Destroyer of Planets

by L. A. Johnson

  "Trust me, the illegal, experimental, and highly dangerous community is a tiny and nosy one."

  "Ok," said Ari, "moving on. Kirian's going to need all the help she can get." She got up and made her way toward the temporary, non-portable portal, then staggered. Carpe caught her and helped her through.

  Ari emerged on the other side. She had seen in general what was going on via the console, but she’d had the volume turned way down so she could concentrate.

  Seeing it through the console interface in no way conveyed the chaos she heard and saw around her. And none of the emergency messages were getting through. The Overseer was an evil piece of work. Ari was beginning to regret nothing in defying Soda, even if it killed her, and it probably would.

  She turned in a circle to get a better sense of what was going on around her. As expected, the TPHW was spitting out dozens of creatures at a time. Too many for even Kirian to handle.

  And if she was right, the holographic weapons would be able to last even longer on this planet due to its unusual properties.

  There was something else, what was it?

  It was very hard to concentrate with all of the screaming. Kracken. Where had he got to?

  "Hey Carpe, keep an eye out for Kracken. He could be trouble."

  Ari could see a swarm of drones buzzing around Kirian. Kirian's Stingr cut down two of the drones. Three more took their place. Ari balled a fist. Wasn't it enough to kill her? The Overseer was filming the whole thing too?

  Focus, Ari.

  "Carpe, we need to find the nearest television station as soon as possible."

  She and Carpe had to duck behind some vehicles to avoid a stray rampaging TPHW creature that had broken away from Kirian. Ari couldn't help but peek. This batch looked like upright, walking, short-haired dogs. Amazing, thought Ari, they look so real.

  "Television station?" Carpe asked. "Kracken must have hit you in the head harder than I thought."

  Chapter 24

  Ari and Carpe scanned the skyline for the tell-tale call letters and slogan. Then she saw it, off to the right, only a block away.

  ‘EHDG’ one of the signs proudly announced, 'Entertainment with an edge.'

  "Over there," she shouted and ran toward it.

  The television station building looked deserted. Ari snuck another look at Kirian. The advancing hordes were not just threatening her; they were beginning to get past her into the city at large. Kirian was working hard, though, slashing in all directions, Stingrs in both hands.

  "Hold on, Kirian!"

  Ari ducked into the building with Carpe right behind and found the obligatory directory. She consulted it.

  "Fourth floor," she announced.

  A tremor hit. At least Ari hoped it was a tremor and not a side effect of the drugs she had taken, but then she saw Carpe sway as well.

  He leaned a hand against a wall to steady himself. "Better take the stairs," he said. "I can't believe this place still has electricity."

  "Good point," Ari said and pulled out a flashlight just in case.

  "Hey, what are we looking for once we get up there?"

  "Equipment."

  "That narrows it down."

  "I just have to see it," she answered. "Grab everything, turn it on, bring it to me. We'll have to figure it out through trial and error.”

  Think, Ari.

  It was a helpful thing chaos reigned outside because the studio was deserted, leaving them to do what they needed to do. Or so Ari thought.

  "You're not authorized to be here," a new voice chimed.

  A tall, string-bean looking guy emerged from the shadows. A name tag identified him as Lrrrje Krennnlis, President of the Studio. The name tag was a paper, temporary one. It struck Ari as odd because none of the television station presidents she had ever met had worn name tags, much less paper ones with sticky tape on the back.

  "Look, Lrrrje, in case you haven't noticed, your city is under attack. We're trying to help."

  Carpe kept an eye on Lrrrje as Ari continued to look for the equipment she needed.

  "No," Lrrrje said, pointing through a large window off to the side, "she's trying to help, you're trying to steal our equipment."

  Ari realized with a jolt that he was pointing at Kirian, clearly visible through the window. Although outnumbered, she was still fighting. Ari ran to the window. Kirian looked winded and was bleeding from various wounds on her arms and legs.

  "Ari," said Carpe, "you have to find what you came here for. It's the only way to help her."

