by C. W Tickner
A helicopter shot passed Harl, rocking the cockpit. Dana was hunched forwards in the seat, mouth open as though whooping with joy.
‘Keep ranks,’ Damen said.
Harl realised his role had switched. He eyed the battle below as Damen led Sonora and Dana on a winding route, making for the wall and the Aylens closest to Orbital’s target.
Vorock was crouched down in the water, blasting at the nearest Aylen, the weapon on his suit arm was smoking as the other held up the remnants of a metal shield.
Sonora slipped in to Damen’s right and Dana took his left. Their quarry was standing with his back against the wall, one suited arm propping up the other, launching streams of red at Vorock who dodged back and forward, knee high in water, trying to avoid it.
Harl led the two other helicopters in a line, heading for a crouched Aylen kneeling in the water below below them. The Aylen was barely moving as he consolidated his fire power with the others, the shots ricocheting off Vorock’s shield and suit.
Harl flicked the comms switch. ‘We’ll dive bomb one after another. Follow my lead.’
Any moment now, he thought, it will spot us. The distance decreased rapidly as he tipped the stick to begin a dive and tapped the bracelet to open a channel to Manny and Vorock.
‘Switch fire away from the crouched one,’ Harl said. ‘We’re engaging.’ He didn’t want to get caught in Vorock’s crossfire
A crackle erupted through the speakers. ‘Hurry,’ Manny said amid a torrent of loud bursts. ‘We’re leaking fluid, it’s slowing us down, soon we’ll seize up. Without a suit we won’t last.’
The helicopter tilted forward, angling down as far as it would go tumbling over in front roll. Jerking the stick to fight the a sudden updraft, Harl lined up the Aylen’s face in his cross-hairs.
It still hadn’t noticed the three helicopters, if their luck could just last little longer…
He laughed when he figured the reason it hadn’t. To the Aylen they were tiny, not even noticeable when it was engaged in combat. Like a man looking for a bone beetle in a thunderstorm. They had the element of surprise.
A rattling shook the copter as he clamped a thumb to the fire button, the target sign flashing a green cross on the Aylens face.
The line of blue shots, larger than those from a rifle, ploughed one after another at the grey cheek. Each hit scorched the flesh, burning holes into the skin. Harl jerked up away from the angry face as it looked around seeking the source of the skin melting shots.
Its mouth opened wide in a roar of pain as the next pilot hit the top of the head, searing skin but doing less damage as the head bobbed and weaved. An arm swung up forcing the final helicopter to hold fire and evade the huge forearm and barrel attached to it.
They were split up, circling around the head and dodging the enormous flailing limbs.
‘Pull back and come around again,’ Harl said, ‘one more attack should distract it enough.’
A downward glance at Vorock told him they had eased the pressure. With Damen, Dana and Sonora occupying another, Vorock had managed to close the gap. He was slowing as liquid sprayed from ruptured pipes on the mech and tarnished the water around him with an oily slick.
Red flashed across Harl’s sight as a torrent of ruby shots smattered the helicopter. The shots slammed into it with such force that Harl had to wrestle the controls. A turret perched on the wall had opened fire with alarming accuracy. The distance had weakened the shots and Harl banked away to avoid getting any closer.
Vibrations rippled through the cockpit as the line danced over the hull and moved to the next Copter, striking Harl’s wingman, who had strayed to close.
‘Help!’ The call came from the wingman as fire bloomed from within the engine and smoke trailed in a swirl behind him as the helicopter spun down over an Aylen. The top popped off and Harl expected the man to jump but something was wrong. He should have jumped out by now.
‘The drone,’ the man said, ‘its been hit.’ His voice was breaking up into static over the radio, the machine plummeted. The spin slowed. Was the man was trying to take control again? But instead of levelling out, the copter angled towards the Aylen beneath.
Harl held his breath as the blades tore deep welts in the face, gouging furrows across the forehead. The body of the copter lodged deep, buried in the skull before an explosion popped the head like one of Kane’s grenades held against the face. The Aylen didn’t scream, just collapsed to it’s knees, yellow mingling with the tidal wave caused by its bulk as it crashed to the sea floor.
