by Ruby Ryan
Not allowing myself to stop, I ran the rest of the way to the aircraft entrance, leaning just my head around the corner to check. Nobody there. And then the two glowing Karak beams of light moved past me, and I followed close behind with my rifle raised and ready.
The sweep of the ship took seconds; it was only comprised of three rooms and a cockpit. The Karak paused inside.
I sense no other Wolvae near the ship, Tyrix said. I will subdue the injured one in the clearing.
And just like that, it was over.
I could feel the satisfaction in Tyrix's thoughts, along with a little bit of surprise. There were only two Wolvae here.
Where was the other?
"That was awfully exciting," I said, feeling the adrenaline surging through my veins like acid. The back of my throat tasted like copper. "Now what?"
15
KERIX
The elation of victory washed over us, all of us: Tyrix, and me, and even Brandi. Especially Brandi, though she had no personal stake in our ship itself, beyond its existence as a means to an end to protect earth.
Battles with the Wolvae were rarely so clean. It was unbelievable that one would remain outside by itself while the other worked on our ship, allowing us to pick them off one by one.
Yet as Brandi and I swept through our ship, we saw that it was true.
Fighting alongside her gave me a different sort of satisfaction. A partnership with us: all of us, the three of us together. Brandi did not need our protection, in spite of our instincts. She was a powerful warrior all her own, if in a different sort of way.
I yearned to see her in her true element, piloting a human craft.
With the Wolvae dealt with, I turned my focus to the instruments within the cockpit. The metal panel to the right of the window had been torn open, the fiber-optic wires ripped free with indelicate Wolvae paws. They had succeeded in rerouting much of the aircraft controls. Had we needed another hour to charge our photon bodies, we likely would have been too late.
"I'd hate to see what Wolvae brain surgery looks like," Brandi said as she bent to examine the exposed panel.
Wolvae males shift into forms with more dexterous limbs, I said idly.
"Oh."
The damage wasn't too terrible: had the Wolvae known we would retake the craft, they surely would have scuttled the navigation or drive systems. As things were, I would be able to repair it within an hour.
Another joy among the rest.
Brandi was smiling at me; the human consciousness within me wished to take over, to celebrate our victory with her right here in our ship. I took measured breaths and controlled myself, which took no small effort.
I'll begin these repairs, I told her. Why don't you check on Tyrix and the surviving Wolvae?
"Good thinkin'," she said with a nod.
I allowed my Karak consciousness to linger on the shape of her swaying hips before beginning the repairs.
16
TYRIX
It was too easy.
Killing the Wolvae with the sword at the edge of the clearing had been an anomaly. I'd surprised it, and in that moment before it recovered I had killed it.
But retaking the ship entirely?
It was abnormal. The first Wolvae had gone down without any true fight, and the second should have remained in the ship where she could have used the close quarters to her advantage. None of this made sense.
I stared at the unconscious Wolvae on the ground. What were we missing?
"Totally agree," Brandi said as she came strolling out of the ship. "It's gotta be too good to be true."
I must have been allowing my consciousness to broadcast around me. I shift-created lengths of metal bindings, then shifted in my human form to use my fingers to tie it up.
"Help me?" I asked, and Brandi slung her rifle over one shoulder and bent next to me, our arms brushing together for an electric moment.
"So is that it?" She moved around to the other side to tie up the Wolvae's hind legs. "We've retaken the ship. The Wolvae are dead. What next?"
"One got away," I said. "Or is out scouting. We do not know."
She looked around the clearing warily. "You mean it could come charging out at any moment?"
"Not quite." I tightened the last of the bands around the Wolvae's jaws. "I am continuously reaching out with my Karak consciousness, and do not detect it nearby."
"Well that's a relief," she muttered.
"What we do now is question the Wolvae," I explained.
I put my hand on the Wolvae's head. It wasn't necessary; my Karak consciousness needed no physical touch. But it was comforting gesture to my human body, and the warmth coming off the Wolvae's fur was a grim reminder that she still lived, and posed us danger.
