by James Peters
Rhuldan’s voice sounded through the overhead speakers. “We have a situation.” He continued to detail Idiom’s experiences with the element zero and the dracnarians, and how they were about to leave with it, along with their intentions of resetting the universe back to nothing.
Fayye responded first. “This is completely unacceptable! It’s imperative that we recover the element zero. My partners will kill me if the dracnarians escape with it.”
Ginnamorana’s eyes squinted tightly, her lip curled. “Your partners?”
Fayye’s eyes darted from one crewmate to another. “We consider our cousin-kin partners in all affairs. Regardless, we have to stop the dracnarians.”
Ginnamorana spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m assuming by your use of ‘we’ you mean it in the royal sense, implying that you expect the rest of us to do something while you remain on the ship?”
Fayye crossed her arms. “Of course. I’m not trained for combat missions. Remember I’m the one who hired you?”
Jekto’s flexed all four of his biceps. “Combat is fun. There’s nothing like the thrill of ripping an opponent’s limbs off.”
Fayye wrinkled her nose, and her eyes widened. “I’ll take your word for that. Surely you all understand that if the dracnarians accomplish their goals, we all die, right?”
“That part was made clear,” Ginnamorana said.
“I don’t want to die,” Solondrex said.
“Good, so we’re all in agreement; it’s up to us to do something,” Fayye said.
Ginnamorana scowled at Fayye. “We’re not equipped to deal with a single daemon ship, much less a fleet. Any one of those ships could destroy us with a single volley.”
Fayye returned the hateful stare. “We have to stop the dracnarians.”
Rhuldan’s voice broke the stalemate. “This isn’t helping. Our original plan was for me to pick up Jekto in the nebatian shuttle and try to pass him off as an acid test for the repairs. Now we know the element zero has been stolen, they’ll not allow any transportation on and off the base without a complete inspection.”
Jekto shrugged. “Migrun bones snap easily.”
“While that may be true, you’re assuming you can endure getting there. Can you survive if they shoot down Sarge with a plasma cannon before we enter orbit? How about a fusion warhead?”
Jekto glanced downward. “I will make them pay for their cowardice.”
“Cowards with quantum-targeting heavy weaponry,” Rhuldan said. “Let’s not forget that Sarge still has communication clearance with the base. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage?”
Solondrex slowly raised a hand. “What would you suggest I should tell them?”
Rhuldan said, “We let Sarge do the talking. We’ll tell him about the daemon ships out here, and have him say we’re prepared to send our elite force in as a guard team to assist with security.”
Solondrex nodded. “I currently have his transponder switched off. If I set it to full-spectrum, he’ll broadcast like the Dreadnought he thinks he is.”
Ginnamorana waved her hand toward Solondrex. “Do you think they’ll believe it?”
“Sarge will convince them, and the transponder signal will indicate he’s a migrun dreadnought. Unless they’ve deleted him from the active roster in the last few days, they’d have no reason to suspect anything.”
Fayye ran her tongue across sharp teeth, and her eyes darted side to side. “What happens when they see this ship? Surely they’ll realize this isn’t an official migrun issued vessel.”
“We can have Sarge tell them he’s sending an elite team using a civilian craft,” Rhuldan said.
Solondrex shook his head. “It’s not enough. They’ll greet us with dozens of armed guards. They’ll see through this ruse in an instant, unless…”
“I’ve learned not to like your ‘unlesses,’ Solondrex.” Ginnamorana rubbed her forehead and frowned. “Unless what?”
“Unless we can demonstrate that the daemons are following us. If they’re busy fighting daemons, they won’t have free forces to send to greet us.”
Ginnamorana took two steps toward the table, staring Solondrex down. “What are you planning?”
Solondrex’s face curved into a smile. “While we don’t have weapons, we do have a transfer pod full of the big guy’s turds.”
Jekto nodded. “It’s true. Sarge cursed me out for wrecking his waste systems. He’s got a way with swearing that made even me uncomfortable. So, I’ve been using the empty transfer pods, figuring we’d just dump them somewhere.”
