Kraken Orbital

by James Stubbs

  This sorry, small and pitiful man has made me, and my whole group, feel like less than crap for years and now I’m on top! I strike him again and he falls to the floor. The glass shatters with the second blow and he gasps for oxygen in the shallow atmosphere of the cave. I want to kill him. The un-evolved ape inside of me wants to pulverized this small, pathetic, insect of a man into the dirt beneath my feet just because he dared to look at me wrong!

  If this was a dog eat dog world, like it should be, if we were back in the dark ages before the infection of civilization, like we should be, if this was survival of the fittest and the lesser man ended up on the menu? Then I’d have killed him and feasted on his blood for a week. Regrettably, the civilized man with a conscience, who knows that its wrong to kill for any reason, stops me in my tracks.

  I finally see again through my rage glazed eyes and look at my bewildered colleagues who are staring at me blankly in a welcome state of disbelief. I realize my teeth are gritted shut and I’m panting hard for breath to calm my surge of adrenaline. It suddenly occurs to me. Any one of these men could have sounded the alarm by now. More than that they could have stopped me themselves. But they haven’t.

  I make a run for it, carried by the empowering sense that I might just escape this persistent nightmare.

  I run like I’ve never ran before. My feet pound hard off the solid rocky surface of the cave and I make for the airlock. There are other miners still working. I have a chance at this. The news can’t have spread that fast if people are still working. I race through the mine as fast as I can. I lean into every turn so I can make it around the tight and twists rocky outcroppings.

  I knock three guys right off their feet as I round the last corner to the air lock. I would like to stop and ask them if they’re ok but I fight that urge and carry on. The door is locked. Obviously. I still have my axe and I’m not going to be defeated! I swing it hard into the locking mechanism in the centre of the door. It sparks but doesn’t budge. I hit it again with every inch of swing I can manage. Again with heart pulsing agony! Once more and it relents.

  The mechanism drops limply to the floor with a circular rotating motion, like a coin dropping only to remain unsettled. The door springs open. People are getting worried. I can see them over my shoulder, they huddle into the wall struck with fear, but I don’t care!

  The door to the airlock springs open and I enter it. I jam the axe into the next door and hit it over and over until it drops too. I swing my axe as hard as I can into the ventilation chamber above until it stops working too. I did that out of malice and I really enjoyed it.

  I’m back in the changing area. The next crew are getting ready for their shift, they are glued to the benches in fear too. I enter the room like a snarling, pulsating, enraged dragon wielding my axe tightly about my clenched fists. Every time I breath out I unintentionally snarl or growl.

  They do nothing, so I bolt it past them and make for the next corridor that I don’t recognize. If I’m going to make it out then I need to go to places that I don’t know off the top of my head. The only other direction would lead me back to my bed chamber, where I could most usefully, pull the covers over my head and hide until I got found and likely shot.

  I bolted through a red colored door that thankfully wasn’t locked. The light was the first thing that hit me. The powerful yet gentle sun high in the sky instantly blinded me but did nothing to sooth my enraged temper. The door led out to a raised, mesh patterned, metal walkway.

  It ran off in several directions like a spider web connecting a million different stairwells and other facilities. The steel frames clung against the rocky fissures and crags. Two guards spotted me right away. Both guys, massive, with huge muscles and decked out in red, combat bruised, armor came bearing down on me from over the walkway.

  I don’t know where to go. My fight or flight reaction was stuck on the former. I bolted right to them. I hit the first guy so hard with a dipped shoulder that he stumbled right away and fell, with a shattering scream, to the rocky surface below. I heard his body hit the ground and snap.

  It should have filled me with dread. It should have filled me with anger at myself and it should have made me feel guilty and depressed. I’d taken a life. But it didn’t. I was glad and that scared me even more. The last guy stopped dead, afraid of me, and turned to run away. I threw my axe off the back of his head. It hit his helmet hard, cracked it through the middle, and the guy fell to the floor limp. The metal walkway creaked under the shock of his weight.

