United We Stand

by Christian Messe

  “Not Earth,” Lewis replied, “They didn’t abandon Earth.”

  “Trust me; they would’ve if they didn’t need something from you.”

  When James woke up, he wasn’t feeling too confident in himself. First, he got his crew imprisoned on a Jupitain warship, and probably both Imp and Claire were dead, and then he lands in the heart of Jupiter, and almost gets the remainder of his crew killed, not to mention the giant Jupitain mothership getting ready to attack who knew what.

  Now he was crashing with a bunch of strangers, who owned a magic circle thing, and to top it all off, their only hope of saving everyone they loved, was apparently suicide to go to.

  James’s misery was probably showing obviously on his face, because Mark asked from the top bunk, “Dude, are you ok?” Mark probably already knew the answer nonetheless.

  “I’m fine, just, concerned I guess.”

  “Concerned? About what? If Claire and Imp are even still alive, or the giant mothership?” Mark asked, with dry sarcasm.

  Telli knocked on the door.

  “Hey newbies, the boss wants you in the cockpit,” Telli said from the outside of the bunk door. Mark and James looked at each other, like they knew it couldn’t be good. When they reached the cockpit, Heavy was waiting for them,

  “We have a problem,” he said.

  “What kind of problem?” James asked.

  Heavy turned away from the controls to face them, “Well, you see we didn’t find you by mere coincidence, no, we were tracking Cyrisian tech to highjack a fighter or two maybe, but instead we found you guys…” He didn’t look so happy about that.

  “The place where we were going to pick up our fresh batch of Neutron Rocket launchers, and of course drop you guys off, well my supplier just contacted me, the planet’s on full security. Ever since some attack on Jupiter, all the Demons in nearby systems, got more aggressive, which is why we were gonna use that fighter, but you know… fuel problems.” He said grudgingly.

  Mark whistled innocently.

  “Oh, don’t worry though, we’re still going down there, but I’m gonna need your help to get what I want.”

  James sighed, frustrated.

  “We’re going to break into a heavily fortified Jupitain hangar, and steal those rocket launchers and of course, find you a new ship.” The unpowered Jupitain fighter was still in the hangar.

  “Fine, we’ll help, but you have to promise that you’ll help us find a ship.”

  “I swear it.” He smiled, “Oh, and here’s why I want what we’re getting.” Heavy pulled out a translator sphere, and showed the holo-image of the rocket launcher; it levitated in the air. Mark recognized it; it was the same weapon the Jupitains had used to kill Uliski.

  “These babies aren’t just the typical high-powered laser fused rocket launcher; these are Dark matter powered, once the matter’s lit, it causes a massive energized explosion, double the boom.” He smiled.

  “So where is this hangar?” James asked.

  “It’s on the edge of the Galaxy, only eleven-thousand light years away from Lore territory, we’re going, to Stratus. System’s sector is Z9Demo.”

  The sphere defined the world; “Planet name, Stratus, Threat level, Ventun U-11.”

  “What does that mean?” Mark asked.

  “Really, really bad.” Heavy said, “But don’t worry, we won’t be on the ground anyway.” He set a course on the old looking router, and said, “You’ve got two minutes to suit up.”

  Mark walked out of the cockpit, heading towards his bunk until he saw Telli sitting on the bottom, a hollow expression on his face.

  “Can I sit down?”

  He didn’t reply.

  Mark walked over to him. “I’m so sorry about Uliski.”

  “He was all I had left,” Telli whispered.

  Mark sat down, and silence filled the room for a few seconds until Telli started to say, “I remember years ago, when I was five, thinking that they would never find us, but they toppled the capital’s defenses and brought down the last wall in less than a week.”

  Mark chuckled sadly, “Yea; it only took them two days for my world.”

  Telli stared at the floor. “But at what cost? Why?”

  “I don’t think, that anyone really knows.”

  “Mark, keep your friends, and keep your family safe, at all costs. Whatever it takes. In the end they’re the only thing worth fighting for in this shitty Galaxy.”

  Mark looked down for a second, “And what if they’re already dead?” He asked.

