Kodiak: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book I

by DJ Morand

  Too quiet, he thought. He grabbed a barrel with the powered arms of the SATYR armor and spun around using the metal container as a shield.

  “Zee! Echo! Take cover!” Abel bellowed the order, in a mechanical voice. A warning that was warranted as a wave of projectiles tore through the side of the threadbare ship serving as the merchant’s store. He didn’t have a moment to check if the merchant or his subordinate made it out alive as another wave of projectiles impacted the barrel he was holding. The slugs tore through the container and clinked harshly against the front of his armor.

  Abel spun for cover opposite Zee and Echo. The two had their weapons out ready for a fight. Abel began using the short range scanners in his suit. The infrared sensors outlined the gunman, and his rail gun, someone else was behind him. Abel ignored the second scan as the person appeared to be cowering. A moment later he knew who the silhouette with the rail gun was.

  “It doan hav’ta be like dis Abel. Yo’ and yo’rs kin come quie’’like. Make dis all de easier. Whatcha say Abel?” Abel recognized the voice as that of Breaker Jones.

  He knew he had over stayed his welcome the moment the market had gone quiet. This was a bold move for Breaker. Abel knew that the last time they had interacted it was because the gangster had bad information. Whether this was a social call or Mercury set Breaker on him, he wasn’t sure.

  “I don’t think that too likely Breaker.” Abel’s modified voice called. ““You see I have a job to take care of and well, quite frankly, you’re upsetting that. So let’s say this instead. You withdraw your men and clear out yourself, and I won’t put out your eyes.” Abel couldn’t see any other members with Breaker, but if he knew the man they were around.

  “My eyes? Huh. I hear tell yo’ alrea’y lost one o’ yor eyes. An’’ it’s Mr. Jones to yo’,” Mr. Jones said boldly as he squeezed the trigger again. Projectiles from the rail-gun splayed the ground across the area between them. Abel ignored them. He was not entirely concerned about the railgun. As he scoffed at the weapon, a chunk of the ship next to him crashed to the ground, kicking up snow powder and confusing his scan.

  “Showing me how big it is? Come on what are you compensating for Breaker? Is this about the Gambade, last time I was getting off planet?” Abel was stalling and motioning for Zee to get a clearer shot.

  Zee understood the tactic, but so did Mr. Jones. The burly man unleashed another wave of projectiles towards Zee’s cover and the Quintarran gave a pained look to Abel. Understanding his friend couldn’t get clear, Abel stood up and activated his laser. The beam arced toward Mr. Jones and his rail-gun. Mr. Jones dove back behind his makeshift cover as the beam nearly intersected him in the abdomen.

  “Com’on now Abel. Whatcha be getting’ from takin’ pot shots at me eh?” Mr. Jones taunted.

  Several more gangsters filtered out from around the corner. Abel watched as no less than twenty men filtered into the square, plasma and rail guns focused on him.

  His scans began throwing up alerts to his visor. He registered several plasma weapons as well as additional railguns. Abel knew Mr. Jones was the leader of a gang, but this kind of firepower had to have a supplier.

  Mercury, Abel thought, the man is keeping the other gangs in line by using The Silence.

  The thought made an eerie sort of sense to him. He was willing to bet that even when he had lived on Eden, Mercury was running the gangs through Mr. Jones. Meanwhile, the new additions were setting up a proton cannon. The weapon was so large it had to be set up on a tripod and manned by two of the men. If they didn’t stop the gansters from getting the emplacement set up, they were going to have a hard time escaping.

  “Now Zee!” Abel called. The Quintarran made a mad dash towards the group, his rail gun firing shots in rapid succession. The gangsters were taken completely off guard as the enhanced alien moved towards them.

  Several of them fell to the ground with new holes; one of them was assisting with the proton cannon. Abel could see that Zee was aiming for those bearing plasma weaponry.

  Good call pal, Abel thought.

  Just as he was about to make a move of his own he heard the whine of Echo’s plasma pistol. Three more gangsters went down in a heap. Abel sprinted forward, nearly as fast as Zee, with his powered armor. He twisted his left wrist and the charged stun baton extended outward.

