by G J Ogden
Hudson was about to question why, when he looked up to see five diamond-shaped vessels advancing into the CET fleet. They were like super-sized versions of the seed ships, and while they were nowhere near the size of Goliath or the Revocater, each was double the volume of even Trent’s flagship heavy destroyer.
“I’m guessing we’ve found our infiltrators,” said Hudson, as one of the diamond-shaped ships opened fire into the fleet. A beam of energy burst out from the tip of the diamond, cutting a channel straight through one of the cruisers. The stricken vessel flew apart, as if it had been sliced in two by a giant samurai sword. The other infiltrators then attacked, taking out six more CET warships in a matter of seconds.
“The fleet won’t last long at this rate!” cried Hudson, returning fire with the Orion’s advanced weapons. His shot raked across the side of the closest infiltrator, dealing substantial damage, but it wasn’t enough to put it out of commission.
“Hang on!” shouted Tory, as she maneuvered the Orion away from the diamond tip of the infiltrator. The alien vessel retaliated, and the focused column of energy clipped the aft section of the Orion, scoring a narrow furrow across the hull.
Damage indicators lit up on Hudson’s panel for the first time since Morphus had radically upgraded its systems. “We won’t last long going toe-to-toe with these things, either,” said Hudson, noticing that the damage was more significant than he’d expected.
A barrage of cannon fire then erupted from the CET fleet, concentrated onto a single infiltrator. Hudson guessed that perhaps thirty or more ships had focused their weapons onto the alien, but the result was barely more devastating than the Orion had achieved on its own.
“Break off and head for the Revocater,” said Hudson, landing a second volley of energy bolts onto another advancing infiltrator. However, as with their first attack, the damage wasn’t substantial enough to disable it. “These things are just too strong, and I wouldn’t like to test the Orion’s armor against a direct hit from their weapons. This ship may be tough, but I don’t fancy finding out just how tough it is.”
Suddenly, the Orion was hit and thrown into a violent spin. Consoles blew out to the side and rear in the cockpit, and alarms began to blare.
“You had to say it, didn’t you!” yelled Tory, as she fought the controls, trying to get the ship back on course.
Hudson checked the damage readout. They had lost pressure in the entire rear section of the ship, but by some miracle the drive systems were still online and they were still flying.
“We’ve got a hull breach, and damage to a dozen secondary systems,” Hudson shouted back. “I don’t know how, but we’re still in one piece.”
Tory wrestled the ship back on course to the Revocater, but it was squirreling around like a rear-wheel drive car on ice. “The way this thing is flying, I actually think we might be missing a few pieces,” she replied. Hudson could see the strain in her face and muscles as she battled with the ship. She then glanced down to the navigation scanner and added, “Three of those infiltrators are on us. I don’t think we can outrun them.”
Hudson pulled the communications console towards him and frantically tried to raise the Revocater, but he couldn’t recall the channel Morphus had used. Eventually, he just opened every frequency he could, and broadcast in the clear. “Morphus, we’re hit, we need some covering fire!” he called into the microphone. “Morphus, can you hear me?” Hudson yelled, but still there was no reply. Cannon shells detonated ahead of them, as missed shots from the CET fleet flew past. “Morphus, we need you; we’re not going to make it!”
Suddenly the blackness of space ahead of them was lit up by hundreds of flashes of energy, all erupting from the Revocater’s titanic hull. They raced past the Orion, so close that Hudson was sure some of them grazed their armor. Then the cockpit was bathed in a brilliant white light, filtering in from behind them, and the three pursuing chevrons on the navigation scanner blinked out.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but thanks, Morphus…” said Hudson, before blowing out a sigh and slumping back in his seat.
Tory continued to maneuver the Orion towards their target position on the Revocater’s hull, and saw an opening start to appear. A section of the hull towards the front quarter was lowering, like an elevator on an aircraft carrier. Tory positioned the ship over the hole and turned back towards the battle. A black swarm seemed to emerge from Goliath, and head towards the CET fleet, as the great ship sailed on towards Earth.
