‘Stop!’ one of the exoskeletons in front shouted. The line came to a slow halt and the order was passed down the queue wavewise. The three brave hearts leading the procession walked on and scoured the area visually as if guided by some premonition. Perhaps they expected something to happen because they broke away from us and went about 160 feet ahead with the intention to take a peaceful look around. In the meantime we felt something like an earthquake happening beneath our feet. It felt like a herd of animals approaching. Suddenly they rushed back to us at a breakneck speed. Hardly had they made sixty feet when a wave of alien creatures glided behind them. I saw them with my own eyes. They looked like huge worms–thick and long like gigantic anacondas, we crossed paths perpendicularly and we saw just a portion of theirs large herd units. These snake-like creatures slithered along each other, intertwining their bodies randomly, moving fast and even sliding up the trees. That sight gave me such fright that I began to wonder if it was probable for another such wave of the same critters to attack and to break our ranks, leaving a long trail of smashed and lifeless bodies. And the worst part was the question of whether they were just passing through or whether they were trying to run away from something.
‘Everyone, watch out, don’t stand in their way. They flock together in a herd only when it rains, they’re probably mating. Don’t engage with them and avoid them at all costs no matter whether they’re alone or not,’ one of the three scouts warned. Less than a minute later, the threat moved out of our way thunderously and then we were able to resume our own escape route. The places that they had gone through looked trampled and only the largest and strongest trees were still firmly rooted in their places. Maybe that was a bunch of Menoetian antelopes traversing the ground with no destination, foreshadowing a hazard of a multinumbered variety. I still had no answer to that, but I hoped we would not need one at all. Therefore, we quickened our pace even though we were at the end of our ropes and we had not covered even half of the way. Milev was amazed by the reaction and the due warning of the ones in control of the NSR technology. He caught up with them and tried to break the ice and broach the subject of the battle they had previously won. He wanted to know what to expect in the near future . . . I also wanted to know more, but since my personality did not carry the weight his did, I decided to try and acquire some information from one of the soldiers around me who was part of German Ascend 1. Maybe that was the way to get some attention without being treated like trash.
Hey, buddy, tell me, how did you manage to push back the enemy?’ I tried to chat up an ordinary soldier who was some twenty feet away from me and who must have seen a lot so far. At first he gave me a disapproving look and tried to infer by my stripes whether I was a regular soldier or a higher-ranking officer. But since I did not have any, we were peers.
‘Who are you? Are you a passenger from the ship?’ he asked me and I saw the swarthy face of a thirty-year-old man.
‘Yes, I used to be a reporter and now I’m mobilized to record the events with these cameras. I captured perfectly what happened a while ago and think these would make quite valuable frames,’ I reassured him by telling him exactly what I was doing, so that he could share with me some of the information I hoped to obtain.
‘Why do you want to know what happened? You’d better not go out when the Vacari are around, they are like angels of death, it’s what they were born to be.’ That was the first time I ever heard the name of those critters. Obviously someone had given them a name, but who would that have been?
‘I want to help with whatever I can and if I’m to be successful, I’ll need to know a thing or two about them, right?’ I asked him a rhetorical question as I knew I was right. The man threw another long look at me and spoke again.
‘OK, I’ll tell you whatever I know because I’m a regular soldier and they don’t tell me everything,’ he agreed to enlighten me a bit on the subject of the deadliest thing know on that planet. ‘They stay away from the rain because it affects their physical state–they’re predominantly made up of minerals, carbon and active metals. But that’s not the main reason why they hide. Fresh water has little effect on them. It makes them decompose partially, the process comes with a lot of evaporation and heat, but they regenerate pretty fast. Their trues enemy is a different one, though. Oh, yeah. It’s bolts of lightning. They have quite strong ones here and if one such strikes the Earth, the direct flow of electricity may petrify hundreds, if not thousands of them at once and as a result they will break down to grayish-white dust. It takes a very low voltage or a spark for them to be vanquished; even a charge that is harmless to us, humans, is deadly to them.’ He shared some peculiar facts about them that I failed to explain to myself. Apparently they were so different than us, that they defied our ideas of what was possible. He continued his account as we strode down the path, soaked to the bone. It was now that I started paying attention to the flashes of lightning that every now and then we heard crashing into the ground in the distance, in the depths of the forest, they were so dangerous and, on par with that, they were our saviors. ‘There’s something else, too. For now, we know that they move along certain magnetic lines, originating from a place not far from here. They look more like a means of communication and our communications jam theirs. It´s a bit frightening since we don´t know if they are a rationally-driven species, but this is what Professor Zanev is trying to find out–he’s the man who came up with their name and who more or less knows the most about them. At least we managed to put up resistance instead of falling victims,’ he finished on a consoling note, giving me a thorough answer based on both his knowledge and in his observations.
