Justice Earned_Age of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Justin Sloan

  Then they went a long time without any forks.

  “We’ve got to be getting near the end of this thing, right?” Flynn whispered.

  “I hope so,” Kalan replied. “At least we’re starting to get some variety in the view.”

  Up ahead, the tunnel widened from the original ten feet to at least thirty. It was difficult to tell an exact measurement, because the metal on the walls and floor were covered with orange clay.

  When they reached the last of the clay, they stopped and looked ahead. Looking down, they could see a large hole in the floor of the tunnel. It was as if something had burrowed through the metal into the orange clay below.

  “Huh,” Nostro said. “Do you think this is the Ravage-doo-hickey that Norrul was talking—”

  A creature the same color as the clay leaped out of the hole and landed on the floor in front of them on all fours, where it stood snarling.

  “Holy shit,” Flynn muttered. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s the Ravagion.”

  The creature was twenty feet tall at the shoulder, and it was covered in shiny orange scales. Its face was dominated by a long, pointed snout. The thing’s eyes appeared to be too small for its head, but its oversized sharp teeth made up for them.

  The Ravagion took a tiny step forward, and its scales rippled in the tunnel’s soft light.

  Kalan stepped forward, drawing his weapon, but a hand on his arm held him back.

  “Let Nostro handle this one,” Wearl told him.

  Kalan was surprised. Wearl had never had anything but confidence in him before. “Really?”

  “It’s nothing against you. He has experience with this type of thing. Right, Nostro?”

  The Pallicon took a hesitant step forward. “Well, not this type of thing exactly, but similar. I got this.”

  Kalan and Flynn exchanged a glance. It sounded like Nostro was trying to talk himself into this.

  “Okay, be my guest,” Kalan said. He stood back and watched, considering how he would handle such an intimidating opponent. It seemed to him that its small eyes indicated that it had a limited field of vision. If you could get around the thing, you might have a chance. You just needed to avoid its mouth with those rows of teeth and you’d be fine.

  Nostro charged directly at the creature’s mouth.

  “What are you doing?” Flynn shouted.

  But it was too late. Nostro was committed to his attack. The Pallicon raised his weapon but the Ravagion swung his huge snout, easily knocking him aside.

  Nostro fell to the floor and slid backward on his ass.

  The Ravagion took a step toward him.

  Kalan moved to join the fight, but once again Wearl held him back.

  “What are you doing?” he growled at her. “This doesn’t have to be a one-on-one fight.”

  Wearl snapped back at him immediately, “Nostro knows what he’s doing against a creature like this. You’re going to have to trust me.”

  Kalan hesitantly stepped back. He wasn’t a fan of letting his friends tackle a fight alone when he was perfectly capable of helping, but he trusted Wearl. He’d hang back, since she said it was the right move.

  Nostro struggled to his feet, and took a few steps back. That was promising. At least he was trying to put some distance between him and the creature. Then he could shoot at it and—

  The Pallicon once again charged forward, right at the snout.

  Flynn shook his head. “This guy really wants to get eaten by a giant armadillo monster.”

  Nostro had just about reached it when the Ravagion lowered its snout and snapped it up, slamming it into Nostro’s chest and sending him flying backward.

  The Pallicon landed hard, and this time it took him a bit longer to stand. “I’m all right. I got this.”

  Kalan looked at the creature, whose expression was quickly transforming from curious to pissed. “Wearl, let me help. We can do this as a team. There’s no reason he has to face it alone.”

  “Yes, there is,” Wearl hissed at him. For the first time, there was a bit of hesitation in her voice.

  This time Nostro stood at a distance and fired at the creature. The ammunition ricocheted off its scaly armor, and Kalan tried to figure out what the Pallicon was aiming at. Kalan would have gone for the eyes or even the nostrils; anything unprotected by those scales. Nostro, however, appeared to be firing almost randomly at its body.

  If his goal was to leave it uninjured and severely pissed off, his plan was succeeding wildly.

