by Phil Maxey
“Now!” He shouted into the chilled air that was already filling with dust and smoke. All the rest of the E.L.F’s clambered up the hill, over it and ran forward into a hail of particle beams that were firing at them indiscriminately.
One of the Hulathen was ducking and fighting hand to hand with the large tentacled creature, giving up his laser weapon for a sword that had formed from his wrist.
Roars, screeching and automatic fire consumed the air around Bass as he ran down the hill with his rifle raised firing at the closest alien. The heat from one of the Hulathen’s weapons ionized the air just inches from his head, and he dived to the ground. Two of the aliens were already down, but so were some of the E.L.F’s that laid dead and injured across the field.
We’re winning.
He got to one knee and focused his fire on the closest Hulathen whose armor was flickering and dimming. Excitement was rising inside him and he stood and walked forward as E.L.F’s swiped and clawed at the remaining aliens.
As he neared the Hulathen warrior, he just caught sight of dark shapes in the sky in the distance, and the purple streams which emanated towards the ground from them, again and again.
“No…”
*****
The Hulathen bounded forward. Fiona raised her gun but before she had a chance to fire, the alien grabbed a drone and started using it to smash the others close by.
“Uh?” Was all she could manage to say.
Zach scrambled forward, shooting at drones as they approached him and lunged for the vials, but stopped when he saw the Hulathen had them in his hand. Zach went to shoot but was stopped when bullets pinged of the aliens armor from another direction. Turning he saw Michael running forward and shooting, his face locked in anguish.
“Die!” He shouted as the Hulathen tried shielding his unarmored face with his spare hand.
Zach went to join in the onslaught, but stopped. There was something wrong about this aliens behavior. Also amongst the constant clatter of gunshot he thought he could hear almost human sounding words. One of which stood out.
“Cal…”
Zach looked at Michael as he neared and an unlikely realization formed in his mind, but before he could persuade Michael from his attack, the Hulathen swiftly stepped forward, swiping the rifle from Michael’s hand and hoisted him high into the air until their eyes were parallel with each other.
“Me Cal…” growled the Hulathen.
Astonishment flashed across Michael’s face. “W…What?”
Zach felt a presence to his side.
Fiona was standing, looking up at the tall alien. “Cal?” She enquired. “Is it you?”
The Hulathen looked down at her and gently lowered Michael to the ground.
She looked at him with eyes that betrayed what was happening around them. “I think it’s him Michael, he led us here, to the container, he…”
“I’m Cal…we friend…I help…”
Michael’s face returned to one of anger. “Bullshit! It’s a trick!”
Despite the demonic face Zach felt there was something different behind the cat like eyes looking at him, something human.
The Hulathen looked up at the container and pointed.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, we need those vials in that container.”
The Hulathen nodded then took off moving swiftly across the floor, grabbing and throwing drones as he went.
“We have to cover him!” Shouted Zach to the others, and he and Fiona ran after him, firing left and right to try and clear his path.
The alien looked up at the container as he neared it, then with one leap bounded into the air, grabbing hold of the top of the diamond shaped vat of swirling liquids. He then flipped the lid off the case of glass tubes, slammed it against the top of the container so all the vials cracked, then dropped them into the bubbling ferment. He then dropped back to the floor, landing and crushing another two drones.
Zach and Fiona ran up to him.
“We go now.”
Zach wasn’t sure what to make of what just happened, but he knew they all needed as much help as they could get now the Ultor’s were not around. He nodded to the large alien, and then looked back to the others that had been fighting their own battles.
Michael joined them, now holding his rifle and eyed the tall alien suspiciously. Sam, Sean and Aggie fought their way across the chamber, destroying drones as they came, until they were all in a small group, firing at the relentless attacks from the insect like robots.
Zach looked up at the Hulathen. “Which way?”
The alien turned and looked at an exit not far off. “There…” He growled as if trying to force the words out.
“Everyone get to that door!” Shouted Zach.
They all ran through the malaise of flailing mechanical arms and pinchers, ducking, firing and pushing away any that came too close.
Zach touched the pad on the wall and the door slid open revealing a long empty corridor.
The Hulathen was the last one inside and the door slid shut behind him. He then turned and slammed his huge fist into the control pad, causing it to spark and crumple inwards.
“Now where?” Said Zach.
The tall alien walked forward, ducking slightly so not to hit the ceiling. “Follow.”
As they all walked forward Sam held Fiona back. “Why are we following that thing?”
She shrugged him off, leaving his confused expression behind. “Because it’s Cal.”
As she walked forward she paused taking a breath then continued.
They all ran along the corridor passing possible other exits, until the Hulathen suddenly stopped, and looked inquisitively at the large door in front of him. “I…I think lead to hanger.”
Zach went to tap the open mechanism when the door at the far end of the Corridor opened. The fizzing high pitched sound of particle weapons briefly filled the air, then stopped. Two aliens were coming towards them fast.
They all readied their weapons, apart from Sam who walked forward. “Is that Klept?”
