by G J Ogden
“Damn it, come on!” Hallam snarled, guessing that he’d already gone well over his allotted ten seconds. Finally, Hallam managed to pry the component free, and he yanked it clear of the casket before slamming the lid shut.
“What the hell are you doing!?” a female voice yelled into the room.
The shout made Hallam jump, and the alien component spilled from his grasp, then rolled away into some dark corner of the room. He cursed, then spun around to see a CSF enforcer standing into the door to Sector A1. In his haste, Hallam had forgotten that there was another route into his current location.
“Put that back, you fool, or you’ll kill us all!” the woman shouted, pushing her palms out toward him, as if trying to shield herself from a sandstorm.
A second alarm then blared out through the PA system and a robotic-sounding voice announced, “Warning. Randenite radiation leak detected. Sealing Sector A2. Emergency decontamination will commence in thirty seconds.”
The CSF enforcer dove back through the door and smashed a panel to its side, causing it to rapidly slide shut. A shutter then rolled down in front of it, and the panels snapped together into a solid wall of metal.
“No!” cried Hallam, rushing over to the door leading back to where Dakota was still fighting, but it too had also slid shut. Through the window, he could see Dakota running down the corridor toward him, blood streaming from a cut to her forehead.
“Dak! We have to get out!” Hallam yelled. Then a metal shutter began to roll down from above the door. Knowing he had only a couple of seconds to act, Hallam tore a lid off a small box to his side and tried to jam the shutter open. However, all he succeeded in doing was slowing its inevitable descent. The whir of powerful motors persisted, and slowly, the shutter continued to grind downwards.
“Hallam, get out!” Dakota called back, reaching the door and slamming the palms of her hands against it. “Save yourself!” she cried.
CSF heavies then flooded into the corridor behind Dakota. She dropped her weapon and raised her hands. The enforcers struck her in the gut then twisted her arms behind her back and secured them with binders.
“Dak!” Hallam yelled again, hammering on the door, but Dakota was already being dragged away.
The metal lid finally gave way and the shutter slammed down fully, cutting off his view of Dakota, but Hallam continued to hammer at the door.
“Emergency decontamination in progress,” the robotic voice announced as Hallam’s knuckles began to bleed from continually punching solid metal.
Suddenly, the room started to fill with a foul-tasting mist. It took Hallam a second to realize that it was a common decontamination compound that was used to soak-up and encapsulate Randenite radiation. In smaller amounts, the substance was harmless to humans, but the room was being pumped so full of the material that soon there would be no air left to breathe at all.
Coughing the chemical compound from his lungs, Hallam dropped low, where the mist had yet to encroach fully, and crawled toward where the cutting tool was still working to slice through the deck. Peering through the mist, Hallam desperately tried to locate the alien component, but the room was already so thick with the vapor that it was impossible to see more than a couple of meters ahead. Pushing on blindly, banging into boxes and crates to either side of him, Hallam finally spotted the cutting tool. The device had finished its task, and a circular chunk of metal had dropped away, leaving a hole cut clean through the deck. Blinking the cloudy chemical compound from his eyes, Hallam dragged himself into the opening and let himself slide through it. Cold, damp air rushed over his skin as he fell the six feet to the swamp below. He splatted face-first into the boggy swamp water outside and rolled over, spitting the foul-tasting muck from his mouth. He then lay still, staring up at the hole he’d just escaped through. However, he’d escaped alone, leaving Dakota – and also the crucial alien component – inside the complex. Pressing his bloodied fists to his eyes, Hallam tried to retain his composure, but it was all too much. He let out a primal roar that was a heady mix of frustration, guilt, and anger. However, he wasn’t done yet. The alien component was lost, but there was still a chance to get Dakota back.
8
Hallam pushed himself out of the mud and sat up, spitting more of the bitter-tasting swamp water out of his mouth. Wiping grey-green slime from his face and eyes, he tried to get his bearings. His head was still spinning from the chemical compound that had been injected into the room. However, Dakota’s cries and the image of her being dragged away by the CSF heavies was still clear as day in his mind.
