by Mark Iles
“Just so that you know, I’ve had all the PTSD treatment and still take the meds, but even so I wake up screaming most nights bathed in sweat. It’s best you keep them critters away from me, cos I’m likely to lose my sense of humour and kill every last one of the fuckers.”
Selena considered him. “You do that and I’ll personally have you skinned alive, rolled in salt, and boiled— and don’t think for a moment that I’m joking. But at least you’re honest and upfront. Okay, go speak to Lieutenant Philips and set up and run the physical training establishment, and I’ll do my best to keep the Lenars away from you. A word to the wise, Corporal. If you even injure one Lenar, you’ll regret it. Do we understand each other?”
He nodded slowly, his eyes intent on hers. She could tell he knew she meant it, but he betrayed no emotion.
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.” Staff stood and saluted. Turning swiftly, he left the room.
Selena sat at her desk and called up Jenks’ details but, as she expected, nothing came up. Spooks were good at hiding their trails. “Singh Lacey,” she said, changing tack. Immediately the wall-screen flickered into life and Singh looked back at her, somewhat surprised.
“Get the team ready, Singh, and select six others to augment us,” Selena said. “We’re going for a ride.”
***
By the time Selena was downstairs, Singh had two skimmers waiting, and everyone else was already aboard. The sides of the sleek, black craft came up to their waists and each could carry about twenty men. In case of rain, a repeller-field snapped on overhead, keeping the water off them. Kes and Jessica were in one while Singh, Braxis and Selena crewed the second, with three of the extra troops in each vehicle. Pistol strapped to her waist, and the long curve-bladed katana slung over the right shoulder of her matt-black uniform, Selena gripped a Sunburst machine-pistol and climbed aboard the open-topped craft. None of her team said a word as the vehicles rose above the city’s glittering white parapets and arched towards the forest.
Selena surveyed the others, her voice carrying to the other craft via her hand-held. “You all know why we came to Capulet. We know that sooner or later the enemy will try to destroy the other cities. Our job is to stop them, and to do that we need the Lenars. So, we’re going into the forests to find them. Any questions?”
No one replied.
***
The skimmers slipped through the trees towards the late afternoon sun. By dusk, they were deep within the forests and far from Capulet City. Weaving through the close-knit trees was hard going. Some watched the branches overhead nervously, fingering their firearms and remembering their first encounter with the Lenars, while others eyed the darkness between the boles. When at last they came to a river, Selena made a decision.
“Let’s leave the forest and follow the river,” she said. “It’s going in the direction we want and we’ll be able to travel much faster.”
“Why don’t we climb above the trees? We’d travel faster still,” Singh observed.
“Because I want to keep a low profile, you numpty, not telegraph our every position,” she replied. “You never know who’s watching, or what technology they have to pick us up, even though these skimmers have the latest stealth.”
Singh swung his craft across the brush and kept it a few inches above the surface of the clear, swiftly flowing water. The second craft followed directly behind them. A variety of birds, including ducks and black swans which had been imported from Earth centuries ago, scattered grumpily before them. They left rills in the water with their feet until they settled down again a short distance away, muttering their discontent.
Soon they entered a narrow white-walled canyon. The steep chalk sides rose several hundred feet and birds leapt out at them from crevasses in the rock, screeching in alarm at their passing. Hours later, the causeway narrowed further still, causing the water level to rise and gain speed. They rounded a corner, to where waterfalls emptied into the churning river about them with deafening roars.
Soon they were skimming above racing white-foamed rapids, unable to hear each other through the thunderous water. Icy spray splashed over the sides of their craft, drenching them, and although they floated several inches above the water Selena still felt a gut-clenching thrill of adventure. She could tell they were all enjoying it, for no one turned on the repeller-fields to keep them dry.
Quite suddenly the canyon ended and spilled into a wide-open lake, in which water flowed far more leisurely. To Selena’s delight, hundreds of water lilies carpeted the lake, their large white flowers with pink centres and golden pollen-laden stalks laced the dank scent of the water with their musky, sweet perfume.