  The Ravagion shook itself and began ambling toward Nostro. Because it was so big it didn’t appear to be moving that fast, but it was definitely closing the gap quickly.

  Nostro held his ground, gun raised and still firing at the armor.

  “Okay, screw this,” Kalan muttered. He charged forward before Wearl could stop him.

  The Ravagion opened his mouth and the tunnel’s light gleamed off its long pointed teeth. It angled its snout sideways and reached forward, ready to grab Nostro in its gaping maw.

  Kalan reached the Pallicon first. He slammed into Nostro, wrapping his arms around him and tackling him to the ground.

  The Ravagion’s mouth missed them by inches.

  Kalan quickly sprang to his feet. “Everyone! Let’s surround this thing while we have it distracted.”

  Flynn nodded and darted to the far wall to make his way to the tunnel beyond. Given the creature’s small eyes, he anticipated no problem getting past the Ravagion unseen. All Kalan had to do was keep himself and Nostro alive while they distracted it.

  He hoped Wearl had been smart enough to follow Flynn around the creature, but he highly doubted it. She was never one to turn away from a fight, even when doing so would have been the right move.

  Kalan considered the Ravagion. They didn’t have to kill it, simply get past it. Now that he’d seen it attack a few times, it was clear the thing was predictable.

  Kalan grabbed Nostro’s arm. “Follow me!”

  They two of them charged at the creature’s right side.

  The Ravagion turned its snout toward them and let out an angry snarl.

  “It lowers its snout before it attacks,” Kalan shouted. “Get ready to jump!”

  Nostro tensed. “What?”

  There was no time to explain further.

  As the Ravagion lunged at them, Kalan leaped into the air. The monster brought its snout up under Kalan just as he’d hoped. He was suddenly standing on the creature’s nose.

  He was relieved to see Nostro right behind him when he glanced over his shoulder.

  “Come on!” Kalan called. He raced up the slope of the creature’s snout past its eyes and onto the top of its head.

  The Ravagion gave a violent shake and Kalan almost toppled off, but Nostro grabbed on his shoulder, steadying him.

  The two large guys charged down the creature’s back.

  The creature shook again, this time succeeding in knocking them off, but thankfully they’d already reached the tail. They hit the floor on the other side of the pit, where Flynn was waiting for them. He quickly helped them to their feet and all three ran beyond the clay and into the tunnel.

  The Ravagion let out a frustrated howl, but it appeared unwilling to go past the edge of the clay to where they were standing.

  “Holy shit! That was intense,” Flynn panted.

  “Wearl,” Kalan called. “Did you make it?”

  There was no response for a moment, then Nostro stumbled backward as something unseen slammed into his chest.

  “You ass!” Wearl shouted.

  “Wearl, calm down,” Kalan said. “What’s wrong?”

  “This son of a bitch is what’s wrong. He showed me the Borin’s Tooth. He’s supposed to be a great monster fighter, and yet he proved he has no idea what he’s doing!”

  Flynn furrowed his brow. “Um, are you as confused as I am, Kalan?”

  “Yes. You’re going to have to explain, Wearl.”

  Nostro sighed. His eyes were on his feet
. “Maybe I should be the one to explain. I owe you an apology. I’m not a great monster fighter. I’m a liar. Let me tell you the story of what happened in the six months after I aged out of SEDE.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Planet Rhol

  They’d been running through tunnels trying to find Kalan and the others for what seemed like hours. There was no indication of time passing down here, only the burning frustration at having been separated again so soon after reuniting. Every turn resulted in more moving walls, more confusion, and more exasperation.

  "We’re not leaving without them," Jilla said, voice quavering as they reached the outskirts of the city.

  Their current tunnel had opened into a sort of underground jungle, then its moving metal closed behind them. Ahead the ground curved down, and there were massive vines and strange black foliage hanging from the earth above. Intermittent holes down the length of the tunnel let in light.

  "Not a chance," Valerie agreed, “but we’re also not staying here. We’ll find a way through, then work our way back up and…" Even she was feeling the hopelessness of the situation.

