by G J Ogden
The prisoner recoiled at the mention of Colicos’ name and retreated further into the darkness.
“You’re with him?” the man asked, suddenly terrified once again.
“No, but we need his help. The Sa’Nerra have a new weapon, one that controls our minds. We need Colicos to stop it.”
The prisoner shook his head violently and began to laugh, though to Sterling he looked on the verge of tears. It was an unexpected, freakish sound. The sound of madness, Sterling realized.
“He’s the one who hurts us,” the man said, returning to the dark corner of the cell and sliding down onto the filth-stained floor. “He experiments on us. Hundreds of us. I’ve seen what he does!” There was now bitterness in the man’s voice. The bile that had been festering in the prisoner’s gut for who knew how long was oozing to the surface. “He says they make him do it, but he enjoys it,” the prisoner continued, spitting out the words. “He’s evil. He won’t help you. He only helps them.”
Anger swelled inside Sterling’s gut at the way the prisoner had been treated. Seeing the man broken and tortured only further fueled the rage and desire he had to destroy the Sa’Nerra. However, he was unable to offer the prisoner sympathy or salvation. He needed to find Colicos and this man was his best hope.
“I’ll make Colicos help me,” Sterling said, using the prisoner’s obvious hatred of the scientist to his advantage. “Tell me where I can find him, and I’ll make sure he suffers. I’ll hurt him, like he hurt you.”
The man’s eyes suddenly widened and he scrambled closer, remaining on all fours. “You can do that?” he asked, suddenly becoming alive. “You’ll make him pay?”
Sterling nodded. “Just tell me where he is.”
This time the man smiled, revealing toothless, rotten gums. He nodded, the movements so ferocious that Sterling thought the man would send himself unconscious through dizziness.
“His lab is on level three,” the man said, stabbing his finger toward the deck. “That’s where they take us, the aliens who do his bidding.” His face twisted into a tortuous mix of revulsion and grief. “So many screams. So many corrupted. So, so, many dead…” the man was becoming lost in his own grief and Sterling realized they were losing him. Then the prisoner switched on again, becoming suddenly alert and excited. “You’ll make him suffer, right? Torture him? Make him pay!”
Sterling nodded again. “I'll make him pay, of that you have my word,” he promised. He then looked to Banks and they both stepped away from the cell.
“You’ll take us all with you, right?” the man said, as Sterling and Banks moved away. “Once you have him? You’ll rescue us all?”
Sterling sucked in a lungful of the foul Sa’Nerran air, which was laced with Sulphur and the stench of the prisoner, soaked in sweat, feces and urine. It only made him more determined to find the cause of the prisoner’s suffering and to bring Colicos to justice. However, he also knew that he could not help the man. The Invictus was not a rescue ship and Sterling was not his savior. It was a hard truth of the sort that required the cold, heartless logic of an Omega Captain to accept. He considered lying to the man, but he would not add insult to injury. He deserved to know the truth. That was the least – and the most – Sterling could do.
“I’m not here to rescue you,” Sterling said, making sure to hold the man’s eyes and not release them. “I’m sorry.”
The man tried to crawl toward Sterling, pleading for him to change his mind, but his frail body collapsed underneath him.
“But you must!” the prisoner cried out. “I’ve been here so long. So long and so alone.”
“I’m sorry,” Sterling replied. He meant it, but he knew the apology was meaningless. Nevertheless, it was all he could offer.
Sterling and Banks stepped away from the prison cell and headed back toward the rest of the squad. To their backs, the man continued to cry out to them, his words becoming slurred and tainted by grief. Then the prisoner’s sobs were drowned out by the hiss of Sa’Nerran warriors and the fizz of plasma weapons. And then they were absent completely.
Chapter 26
The unique warrior
Sterling hurried down the steps to level three, the thud of his heavy boots causing the open grating of the metal staircase to clang and rattle. More warriors appeared on the upper levels, filtering out of the honeycomb-like outer layers of the station like worker bees.
“Take cover!” Sterling called out as plasma blasts began to rain down around them, causing sparks and molten metal to fall from the levels above.