Rising unsteadily to his feet, Hallam’s first thought was to run back to the shutter door, and to fight his way back inside the complex. He still had his sidearm, and if he could break Dakota free, they could fight their way out together. I can do this, Hallam told himself, taking his first uneven steps toward the shuttered entrance. I can’t leave Dak behind… I can’t go without her…
Through the driving rain and continual rumbles of thunder, Hallam picked up the distant sound of heavy boots squelching in the mud. Peering toward the far side of the complex, he spotted three CSF enforcers in full combat armor fanning out. Their rifles were equipped with powerful torchlight attachments, which the enforcers were using to sweep the area underneath the complex.
Hallam drew his pistol and moved into cover as the sweeping flashlights drew closer. Sense and reason told him to run and get back to the fighter. Ruby Rivas would be waiting out in the Darkspace, somewhere within range of the planet, ready to come to their aid when signaled. Together, he and Ruby had a far better chance of rescuing Dakota than Hallam alone, armed only with a pistol. Hallam knew all this, but instead of moving away, he stalked closer to the approaching heavies. It wasn’t anger that was driving him on or even vengefulness. He just couldn’t face leaving Dakota behind, not if there was a chance to save her.
Dropping a knee into the mud, Hallam took cover behind one of the outpost block’s stilts, took aim, and fired. The crack of the pistol caused the enforcers to scatter and look for cover of their own. The gruff-sounding voice of the enforcer called Rhys barked commands into the foggy air. Hallam emptied his magazine and one of the heavies fell, clutching his leg. Ducking back into cover, Hallam reloaded and sucked in deep lungfuls of the rogue world’s cold, misty air. Hallam’s pistol may not have been effective against Cad Rikkard’s unique armor, but the regular CAF combat armor was just as vulnerable as his own renegade gear. Hallam continued to fire, hitting another enforcer before pulling back behind cover. A barrage of rifle fire then clattered against the metal stilt and he cursed, realizing that he’d been spotted.
More commands were barked into the air from the lead enforcer, but Hallam couldn’t make out the words. He leaned around the stilt and squeezed the trigger, but return fire pushed him back into cover again. He felt pain sting his arm and tore back the fabric of his shirt, but breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the round had only nicked his flesh. The bite of pain and clatter of bullets pinning him down had snapped him back to the reality of his situation. He’d been a fool to stay and fight a far superior force. Now his only options were to surrender or to fight on and die. What good would getting myself killed do now? he told himself, though the thought of submitting to the CSF made him sick to the stomach.
“Throw down your weapon and step out with your hands raised!” shouted the gruff-sounding enforcer called Rhys.
The enforcer’s voice carried to him loud and clear, and Hallam guessed that the man was no more than ten meters away from his position. Hallam growled and banged the back of his head against the stilt, trying to jolt his brain into coming up with another option. The truth was there was nothing he could do.
“Okay, I’m coming out!” Hallam shouted, tossing his weapon out into the mud.
“Step out slowly, with your hands raised!” came the order again, and Hallam obeyed, standing in front of the remaining two heavies and raising his hands, though he barely brought them to shoulder height. That wa
s the most amount of defiance he could now muster.
“Turn around and kneel!” the enforcer shouted, pulling a set of binders from his belt.
Reluctantly, Hallam turned and dropped into the sodden earth. The CSF heavy slung his rifle and reached for Hallam’s hands, then stopped as a guttural growl rumbled through the fog. Several terrifying moments of stillness followed before the second heavy cried, “Look out!”
Hallam was hit in the back and knocked face-first into the mud, though he didn’t know by whom or by what. Screams then mixed with the crack of rifle fire. Drawing the mud from his eyes, Hallam spun around and saw one of the reptilian creatures sinking its jagged teeth into the neck of Rhys, the gruff-sounding enforcer. The second heavy was firing at the creature at point blank range, but then he too was tackled from the side by another creature, even bigger than the first. The beast dragged the enforcer down into the mud then tore through the man’s armor as if it were wet cardboard. The enforcer screamed in pain and terror but was quickly silenced as the beast’s talon-like claw cleaved the flesh from his body.