“I don’t like the look of that one bit,” said Hudson, as Tory started the delicate maneuver of descending inside the Revocater. He checked the navigation scanner, and saw hundreds of new contacts. “Goliath has launched a damn horde of those seed ships, and a ton of new contacts that I can’t even identify,” Hudson added, as the front wave of the swarm began to rip through the CET fleet. He glanced at the navigation scanner, then over at Tory. “Make this quick, Trent is down to less than two hundred ships, and dozens of those smaller black dots are coming at us like bullets!”
Tory shot Hudson a dirty look, “I’m going as fast as I can. This isn’t as easy as it looks!”
Ten more CET warships had been destroyed, and the swarm was getting closer to them. The space ahead was again lit up by bolts of energy lashing out from the Revocater. However, despite the ferocious onslaught that destroyed dozens of alien vessels in a single strike, some of the smaller enemy ships still slipped through. Hudson watched as the arrow-shaped attackers then thudded into the hull of the enormous ship, impaling themselves in the Revocater like darts sinking into a mighty tree trunk. For the first time, Hudson noticed that the Revocater seemed to have already suffered damage in several places, and now the smaller alien machines were using these openings in an attempt to burrow inside.
“We might have company after we land,” said Hudson, as the cockpit dipped below the surface of the Revocater’s hull. The opening above them then closed sharply, but they continued to descend into the gut of the alien hulk.
“Somehow, I don’t think my .44-40 cartridges are going to be much use against whatever those things were,” said Tory.
Then there was a solid thump as the Orion touched down. Tory shut down the engines, unclipped her harness and jumped up, before unhooking the Winchester from over the seat back.
“I thought you said that old relic wouldn’t be much use?” said Hudson, jumping up beside her. He then grabbed the rucksack, containing the crystal recombination device, and all of the crystal fragments, and slung it on.
“Only one way to find out…” replied Tory, before hitting the door release. A blast of cool air washed over them as the pressure equalized between the cabin, and their new, alien location.
“I guess I should have probably checked to see if there was atmosphere outside first, huh?” said Tory, with a fatalistic air.
“That might have been a good idea,” replied Hudson, trying not to come across as overly condescending. “But since we’re not dead, let’s head out.”
They passed through the corridor connecting the cockpit to the living space, then immediately understood the reason for the ship’s erratic maneuvering. There was a column sliced straight through the hull, from top to bottom, cutting directly through the semi-circular couch.
“Shit, Liberty’s going to kill me for that,” said Hudson, rubbing the back of his neck, awkwardly.
“I think she’s fairly low down on the list in terms of people or things that want us dead,” said Tory, moving past Hudson.
“I’m not so sure,” muttered Hudson, following behind, while trying to ignore the substantial damage to Liberty’s pride and joy.
The rear ramp lowered and they both stepped out into the space Morphus had guided them to. It was pitch black, save for the illumination provided from the Orion.
“What now?” asked Hudson, wondering how they were supposed to navigate inside the massive ship in total darkness. Then, as if on cue, a pathway of light illuminated in front of them, leading deep
er inside the vessel, like the mysterious yellow brick road.
“I guess we go that way?” shrugged Tory.
“It’s funny, I thought the wreck on Brahms Three would be our last relic hunt,” mused Hudson. “But here we are again.”
Tory shook her head. “This brute isn’t a relic yet, not like those other smashed-up old hulks,” she said, looking around the chamber. “And it’ll stay that way, so long as we don’t fail.”
CHAPTER 27
With more than a little reluctance, Hudson stepped onto the illuminated pathway that had appeared inside the Revocater, but then the distant clatter and scrape of metal against metal caused him to halt. It was a percussive sound, as if the deck and walls were being rapidly struck with metal bars.
“Hudson Powell and Tory Bellona entities, be aware that there are seed drones approaching your position,” came the voice of Morphus, echoing around the chamber.
