Terranus: Renaissance: Book two of the 'Terranus: Origins' series.

by Joe Crouch

  A loud rumbling came from behind as the tanks roared into life. The ground underfoot shook as they tilted up towards the sky and hovered towards the apex of the hill. Splitting apart, the legions formed narrow pathways for the vehicles to advance through. Their large, imposing angular structure moved past Sean as its vast mounted turret fizzed with a light purple energy. They stopped and took up a position at the front of the assault. With their engines purring and ticking over the praetorian held his sword out in front of him and swayed its tip from left to right. Where he pointed Veterum slammed the butt of their long spear into the ground. All along the legions the tips of their long spear weapons sparked into life one after the other and energy arced off their surface. The air all around them tingled with the static build up that followed.

  And that was it, the final act before everything.

  Legions marched forward in unison once more. Hover tanks rolled on and hit the apex of the hill, their noses tipped forwards as they began their descent down the other side. Sean and everyone else crested the hill to see the imposing facility in the distance. It's old Veterum design was obvious, it was grey and drab, built purely to function as a place of research. But it had been corrupted by the Xuron presence. Large organic cephalopod limbs protruded out from the dead and sullied ground and flailed about. The walls pulsed as green veins and bulbous black ‘seeds’ covered the large walls like ivy.

  Their impenetrable shield wall slowly advanced on the tainted compound. Anti-air weapons blasted out from within the walls targeting the fighters which screeched overhead. The Veterum lost none of their composure or imposing rhythm as they got closer to their target. Ioutions fighters unleashed their powerful energy down upon the heavy-duty shield of the facility to little effect. Xuron appeared and stood atop the grand walls with their weapons aimed towards the sea of Veterum below. Energy sparked off from the testudo that protected them as small arms fired lashed against their shielding. Sean held his breath, watching as the powerful plasma bolts dissipated harmlessly into the air right in front of him.

  An angry rumbling emanated from the tanks as their turrets rotated together towards the massive gates which blocked their entrance. A purple haze rippled out from the tips of their large, rounded barrels before five loud cracks came one after the other. Five powerful energy rounds slammed into the Xuron’s shielding, it rippled outwards from the impacts and flashed a bright white for a moment before returning to normal.

  “Damn,” Sean said, “Those shields take some beating.” As he looked up, two large balls of plasma rose high into the sky. They had long, green tails that seemed to wag in the wind. Their ascent came to a gradual halt as the gravity of the planet became the dominant force, they twisted in air and angled down towards the legions below.

  “Artillery!” Zarid cried out as he scrambled away, breaking through the legion’s lines. The Mar’Ell crew followed suit, pushing their way through the Veterum as they raced away from the incoming fire. Two loud thumps came from behind as the artillery shells slammed into their front lines. Screams rang out as Veterum were thrown across the battlefield as their lines were decimated. Sean stopped and turned back to see what had happened. The land was scorched, bodies laid broken apart, burnt, and in pieces. Their still active shields and weapons buzzed ominously beside stray limbs which littered the battlefield.

  Fez acted quickly and fumbled about inside of his backpack. “Captain Nathan, I request assistance, our assault has been halted by heavy shielding, can your fighters provide any aid?”

  After a moment of silence, a response came. “They’re already on their way, we thought you may need some backup, happy hunting.” As the radio channel closed, three loud cracks came from orbit. Scimitars burst through the upper atmosphere in magnificent balls of fire as they dived towards the surface. Their speed was astonishing as they pulled up and levelled their trajectory. He watched as two thin profiles dropped from each craft and roared into life.

  The nightshade’s screech was audible in the distance and grew louder as they grew closer. With an ear-splitting shriek, they thundered overhead and passed through the Xuron shields like they weren’t there. Bright orange explosions grew within the shield but had no way to escape the powerful barriers so the concussive force refracted back towards the buildings. With a buzz and a violent snap, the shield surrounding the facility disappeared.

