Borne On Wings of Steel

by Tony Chandler

  Last, the military-issue Fiarri boards were powered on and their power grid verified as fully functional.

  Qirn personally walked over and talked briefly with each team member to verify that everything was ready, that each one knew their duty. In return, each person either nodded silently or spoke a single word in reply—'Ready.'

  When they finished, the bright blue orb laced with yellow clouds that was the planet Iopa filled the main view-screen. But it was the gargantuan object orbiting the planet that drew everyone's gaze.

  “Man, that thing is huge.” It was all Jaric could manage to say as he gazed in awe. His eyes opened wider as the view-screen magnified the object. The vast Paum station now filled the main view-screen.

  “Team, get ready for disembarkation,” Qirn ordered with an edge to his voice. “Double-check your cases one last time. As soon as the cargo doors open, we march to Security Point Beta to check in with the other workers."

  “Here we go again,” Kyle said. He knew, as did everyone else on the team, that things were about to hit high gear. Still, his eyes sparkled with excitement as he felt the flood of adrenaline send an electric thrill throughout his body.

  He loved that feeling.

  “Let's rock and roll!” Jaric added with emotion.

  “Let's go get Mother,” Elise said with a determined look. “That's what we're here for."

  “Yeah,” Kyle growled. “And the Paum better not have hurt her."

  The star ship docked with the metallic roar of clamps locking in place.

  “It's time!” Qirn shouted.

  They marched to the cargo deck where normal supplies were already being off-loaded into the Paum station. As they neared the opened hatch, they found themselves joined by other workers from other parts of their ship, each one dressed in the same white coveralls that they too wore. Soon, there were over a hundred workers spreading out as they entered the cargo bay and marched quickly through the wide-open door into the Paum station.

  “Are they with us?” Jaric whispered to the Iraxx named Jerr.

  “No, they're real workers. They've been told that a new team from the Paum-controlled world of Janaan was added this work shift.” Jerr glanced over at Jaric. “Us."

  They walked down the steel ramp and into the bright lights inside the Paum station.

  The teams quickly formed up and entered the Security queues one at a time. These were the first obstacle that stood between them and the Paum complex.

  Elise looked over, a worried expression in her blue eyes, at Kyle and Jaric who stood opposite her in the next queue.

  Jaric winked reassuringly.

  Elise took a deep breath and faced forward with a renewed confidence.

  Each worker entered a pristine white scanning booth one by one.

  Elise felt her heart beating faster and faster as their team drew steadily closer.

  Paum Security was quick and efficient. The armor-clad guards processed each worker after they stepped inside the sensor booths. The device hummed and performed its scan and a green light flashed indicating all normal. The next worker then stepped inside.

  Elise glanced over and saw Rab and Qata, each carrying a work case like all the other workers. She watched carefully as each stepped inside a scanning booth in their respective queues.

  She held her breath.

  The device hummed powerfully, bathing their bodies with a bright, bluish light.

  In an instant, it was over.

  Green lights flashed on both scanning booths.

  Rab and Qata stepped out the opposite side and waited for the others on their Work Team.

  Within another minute, everyone passed through with green lights.

  “So far, so good,” Jysar whispered with obvious relief.

  Rab motioned them all into one of the large freight elevators.

  Qirn held up his hands to prevent three other workers from entering the elevator with them.

  The elevator doors shut and they felt it move upward over twenty levels in just a few seconds. The lighted dials slowed then stopped their vertical rise. Suddenly, the flashing display moved rapidly along a horizontal row of numbers. The lighted display pulsated with each beat of their hearts.

  With each flashing number, they went deeper and deeper into the heart of the Paum.

  Qirn nodded to Rab.

  Rab pulled out a small tool used to unhook panels, not unlike a miniature crowbar. He paused a moment, taking a deep breath, then looked up at the optical sensor in the middle of the elevator ceiling.

  With a quick jab upward, he destroyed it in a flash of sparks.

  Qirn reached up and switched on a tiny device attached to the collar of his shirt.

  “It'll look like a hardware failure on their sensors. I've just enabled my jammer—no audio sensors will work within thirty meters of us as long as we're grouped together.” Qirn adjusted the tiny device again.

  Qirn placed the jamming device on his belt. The entire team tuned their respective Comm units to a single unjammed frequency.

  “It will interfere with all the video sensors as well, but not completely. Once they're on to us, I want everyone else to enable their own jammer. When we spread out in attack formation, we'll jam a sizable area so they can't pin-point our exact location—only a general area."

  Everyone nodded agreement.

  “I'm so glad to get out of this,” Rok said as he began peeling his mask off with both hands. The Kraaqi peeled his mask and extra horns off like a snake shedding its skin. He threw them down with a sense of relief.

  All the others followed suit, discarding the prosthetics that masked their true appearance.

  “Man, I'm glad to have that off of my face!” Jaric said with relief.

  “Okay, team. Listen up.” Qirn's voice was deep and serious.

  Every head turned to him.