Harl glanced at the others as he levelled the copter out and swung it around to face the maelstrom in the water, his last wingman tight to his left. Five Aylen still hemmed Vorock in. Red streaks littered the open sky as each fired on Vorock who was crouched in the water behind the body of another dead giant and resting the last section of his shield on top. Damen, Dana and Sonora distracted one each, leaving Vorock two to deal with, but Harl knew it was not enough.
Inspiration struck him like a hammer to an anvil. The numbers were almost too coincidental, five helicopters, five Aylen.
‘Crash into them,’ Harl said, wedging his thumb on the comms button as he flew a circle coming around to face down on a skinny Aylen encased in a thick armour suit as if compensating for its meagre frame.
‘Say again?’ Damen said.
‘Aim to crash into their heads,’ Harl said. ‘Eject the top and use the drone flyer to get back to the dropship.’
The dropship had reached the wall and began its circle back to Orbital as the immense metal beast broke the last clouds that littered the blue sky, its yellow lit nose pointed at the island and the barricade that enclosed it.
A laugh pierced the radio and a roar drew Harl’s attention to an Aylen swiping furiously at the air. Was it? It couldn’t be.
‘She’s mad,’ Damen said as Dana’s copter tore into its face, rotors churning chunks of flesh from the cheeks. A tiny speck, noticeable only by the billowing cloak, zipped away from the falling giant as it clawed its head with both hands and howled in agony.
‘I’ll go,’ Harl’s wingman radioed. He soared passed Harl’s left, giving him a cheeky wave and aiming for the Aylen furthest from the wall that was pinning Vorock in place.
The man ejected the glass top and it shot off, whipped aside in the wind, a small cord pulled it down from the blades then released. The man clambered to sit on the edge of the cockpit with drone clipped on his feet and dangling over the edge. He jumped, leaving the machine falling on target. The Aylen turned, foiling the attempt. It spotted the copter and casually back handed the falling machine, exploding on impact with its plated arm.
Harl hesitated then tilted forward and gripped his escape cord. With an effort he tugged, propelling the roof off, exposing his face to a blistering cold wind and the potent smell of acrid smoke. He drew back the throttle lever, lowering the speed to a slow hover and twisted around to grab the radio and manhandle the flyer on to his lap. Squinting against the howling gusts he gripped the sides and pulled himself up, swinging both legs over to dangle outside. Awkwardly he stuffed his feet into the flyer, clamping them in and felt the force from the drone propellers push back as it activated. He looked down at the bald palette of grey on top of the Aylen’s head.
Madness, that’s what this was, utter madness. He grabbed up a radio then leant back and stretched an arm over the seat to tap the stick and send the machine into a spin. He shoved the throttle lever to full. The engines roared and the spin threatened to fling him off.
A deep breath, a curse, and he jumped.
Chapter 36
I’ve put on a suit and taken cover on the far side of the airdome. The giant is carrying a semi sphere of glass. The soldiers have guessed the same as me and have started firing.
Time slowed and Harl tiny in the immense space around him. The open mouth of the Aylen was just beneath and looking up at him as it shrieked its brutal war cry. The drone countered his forward momentum, leaving him
to watch for what seemed ages as the helicopter spun around and hammered into the bulbous face. First the blades sliced deep welts through the thick grey skin that instantly filled with viscous yellow fluid. The blades must have hit a vein and a yellow mist burst outwards, spewing droplets across Harl’s vision before the rest of the machine crumpled against the face and tore it apart in a wet explosion. Yellow cascaded down the lower part of the face, revealing chunks of silvery bone beneath.
Hands the size of a barn attempted to stem the wound, but the pulpy mass was beyond saving. Harl glimpsed an eye roll up and the remaining portion of head lolled to one side before the body collapsed straight down into the water.
Time came back to normal as Kane’s impatient voice blasted from the radio in Harl’s hands. ‘Clear the wall.’
Two Aylen had been pressed back against the wall.
‘Left one is mine,’ Damen said.
Harl tensed up from the cold and leant forward to get closer to the action and be ready to board the dropship on it’s final pass after Orbital’s attack.