‘How exactly did you manage to deal with the first wave? We failed to push it back. The bullets eliminated them very slowly and there were far too many of them,’ I shared how our failure tasted as we were trudging down the difficult path. Its soil did not turn into mud, but instead swallowed everything that landed on top of it. Probably its porous structure changed because of the fresh water. I had no idea what that curious phenomenon was caused by, but we were both at the end of our ropes, panting and already feeling a bit desperate.
‘Right there, in front of you!’ said the second of the three men dressed in those expensive technological acquisitions. ‘We would’ve lost the battle if it wasn’t for her. Lieutenant Nikolaevna, that’s how they call her. I don’t know her well, but she has more guts than most of the men here. She was the only one equipped with an electric shotgun that fired deadly charges out at the grayish-white. She took out hundreds of them and that delayed them enough until the weather worsened. She’s the hero in this first fight. Right now we have people manufacturing the same kind of weapons–that will give us a chance to tip the scales in our favor,’ he answered and left it off there, not wanting to feed me with rumors or false information. But I did not need more anyway. At least now I knew that the odds were not completely against us and that, intruders or not, we were going to fight for our survival. At this point the end totally justified the means. It was us or them . . .
But my desire for things to have tuned out otherwise was a different story, it was not just me, though, who felt that way–many of the other peace-driven folks from my species shared my views. Unfortunately, human nature was so brutal and crude that should we have a motive, we would not show any mercy towards the inhabitants of that planet. Was that the only way to survive in the Cosmos? We were probably really the most adaptive species that had had the privilege to exist as citizens of the Universe. Or were we? Deep down inside of me I knew we did not deserve a second chance. To still continue existing after we had ravaged our home planet, all on our own, sounded extremely brazen and impudent. How many animal species were we going to destroy just to prove ourselves that we were the strongest kind of all? How many planets did we need to bring to demise in order to find ourselves and to learn to live in synchrony with time, space and matter? It was still too early to say. We were probably still nurslings in terms of our development, but if
we wanted to make some progress and show that tomorrow we could be better than yesterday, we needed at least one more chance. I wanted us to show that we were much more than machine guns, bullets and bombs. But who were we going to show it to, we had not even begun to understand ourselves, let alone speak a common language with the alien creatures. That was why we were left with no other option but to play the role of interstellar conquerors, a little puny ones though. We were about to become the exact sort of extraterrestrials that we had feared the most and the mere thought of which made us tremble with terror. It was quite sad that we were probably on the verge of becoming our own worst nightmare. The thirst for life and for one more day of existence made me take all those things quite normally. Now we were those outsiders and if we had to, we were going to give up our lives just to have a place under the stars in this newly-waged war of the worlds . . .
These thoughts drained and tormented my mind and the two-hour passage through the forest and the difficulties we had–the heavy rain, sinking into the muddy soil and the load resting on my back–left me completely worn out. I slowed down as I felt like I was about to faint. I thought I was not going to be able to handle the situation. I could see Milev and the three heroes walking ahead of us, talking; many of the military officers strode past me one by one, obviously physically tougher than me. I started panting and I wanted to stop for a bit of rest when something gave me a little push in the back.
‘Don’t surrender, brother! There’s just a little more left,’ I heard the voice of a strange officer encouraging me. ‘Let me help you.’ Without my saying a word, he wrapped his right hand around my waist, dragging me ahead. Panting, in his left hand he held a machine gun he would not let go of and with the other one he was propping me just enough to keep me fighting and staying in the ranks of the prospective survivors. I was glad that along with other frames I managed to record with the cameras that act of mercy and support carried out under the torrential rain. I felt like crying. After all the hardships that had been draining me physically and mentally finally appeared someone who helped me without asking me for anything in return. This tiny effort that the soldier made out of sheer good will was something I was never going to forget. Maybe that was the true essence of the human nature and as long as people like him still existed, nothing we did was really in vain. That made me believe there was still hope for us . . .
The path started changing, the angle gradually turned into a dip and in the distance I could see the forest disappear and open into a wide tract of land. Part of German Ascend 1 peeked over the last tree tops that merged with the skies. I could not gauge its size since there was still some distance between us, but I was amazed at the resemblance between our ship and that one there. I covered the last few dozens of feet step by step as the path was difficult and steep. Due to the unevenness of the terrain the water that had collected was flowing down the path we were walking like a small river. By now my feet had sunk into the soil, my ankles were almost covered by the rapids of the running water. We conquered the last dozen of feet, but it felt more like I was climbing rather than walking. We had to crawl our way to the spacecraft–that was the only way to not sink too deep, the slope somehow felt less steep like that. But now we were up more than a foot deep in water and it threatened to sweep us over, once it was past us, it was flowing even faster ahead. My arms and legs were freezing, but with a bit of external help–of people pushing me ahead, I managed to step onto the edge of the plateau. What a relief that was! I barely managed to get back on my feet, using my rifle as a prop. I had the privilege to be among the first to get deeper into the plain area. The forest was right behind me and in front of me was standing the city of steel perched upon the tall gigantic plain. This peninsula surrounded from three sides by steep rocks was the perfect place for performing defensive action. I walked for some three hundred feet more and once the dip evened out my eyes successfully focused on the familiar panel fence in the distance. It reminded me that there was still someone in our new home. I got closer and I saw that everything was solidly organized. There were plenty of people, some were keeping watch, others were repairing the machine, a third group was attempting to dig a small trench along the entire fence, but the weather conditions were more than foul. The excavators were sinking and could not dig any more so the teams engaged in other useful tasks while they were waiting for the rain to stop. The defense was combat-ready and a few automatic machine gun nests and rocket launchers were rotating constantly and watching for unwanted visitors lurking just outside the panels. There were four cutting-edge offensive ground drones which looked like an enormous metal predator armed to the teeth for a close-range fight and fitted with a high-caliber weapon for distant fire. The drones along with a dozen ordinary and a few special artillery tanks formed part of the defense. Never before had I seen so many munitions, weapons and fire power clustered together. I hoped that would turn out to be enough so that we can prevail in the forthcoming second wave.