They continued their journey, eating aboard their crafts and, as dusk fell, they passed a small, single-story cabin not far from the shore, from which warm glowing lights peeped seductively from the windows. The curtains were cast aside as they slipped past and the occupants heard their engines. A bulky shadow waved at them from the comfort of the cabin, as the last of the sun’s rays were blotted by the trees.
“Didn’t know they’d allowed homesteaders here,” Singh said, brow furrowing but waving back before the cabin vanished into the distance. “I thought your citizens were confined to the cities.”
“That used to be the case,” Selena replied. “But I guess most people stayed inside because of the forest denizens, including the Lenars. We were told horrible tales of them as children, of how they used to sneak into the city before the wall was erected and snatch family members, eating them alive within earshot. Knowing the Lenars now, I don’t believe half of it.
“The last time I was here the Queen hadn’t given permission for anyone to settle outside, but allowing it now after what happened to those other cities makes perfect sense. At least some people will survive, if the city gets blown up.”
“Be that as it may,” Braxis replied, “those furry critters give me the chills. Even Kotes doesn’t like them, and he’s downright genial. As for Staff, he goddam hates them.”
“Having settlers out here is going to make our job harder,” Kes said. “We’ll have to check all of them out, one by one. Do you think that queen of yours is deliberately making things more difficult for us?”
“She’s no queen of mine,” Selena growled. “I can tell you that for nothing.”
The night air carried that special fragrance that only Capulet had, a cool mixture of exotic flowers and huge stretches of forest, tinged here by the lilies and dampness from the water. It was both beautiful and peaceful, which Selena found welcoming. Overhead, the twin moons gazed down at them as they bathed the landscape with their pale luminescence.
“Singh, find us a place to set up camp. We’ll continue on in the morning.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
About fifteen minutes later they pulled into a small, sandy bay. It was surrounded by a grassy plain strewn with tall weeds, hummocks of grass and areas of swamp in which assailants would struggle to pass unnoticed.
As always, sentry guns and detectors were posted and were continuously scanning the plains and forest beyond. Defendable positions had been established and finally they unpacked their sleeping bags. Guard duties were quickly determined and it wasn’t long before the heart-warming scent of curry was emanating from the evening meal cooking over an open fire pit. They all found this far more communal than the self-heating ration packs they usually ate. Apart from Braxis and Jessica, who were taking their turn patrolling the perimeter, they all sat around the crackling fire, basking in its warmth and a feeling of camaraderie. As they ate they chatted quietly, occasionally taking sips from their mugs of scalding tea.
Quite suddenly a burst of firing erupted, followed by an unearthly high-pitched braying sound, filled with surprise and pain. Instantly Selena and the others dropped their mess tins and grabbed their weapons, rolling or diving into cover.
The silence was broken by the sound of Jessica cursing and Braxis laughing, his guffaws uncont
rollable.
“Report, Lieutenant.” Selena shouted into the darkness.
“Sorry, Ma’am. Thought I heard something. Then saw a shape coming towards me and opened fire,” Jessica’s voice sounded strained.
“Explain!” Selena demanded. She was starting to feel tetchy, particularly as Braxis hadn’t stopped laughing. Standing, Selena glared at them as they entered camp. “Are you two on drugs or something? Braxis, shut the fuck up!”
“Sorry Ma’am, but you should have seen it,” Braxis gasped. “One hell of a snap-shot that was. She turned and bam, it was dead!”
“What was dead? You better explain before I lose my patience.” In the dim light Selena could still see Jessica turning a shade of purple and evading her eyes. The slim dark-haired woman’s sleeves were semi-rolled up, exposing her tattoos. It was obvious to everyone there that she was embarrassed beyond words.
A gruff voice called from the darkness. “Okay, which of you clowns shot my donkey?”
