Reapers of the Damned

by Saqib Sadiq

  The entity has not made its presence known to us for quite some time. We fear it will try to make a move for its latest kill. The desecrated corpse of Jake McGill still lies inside of the airlock. The inner door has been pressurized in the hope that we will be able to keep the entity from entering the space station. Having done all that is humanly possible, we now wait for the coming storm with baited breath.

  *****

  From the bridge of the command vessel colonel Ramsey could make out the rough outlines of the mineral laced asteroid. It was in the daybreak portion of its orbit and currently rode on top of the moon. A sudden rush of malice overcame him. He replayed the recent killing spree in his mind. “It was a good kill. I especially enjoyed sending that anarchist devil back to hell.” He thought to himself as he absentmindedly toyed with his diamond encrusted lapel pin. He looked towards the approaching asteroid. “Hopefully these yellow bellied pups will put up a fight.”

  Blood thirsty as he was he was too clever to jump into anything blindly. He decided to send in a scout to ascertain the enemy’s defenses. “Bring the prison ship to the front of our formation.” He barked his commands to the pilot of the converted freighter craft.

  The pilot’s reply came through the com “Yes Sir!” Ramsey watched as the large craft made its way through the group of vessels. Upon reaching the forward flank Ramsey gave his second command.

  “Approach the space station at full impulse.” The pilot hesitated to respond.

  “Sir?” the colonel didn’t like it when his subordinates questioned his decisions.

  “Do as I say, you insolent fool!”

  “Right away Sir.” The freighter craft started picking up speed and left the safety of the armada. It gradually made its way to the asteroid. “Now I’ll see what that bleeding heart Cruchev has in store for me.”

  The prison ship moved towards its target. The pirate’s rough voices could be heard through the thick bulkhead of the cockpit. The pilot grew tense “I hope those brutes don’t try anything, the last thing I need is for them to hijack this vessel.” He thought to himself. He eyed the ominous quasar cannon head perched on top the besieged space station. He kept reminding himself that this was a Gemcore space station and that he was a Gemcore employee. “We’re both on the same side.” He nervously thought to himself. He hoped the crew of the space station shared his point of view.

  They soon made their beliefs clear. The pilot’s com came to life “Stand down freighter craft! You’ve breached our security perimeter.”

  “V-323 this is Freighter craft: gamma nine requesting permission to dock.”

  “Permission denied” came the terse reply. The pilot was stunned by the reply, now what was he suppose to do? He was clearly ordered to make contact with the space station. He decided to press forward rather than face the colonel’s wrath.

  The pilot continued narrowing the gap between him and the space station. This elicited a more provocative response. “Stand down! Or you will be fired upon.” This time they got the attention of the pilot he quickly contacted the command vessel. “Sir they are threatening to fire if I don’t stop. What are your orders?”

  “Continue forward those yellow bellies wouldn’t dare.” The pilot found the colonel’s words for the space station crew to be a bit callous. He began to wonder why they wanted to fire upon him if he got too close. “Do they consider us to be a threat?” the recent massacre of the pirates made that seem plausible “Dear lord? What’s Ramsey gotten us into now?” the lone pilot grew more worried as he looked across the top portion of the station. He could make out the lethal silhouettes of the space station’s laser turrets. They were charging up.

  Not sure what to do next he suddenly had a horrible realization, his life and the lives of the captured pirates were expendable. The ensuing torrent of laser fire fell upon the prison ship with great precision. The streaks of glowing red energy quickly tore through the exterior hull. They found their way to the fusion reactor that powered the spacecraft. The heat from the projectiles melted the core’s protective layers. When the radioactive fuel was ignited the ensuing detonation incinerated everything within its reach.

  Ramsey shielded his eyes against the searing fireball. He let out a manic chuckle “Those pansies don’t want the big bad colonel inside their space station, do they?” The thought brought a cruel sneer on his face “Well then I guess I’ll just have to huff and puff and blow my way in!” he laughed some more. He then turned his thick neck towards the com and addressed the armada.