Damen dropped altitude, guns still rattling shots in a dive bomb as his top popped off, ripping away in the descent. The sheer speed was phenomenal.
Bloody trophy hunt, Harl thought.
As soon as the top was clear, Damen wrestled himself up from the seat, rolling off in a tumble and forcing his feet into the drone before pushing away from the copter.
The Aylen underneath looked up too late. The machine hurtled down, narrowly avoiding a feeble swipe. Rotors plummeted passed a second swipe and drilled into the shocked face, churning out yellow chunks of flesh and exploding with a wet pop. A terrible scream of agony erupted from the Aylen and it stumbled backwards into the wall, rocking the entire structure. Sightless eyes stared up at Sonora in the last helicopter as the body buckled into the water.
Harl smiled as Damen pumped his fists in the air. Damen’s own scream was one of pure triumph at slaying such a titanic creature.
Sonora had manoeuvred towards the nearest Aylen. It had seen the carnage caused by Damen’s deadly dive and it fired wildly up at her. She pitched around but the Aylen lowered its weapon arm and lashed out a meaty hand, engulfing the bottom of the helicopter.
‘No,’ Harl screamed, unable to do anything but watch in horror as the Aylen inspected the machine. It held her at arms length to avoid the spin of the rotors.
‘Help her,’ he said, punching the transmit button on the bracelet and clamping desperate fingers around the radio. ‘Fire Orbital.’
‘You can’t,’ Kane said, cutting in. ‘It’s suicide for all of us.’
‘Screw you, Kane,’ Harl said, anger roiling inside. He knew Orbital was lined up with that section of the wall. ‘Fire, dammit. Vorock, Manny? Come in. Can you fire?’
Vorock’s voice broke through, the translator spitting out the monosyllabic word. ‘Impossible.’
Harl cursed, not caring about being rude. He leant forward to push the flyer as fast as it would go. He would try and get to her if no one could.
‘We’re with you,’ Damen said and Harl twisted around as Damen and Dana sped in beside him.
The Aylen shook the helicopter, jerking it side to side.
Sonora’s voice punctuated the static but only a pleading scream was audible above the roaring wind in his ears.
Something in the air changed. Harl’s hair stood on end, prickling the back of his neck. A high pitched ringing pierced his ears. Vibrations rattled his stomach like an invisible earthquake in the air. A glance behind and he saw the cause. The forward tip of Orbital was a shimming halo of blue energy, contained in an eye burning epicentre. The screech intensified as Kane’s voice screamed in frustration.
‘It’s too soon,’ he yelled, ‘Stop!’
The bright blue centre curved clockwise to form a vortex, beaming away form Orbital. Directly in front, a single blue dot hovered on the Aylen’s chest, a target marker as it shielded its eyes from the intense glare by raising a hand. Sonora’s helicopter was clutched loosely in the other.
‘No,’ Kane cried.
‘Catch her,’ Harl said, seeing her fate and hoping either Dana or Damen could race close enough before she hit the water. A fiery explosion burst from the rear of Orbital like thunder as the reactor overloaded and the air around it shimmered in a heat haze.
The screech peaked as the vortex stretched out, touching the Aylen and a wave of blue pulsed along the stream. As it touched the giant’s chest the wave tremored through the body. Flesh expanded behind the armour as energy was forced inside and blue cracks ruptured the skin, bursting it apart with blinding light. The suit disintegrated, splintering into shards and a putrid stench of burnt meat assaulted Harl’s nostrils.
Sonora’s helicopter tumbled from the Aylen’s grip before the light reached the hands. Its spin slowed and the roof split off as Sonora pulled the cord close to the roiling water below. But she didn’t jump.
Harl leant in, trying to gain speed and help her but a surge of wind and heat juddered him to a halt then flipped him up and backwards as the ripple effect of the cannon washed passed him.
He righted and fought to stay up as his stomach continued to flip and churn. He followed in Dana’s wake as she zoomed down, racing to reach the rapidly sinking helicopter before the yellow torrent of gore splashing over it, pulled it under.
