Starship Freedom

by Daniel Arenson

Skel'rah growled. She tugged the strand again. "Come to me, spawn. I will not ask you again."

  The shriek echoed, even louder this time. Claws clattered in the depths of the ship. He scuttled into the Grand Cave from which Skel'rah oversaw her ship. The humans, she knew, called such starship chambers bridges.

  "What do you want, Mother?" Hel'rah said. "My new claw hurts. Leave me alone, you withered old hag!"

  She stared down at him. He was a male, and males were small and weak, even those born into the hunter class. But Hel'rah was no ordinary male hunter. He was twice the size, and his colors were odd too. Most hunters were completely black aside from their crimson eyes. But Hel'rah had a gray body like a gazer, and his legs were red. Only one in a billion rahs was ever born with red legs, and they were always particularly vicious.

  She had ripped off one of those red legs recently. Punishment for him destroying the Rubicon, compromising their element of surprise. The leg had grown back, but new legs were always sore for a while.

  "Are you done sulking, spawn?" Skel'rah said. "I have a mission for you."

  His eight eyes lit up. "May I finally hunt and feed? Oh, I'm so hungry. Send me down to Earth! I will gorge myself on human flesh."

  Sometimes hunters are so stupid, Skel'rah thought.

  "No, yours is a different task," she said. "There's a human vessel that fled the fight. A dreadnought-class starship. It's heading to the innermost planet in this system, where I've detected a base. Perhaps an armory. You will intercept this ship—and destroy it."

  Hel'rah sniffed. "A dreadnought? I thought we destroyed all the dreadnoughts in the initial assault."

  "We spared this one," Skel'rah said. "We did not detect any munitions aboard it. It was only a museum."

  "What is that?" Hel'rah hissed.

  "A place where humans collect artifacts to remember past heroism. Like the skulls of vanquished foes we wear on our backs."

  Hel'rah snorted. "That sounds harmless. There is no eresh in destroying a museum ship."

  "This ship is unarmed, but there is something about her master. A human named James King, commander of the starship Freedom."

  "The humans have such silly names." Hel'rah laughed.

  Skel'rah ignored him. "Among the human leadership, only this James King recognized the destruction of the Rubicon. Only he took measures to protect himself. He tried to warn the others, but most humans are stupid, blind creatures. They ignored him, mindless beasts that they are. But King … he is not like the others. He sees too far. He is cunning. If he arms his ship, we will face a terrible foe."

  "Let him arm himself!" Hel'rah rose on his back legs and raised his front claws. "I desire a good fight."

  "You act as stupid as a human," Skel'rah snapped. "You must stop this museum ship now—while it is unarmed. That is my order to you. You will obey or I will pull off all your legs!"

  The young male hesitated. His legs twitched. He remembered the pain.

  Finally he snorted, feigning nonchalance. "Very well. Give me a skullfighter. I'll fly over, destroy this human, and then proceed to Earth."

  "Take a warclaw," she said.

  "A warclaw?" Hel'rah bristled. "An entire armored warship with enough plasma to destroy a planet? To fight a museum? Where is the eresh in that?"

  Skel'rah considered for a moment. "Take three warclaws. He is cunning, this James King. Take your personal ship, the Bloodlust, and choose two more. Destroy the Freedom. Feed upon King for your eresh. Then come back to me, and perhaps I will let you descend to Earth."

  He snapped his teeth at her. She growled, scuttled closer, and loomed above him. She raised her front legs, and her claws gleamed.

  He was big, yes. But she was larger and she could rip him apart. If he died, well, she had a thousand more children, and on Earth she would find wombs for a thousand more. And Hel'rah knew it.

  Finally the young hunter huffed. "Very well. I'll destroy this starship with its silly human name, and I'll devour its pathetic commander. You'll see, Mother. I'll grow strong. I'll fertilize many eggs that will hatch into great phalanxes. Someday I'll be the one to rip off your legs!"

  With a last snap of his teeth to save his dignity, he scurried out of her cavern.

  Impudent slitherpup.

  Not long later, Skel'rah felt vibrations in her web. Three warclaws detached from her fleet. The Venom. The Wandering Widow. And finally the Bloodlust, which Hel'rah flew, a ship with a gray hull and red claws.