  "And look, you, string bean," he said. "I don't believe that little sticky tag makes you president of anything. And it certainly won't keep me from snapping you in half. Besides," he pointed out the window, "we're with her. You think she's going to last much longer? You think she'll be able to save this whole planet by herself?"

  Ari turned to see what string bean would do.

  "Fine, I'm not the president," he said, his expression having changed after taking a good look at Carpe and hearing the whole snap-you-in-half half thing.

  "It's just that this is the best job I ever had. I'm part of something, you know? And I was hoping that when, I mean if this whole thing blows over…"

  A distant explosion made the building sway and groan.

  "Well, I was just hoping it could all go back to normal."

  "Look, Lrrrje," Ari said, "we're honestly with her. We're trying to help. Do you want to save this place? Then help us."

  "Help you steal the studio's equipment?" He was dubious. "How in stars is that going to help her or my city?"

  "The string bean has a good point," said Carpe.

  Lrrrje opened his mouth and started to object to being called a string bean.

  "Save it," Carpe said, holding a hand up to silence him. "Help us, stay out of our way, or 'snap.'"

  "I don't like him," Lrrrje told Ari.

  "You get used to him. Look, we don't have time for this. We need a special kind of camera, one that can see and manipulate electromagnetic frequencies."

  "That's a very expensive camera."

  Ari turned toward him. "Where is it, Lrrrje?"

  Carpe advanced on him fast, losing his patience.

  "I'll help you," he said to Ari. "Just call him off."

  "Show us where the stupid camera is, Lrrrje," Ari said.

  "Ok, but I don't think it will help."

  "Why not?" Carpe asked.

  "Because only the real Studio President can authorize entry to that area."

  "Show us, now!" Ari yelled.

  Reluctantly, and muttering to himself the whole way, Lrrrje led them through a series of confusing hallways. Finally, he showed them into an inner room that had expensive looking cameras in glass cases. He pointed at the middle one, and exactly what Ari needed was right there.

  "I don't have the code, though," Lrrrje said, “and the glass is bullet proofed and heat resistant."

  Ari dug the Stingr Kirian had given her out of her pocket. It sprang to life. The sheer beauty of it amazed her. It shimmered and sparkled and hummed, taking on a life of its own.

  The blade itself was tiny, sheer, almost delicate looking, but she could feel the hum of its power all the way down to her toes. This thing was the real deal. She swung it a little, left to right. She did it partially to feel what it was like and partially to get a better feel for what Kirian was doing outside.

  Lrrrje screamed and Carpe shouted. They were way too close to feel safe.

  "Stop that!" Carpe yelled. "Are you crazy?"

  "Probably," said Ari, and brought the full force of the Stingr down against the glass case holding the camera she needed. She figured the case wasn’t designed against this weapon. She was right. The glass crashed around them. Ari turned off the Stinger, and tried to put it back into her pocket, but it was hot. She dropped it onto the floor with a clattering noise.

  "And I thought you were the dangerous one," Lrrrje said to Carpe.

  "Aye," Carpe answered, "it's always the innocent loo
king ones you have to watch out for."

  Ari picked her way through the glass to the camera. It was heavier than she expected it to be. It was made of real metal, and all of the dials were sturdy and precise. She picked her way back out of the glass carefully and handed the camera to Carpe. Then she retrieved the Stingr from the floor, no way she was leaving something that awesome behind. This time it was cool enough to place back into her jeans pocket.

  “Hey,” said Lrrrje to Ari, “use the camera strap, that thing is expensive, you don’t want to break it!”

  Ari hated to admit it, but he was right. “But, I’ll look like a tourist.”

  "Ok," said Carpe, "enough of this. Ari, do you need anything else?"

  Ari smiled. "I think this will do. Now we just need some extra batteries."

  “Follow me,” Lrrrje called and led the way down the hall. They secured the extra batteries and headed back down to the lobby area.

  "Now what?" Carpe asked.

  "Let's go give it a try," Ari said.