The three of them circled down. The cold air nearly freezing Harl as it rushed passed him. He crouched, lowering the machine to the crumpled copter. Waves lashed back and forward around it, drawing back to reveal an empty seat.
‘Sonora,’ he called. His gut twisted in fear.
Waves battered against the metal-sided machine. How had he let her do this? He should have stopped her.
A limp arm broke the yellow surface. Harl darted down almost tipping into the bubbling broth as he reached over and clasped the delicate hand, dragging Sonora up. Damen hovered closer, lending his strength to keep her upright as her head flopped to the side and the yellow water ran off her soaking suit.
‘No,’ Harl said clutching her to him.
‘She’s not responding,’ Damen said into the radio and Tess’ reassuring voice replied.
‘Tuck her chin in and palm her back,’ she said. ‘You need to get the water out and clear her airways.’
Damen held her, proffering her back to Harl. Using the ball of his hand, Harl clapped hard. Tears blurred his vision and he didn’t see her eyes open but a choke rattled her frame and water streamed out as she coughed up yellow liquid.
‘What happened?’ Sonora asked, wiping the fluid from her lips.
Harl pressed the comms on the radio. ‘Thank you, Gorman.’ He said hoping the old man could still hear him.
‘Fool,’ Kane sputtered back, ‘you’ve doomed us all.’
It was true but Harl didn’t care, only Sonora mattered.
A single Aylen blocked the way. Even if they had a second shot it wouldn’t have hit the wall.
‘Did you see that?’ Damen said brimming with excitement, ‘What a hunt.’
‘Better get back to the dropship,’ Harl said, spotting the smaller ship lining up behind Orbital.
They manoeuvred into the dropship’s rusted cargo bay, threw off the fliers and rushed for the cockpit.
‘Well, what now?’ Kane asked, not looking around at them as he banked up, behind the smoking trail of Orbital letting the bigger ship cruise ahead.
‘Go over the wall,’ Damen said.
‘Not possible,’ Kane said, ‘according to Vorock there’s a no fly zone on the outside of the wall. There’s no guarantee we’d survive a heavy attack.’
‘Maybe we can take out the turrets?’ Harl said.
‘What’s that?’ Dana asked, pressing up against the glass window and peering down.
A rain of shots scoured across the water, shooting passed Vorock and hitting the wall behind.
‘Bring us about,’ Harl said, wondering where the rogue shots came from.
Kane pitched the
ship about as a series of red blasts, whipped around the dropship, ploughing red bursts into Orbital.
The mountains across on the mainland were rife with dozens of armoured Aylens all targeting Vorock and the ship rocketing down towards their precious wall that kept the island in check.
Vorock crawled through the water, his head barely visible, taking cover while red shots struck the currents around him. It fizzled as the water countered their energy, followed by hissing puffs of steam.
Kane completed a three hundred and sixty degree spin to face the wall as Orbital pitched forward below them, dropping faster as gravity took over.
‘He’s going to crash through the wall,’ Sonora said.
Chapter 36.
Betrayal! The dome has been placed over the entire landing zone. The poor souls inside are trapped. I have no idea what it wants with us but it has begun to grab those inside through an opening in the top of the glass dome.
‘He can’t,’ Kane protested.
‘It might work,’ Tess said.
‘Might?’ Troy asked as the ship rattled with turbulence.
‘If it can’t breach the wall,’ Tess said, ‘then were not going to last long after.’
‘Orbital is slowing down,’ Kane said adjusting the controls.
‘Why?’ Troy asked.
‘Accuracy,’ Tess said.
‘Whatever happens,’ Kane said, ‘we need to be behind it if it crashes.’
‘Gramps?’ Sonora said, trying frantically to contact Gorman using the communication computer.
‘Too much interference,’ Kane said when she received only a static crackle through the speaker.
Kane slowed the dropship, tilting left, letting Orbital lead as it arced straight down and giving them an unobstructed view of the scene below.
Harl raised the bracelet. ‘Vorock,’ he said, ‘We’re crashing through.’
Shots flew passed them as the Aylen below tried to stop the larger ship’s inevitable descent.