  The Mar’Ell crew took a second to celebrate the small victory, buildings were crippling or destroyed, the artillery was gone and the anti-air had taken a serious beating. Things were looking on the up for the crew. But a loud cry from Remulus changed everything.

  “Look!” she yelled, her voice shaky, “Look to the skies.” Sean gulped and looked up. The broken shell of an Ioution ship streaked through the sky. It was fragmented into hundreds of pieces that firebombed through the atmosphere. His heart felt like it had stopped, it can’t be he shook from the thought.

  “Fez…” Sean sombrely said, placing a hand on his captain’s shoulder, “It could be any…”

  “It’s not,” Fez snapped back, his voice quaking, “It’s her.”

  Chapter 25

  They watched as fragments of the Mar’Ell erupted into flames and rained down upon the planet. The sight was beautiful, if not haunting, as the long brushstrokes of orange were painted against the dark blue sky. Fez shook with emotion. He stood motionless and unresponsive as the crew hunkered behind the reforming shield testudo. His eyes were hollow, dead. They fixed onto a single piece of his old life and tracked it as it tumbled towards the barren planet.

  “Fez…” Taris wheezed out, shuffling closer to him, “We will get revenge.” The captain turned his head and looked over his shoulder. With the faintest flicker of a smile from a man defeated he crashed to the floor and sat in the dirt. Sean, Zarid, and Remulus glanced at one another, unsure of what to do, they knew deep down there was no counselling that would help now, but they needed him up and fighting.

  “Snap out of it,” Sean took a tougher approach and pushed the wallowing Ioution, “It may seem cruel but there are people here who need you, we have an objective to complete, we would be doing a disservice to those aboard if we didn’t at least try.” The captain brushed away Sean’s attempt at appealing to his service, instead, he stood, brushed down his suit and picked up his weapon.

  “Revenge sounds better,” he said with no emotion. Content that the captain was at least speaking, Sean turned back to the crew and got in formation.

  The facility was in disarray. Xuron halted their fire and rushed down from the walls once the shields went offline. Praetorian Kaeso stopped the tanks from demolishing the outer fortifications, instead, he stood out alone in the narrow straight that separated the Veterum and the compound. He spoke in a tongue that Sean’s translator didn’t understand, but he spoke with venom and hatred as he shouted towards the large front gates. Dust from the fighting began to settle on their bulky armour, covering everyone in a thin coating.

  There was nothing, only the heavy breathing of the Veterum and the aggressive sparking of their shields and weapons. “What do you think’s going on?” Zarid asked, “This is gonna be one fine rodeo, I bet.”

  Sean looked at him questioningly, “Rodeo?” he chuckled, “You’ve been watching too many of my films.”

  “No way, José,”Zarid smiled, “I want…” he was interrupted by the sound of heavy grinding that came from the large metal doors to the facility as they opened. Every soldier tensed up as a horde of Xuron faces appeared through the narrow crack between the two hunks of metal. Drones flooded out and banded together in a broken and scattered formation. They hissed and snarled as their small, fleshy wings beat thick plumes of air towards the resolute Veterum front line.

  “Hold!” shouted Kaeso as he puffed out his chest, stood at the front of the legions, “Pilums!” he shouted again. Veterum to the rear of every legion dug their long weapons into the ground so they stood freely. They reached into the quivers which adorned their backs and pulled
out what looked to be smaller versions of the hasta. One by one they flicked their wrists, igniting the tips of the small spears into a blinding orange energy. The noise coming from the Xuron was deafening as they jostled about waiting for their orders. Kaeso pulled out the same small spear and raised it above his head, every Veterum behind followed suit, drawing it back behind them. With a single motion, the sky was filled with the sparking weapons as they let loose and lobbed them high into the air.

  “That’s not gonna hit anything,” Sean mused, “What a waste.” The wave of spears floated like birds on a breeze, clearly not thrown with enough force, Sean thought. But he was wrong. The weapons snapped around in mid-air with a mind of their own and aimed down towards the Xuron gathering. Manipulating gravity, they accelerated hard and rained down upon the enemy. The creatures were skewered into the ground as the spears pierced through their fleshy exteriors. Intense, high-pitched bellows rang out across the battlefield as the horde scattered in every direction. They were broken and disorganised.