Hallam scrambled away from the monsters, heart thumping wildly in his chest. He managed to climb to his feet and run. He didn’t know where he was heading and didn’t care, so long as he got away from the beasts. Then out of the mist ahead of him, Hallam he saw the eyes of another huge creature. Digging his heels into the mud, Hallam tried to stop but simply slid out of control and collided with a cluster of jagged rocks. The impact winded him and he felt the sharp stones cut and graze his skin. The third creature stalked forward, a low rumble reverberating through its thick, armored shell. Hallam circled away from it, using the rocks as a shield, but then fell and slid down a steep, muddy bank. Arms and legs flailing in an attempt to control his descent, he collided with something solid and came to rest.
Coughing more muddy water from his mouth, Hallam clawed himself up and saw the body of another CSF heavy in the mud. The woman’s flesh had also been ripped and torn open, and the body was missing a leg. The glint of metal caught Hallam’s eyes as the creature appeared at the top of the slope, steam snorting from its nostrils. Hallam dug into the mud and managed to retrieve the dead enforcer’s rifle. Flopping back against the corpse and using it to prop himself up, Hallam took aim at the creature as it clawed its way down the bank. Hallam fired, but the bullets merely seemed to bounce of the scaly armor with no effect. Hands shaking, he fired again and again until, out of sheer luck, Hallam landed shots into the creature’s eyes and snarling, open mouth. The monster writhed in agony and roared, the sound of its cry cutting through Hallam like a rusty saw. It was a sound that he knew from that moment until the day he died, he’d never be able to forget.
Tossing the rifle aside, Hallam scrambled up the other side of the ravine as the enraged, blinded creature thrashed and roared in the mud. Reaching the top, Hallam ran for his life, but fatigue was starting to overcome his adrenaline-fueled sprint for survival. He lost his footing in the slippery mire and tumbled face-first down the bank of another gully. Once again, his shoulder collided with something solid, arresting his fall. Expecting to find another mutilated body, he pushed himself up, but this time, his hands fell on something cold and metallic. Gasping for breath, Hallam clawed himself upright and found himself staring at the ATV. He almost burst into tears from the sudden flood of relief that overwhelmed him.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, Hallam placed a trembling hand onto the wheel and pressed the initiator to start the systems. The ATV hummed into life, and he rested his forehead on the wheel, as if in prayer. Then he set off at a furious speed toward the denser swampland where Dakota’s fighter was hidden. The sky seemed to suddenly brighten, and Hallam glanced back to see that floodlights had switched on all around the complex. Each one seemed to highlight a cluster of the reptilian creatures, which were all slowly advancing on the compound. Autocannon turrets whirred into action and began pummeling the creatures with 20mm rounds. Suddenly, one of the searchlights tilted upwards and landed on the ATV. Cursing, Hallam veered away as rounds thudded into the vehicle’s lightly armored shell. The searchlight continued to track him, and out of desperation, Hallam turned into another gully, below the weapon’s line of sight. However, he’d carried too much speed into the slippery slope and slid out of control, slamming into the filthy stream at the bottom. The bridge of Hallam’s nose hit the steering wheel hard. He tasted blood and was forced to blink away tears, but he kept his foot on the accelerator and powered the ATV on.
Wiping the water from his eyes, Hallam could now see the wall of dense trees and swampland at the edge of the two-kilometer perimeter. Pulling out of the gully, he steered for the gap that he and Dakota had punched through on their arrival. Almost immediately, the searchlight acquired him again. Cannon rounds smashed into the cockpit instruments and shattered the mud-splattered windshield, ironically making it easier for Hallam to see where he was going. Miraculously, he had escaped without getting hit, but as he broke through into the dark, tree-covered swampland where he hoped the fighter was still waiting for him, the motor of the ATV began to falter.
In the distance, the autocannon continued to fire into the swampland, but away from the probing gaze of the searchlights, the turret’s aim was wildly off target. I’m going to make it… Hallam told himself as the fighter came into view ahead of him. I’m almost there…
Suddenly, the ATV was hammered from the side, as if another vehicle had sideswiped him at a crossroads. It skidded across the mud and toppled over, sliding down a shallow bank before friction from the thick, goopy mud ground it to a stop. Hallam shook his head and let his body fall out of the seat. A dozen more scrapes and bruises had been added to his already battered frame, but nothing felt broken. Climbing out from the upturned ATV, he heard the guttural growl of the creature that had rammed him, though he couldn’t see where it was. However, what he could see were the tall tail fins of Dakota’s fighter. Without a second thought, Hallam ran for the ship, realizing that it was the only safe haven left available to him on the entire planet.