  “Battle crafts! Take the forward flanks. Fighter crafts spread out; you are to maintain cover over the larger ships at all times.” The various pilots acknowledged the order and quickly executed them. The new offensive formation of the armada pleased the colonel. Surely Cruchev will be able to guess his intentions.

  *****

  Rie Yamada had given the orders to terminate the unarmed freighter craft. His guilt rose when he recalled that they had detected several life signs on board. He knew that in order to defend the space station they would have to take more actions like this. “But that pilot was innocent he was only following orders.” His thoughts conflicted as he looked through the large viewing portal. He was in the command and control section of the space station and was overseeing the defensive operations of the space station. Cruchev was also there he was discussing something with one of the crewmembers, who was seated in front of a display console.

  The crewmember gestured at the display and talked excitedly. The captain also was talking and nodded his head every once and a while. Soon afterwards, the two remained silent as the captain furrowed his eyebrows and thought deeply. With a look of resolve Cruchev stood up straight and made his way towards Rie Yamada.

  “We have a situation”

  “Other than Ramsey’s fleet closing in on us?”

  “Much worse than that.” He said with a tired smile “He’s looking for a fight. Tactical scans show that the armada has successfully executed an offensive formation.”

  “He’s looking us in the eye.” The security officer concluded.

  The captain nodded in agreement “I intend to stare him down.” He said with fierce determination “After analyzing the scan we found a flaw.”

  “A flaw?” Yamada asked with interest.

  “Yes a weakness in the formation that we can exploit.” The captain said with pride. He always did well with tactical simulations during his training at the space force academy. His instructors considered him to be a natural tactician.

  “How?”

  “We can use the quasar cannon. Our calculations show that if we target a distortion wave to discharge over the armada the wake will have enough energy to damage a majority of their ships.”

  Yamada was speechless, the ferociousness of the plan astounded him “Sir surely you can’t be serious?”

  “Rie trust me on this, it’s the right thing to do. We can’t possibly fight off every ship in Ramsey’s fleet, which is closing in on our position as we speak. If they get any closer we won’t be able to fire the distortion wave.” Cruchev could sense that his Chief Security Officer was doubtful, but that couldn’t be helped “I can’t stress the point anymore we have a very small window of opportunity, in which we can save the space station. We must act now!”

  Yamada couldn’t refute the captain’s logic. He had made a strong case. It was just that he couldn’t believe he would have to give the command to fire upon his own people. Until now the quasar cannon had only been fired on non-Gemcore personnel. However, he knew in these circumstances drastic measures had to be taken.

  “By doing this you understand that you have declared war. Gemcore will have nothing to do with us after this. We’ll be marked men no one would want us not even the sovereigns.”

  Yamada was referring to the contacts the captain had made with the United Federation of Sovereign nations (UFSN) while he served with their space force. The UFSN was the only viable counterweight that could rival the power and influen
ce of mega corporations such as Gemcore. The two parties often exchanged hot words “I understand what is at stake here. We will do what is honorable.” Yamada remained silent, proving that he was also in agreement.

  “Very well captain I’ll ready the weapon, God help us all.” Cruchev watched as the chief security officer made his way over to the com station. A flurry of emotions built up inside of him. Rie Yamada’s word had struck a chord. This was truly the point of no return from here on he had committed his men to a path of war. The notion of Gemcore personnel firing upon each other was so surreal. After all he had worked so hard at creating bonds of brotherhood between men. And to compound the problem they would be cut off from the wealthiest corporate entity in the galaxy. If they survived they would be shunned by all and would be forced to live on the fringes of society. For an instance Nicolai entered into a trance like state, the hallowed word, Amen softly left his lips; thus concurring with Yamada’s prayer.

  The familiar vibrations of the quasar cannon’s power shaft, broke the trance like state he was in. They grew stronger as he made his way to the eastern section of the glass dome. Soon afterwards the sonic crystals would be charged and the activated cannon head would be raised into the upper section so that its distortion wave could be targeted through the targeting capsule. “I am ready for you Ramsey.” Cruchev thought as the vibrations slowly subsided.