  He could see - as well as feel - the numerous projectiles clanking against his armor. None would penetrate, but he took evasive actions just the same. If one of the plasma guns was able to get a well-placed shot, it could take him out. He entered the fray in a flurry of melee. He smacked one gangster in the face with the baton and heard the satisfying crackle of energy as the man fell to the ground. He twisted his right wrist again and let his laser beam tear through several more.

  Mr. Jones was a large man, nearly six and a half feet in height and well over four hundred pounds of muscle. He charged Abel. Abel heard the rage filled roar that came from behind him. Mr. Jones leapt in the air and extended his legs to kick Abel in the chest. The impact made Abel stagger back. He tripped and fell to the ground. Mr. Jones stood on top of him. His weight was just enough to keep Abel from sitting back up.

  “Flakking glitcher!” Mr. Jones roared in a near unintelligible rage as he smashed the butt of his rail gun against Abel’s visor plate. Abel wasn’’t worried about the plate, it would hold against the onslaught. He was worried about his own neck though. He could feel the jarring impact each time and Breaker had his laser arm pinned down with a foot.

  He swung his baton arm up at Mr. Jones, but the man was surprisingly nimble and he leaned back avoiding the swipe. Using his momentum Mr. Jones nearly knocked Abel unconscious as he swung back with a two handed swing, smashing Abel’s head into the back of his helmet.

  Deciding not to make the same mistake again, Abel swung the baton at the man’s ankle. The crack of his ankle and the surge of power running of the gang leader’s leg were like a catalyst. Mr. Jones toppled backward screaming in rage as he tried to right himself and draw a plasma pistol from his belt. Abel leapt up and aimed his laser at the prone Mr. Jones. The beam flared to life, but missed its mark as another gangster jumped on his back. The laser went high and barely clipped Mr. Jones’ left ear.

  The hulking gang leader climbed to his feet and roared in defiance. Rushing at Abel with a vicious overhand swing, Breaker put himself fully into the attack. Abel spun exposing the gangster on his back to the blow and activated the ankle jets to launch him backward. The momentum crushed the gangster against his leader and the two fell. The gangster did not get up as blood oozed from a crushed skull.

  Mr. Jones sat up with a dazed look on his face. Abel spun again and fired his laser at him, catching him in the leg. Abel decided the man was out of the fight and honestly not wanting to kill him, turned his attention to the others.

  Echo fought off two gangsters with her bare hands. Somehow she had lost her plasma pistol in the battle. She flipped backward and kicked one in the face as she spun and landed solidly on her feet. Not waiting for an invitation Abel fired his laser and took out the other with a clean shot to the gangster’s head.

  So much for not killing anyone, he thought.

  “Let’s go!” Abel yelled to Echo as he searched the battlefield for Zee. The Quintarran had one man by the throat holding him in the air as a shield against the onslaught of rail projectiles raced towards him. Zee had his rifle in the other hand and was firing off as many rounds as the weapon could generate. Abel noticed a lone man hiding behind yet another broken down ship’s wing. He aimed and fired his laser at the wing. The result was nothing short of spectacular. The wing heated for a few moments then exploded in a brilliant white flash. Zee, Echo, and Abel were flung to the ground from the impact of the blast. The lone gangster was blown away.

  Abel’s armor rang out with numerous alarms and he noted that he had a containment breach. He had not expected there to be any fuel left in the wing and he had been far too close. The armor was blaring wi
th alerts and demanding the ejection code. His new suit was going to explode.

  “Flak it!” he cursed. “Ejection Alpha Foxtrot Zero Seven.” He commanded and the suit opened in front of him as he leapt out. He banked towards Zee and Echo and frantically waved his arms.

  “Zee, Echo. Get the flak back to the Snowskipper! NOW!” He bellowed and heard the confirmation from both of them, despite the ringing in his ears. He hoped to whatever god was listening that the delivery made it to the Snowskipper before they got there.

  * * *

  Eden - Border Towns: Silence Territory

  2972 ESD - Thursday, November 5th 18:31 hours

  Mr. Jones lay on the ground and cursed the day. His ear burned like wildfire matched only by the burn in his ankle and his leg. He cursed Mercury; he cursed Abel; he cursed life.

