A low grumble came from the individual.
“I do not know who you are,” Haddron said. “But I will not yield while my people suffer.”
The figure bolted upright and raised the stick high. Haddron used the moment to stab at the attacker but his attempt was knocked away with a speed that surprised even him.
The Nordic snarled. His assistance of Earth to defeat the Ka’traxis Brood. His imprisonment and plot for revenge— all of it for nothing as his final breaths would be on a planet not his own. Even Earth would have been a better burial place than this place of monsters.
A scream from in the woods stopped the final attack, distracting the shadow figure. Haddron took advantage of the moment and kicked the figure, knocking it to the ground.
They both stood at the same time. Only Haddron was ready to continue the fight when another scream broke through the night air. The shadow figure stood still, listening. Haddron could see the stick in its hand shake as the fist holding it clenched tighter.
One last scream followed by wailing sent the figure darting into the woods. Haddron hesitated only moment before he raced after the figure.
* * *
At the scream, Hannah slowed to a stop. “Did you hear that?”
“Probably just Haddron killing whoever that was,” Jammin said, ready to continue forward. “Or Haddron getting killed by whoever that was.”
“That sounded like a woman,” Durham said.
Irons stared into the dark of the forest. “Too many problems on this planet.”
“It could be someone who needs help, sir,” Hannah said.
“My planet needs help,” Jammin told her. “It’s why we’re here.”
Irons scowled. “This place is part of your planet’s problem.”
“Boss, do we even know where we’re running to?” Durham asked.
Irons didn’t like the question. But he liked the answer even less. The artificial side of the planetoid was across the ravine and their recon hadn’t prepared them for anything they’d dealt with so far. This new problem could have easily been a trap but at this point they had no true direction to follow or even much of a plan.
Irons donned the full armor and watched the display on his helmet light up.
Masses of red blobs moved around a couple of hundred yards on the other side of the trees. The HUD told him they were heat signatures but there were so many of them, it was hard to tell if it was from a crowd or one large organism. One even bigger than what they had run from before.
“What are we doing, Boss?” Durham was anxious for a decision. This planetoid had already proven itself too dangerous for them to stand in one spot for too long. Especially when they weren’t armed.
“Taking a risk. Double time.” Irons dashed forward.
Durham and Hannah did as ordered and fell in behind him while Jammin stood watching them disappear into the dark woods.
The big Nordic shook his head in disapproval of their actions as well as his own, taking orders from Earth Fleet. He glanced around and quickly weighed his own risk of staying alone in the woods before running to catch up.
Irons collapsed the armor halfway through the trees. The clank of heavy machinery and snap of whips filled the air. A faint light broke through, flickering when passing individuals walked by.
Mere yards from the tree line, Irons crouched behind a wide tree. Durham and Hannah found their own and did the same while Jammin arrogantly stood in the open, daring something to come at him.
“This is…” Irons whispered. “This is what they wanted to do to us.”
They all watched as Catters shoved people of a pink hue toward a large machine. Some of the individuals cowered in fear of their overbearing slavers. Others were quick to follow the orders. The slave people dragged cables and carried pieces of machinery that looked far too heavy for them. None were resting and a few looked like they’d already reached their limits.
The large machine was a cube with four tubes connecting to the ground. It was made of the same metal as the ground. The forest floor was giving way to the same steel surface and trees were being knocked down to continue with whatever kind of terraforming this was. Hannah saw the pain in the purple eyes of those who dared to take a moment just to breath. Some of them looked into the woods, thinking of escape while others only darkened with tears at the life they were being forced to lead.
“Damn Catters.” Irons glanced at his crew and caught sight of movement further beyond them. The white of Haddron’s hair was easily noticeable with the light of the Catter construction site reflecting off it. Just next to the Nordic was something darker than the trees that surrounded it. The flickers of light that hit it only served to reveal the outline. An outline, Irons could tell, that was hunched over. Whoever the shadow figure was, it was clearly angered at the sight in front of all of them.
Suddenly, it launched itself into the open, attacking the first Catter it could. Haddron quickly followed its path.
“Hey, Boss,” Durham whispered as loud as he dared.
“Looks like we got an ally.” Irons activated the armor.
“Wait, what?”
The jet boots roared to life, carrying Irons through the trees and into the open.
* * *
Admiral Mona Collins stood behind a podium and cleared her throat as the camera operator counted down.
“And 3…2…” He held his finger up and mouthed the word “one” before pointing at her.
“Citizens of Earth,” Mona said. “I know these are trying times but you must put down your arms and go back to your homes. The heinous attacks that started all of this have stopped and there is little reason to believe that they will return.” She frowned, knowing the truth of the attacks and why they stopped. There was no reason to alert the world that their very attacker was now working in conjunction with Earth Fleet. And even less reason to alert them as to why. All that mattered was to stop the fighting on Earth.
“I am asking that you cease fighting against the authorities and go back to your homes while we work on a return to normalcy. Thank you.” She stepped away from the podium and out of camera sight.
