“You are too dangerous to let live. Even as my slave. Ju’ T-Leen should have ended you when she had the chance.”
Even with his arms pinned, Irons tried to rise but the King slammed him back to the floor. His hand remained on the vest of the battle armor and he lifted his other fist up. Catter fingers sprang open, revealing the long sharp claws.
“I will wear both of your eyes as trophies when I take over your planet.” Tar’libon reared his open hand back, shifting his body. The maneuver slid the hand holding Irons down, readjusting the yellow light of the rectangle toward the middle.
The claws struck downward but instead of hitting Irons in the face, they hit the suddenly closed helmet, sparking as the two collided. The thrusters from Irons’s boots ignited, pushing him out from under the King and knocking the big cat on his back.
Both adversaries stood. Irons’s HUD was still damaged but he could make out the big Catter. He collapsed the helmet. His breathing was heavy as he stared at Tar’libon. His demeanor had changed. The King’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the look of steeled resolve in the human’s eyes. Though having only met for the first time, both of them stood as if immortal adversaries who’d battled for millennia.
Irons took quick glances around at his surroundings, taking note of the machinery, and most importantly, the giant hole in the center of the building. “Terraformer,” he growled, still under minor effects of the battle armor. Not enough to make him lose control but still enough to keep him in an aggressive state.
“You won’t live to see its use!” Tar’libon rushed at the Captain.
Irons flew at him and the two collided in a flash of light.
Once again, the King found himself slammed into one of the stone pillars of his throne room.
Irons deactivated the boots and stepped back. He glanced at Haddron who nodded, subtly.
The King fell to one knee, gasping for air. The fur on his face stood out under the swelling of Irons’s hits. His mid-section was sore from being struck multiple times and the wound from Naura’s knife attack bled even more from impacts with various surfaces throughout their fight. He snarled in anger more than pain as his eyes darted up at the human. Irons was still not taller than the Catter King even though he stood on both legs while Tar’libon kneeled.
Irons slid his finger along the yellow rectangle, leaving twenty-five percent of it still lit. He knew going all the way down would render him unable to move. His body wouldn’t be able to handle the lack of whatever chemical the Gevecht Bepantsering had coursing through him so quickly.
Tar’libon coughed. “It was you. You were the one who killed my queen, weren’t you?”
Irons said nothing. He only watched the massive Catter rise back to his feet.
“You think you have won. My warriors have already…” He inhaled, pain shooting through his chest. “My warriors have already destroyed your ship. Slagschip.” Tar’libon spit blood on the floor. ”…Its power is a lie.”
“Funny,” Irons said. “I don’t see the cavalry coming for you.”
Tar’libon sneered. He noticed, too. Neither of them knew what the fate of the Slagschip was nor the fate of the Ka’traxis Brood warriors fighting against it.
“I will ride this planet to Earth. Wipe out your people then add that miserable planet to my galaxy. You cannot stop this.” The King squared back his shoulders as if his wounds were nonexistent.
Even the hardest hits from within the battle armor weren’t enough to bring the Catter King down. Irons had no more aces up his sleeve.
A series of flashes from Haddron teleported the Nordic to the feet of the King where he used Naura’s knife to slash at his ankles, bringing the Ka’traxis Brood ruler to his knees. Irons took the opportunity to do what he was best at. It was time for him to think like a pilot.
The boots ignited, sending him blasting at the King. He grabbed Tar’libon and veered upward into the dark. Haddron could only see the glow of the boots as the two went higher. Irons didn’t know where the ceiling was or what would happen when he hit it but the risk was worth it.
The helmet activated around his head just as the King hit the ceiling and burst through. Both figures rocketed skyward. The HUD flickered with data about their surroundings but Irons deactivated the helmet.
Finally well above the surface of the planet, he could hear the muffled pops of gunfire coming from high above them. He set the boots to hover as he held the King out. They both looked up to see the movements of ships and their raging battle above the planet. It was like watching the chaos of an old Earth war dog fight.
“See how your pathetic vessel is dominated by my superior forces?”
“Sorry, your Highness. All I see is a bunch of scared cats running around.”
Irons looked down, suddenly realizing they were in the skies of Erra. He glanced up again and caught sight of the planetoid, reflecting the star light of Taygetta. And straight below them was a flagship identical to the Queen’s that was destroyed on Jupiter.
“You think dropping me will end this?” Tar’libon asked. “I have fallen from greater heights than this.”
“Maybe,” Irons said. “But you’ll be broken.”
“Broken. Like your Nordic friend. Broken, like Erra below us. Perhaps broken like your ship.” The King smiled, sinisterly.
Of all the things Captain James ‘Albatross’ Irons disliked, threats and insults to his ship ranked at the top. He loosened his grip and let the King fall.
Even after everything, the ruler of the Ka’traxis Brood Empire laughed as he fell to what Irons doubted would be his death. King Tar’libon had taken Irons’s and Haddron’s best and laughed it off.
Irons growled and wished he had a gun. Suddenly another cannon appeared from his other arm gauntlet. The Captain shook his head and laughed at the irony. “Of course it did, “ he said, aiming the weapon at the King.