Sterling returned fire with his pistol, striking a warrior in the chest. Normally, the Sa’Nerran armor would have saved the alien’s life, but this time the metal buckled, along with the warrior’s sternum. The alien tumbled from the upper level, clattering onto the metal deck below. Moments later the thunderous pulse of multiple Homewrecker heavy plasma rifles drowned out the sound of his pistol. Chunks of alien flesh rained down on them as the powerful weapons blew the warriors to pieces. However, the Sa’Nerra had also claimed a commando in the exchange.
Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, Shade’s commandos charged onto level three and obliterated a group of defending warriors like they were carboard cutouts on a shooting range. Sterling entered the level with Banks at his side. It was clearly a laboratory space. Like Colicos’ lab on Far Deep Nine, it was well equipped and at least ten times larger than the science lab on the Invictus.
Sterling moved up to one of the consoles as Shade and the commando squad secured a defensive perimeter. He could see that the machines were clearly alien in construction, but it was also apparent they had not been designed for the long, spidery digits of Sa’Nerran hands. Whoever had used the lab was a human. Sterling felt hope swelling inside him again. They may have just found their needle, he realized.
“Take a couple of commandoes and check the surrounding rooms,” Sterling called out, directing the order to Banks. “That asshole is here somewhere and we’re not leaving without him.”
Banks acknowledged the order then detailed two commandoes and began going from room to room. Plasma blasts continued to fly as Shade and the remaining commandoes picked off the Sa’Nerra like they were fish in a barrel. Remaining vigilant and watchful, Sterling continued to explore. Then he spotted a door close to the stairwell. Unlike the automated doors he was used to, this one had a long, wide-bodied handle, designed for alien digits. Wrapping his left hand around the metal, Sterling tested the handle and it turned. Flinging open the door he thrust his pistol into the room. A hand caught his wrist and pulled him inside. Stunned by the surprise attack, Sterling was then struck hard to the chest. Staggering back, he saw a Sa’Nerran blade embedded into his armor. He felt no pain, but couldn’t be certain whether adrenalin had numbed his senses or if the blade had miraculously fallen short of slicing his flesh. Sterling raised his weapon, aiming it at the alien that had attacked him, but the Sa’Nerran quickly slapped the weapon from his hand.
“Captain!” Sterling heard Lieutenant Shade call out from the lab outside.
His weapons officer’s shouts were soon lost as the alien slammed the door shut, then broke off the handle. Its yellow eyes studied Sterling with an intelligence and an intensity that was strange and unsettling. The warrior’s attire was also different. In fact, it wasn’t wearing armor at all. In all of Sterling’s extensive experience fighting the alien race, he’d never see a warrior wear anything other than their distinctive protective shells. However, Sterling didn’t care how unusual this alien was – its fate would be the same as all the rest. Pulling the Sa’Nerran blade from his armor, he aimed it at the warrior and prepared to fight. A sliver of red coated the very edge of the blade. The alien had drawn first blood – he would draw it last.
“You’re too late…”
The voice shook Sterling like an earthquake. It seemed to have come from the Sa’Nerran warrior, though the alien’s thin, slug-like lips had not moved.
“Yes, I speak your words, human,” the alien said, again
speaking without moving its mouth.
Sterling saw that the warrior had a device implanted in the side of its head. It was similar to a Fleet neural interface, but the technology and materials used looked alien in nature. Then Sterling realized that he was not hearing the alien’s words spoken out loud. He was hearing them inside his mind.
“You’re the warrior that took Colicos from Far Deep Nine?” Sterling asked, also replying in his mind. He could scarcely believe it. Hubbard, the old man from Thrace Colony, who claimed the alien had spoken, had been telling the truth.
“Not warrior. Scientist,” the Sa’Nerran hit back. “Your human made me a prisoner. Now the human is mine.”
“Not for long,” Sterling replied, angling the blade toward the alien’s throat. “I’m taking him back, then I’m blowing this place to hell.”