  “When the door opens, follow my lead. If we get separated, head for the pre-arranged jump-off point to the core.” Qirn looked quickly at each intent face in turn.

  Unflinching, they stared back.

  “Get ready.” Qirn faced the elevator doors as did everyone else.

  Without warning, the elevator's motion stopped.

  An electronic voice emanated from somewhere above them.

  “Occupants of elevator B-331, the optical sensor has inexplicably failed. Please exit immediately and prepare for entry by a Repair robot. A Security squad has also been dispatched. Please open all tool cases for inspection and prepare for a Level Three Security scan."

  “Uh-oh,” Jaric whispered ominously.

  Every eye turned to Qirn.

  Qirn nodded.

  With a flash of movement, everyone threw down their tool cases and opened them.

  The air filled with the metallic clicks of blasters being locked and loaded. Each alien carefully removed their Fiarri board and placed it next to them, as well as hand-held sensors and all the other equipment stored inside. The time for secrecy had passed.

  A loud noise came from the other side of the elevator doors.

  Qirn waved his hands from where he kneeled over his empty case.

  Everyone jumped up and placed their backs firmly against the wall on either side of the elevator, their assault blasters aimed at the doors.

  “Set to stun,” Rok commanded as he changed the setting on his weapon. “They won't regain consciousness until long after we've escaped with Mother."

  Jaric and most of the others began to make the adjustment as one.

  But the Iraxx warriors remained still as they looked questioningly at Qirn.

  Qirn's intent gaze fixed on the Kraaqi First Leader as he paused in thought.

  “We'll get more firings from each charge and won't have to reload as much on that lower setting—makes sense. Let's do it!"

  He and the other Iraxx warriors brought their short-barreled weapons close and quickly made the necessary adjustment.

  “And there's no need to kill anyone—we only want Mother,” Jaric added.r />
  All weapons were reset and the blasters brought to bear on the still-closed doors.

  Just in time.

  With a whoosh, the two doors opened to reveal a large repair robot that filled the doorway. Behind it, a dozen Security troops with raised weapons peered questioningly inside at them.

  A hail of blaster fire erupted toward them all.

  Bolts sizzled all around the robot as it staggered backwards with raised arms.

  The guards just to the rear of the robot fell unconscious from direct hits as the others scrambled for cover. But the red bolts followed them and brought them down in quick succession as the robot continued its unsteady retreat, carefully stepping backwards over the stunned bodies all around it.

  Somehow, the robot never received a direct hit.

  With the flash of blaster bolts, the remaining guards finally returned fire.

  They broke into two groups and each ran out of sight in opposite directions down the long corridor.

  Rok and Qirn leaped from the elevator.

  Rok twisted his body to the left and fired a long burst at the three escaping guards running in that direction.

  All three fell stunned.

  In similar fashion, Qirn stunned the four who had almost made it around a corner in the other direction.

  In less than a minute, it was all over.

  “Jerr! Get the opticals!"

  The Iraxx warrior dropped to one knee and began to fire carefully aimed shots at the optical devices located at set intervals down the corridor while Qirn took out the devices in the direction he faced.

  One after another the optics blew apart until none were left along this stretch.

  “What good is that going to do?” Elise asked in utter disbelief. “There'll be more in the next section! And all of our jammers are on now."

  “They don't jam the opticals completely. And soon, we'll be moving much faster.” Qirn smiled knowingly.

  The Iraxx leader walked quickly back into the elevator. He turned and came back out carrying his Fiarri board. He promptly tossed it to the floor where it hovered a few inches right before him.

  “Okay!” Qirn said with authority. “They know we're here now. Hundreds of Security personnel are moving in on our position. We've got to move fast. And we've got to keep them guessing.” Qirn motioned to the elevator.

  "Get on your boards and let's ride!"

  A minute later and the entire group were hurtling down the corridor on their Fiarris.

  Each rider flew at a slightly different height and angle from the others as they soared along in perfect formation. At times, riders weaved in and out of formation as corners or intersections suddenly came into view, separating themselves from the nearest riders so they wouldn't present easy targets bunched too tightly together.

  It soon became obvious that the corridors were used for more than just alien walkways. The one they were in was over four meters tall and twice that measurement wide—perfect dimensions for freight hover-containers.

  Those dimensions would work in their favor, giving them more room to maneuver in a firefight.

  Jaric held his short assault blaster aimed forward with his right hand as he balanced himself with his left hand. He surged forward up beside Kyle. He crouched low on his board as they all flew along at well over thirty clicks.

  The doorways along the long, wide corridor flashed by at a dizzying pace.

  The group zoomed around a second corner and found themselves suddenly facing a squad of Security guards running toward them.

  Blaster volleys from each group filled the air.

  Fiarri boards soared left and right and some leapt up where the riders would squat down upon their boards and return fire from just below the ceiling. After the first volley, riders dove apart again toward the opposite side of the corridor—all the while firing bursts from their weapons.

  The corridor filled with blaster bolts lacing the air and riders dodging, weaving and diving as they returned fire.