The two Ultor’s suddenly stopped and raised their arms. Seeing the danger, Fiona quickly stood in front of the huge blue skinned alien next to her.
“No! He’s with us!” She shouted down the corridor.
Klept walked forward uneasily, flickers of green blood smeared across his space suit and armor. “How is this possible?”
“That’s a conversation for another time, right now, how the hell do we get out of here?” Said Zach.
Klept walked forward, looking up at the even taller alien, then looked at the nearby door. “This should lead us to another transporter which will lead us to the closest hanger.” He then opened the door and a cool waft of wind passed over them.
They all looked upon a gantry which was suspended seemingly in the sky, with another cavernous space off to the side of it. They all walked forward, leaving the corridor behind.
“I thought we were already on the ground floor of this place,” said Sam looking out to the towers and structures which fanned out for miles in all directions, each one covered in specks of light, and thousands of craft milling around them like flies.
“We are on level 3471, of five thousand,” said Klept while operating a panel on the gantry. “Are we all on the transporter?” He looked back across the group. Before anyone could reply the whole gantry disconnected from its mooring and took to the air.
They all grabbed onto the railing which ran along both sides.
“What happened to just being zapped everywhere?” Said Sam.
Klept busily swiped and tapped at the control panel, while the twenty foot long walkway swooped and swayed past drones, angular craft and past skyscraper sized structures. “I suggest you ready your weapons.”
A stream of orange focused light scythed through the air, quickly followed by another. Sean looked back at the car-sized drone that was firing at them, and with the others fired back. “I’m getting low on ammo!” He shouted.
The transporter swung to
one side than another, to avoid the increasing number of particle beams that were only just missing them. It then dropped suddenly, the g-forces making everyone lift off the floor and desperately try to hang on to the rail, so not to float away. It then leveled off and they all crashed back down.
Streaks and pulses of energy flew back and forth between the chasers and defenders.
Sam realized they were accelerating towards a wall. “Err…guys…”
The transporter rotated around just in time to fit inside a barely large enough tunnel. Sparks flew from the outside of the guardrails as they scrapped along the inner walls. Sounds of explosions followed, as those that were attacking slammed into the walls around the tunnel entrance.
“Yeah!” Shouted Sam.
The transporter burst out into another large area, this one full of crafts of all sizes.
Zach walked to the front of the transporter to join Klept. “How we going to get into any of these ships?” He then felt a presence behind him and looked up at the large form of the Hulathen.
“I can unlock…” Said the blue skinned alien to Zach and Klept. The Ultor stepped back to let him access the control panel.
As he tapped away the transporter slowed to a halt, and they hovered above the hundreds of ships.
The Hulathen then pointed down at one of the craft which seemed to be of average size compared to the others, but looked more compact. “That one…”
As everyone observed the military looking vessel, streams of small drones flowed from openings in the walls, all moving towards them. Klept then stepped back to the control panel and the transporter dropped swiftly again. Other docked ships flashed past.
“They’re almost on us!” Shouted Fiona pointing her rifle at the closest convoy of attackers. They all started firing again as impacts from energy weapons slammed into the transporter knocking it to the side. They remained on course and ducked beneath the ship, and then started to ascend towards a large opening in the bottom of it.
Soon they were inside another hanger, this one stretching fifty feet square, and containing a number of shuttle like craft.
The transporter shuddered to a halt, landing on the floor of the hanger. The large ships doors started to close behind them, but two drones made it inside, firing their weapons as the group ran for cover.
Klept moved behind a wall and started tapping away at a control panel. Two bolts of energy instantly hit the drones which crashed to the ground. The gun turrets that destroyed them then receded back into the ceiling.
Zach ran forward. “Okay we got a big ship, now how do we fly it?”
Klept looked unsure. “This is a Gorion warship, they will not be pleased—”
The Hulathen ran past both of them and up to a door which slid open in front of him. “Follow to bridge,” he said briefly looking back.
As they ran through the wide corridor with arched ceilings, an alarm started playing out around them. After a series of turns, they came across double doors which slid open to reveal a moderately large room with a series of computer panels and seats.
They all ran inside. Klept and the Hulathen ran to the computer panels and furiously tapped away. An image of the outside hanger appeared at the front of the bridge. They were being bombarded by countless drones and the craft around them were maneuvering away.
“Let’s get out of here!” Shouted Zach.
“Trying,” said Klept.
“Hold…on,” said the Hulathen, who then slid his hand forward on the panel he was nearest too. The ship surged forward, smashing through the smaller craft and drones that were still in its way and through the force field threshold which marked the barrier between the hanger and space.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A Burly man, one of the outpost’s last defenders, stood holding a crowbar above the door, inside the hanger. It had been decided some hours before, that rather than being slaughtered they would go out fighting. Others stood behind him, including Brad and the Major, each with their own makeshift weapons.
“I think I can hear something, everyone get ready,” said the man.
The early morning light was just visible at the bottom of the door, and when some of it was blocked by a shadow they knew the time to fight was almost upon them. Everyone tightened their grip on the solid objects they held.