I prodded the Wolvae's own consciousness, which was recoiled down into itself for protection. Slowly, I felt her stir like a great beast from within its cave. Her eyes fluttered and then open.
They locked onto me, and for three heartbeats they were almost calm.
Then rage filled them.
She growled and opened her jaws against the bindings, which groaned with the effort but held her jaws closed. Her entire lupine body convulsed on the ground in fury, jerking against the restraints, bringing her head around to sniff us with nostrils that flared wide.
I WILL KILL YOU, she screamed into my mind.
I had experience with Wolvae thoughts, so was prepared for such rage. I stood over the beast as she flexed her paws, tearing at imaginary flesh in the air.
Your human flesh will break and your human blood will run through my teeth, she practically purred, more sexual lust than violence. I shivered in spite of myself.
"What is it?" Brandi asked.
I ignored her, and let the Wolvae female run through her series of threats until she grew calmer. But still the intensity remained in her eyes as she focused on me.
"Where is your comrade?" I said, both inside the beast's mind and out loud for Brandi's benefit.
She laughed in response, and opened her mouth just enough for a sneer. You are too late.
The words chilled me, even though we were the ones with the upper hand. "It does not appear so."
As you say.
"Where is she?" I repeated. "Did she return to your ship to save herself? Is she fleeing the planet to give word that the invasion may begin?"
The Wolvae snorted out of her nostrils, and the laughter drowned out all other thought inside her head. And then I saw an image through her mind: a Wolvae sprinting through the forest, long strides with her four legs that leapt 30 feet in every bound. At first I thought she was running out of fear; such speed could only mean retreat, or terror.
But then I saw the object in her jaws.
It was square and made of crystal, with exposed fiber-optic wires dangling from the sides. I realized what it was the moment Kerix came running out of our own ship.
"They have it!" he yelled before I could. "They have our ship's backup flight computer."
Inside my mind, the Wolvae roared with victorious laughter.
17
BRANDI
"What does that mean?" I asked.
The two Karak ignored me. Tyrix shifted back into his light-based form and then shift-transported the Wolvae into the aircraft. Kerix ran back inside the ship himself, leaving me alone in the clearing.
"What does that mean?" I repeated inside the cockpit. "Did they disable the ship?"
"It was only the backup computer," Kerix said. He was bent down by the exposed panel, where all of the wires were now repaired and bundled into neat clusters. "It affects nothing, unless our primary computer gives out."
"You're not answering my question!"
He ignored me some more, so I went into the cargo hold of the ship. Tyrix was shift-creating a wide cage made of metal, and then shift-transported the Wolvae inside.
"Why does it matter if they have the backup computer?" I asked.
They have our technology. Tyrix's thoughts were t
hick with panic. If they return to the fleet with the backup computer, they will be able to reverse-engineer it.
"Ahh. So you're worried about them stealing your tech?"
Yes. The data on the computer itself is also valuable. Karak fleet positions. Scouting data. Battle plans against the renegade Wolvae.
His shimmering light form floated out of the room. I took one last look at the Wolvae, who appeared to be sneering at me through her bars, before following back to the cockpit.
Based on the position of the sun, the Wolvae was to the north, Tyrix said to us.
"So their ship is in that direction." Kerix replaced the computer panel and stood, then shifted back into his Karak form. There's no telling how far away.
She could have hours of a head start. But we are lucky she has not reached the ship, Tyrix added.
"Since she's the last one, all we have to do is reach her. Or stop her from taking off."
Correct.
The cockpit possessed two pedestals, which the Karak floated above and then locked into place.
"Hey, uhh... guys?"
I felt Kerix's consciousness touch mine, suddenly realizing I was there. Apologies.
A human-shaped chair appeared in front of their pedestals, up near the glass window. I sat my butt down and tightened the harness over my chest. I didn't have much time to wonder how they had such accommodations, because instantly the ship was moving. Just like the trip in Arix's ship earlier that morning, it moved without any sense of thrust; the view of the trees descending below us was the only thing that told me we were flying. I felt a butterfly-flutter of excitement as the ship rose to a height of 50 feet and then shot forward above the trees.