  “Then avenge their legacy,” Uliski said firmly.

  “So Heavy, how exactly are we breaking in?” James asked inside the cockpit.

  “Don’t worry about it, I already plotted the course, Red just needs to check if the systems are in order, Red get in here!” He shouted.

  She yawned and walked through the doorway.

  “Check this course for me would you?” He asked.

  She walked over and looked at the screen. “You’re crazy, that plan’s gonna break the power of our shields by 98%, we won’t be able to take almost any E6 artillery.”

  “What plan, what are you people talking about?” James asked, frustrated.

  “I already told you,” He smirked, “We’re gonna use the ship.”

  Trixi rolled into the cockpit, James could see her weapons waving in the air, threatening him.

  “What’s that thing’s problem?” James asked, a little scared.

  “I dunno,” Heavy said, for the first time sounding honest, “Cyrisians made the Meta-Core, so… ask them. Oh wait, they’re dead… all right everybody, buckle up, we’re approaching Stratus’s atmosphere.”

  James looked at the planet; its entire surface was red, with no signs of water anywhere.

  “Why do we need to buckle up? Wait a second…” James trailed on.

  “Get ready!” Heavy yelled, smiling.

  “For what?” James asked.

  The engines to the ship turned and started to roar, erupting fire. James fell onto his back abruptly and groaned.

  “Oh God, what are you doing?!” He shouted.

  “I already told you, I’m using the ship!” Heavy shouted back.

  Red tried to act casual about it, but even her bored facial expression went from calm to slightly surprised, as she hung on to the armrests of her seat.

  “What’s going on?!” Lewis yelled from the lounge, the sound of the roaring engines had woken him up.

  “Course is set; I’m getting my gun, stay here!” Heavy said loudly. James struggled to get back to his feet but was pushed out of the way by Heavy.

  James struggled to get up again, and looked at the trajectory course; the ship’s course was plotted to crash straight through the double metal doors of a Jupitain underground hangar.

  “Oh oh no, no no! This is not a good plan man, NOT a good plan at all!” James yelled.

  Red pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, “I’m moving all shields to the bow.”

  Heavy came back, carrying with him a laser rifle that looked like it weighed a hundred pounds.

  Telli, Mark, and Axel came running into the cockpit. “Is this really a good plan?” Telli asked.

  “It’s the only plan.” Heavy smiled.

  Axel growled with an attitude.

  “I really hope this works,” Red said.

  “I hope you're trying not to kill us!” Lewis shouted.

  Heavy pushed the lever further, and the ship’s speed accelerated. The atmosphere around the ship burned through the cheap outer layer of metal, chipping pieces of it off, scraping along the ship. Soon the clouds cleared, and for a brief few seconds, James could see the red terrain of the planet’s surface, and multiple tents, making a small city. The tents and shacks were all inside what looked to be collapsed skyscrapers, that were destroyed centuries ago.

  Mark and Uliski scrambled to take the two back seats, and buckled up. Lewis and James looked at each other nervously, then started to hang on to the backs
of the seats, bracing for impact. James closed his eyes. The ship smashed through the set of metal doors, and the ship’s shields dropped from one hundred percent, to two. The engines turned back around quickly, the ship dropping thousands of feet down until it finally started to hover above the rusty metal floor. The metal doors crashed onto Jupitain fighters below them, causing a massive red explosion.

  “Let’s get this done quickly!” Heavy shouted, and he dropped down into the hangar, his fully automatic laser rifle shooting away electrically stunned Jupitains left and right. Axel sprinted out of the ship, and squashed a Jupitain soldier below him, then he turned around and roared at the others. Two more ran at him, and he grabbed both of their visors and ripped them off, the Dark matter splattering everywhere.

  Red stayed in the ship, firing at the Jupitains on the ground, and blowing up random Dark matter containers. James looked at the cargo door exit ramp.

  “Oh God oh God oh God…” He muttered. His heart was throbbing out of his chest. He didn’t want to get shot, but what choice did he have? “Augh! Screw it!” He yelled. He grabbed a laser rifle, jumped down four feet, and sprinted to the nearest wall for cover, yelling cowardly the whole time. A Jupitain saw him and started to fire, chipping the shiny metal. Axel punched the Jupitain in the face, and it flew into a stack of supply crates.