  Lrrrje balked. "You're not honestly thinking of going out there, are you?"

  The building shook again. “Just get us back to the lobby, Lrrrje.”

  He led them back to where they had entered. They looked outside the glass doors and could see the chaos right outside.

  “You ready?” Carpe asked.

  Ari nodded, and they emptied out onto the street. Lrrrje followed them outside.

  The noise hit them immediately. It was hard to know which way to turn. From the upper floors inside, it had been easier to see everything. Kirian and the hordes of TPHWs were visible. Now they were obscured by buildings and smoke.

  Ari coughed from the smoke. Best to get out of the immediate vicinity. They had to get moving anyway. Just as soon as they got their bearings.

  "We have to get closer," Ari said.

  "To the battle? What are you, crazy?" asked Lrrrje.

  "What part of this whole battle thing didn't you get?" Ari asked, annoyed. "Go back and huddle in the building or something."

  She turned her back to Lrrrje and faced Carpe to formulate a plan. Then the Stingr touched her throat.

  Trisha wandered around Main Street on Regulus looking for the coffee shop Brad had suggested. She wondered if he knew just how much she needed the coffee.

  She found the place and ordered a double expresso. Anything to keep her awake until Brad arrived. She looked around and didn't see him. Where could he be?

  She sat down and began to sip the coffee, keeping an eye on the front door. A balding guy in a boring suit and briefcase passed.

  "Careful miss," he said, looking at her, "maybe you should switch to decaf."

  Rage grew inside of her. "Bite me, generic business suit guy," she said.

  How dare he? She glared at him, and he kept moving. She was still seething when Brad arrived.

  "There you are," she said testily.

  "Sorry," he said. "It's harder for me to get around. I'm on an awful lot of no-fly lists."

  That made sense.

  Luckily for her, she was a well-respected journalism student on planet solely for research purposes and didn’t have such problems.

  "Did you know your hands are shaking?" he asked.

  Trisha looked down at her hands and set the half full coffee cup on the table.

  "Never mind that. Look," she said, "I've been up almost twenty-four hours doing research. I need everything you know about whatever this is so I can finish my thesis, leave, and go to sleep, okay?"

  "Well, I don't know how much you know about the subject. Where should I start?" Brad asked.

  "Assume I know nothing," Trisha said, turning on the recording device, "and tell me everything."

  Brad told her everything. And Trisha was very grateful for the recording device because she only caught bits and pieces of the narrative while trying very hard not to nod off.

  He talked about TMPHs or some weird monster generator that the Octopus Overlord used to distract from illegal mining activities and planetary destruction. Something like that, anyway. The most important thing to her was the more he talked, the more confident she was that the whole thing was bollocks and she'd be out of there in a few hours with a funny story and enough points to finish the thesis.

  Her confidence faltered at the sound of the first explosion.

  Chapter 25

  "You guys ready?" Fleek asked.

  He knew they were because it was time. The studio was ready. The equipment was ready. The avatar software was up and running and tested. The only thing left was to set up the camera.

  “Has anyone seen the camera?” Fleek asked.

  "Here it is," said Marco, after a few minutes of rummaging. "We only have one problem."

  "What's that?" Fleek asked.

  "No Carpe."

  The space ship went completely dark. "Ok," said Marco, "two problems."

  "What happened to the power?" Fleek asked the darkness and Marco.

  Neither answered.

  A total power outage had never happened before. Usually, backup power came on immediately, but not in this case.

  Fleek's first thought was to go to the console and bring up the manual. He only had to bump into the first wall before he figured out what was wrong with that plan. No lights meant no electricity which meant no console.

  "How do you get your power, anyway?" Marco asked.

  "Same way everybody does," he answered, "I pay my bill every month."

  “Sucker.” Marco smiled. Fleek knew this because several of his teeth glowed in the dark. Fleek was jealous. If he survived the night, he planned to schedule a visit to the dentist ASAP.

  "There are other ways to light a ship, mate." The glow in the dark teeth were speaking hope.

  "You do that,” Fleek said. “I'll get Carpe back."

