ran into it thinking they were going to get the jump on Chevallier and Foster. Their escape out of the stable and away from the danger behind them was almost like a scene out of an old western movie. Horseback riding, guns blazing, a southern American at the forefront of the action even Foster let out an excited ‘heehaw’ as she commanded the animal to run side by side the stampede they created.
Chevallier looked behind and saw several of the Architect’s grunts that didn’t get trampled amongst the swirling clouds of dust that rose into the air. Their laser cannons ejected their hot energy, red streaks of light zipped past the corner of her peripheral vision. Chevallier peered through the scope of her eRifle, its targeting scanners acquired a target lock, and she pulled the trigger as its holographic reticle appeared over the heads of the grunts. Chevallier brought out her combat experience from the war with the Hashmedai and skirmishes against HLF terrorists, faces exploded into pieces, heads held on by a tiny slice of flesh from the remains of their necks. Let’s see you resurrect from that, Chevallier thought with a satisfied grin.
The edge of the city neared, at least that’s what the two hoped, the blinding light from the sun made it hard to see. Chevallier wished she had her helmet on instead of hanging off the side of her suit, the visor would have dimmed enough for her to get a better view. The animal they rode scurried around seemingly at random, its raging gallop made it increasingly difficult for Chevallier to stay on with each passing minute.
“Captain,” Chevallier said, trying to draw attention to her frantic movement.
“I know, I know gimme a break here, this is harder than I thought!”
“Pretty sure I mentioned these weren’t horses!”
“Got us this far, didn’t it?”
The city walls came into view and the forest beyond it, and beyond that? McDowell, Kingston, and Pierce she hoped as they closed the gap between their group and the edge of the barrier to make contact with the Carl Sagan.
The stampede, Chevallier and Foster included, rode out past the city gates, too bad neither of them saw the ambush waiting for them behind the walls. A light show of laser fire blazed, their horse yelped in pain as its burning body fell over, launching them into the dust billowing up from the panicking stampede.
Chevallier lost track of what happened afterward as she tried to avoid getting trampled. Her shields held out for the most part, but she knew between the lasers she got shot with, the fall onto the ground, and getting trampled, they weren’t going to last long. She wore no helmet or tactical visor and therefore had no access to a tactical HUD that could have reported her shield’s power.
Dust, bright light, the ground, legs of the animals. It was all she saw as she continued to roll and get out of danger. The noise of the stampede subsided, and she rose to her feet, thankful her shields lasted as long as they did. She saw a dead figure on the ground as the dust around her subsided. She panicked and ran closer to it to get a better look, while her hands shielded her eyesight from the white sunlight.
It was the horse they rode on. That was it. There was no sign of Foster.
“Captain, come in,” Chevallier transmitted over her communicator, there was no reply.
She stopped herself from speaking into it again as the Architect’s forces were there not long ago, and could have been still lurking around. Her voice might give her position away, but at the same time if Foster was able to reply, she would have, or at least would have tried to reach out to her since it was clear neither of them knew where they were.
Save your breath, there’s no point in communicating.
Chevallier looked at the forest ahead, knowing that the only help available to her now was her team, even though communicating with them posed the same risks as communicating with Foster. She began to run into the forest to create some distance before trying to speak into her communicator again, and hoped nobody was planning an ambush, for she was alone now, and her shields were still low.
12 WILLIAMS
ESRS Carl Sagan, Bridge
Sirius A system
May 20, 2050, 16:35 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Commander Dominic Williams arrived on the bridge after receiving notification in the mess hall of their arrival in Sirius A system. He saw Chief Rivera’s repair team make their exit with tool boxes in their hands as he entered. Rivera stayed behind and stood next to Chang as he sat at the newly restored helm controls, getting a feel for handling the ship.
“Everything good, Chief?” Williams asked her while he took a seat at the captain’s chair.
“For the most part,” she replied. “Just giving the lieutenant a rundown of everything.”
Williams looked at the vibrant white main sequence star in the distance as its light upstaged the ceiling lights of the bridge and cast new sunlight shadows of all bridge personnel on the floor. The Carl Sagan had been at Sirius for two days with zero progress made toward its primary objective, that had to change, it was going to start that day.
“How soon can we deploy colonization pods if we find a suitable world?” he asked.
Rivera turned away from Chang and looked at the shimmering projection on her holo pad. “I’ll need to double-check the status of the colonization habitat ring, shouldn’t be an issue since most of the battle damage was focused here.”
“Get to it as soon as you can, please,” Williams said. “We need to set u
p a home and base camp in this system, and then we find the captain and her team.”
“Understood,” Rivera confirmed, and took her leave.
Helm control of the ship was transferred back into the hands of a human. Williams didn’t need to look at Chang’s smiling face to know he was having the time of his life piloting the ship throughout the system at sub light speeds. Williams made his way to the rear section of the bridge to examine the holographic projection of the Sirius A system.
“EVE, any thoughts?” Williams asked.
EVE’s hologram manifested next to the projection. Like a tour guide she began to point to and explain what the ship’s scans had picked up since their arrival. “There are five planets orbiting Sirius A. Two dwarf size worlds, a gas giant followed by two other worlds equal in size and mass to that of Earth.”
As EVE explained, the respective worlds enlarged before him. The dwarf planets mentioned were too close to Sirius. Their atmosphere was burned away by the furious power of the star. The gas giant had good potential for heilum-3 mining and possibly ore mining on its many moons. Given its proximity to the star however, they would have to take extra precautions there. Most likely set up mining platforms that follow the night cycle of the gas giant to reduce the amount of work the shields will have to do to protect its crew from radiation, especially if they have to perform a space walk.
Williams asked EVE to show him data about the two Earth-sized worlds as they both had gravity on par with Earth, something the sleeping colonists aboard would be more than grateful to make their home on as they all came from Earth. One planet labeled SA-115 by EVE was 1 AU away from the star while the other labeled SA-139 was 5 AU away, the goldilocks zone for Sirius A. Not too hot, not too cold, Earth-sized. If the planet had a strong ozone layer thus making solar radiation a non-issue, SA-139 was the best choice for a new home for the crew and an expansion for the UNE’s sphere of influence in the galaxy.
The Siege of Sirius: A Splintered Galaxy Space Fantasy Novel Page 12