  I wanted his armor. He had a laser weapon on him too. The axe could go. I tossed it over the side without thinking twice. I threw off my mining uniform as fast as I could and started pulling the red armor off the lifeless body. I knew it wasn’t going to be a snug fit but it seemed to stretch or shrink around the wearer. Shrink in my case.

  No one had discovered me so I was safe to wander around so long as I got rid of this body. I lifted the guy slowly over the rail that guarded the sides of the walkway. He was heavy. I swung his torso over the rail then lifted his legs so that he was precariously balanced on the tiny edge of the metal. I shoved him to the floor below. I knew it would kill him. He opened his eyes as he slumped into the rock. His look of fear will always be etched onto the back of my eyes.

  I discarded the helmet. It was cracked so I couldn’t see anything out of it when I briefly tried it on. I could see a rig connected to the walkway that didn’t have a guard by the door. I needed to get far away. The structure was like an oil rig, used in the not too distant past, in oil rich areas back on Earth. There was a module welded on the base that would make it capably of space flight.

  It had hyper drive. A basic one I assumed as I studied it from the ledge and a deck to the side that would presumably be the cockpit. Pipe lines traced its every corner and I could make out the drill mechanism penetrating through the middle of the metal honeycomb structure.

  That was a good a chance as any. I broke out into a swift jog. My heavy boots crashed over the metal walkway and the impact vibrated and echoed throughout the rocky surroundings. I was still alone for now. I could see, in the distance, a few guards over on the other walkways to my left. They were far enough away to remain undisturbed. The sound must not be carrying that far and their vision, in the long distance, must be somewhat impaired by the shell of their helmets.

  I hit the door hard with my shoulder to brake it open. It wasn’t too strong and the weak lock gave way with just one barge. The metal lock fell to the concrete floor with a dull thud. I brushed my palm over the but of the laser weapon, and suddenly realized I had no idea how to use it. I couldn’t see or hear anyone in the next area.

  The next area served as entrance to the rig. It was honeycombed and I could see though it past the strong metal beams. It consisted of a long corridor that led to an open concrete stairway. It reminded me of a space shuttle entrance. I was always a dreamer. That’s why I came here. I always wanted to explore space. That kind of thing had fascinated me as a kid in my history lessons.

  I run again, all the way up to the stairs, and don’t even pause to check that the way was clear like I should have.

  ‘Hey!’ Damn it! There were four of them in the stair way that I hadn’t seen. They had me pinned from an elevated position and my adrenaline was starting to fall. My heart started beating harder and harder and I contemplated, although very briefly, giving up.

  I drew the laser gun and started pulling at the trigger. I should have been watching where I was pointing it. I wasn’t expecting it to go off at all. I thought there might have been a safety mechanism or something. The bolts of laser energy, red and dazzling, slammed against the concrete and fired dust and fragments of brick up into the air.

  I breathed in, by mistake, and inhaled a lot of particles. I couldn’t stop coughing. I could hear them laughing at me. Mocking me. I guess I deserved it.

  ‘Come on, kid, you had a good run!’ One of them jested and was met with applauding laughter and a few claps and hig
h fives from his dumb ass buddies. I was, again, filled with rage.

  They added fuel to my burning fire and I was empowered some more to not back down. I don’t care if I die here like this. I’d rather die than go back. I raised my gun through the fog of dust and fired as many times as I could until the weapon stopped. It overheated, burned my hand right through my armored glove, and I dropped it like a rookie on the floor.

  The first body fell down the stairs, parting the wave of dust as it fell, and slumped at the base with smoldering holes in the man’s armor. I flared at the nostrils and my muscles felt unnaturally tense. I steadied my breath, relaxed my shoulders and felt my face go numb, not with regret or self hate. But anger and pride. I start walking up the stairs, passing three more burnt bodies as I climb and don’t stop to give them the time of day to even look at them.