“Seed drones? What the hell are seed drones?” Hudson called back, but he was then distracted by a glowing alien metal pillar that was rising up out of the deck ahead of him.
“They once helped to transform dead worlds into ones capable of harboring corporeal life,” replied Morphus, as Hudson and Tory approached the pillar. “Now they serve Goliath’s destructive will.”
It was a typically enigmatic, if not entirely unhelpful response from Morphus, thought Hudson. However, the mystery of the seed drones had taken a back seat to the new mystery of what the pillar was. Hudson inspected it more closely, and discovered a drawer at the front. He pulled it out to reveal two large boxes. Glancing at Tory, who looked similarly intrigued, he then flipped open the lid of one of them, and was astonished to see that it was filled with ammunition.
“I do not have the resources to augment your bodies to be more combat-efficient,” Morphus continued, “but this ammunition should allow your existing weapons to penetrate the seed drones’ armor.”
Tory picked up one of the cartridges, and stared at it with bemusement. “I don’t get it. Aside from the glowing tip, this looks like a regular .44-40.”
Hudson opened the other box, and discovered that it contained ammunition for his pistol. It was identical to what he already carried, save for the same luminous tip.
The floor of the chamber then shook, forcing Hudson to grab the pillar to steady himself. The metallic, clattering noises were also growing louder, but Hudson couldn’t place where they were coming from. It felt like a scene out of a horror movie, with strange monsters lurking in the darkness, waiting to attack.
“You must hurry,” said Morphus, suddenly more urgent. “I will send more help if I can.”
Hudson glanced at Tory and let out an anxious sigh, before grabbing a fistful of bullets. “Alien ammo is better than nothing,” he said, as he hurriedly began to reload his pistol.
Tory also emptied the Winchester and loaded the new cartridges, before also reloading her six-shooter. Whether due to her greater experience with weapons, or her iron nerves, Tory had reloaded both firearms and exchanged the regular .44-40s in her ammo holder and pouches, by the time Hudson had finished with his pistol. All the while, the percussive, metallic thuds surrounding them grew louder. The eerie noises even seemed to be getting to Tory.
Hudson finished reloading his spare magazine when a huge contraption on spidery, metal legs like scythes crashed into the chamber from above. It landed with a deafening thud about ten meters from the pillar, and began to clatter towards them.
“Shit, what the hell is that?!” Hudson yelled, as the machine’s arrow-shaped body angled downwards, as if it were peering straight at them. He had never been particularly afraid of spiders, but this mechanized arachnid struck terror into his heart like nothing he’d ever seen before.
“I’m guessing that’s a seed drone!” said Tory, cocking the Winchester. She then fired five shots in rapid succession straight into the main body of the machine. Each round penetrated through its metal shell, leaving a glowing, circular hole, as if the metal had been melted through. The seed drone staggered forward, then its legs gave way, splaying out underneath it.
“Well, whatever these alien rounds are made of, they work,” said Tory. She grabbed five more cartridges from the box in the pillar, which seemed to have replenished itself, and reloaded.
The chamber shuddered again, this time more gently. It felt like the aftershock of an earthquake. Hudson remembered that there were at least two more infiltrators outside, assuming Goliath hadn’t launched more. If the CET fleet had been eliminated, then the full focus of the alien armada would now be on the Revocater.
“Let’s go, before more of those things find us,” said Hudson, slapping the magazine of glowing ammo into his pistol.
Tory moved out ahead, keeping the Winchester cocked and ready. The illuminated pathway advanced ahead of them, guiding them through the maze-like interior of the Revocater. The shudders and shimmies were also growing heavier and more frequent, and the ominous sound of metal clacking on metal was again creeping closer.
Tory moved out in the lead as the corridor narrowed, and pushed through into another large chamber. Hudson immediately recognized the hexagonal central mass and hourglass-shaped conduits from the crashed Revocater on Brahms Three.
“This is the place,” said Hudson, feeling excitement building inside him. “It’s just like in the wreck on Brahms Three. The navigation hub should be through that far wall, on the other side of this chamber.”