Three green bursts shot out from the arm cannon. Each one broke apart into five separate projectiles and spread out before taking off toward the falling King.
They were hard to count from his vantage but Irons was sure he heard roughly twelve explosions. He rocketed toward the smoke and stopped. There was nothing but a ball of black hanging in the air. Nothing under it and nothing around it.
Unsatisfied, Irons raced to the flagship and stopped by the exit hole he’d punched their way through. He glanced around the King sized opening and spotted the silver crown that had adorned the monarch’s head. All that was left of King Tar’libon S-dahl, ruler of the Ka’traxis Brood Empire, was a chunk of fur stuck to the silver head piece.
A large wormhole opened in front of the flagship and Irons rocketed down into the throne room.
“The King?” Haddron asked, weakly.
“Gone.”
“Well done, James Irons.”
“We’ll have a party later. Right now we gotta get outta here.”
Irons helped Haddron up. The pull on his arms strained the broken ribs. The Nordic coughed up blood.
“Hang on. We’ll get you into one of these.” Irons patted the armor.
“You wear the only one.”
“Then we’ll put it on you.”
“You cannot. It is a part of you, now. Remove it and you will die.”
Irons frowned. “I thought that was a bluff.”
Haddron shook his head.
Thirty-One
One More Mission
Irons carried Haddron, flying as fast as the armor would take him. Haddron’s eyes fluttered as he tried to stay conscious. A single sight gave the Nordic some hope as he watched hundreds of purple lights open and close all over Shugaar. Even the Flagship had already passed halfway through a portal. The King was dead. There was no central command for the Ka’traxis Brood. Retreat was their only option.
Irons watched the display of the malfunctioning helmet. It flickered and flashed with flight data. He imagined what he wanted to see and the HUD did its best to accommodate. Through the display, it was hard to t
ell how many ships were still flying above Erra. Even harder to tell which one was his. If the Slagschip was on the move, it was going to be a risk teleporting into it. The worst possibility, of course, was the Slagschip not being there at all.
“I hope this thing works,” he said. “This is Irons. Hill, you there?”
* * *
“Commander,” Durham said. “Enemy ships are retreating!”
“Keep pouring it on, Brooks!” Syracuse ordered. “The fewer that get away the less chance of them ever coming back.”
Lindsay said nothing, continuing to fire the numerous guns of the merged vessels.
“Someone better be listening to this!” Irons’s voice erupted through the bridge intercom system.
“Captain?” Durham asked.
“This is Hill, Captain. What’s your location?”
“Nordic skies above Shugaar.”
* * *
“The King?” Durham asked through the comm system.
“Mission accomplished. The Catter King is dead,” Irons said.
A roar of cheering burst through the helmet’s radio. Irons smiled.
“One more down!” Lindsay yelled from the background.
“Well done, Albatross,” Syracuse congratulated. “What ship are you on?”
“No ship,” Irons told him, flying higher.
The battle above was getting clearer to him. The magnification on the HUD was shaky but he was able to catch a glimpse of the Drastic Nova blasting through a newly destroyed Catter tank.
“Roy up there with you?”
“Affirmative. So is the rest of the Fleet,” Syracuse said through the communicator.
The words brought a smile to Irons’s face. It had been a long time since he had fought with the Earth Fleet at his back. But a return to those days was not in the cards for him. There was one last mission before he could permanently step aboard his ship.
“I don’t know what no ship means,” Syracuse said.
“Ask Hannah.”
“Roger that. We’ll make planet fall and get you en route.”
“Negative, Commander. I got something that’s gotta be done first. You just keep taking those enemy ships down.”
“Aye, sir.”
The helmet collapsed back into the armor and Irons glanced down at his passenger. “Haddron!”
The Nordic did not respond.
“Haddron, wake up!” Irons took a quick look at his armor and noticed it beginning to frost. They were too high up and the temperature was dropping, fast. He took no time to decide and hit the lens on his teleporter. They were gone in a flash.
Thirty-Two
Nordic Redemption
The heat from the Terraformer warmed them immediately. Haddron’s eyes slowly opened to the noisy machine-filled room as Irons lowered them both to the floor.
Haddron’s feet hit but were unable to support him. Irons helped ease him down to a sitting position.
“This is it,” Irons said, holding his hand out for the bomb.
Haddron moved slowly, pulling the device from inside his coat. His speed was completely gone. The explosive’s timer panel was cracked.
“Thirty minutes then throw it in the hole over there.” Irons pointed to the glowing opening in the floor.
Haddron pressed a button on the panel but nothing happened. “It must have been damaged fighting the King.”
“What does that mean?”
“It must be set off manually,” Haddron said.
“Then set it and throw it in.”
“We both know that is not how this ends.” Haddron coughed and spit blood.
Irons crouched down. “Hey. This ain’t a a suicide run, soldier.”
“Captain…”
“Earth Fleet takes care of its own. You fought with us. You know that.”
