by Tom Chattle
"Sina, of course." Wilde gestured at the alien woman while she cleaned her sword and eyed the dead matriarch warily. "I don't know about anyone else, though."
A dull groan from behind them caught their attention. They rushed past the bodies of two Marines who definitely hadn't survived and saw something stir underneath the carcass of the other mech. Chen crouched down, and Wilde helped her move the hunk of machinery as best they could. They carefully pulled out Scott from beneath the wreckage. He was in pretty rough shape, one eye totally closed by a bloody swelling, left arm held limply at his side.
"Jesus, Scott," Chen muttered while they propped up the Marine lieutenant. "You gonna live?"
Scott spit a glob of bloody phlegm to the deck and leaned his head back to stare up at Chen. "To be determined." He winced and peered out at the bridge. "Guess you killed it somehow?"
Chen nodded. She didn't quite know how to even start explaining what happened. "Guess so."
She closed her eyes and felt around the room with her mind. Exhausted, it was easier to feel the thoughts of any survivors than check each one in person. A dark cloud filled her head from behind, and Chen's eyes snapped open.
"Somehow?"
His guards nowhere in sight, Bennett limped toward them, hair matted to his face with blood. Of all the undeserved death around them, Bennett had survived?
"Back off, Bennett," Wilde growled. "It's dead, that's all that matters. We need to finish the mission, what we came here to do."
"No..." Bennett hissed. "No! That is not all that matters. That...freak," he jabbed his finger at Chen, "is an abomination, full of alien contamination."
"Fuck you, Bennett," Chen snapped. Every move wracked her body with pain, and she had zero patience to deal with Bennett when the Valiant was still out there, probably still under attack from the Syrax fighters, even after the death of their matriarch.
"Don't you even dare—"
"No!" Chen cut him off. "I don't care what rank you are, you have no authority here." The man opened his mouth, but Chen wasn't nearly done. "In fact, we wouldn't even be in this mess. This," she rapped her knuckles on the side of her head, "wouldn't even have happened if it wasn't for you and your pathetic superiors."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bennett rasped through a clenched jaw.
Pushing himself off the deck with his uninjured arm, Scott's brow creased. "We all know what you've been covering up, Bennett."
Chen could see the gears turn in the intelligence officer's head while he tried to decide how to respond. "And just what is that, Lieutenant?"
"The fact humanity encountered these things years ago and it was all hidden away?" Wilde said, her voice filled with anger. "That this could have been avoided if people had known the truth?"
"Is that what Lieutenant Chen has told you?" Bennett retorted. "I know she's wormed her way into your trust, but don't believe a word she says."
"I trust Auri with my life," Wilde spat, "but my own research and what we found in your own damn data files lays out everything."
"My files?" Bennett spluttered, eyes darting around. "Those are encrypted, and you have no access to them."
An angry smirk curled up Wilde's face. "Yeah, but you're a lot dumber than you think you are."
His face practically turned purple, and Bennett took a menacing step toward Wilde. "You dared to go in my files? You will be locked away in a tiny cell for the rest of your miserable life as soon as we get back."
"I'd like to see you try," Wilde shot back, her chin jutting out, fists clenched.
The back-and-forth only allowed rage to bubble up inside Chen. She jabbed a finger at Bennett, and it sparked ominously, remnants of the matriarch's power still within her. "All the deaths that have happened because we had no idea what we were getting into could have been avoided if Naval Intelligence and you had told us the fucking truth."
In one swift motion, Bennett pulled the control pad for Chen's neural dampener out and pointed it at her. With no hesitation, he jammed his thumb down hard on the activation switch. Blinding pain shot through Chen's head; her vision turned white, and she staggered to her knees. The sound of Wilde's screams filtered through the explosion of noise in her mind, and she fell back on the deck, gasping for air.