  Today had begun as such a good day, he thought. He watched as Abel launched forward out of his armor and grinned. He lifted the rail gun as best he could and took aim. At least he would kill Abel before the other gangs swept in. He was certain this mess was going to get him killed. He squeezed the trigger, the rifle clicked.

  “NO! FLAK IT!” he slammed the gun on the ground and searched for the malfunction. He knew it probably would not work. He had used it like a club after all. Abel was moving away at a run.

  Yeah he better run, Breaker thought, I don’t much feel like Mr. Jones right now.

  A moment later he understood why Abel was running. The SATYR armor was blaring and beeping and he could see the coolant leaking from the back of the armor. He stared in disbelief. He was too close - he wasn’t going to get away.

  “It had been such a fine Monday…” were the last words Breaker Jones spoke as the SATYR armor exploded, blowing shrapnel directly towards him. Large chunks of the armor spun across his vision and impacted the wall he was leaning against. He felt several more bits tear through him and he swore he could hear them hitting the wall too. Breaker lay there bleeding and weak.

  Flak Mercury, and Abel. Goddamn flakking glitches, he thought bitterly. Breaker was fairly certain this would be his end.

  GREMLINS

  Eden - Border Towns: Silence Territory

  2972 ESD - Thursday, November 5th 21:37 hours

  Abel and his crew reached the Snowskipper, the box of gremlins firmly in Zee’s grasp caught Abel’s attention. The tall alien held the box at his waist and seemed to be waiting for instruction. Abel knew he was processing the battle and memorizing tactics. He had to do it soon or the details would be lost, but they weren’t really safe just yet.

  “Get those gremlins loaded!” Abel ordered Echo, who – for once – did not argue and grabbed the box from Zee, loading it onto the back of the Snowskipper. “Zee! Get this skipper ready for travel. We might have taken out Breaker and his boys, but that ruckus is going to stir up the whole neighborhood. We’re not coming back here again.”” Abel did not mean the Border Towns. Zee nodded and climbed up into the pilot seat for the Snowskipper. He pulled the overhead viewer down and begin entering the sequences to start the vehicle. After a few moments the vehicle gave off some heat and Abel motioned for Echo to get onboard. The merchant had fled, but the supplies they’d ordered had arrived.

  “Echo, help me load that crate. The rations and the fuel … where is the fuel?” Abel noted that the rations had arrived, but the liquid nitrogen was not there. ““Flak it! No doubt someone salvaged it thinking to get off this rock.” Abel grumbled further and at length as they loaded the rest of the supplies. The battle with Breaker in the mechanic’s yard had cost them. It was one more grievance Abel would lay at Mercury’s feet; the man had surely sent Breaker after him. Once everything was loaded and Echo was seated, Abel leapt into the co-pilot’s chair and pulled down the Transteel viewer sealing the vehicle against the outside cold.

  “Zee get us back to the Kodiak. I want to get those gremlins up and running the moment we get there. The less time we spend on this glitched rock the better.” Abel ordered.

  “Agreed Captain.” Zee responded.

  “Agreed.” Echo said quietly. “Captain, what happened between you and that man?”” Abel had a pained look on his face, but he gave Echo a long stare.

  “Long story Echo, long story.” Abel offered, “Suffice to say, he felt that I trapped him on Eden and he felt the need to settle an old grudge.”” Abel explained.

  “Did you?” Echo asked.

  “Trap him? Not on purpose.” Abel said. “Breaker Jones works for Mercury Frinz, or he did. When we were on Eden last I worked with Mercury and his fiancé, Talia. They were treating the survivors of the EXO virus here. After the EXO Prime revealed himself--” Abel paused and gave Zee a pained look. “I’m sorry Zee, I know this is a painful subject.””

  Echo looked at each of them, then to Zee specifically, “If you would rather we not talk about it …” she left the question open.

  “It is of no matter. We have done what we can, someday all Quintarrans will be free.” Zee said and then fell silent, his attention focused on driving through the tundra back to the Kodiak.

  “So the break down is this darling,” Abel began. “Talia came down with the virus. I felt partially responsible, I’m not sure why, it wasn’t anything I had done. However, I decided it was my job to protect the people on Eden. So I asked Zee for some of his blood.” Abel told the story. Echo gasped. “I brought up an interface with the Transteel viewer aboard the Kodiak and reprogrammed the nanites to work with human DNA.” Abel took a breath, pausing to look at Echo.