This time the Sa’Nerran’s lips did move as the creature hissed at Sterling. At the same time the words in his mind turned to an angry white noise.
“You are too late, human,” the Sa’Nerran continued, as it and Sterling circled around each other. “The weapon is perfected.” There was a thump against the door and muffled cries, but Sterling ignored them. He was focused only on the alien. “Your species will soon die.”
Sterling adjusted his hold on the Sa’Nerran blade. The droplet of his own blood pooled on the lower edge then dripped and splattered onto the metal deck.
“If you think that shooting holes in little moons is enough scare us, you’re even more stupid than you are ugly,” Sterling said.
The warrior hissed at Sterling and a garbled laugh filled his mind, like something out of a haunted house of horror.
“You are stupid, human! You do not understand!” the voice said in Sterling’s mind. “You think that is our weapon?” The alien hissed again, and more twisted laughter filled Sterling’s mind. “It is a shame you will not live to see what our weapon really is.”
Sterling swung at the alien with the blade, but cut only air. The Sa’Nerran scientist dodged back as the blade flashed in front of it then hissed at Sterling again. He hadn’t intended to hit the alien; only keep it on its toes. The opportunity to interrogate this unique being was too important to miss.
“Oh, I’ll see it,” Sterling replied. He was conscious of time, along with the danger of fighting a Sa’Nerran one-on-one, but he wanted to learn more about the Titan. “I’ll see that ship burn in space when our fleets destroy it, along with the rest of your armada.”
Garbled laughter filled Sterling’s mind, making him feel sick to his stomach. The alien then tore a metal leg from a table to its rear and raised it.
“Your fleet will become our fleet,” the warrior said in Sterling’s mind. “You cannot stop us. It is already too late.”
The alien swung at Sterling, but he dodged then raked the serrated blade down across the side of the creature’s face. Hot blood splashed onto the alien’s unique attire and its hisses grew frantic. Then came the realization that Sterling could feel the warrior’s pain and anxiety through their link. He believed he had glimpsed the possibility of fear in the yellow eyes of the Sa’Nerran before, but Sterling had never known for certain that the alien species was susceptible to the most crippling of human emotions. Now there was no doubt. The Sa’Nerran he was fighting feared death. More than that, the alien feared him.
The Sa’Nerran scientist swung again with its improvised club, but Sterling deflected the attack with his armored forearm and slashed the blade across the alien’s chest. Again the creature hissed and Sterling felt pain and terror grip it like a bear trap springing shut. The alien attacked again, but Sterling anticipated the swing and ducked inside, opening a gash in the scientist’s neck. This time the creature fell to its knees. The bar dropped from its hand as its long leathery fingers clamped around its throat, desperately trying to stem the blood flowing from the wound. Sterling pulled his arm back, ready to deliver a killing blow, but he withheld the urge. This unique alien was more valuable alive than dead, he realized.
“If you’re lucky, you might survive long enough to see me torch your homeworld,” Sterling spat, muscles still primed and ready to strike. “Until then you’re coming with me. We’re going to slice you open to find out how that brain of yours works. It’s time for you to become the experiment, you alien piece of trash.”
The warrior peered into Sterling’s eyes and for the first time he saw something other than a monster staring up at him. The Sa’Nerra had always had a mystique surrounding them. They were savage, impenetrable and terrifying. Not any longer. Now Sterling did not see a monster, but a pitiable creature, beaten and on its knees. He was more repulsed by the race than ever before and his desire to wipe them out only grew stronger.
“I will not be human experiment,” the creature said, the neural link between it and Sterling growing weaker. “My work is done. Your species…will… die…”
Suddenly, the alien reached out and snatched the half-moon blade that Sterling still carried on his armor. Sterling adjusted his stance, preparing to defend against the alien’s strike, but instead of attacking, the warrior plunged the blade into its own throat. There was a shrill waspish hiss and the words in Sterling’s mind became garbled and incoherent. However, even though the words were lost, Sterling could still feel the Sa’Nerran through their unique link, and he could feel it dying.
“Damn you,” Sterling spat, as the warrior’s yellow, egg-shaped eyes became glassier and more distant.