  I follow the next areas, corridors and adjacent rooms containing supercomputers and navigational gear blindly on auto pilot. I feel invincible and above the law. I stuff my hand into my pocket when it starts throbbing from the pain of the burn. There is a security card in there. I take hold of it and a door to my right suddenly sparks into life.

  The circular locking mechanism spins into life and the door thunders open. It reveals a control room, maybe a bridge, I step in and the door closes.

  All at once the emotion hits me. I feel elated at first. I managed to tear off the shackles that bound me to this modern day form of slavery. I managed, all of a sudden, to show my boss just what I thought of him and beat him down just like he did to us day after day. But I’d killed. I didn’t know that was in me. I’d hoped it wasn’t. My chest tightens and I feel an insurmountable wave of depression lift over me.

  I only notice my tears as they start rolling down my cheeks and splashing into little puddles across the matt black floor. I start to shake uncontrollably and I can feel all the solidity ebb away from me. The resolve I used to beat the life out of my boss, tear my way out of the mine, kill six guards on my way to the rig, suddenly but surely ebbs out of me. All the negativity, pain and self hate rushes through me and fills me with dread.

  I cry for what feels like hours, holding an open palm to my brushed beard, gritting my teeth over the side of my hand. I bite down hard so that the pain takes my mind away from what I just did. It isn’t enough. I punch myself hard on the side of the cheek to try and snap out of it. But I just fall to my knees. I start hitting my head, over and over again, off the side of the centre console until I can see nothing but dazzling white in the backs of my eyes.

  I stop just before I pass out and roll back, slumping to the cold floor, a broken and deflated man.

  I must have knocked something. Images and charts started filling the screen above my head. It was mounted above the centre console so high that I had not even seen it when I came in. The centre console allowed full vision through the windows ahead, but the pilot or captain would have to lift his head to see any data displayed upon the screen. The pictures showed a luscious world, filled with greenery, roaring rivers, interesting creatures and rolling hills.

  The charts that occupied the other half of the screen displayed densities of detected natural gas. The planet I was looking at was not too dissimilar from Earth long before the advent of the human race. It’s fossil fuels were rich. The Morris-Cooper Company must have been planning on flying this hybrid rig there and mining for the gas deposits.

  I decide in an instant what I’m going to do. I’ve made my choice, I made it when I first struck my boss with my axe, and there is no turning back from the things that I have done in the last half hour. I’m going to steal it. I’m going to fly the damn thing there and just take my chances. I’m blind to the numbing sensation of uncertainty. I just don’t care any more. I’ll fly this thing there and mine for the gas myself or something.

  I used to fly crop sprayers for my Dad. They were equipped with small jet fired engines, were unstable in flight, needed constant adjustments, and landed like catapulted cows. Those were more basic than this, this thing has flight intelligence, probably an auto pilot too, and I’m confident that I can get it going.

  I peer, through tear filled and glazed eyes, out of the window ahead. I can see a much larger group of guards heading my way from over the metal walkways that stretch in every direction.

  It has to be now. I reach for the console. There is a huge lever and a sequence of buttons. One is clearly marked “Start”. They might as well have just given me the key and flown it away for me. I hit the large circular, green and illuminated button and listen as the belting hyper drive rattles to life.

  The Morris-Cooper Company aren’t that well off. It must be a second hand death trap but it seems to fly alright. I must have initiated a launch sequence because the metal walkways immediately start tearing away to a burst of exploding bolts. I smile, irresistibly, as the guards are thrown from the swinging walkways and down to the rocky floor.

  The rapid, vertical, acceleration is dizzying. I feel like something is pushing down hard on the top of my skull as the rig begins to climb. A few warning lights begin to flash but I ignore them. I have no idea what they mean and I couldn’t care less.

  I’m riding on luck though and I know it. I hope this works. I scream and hold onto the console tight as I’m propelled into the upper atmosphere. The power of the engine suddenly lessens as I become weightless. I had forgotten, stupidly, all about the absence of gravity up in space. I keep tight hold of the centre console and pull hard to make myself float through the bridge to the pilots chair ahead.