  She had built him this clawship for his first hunt long ago. A ship to match his own colorings. He had seemed such a promising heir then. So much for that! Now a fear filled Skel'rah. What if she succeeded in her plan and usurped the withered Elder'rah?

  This wild beast will become heir to an empire, Skel'rah thought. My spawn is a great hunter. And once he is a step from the center of our Great Web, he will stab me in the underbelly.

  She must find good wombs on Earth. She must lay many eggs in fertile flesh. She must hatch wiser offspring. The future of the rahs depended on it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Fort Liberty

  Nebraska

  00:18 Dec 26, 2199

  The rahs roared toward Fort Liberty like a tidal wave.

  Standing on the southern guard tower, Bastian gazed upon hell.

  He had fought one of these creatures before. That one had been a spy. Now he saw warrior rahs. They were larger. Faster. Spikes rose from their backs, impaling the skulls of vanquished foes. Their red eyes blazed in the darkness like torches of hellfire. Their legs sliced through the frozen ground. Their jaws opened, full of gleaming teeth, and they screeched.

  "Grab the humans!"

  "Flay them alive!"

  "Eat their skin!"

  "Drink their blood!"

  They were screaming in English. They knew English, the bastards. Bastian realized what they were doing. This was psychological warfare. These aliens were trying to break his spirit.

  It was working.

  His hands trembled. Somehow he managed to aim his rifle.

  "Soldiers, open fire!" he howled.

  He pulled the trigger.

  A single bullet flew into the army of rahs. It drowned in the sea of claws and fangs.

  Alice let out a battle cry and unleashed hell, firing on full automatic. Below on the field, her bullets shattered the impaled skulls, tore off one spider's leg, cracked another's abdomen.

  But the beasts kept charging. Not a single one fell.

  There was only a single gateway into Fort Liberty. From up here in the guard tower, Bastian had a good view of it. The gate was just a few meters away from the tower. Concrete walls topped with barbed wire surrounded the base. The gateway was the weakest point—a doorway of steel bars.

  Right now fifteen marines were guarding that gate, all armed with Gideons and grenades. Corporal Martelle led the squad. He was a good kid. Only twenty years old. He had moved down from Alaska a few years ago, Bastian remembered. Something about the family business going under, his older brother dying, and starting a new life on the prairies. Hell, they were all good kids. Everyone in the squad below. Everyone in this company. They all had their stories. They were all scared. And not everyone would survive the night.

  Below at the gate, Corporal Martelle was trembling. He saw the oncoming horde. He took a few steps back.

  "Corporal Martelle, fire your weapon!" Bastian cried.

  The rahs raced closer, shrieking for blood.

  The young soldier's Gideon shook in his hands. But he managed to open fire. His bullets drowned in the darkness. Seconds later, his squad began to fire too. The bullets streaked through the gate's bars toward the surging nightmare.

  Bastian kept firing from the tower. But all their bullets drowned in the surging dark wave.

  The creatures scuttled closer in the night. Hissing. Clattering. Claws tearing the ground. Jaws open. Fangs shining. Eyes burning. A sea of evil, risen from hell, hungry for human flesh.

  And then it happened.
>
  The rah army slammed into the walls.

  The battle for Fort Liberty began.

  * * * * *

  From his position on the guard tower, Bastian kept firing his Gideon, but it seemed so pointless. He watched in a daze, knowing this enemy was beyond him.

  Several rahs slammed into the gate, twisting the metal bars.

  It only took a second. The bars snapped like toothpicks.

  The rahs surged.

  Corporal Martelle screamed and fired his weapon on automatic. His muzzle lit up the night. The aliens plowed over him. Blood splashed, gushed upward, a geyser. A severed arm flew. A foot tumbled into the darkness. The gunfire died. So did Martelle's screams.

  The rest of the squadron stood before the mutilated gates. They saw their commander fall. They saw the enemy charge.

  A few privates turned to run. Others stood and fought, but the rahs rolled over them. The privates fell, praying, begging. One soldier called out to his mother. The aliens tore them apart. Severed limbs flopped onto the snow.

  Bastian could only watch from the nearby tower, helpless.