Perimeter defence lights clicked on, leaving the centre of their camp in darkness while blinding those outside it. What could only be the farmer from the homestead a short distance away, stood shielding his eyes before ambling towards them. He wore stained and torn dungarees, was barefooted and had a distinctly annoyed expression.
“You goddamn idiots are gonna have to pay for shooting my Betts!”
Time slowed down for Selena. “Stop, hold it right there!” she knelt behind a paddock and, cocked her weapon, aiming it towards him. Even as she did so, beams and gunfire spat towards them from the night-cloaked land, and several small craft whizzed overhead with humming sounds. Braxis spun around, the back of his left shoulder spraying red mist and gore, his laughter turning to screams as the remains of his arm scattered in pieces into the darkness. The farmer howled in terror, covered his head with both hands and raced towards them. Metallic discs swooped out of the darkness, firing miniature beam weapons at Selena and the others, the auto-guns engaging them immediately.
“Caretakers—take them out! You,” Selena bellowed at the farmer, who continued to ignore her and kept running towards them. “Freeze!”
“How the hell did they get here, and since when could those buggers fly?” Singh demanded behind her, his machine gun juddering in his arms and ejecting hot streams of spent cartridges its side.
Jessica leapt towards Braxis, tackling him to the ground. He fought against her, screaming and punching, until a solid clout from Jessica knocked him senseless. She immediately slapped a medical pack onto the gaping hole where his shoulder and arm had been. Immediately the pack began to foam, sealing the wound. Jess administered a pain-killing shot and rolled away, snatching up her weapon and returning fire in short sporadic bursts.
The stocky, fair-haired farmer bellowed, ploughing towards them. “Help! Let me –”
Selena’s gun burped and cut him down mid-stride. The depleted uranium bullets tore chunks from him and blew him backwards. There was a blinding explosion before he touched the ground, and body parts scattered in all directions. The blast took out some of the fliers as they swept in for another strafing run, while gunfire from the commandos added to the explosions toll.
There was a sharp pain as something tore through Selena’s left cheek, and when she automatically raised a hand to it, it came away covered in blood. She pushed a flap of skin back into the long, thin tear, trying to ignore the pain. Spitting blood, she tore an adhesive dressing from her medical pack and slapped it to the wound, hissing at the sting from the foam.
The sentry guns stopped firing and, apart from pieces of the metallic craft falling to the ground, a stunned hush fell.
Cries of “Clear!” sounded from each of the troops, as one by one they carefully inspected the site.
“How did you know?” Singh asked, standing up and thumbing the safety of his weapon.
“Those caretakers weren’t firing at him, what not?” Selena mumbled, through the pain of her wound, adding, “And I got an urgent feeling from Shadow that something was wrong. The Lenars are close now, I can feel them.” Giving herself a painkilling shot, Selena raised an eyebrow at Jessica, as the others policed the remains of the attackers. “You shot a donkey … really?”
“Well, it’s dark and that critter was coming at me head on. The infra-red was scrambled and I didn’t have a clue what it was. And to be honest, I’ve never seen one before.” Blushing furiously, she turned and knelt next to Braxis, checking his wound. “He’ll live. With luck they might be able to regrow the shoulder and arm, so that’s his sex life sorted. But we need to get him to a hospital as soon as we can. You need to go too, that’s a nasty wound you have there. It’ll scar but corrective surgery will sort that out.”
“I’ll be fine until we get back. Take one of the newbies and one of the skimmers and get Braxis back to the city. The rest of us will continue in the other one, when it’s light.”
They watched quietly, as the skimmer rose and shot off in the direction of Capulet.
“Kes, when we get back I want you to scare up some more troops. We need more firepower than we have now. Involve Staff, and take a look at Jessica’s search teams too. Give her a hand if need be—that’s our priority. As for now, you have the first watch. Shake me in a couple of hours.”
“You’ve got it, Ma’am.”
