“Look at me. I’m going to get you out of here, but you need to focus. Do everything I tell you to and when I tell you to, are you with me?” Li’ara made her tone sharp and to the point like her old drill sergeant, it was a tone you couldn’t ignore. She watched him blink slowly three times as he looked around the room. He let out a long breath and focused on Li’ara’s eyes.
“I’m with you.”
I’m going to have to carry him...
The quick nod from Commander Hawkins suggested he no longer cared. Li’ara knew that if Kalian couldn’t keep up, the Commander wouldn’t hesitate to leave him behind. His priority wasn’t protection, it was action. The sooner they could get back to The Hub the sooner they could mount an offensive.
“We need to get Earth-side ASAP. I don’t know what hit us but it sure as shit didn’t explode, and I ain’t waiting around to see if it does. Whoever... whatever they are, they haven’t come looking to make friends!”
The Commander turned to the exit while Li’ara placed Kalian’s arm around her shoulders. He appeared grateful for the support; as the initial shock wore off, he was obviously starting to feel the pain.
They had only walked a few steps before Li’ara stopped them both. It was hard to hear everything through the noise of the overhead extinguishers. Pausing a moment longer to confirm her thoughts, she waited for the sound. There it was again, the unmistakable sound of twisting metal under the methodical impact of something heavy. It was definitely getting louder. Li’ara had turned them both to look at the gaping hole in the floor. She looked to Kalian wanting to know if he could hear it. His face was screwed up as he concentrated on the noise. Commander Hawkins came into view by her side, not believing his own ears.
“Now what?” With all the ash on his head, Li’ara could no longer see where the Commander’s tattoo started and ended. He had dozens of small cuts across one side of his face from an exploded console.
“I don’t understand, didn’t we get hit by a missile or-” Kalian’s words were cut off by a distinctly alien hand grasping his shoulder.
The Commander reached for his sidearm but Li’ara recognised the hand. She turned Kalian and herself so they could see behind them. Li’ara couldn’t believe that in all the chaos and confusion she had forgotten about the Novaarians. She reasoned that they must have jumped to safety on the other side of the central console. There were only three of them now.
“Kalian Gaines...” Telarrek reached out but didn’t touch him. Instead, his metallic bracer lit up as it scanned Kalian’s body. “He is injured.”
Li’ara noticed the features on his face appear to soften as he took in the sight of Kalian’s hunched form.
“We’ve got bigger problems.” The Commander had lowered his weapon but didn’t holster it. “Hear that? You have any idea what that is?”
“We have already tried scanning whatever it is. There is a low-level electromagnetic pulse emanating from within the hole, deflecting our sensors.” It had been Numanon that replied.
Li’ara found it astonishing that they had such different voices considering their similarity in appearance.
Kalian lifted his head. “There were four of you...”
“Youl was taken from us.” Telarrek looked at the broken viewport.
There was a note of sadness in his voice. Li’ara filed the information away, it was only small, but they obviously shared similar human emotions. It hadn’t escaped her that Youl’s fate had nearly been her own.
“We shall think on his passing later; now we must get to safety, my Charge.”
Li’ara couldn’t help but be surprised. It had obviously been Ilyseal that had spoken but the voice was definitely female. Li’ara inspected the Novaarian a little closer. In the emergency lighting, it was impossible to pick out real detail. The only thing she remembered was the slight difference in Ilyseal’s hair but, under the light, everything looked red.
Telarrek lifted his head sharply. “You must come with us to the Valoran, it is the safest place right now.”
“You can go back to your shiny ship.” The Commander was pulling something off the back of his belt. “We’re going back to Earth, right now.”
Li’ara recognised the object he had pulled free from his belt, a grenade. She watched him dial the level up to its maximum setting. The Novaarians recognised the object for what it was as they took a step back.
“I would not recommend that course of-” before Numanon could finish his warning, the Commander threw the grenade, underarm, into the hole.
“Time to bug out!” Commander Hawkins had already started limping for the exit before the explosive unleashed its payload.