  "First Platoon, we need you!" Bastian shouted, transmitting his orders through MindLink. "Southern gate—now!"

  Howling for war, new soldiers stormed toward the broken gate. Their guns roared.

  The rahs leaped toward them. Claws met bullets. Blood splashed the snow. Soldiers crashed down dead. Kids. Just kids. Teenagers. Privates dead in the dirt, eyes still full of terror, mouths open in silent screams.

  Those who still lived screamed too. In rage. In terror. In madness. A few fled. But most charged at the enemy, killing, dying. At the broken gateway of Fort Liberty, so many soldiers fell.

  Screams rose from across the base. On his MindLink, Bastian glimpsed videos from other locations. The rah army surrounded Fort Liberty. They were assaulting the northern, eastern, and western walls, scrambling up the concrete, tearing at barbed wire. Soldiers roared and fired their guns.

  Across the base, the two hundred fought. But soon they were down to a hundred and eighty. Then, only moments later, a hundred and seventy-three.

  And more kept dying.

  Bastian could only spare the rest of the battle quick glances. A second later, a host of rahs came scuttling across the snow, racing toward the guard tower where he and Alice stood.

  The creatures were enormous, but they moved incredibly fast. They began climbing the guard tower, their claws grabbing the metal framework.

  "Humans, humans, humans to eat!" one shrieked.

  "Come, humans, feed us!"

  "Suffer, humans. Suffer and die!"

  Alice took a step back. She hit the railing, stared with wide eyes. Her face was pale.

  "So many," she whispered. "Bas, we're going to die."

  "Recharge and fire!" Bastian shouted. "Alice, fire!"

  He flipped his Gideon to automatic and let loose. Within a second, he emptied his magazine into a rah. One of its eyes burst. It fell to the ground, twitching.

  "They can be hurt!" he said. "They can be killed! Soldiers of Freedom, fight them! Aim for the eyes!"

  Alice finally snapped out of it. She leaned over the railing, firing her Gideon down at the climbing beasts. Another eyeball burst. The rah fell.

  Briefly, Bastian felt hope. But dozens of the spiders surrounded the tower. The beasts kept climbing.

  Other spiders were now making their way through the shattered gate. A few soldiers still fought there, desperate to hold back the enemy. But the human defenders were falling fast.

  Dammit! The rahs were entering the base. Neither bullets nor grenades were holding back the storm.

  Rowan, Bastian thought. I must protect Rowan.

  "Alice, cover me," he said. He had to telepathize the message along with speaking. The gunfire was just too loud.

  Alice nodded, firing downward all around the tower, desperate to knock off the climbing rahs. Bastian, meanwhile, unhooked a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and hurled it toward the mangled gateway below.

  The grenade burst. Smoke filled the air. Severed claws and skulls flew, pattering against the guard tower. A rah twitched in the dirt.

  The explosion held the rahs back for a moment. But they would soon keep swarming into the base.

  "We need to secure the gate!" Bastian said. "We—"

  A rah reached the top of the tower.

  The spider leaped toward Bastian.

  The alien slammed into him. Bastian was a big guy, tall and beefy. That spider knocked him on his ass. It felt like getting hit by a train. Bastian lay on the tower top, stunned, as the spider roared above him.

  "Daddy, I'm scared!" Rowan cried over the MindWeb. "I can hear monsters coming. Help, Daddy!"

  Bastian couldn't even answer her. He found himself facing the gaping jaws of death. The rah had a mouth like a shark, lined with rings of teeth, leading to a gullet full of sizzling acid. It was like staring at a portal to hell. The mouth widened, ready to devour him, to pull him into the abyss.

  "Bas!" Alice cried.

  She leaped and slammed into the spider, knocking it off Bastian. The alien slammed onto the metal floor. But within a second, it rose again and lashed its claws.

  Bastian swung his rifle, knocking a claw back. Another claw sliced across his side. Bastian screamed. His blood dripped. Alice stepped toward him, raising her rifle like a club.

  "Alice, shoot the rahs at the gates!" Bastian shouted. "Stop them from entering! I got this one."

  Reluctantly, Alice slung her Gideon over the railing and bombarded the mangled gateway with bullets. Bastian couldn't see if any rahs had gotten past the courtyard yet. He was busy dealing with the enormous arachnid on the tower.