  "You are all too afraid to say it," Garcia stated. "With all the forces up there, our best bet is to reach Lolack through Tenowk and rain down hell until we find Kalan."

  "And the others," Robin added, with a glance toward Jilla.

  "It pisses me off too," Garcia assured them. "Flynn has become like a brother to me, but if we were in the same boat, we’d want them to get help. If we can get back to them without it, sure, but trapping ourselves down here without Lolack’s fleet knowing how to find us—"

  "And how do you propose we contact them?" Jilla asked, spinning on him.

  "High ground," he said.

  "You think the jamming of our signals is related to the metal here?" Valerie asked hopefully. Since they’d been separated from their team each of them had tried numerous times to reach out, as well as reaching out to Tenowk and the fleet, but nothing had worked.

  He shrugged. "If not, we’re relying on luck."

  "The fleet will come back for us," Jilla insisted.

  "Maybe, maybe not." Valerie hated to admit that. "We’ve always been resourceful. They have a mission, and just because they haven’t heard from us in a bit doesn’t mean they’ll assume the worst. Even if they did, they wouldn’t know exactly where to find us, and the rest of Demus’s fleet is likely following between them and us."

  Everyone took a moment to let that sink in, but their break was interrupted by shouting to their left. Figures blocked the light as they climbed down, and there was an eruption of gunfire when someone saw them.

  "Can’t stay here," Valerie said, gesturing her crew on. They slid down the metallic hill they were on and found solid ground beneath them, covered in the strange vines and other odd forms of plant life.

  Shadows flittered across the beams of light from above, and they could hear the aircraft engines and shouting, followed by shots and explosions. Clearly there was a fight going on, but was it the escaped prisoners or someone else?

  That Lolack’s fleet would’ve already shown up seemed too much to a hope, but maybe the prisoners’ fighting would be enough to distract the enemy long enough for Kalan and the others to escape. As far she knew they weren’t prisoners either, and would be working their way out of the maze.

  As they progressed through the strange terrain they found spots where the ground had sunk in and others where the roots and growing plants were too dense to walk through, so they had to make their way around.

  After some time they reached a section of ground that went up at an angle, with enough plants along it that they figured everyone could climb. Garcia volunteered to take the lead and check above.

  "How’re we doing?" Valerie asked Robin, as they waited for him.

  "Healed up. Anxious."

  "We’re going to find them."

  Robin stared at Garcia, who was nearly at the top. "Remember how much easier this was back home?"

  "You thought that was easy?" Valerie scoffed.

  "Well, no. But compared to being stranded on an alien planet with a fleet of enemy ships surrounding us and invisible prison guards running around up there, I’d say this is a relative shitnado."

  "What?"

  "You know, like a tornado meets a shit-storm. ‘Shitnado.’"

  Valerie laughed and glanced at Jilla and Bob, who were chatting. "It might’ve been easier, but this is more exciting. I mean, would you go back to those days, not knowing what was out here? Not knowing who was fighting the battle for us?"

  "Is this for us?" Robin countered, eyes moving to her now.

  "Of course it is. The Alliance—"

  "I get the big picture," Robin interrupted. "But right now I’m thinking about my parents and the immediate. Is this really for us, or for three generations from now?"

  "I honestly don’t know." Valerie watched Garcia as he disappeared into the light above, waiting to see if he’d give a signal. After a moment she said, "You’d rather go back to Michael and Bethany Anne? Be part of that fight?"

  They locked eyes as Robin considered the thought.

  "No?" Valerie prodded.

  "Only with you."

  "I can’t leave anything undone."

  "But if we’re still alive after this, if we win this…" Robin paused and glanced at her gloved hands, rubbing them together. "Then we go."

  "When this is over…" Valerie took Robin’s hands in her own. "Then, yes. If that’s what you want."

  They were in battle gear, gloves and all, so the gesture of taking her hands wasn’t what it would have otherwise been. Still, Robin appreciated it.

  "When the time comes," Robin replied.

  Garcia appeared above, climbing back down. When he was most of the way he jumped, landing next to Valerie.