  One after the other lone Xuron rushed towards the Veterum in a futile attempt at reprisal. Like the well-drilled military, they were a single jab of a spear fried the onrushing adversary with scary efficiency. Bodies began to pile up as the shambolic Xuron threw themselves onto the spears. But they grew smarter, more organised. Their numbers continued to swell as they rushed out from the facility. After a short time, the two forces were relatively well matched. The Xuron fired upon the well-defended force with little effect, their plasma and energy weapons harmlessly dissipated off the metaphorical brick wall that surrounded their targets.

  Knowing their tactics were failing the bugs let out an ear-splitting shriek, and with a single consciousness rushed towards the frontline.

  “Oh… shit,” Taris squirmed, watching as the Veterum soldiers tensed up for the onslaught. The force that impacted the front line of shields resonated through the tightly packed legion. The allied soldiers jabbed their spears out through the purposeful gaps in the shielding stabbing anything that came close with meticulous precision. Sean was pushed backwards, only held up by the quick reflexes of Remulus who stopped him from falling over.

  “Thanks,” he nodded. Xuron were stabbed in quick succession as they approached, their corpses dropped to the floor in a fit of spasms, their wounds crisped and burnt from the energy which rushed into their veins. A thick, pungent smell of burning flesh soon filled the air that made Sean gag. But they didn’t let up, instead, the Xuron became more ferocious, climbing over bodies and flailing themselves at the tight-knit defence.

  Veterum tanks remained largely useless in the close quarter's combat. Instead, they circled around, their barrels lashed with sparks of purple energy as they dissipated excess build up harmlessly away. Their gravitational rumble rippled through the ground and through Sean’s chest every time they moved. They came to a halt atop a small hill behind the fighting. Power swelled in their barrels, heat rose from their surface and distorted the air as they charged to attack. Suddenly, five consecutive, chest-thumping booms came from behind. The energy shells zipped overhead and slammed into the now locked gates. One after the other the ammunition crashed into the dense metals doors rocking it on its large hinges until it blew backwards, tearing chunks out the wall with it.

  “It’s open,” Zarid yelled excitedly, “We can get inside.” As Sean opened his mouth to reply, Xuron drones toppled over the top of the front lines and dropped into the Veterum battle ranks. They instantly began to decimate the Veterum soldiers from within their own ranks. The drones quickly took hold, shooting and stabbing everything and everyone in their path of destruction. The Veterum were broken, their legions were no longer the interconnected machines they once were, now they fought on individual skill alone.

  Sean quickly reached for his blaster, not the weapon he was most comfortable with, but it would have to do. Panicking, he brought it up to his face and aimed down its optical sights. The small, blue triangle within the display flickered about as it acquired a target, but the speed of the close battle left it behind. Fucking technology,” Sean hissed as he pushed the advanced sight back into the weapon and relied on its basic iron sights instead.

  Taking aim, his entire body trembled with fear, he watched the fragmented, truly alien faces of the Xuron rush towards him. He closed his eyes and held down the trigger. Blast after blast of energy lashed out from his weapon, he had no idea who or what he hit, but he knew he didn’t get them all when he was tackled to the floor. Atop him a bug dripped and drooled onto his face, its mouth, which was split into four individual pieces, twitched as the creature produced a series of clicks and hisses while it spoke in its natural tongue. He tried to wrestle free but the bulky alien had both its knees on his arms, blocking him from grabbing a weapon. The Xuron brought its weapon up to Sean’s face, is it smiling? he thought as his body shut down, resigned to its fate, it is you know! That bastard. With his eyes clenched tightly closed, he heard a single energy blast followed by a horrifying squelch.

  “Need a hand, partner?” Zarid smiled as he blew the end of his barrel like a stereotypical cowboy.