  *****

  Ramsey was on the com with his lieutenant, they were going over the progress of the armada. So far their approach vector was clear of any hostile spacecrafts. They were on the lookout for a possible retaliation by the pirates. They might decide to ambush them for killing one of their captains. But they were not too concerned; the bonds of brotherhood amongst the space pirates were feeble.

  “What’s this?” Ramsey asked the lieutenant

  “Sir?” came the awkward reply

  The man’s lack of understanding caused Ramsey to get infuriated “You fool! Here you are telling me that we can safely approach the space station when in fact they are charging their weapons!” Ramsey could see the greenish glow of a quasar cannon head charging up, from the bridge of the Command and Control field vessel. It was a tiny light in the distance but nonetheless it was visible to the naked eye.

  The com remained silent for a while “Yes…yes they are” he stammered

  The colonel leaned over in his chair and screamed into the com “Then disable that damn weapon before they open fire!” his voice strained each syllable as he spoke.

  “Yes sir! Right away sir!” the lieutenant hastily severed the com connection so that he wouldn’t have to face the colonel’s wrath any more.

  Ramsey sat in his chair with a beleaguered expression. “Must I think of everything?” He thought to himself as he cradled his head. His fingers sunk into his skin as he rubbed his forehead and tried focusing his attention on the impending battle. The battle ships had already begun to charge their lasers turrets. However the colonel feared they were already too late. He could tell that the space station’s quasar cannon was already in the last stage of the pre-ignition sequence.

  The main viewing portal of the field vessel’s bridge was laced with transparent electronic devices. One of these devices was a high-resolution viewfinder, which Ramsey could interface with using controls implanted in the sides of his seat. He selected a coordinate on the battlefield and instructed the viewfinder to magnify tenfold.

  Once he got a closer look his worst fear was realized. The quasar cannon’s targeting capsule had already picked out a target and was locked into position. “Lieutenant! Fire all lasers at the targeting capsule.”

  The lieutenant immediately replied “Firing lasers now!” A crimson hue engulfed the battlefield as every single laser turret in the armada fired its lethal projectile at the quasar cannon.

  Needle thin beams of energy raced to pierce their target. However they never got the chance; all could feel the unmistakable sensation of an erupting distortion wave. Ramsey and his men watched as a green streak of light burst out of the cannon. It raced towards them with ferocious agility.

  The numerous laser projectiles were useless against the massive bulk of the distortion wave. It thundered over the armada, wreaking havoc in its wake. The ships endured massive jolts of energy, as they coursed through their metal frameworks. Faulty viewing portals smashed apart betraying the encapsulated crew to the harsh vacuum of space. Fighter crafts guarding the upper section of the formation exploded into fiery wreckage.

  Ramsey looked through his ship’s hi-res viewfinder. He surveyed the destruction with stern eyes. He quickly assessed the situation and found that most of the ships were still intact. “Damn the quasar cannon! Move in hard and fast!” he cajoled his lieutenant into action.

  “Acknowledged!” the fleet began picking up speed some of the battle crafts had sustained hull fractures in the attack but managed to continue the fight. “Get as close to V-323 as you can, let’s see them try that again.” The ships entered the vicinity of the space station and quickly took up firing positions.

  “Concentrate lasers on the targeting capsule! Fire on my mark!” after waiting a few moments he curled his lips and exclaimed “Fire!” once again a torrent of lasers raced toward the space station. This time they found their mark, projectile after projectile sliced into the quasar cannon. In response V-323’s laser turrets came online and began firing at the battleships. The fighter crafts immediately swooped in and blasted the lasers. The overwhelming firepower of the armada quickly subdued the space station’s defenses. Once the targeting capsule was disabled V-323 was theirs for the taking.

