by Joe Crouch
“That’s handy,” Fez remarked. It wasn’t long before cuts were made into the brittle surface, for its impressive look, it was as if they were using a blowtorch to cut through paper, the squad expected a far harder time with the size of the structure. After a short wait, the final incision was made as the patch of flesh fell away, dangling at its corner and swaying into the hallway below them. The marine commander stepped forward and threw a spherical device down into what appeared to be an empty corridor, typing in commands on his own armour a holographic display fizzed into life out a small projector located in his wrist. The display showed everything the device saw in a three hundred and sixty-degree vision. Controlling the device with his holographic display, the commander rolled it along, mapping out the area in various spectrums.
“There,” Taris said, pointing to his display, “That area is emitting high infrared, it has to be engineering,” she remarked, drawing a glance from Fez.
“It could be,” he replied, chewing the subject over, “But we have little basis on which to draw from about Xuron vessels in general, let alone one of this magnitude.”
“But it’s as good a place to start as any,” Taris snapped, “Disabling the structure’s power source will surely disable the power wherever Sean may be.”
“Who’s to say that power isn’t keeping him alive on some form of life-support?” Fez replied, playing devil’s advocate, drawing a loud scoff from the frustrated Taris.
“I think she’s right, Captain,” the commander chipped in, “If we’re going to start anywhere, engineering is perfect, we can attempt to break into their mainframe to download schematics and his location, we must risk it.” Fez got up off his knee and stood firm, his arms were crossed as he pondered how to proceed, the mission was to save Sean, an important ambassador and friend, but if they have the chance to provide the Ioution fleet with valuable intel, it’s an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.
“Alright, let’s do it,” Fez said, nodding in agreement.
“I’ll go first,” the Commander stated, propping himself up against the tear that formed beneath them and with a push and a jump, he landed with a dull thud against the organic floor below, the visible veins within its surface seemed to contract at his presence. Looking up through the gap, he waved for everyone to follow after he took up position and with multiple thuds the crew landed before him, their faces a sign of what was to come.
“No!” Taris shouted, dancing about panicked, “What is this disgusting stuff, it’s getting all over my equipment,” she said as she scraped it off her weapon and armour, heaving as she laid her hands on the sticky substance. Laughing to himself, Fez grabbed a handful of the goo and threw it in her direction, recoiling, she pointed her weapon towards Fez, “I’ve killed for less you monster,” walking away, now in hysterics, Fez waddled towards where the Commander had taken up position.
“Report,” Fez said, kneeling beside the experienced marine.
“No activity, our scanner has been spotted and destroyed so we’ve only got old data to go on, so let me and my men do the heavy lifting, sir.”
“No arguments from me,” Fez replied, falling behind the squad that was now readying their individual weapons. He turned around to face Taris who was still wiping gunge from her equipment when he noticed a shadow moving behind her. “Watch out!” he shouted, pointing towards the veiled character behind the clueless Ioution and spinning on her heels Taris turned around but knocked on her back before she could take action.
“Get off me,” she yelled, trying her best to block the flailing arms the small and thin Xuron threw at her, causing no real damage. Within an instant a loud crack came from above the alien and a shaped energy blade pierced through its skull, the energy sparked off from Fez’s blades as it burned the skin around where it was jammed, and with a single pull the blade retreated outwards, leaving the body to collapse into a pile onto Taris. Grabbing the corpse, she rolled it one side and slammed a fist into its already malformed face and looked up at Fez, who stood there in amazement, “Don’t look at me like that, or you’ll get one of these,” she said, punching the Xuron again with such force a loud snap came from its skull.
“I get it,” Fez said, holding his hands up, “No more fun, only work.”
“Well… Not no more fun,” she smirked, drawing a knowing look from the now uncomfortable Captain. The pair joined up with the waiting professionals who now grew impatient as the two messed about. Proceeding on they covered all their angles, moving cautiously through the tight corridors that provided little cover. The squad had to descend three decks to get to engineering, luckily for them, the Xuron seemed to have developed a similar technology to the much-maligned Human and Ioution invention – The stairwell.
Turning a corner into a large, pointlessly open space with only a smattering of consoles dotted about the floor, they encountered their first real resistance. Five heavily armed Xuron soldiers took up position across the room behind a physical barrier they constructed as a blockade. This breed of Xuron was more akin to the ones encountered on Assira, specially trained soldiers with a calibre not to be scoffed at, they were dangerous up close with their physical strength and at range with their superior hand-eye co-ordination. Without hesitation, the group fanned out, dodging the incoming light plasma fire that whizzed past their position, the smell of cooked, rotting flesh filled the air as the super-heated plasma slammed into the fleshy walls, making their environmental masks work overtime.
“Focus your fire on the middle one,” the Commander yelled, “He has the heaviest arms, we need to exterminate his threat as fast as possible.” A demonstration of the Xuron’s capabilities came as the large weapon let out a loud whirring sound before unleashing a massive bolt of plasma that tore a hole into the console Taris was hidden behind.