The floor shook beneath them as a giant gust of smoke and debris flew out of the hole. They lingered for a moment waiting to see if everything held up under the new stress. Li’ara wanted to check that the ascending noise had stopped but the Commander ordered her to follow.
By the time they had all caught up, the Commander had opened the door revealing the corridor back to the hangar bay. The emergency lighting had only taken effect on the command bridge; the corridor was still well lit in black and white panels. It was like walking through a portal into a world of colour. It took Li’ara’s eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness. Telarrek and Ilyseal had gone ahead of them while Numanon took up the rear. Li’ara knew the formation well; they were creating a protective barrier around them, no not them, Kalian. She had seen Telarrek’s concern for him; with their current circumstances, she feared they might never learn of the Novaarians’ interest in him.
In the light, it was clear the Novaarians had suffered similar wounds to them. Telarrek had what could only be described as a split lip, despite the absence of lips. To Li’ara’s surprise, the blood surrounding the edges of the cut was red, as were all the other injuries they had sustained by flying debris and glass. Just like them, the Novaarians were covered in ash and rubble, the fabric that flowed from their waist was singed and torn in places. Li’ara could now see the red tendrils that were intermingled between Ilyseal’s milky white strands. She wondered for a moment if that was typical of all Novaarian females.
They were nearly halfway down the corridor when the entire group was forced to stop. They had all felt it, the pulling sensation from beneath their feet. It had caused them all to stumble for a step as the invisible force briefly gripped them. It was an unusual feeling as if the Grav Enforcers had suddenly gone into overdrive and increased the g-force. The pull had been too much for the Commander’s injured leg, bringing him to one knee. Li’ara could see the drops of blood trailing behind the Commander as he smeared them with his boots. Telarrek and Ilyseal attempted to help him up but he shrugged them off. He was a stubborn son of a bitch.
There was an audible cracking sound coming from the floor, further up the corridor. They could hear the metal girders and framework twisting and bending underneath. The corridor was silent as the noise stopped and everyone held their breath. Li’ara couldn’t help but wonder if the Commander’s grenade had destabilised the entire station.
Chaos erupted for the second time as the floor ahead of them violently imploded like an earthquake. Sparks burst out as wires in the floor were severed and metal frames were ripped apart. The scene reminded Li’ara of a black hole as the floor was sucked into an abyss. It had all happened in a second, the only thing left was smoke rising from the gaping hole in the floor. It was too big to jump across, keeping the hangar just out of reach. The sudden implosion hadn’t caused them to fall over, but Li’ara noticed all three Novaarians were in a crouched position like a runner before a race.
No one said a word as they stared at the hole. The lights began to flicker across the length of the corridor and Li’ara thought back to Numanon’s comment about an electromagnetic pulse. Kalian’s grip on her shoulder tightened. Her training kicked in again - she was calculating her options. The way forward was no longer viable. The command bridge was out of the question, it was a dead end. Two choices: go left
at the T-junction or go right. Li’ara hated it when her missions came to violence and chaos, but she couldn’t deny the clarity of mind it gave her. There were no distractions, just the mission.
Her mind went back to The Hub where she scanned through the technical layout of the main sphere. She knew there was an access corridor for maintenance that led to a side door within the executive hangar. The door was on the left inside the hangar meaning that she would have to turn right at the bridge door. Her drill sergeant’s words echoed in her mind.
Always have an exit strategy.
“We need to go this way, now!” She didn’t point at the corridor; her intention was just to get them to follow her.
The Novaarians slowly resumed their normal height as Numanon checked the schematics on his bracer.
“The Lieutenant Commander is correct.” Telarrek lifted his head in acknowledgement.
They had managed to get as far as the door when Li’ara felt a pit open within her stomach. They had all heard it, the heavy clunk as something ascended into the corridor. Li’ara turned Kalian and herself to look back towards the hangar. The light continued to flicker creating a stark contrast between the white walls and complete darkness. Li’ara kept a hard gaze on the distant chasm. She couldn’t believe her eyes; with every flash of the light something was slowly emerging. A thick arm reached out of the smoke and darkness, its hand gripping through the floor itself. She couldn’t see it all, but from what she could see it was definitely armoured. Every flash of light seemed to bring the new alien into the corridor.