Hallam’s boots trudged through the thick mud, each step sticking as if he were walking through syrup, but eventually, he reached the fighter. Another guttural growl caused him to glance behind, and this time, he saw the creature clearly. It was perhaps twice the size of the others he’d encountered, and bore the scars of a lifetime of savage encounters with others of its kind. Using the landing struts for support, Hallam hurried to the rear of the ship, then punched the emergency ramp release. The sight of the enormous beast should have filled him with dread, but he had already reached a peak of emotional terror, and he simply couldn’t process anything more.
The creature stalked closer as Hallam climbed onto the ramp, not waiting for it to open fully. Sodden, bloodied, and caked in mud, he dropped on to the deck of the small rear cargo hold with a nauseating splat, then dragged himself inside and closed the ramp behind him. The gears whirred, then a huge claw reached inside, and the eyes of the creature appeared through the narrowing gap between the ramp and the hull of the fighter. The beast opened its cavernous mouth and snarled, teeth dripping with saliva.
Hallam looked for something with which to fight the creature and instinctively grabbed a fire extinguisher. He advanced far closer to the beast than he wanted to be, then thrust the nozzle into its open mouth before squeezing the handle. The creature reared back as the gas filled its throat and lungs, its claw carving a furrow into the metal of the ramp as it rapidly withdrew.
Hallam tossed the extinguisher onto the deck and ran as hard as he could through the ship and into the cockpit. Dropping into the pilot’s chair, he hurriedly enabled the systems and fired up the main engines. The roar of the creature came again, penetrating the ship’s armor. It was more gut-wrenching than the death cries of the earlier beast, and more primal even than the thunderous rumble of the skies above him. Enabling the vertical lift thrusters, Hallam increased power, pulling the landing struts free of their muddy shackles, and the fighter s
teadily lifted into the air.
Suddenly, alarms shrieked and the fighter veered to one side, as if it were a ship trying to set sail without weighing anchor. Arching his neck, Hallam saw the creature clinging onto one of the vessel’s landing struts. Increasing power to compensate, Hallam pushed the fighter higher, piercing the canopy of tall, drooping trees, but still the creature held on. More alerts sounded, and Hallam saw targeting locks flash up on his panel, as searchlights again began to cut through the darkness toward him. Slamming the main engine throttle forward, Hallam pulled up and climbed into the stormy skies. The need for stealth was long gone. Now all that mattered was survival.
The drag on the ship increased, but then vanished as another alarm chimed on his panel. The landing strut had been torn clean off the ship by the creature, which was now dropping through the sky like a meteorite. However, Hallam kept his eyes focused ahead as the stormy, dark clouds gave way to starry nothingness.
Hallam brought the Shelby Drive back online and programmed the location of the closest renegade hideout into the navigation computer. He didn’t care where it was, so long as it was away from the hellish planet that was rapidly receding behind him. Yet, as much as he wanted to never see the rogue world again, he knew he had to go back – but not without help.
Hallam activated Dr. Rand’s unique bridge space communication system that was integrated into every renegade fighter, and entered the unique identifier code for Ruby Rivas. He copied the coordinates of his new destination into the message, then started a voice recording.
“Wolf Two, this is Wolf Three… Ruby, I need you. They have Dakota…” He thought about saying more, but there was nothing more to say – at least nothing that mattered. He transmitted the message, sending it racing through bridge space to wherever Ruby Rivas was waiting, then initiated the Shelby Drive countdown. His scanners bleeped as two fighter contacts were picked up, racing toward him from the planet’s surface, but he ignored them. Neither would reach him before his ship blinked out of normal space and entered the mysterious sub-dimension that would carry him to safety, at least temporarily. And even if the fighter could reach him in time, Hallam simply lacked the energy to do anything about it.