Shortly before we reached the gigantic open gates of the steel titan we were welcomed and instructed what to do and when we got inside the body of the spaceship the hosts helped us dry and warm. They even served us tea and treated us with energy bars to help us recover after the arduous passage. What a relief that was! I was in a dry place, alive and well, without a scratch and the space they stored us in was some sort of a mess hall, but this time it was situated on the lowermost deck. All the better, there were no stairs to climb or elevators to cram in; I put my last efforts in successfully sitting on the closest bench. I put my weapon down, left the cameras aside and took my jacket off
‘How are you, boy?’ I suddenly heard the familiar voice. I turned around and saw Milev holding something in his hand.
‘Tired, but in a while I’ll be like reborn,’ I said, still, I had to say something, because there was no way to describe in a few sentences how I felt after what I had been through.
‘You know that most of the newcomers won’t be accommodated because we have no room for them and they’ll have to sleep in the corridors. But I have something nice for you. Here, take this,’ he said and handed me a small magnetic card that looked exactly like the credit ones. ‘I managed to secure a couple of rooms for my most trusted men. You need to dry off and get some rest because we have work to do. I’m going to need you in two hours. We’re having a meeting to debate the situation. I want you to come to the bridge with the cameras, say that Milev is sending you.’ Having said that, he left, maybe to give out some more cards, but I still failed to fathom how that man found all that energy to run around doing errands. I decided I had better go to my room and get proper rest instead of spending the two hours sitting on the hard bench soaked to the bone. I put my inventory together, grabbed my weapon and started looking for my place. Its exact location was inscribed on the card–I had to go a few levels up. I propped myself on my gun and went to find an elevator that would get me there as fast as possible. But more unpleasant was the fact that all of the evacuated people were once again going to have to sleep thronged together like vagrants. A familiar feeling, I have to say–earlier on during our voyage I was no different than them, but now I was lucky enough to have gained the privilege to have a room of my own, one whose merits I was yet to bask in . . .
I continued down the corridor, walking for quite some time and eventually saw the door. It was close to the pilots’ rooms and the bridge. Everything felt so fantastic; I was finally going to have a break! I unlocked the door and walked in. It was not anything special, but it had all that I needed to make my stay there easier. There was a small bed with a desk fitted with a chair and a computer at one side and a bathroom with a toilet on the right. That was perfect–I was going to have a warm shower and I could even have a nap. It did not take me long, though. A few minutes later I was already lying on the soft bed with clean bed sheets–something I had not experienced for days. At first I made a few attempts to doze off, but I could not. I was still feeling tense and I was worried I might run la
te for the meeting–it was starting in a little over an hour. So I decided to go through the footage recorded during the passage between the ships. The frames were so exquisite! Tall trees with motley garments, crystal and fresh air that you could easily see even on camera. The incident with the gigantic leeches, the conversations we had along the way and many more moments were woderfully videotaped. I had captured some really interesting moments, but I would never forget the sad, bedragged faces of the ordinary people. The sorrow in their eyes, the lost self-confidence and thirst for life were plain to see in those frames. That was us–fugitives defeted in the first battle of the war. I hope we were never destined to experience that feeling of being useless and redundant again. . .
The time passed quickly, though, regardless of whether I had managed to regain my strength or not, I had to show up at the bridge, the officer had ordered me to and I did not want to let him down. So I prepared myself quickly. My clothes were almost dry now, but I had no more time to wait, I put on the vest and the helmet, I mounted the cameras on them swiftly and by the time the second hour had struck I was already outside the control room. I tried to get in, but the gates would not open. I made several more attempts and then my eyes landed on a button that looked like a door-bell situated on the left of the door. I pressed it a couple of times and an image popped up on the video wall above the gates.
‘There is a meeting in progress inside, you cannot enter,’ I was told by a military who was watching who went in and out.
Dawn of Hope- Exodus Page 44