  Over half the guards slumped over unconscious as the group flashed by overhead; the rest of them dove for cover from the speeding riders.

  The riders quickly came to an intersection with another corridor.

  Qirn led them on a sharp right turn as he leaned his body over and forward. He surged ahead now, his board doing well over forty clicks.

  The others followed suit.

  Now the doors and overhead lights really became a blur as the riders balanced themselves on their boards and flew on at the breakneck pace.

  “If we run into anybody, we're going to get knocked out!” Jaric shouted to Kyle as they flew along together near the ceiling.

  “You ain't kidding! We're flying down these corridors!"

  Twice more they reached intersections and each time turned and flew in a new direction in an effort to keep the assembling Security troops guessing as to their true destination.

  But the entire time their general direction pushed them to the heart of the Paum complex.

  In the next instant, everyone came to a sudden stop.

  Qirn motioned to the others as he stepped off his board. Right before them, a solid metal wall blocked their path.

  Rab and Qata jumped off their boards and reached inside their utility belts. Each one pulled out a small device and ran over to the wall where they attached them. With quick movements they set the charges and ran back to their hovering boards.

  “Okay, everyone back around that corner behind us before they blow!” Qirn shouted.

  In a flash, everyone turned their hovering boards and roared back to the last corner.

  Qirn soared ahead of the group, putting a good distance between them and the coming destruction.

  He raised his hand as his board slowed.

  The Iraxx leader brought his board around as the others slowed and turned in formation.

  They didn't have long to wait.

  Rab and Qata zoomed around the corner.

  A deafening explosion ripped the air milliseconds afterward.

  The blast blinded them as they shielded their eyes. When they looked back up, a huge plume of black smoke boiled past the intersection.

  Qirn urged his board slowly forward toward the billowing smoke. He stared at it a moment until he could see it beginning to clear.

  “What was that for?” Rok asked.

  “There are seven well-guarded entrances that lead directly to the core. We just made a new one,” Rab replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “All right,” Qirn said as he turned back to the others. “We just knocked a hole in that wall. Just on the other side is the chasm that surrounds the core. We'll fly across that to where the heart of the Paum lies.” He looked carefully at the three humans. “And the MotherShip."

  Everyone caught their breath as their hearts pounded with a renewed rush of adrenaline.

  “We've got to get across fast. If we meet resistance, just try to get around whatever it is and get on across. And if we lose anybody, leave them. We must complete this part of the mission as quickly as possible.” Qirn's eyes narrowed. “We can't go back for anyone."

  Kyle and Jaric looked at each other with surprise.

  Their eyes remained locked in mutual, silent agreement. Each one knew that those last words didn't apply to them—or their friends.

  “We take care of our own."

  Every head turned to Rok as he finished speaking. His face was set hard as stone, his own eyes unflinching. He continued.

  “You leave your warriors behind, Qirn. But that is not the way of a Kraaqi. We never leave a warrior behind if it is in our power to help."

  “Same here,” Kyle growled. “We're here to get Mother out. And we're all leaving."

  “You'll jeopardize the mission,” Qirn said with glaring eyes. “If we're too long in getting over, that's more time for the Destructors to realize where we are and what we're doing. They'll be on us in no time."

  “Then we take them all on. Together,” Kyle growled. “But I ain'
t leaving no one behind. Especially one of my friends."

  “You got it,” Jaric agreed, his eyes hard and steady.

  “That's right,” Elise said as she brought her board up beside the boys. “We came in together, we'll fly out together."

  Kyle looked over at her and winked.

  Elise smiled back.

  Qirn blew out an angry breath. With a shake of his head, he spoke. “Okay, we'll help each other. We've got to make it happen quick, all right? But if we get overwhelmed, then we've got to fly on."

  Everyone nodded silently.

  Still, Rok and Kyle glanced quickly at each other, their eyes locking for a moment in understanding that they would look out for their family, no matter what.

  Qirn's lips compressed into a line as he paused a moment to gather his thoughts. He nodded and spoke.

  “Once we get inside, we've got to get a sensor fix on the MotherShip—fast. The Destructors will begin coming for us as soon as we enter the core.” Qirn quickly surveyed everyone for their reaction—every face was rock-hard now as they watched him with new intensity. “Once we get MotherShip's location, we make straight for her as fast as possible. If we find ourselves blocked by any Destructors, we find a way around them. If we get separated, we all continue to make our way to the MotherShip as best we can. We'll meet at her coordinates. Our only hope of escaping the Paum complex is with her."

  He paused.

  “Otherwise, we're all dead.” He looked quickly around at each one. “Any questions?"

  Every eye remained firmly fixed on him.

  “Get your hand-sensors out so you can fly through the smoke.” Jerr pulled his out and started tuning it. The others followed suit.

  “Good. Let's go!” Qirn commanded.

  A distant shout came from behind them followed instantly by a blaster bolt that sizzled past Qirn's head.

  Their boards leapt into the air as one and disappeared into the swirling smoke.

  They flew blind for several long seconds, their only sense of direction the sensors showing the way.