Benjamin Stevens walked up to her. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”
“Right now, you’re the last person they want to hear from. Wealth is a target at the moment. I just hope they listen to reason.”
“You and me both, Admiral. I just can’t believe how quickly things escalated.”
“Haddron attacking us economically…You were right, Mr. Stevens, this is worse than a Catter attack. All we can do, now is—“
“Admiral!” A woman in uniform rushed up to her. She saluted.
“What is it, Ensign?”
“Ma’am! Police forces have joined the rioters.”
“What do you mean, joined them?” Benjamin asked.
“The police are siding with the rioters, arming them and giving them use of vehicles.”
Benajmin rubbed his eyes. “We rolled those out a few weeks ago.”
“Stevens, what are you talking about?” Mona asked.
“Wartech set the police up with state of the art weapons and vehicles. None of it is military grade or anything but it’s all still powerful gear.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Mona said. “A few protests and a little rioting, sure. But this borders on full scale civil war.”
“And that’s just here,” Benjamin added. “And if Captain Irons fails at—”
“He won’t fail,” Mona snapped.
“I have all the faith in him, believe me, I do. But we have to consider the possibility. And if he does fail, we’ll have to deal with our own problems on top of an invading Catter force. You might consider telling the people about that.”
“And have even those who aren’t rioting take to the streets? No, Mr. Stevens. That’s not an option.”
“Well, keep it in your back pocket just in case.”
Mona took out her phone and dialed. “Captain, this is Admir
al Collins.” She waited, listening. “I’m aware of the escalating situation, Captain, that’s why I’m calling. I need you back here ASAP.” She listened to the response on the other end. “Negative, Captain Allen. Do not engage police forces until we can set a strategy. Repeat. Do not engage. Be back at the port and report directly to me.” She hung up and returned the phone to her pocket.
“Captain Allen’s going to lead the charge?” Benjamin asked.
“Contact the President for me, please,” Mona asked the Ensign.
The young woman took off at a run.
“Mr. Stevens, I’m hoping there is no charge to lead,” Mona said, fearfully.
* * *
Irons shot one of the Catters, putting a large hole through its torso, before moving onto the next.
Jammin struggled to gain the upper hand on one of the alien cats. Finally he buried his fist in its face, putting it on the ground. He slammed his knee on its throat, putting it down permanently.
Haddron had already killed three while the shadow figure added four. Hannah and Durham tried to avoid Catter fire while going to work on the restraints of the slaves. Durham hammered on the chains with the gun of a fallen Catter. Hannah tried to reassure the strange people that they were friends.
“Watch it!” Irons yelled, firing a shot at a Catter about to get the drop on Hannah.
The Specialist turned around just in time to see the large alien fall backwards. The sight of the dead Catter seemed to frighten the chained aliens more than the live Catters. Some of the younger people averted their eyes. Whoever they were, it was becoming more and more clear to Hannah Xuyen that they knew little to nothing about war. She understood their concern. Though she had seen plenty of combat, it was never easy to experience. Especially from this close.
Durham spun the Catter weapon to the front and pulled the trigger.
“Durham, no!” Hannah shouted.
“I know what I’m doing.” He threw the rifle well away from those in his group.
The explosion was considerably large, completely vaporizing the Catter warrior standing over it while blowing through others nearby. Dirt and pieces of the terraformed land burst into the air and Durham went back to work trying to free the people.
Irons flew forward, slamming into a Catter taking aim at Haddron. He grabbed hold of the enemy troop and carried it upward where he released it from a height great enough to break bones. As the Catter fell, Captain Irons looked down at the battlefield. The armor, somehow, knew who was friend and who was foe. Irons noted the few figures in blue while the others were an orange color. The Gevecht Bepantsering was a remarkable piece of technology, applying commands before Irons even knew what he wanted. And he felt like he’d barely touched on all it was capable of.
He watched as the odd team he was part of dispatched the Catters with minimal effort. At this rate, they could continue as they were but there wasn’t enough time and there would be far more Catters to deal with. On this planet, on Erra and around it. Irons took aim and the orange figures turned green. The number three appeared in the upper right corner of his HUD. One thought sent the arm cannon firing a spread shot at the green figures.
The shadow figure leapt back as an energy projectile hit the Catter it faced, instantly killing it. Durham glanced around to find all the Catters in the area dropping like flies. He looked up at Captain Irons hovering in the sky.
Irons watched the number three turn into a two, blinking in his display. He sighed, realizing that ace up his sleeve had a limited use.
“Thank you,” a weak voice muttered.
Durham looked down and crouched next to an old looking man. His purple eyes were weary and his bruises looked new.
“You speak English?” Durham asked softly.
“We were taught the language of Erra by…” The elder alien motioned toward the dead Catters.
“English is not the language of Erra.” Haddron approached.
Irons dropped to the ground and analyzed the larger, strange machine. His HUD targeted weak points. Three shots from the arm canon shut the machine down. There was no explosion, just a popping noise followed by two smoke plumes rising into the night sky.