A key was slid into the door and the mechanism unlocked. Suddenly the door flew open and something thrown inside. As soon as it hit the floor everyone’s world turned white, and a deafening explosion of sound left them all grasping their ears.
Erin’s people ran inside, knocking the weapons to the floor and grabbing everyone. Each soldier took hold of someone and dragged them outside, positioning them to face the same way. It wasn’t long before all fifteen where on their knees, on the damp cold ground.
Brad looked around at the smoldering remains of a number of the outposts buildings. He then looked upwards. The rain clouds from the previous few days were almost all gone and a bright blue sky looked back at him. Most of the wounds on his face had started to heal, but he could still feel the dried blood around his noise, and the bruising around his eye was throbbing.
The sound of footsteps sent a shiver through most that were on the ground.
Erin appeared and walked to stand in front of them. “At least for your last day on earth the weather has improved!”
A few of the condemned started to cry.
He clicked on his radio. “Are you out there Abbey?”
“We told you, she’s gone!” Said Hoxted.
Erin ignored the major and tried again. “These deaths are on you, Abbey.” He marched across to the first in the row and raised his handgun at the man there, who looked back at him with fierce defiance. Erin’s radio crackled. He immediately held it back to his mouth. “Times up Abbey, if I don’t hear from you within—”
“I’m here,” said Abbey from his radio.
Relief ran through the prisoners.
Erin whirled around. “Finally! I could sense you. I knew you were out there.” He squinted his eyes, looking into the distance. “I’m also sensing…something else.” He looked at one of the nearby soldiers, who nodded, clicking on his own radio and started relaying orders. “I wonder. Have you brought friends?”
“It’s over Erin. Hand yourself over to those you are holding captive and I will let your people go.”
He smiled. “So you have brought company. Well you should know so have I—”
“From the looks of it Mitchells people have taken a battering, and you have lost some of your hardware.”
“Oh I don’t mean them. I mean the Cascaders that I brought with me and their creatures. Which I’ve held back until the time was right. And I would say that time is now.” There was silence from his radio. “Nobody else has to die. All you have to do is surrender yourself to me. Then we will leave and your friends get to live. Or...” He walked to Brad, raising his gun a few inches from his forehead. Brad straightened his back and fixed his eyes on the man in front of him.
“Okay! Do not kill anyone else! I’ll meet you at the main junction in the town.”
Erin’s gun remained in position. “If you are thinking of playing any games—”
“No games. I’ll be there.”
*****
Bass wasn’t sure what the creature was he was riding with two others on, but it had scooped him up with one of its claws and then they were retreating along the road, which they had been fighting over for the past hour.
Other creatures soared through the air overhead, all heading in the same direction, to the last defensive point, close to the Core.
He clicked on his radio. “We’re heading back to Alpha. Over!”
A string of explosions were just audible above the roars and screeches of the E.L.F’s as a row of battle tanks fired shells over the heads of those retreating.
The creature Bass and the others were on bounded forward, over rocks and fallen pieces of fencing and onto the cement parking lot which was full of
military hardware desperately firing at the oncoming hordes of Hulathen.
As the creature came to a halt, Bass slid off and ran forward between concrete blocks that had been erected as part of a defensive wall. He glanced back at the ranks of Hulathen who were relentlessly walking forward, while firing their particle beam weapons. A tank exploded sending the soldiers using it as a shield flying through the air and landing like rag dolls on the solid ground.
Most of the E.L.F’s had been killed, but a few were still tussling with some of the Hulathen. To Bass it looked like a scene from the films he loved as a kid, of two prehistoric monsters fighting to the death. He ran forward shouting at their nearby Cascaders. “Pull your creatures back! Pull them back!”
Some heard and together with their creatures started running back towards the main entrance to the Core.
A stream of projectiles flew from the human defenders, some exploding against the Hulathen on impact, while intense beams of different hues answered, scything through human and machine alike.
Looking around it was obvious the defenders were losing. He clicked on his radio. “Everyone retreat back to the Core! Over!” He ran from soldier to soldier dragging them back to the slope which ran down to the large metal entrance doors.
Some of the remaining tanks started reversing towards the entrance, while soldiers ran between them. A giant sloth like E.L.F bounded over them and landed on the slope, then ran inside with its Cascader on its back. Other flying E.L.F’s dived down from the sky and into the darkness of the underground tunnel.
As Bass ran towards the huge closing doors, he could feel the heat of the Hulathen's weapons as the beams cooked the air around him. He pushed his legs, despite the pain of past injuries and saw soldiers falling to the ground out of the corner of his eyes. Looking forward, the doors were almost entirely closed with the gap between them only a few feet wide.
He stumbled, his legs giving out underneath him and he fell through the decreasing space, his shoulders rubbing against the giant steel doors, as they slammed closed behind him. The high ceilinged tunnel was alive with exhausted and injured soldiers, creatures and damaged military vehicles. He quickly shifted his view back to the huge doors.