“Run!” The Commander was reaching around for his cannon.
Li’ara felt four pairs of hands press against Kalian and herself ushering them down the chosen corridor. The adrenaline surged through her body at what felt like light speed, taking away any aches and pains. Running at a speed Li’ara could only dream of, Ilyseal dashed ahead keying the button to call the lift.
The heavy footfalls could be heard from around the corner, even over the sound of their own feet. From the dense metallic sound, Li’ara guessed it to be armoured all over. She heard the pleasant ding as the lift doors parted. Kalian was running alongside her now, his own adrenaline pushing away the pain. They both crashed into the lift together, not slowing their speed. Telarrek and Ilyseal were more graceful in their movements, stopping in front of them. Li’ara had to move her head to see past them.
The lights in the corridor began to flicker as the giant turned the corner. Li’ara guessed it must have been emitting a constant low-level electromagnetic pulse. For a couple of brief moments, Li’ara glimpsed the alien in the light. It was big. She guessed it to be equal in height to the Novaarians, if not bigger. Its shoulder width was certainly wider although the size of the true creature was impossible to tell as it was made entirely of plated armour. She could see that it was predominantly matte black, but it was scarred from head to toe in silver and bronze scratches where it had taken damage. If it had been on a UDC soldier she would have asked what war they had survived.
She couldn’t help but think it was ugly. It wore chunky armour that had clearly been designed to intimidate and take a serious beating. Each plated section could be seen connecting to the next like a patchwork. Li’ara’s tactical mind was taking over - she could see no visible weapon, gun, or other devices. From the look of its armour, she assumed its wearer must be strong to even move a muscle inside. Its head was encased in a helmet intricately designed with a raised pattern running out of where the mouth would be, flowing over the back of the rounded helmet. Where she expected to see a visor or eyes were two sunken pits. As a faceplate goes it was bloody scary. Li’ara had seen rebels of all factions wearing faceplates and death masks but nothing compared to this. It looked ancient, perhaps from an archaic time of violence and bloodlust. To look into those bottomless pits would be to look at death itself.
Li’ara forced herself to harden and, as she shed her fears, she couldn’t believe what she’d missed. The hulking figure slowly approaching was bipedal. It had two arms and two legs just like her. It was an understandable oversight since, until today, a bipedal foe was all she had ever faced. She knew instantly that it couldn’t be human. It was too big and its show of force was beyond a human’s capabilities. Having seen all she had today, it wasn’t a massive stretch to assume there were other bipedal species in the galaxy. She just wished this particular biped wasn’t in front of her.
The sound of her own thoughts was drowned out by the sudden burst of electromagnetic projectiles erupting from the Commander’s rail gun. The electronically powered weapon was causing his entire body to vibrate as he backed towards the lift. From this range, Li’ara knew it would be impossible to miss the giant. The corridor became a violent light show as every projectile ricocheted off the creature and impacted the walls, tearing away holes the size of her head. The fitted lights burst apart, shattering glass as sparks flew off every part of the armour. The giant didn’t change its pace; it appeared completely unfazed by the Commander’s attack. There were scorch marks all over its metallic body but the armour hadn’t even been dented.
Numanon reached out and pulled the Commander into the confined lift almost raising him off the floor. Li’ara wasted no time in pushing the button. They only had to get three floors down. As the doors closed the armoured figured was only ten feet away. There was no room to move in the cramped space. It clearly hadn’t been designed for three seven feet tall aliens. Everyone was panting for breath, even the Novaarians. The Commander’s rail-gun let off a low hum as it powered down.
Kalian was slumped against the wall holding his injured side. Li’ara could see that blood was still trickling out but it wasn’t enough to concern her.
He can make it.