  I enjoy the sensation of being in zero gravity and I wish I had time to savor it. I should know that the guards have no way to follow me but I’m riding the blinding adrenaline of an escape. I don’t want to just float about amicably in space. I want to set my course and get away.

  I pull myself down to the cold leather seat and tuck my feet under the dashboard to hold myself in place as I pull two thick straps over each of my shoulders and secure them into their anchor points at my sides. The warning light that was blaring before, accompanied with an incessant beep, stops as soon as the harness clunks into place.

  A screen in front of me flickers to life. My hands don’t know what to do. I had, rather stupidly, been expecting a steering wheel or joy stick or something. I got lucky again though. Because the course had already been lain in. I made one last check through the onboard systems to confirm that no one had been trapped on board. I cycled through a few basic screens and found one that stated, in bold red letters across a blue screen, no personnel on board.

  My stress level dropped a touch and I cycled through the screens using a little button to the left of the monitor, back to the original display that conveniently asked me in a pop up window if I would like to begin the course. I tapped it a few times to no avail. I took off my gloves and that worked. The screen was skin sensitive. I could hear, rather than feel, the engine flicker back into life.

  A split second later and the intense g-force began to build as the rig built up some inertia. I sighed and lay back once the course settled. Stars raced past my window in a dazzling flurry and spectacle. I let myself slip into their hypnotic trance, then finally closed my eyes to sleep. I hope when I wake I can start coming to terms with what I did.

  Chapter 7

  Mountain Pass

  I don’t talk to Kolt for a while. I rapidly came to the conclusion that he is well and truly off his rocker. I concentrate on the difficulty of the climb to take my mind off some of the things he had said.

  It works. The rock is slippery as the mist begins to form above the elevated crag we climbed onto to get out of the way of some dinosaurs. We need to get down soon though. I can see the base of the mountain ahead, rising up into the sky, after some rolling foothills.

  I keep peering up into the cloud cover to see if I can catch a glimpse of his Kraken Class warship atop the mountain. I wonder though, I wonder if he even has a ship at all, I can’t figure out the reality of the guy. I hope it is a Kraken thou
gh. I’d love to see one.

  ‘We should camp up here tonight.’ Kolt finally breaks the awkward silence and stops. He is right. The sun is dipping into the back of the mountain ahead and sending rays of dazzling orange light through the methane soaked atmosphere. It casts a long shadow of the mountain across the darkening jungle floor.

  It would be a literal nightmare getting through the jungle in this darkness. But it doesn’t stop me wanting to. I decide to protest. I can’t figure this guy out. One minute I trust him completely then he drops a bomb like that and my faith in him fades quickly.

  I’m not sure I like the idea of sleeping on his watch. I’d almost rather battle on and try to make it through the dinosaur infested mess, then make the climb up the mountain the next day. I know that will be hard but I’ve pulled many double shifts and feel its worth a shot.

  ‘I think we should keep going.’ He looks at me dazed for a second.

  ‘Ok, it’s your call.’ He answers and starts looking for a way off the rocky outcropping. It doesn’t look like the way down will be any easier than the way up though.

  There are no vines to climb down as we reach the last possible point where we can get down and stay on track as we head for the base of the mountain. There is no more water either. The rocky fissure has dried out almost completely, and by the looks of it as I dangle my head over the edge, the climb is going to be long and difficult.

  I sigh, look longingly at the deceased sun, and prey that I’m doing the right thing by keeping on going. I’m surprised that Kolt doesn’t stop me.

  I lower myself from the rocky edge and grip the top ledge as hard as I can. The sharp rock cuts deep and slowly into my bare palms. Blood begins to trickle along my extended fingers and down into the sleeve of my torso plated armor. The warmth of it feels nice but the metallic smell of the fresh blood immediately hits me.