  Ramsey was pleased with the situation he took his seat and established a com link with the captured station “Nicolai Cruchev, this is Colonel Ramsey I am in command of Gemcore Security Contingent AK-99. My men have disabled your outer defenses you are hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.” He enjoyed humiliating men like Cruchev, bleeding hearts every last one of them “Nicolai Cruchev, our employer has relieved you of your duties. Your authority over this space station has been terminated, effective immediately.” He waited for a response “I order you to open the airlocks and allow my boarding party to enter.”

  Inside of the now battle scared observation dome of Command and Control, Cruchev gave a knowing nod to Yamada. The chief security officer acknowledged the silent instructions and quickly left to carry them out. Cruchev then turned to the com and responded “This is Nicolai Cruchev, Captain of Gemcore Mining Space Station V-323. I cannot comply with your orders this space station has been condemned no one is allowed in.”

  “Mr. Cruchev you do not have the authority to make such a decision.”

  “I am afraid it’s not my decision to make. We have suffered attacks from an unknown alien life form. We’ve investigated a possible defense but were unable to find one. Our only remaining course of action is to evacuate the premises.”

  “Mr. Cruchev! I have not come here to hear stories about monsters that go bump in the night.”

  “I don’t tell stories, Ramsey.”

  The colonel became annoyed “You are trying the patience of my employer and I. You will comply with my orders and the crew of V-323 will continue to mine this asteroid!”

  “I could give a rat’s ass to you or your employer.” With that piercing remark Cruchev ordered the few remaining laser turrets to be activated and aimed at the field vessel.

  “Come now, you can’t be serious. You don’t really mean that, after all Gemcore has done for you?” he inquired, seeing that his words were not taking effect he tried another approach “You think your weapons are a match for my fleet? You think I can’t destroy you whenever I choose to?” He said in a cool manner.

  “Ramsey you do not know what you are getting yourself into. You have no idea what we’ve been through.” He knew there was no reasoning with a maniac like Ramsey but he had to buy some time “Are you familiar with the gas moths that reside in the catacombs of vixen heights?”

  “I
’ve heard of them.” The colonel replied in a bemused manner

  “Well imagine their bigger meaner cousin attacking you, altering your DNA and taking control over your body.”

  Ramsey let out a crackle “My dear man!” he gasped between laughs “You’ve been in space for too long. I do believe the nitrous-oxides are affecting your mental abilities!” he burst out laughing again. “I didn’t think a hero such as yourself was prone to hallucinations, what with your training and all.”

  “All right colonel, if you do not wish to acknowledge clear signs of our ordeal then perhaps you should come see them for yourself.” The laser turrets were deactivated and an airlock's outer door was opened. The mobile field vessel eagerly moved in to dock with the opening. Ramsey and a small boarding party departed the field vessel and entered into the condemned space station.

  *****

  Ramsey barged into the dimly lit airlock, his eyes flared giving them a manic look. He was followed by a group of heavily armed men. The sole thought in his mind was to get to Nicolai and relieve him of his command. He was so determined to reach his goal that at first he didn't hear the familiar clicking sound. It was the whirling sound of the servomotors that got his attention. Off in the corner lurking in the shadows the airlock's SENTINEX gun had scanned their DNA. The boarding party began to feel uneasy. They looked up anxiously awaiting the gun's next move. Ramsey's mind raced with paranoid thoughts "Nicolai wouldn't be mad enough to delete my DNA specifications from the database, would he? If he did we should have enough time to fire RPGs at that thing and disable it before it kills too many of us." Then he realized to prevent such a possibility Gemcore sent updated employee bio-data to the space station's database on a regular basis. This eased his anxiety a bit, the gun remained motionless and they continued on.

  They penetrated the space station further. The hallway they entered contained a long row of airlocks stretched in either direction. Since the station was under lockdown no mining crews were present. Although they would never admit it, the darkened corridors and imposing structure of the space station intimidated the boarding party. After all they were entering an area populated with desperate hostiles, who were willing to sacrifice their lives and the lives of others in pursuit of a hopeless cause. Who knew what to expect from them.