  “You need to work on your timing,” Sean snapped as he took the Fre’s hand and pulled himself up. Beside him laid a Xuron corpse, its face was a mangled mess, smoke still rose from the scorched skin around the impact that drilled deep into its skull.

  The battlefield was chaos. Veterum and Xuron soldiers grappled for supremacy as the fighting spilt out everywhere. All around the small team weapons clanged together, plasma fire lashed out and energy rippled through the air. They were stuck in the middle of a difficult situation, but Sean had an idea. “What if we use this all as a distraction,” he said, pushing back a bug and blasting it in the chest.

  “A distraction?” Fez shouted as he fought with another, Taris waltzed over and blasted the creature in the face, leaving it a scarred mess.

  “Yeah,” he yelled, ducking out the way of a plasma bolt that slammed into the dry hill behind him, “Let’s sneak into the base, grab what we need and make a run for it.” A large explosion rose into the air as one of the tanks detonated into nothing more than shrapnel. Sean grabbed the opportunity while he could and pulled the team along with him. They ducked and weaved through the tightly packed arena, pushing their way through the dense Veterum groups to try and find their way into the wide-open compound.

  Taris shoulder charged a Xuron to the ground, stepping up Remulus raised her heavy boot above the creatures face and stomped down hard. Flesh and blood spurted out in every direction like she had stamped on a slug. The fighting was intense, bodies dropped to the floor all around them as they weaved between the piles of corpses that built up.

  “There!” Fez yelled, pushing a bug to the ground allowing Zarid to use his pistols to blast it away, “There’s the entrance.” Sean stood firm and blasted away three foes that blocked his way, their falling bodies exposed a way out from the carnage they found themselves in. He waved for everyone to follow and ran as fast as he could through the narrow opening.

  The team rushed away from the melee behind them and formed up against the towering walls of the facility. Sean took point. He held tightly onto his weapon and poked his head around the corner. As soon as his face was exposed a plasma blast tore chunks out from the wall near him, blowing dust into his eyes.

  “God dammit,” he cried as he rubbed his eyes and spat out the dirt from his mouth, “That was too close for comfort.” Another large explosion rang out from behind them as a second ball of flame rose from a tank. His back was firmly planted against the vein covered wall, he felt them pulse and squelch as they wriggled up the sheer face as if they were alive. Luckily for them, the tentacles that guarded the compound were preoccupied with the main force. They swept violently through the crowds, knocking down Xuron and Veterum alike.

  “There’s three of them,” declared Sean, glancing around the corner, “They’re behind some rubble, there’s a small, open building to the left of us, if we can make it i
n there we will have some great cover.”

  “Lead the way, maestro,” Taris joked. With a few quick, shallow breaths, Sean brought up his weapon and pushed himself away from his cover. He spun around the corner and unleashed upon the well-entrenched Xuron. Debris and dust blew up into the atmosphere as blaster fire ripped into the heavy chunks they cowered behind. Plasma fire blindly screamed past him as he sprinted towards safety.

  “Sean, watch out,” Remulus screamed, pointing towards the towering weapon emplacements. Veins that snaked up the tall fortifications began to glow a bright green as the dual turreted plasma weapon rained down upon the rushing team. Streaks of plasma slammed into the ground around them, small rocks ejected up into their faces as they kept their heads down. Out in front of the pack, Sean dived head first into the building and promptly began firing towards the emplacements. The air crackled with energy as the pair exchanged fire.

  “Quickly, come on!” shouted Sean at the top of his lungs. One after the other the rest of the team found shelter beside him. He pulled back and ducked behind the window slamming the small, uncorrupted terminal beside the door. The door crashed shut, overhead lights flickered on and revealed a vast array of terminals. “Whoa,” he said, pushing himself up from the floor. They were dark, inactive. He approached them cautiously but as he drew near they flashed into life. Across their large, glass-like screens scrolled list after list of what appeared to be controls to the facility, although they couldn’t be one-hundred percent sure.

  “What is this place?” queried Zarid as he walked around the edge of the room, running his fingers over every surface.