“And what do you propose we do with this dichelon waste?” Ginnamorana asked.
“We load it into the airlock, fly at max Trad-Prop straight at the daemons, open the door and pepper them with thirty-pound balls of rock-hard mass,” Solondrex replied.
“Their hulls would easily withstand that,” Rhuldan said.
“True, but it will make some serious dents, and the impacts will echo through their entire ships. That should make them angry enough to pursue us,” Solondrex replied.
“Right toward the base for the satellite systems and ground-based cannons to target them,” Rhuldan said. “I’ll find a weapon and meet you at the landing bay. We follow Idiom’s signal, grab our target, and fight our way out, as needed.”
Jekto roared, “Now that’s a plan! I’ll need somebody to help me keep count.”
Ginn gazed at him, raising a hand in the air. “Count of what?”
“My kills, of course.”
Chapter Fourteen
All Hell Breaks Loose
While hiding out in the shadows of an alien market, my mind raced, thinking of all that had happened to me so far, and I decided that if I survived, I had to write all this stuff down because I was bound to forget some details. I watched the crowd pass by, witnessing all forms of creatures walking, crawling, rolling, or floating by, but nothing resembled another human. I began to doubt what I thought I had seen earlier. Sailors swore to have seen mermaids in the waters after being out to sea for weeks on end, and I always figured they were seeing things or had drunk too much rum. After what I’d been through, who could blame my eyes for getting confused?
Rhuldan had told me I’d recognize when it was time to move, and I have to admit he was right. Red lights flashed, and sirens wailed, “Woop woop woop.” Shopkeepers scampered to close shutters and lock up cases as if they’d spotted a tornado heading their way, and they were surrounded by pointy things. A creature built like a tall antelope stumbled and fell to its side and then leapt away, bounding as fast as a cheetah.
A thundering voice announced, “Attention, everyone. All non-military personnel are to report to their shelters immediately. This is not a drill. Loitering will be punished by execution.”
Well, good thing I wasn’t planning on loitering. I opened the map on my arm. I’d need to take the best path back to the dracnarian compound. I ran my hands over the grips of both Colt .45s. A nervous habit, but it comforted me to feel them, available if needed. No matter what happens, I’m not gonna get captured again.
The lights dimmed, and a thunderous explosion of energy rocked me to my core. I waited for the crashing, screaming, or walls crumbling down, but none of that happened. After a few seconds, the same pattern repeated. It got dark, then a loud boom, but no damage. That must be defensive fire, and it must use a lot of power. I hope they’re not shooting at Sarge.
A few heartbeats later, the floor seemed to shift away from me as a detonation rocked the entire moon. I stumbled forward, regaining my balance by placing several steps in swift succession as if I’d tripped going down a flight of stairs, and I just hoped to keep my feet below me. Now that felt like we were hit, and it was something big.
The sound of dozens of footsteps marching double-time alerted me to hide, so I ducked behind a stone column and remained there until they passed. As the noise faded, I peeked out to see the tail ends of a squadron of migrun fighters, wearing shiny metallic battle armor and carrying lar
ge weapons.
I nearly jumped out of my own skin when Rhuldan spoke in my transponder. “Idiom, how close are you to our target?”
“Damn, you scared me! Close. Can you see me on your map?”
“Yes. We’re all here now. Remain where you are until we arrive.”
“Understood. Can you tell me what’s going on? Did somebody wreck a train filled with nitroglycerin into a dynamite factory? There was a huge explosion.”
“That would be a blast from one of the daemon ships. They took out one of the base’s plasma cannons with an antimatter missile.”
“I have no idea what you just said. Are we still talking about the explosion?”
“Yes. Just keep your head low. We’re on our way.”
A disturbing sound came from behind me. One of the vendor’s booths had been knocked over by falling stone and debris, and something cried out from beneath the pile. While the sound was alien, I recognized fear and a call for help in the sobbing. Another explosion rattled the floor beneath me sounding like this tiny world was cracking in two. I sprinted toward the scream.