***
By sunrise they were on their way again. Selena could feel Shadow close by, waiting for them, and she could sense that other Lenars were with him. A few hours later she ordered the skimmer to stop in a clearing about sixty metres round. There was a ring of knee-high white and brown fungus, like a pixie circle, dead in its centre. As the skimmer settled into the grass, and its hot metal began to cool down with gentle ticking noises, they saw movement in the darkness beneath the trees. Automatically they readied their weapons. But, at a sign from Selena, lowered them.
A familiar shape padded into the glade.
“Shadow,” Selena said, a smile breaking through her bleak expression. Now waist-high, the short-coated, six-legged Lenar strode towards them from the darkness beneath the trees. Like them, he had black almond-shaped eyes—which blended perfectly into his short midnight-coloured fur. Thick muscles bunched and rolled beneath the dark pelt as the Lenar’s pace quickened, until he stood nuzzling Selena. She knelt down and hugged him with both arms. As he did so, the other Lenars materialised out of the trees.
“It’s about bloody time!” a voice cried out.
Selena’s smile widened. “Cox. I hoped you’d be here.”
The small, balding, and overweight scientist stepped out of the undergrowth, looking as if he’d just finished running ten miles. He patted at the sweat on his brow with a stained cloth. His lower face was lost in a deep tangle of long grayish-white hair and multi-coloured beads danced in his beard as he spoke.
“It’s good to see you too, Commander.” He peered at her eyes. “You’ve lost weight and those eyes are kinda … eerie. Oh, there’s someone else here who’s been working with us on what’s killing the Lenars.”
A huge black mass reared out of the shadows of the trees and towered above her. Like a cross between a mantis, from which they got their name, and a giant spider, the insectoid still made her pulse race and trigger finger itch. A white, livid scar ran down the right side of the Manta’s face. Still raw, it slowly dribbled pus. A fist-sized ball of glowing orange light appeared and swirled above the creature’s right shoulder, and that eldritch voice she’d come to know so well, finally spoke.
“Greetings Commander Dillon.”
“Skar.”
Even despite the peace accord between the Assembly of Worlds, the Manta and their Sken allies, Selena found herself wanting to kill the creatures on sight.
“I’m surprised to see you here.” Selena eyed the multi-coloured belt forming an X across his chest, and the many unknown gadgets hanging haphazardly from it. Images of past battles flashed through her mind, where the Manta strode towards her firing their weapons, their maws gap
ing widely while their weapons sliced through her comrades and they tore others apart with their claws. Even though there was now peace between their races, she still had to fight back the belief that Skar and his kin would turn on them at a moment’s notice.
“You asked for our help with the Lenars,” Skar said, “and I gave my word that we would do what we could, so myself and a few of my kin are here to help.”
“So … how is it going?” she asked, forcing her fists to unclench as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Quite well,” Cox interjected, again using the cloth to wipe at the sweat on his brow and neck. “We’ve identified the cause behind the Lenars’ illness, thanks to our friend Skar here. We’ve started trials that could, with luck, lead to both a cure for those already suffering from it and immunisation for the others. So far we’ve had quite promising results, and I’m hoping it won’t be long before we have some excellent news.”
“That’s good to hear,” Selena said. “but in the meantime, unless you really need these Lenars, we could do with them back in the search teams. We’ll stay here with you tonight, if that’s okay. We had a brush with the ForeRunners on the way here and Jessica had to go back to base with one of our wounded. She’ll be back here tomorrow with another skimmer, to help transport everyone back to the city. Stragglers will be picked up on a second run. For now, our main priority is getting those teams up and running.”
***
Jessica arrived back with them early the next morning, accompanied by two troopers acting as escorts in case of attack. Forewarned that they’d be leaving first thing, Cox and the others had already packed and so it wasn’t long before they were on the way back to the citadel.
After her arrival, Selena showered and changed clothes. She eyed herself in the mirror when she was finished. Yup, she’d do. The scar on her cheek was faint now, thanks to the medical foam. It looked more like a ripple in her skin than anything else.