  “Then I injected them into myself. The nanites knocked me unconscious for days. By the time I woke Talia had died and turned.” He paused again taking a deep breath. “Mercury decided that it was my fault. He confronted me and demanded restitution. All I would have to do is give him the research and Zee’s nanites. I refused. I am fairly certain that Mercury had some sort of deal with the EXOs, even then. Zee and I fled Eden. Mercury sent Breaker and his gang after us. From what I understand Breaker Jones had been a smuggler, and a good one at that.”” Abel took another breath. It felt good to get it all off his chest.

  “What happened to Breaker?” Echo asked, prompting Abel to continue.

  “He came after me in a sub-light cargo ship, it was a small little planet hopper. Barely had a full complement of turrets, let alone the things the Kodiak has at its disposal. He didn’t know what he was up against and I wrecked his ship. I really did a number on it. I targeted the propulsion system specifically. I was trying to ground him.” Abel stopped and stared out at the tundra.

  “So you stranded him?” Echo asked. Abel looked at her, the hurt evidenced in his eyes.

  “More than that. There was a chain reaction, I blew the back half of his ship off and killed a third of the men onboard. That is the personal vendetta Breaker has. His brother was among those killed.” Abel said, his breathing ragged.

  “I’m sorry.” Echo cooed, stroking Abel’s head and gently twisting her fingers in his hair. Trying to change the subject she brought up the EXOs, “So if the EXOs were on Eden, where were they? I never saw them.”

  “They’re on the dark side, the colder side. I don’t know if you realized yet, but the EXOs don’t need warmth, they don’t even need air.” Abel explained.

  “Don’t the Quintarrans though?” she asked.

  “We do, just as you do Echo Shade.” Zee intoned. “Mercury sends out a signal to them to retrieve those he incapacitates.”” He said sullenly.

  “That’s horrible.” Echo exclaimed.

  “It is not the worst of it Echo, if I had to venture a guess I would say that he sends humans to them as well.” Abel said.

  “We still haven’t seen any EXOs since we touched down, but you were certain that the EXOs came from Eden … the ones that attacked me.”” Echo stated calmly. “Wouldn’t Mercury have told them where we were?” she asked honestly.

  “We haven’t seen them because they seem superstitious about the Badlands and they have that agreement with Mercury to
stay out of the populated areas. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few EXO ships turn up while we’re breaking atmo out of here.” Abel looked around as if expecting an attack. “We’’re going to have to stop a short ways from Eden, there is another planet in the system we can cut out to.”

  “Why are we going to stop again?” Echo asked, obviously confused.

  “The supplies we just bought in the Border Towns were missing the fuel we need. We’ll need to get more fuel before we can take you back into the inner system.” Abel explained.

  “What!?” Echo nearly shouted, which ironically echoed in the smallish cabin of the Snowskipper. Abel looked at her a bit perplexed, as if not understanding how she saw this playing out. His self-righteous nature began to get the best of him just now. She had pushed his buttons again.

  “I wasn’t about to haul you all over the galaxy lady. You came to deliver a message. Well, message delivered. The galaxy is screwed, the EXOs are free. Unless there is something else you want to reveal?” Abel felt rather smug as Echo sputtered then stopped and glared at him. He had managed to work the conversation onto what he wanted to know, and he felt smug about it.

  “Well … I suppose I deserved that.” Echo stammered. “I’’ve heard some things. Your story confirms it. The EXOs are after you specifically Abel. You’re different.” she realized her mistake upon saying the word. Abel’s jaw tightened and his nostrils involuntarily flared.

  “Explain different.” He said in a deadpan voice. “And what things?”” He emphasized the word things.

  “I didn’t mean to offend.” She said quickly. Trying to formulate her thoughts when she blurted out, “The EFNF needs help.” She slipped again, mentioning the EFNF.

  “Echo … I don’t know. After the last time I helped Exodus Fleet I ended up as an outlaw and for what!? Saving their lives? Holding true to the ideal of the Exodus Union? You tell me what I did wrong Echo!? You tell me!” He was near to screaming now.