Tory started moving through the room, but she’d made it only a couple of paces, before a seed drone scurried out of a corridor at the far end. Suddenly, another two entered from the opposite corridor, and all three began cutting into the wall with focused, laser-like tools. Seconds later, two more drones scuttled down from the opening above the large hexagonal mass.
“I’m glad I picked up plenty of ammo…” said Tory, tracking the closest seed drone as it dropped down onto the metal deck. Its scythe-like legs thudded against the floor, before it scraped its way towards them.
Hudson opened fire first with the pistol, hitting the drone’s arrow-shaped mass. The rounds pierced through, but his pistol lacked the penetrative power of Tory’s Winchester, and it took almost his entire magazine to put the machine down.
While Hudson was firing, Tory engaged the second drone that had clambered down from the hexagonal central mass. The alien contraption was quickly incapacitated with four tightly-grouped shots, and crashed to the deck in a contorted heap.
Suddenly, Hudson heard the scrape of metal behind him, and he spun around to see another seed drone dragging itself through the opening. He immediately fired, but on the third shot he heard the tell-tale click of an empty chamber.
“Shit, Tory, I need to reload!” he cried, scrambling away from the drone as he released the magazine and fumbled for another.
Tory turned and crouched to one knee, cocking and firing twice before the drone lashed out with its long leg. Tory was flung towards the center of the room, and the Winchester spiraled from her grasp.
Hudson cried out after her, before slapping the second magazine into the pistol. The drone advanced, but Hudson ducked underneath its leg, narrowly avoiding being impaled. Aiming directly into the machine’s body, he squeezed the trigger as fast as he could, unloading five rounds at point-blank range. The seed drone staggered backwards, and Hudson dived out from underneath it, a split-second before the drone crashed to the ground.
Hudson ran over to Tory, who was slowly pushing herself upright. Her armored jacket had been slashed open, and Hudson could see blood soaking into her tank top around her stomach.
“I’m fine, it’s not deep,” said Tory, climbing up onto her knees, and noticing the worried look on Hudson’s face.
Hudson helped Tory to stand and they both turned to face the remaining three seed drones. However, they seemed to be ignoring them, and focused on cutting through the end wall with their laser-like weapons.
“We can’t let those things get inside the navigation hub,
” said Hudson tightening his grip on the pistol.
Tory nodded and took off the tattered remains of her armored jacket, before throwing it down and recovering the Winchester rifle from the deck. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve already had enough of these spiky bastards,” she growled, sliding more rounds into the rifle.
Hudson checked his magazine; he only had three rounds left. “I don’t disagree, but I only have a few more shots,” he said, slapping the magazine back into the weapon. “I’m only going to be able to piss one of them off before I’m out.”
Tory drew her six shooter and held it out to Hudson, “Here, this will put at least one of them down,” she said, as Hudson took it. “Leave the other two to me.”
Hudson holstered the pistol and switched the six-shooter to his right hand. It felt a lot heavier, and somehow more lethal, even without the benefit of alien-tipped rounds.
“Just one thing,” added Tory, as she got ready to advance. “Lose that, or break it, and we’re going to have a serious falling out…”
Hudson huffed a laugh, “Don’t worry, I know you love this thing more than me,” he said. Then he realized his slip, and stammered, “Not that you love me, of course, I’m not saying that at all…”
Tory smiled and quickly pecked him on the cheek. “Shut up, already, will you?”
Hudson did as he was ordered, grateful that Tory’s reaction had spared him more blushes. However, he couldn’t help notice that she hadn’t contradicted him, either.
“Let’s do this,” said Tory, pacing towards the seed drones by the end wall, and snapping Hudson out of his daydream.
Hudson cocked the antique weapon and moved up alongside her. The three drones still continued to cut into the wall, as if they didn’t see them as a threat.
“I think we need to get their attention,” said Tory, aiming and firing three shots at the drone in the center. Its legs splayed out and it crashed to the deck, immediately causing the other two to stop, and spin around.