Irons collapsed the armor and stepped softly up to the chained people. Many of them had new looking wounds. Remnants from Catter whips. “They speak English?”
“Boss, these people are in bad shape,” Durham said.
Haddron crouched in front of the elder but the shadow figure quickly moved between them.
“Hey, now!” Irons said.
“No. It is fine,” the elder said, raising his hand.
The figure grabbed the spear end from Haddron and swiped it through the chains faster than even the Nordic could have. The links fell to the ground, cut in half, and the shadow figure helped the elder to his feet.
“They are not our enemies.” The elder took a long look at Haddron then turned to Jammin. “You are of the planet below are you not? You are of Erra?”
Jammin nodded.
The shadow figure reached for his own head and pulled back a shroud covering his face. He was of the same species as the slaves, only far healthier in appearance. His pink skin was a little darker than that of the others. The only other defining trait was the long scar over his eye. It reminded Irons of himself. The eye was a light purple, blinded from whatever hit it.
“This is,” The elder thought for a moment. “We have not learned the words. On our world, it means hunter of no light.”
“Night Hunter,” Irons said.
The Night Hunter nodded. “Fine name.”
“He has kept the Ka’traxis Brood at bay for many years,” the elder continued.
“The Catters have kept you like this for years?” Durham asked.
“Now ain’t story time,” Irons said. “There a place we can hold up? Get out of the open?”
The elder stared at Irons, confused at his choice of words.
“A place to hide?” Haddron said, clarifying the human’s language.
“I know of a place.” The elder motioned for the other slaves to stand.
“Got any weapons at this place?” Jammin asked.
“Captain,” Hannah said. “I think we can use the Catter’s guns.”
“You know those things blow up if—”
“Shut it, Durham,” Irons ordered. “Go on.”
“I think I can rekey them so only we can use them. I don’t know how I didn’t think of it before.”
“We’ll take what we can,” Irons said. “I hope you’re right. Something tells me we’re gonna need’em.”
Eighteen
The Cat’s Out
Commander Syracuse Hill paced back on the lower section of the bridge. His brow was furrowed as he tried to come up with some plan to warn the others. Communications aboard the Lucky Liberty were never difficult to operate. But now that the Earth Fleet ship was integrated into the Nordic Slagschip, its controls were foreign. Especially without Hannah Xuyen to make sense of them.
“Commander,” Lindsay said.
“What is it, Private?”
“I think I might have figured out how to operate the wave cannon.”
“Well, if we had a target, that’d be fine.” Syracuse’s tone was one of frustration. He didn’t like waiting around. Especially when his own people were on their own amongst those who were enemies. A situation made all the worse with Elit and Naura abandoning them for whatever plan they’d come up with.
“Sorry, sir.”
Syracuse stopped pacing and stared at the floor. “No. I’m sorry. This whole thing has got me anxious and I don’t need to be taking it out on you. Any of you.” He glanced up at Sitasha and Lou.
“You ran with that group,” he said to the Nordic woman. “Any guess where either of them might have gone?”
Sitasha shook her head. “It is too hard to say with Elit. He has always been a man of spontaneity. Naura…” She trailed off.
“That one met me in the hospital,” Syracuse said. “S
aid a few things that didn’t sit right with me.”
“As I said before, Naura is fiercely loyal to Haddron. She would see his plan realized even at cost to the man himself. And with Haddron’s new alliance with your Captain. It is possible—”
“She’s gonna betray them,” Lou blurted out.
Syracuse glanced back at Sitasha for confirmation.
“I do not know for certain.”
“It’s a risk we can’t take,” Lindsay added.
“Whatever you gotta do, Brooks, figure out that communicator. If you gotta set a link to the Captain’s armor, figure it out. Sitasha, you know the Slagschip better than we do.”
“But I do not know your ship.”
“The two of you get together and figure it out.”
“What can I do, sir?” Lou asked, stepping toward the edge of the stairs.
“Get down here and help me figure out weapons. If the Catters are on Erra, it’s just a matter of time till they make their way to Earth. I wanna be ready if that happens. Whether we hear back from the others or not.”
* * *
An orange flicker cast strange shadows on the walls just inside the cave. Like the heat signature from the battle armor’s HUD, the shadows were massed together in a blob of huddled bodies.
The Elder clutched the arm of the Night Hunter as the two led the rest of the slaves and those from the Slagschip to the cave.
“We’re already surrounded by a species we don’t know anything about and now we’re gonna be in a cramped space with them?” Durham questioned.
“You got a better idea?” Irons asked.
“No, but—”
“Then shut it. Fact is, they got us here, they know the land. We don’t. Smart play is to follow along. How you doing with that Catter gun, Xuyen?”
“It hasn’t blown up yet, sir.”
“Good enough. Get it to fire and we’re in business.”
A group of the same aliens came out of the cave, speaking in hushed voices and a language Irons couldn’t understand.
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