Her vision slowly returned, but the sight wasn't good. Bennett stood over her, a leer on his face. He kicked her sharply in the side with the toe of his boot. "What you star jockeys never understand is that Naval Intelligence operates on a level far above you. While you play with spaceships and fighters, we are the ones who actually protect humanity. I'm the one having to salvage this disastrous mission by acquiring technology and alien samples to study." Another kick forced a gasp of pain from Chen's mouth when she felt a rib crack. "And what thanks do we get? Insolence from jumped up commanders who think they know everything."
"Bennett, stop, now!" Scott growled. He had managed to pull himself off the deck and limped toward the NI officer.
Chen wanted to warn the Marine off, but she could barely open her jaw.
Bennett drew his sidearm, whirled toward the Marine, and fired two rounds straight into his chest. His armor already compromised from the heavy damage it had taken earlier, Scott crumpled to the ground with a pained cry.
"Damnit, Bennett," Chen spat. She tried to push herself up, but her strength deserted her.
"No!" Bennett snarled. "If an incompetent admiral hadn't sent an unauthorized mission, led by an inept rookie, bundled with a Marine commander who paid for her lack of skill, NI would have handled this the correct way."
He pointed his gun at Wilde when she edged toward Chen. "Don't even think about it. You're as useless and inconvenient as your father."
The stab of pain in her heart that accompanied any mention of Alex sent a jolt of energy through Chen. She struggled up and rose to one knee. "You can insult me all you want with your pathetic lies, but don't you fucking dare insult the memory of Alex Bauer or the other Marines that sacrificed their lives because of bad intelligence."
Bennett towered over her. "Alex Bauer was a stupid little girl who was in over her head." He spat on the ground. "Just like you."
Rage clouded her mind, and she thrust her arm out. Her fingers dug into Bennett's leg, and power surged through her. A violet glow lit up the edges of her vision, and psychic energy flickered in a corona around her head. Before she could pump it all into Bennett, he thumbed the remote again. Chen reeled back to the deck, and knives of pain shot through every part of her body.
Wilde ignored Bennett's warnings and leaped to Chen's side, but there was nothing she could do. Chen slumped back against her. Her limbs spasmed and bloody drool seeped from the corner of her mouth while Bennett kept the dampener active. Chen fought against it with every fiber of her being, but the technology had roots that dug deep into her nervous system, completely shutting down any ability she had to control her own body. Mental energy flickered when she fell close to unconsciousness, but she didn't have the strength to unleash it.
Suddenly, the pain stopped and she coughed, sucking in the cool, metallic air of the Syrax ship.
"You know, I advised that you should be terminated the moment it was established just what you were," Bennett hissed, prowling around the two women. "But now, I see it even more clearly. You're tainted so badly, so filled with disgusting alien powers that there's no hope whatsoever." He raised the pistol in his other hand and aimed it at Chen's head. "My orders had been to make your death look accidental, but this will have to do. It will be a shame to lose such a valuable subject, but your alien friend will be a nice replacement in my lab. And Earth will never be infected with your diseased mind."
"No!" Wilde rose in front of Chen in an attempt to shield her.
Bennett snarled and backhanded her across the face with the side of his weapon. Wilde fell backward and sprawled across the deck. "I'll deal with you later."
More worried about Wilde's safety than her own, Chen pushed herself to her knees. Even though h
er limbs felt like they were made of rubber and every part of her hurt, she refused to face Bennett as a limp pile on the deck.
The NI officer stepped forward, and Chen felt a cold kiss on her forehead when he pressed the muzzle of his pistol against it. Bennett straightened his back. "This is a long-overdue correction."
Unable to fight any more, Chen closed her eyes and waited for the blast of instant, fiery death from the plasma weapon. Rather than the sharp bark she expected, a sharp fizzle swept through the air. The cold muzzle left her forehead, and Chen opened her eyes just in time to see Bennett's head slide from his neck, his eyes open in confused surprise. His body slumped to the ground, and blood spewed from the severed stump of his neck.
- 51 -
2208.10.23 // 15:46
Syrax Carrier
A lavender-hued hand reached down to clasp tightly around Chen's wrist. "Are you okay, Aurichen?"