  The creature stepped closer, claws scraping the metal floor.

  Another rah climbed onto the tower.

  And a third.

  Alice couldn't help. She was tossing grenades at the gate now.

  "Daddy, they're coming closer!" Rowan cried. "I can hear them!"

  "I love you, sweetie," Bastian whispered. "Stay strong."

  He stood, staring at the three spiders on the guard tower. They were bigger than him—and people joked that Bastian made bulls seem dainty.

  "We have conquered ten thousand worlds," hissed one spider, taking a step closer.

  "Earth has already fallen," said the second.

  "Die now …," hissed the third. "Your daughter will be next!"

  More rahs came climbing up. The tower shook under their weight.

  Bastian unhooked all the grenades from his belt, pulled the pins, and dropped them onto the floor.

  "Not today, fellas," he said, grabbed Alice, and pulled her off the tower.

  They tumbled down into a sea of war.

  * * * * *

  Bastian thumped into the snow. Alice landed on top of him. Their guns clattered. Their helmets banged together.

  Above them, high in the guard tower, the grenades detonated.

  A massive explosion rocked the tower. The metal foundation twisted and bent. The rahs across the tower screeched. Severed spider legs flew. A claw landed by Bastian, slicing through the snow. Several alien skulls, rah trophies ripped off their spikes, thumped down around him.

  Bastian shoved himself up, groaning. "Ow, Alice, you fell on me, and you weigh a ton."

  She rose too, covered in snow. "Shut up, Bas, you're twice my size."

  Thanks to the pile of snow and their body armor, they had survived the fall with mere bruises and scrapes. The guard tower creaked, and then its foundation snapped. It crashed down, burying several rahs.

  Down here was no safer. The aliens were everywhere. More kept coming, mobbing the shattered gateway. Human soldiers lay dead across the courtyard. Some soldiers were still fighting on the wall, but the spiders kept climbing, tearing men and women apart.

  Thankfully, Bastian and Alice had fallen inside the camp. Just a few yards away, rahs stormed through the broken gateway, trampling over dead marines. The aliens were racing
across the snowy courtyard, heading deeper into the base.

  Toward Rowan.

  Bastian glanced at the video feeds streaming through his MindLink. The rahs had breached the western wall, but a platoon of marines was holding them back. The other guard towers were being overwhelmed. The rahs were climbing in. But for now, no spiders had reached the inner buildings. Rowan was still safe inside the barracks. As safe as she could be in this hell.

  Bastian glanced at news headlines scrolling below.

  ALIENS DESTROY WHITE HOUSE

  PRESIDENT CONFIRMED DEAD

  RED DAWN ARMY JOINS BATTLE IN EUROPE

  ALLIANCE FLEET BURNS IN ORBIT

  Bastian shut the headlines off. Right now the world might be burning, but his task was to defend this base.

  Everything hurt. Bastian's shoulder was aching, maybe dislocated in the fall. Blood dripped down his side. The tooth marks on his arm blazed with fresh pain. But Bastian let out a battle cry, slammed a new magazine into his Gideon, and charged toward the enemy.

  "For freedom!" he cried, bullets flying.

  "For freedom!" Alice shouted, running at his side.

  Their bullets plowed into spiders. Several rahs fell. Other aliens spun toward them and pounced.

  Bastian and Alice stood their ground, pounding the enemy with bullets. The spiders bellowed. A few fell, their limbs mangled. But they kept storming forward, the living climbing over the dead. Their red eyes blazed in the night.

  One spider leaped toward Bastian. He clubbed it down with his rifle.

  Another rah lunged at Alice. She drove her shoulder into the beast, knocking it back.

  Both soldiers reloaded. They kept firing.

  Bastian took a step forward. Then another step. Alice advanced at his side, roaring as she fired on full automatic.

  They were pushing their way forward. Carving through the beasts. Trudging toward the shattered gates.

  "We will hold the enemy back!" Bastian said as he fought. He broadcast his words across his company's MindWeb. "We will not fall! We will not die! We will win!"

  Across the base, soldiers heard him. They were scared. They were wounded. Some lay dying. Others were already dead. But the survivors rallied. They fought on.