Sterling concentrated on the link, trying to push through the fog and haze to reach the alien’s mind one last time. Anything he could glean from it could still be useful, he realized. However, all he could feel was the alien’s terror rising to a peak, like an orchestral crescendo. Then then link was suddenly severed and the alien fell to the deck, dead. Sterling cursed and stared down at the body as blood pooled around his boots. He was angry at himself for allowing the alien to take its own life, but also lifted by the certainty that the warrior race was fallible. They felt. They feared. And that meant they could be beaten.
Chapter 27
I hope he’s worth it
The door was suddenly smashed open, snapping Sterling’s focus away from the dead Sa’Nerran and back into the moment. He spun around, blade in hand, ready to fight off another alien. However, instead of a warrior he was confronted by Lieutenant Shade. Blood coated the officer’s face and armor from head to toe, as if someone had thrown a pot of red paint over her.
“Captain, are you okay?” his weapons officer asked, hurrying inside and sweeping the room with her rifle. The question contained no emotion – it was merely a request for information, delivered plainly and without sentiment.
“I’m fine, Lieutenant,” Sterling replied, with matching coolness. He then hooked the bloodied blade onto his armor and recovered his pistol from the deck. “Have you found Colicos yet?”
“Yes, Captain, but there’s a problem,” Shade answered, aiming the barrel of her rifle at the Sa’Nerran and kicking its boots to make doubly sure it was dead.
Sterling peered over Shade’s shoulder and saw that Commander Banks was not with her. If anyone would have been able to break down the door it was her. His first-officer’s absence explained the delay in reaching him.
“Where’s Commander Banks?” Sterling asked, as Shade moved back outside.
“Colicos has her, sir,” Shade replied, hustling out of view. “I’ll take you to them.”
Sterling cursed as he hurried after his weapons officer, moving back into the central area of the station’s third level. Shade’s commandoes were covering the stairwells and upper levels, but two more of the Invictus’ soldiers lay dead on the ground. However, the counter-assault by the Sa’Nerra appeared to have stopped. The sound of plasma blasts was absent, giving the station a suddenly more alien aura. Sterling was not used to being in enemy terrain without the accompanying soundtrack of weapons fire.
Lieutenant Shade stopped outside a room and waited for Sterling to catch up. Two com
mandoes were already inside, weapons raised, as if they were part of a firing squad. A knot tightened in his gut as he advanced closer and stepped through the door. Then he realized why Commander Banks had not come to his aid. She was being held hostage by James Colicos. However, instead of there being a gun pressed to her head there was a neural control weapon instead.
“Stop right there!” Colicos blurted out. The disgraced scientist’s voice trembled, as did the man’s eyes. Colicos moved further behind Commander Banks, using her as a shield. “Don’t come any closer!”
Sterling cast his eyes over to his first officer, but she appeared frozen, as if her body were paralyzed. Despite this, Sterling could see in her eyes that she was still conscious and fully aware of everything that was going on around her.
“Make any sudden moves and your officer is dead,” Colicos added, staring at Sterling with terrified eyes.
“You’re making a big mistake, Doctor Colicos,” Sterling said. Sterling had tried to contain his anger, but the implied threat was not lost on the genius.
“Don’t try to intimidate me, Captain, I’m in control here, so do as I say!” Colicos yelled. “In five minutes, this lovely young lady’s brain will be mush. So let’s not dally, shall we?”
Sterling observed the scientist’s trembling hands and twitchy, frantic movements. Colicos would have been well-spoken, had it not been for his flustered squawks. It was clear to Sterling that the scientist was so on edge that even the slightest push would send him over. Realizing something other than force was required, he waved for the commandoes to lower their weapons, then turned to Lieutenant Shade.
“How did this happen?” Sterling asked, keeping his voice as calm and as level as he was able to manage. “Banks could tear this guy in half.”
Colicos had the build of a fashion model – lithe and tall. Despite being over sixty years old, the scientist looked even younger in person than he had done in the images Sterling had seen.