Get ahold of yourself. This is not the time to panic. Somewhere I had been told that there are a few moments in a person’s life that defines them. My hands shook, and I desperately wanted to crawl into a safe hole somewhere. My stomach fluttered and my breath grew fast and shallow.
I heard another cry. I ran toward the pile of rocks and debris, and began digging with my hands as fast as I could.
“What are you doing?” I recognized Jekto’s voice by its depth and scorn.
“Help me. Someone is buried here.”
Ginn’s voice cut in. “Remember why we’re here! We don’t have time for this. Another hit like that and this entire moon may break in two.”
I continued digging. “I reckon you’d better help me then. I’m not stopping until I dig out whatever this thing is.”
Slowhand had his own answer. “Jekto, grab Idiom and rip one of his arms off. Just one.”
“I can do that,” Jekto said.
I stopped and turned toward the giant, four-armed rhino-guy coming at me. I pulled a Colt from its holster and pointed it at him. “I know you have thick skin, but one shot from this pistol will ruin your shiny, golden horn, big guy.” I clicked back the hammer with my thumb, unsure if he even knew what I was doing. “Help me dig or get dented.”
Jekto’s voice echoed as he said, “This tiny thing still has knots.” He bent down and grabbed a huge piece of stone I couldn’t dream of moving, and tossed it away like it was an empty bottle of whiskey.
Rhuldan jumped in to help. Ginn and Slowhand argued a bit and then she pushed her plasma rifle over her shoulder, and started to clear debris.
Slowhand watched us for several seconds before he sighed loudly and started helping with minimum effort.
The sound of crying became more distinct as we worked until Jekto pulled a metal slab larger than a horse from the pile. Beneath it, we found the source of the screaming. It was a female migrun child, the size of a five-year-old human. Her feathers were a pale fuzzy yellow color over most of her face, with red tints over eyes dripping with tears. She was lucky to have hidden beneath a solid metal desk, the top of which Jekto had flung somewhere.
“You wasted our time to save this?” Slowhand asked.
“Probably should just smash it,” Jekto said.
I carefully lifted the child and held it closely. “You people are sick. This is just a child. You’re safe with me, little one.” She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.
“A child who will grow up to become an enemy,” Jekto said.
“You don’t know that,” I said. “Now let’s find what we came for and get the hell out of Dodge.” I had a moment of considering handing the child over to Ginn, assuming she might have some maternal instinct that would kick in. Then it occurred to me that she was just as likely to eat the kid. “Follow me.” I ran as fast as I could to the passageway leading down to where I had been held.
Another explosion knocked me off balance. I spun to protect the child and instead hit the wall with my back. Yup, that’s gonna leave a mark.
My eyes caught Slowhand running, and in truth, he was faster than the rest of us. He used strong back legs to push him forward and then his two right front limbs worked as one to catch the ground. His left arms did the same, and by that time his back legs were ready for another round. That boy could move when he needed to. I turned my gaze back to the path just a little too late.
I ran face first into a dracnarian who’d been high-tailing it away from their lair, knocking him to the floor. “Yee-ow!” the squid-head yelled. “That’s twice in one day!”
“George? Is that you?”
“Yes. What is with you? Why do you keep running me over?”
“Just bad timing. Where are you going?”
“I’ve got diplomatic rights. I’m going to my embassy’s blast shelter.”
“Great. Take this with you.” I said, and I tried to peel the migrun girl away.
“No,” she said, tears running down her face. “I don’t trust them.”
“You can trust George. He’ll protect you and get you back to your people as soon as all these explosions stop and it’s safe. Isn’t that right, George?”
George’s skin shifted to a light green shade. “Come to me, child. I’ll not allow any harm to come to you.”
“No,” the little girl said.
“Look at this,” George said as his colors shifted into all the colors of the rainbow, and I suspected even a few more. Big round spots formed on him, and they grew like bubbles until they seemed to pop.
The little girl giggled and loosened her grip.