  "Deal."

  Even though it was a thin blade, Ari could still feel its heat on her neck. She knew how lethal it was. When Carpe's eyes bulged, she knew it was a really bad situation. Carpe held his four hands in the air. One of them still held the camera. His eye twitched, and his mouth tightened.

  "What are you doing, Lrrrje?" Ari asked.

  Anger rose inside her. He must have picked her pocket. The light particles buzzed with energy and heat.

  "Don't you want me to help save this city? This television station? How's hurting me going to help anything?"

  Keeping one eye on Carpe, Lrrrje tilted his head to the side and moved her to the right, where Ari saw her wanted poster on the side of the building.

  Ugh. Why did they have to use the picture from the office party three years ago?

  Even her work badge photo would have been better. Figures.

  "The reward for you will pay for my own television station."

  Ari exhaled. What was the universe coming to? No loyalty, no morals. In the end, everything just came down to money.

  Lrrrje stepped closer and got a tight grip on her upper arm. It wasn't hard because he was so tall. He held the sword at her throat between himself and Carpe and began to drag Ari backward.

  "No. Lrrrje. You don't know what you're doing," Ari pleaded. "I have to help Kirian. Nobody else can!"

  Carpe's communicator buzzed.

  "Hey, Carpe," Fleek said. "We need you back here. It's show time."

  Lrrrje looked at Carpe.

  "I'm a little busy right now, Fleek."

  "It's time to play the song, Carpe. Get back on the ship," Fleek insisted.

  "Ari needs me right now. Can't leave yet."

  Ari considered Carpe. He was the one person on the ship she had been most skeptical of, based on appearance and background. Kracken had betrayed them, and Lrrrje wanted the money. But when it mattered, Carpe was sticking by her. Even with his new career on the line.

  Carpe stood still, holding the electromagnetic camera high over his head, unwilling to put it down even though his hands were up.

  She got an idea.

  String bean wasn't a humanoid life form. He wou
ld be subject to a different set of harmful parameters for electromagnetic energy than humans.

  Ari glanced at the gun in Carpe's hand and then back to his face.

  Lrrrje, tall as he was, had to reach his arm down against her chest to pull her back. It was effective except for the fact that it left her hands free.

  She held out three fingers as secretly as she could. Carpe gave an almost imperceptible nod. Then she held out two fingers, six, and eight. Based on what she could remember from her research of Lrrrje’s species grouping, that would be the most dangerous frequency for string bean, while probably leaving her and Carpe okay.

  Probably.

  Lrrrje continued dragging her backward. They were inside the building now. The light sword dangled. Lrrrje got careless, and it brushed against her shoulder, making a hole in her t-shirt and slicing into skin. Blood flowed down her arm.

  "Owwww. What is wrong with you?" Ari yelled.

  Lrrrje turned her around so that they were facing each other.

  "You're a lot of trouble," he said. "And the flyer did say dead or alive."

  Ari tried to back up since he had released her, but she had nowhere to go.

  Carpe burst through the entrance door, brandishing the camera.

  "What do you think that's going to do?" Lrrrje asked derisively. He didn't even have the decency to be afraid.

  Without a word, Carpe raised the camera and hit the button. A pale-blue light ray shot forward from the lens. It hit Lrrrje in the chest.

  Lrrrje collapsed to his knees, mouth open, screaming in agony. Carpe continued firing and advancing until he was right on top of Lrrrje. He set the camera down and then snapped string bean in half.

  Ari wasn't quite expecting that. She was grateful for his quick thinking and help, but was also quite certain she’d never forget the noise of Lrrrje’s crunching bones.

  Carpe turned to her. "How'd you do that?"

  "What," Ari said.

  "Figure out how to turn the camera into a gun?"

  "Oh." Ari smiled. "Up in the director’s office, I reversed the flow in the settings. It's completely experimental. Normally the camera pulls the images around it inward. I made the energy flow outward. Had no idea it would work. Thanks for saving me. We make a pretty good team."