Chen resisted the powerful urge to fall to her hands and vomit. She grasped Sina's arm and allowed the woman to pull her to her feet. It felt like her brain was trying to hammer its way out of her skull. Her stance was unsteady, but with support, she managed to straighten. Her vision was tinged with pink, and she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, blood smeared across her face.
The crumpled corpse below drew her gaze back down. Sprawled forward on the floor, blood pooled in a thick mess around Bennett's body. His head rolled on its side several meters away, eyes glassy. "You killed him," she muttered, thickly.
"He was about to do the same to you, and eventually me." Sina slid her arm under Chen's shoulders to keep her from falling.
"Yes, he was," Chen stated flatly. She took one last look at the remains of the man who had tormented her for months before turning away. The control device he'd used to torture her sat beside his arm, and Chen stamped a booted heel down on it, crushing it in a shower of sparks. Nearby, Wilde sat on the deck nursing the large bruise that had already developed on her cheek. "You doing okay, Katrina?"
"Better now Bennett's out the picture." She cast angry eyes across the remains. One of the Marines near her stirred, and a burned hand twitched across their chest. "Oh, shit!" Wilde exclaimed and scrambled to check on the man.
"Scott..." Chen muttered. She searched the area for where he'd collapsed. Spying his slumped over form, she hobbled over to him. Blood trickled from his chest, but on closer inspection, it seemed the wrecked armor had still managed to deflect much of the impact. She eased herself down and gently shook his shoulder.
His non-swollen eye snapped open. "What?"
"You gonna make it?" Chen asked while Sina helped her lift the man to a sitting position.
"Takes more than that bastard to kill me," he coughed in reply, flecks of blood coating his lips.
"Well, Sina put him down for good this time."
It was only then Scott noticed the remains of Bennett. "I'm not going to complain, but a lot of people are gonna be pissed off when we get back."
"I'm not afraid of Naval Intelligence." Chen sighed. "Not anymore."
"Well, we can always say he was killed by the matriarch. I'll back you all the way," Scott affirmed, "as I know any of my Marines will do. We do have to make it home first, though."
"Right, of course." Chen nodded. That was the whole reason they were here after all—the chaos of the last few minutes had blown the rest of the plan right out of her mind. Her muscles screamed in complaint when she straightened, and she tried to massage her back through the exo-suit. She ran a bruised hand through her sweaty, matted hair and peered around the dark bridge. "So, how do we control this thing?"
"We kind of hoped you'd be able to tell us that," Wilde called from where she tended to a Marine who seemed completely disoriented.
"Yeah..." Chen frowned.
Sina nodded toward the pit at the center of the bridge. "If it helps, that is the main control point."
Chen eyed it warily. Taking it slow, she limped her way across the deck and edged through the wreckage and corpses that were strewn over the tarnished metal. She stopped short of the hulking remains of the matriarch and stared down at it with trepidation.
"It is dead, Aurichen," Sina said, her voice calm. "You killed it."
"I know," Chen mumbled. "I just hate these things." She stepped around it and eased herself down the stepped sides of the command pit. Something felt weird, and she looked down. Her foot was deep in the thick, gelatinous gore that slowly seeped from the downed beast. "Oh, that's just great."
She shook her boot. There was so much blood that it filled most of the command pit and left her no choice but to wade through it.
Besides the consoles around the sides that had popped up earlier, Chen saw no obvious means of how to interact with the ship. She touched one of them, and it lit up. Her fingers tingled with information and data flooding into her mind so suddenly, she jerked her hand away and jumped back. "Whoa."
"What is wrong?" Sina walked toward her through the alien gore like it was nothing.
"I don't know," Chen replied. "I could barely figure out the tech on this ship earlier, but now it's almost like it wants me to control it."
Sina frowned. She glanced back at the matriarch and tapped her chin. "Matriarchs are the leaders—rulers of each ship or colony—but their technology is not specific to them." She nodded and turned back to meet Chen's gaze. "The psychic commands are tied to the matriarch in charge of each, but the matriarch is dead now, killed by you."