“What the hell... was that thing?” Li’ara’s words came out in laboured breaths.
She looked at each of the Novaarians hoping they would have some clue. They remained silent looking from one to the other. Ding. The lift doors parted again revealing a long room lined with monitors and chairs. It was one of the sub bridges often manned by a team responsible for the station’s maintenance. Li’ara saw the door that should lead them back to the executive hangar.
Somewhere further up the lift shaft, metal began to creak and snap as the creature ripped the doors off. Li’ara grabbed Kalian’s jacket and yanked him out of the lift pushing everyone ahead of her. Commander Hawkins hit the exterior panel with the butt of his gun. The lift doors closed moments before a thunderous explosion impacted the other side.
The shudder caused the Commander to fall again. “Keep going!”
Ilyseal hesitated, hearing the Commander’s order. Li’ara saw her glance at Kalian before resuming her pace alongside them. Li’ara herself wanted to stop and help him but Kalian was the mission; if anyone could take care of himself, it was Commander Hawkins.
Numanon had gone ahead this time, activating the next lift. Li’ara had the smallest sense of relief when the doors parted instantly. That relief was shattered when the doors behind the Commander bent out of shape before exploding into the room with incredible force. She didn’t hear what Telarrek shouted but once again she was bundled into another lift. She never let go of Kalian’s jacket. The last thing she heard was the densely armoured feet clamber into the room.
Moments later their lift stopped and they entered the access corridor that led back to the hangar. It was darker than other parts of the station; only used for maintenance access it hadn’t been an aesthetic priority. Li’ara didn’t care. She could see the words Exec Hangar on the door ahead.
“Come on!” She positioned herself under Kalian’s arm giving him extra support.
He had a determined look on his face; he was stronger than she gave him credit for. They ran to the door not looking back; she was expecting the lift to explode at any moment like the last one. The light was almost blinding as they left the dark corridor behind. The hangar remained untouched and directly ahead lay the Fathom with the Novaarian craft further a
long. Li’ara had never been so happy to see a ship. For the first time since the attack on the command bridge she had hope - they were going to make it, they would survive, Kalian would survive.
The floor between the two ships exploded like a volcanic geyser. Debris and contents from the floor rained down on the hangar. Li’ara instinctively placed herself in front of Kalian. Her hope died as the alien’s armoured gauntlet gripped the edge of the newly formed hole, pulling the rest of its bulk into the hangar bay with apparent ease. It was relentless. She knew it would never stop and a part of her thought it could never be stopped. The thought went against her UDC training, everything was achievable, nothing was beyond her capabilities.
She tapped the screen built into her forearm activating the Fathom’s ignition procedures. She heard the door panel hiss as it opened. She didn’t take her eyes off the lumbering beast. Despite the training, she could see the reality of the situation. The distance between them, the ship and the ever-approaching figure was futile. It was a simple calculation that it would tear the Fathom apart before they could escape. But she had to try.
“Get in the Fathom, now!” Li’ara noticed the Novaarians looking at their own ship. “It’s too late, c’mon!”
At least they had the sense to follow her. Numanon remained in place, steadfast against the approaching danger. Li’ara was halfway up the ramp when she noticed.
“What’s he doing?!” She didn’t have time for this.
“What he must...” Telarrek looked Li’ara in the eyes and there was an understanding between them; it was Numanon’s choice, not his.
Li’ara took note of the event; were they always so willing to sacrifice themselves, or was this about Kalian again?
Numanon used his lower limb to reach behind his back. Li’ara couldn’t believe she’d missed it as Numanon pulled out a silver shaft of metal that had been hiding under his tendrils of hair. It was at least three feet long. One end of the shaft formed a sharp point that glistened in the overhead lighting. His movements were beautiful as he used all four hands to spin and flip the shaft around his body. He finished his presentation with the shaft pressed into the ground parallel to him. Somewhere in all the spins, the shaft had extended into a spear. Li’ara would have preferred a gun, or maybe a grenade launcher.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 9