“I am, or…I was.” said Cronus.
“Where’s the rest of your crew?”
“They decided to stay behind.”
The marine’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me! That’s suicide. How they ever goin’ to get off that rock?”
“They are going to try and stop the war.”
The marine whistled. “Well if they got religion, they better pray their god shows up or they are screwed.”
Cronus paused for a moment. “Say that again.”
“I said they better pray a god shows up to help. That explosion, those flying…whatever they are. Ain’t nobody going to survive down there without some divine intervention.”
Cronus mouthed the words ‘divine intervention’ several times then mumbled, “If the people from Earth are like unto gods, who are we to disprove them?”
“What?” said the marine, uncomfortable with any thought that couldn’t be expressed in monosyllabic words.
“Never mind. I must go.”
Cronus undid his restraints and stumbled through the rows toward the back of the ship, shouting, “Wait! Wait! Hold the door!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Global Revolution gave way to the Global War. Global War led to the Exodus. The intense fighting turned Earth into a Hell from which there was no escape on land. So people turned to the sky.
-from The Fall: The Decline and Failure of 21st Century Civilization by Martin Raffe.
Viekko rushed to catch up with Isra and Althea who were already running towards the shelter of the camp. Behind him, the shuttle’s engines whined as they started the liftoff sequence. A few stragglers carrying armloads of expensive-looking equipment dashed for the open cargo bay but most were safely aboard the shuttle.
Viekko maneuvered his way through the rushing crowds to Isra. “So, did you have a plan, or are we relying on your winning personality?”
Isra risked a glance behind her. The Venganto were still fluttering dots over the sea but getting larger each second. “The marines’ armory and equipment storage is on the southwest side of the base camp. It should be strong enough to keep us safe and have some supplies left behind.”
Viekko looked behind him as well and was inspired to run harder. “And the plan after that?”
“If we survive…I might have to give personality a try,” Isra confessed.
Viekko stopped. “If we’re fixin’ to do anything, we’ll need transportation. I’ll go commandeer that hovercraft again and I’ll meet you two at the shelter.”
Viekko turned on his heel and sprinted back towards the platform. He got behind the controls, fired up the machine and risked one more look over the Ligeia Mare. In that short time the Venganto went from specks to flapping figures so close he could almost make out their ghoulish faces.
Viekko swore, put the throttle down, and turned back to the camp.
He parked the vehicle along the side of the armory and slipped through the door. As soon as he was inside, Althea slammed and braced it with a metal pole about two meters long. Isra turned off lights, equipment, and anything else that made noise or light. Viekko crouched by the window to watch the fireworks. At this distance, the shuttles were nothing more than a series of tail fins poking up beyond the rows and rows of smaller shelters. Althea joined with the electronic binoculars from the hovercraft.
“Oh no…” she muttered.
The Venganto swarmed the shuttles just as the lift-off engines fired. The tail fins were now illuminated occasionally by bursts of flame as incendiary bombs burst on the surface.
Althea’s grip on the binoculars was so tight her knuckles were white. “Can they lift off?”
“They’ll be fine,” said Viekko. “Those shuttles have a heat shield designed to protect it from re-entry.”
On the bottom, he added in his own mind, where it does no good from winged bastards attacking from above.
The roar of the engines shook the shelter and three shuttles started their vertical lift. Most of the Venganto scattered. A few dove close to the ships to fire a few bombs at their hulls. The flames rolled off the side like glowing water.
The shuttles aligned themselves over the Ligeia Mare and, one by one, fired their primary engines. Althea and Viekko turned their heads from the blinding flash. A few moments later, all three shuttles became just another point of light in the sky.
Althea took a breath for the first time in a couple of minutes. “They are away.”
Viekko crouched down out of sight from the window. “Good for them. We’ll give the Venganto a moment to ransack the camp and see nobody’s home. After that, they’ll go find themselves someone else to incinerate.”
Viekko’s arm tingled, indicating an alert from the EROS suit’s computer system. He muttered a few curses and touched the side of his ear. “What?”
Cronus's voice came over the comm, “I’ve got a plan. A sort of theology hack. Belief turned inward into a slice for the mind.”
“Cronus! This is not the time. We are deep in some heavy sarmagchin omkhii baas uurkhain and the last thing we need—” A thought fought into the center of Viekko’s brain and demanded his attention. The shuttles were in the middle of a full burn to reach orbit. Never mind getting a signal out, it should be so loud in that tin can that Cronus would be screaming to be heard over it, but there was no background sound at all. “Cronus, where are you?”
“Mess hall I think. Large building. Darted inside to hide from those… things.”
Viekko and Althea both found themselves at a loss for words but Isra was quick to fill in the gap. “This cannot be real! Are you part of some social experiment so see how much stress I can take before I snap and strangle someone with their own fiber optic wires?”
“Cronus!” Viekko added, “You better have a damn brilliant reason for not bein’ on that ship.”
“I figured it out. We can hack the very civilization. Get inside the people’s heads. Bring them what they want. Stop the war. Save Titan.”
Althea peeked out the window. “I think I know what shelter he’s in, but there’s no way to get to him without being seen.”