“Yeah, alright, I got the idea,” Taris said as she went to wipe her brow, but only managed to wipe a hand against the protective mask. The plasma fire continued to rage on, it skimmed past the tops of the terminals as the walls behind the hunkered down team caught fire. As soon as she raised her head to return fire she was met with a hail of destruction, “We’ve got to think of something,” she yelled.
“We do,” the Commander replied, blindly firing his weapon over the lip as another heavy plasma bolt punctured through a console, “How fast can you run?” he asked, looking towards Taris.
“… Fast enough,” she hesitated, “Why…?”
“Run over towards that console there,” he pointed to the other side of the room.
“Are you insane,” she screamed in a high-pitched voice, incredulous at what was being asked of her, “I haven’t survived this long by attempting the dumb and stupid.”
“The brave and magnificent,” the Commander replied, “You’ll give us the opportunity to get some good shots off, go on my mark.”
“I don’t like this…” she replied, holding her weapon close to her chest, her eyes were firmly locked on the Commander as he began his countdown and reaching zero she stood up with her head bent towards the ground and bolted for the specified console. Weapons fire screamed her way, impacting all around her, burning small craters into the floor in front of her, but her luck soon ran out as a single bolt crashed into her armour, sending her crumpling to the ground.
“Open fire!” Fez shouted as he rose from his position, spraying flashes of energy towards the now suppressed Xuron, “Get to cover, now,” he yelled towards Taris, who promptly crawled away to safety.
“I told you I didn’t like that idea,” she said in a calm voice, already plotting her revenge on the Commander, but it had given them the advantage, their squad now pinned down the hunkered Xuron and were on the offensive. Ducking back into cover, Fez pulled out a remotely controlled explosive device, throwing it into the air it hovered in place before zipping off towards its pre-designated target, crashing a few metres away with a loud explosion that rocked everyone on their feet. The Xuron were scattered and disorientated, the explosion had ruined two o
f the five but left the others unharmed, pressing the advantage the squad moved up, taking cover as they did so as not to spring any form of ambush. The enemy eventually gathered their thoughts and pulled themselves up off the floor and continued to rain plasma on their positions. Popping up from cover, Taris aimed down her weapons sights and let off a guided bolt of energy, she watched on as it lanced through the glass-like face of the defences and pierced through the Xuron’s chest.
Looking down at their fallen comrades they decided enough was enough, grabbing their close-range weapons they crawled onto the walls and scurried along the ceiling, avoiding the weapons fire as they darted about with agility. Dropping down, a single Xuron landed beside Fez and sliced downwards with a dagger, it sparked heavily off the Ioution’s armour and with a flick of his wrist, Fez brought his energy weapon to life with a loud crack. The pair danced around one another, both waiting for the other to strike, during the tense stand-off the remaining Xuron slammed to the floor as a marine’s small arms fire brought it crashing down, leaving it in a mangled lump.
Fez lunged forwards at the distracted Xuron, his energy blade crackling through the air as the enemy side-stepped his attack swiping its own blade across Fez’s chest piece, leaving a large pitted scar. The armour could withstand multiple hits but it would degrade eventually. Pressing forward, Fez jabbed the point of his weapon at the exposed Xuron, gaining purchase as it slid through its flesh, causing a deafening screech to fill the chamber. Fez was taken back by the ear-splitting noise that blasted from the Xuron. Unknowingly, he offered himself up to a counter which his foe gladly obliged to and swinging its arms out the alien wrapped itself around the Captain, dragging him down to the ground. The pair rolled and flailed about, each trying their best to land a strong enough blow to send their adversary into a daze, but neither could find enough room to build the required energy for such a strike.
Before long the Xuron soldier grabbed Fez by the neck and pinned him down to the ground, exasperated cries came from the Captain before Taris rushed over, slamming a shoulder into the defenceless and unsuspecting alien, sending it crashing to the ground. Pushing himself up, he positioned himself over the snarling Xuron, its small wings attempted to beat but with a quick swish of his blade, it was over, the smell of charred flesh rushed out from the decapitated corpse.
“Well, that was exciting,” Taris panted, sliding down the wall on her back as she tried to catch her own breath. Fez glanced over only able to shake his head as he flicked his wrist, disabling his energy weapon. The marine squad formed around the Captain, each maintaining their weapon, refuelling and cleaning while they could, the next encounter could be around the corner so they had to be on their proverbial toes.
“You ready to go, Taris?” Fez asked, looking down at the still panting Ioution.
“Sure… Just gimme… Two… More minutes,” she huffed, pulling herself up off the floor by grabbing onto a fleshy nodule that extruded out from the breathing wall, “It’s my allergies,” she admitted, wiping herself off, “I’m allergic to… disgusting things.”
“That explains the noises you make while eating,” Fez quipped, spinning on his heels with a smirk on his face but not escaping the waft of the slap aimed at the back of his head. The crew jostled about for a moment longer before the Commander strolled into the middle, holding a square device.
“Captain, I’ve got this, judging from old scans we’re almost above where we assume engineering is located, if that’s true, we can cut our way down deck by deck instead of taking the risky stairs.”
“This will cut through the deck flooring?” Fez quizzed.