“Now go to George and don’t cause him any trouble, or your Uncle Idiom will know and be very disappointed with you.”
“Bye Uncle Idiom,” the girl said as George wrapped several tentacles around here and shuffled her to his back.
“Thanks, George,” I said, and we continued on.
As we approached the main chamber, I stopped and held up a hand. “Inside, I expect us to find dozens of normal-sized squid-heads guards and a couple of huge ones; the Kraken and Moby Dick.”
Ginn glanced toward the ceiling. “Are either of those terms supposed to mean anything to us?”
“Maybe not. One is big, the other huge.”
“This is important. Did any of the guards have temporal diodes?” Rhuldan asked.
“I didn’t see any. They threatened me with melancholy distraction, though,” I said.
Jekto raised his head in laughter, his golden horn almost hitting the low ceiling. “As long as they don’t have molecular disrupters, they can’t harm me.”
My eyes widened as I looked away from the four-armed rhinoceros. “Any chance those might be red wands with a gold ball on the end?”
“Yes, that’s what molecular disrupters look like,” Jekto said.
I spoke in a low voice. “They might have those as well.”
Ginn grabbed my arm, squeezing it hard enough to hurt. “Try to remember. Did you see any other weapons?”
“All I noticed were the wands.”
Ginn raised her plasma rifle and twisted a control handle near the business end. “We need to keep them from touching us with those wands. I’m going wide-spray, and I’ve got eighty-three percent charge. I’ll buy us some space and time, but this will drain the power fast.”
Rhuldan removed his cape and carefully folded it, setting it on the floor, placing his hat on top of the cloth. He went nearly completely ethereal, looking like a dark mist floating before us. “I’ll death-touch any enemy that gets close, but realistically I doubt I can take out more than five or six that way. In all honesty, the act itself is quite taxing on me.” He raised a pistol with the smallest barrel I’d ever seen in one hand. Did it shoot toothpicks? “When I’ve exhausted my power, I’ll do what I can with this.”
I stared at the gun and laughed. “What caliber is that little thing?” I
held up my twin Colts. “My peacemakers will teach these Zeroists that forty-five is much bigger than zero.” Everybody looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. “Forty-five caliber. It’s the size of the bullet.”
Ginn looked toward the ceiling. “We don’t have time for you boys to argue whose gun is bigger.”
“I was just…” I started and then decided it better to leave it be. “They were keeping the element zero in a container at the far end of the room.”
“Did you see any other treasure?” Slowhand’s eyes brightened. “Dracnarian’s are considered a wealthy race.”
“I didn’t exactly have time to rummage through the place.”
Slowhand shook his head. “If they have anything of value, I’ll grab it. Might as well, right?”
Ginn looked at Jekto. “We haven’t heard any bravado out of you yet.”
“I’m clearing my mind before battle. Their disruptors are dangerous. Enough strikes and they could kill me. If they swarm, I may need some help.”
“I’ve got your back, big guy,” I said.
“Actually, I was talking to Rhuldan. I figured you’d be killed in the first wave.”
I shot him a dirty look. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Slowhand said. “I’ll wager a hundred credits he dies first.”
“Nobody will take that bet.” Ginn stretched her back and arms.
“Don’t look at me,” Rhuldan said.
Slowhand sighed. Was he truly disappointed nobody would take his bet? “Anybody want to bet on who gets the first kill?” His pupils expanded to the size of quarters, and his ears flipped back low, while the hair on his back stood up straight. He was ready for battle.
“Let’s just do this thing,” I said.
We charged in. The room was crammed with dracnarian guards, and every one of them spun around to face us, changing their hues from dull brown to bright vermillion. The first wave of at least a dozen squid-heads closed in on us. Ginn fired a spray of plasma. sending several writhing in pain and causing several more to back away. Rhuldan disappeared, only to materialize next to one just long enough to land a touch upon the unlucky critter, who dropped to the floor unmoving. I should have bet on Rhuldan getting the first kill! He vanished again, and another guard fell. He repeated the process several more times, creating an opening in the battlefield.