  Lewis shrugged, “Better than asteroid clearing.” He jumped down, Mark and Telli followed, along with Trixie. The robotic ball rolled behind two unexpecting Jupitains and impaled them through the back of their heads with Meta-Core spears, destroying the Jupitain’s visors.

  Telli ran around the hangar, avoiding the rain of Jupitain fire, and shot down Jupitains with extremely precise bursts of laser fire. Two Jupitain fighters came flying in from above, but Red shot them out of the sky. “Boss, I can’t find the weapons anywhere!” Telli shouted.

  “Keep looking!” Heavy yelled back, “They’ve got to be around here somewhere!” He hit a Jupitain that was behind him with the barrel of his gun, crushing its visor. Then all of a sudden, the Jupitains stopped attacking, they stood still, their visors turned blue, except for Axel’s.

  “Um, what just happened?” Telli asked.

  Oh no, James thought.

  “Well, looks to me like I found my annoying little insurgents.” The visors recited. It was the blue man, Karalus.

  “I must say Captain,” Karalus started, after noticing James, “I didn’t expect you three to be here, when you escaped my ship, I was almost impressed, but I knew of course that I would find you eventually, your attack on Jupiter was especially… stupid.”

  “Why are you hunting us? Why are you doing this?” James asked.

  “I wouldn’t call it a hunt, that takes effort, but anyway before I kill you, Heavy, that’s your name, isn’t it? Mine’s Karalus, pleasure to meet you,” he said sarcastically, “I killed your supplier weeks ago. He never stood a chance.”

  The visors turned red again, but the number of Jupitains had tripled while Karalus was taunting the group. The Jupitains roared and started to fire.

  “New plan!” Heavy shouted, “Get back to the ship!” Red must have heard what had happened because she was making the ship hover barely a foot off the ground.

  “Escape!” Axel roared.

  “Wait, what about you?!” Telli asked, concerned. Axel responded by throwing him onto the cargo ramp and watching it close behind him. When everyone was inside, Axel turned towards the mob of growling Jupitains. He roared ferociously and started to knock the Jupitains to the ground. They eventually tackled him, and everyone watched as Axel’s visor was ripped off, and his body dissolved into a puddle of Dark matter.

  Heavy punched the wall, “I can’t believe I was so stupid!”

  “Guys, you might want to come see this!” Red shouted. The cargo ship had hovered out of the underground hangar, and everyone could see the red surface of the planet. It was cracking; a giant hole was forming beneath them.

  “What the…” Lewis couldn’t finish.

  Suddenly, the surface was torn open, and rocks were blown away. A giant mechanical worm leaped through the ground.

  “What the hell is that thing?!” Mark asked, surprised.

  “Meta-Core,” Telli gasped, “And it’s huge.”

  “Red get us out of here!” Heavy yelled.

  The metal pieces on the worm clicked together and turned randomly. For a mouth, it had a rotating circle with tens of thousands of sharp metal teeth turning and clanking, waiting to tear something apart. Its scales were completely metal, with random patterns of spikes, perfectly merging with each other. It blared the same sound as the Jupitain warship’s horns, then it charged towards the ship, crushing nearby tents and shops. Unlike the Jupitains, the Meta-Core was it’s own entity, and Karalus had no way of knowing exactly what it was doing after deploying it.

  Red pulled up, but it was too late, the Meta Core’s mouth collided with one of the ship’s engines tearing it apart, the sound of crushed metal screeching in everyone’s ears.

  “Holy shit!” Lewis yelled.

  The worm tore a large piece of the engine off. The force of the ship started to tear weak pieces of metal off the ship until Mark and Telli were sucked out of the vessel through a hole in the hull. Mark landed on top of a shopping tent, almost tearing right through it. Telli landed flat on his back, on the solid rocky ground.