Viekko tried to keep from yelling into the receiver. “Cronus! Wherever you are, stay put and shut up! Don’t talk, don’t move, don’t even breathe too much. You got a whole mess of unpleasantness overhead and the only thing you can do right now is hope they don’t find you. Understand?”
“Um…yes. I think—”
“No, you don’t because you just failed. Don’t move, don’t speak or you are going to die. Do you understand?”
There was no response.
“Atta boy,” said Viekko.
He sat back against the wall. The expressions on Althea’s and Isra’s faces were better than an opinion poll. Althea’s hand shook and she made several glances at the door as if she might run out and try to save the kid. Isra’s glare had already sentenced Cronus to a brutal death at the hands of the Venganto, or her own if the winged creatures couldn’t manage enough cruelty.
Viekko, Althea and Isra waited and watched. The Venganto continued to circle the camp. Every swinging door, scrap of paper or other bit of debris carried by the wind caused one of the monsters to dive and fire one of their exploding balls of flame. After a while, however, they appeared to accept the camp was deserted. One by one, they flew off in search of more hapless fools to incinerate.
Viekko could barely breathe. His muscles started to ache from being frozen in position but, still, he didn’t dare make a motion until only a select few continued to circle overhead. There was only a few. Maybe four or five and they showed not a single sign of leaving.
It was as good as it was going to get, thought Viekko. He got up and pulled the bar away from the door.
Isra watched with a mix of surprise and anger as if he had just said something unkind about her father. “What do you think you are doing?”
Viekko set the bar down without making a sound. “I’m gonna get up in the trees and guide Cronus to us. A
ssumin’ I can do that without dyin’.”
“I’ll help,” said Althea, standing.
Viekko considered this. “Grab the hovercraft. It’s noisy, but you can use it to bolt if things get dicey. Get behind the wheel, but don’t start her up until I give the go-ahead. Once I do, drive north until you see Cronus, yank him in, and get back.”
“And what happens when she leads those things right here?” asked Isra.
“Then we find out if this here shelter is fireproof.”
Viekko pulled the door open just enough for him and Althea to slip out. He scanned the skies and sprinted for the tree line while Althea ran for the hovercraft.
Viekko ran and scrambled up the side of a tree and found a perch among a growth of dense foliage. It was quite dark now, but one of Saturn’s icy moons, Rhea, hung to the East half-illuminated by the sun. It, along with two or three smaller moons, provided light similar to a full moon on Earth. It wasn’t much, but he could just make out two Venganto flying along the North side of the camp. They were far enough away that Althea could get in and out before they had time to cover the distance. There was a chance, if they were lucky, they could extract Cronus without any of the flying bastards noticing.
Viekko pulled one of his guns. His track history for being right had been shaky as of late. He reached into his jacket pocket and found the small cache of triple-T capsules. Bad things were afoot and he needed to be sharp.
He pulled one out, slid it between his teeth and bit down.
Spitting out the spent capsule and blood, he pulled up his sleeve. “Cronus? Are you there?”
There was no response.
“Fair enough, I asked for that. You can talk now, but do it quietly.”
“It is safe?” asked Cronus.
Viekko glanced up at the Venganto flying slow circles around the camp. “As soon as I say ‘go’, you are going to run out the door and head south. Althea will pick you up en route. Got it?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Althea?”
Althea’s voice was shaky over the radio. “I’m ready.”
“Good. On my mark.”
Viekko watched as the Venganto’s constant lazy circle brought them out over the sea. It had to be now. “Go, go, go!”
The still silence of the night was pierced by the high-pitched whine of the hovercraft at the same time Cronus left the mess hall crouching low through the camp. There was a moment of relief until he saw a movement in the trees just a few meters away. A Venganto jumped into the air and started circling towards Cronus.
“Cronus! You got one on your tail, you got to move. Move now!” said Viekko.
Cronus jumped out of the crouch and started a mad sprint.
“No! No! That’s west! Turn left you idiot!”
The sudden change in direction caused Cronus to slip and scramble in the mud, but he got up and continued the run. Althea was on her way, but the creature was already too close.
Viekko aimed his gun and waited. The moment the Venganto dove behind Cronus, Viekko fired a single shot.
The crackle of gunfire caused the thing to lift out of its dive. Viekko waited until it reached the top of its arch and fired again. It spun around in the air like he had hit it, but it recovered, picked up altitude and fled north. He relaxed for a moment until he saw that the crack of gunfire caught the attention of the two that had been flying over the sea.
“Viekko!” said Althea’s voice on the radio. “Behind you!”
Viekko turned just in time to see yet another Venganto start its dive. He jumped off the top of the tree moments before it was engulfed in fire. The jump was awkward; he didn’t have time to get his balance. He hit the ground hard and rolled in the mud. The wound in his side flared to life again and several bones voiced their dissatisfaction. He ended up on his back and glanced up to see something moving behind the flame and the smoke. Instinct and fear took over and he pulled his second gun and fired. He pulled the trigger again and again until the shadow shot straight up and he lost it in the dark.
Viekko got to his feet just as Althea called again. “Viekko! There’s another one. It just flew over me and it’s coming back around.”