Haddron smiled as he reached for his Earth Fleet Medal of Valor. Irons pressed the Nordic’s hand, pushing it closer to the medal.
“You’ll get another one when we get back to Earth.”
“As though your planet would accept me.” Haddron smirked.
“They will if I have anything—”
“Captain Irons.” Haddron’s voice was weakening and his breathing was shallow. “I won’t make it to medical attention. My lungs are filling with blood. It won’t be long before I am gone.” He took as deep a breath as he could muster. “Before that happens. I will see this thing,” He looked around at the inner workings of the Terraformer. “Gone from sight of the Universe.”
“But you can’t set the timer.”
“Exactly why someone must stay to ensure the explosive works.”
“But, Haddron…” Irons’s voice was monotone, a surprise to both of them. Their alliance had stood on a thin line. James Irons didn’t know what to expect from the Nordic once the Catters had been vanquished from Erra. But now the King was dead and the rest of the Ka’traxis Brood Empire were retreating. Victory was theirs. Much of it thanks to the very Nordic who not so long ago had put Irons in the hospital. The same Nordic who saved the Captain’s life soon after. All doubts about Haddron’s renewed loyalty had disappeared. Now it was Irons’s turn to return the favor.
“You are thinking that you owe me something, yes?”
Irons shook his head, unable to answer.
“You do not.” Haddron pointed to opening of the Terraformer structure. Irons turned around and set his sights on Erra. Except for its pinker hue, it was very much like Earth.
“I often looked at Earth the same way as I see my own planet. Who else would be able to see such a view in their final moments?” Haddron coughed, hacking up more blood. “Save them. Those the Ka’traxis enslaved. They will be welcome on Erra.”
“I will.”
Haddron nodded. “Go, James Irons. Victor of the Ka’traxis Brood War.” He began to activate the bomb.
Irons backed up, making sure to stay out of the Nordic’s view of his home world.
“A final request?”
“What is it, soldier?”
“Destroy the Slagschip,” Haddron said, surprising himself. “There may be no more King or Queen but there are still many…” He searched for the right word then chuckled at the thought. “Catters left on their home world. If they ever return, they cannot have such a weapon.”
Irons saluted. Haddron nodded in gratitude.
The flash of light was the last the Nordic would see of Irons as the human teleported out of the Terraformer. Haddron rose to his feet with great effort. The sound of machinery working, changing the planetoid into a Catter weapon, echoed through the building as Haddron limped to the opening in the floor.
He peered down at the glowing core. The inner walls of the vertical shaft were of the same metal material as the floor he stood on. Another coughing fit made him drop to his knees.
* * *
Irons peered into the dark woods for any sign of the slaves or movement from the Night Hunter. “Where are y’all?”
The only sounds he could hear were the popping noises of the ships high above him. Even at that height, he could hear the sound of cannon fire. Especially when that fire destroyed a ship. He glanced skyward to the sight of a small explosion. His first thought was to try and use the HUD to confirm if it was enemy or ally. He didn’t bother. Regardless of the answer, the HUD probably wouldn’t work well enough for him to see and even if it did, there was nothing he could do about it. He returned his thoughts to planetary matters. There was no telling how much time he had before the whole thing went up.
He activated the helmet. “Hannah, if you can hear me, ping this communication. I need a ship, fast.”
He continued through the woods, hopeful of no encounter with another giant creature. He was out of weapons and running on artificial adrenaline. It wasn’t the best place to be.
“We’re running outta time!” he yelled. “No more hiding!”
A rustling made him spin to his left where dark movement caught his eye.
“I hope that’s you.”
A black mask disappeared, revealing the face of the Night Hunter. Irons exhaled a sigh of relief. “Glad to see you. Everyone ok?”
“All still alive who are ok,” the Night Hunter said. He turned and yelled something in his native language.
Cautiously, the others started coming out of the dense woods to join Irons and the Night Hunter.
“Gonna have to move faster than that,” Irons said.
“We are free?” one of the former slaves asked.
They all turned to the Captain.
“Free from the Ka’traxis Brood, yeah. But you can’t stay here anymore.”
“Our home,” the Night Hunter replied.
“I know. I’m gonna take you to a new one. This one is gonna explode.”
The Night Hunter looked confused. “What is explode?”
Irons clasped his hands together and burst them apart making the best explosion sound he could come up with. He didn’t need to understand the language to know what they others were saying. Fear sounded the same all across the void. His only hope was that they were scared enough to follow when the Slagschip showed up. If it showed up on time.
* * *
Haddron blinked. His vision was blurring. The heat coming up from the core of the planetoid was becoming hard to deal with in his weakened state.
Coughing again, he looked down at the bomb and pressed a button on the panel. Three symbols appeared. They were changing each second. He had no idea how what the symbols meant or how much time was left. Hours? Minutes?
* * *
Irons watched the sky for any signs of the Slagschip Lucky Liberty. Even with the dim light of Taygetta putting that side of the planetoid in perpetual dusk, it was still too dark to see clearly in the sky without the HUD as a crutch.
ROYAL LINE (War In The Void Book 3) Page 21