  "No good news?" she asked

  "We’ve cleared the tower complex," he replied, "and there’s cover if we go another fifty feet before angling up. I think that would be safer."

  "Makes sense," Robin said, and Valerie agreed. They pushed on, but after a few minutes a wall covered in vines shifted and everyone turned, worried and ready for an attack. The vines fell down as a small creature that resembled an armored rat darted out and ran between them.

  Valerie had just let out a breath of relief when a voice said, "You found them."

  All spun to see Moralu kneeling beside the strange creature with a hand on its armored back. She had five Norruls with her, all equipped with heavy club-like weapons.

  Robin took a step toward them, ready for a fight, Garcia took a fighting stance. Jilla growled. However, they weren’t attacking yet, and there was doubt in the Norrul female’s eyes.

  "You didn’t want to betray us," Valerie said. "We can let it slide…if it doesn’t happen again."

  Moralu stood, eyes narrowing. "We won’t stand against Demus. We’re not idiots."

  "And if fighting us right now would result in your death?" Valerie asked. "If turning away right now could mean a possible end to Demus and his ways?"

  That caused Moralu to cock her head, then sway it back and forth as the Skulla often did. "You were strong against Rokal, I’ll give you that."

  "You admire strength?" Valerie grinned, wondering why she hadn’t put more weight into this thought before. They had their strange carapace and fights to celebrate—of course strength was what mattered. "I can show you strength. Not just me; we have Lolack’s fleet—the Lost Fleet—and we have more. The Etheric Federation…you’ve heard of them?"

  Moralu caught her breath, eyes going wide for a moment but then returning to normal as she attempted to hide the fact that she had.

  "Good. We’re with the Etheric Federation, as this whole system will be when Demus is destroyed."

  Moralu glanced at her companions; one looked especially mean, though it was the short one behind her who gave off a strange vibe, Valerie thought. When he growled and stepped forward, she was ready for him. He raised his club and came at her, an
d as she side-stepped she was surprised to see Moralu catch him under the chin with her club.

  Her next strike caught him across the stone protrusions on his cheek, driving them into his face, and she brought the club back around to smash them again. After the second blow, the Norrul collapsed, unconscious.

  "Move," Moralu ordered. "Go to where you see three holes together and a hanging vine to the left."

  "Excuse me?"

  "It’s a secret spot," Moralu explained, "that leads to a cave above where you’ll be safe."

  "Come with us," Garcia said.

  "We can’t," Moralu said, looking at her remaining three companions. They seemed unsure what was happening, or at least had not yet decided how they felt about it. "Our families would be in danger if we were found, or if they even suspected us of helping you."

  "And when he comes to?" Valerie asked, gesturing at the male on the ground. "What do you do then?"

  Moralu turned to the large Norrul. He grunted and looked at the others, then stepped forward and raised his club.

  "He chose his side," the large Norrul said and brought his club down hard, slamming the stone bump in the other’s cheek all the way in. Blood seeped out from the opening where it had moments ago protruded.

  "Damn," Garcia said, then nodded. "And so have you all."

  "Thank you," Valerie said, ignoring the now-dead Norrul at their feet. The large Norrul was right. The enemies had chosen their sides, and it was time everyone else did as well.

  "Thank me by getting out of here alive and doing as you’ve promised. Demus cannot be allowed to continue."

  "We won’t let this war drag on," Valerie declared. "Trust me, it’ll be over soon enough."

  Moralu pointed, then turned back to her team. "No sign of them yet. Keep looking."

  One of the Norruls took a moment to catch on, but the others were already looking around, pretending to have not seen them.

  Valerie, however, knew this wasn’t over. "And our friends?" she asked. "The Grayhewn?"

  "What do you mean?" Moralu asked.

  "We lost him back there, in the tunnels."

  A troubled look came over Moralu’s face, and she nodded. "It’s good you escaped. We’ll start back, see if we can find him. However, he’s likely been taken by now, either by someone with Demus’s fleet or by one of our own loyal to him."