Chen's nose scrunched up in confusion. "I'm not following."
"Aurichen," Sina placed a hand on her shoulder. "You killed the matriarch, and you have the powers of the Syrax. I believe the ship has passed on control to you now."
Chen stared at the consoles dubiously and hesitated. "I don't know..."
"Just try it," Sina suggested. "Your ship and your crew need you to do this."
She grimaced and laid a hand back on the console. Information filled her mind again, and glowing Syrax runes and symbols flew into the air. She sifted through them but couldn't find what she needed. "There's nothing to control here, it's all just data."
In response to her thoughts, the image of a glowing, inverted spire filled her mind. "Wait..." She spun around and peered up at the huge structure above them that the matriarch had descended from. "It must be this."
Chen edged toward it, face raised up to try to understand just how she was supposed to interact with it. She turned to Sina with a shrug. "I have no idea how to work this thing."
As soon as she'd said it, the alien's golden eyes widened, and Chen span back around to see what had alarmed her. Before she could react, a cluster of writhing appendages descended from the darkness, aimed straight for her. She began to reach for her sidearm, but it had been knocked away at some point during the battle. The armatures snaked across her, and she slapped them away. "What the hell?"
"I think you must embrace them, Aurichen," Sina said.
"The fact you have one hand on your sword doesn't make me feel you have much confidence in that assessment," Chen growled, backing away.
Sina bobbed her head and removed her hand from the hilt of her weapon. "As you say, but these seem familiar. I believe I remember them from a data archive on Syrax technology." She gestured at the appendages that were still insistently trying to interact with Chen. "These are how the matriarchs can truly become one with their ships."
Chen groaned. "I really don't want to 'become one' with anything around here."
Sina stepped back. "You know what you must do."
"Great," Chen muttered. "Fine, let's get this over with." She relaxed her arms and allowed the Syrax technology to writhe over her. The appendages wrapped themselves around her limbs, and Chen had to force herself to not fight them off. Her skin prickled with psychic energy, and the tendrils seemed to find the optimum places across her body to support her weight. She shuddered at the sensation and gritted her teeth. They distinctly reminded her of the tentacle arms that the Syrax ceiling traps had used to kill sev
eral people back in the Arcturus system.
Suddenly, she was jolted from the deck, and the armature raised her up. "Oh, shit," Chen hissed, too far to back out now.
Within moments, she was up in the shadows that enveloped the ceiling. The side of the spire opened up, and she was pulled into it while the biomechanics of the system molded around her. It was obviously made for something much larger, and she felt minuscule in the chamber.
The Syrax technology finally locked in her place, and a rush of power swept through Chen, her mind alight with sensation. Instead of the pain in her side and limbs, she felt aches from damaged systems—weapons and engines battered from the fight with the Valiant.
Her view was no longer from her own eyes, and the world was mapped by powerful sensors that reached far beyond her limited vision. Tiny specks darted around a luminescent shape that pulsed gently with a red light. With a start, Chen realized it was the remaining Syrax fighters, harassing the Valiant while it limped away with damaged systems. Anger flashed through her, and instantly, she felt a surge of power when dozens of weapons batteries opened fire. They immolated the tiny specks in a barrage of violet energy and allowed the wounded Valiant to begin the recovery process.
Breathless from the sensation of supreme strength that flowed through her, Chen ignited the engines. The burning plasma they thrust out sent a warm tingle down her spine. Even though the ship was vast, this was flying on a level she had never experienced. Every whim sent the ship in whatever direction took her fancy. She banked and rolled effortlessly, and the joy of unconstrained movement flooded her mind.
A persistent sensation nagged from deep within and drew her attention away from flying. She searched through the ship's systems and found the problem. There were still a large amount of Syrax warriors aboard, far too many for the remaining Marines to handle. She looked for any systems that might help them, but the ship didn't seem to have any internal weapons—clearly, the warriors were more than enough for most cases.