Viekko ran south towards the sound of the hovercraft. He rounded a corner and saw Althea stopped while Cronus struggled to jump into the passenger side. The Venganto hovered several meters above the canopy getting ready to start an attack. Viekko raised his guns and pulled the triggers.
Click.
He only had the briefest of moments to curse his rash stupidity. In a blind panic, after he had nearly been killed, he forgot to count bullets.
Althea hit the throttle on the left engine and used the thrust to slide the hovercraft back towards the armory. The Venganto started its dive. In the narrow path between the main camp and the armory, Viekko’s ability to maneuver was limited by domed structures on either side. He sprinted as hard as he could for the trees.
He replaced his spent guns into his holsters and pressed harder. His muscles burned but his mind was sharp. Sharper than it had been in a long time. He watched the Venganto starting its decent just beyond the tree line. It would fry them both in an instant and there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. At least, nothing that wasn’t totally insane.
Viekko reached the nearest tree, and pushed hard as the momentum carried up the side. The light of Rhea shone through the leaves along with a shadow moving just above him. He closed his eyes and raised his fist as he broke through the canopy. Even he was surprised when it made contact with something rough and metallic. Two glowing red eyes flashed in front of him before it tumbled into the darkness of the forest below and him along with it.
“Get in! Get in! Hurry!” yelled Althea.
Cronus jumped into the passenger side and looked up. “Althea! One coming in. On top of us! Must go, must go!”
Althea gunned the left engine and spun the craft around so fast that they both had to hold tight to keep from being thrown from their seats. When they were facing in the direction of the armory, she opened the throttle as far as it would go.
Cronus tried to catch his breath. “Too close. Much too close.”
Althea focused on the path ahead. “Where’s Viekko?”
Cronus turned and perched on his seat. “He ran up the trees again. Althea, what are those flying things?”
“That’s the Venganto. Avenging angels for the City,” yelled Althea over the roar of the hovercraft.
“Viekko just punched one in the face.”
“Any more of them?” asked Althea, ignoring that particular bit of information. Her psyche would need a less stressful time to deal with that image.
Cronus spun around and sat down. “Two more coming in! Two more, right behind us!”
“Calm down!” yelled Althea. “Viekko! Viekko! We’re almost there. Two more behind us!”
Cronus peeked over his shoulder. “Uh…Althea? They are getting closer.”
“Viekko? Viekko!” screamed Althea.
Isra’s voice responded on the radio instead. “I see them.”
Isra stood in the door of the armory and unloaded her assault rifle into the air. Althea jerked the controls to the left and killed the engine. The loader careened broadside towards the wall of the shelter. Off-world structures were built to handle thirty-meter-per-second windstorms on Mars, 100 millimeter-per-hour torrential rainstorms on Europa and, theoretically, even the fallout of a cryo-volcano. Althea hoped they conducted a crash test as well.
The hovercraft slammed into the side of the building hard enough to leave a dent and threw Althea into Cronus's lap. She picked herself up, pulled Cronus from his seat and ran for the door.
Isra reloaded as the two Venganto got close to the shelter. She fired several rounds and caused one to veer off while the other made the mistake of pulling straight up. Isra aimed for the chest and fired until it tumbled into the trees.
Althea pulled Cronus through the door and crouched for cover on the other side.
“Any more of them?” asked Althea.
Isra continued to scan the skies. “Got one of them. One of the others fled. Can’t see any others.”
“Where’s Viekko?”
“I cannot see him...oh wait. There he is. And he’s… oh no.” said Isra.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s chasing one of those things from treetop to treetop. I think he means to catch the stupid thing.”
The last few minutes were a blur. When Viekko opened his eyes, everything on the right side of his body hurt, and his hand felt like he smashed it with a hammer. He rolled over and saw the light from Rhea reflecting off the Venganto lying less than a meter away. It didn’t stir, breathe or do anything else that would make it appear alive. The eyes were still bright red points of light and he could see now that they protruded several centimeters from the creature’s face that was frozen in a snarl with long incisors bared.
Viekko rolled over and grabbed the creature’s wing. It was hard and smooth, not like flesh, sinew, or bone. It was cool and artificial like plastic or some polycarbonate alloy.
He sat up to get a better look. For a moment, the creature just lay there staring at him with those glowing red eyes. Then, as if the Venganto had come to as well, it twisted its limb away, rolled to its feet and started running through the trees back towards the camp. Its wings swept behind it like a bird, but every other way it moved was human, if not awkward. The way it stood up and ran was not smooth or natural but looked like a person trying to work around a cumbersome piece of equipment.
Viekko groaned as he got to his feet and stumbled in the direction the thing ran. The Venganto ran past the last of the trees, entered the clearing, and spread its wings. Viekko sprinted forward, jumped, grabbed it by the midsection, and tackled it before it could get off the ground. The creature turned in his grip, kicked and beat him with its wings, but he just tightened his grip. The creature’s struggles became faster and more desperate. It continued to kick, twist and buck. Viekko’s hand slipped and found a strange protrusion just behind the head. The creature twisted again and Viekko pulled.
Saturnius Mons (Ruins of Empire Book 1) Page 28