“It will,” the Commander replied, “It has limited uses, but if we’re only going down three decks it should last,” Fez crossed his arms and thought for a moment, breathing in the stale and stagnant air that seemed to be swirling about the now battle-worn room.
“Alright, let’s do it,” he said, raising his weapon, “Let’s get to engineering as soon as possible…”
Chapter 22
The squad fanned out to their own regular positions, each covered a different exit that led out from the scarred room they defended. Fez and the Commander worked behind the group with the small, cube-like device that they hoped would carve a way out down towards engineering. Kneeling, the Commander pushed the device into the flesh of the floor which stiffened as pressure was applied, trying its best to protect the vital veins which ran below. “Captain, step back,” the Commander said, following the more knowledgeable Ioution Fez retreated to a safe distance, taking up position behind one of the consoles. Within moments the cube got to work. A large energy field extended out from its glowing surface, the blinding blue light it emanated flecked off the chunks of debris that were scattered about the floor. The room was almost peaceful, the faint hum of the device as it cut through the organic matter was calming. Fez sat back and allowed himself to close his eyes just for a moment, taking a second to gather his own thoughts and make sense of the situation they were in.
The relative silence of the room was shattered as the cube let out a loud screech, heat dissipated from its surface as its energy field began to retract, all that remained was a glowing, white-hot box that floated above the space it had been placed. Strolling over and grabbing the device, the Commander placed the cube into his pack, ready for use on the next deck. “Alright, let’s move out,” Fez said, gathering the squad around as they peered down the newly formed, rectangular hole. Its edges were smooth, the energy had sliced the matter away and moulded the surfaces leaving a straight square cut down, it was a long drop, but it was a much simpler way down to engineering.
“Let me go first again, Captain,” the Commander insisted, relieving everyone’s nerves that looked down at the chasm, “I’ll give you the all clear when it's safe.”
“No one should have heard that,” Fez said, “I was right next to it and could barely hear it working.”
“That may be so, Captain, but we can never be too careful.” Wasting no time in descending the steep drop, he threw himself over the edge and landed gracefully down below, with a knowing look he motioned for the others to follow. One by one they dropped down, each landing heavily on the cushioned floor, looking around at the black tar that covered the walls, it was different from the previous deck's more organic look.
“What do you think this stuff is?” Taris asked, prodding the substance.
“From what we’ve observed in the past, it’s a type of conductive material used to move energy as heat around the ship, it has a few surprises as well that hopefully, we will not encounter,” Fez said watching as Taris yanked her finger out from the goop, wiping it on her trousers. The team stuck to the inside wall as the corridor curved around, each taking caution to not make noise.
“Captain, up ahead,” the leading marine whispered, signalling for everyone to kneel, “A single Xuron, unarmed by the looks of it, how should we proceed?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Fez replied as he swung the bow-type armament over his shoulder. Its string sparked into life, coursing with energy as he drew back on the device, the longer the draw the more energy built up in the small capacitor that sat on the string. Taking aim and looking down the optical sight he targeted the unsuspecting Xuron’s head, and within an instant unleashed the full might of the weapon. Releasing its string, the built-up energy formed into an arrow, it streaked across space without sound or fanfare, moments later the alien dropped to the floor, a hole carved neatly through its skull.
“Any chance of letting me have a go on that?” Taris asked, attempting to swipe the weapon from Fez’s hands.
“Not until you’re all grown up,” he replied, rubbing Taris on top of her head drawing a fierce scowl. The team continued past the corpse, watching on as a thin plume of smoke rose from the wound to its skull, revealing the mangled inner workings of the complicated brain. “We need to find another large open area where we can use our device again,” Fez stated, speaking to no one in particular, “These ti
ght corridors are no good.”
“According to scans there is a box room coming up behind an exit way on our right,” the Commander replied, swiping through the hologram which lit up his armour. The team managed a couple more steps before a bellowing sound erupted from behind the walls. A repeating static noise filled the hallways, only intermitted with the strange sound of Xuron communicating.
“What’s that,” Fez tried his best to shout over the loud bug-like clicks and buzzes of the Xuron.
“It sounds like an alarm, no doubt warning others of our arrival.” Fez slammed a fist into the black wall, the tar pooled around his armour as he pulled out, nodding, he motioned for everyone to carry on, they couldn’t turn back now. Arriving in a large room, they pushed the cutting cube into the ground and stood back as it shook into life once again. Taris turned to face Fez, his visor bathed in a bright blue light.
“One more deck and we’re there, things have gone well so far, don’t you think?”
“Maybe a little too well,” Fez replied, staring on into the bright light, “We’ve seen that soldiers are stationed here, so where are they.”
“Guarding the important stuff?” Taris shrugged, leaning up against the supporting structure of the ship, “If I were going to guard anything, it would be engineering, right?”
“You’re right,” Fez admitted, “We can expect heavy resistance, but it’s crucial we get down there, there is far too much to gain to ignore the opportunity.”
“I know…” Taris trailed off, her head dropping, “I’m just worried,” she let out behind a veiled whisper, trying her hardest to cloak her true emotion for the situation. The silence that filled the air was broken as the device squealed, letting off its excess energy as heat that shot off in every direction.