  “I can’t control it!” Red shouted. The giant worm collided with the ship again, breaking through the center and destroying the lounge. The ship was torn in half, and the bow crashed into the ground, while the cargo hangar and the Jupitain fighter inside, were crushed inside the Meta-Core’s mouth. It exploded, and the giant mechanical worm was now looking for the ship’s crew. It turned on a red beacon of light, scanning through the wreckage. Red was bleeding; face down on the dashboard, inches away from a lever that could have impaled her.

  Heavy was on the ground, bleeding from a piece of glass that had flown into his arm, impaling him, but he simply ripped it out. “We have to move.” He grabbed Red, while Trixi rolled over to James and Lewis and dragged them, with two mini cranes it made out of itself. It pulled them away from the wreckage, right before the giant Meta-Worm smashed into the ground, and burrowed into the rock, missing them barely.

  “Run, run, run!!” Heavy shouted. The Meta-Worm resurfaced, moving through solid rock like it was water. The worm burrowed through the center of the group, pushing everyone away with a wave of air.

  “Ugh, my back, Telli? Telli where are you?” Mark’s vision was blurry.

  “Here…” said a weak voice.

  Mark looked up, he saw panicked aliens running away from the site, but then he saw Telli.

  “Oh my God, Telli!!” Mark limped towards him.

  Telli looked up at him and grimaced weakly.

  “Telli, come on, get up, we can find you help.”

  “Mark…” He coughed up blood, “I’m done… but for your kin. Protect them. Whatever it takes.”

  Mark looked at him, distraught. So many people were dying. It was just like Arrival Day, all over again.

  “Don’t you dare leave me!” Mark yelled.

  “Be happy. I’m free from this place,” Telli closed his eyes, and his head turned to the side slightly, lifeless.

  “No, no, no!!” Mark punched the ground. “You’re dead Karalus; you’re dead!!” Then he saw the worm racing towards him; its metal teeth chattering.

  “Come at me!” Mark yelled, “Come on; finish the job!!”

  The Meta-Core moved through the ground, scattering debris and rock everywhere. It collided with tents and rusted buildings, destroying them. Mark panicked, fear taking over his anger, and started to run the other way. He was sprinting, unable to hear the chattering noise of the Meta-Worm over his own breathing. It was getting close, blaring the Jupitain horn of death repeatedly.

  “Hey you, ugly! Over here!” Heavy waved his arms wildly to get the Meta-Core’s attention. It worked. The giant Meta-Worm spun
its head around and dived into the ground, leaving Mark alone. Heavy grunted, and started to sprint towards the wreckage of his ship. The worm surfaced and pushed Heavy onto his back from the force of its impact. The Meta-Worm looked down at him and roared mechanically.

  Heavy rolled out of the beast’s way before it could crush him. It hit the ground, hurtling rock and dust everywhere, then burrowed underground. Mark looked in the distance. Red was trying to get James and Lewis to wake up, and Heavy was looking at the ground trying to tell where the Meta-Core would attack next. Then Mark noticed the tent shops. They were lined with mostly clay pots and other items Mark had never seen before. Then he saw the blaster rifle. Mark sprinted over to the tent.

  “How much do you want for that rifle?”

  “Karask arikius?” Mark felt around in his pocket, his translator sphere was gone, and he guessed that the shopkeeper didn’t have one either. He cursed. The shopkeeper crossed his arms, noticing the same thing about the translator sphere.

  “Screw it.” Mark grabbed the rifle off the table and ran. The shopkeeper yelled after him in an unknown language, pulling out his own laser rifle and starting to shoot a few bursts at him. Mark had almost reached Heavy until the Meta-Core resurfaced between them. Mark fired the laser rifle, and streaks of red light collided with the Meta-Worm. The energy from the blast didn’t seem to do anything; it just bounced off. The worm noticed where the disturbance was coming from and roared.

  Mark fired three more desperate shots until he gave up and sprinted away, almost tripping over himself from the speed he took off at. The worm hit the ground, throwing Heavy away, and slithered towards Mark. The Metallic spikes turned and clicked in perfect harmony, constantly scraping the ground. Mark used one arm and repeatedly fired into the Meta-Core’s mouth, running at the same time. It was getting too close. Mark dived out of the way, and the worm sped past him.