"Whoo boy," I said, finally feeling myself pushed back into the chair from the force. I spent the next minute simply enjoying the ride like a kid on a roller coaster, letting my mind wrap around the fact that I was flying in a fucking spaceship again.
I will scan with my consciousness while you fly, Tyrix said.
It would be more ideal if we both scanned simultaneously.
What are you suggesting? Tyrix asked.
The air directly in front of me shimmered. The flat panel underneath the window sprouted something solid, which materialized into what looked like a steering wheel, but shaped like a rectangle instead of round. Two dozen buttons were recessed into the material around the edges.
You may fly while we scan.
It took me a moment to realize Kerix was talking to me.
"Wait, what?"
You have flight experience, do you not?
"I'm a pilot, sure," I said. "But this..."
I have programmed these controls to be as similar to human aircraft as possible. That wheel should allow full range of control: pitch, yaw, forward and reverse direction. Please test the controls now.
"Our planes don't move in reverse," I whispered, but the better part of my brain was screaming: oh my God, I'm about to do this.
I reached out and grabbed the flight wheel gently.
My fingers wrapped around the edges perfectly. The buttons on the surface were accessible with my thumbs, but I ignored them for now. I took a shuddering breath, failed to think of something cool to say, and then pushed the wheel forward.
The aircraft shot forward, smooth and precise. I leaned on the wheel harder and it flew faster, and when I pulled back it slowed, stopped, and then began reversing. There was no whine of an engine or an increase in vibration, the type of tactile feedback I was used to feeling. This type of flight would rely entirely on my vision.
I rotated the wheel counter-clockwise, but instead of tilting us to the left it slid us to the left. Not a left turn, but a complete movement on the X axis without any tilt. I turned it clockwise and it drifted sideways to the right. But how did I turn the aircraft to face another direction? I pushed on the right side of the wheel while pulling on the left, which indeed had the effect of rotating the craft to the left. I tried the opposite to bring us back to our original heading.
Altitude controls are in pedals by the floor, Kerix said.
I hadn't even noticed them; I prodded with my foot until I found them, two diagonal pedals resting up against the bulkhead. I barely touched the left one, and the aircraft began to descend; I quickly removed my foot and pressed on the other one, which shot us vertically into the air like an amusement park ride. The moment I let go of the pedal the aircraft came to a stop again.
"Alright," I said slowly, "I think I've got the hang of this."
Please fly us north at a steady velocity while we scan for the Wolvae with our consciousness.
Feeling like a teenager pulling out of the driveway for the first time with dad watching from the passenger seat, I pushed the wheel forward. The HUD display on the window showed a compass, so I turned us to the left until we were flying due north, and then accelerated.
That is perfect, Tyrix said.
There wasn't much to it, and I was really just doing the equivalent of driving through the neighborhood at 25mph, but holy shit was this a rush! I was flying an actual, honest-to-God spacecraft on earth. My XO would flip his shit if he ever saw me. Hell, everyone on base would.
Feeling adventurous, I pushed the right pedal to ascend another thirty feet, then descended again immediately after. The height pedals were a lot more sensitive than the wheel, but easy to get the hang of after a few tries.
"Can I... open her up?" I asked.
What does that mean?
"Can I give it some gas. Test her boundaries."
Only for a moment. Be careful, Brandi.
I leaned on the control wheel... and then pushed it harder. Immediately I was thrown back in the chair like a weight was pressing against my body, and the trees outside the cockpit soared by so fast they were only a blur. Even the distant mountains came toward me impossibly fast.
This was some Flight of the Navigator type shit. I think I let out a cry of excitement, but it was tough to tell.
Decelerating was an incredibly sad act, like turning off a movie screen just before the finale, but I knew the greater purpose right now was to find the Wolvae. I returned us to our original speed and heading, fingers clutching the wheel in case missiles suddenly came out of the trees for me to dodge.
None came, obviously, but I didn't care. Even just creeping forward no faster than 100 miles per hour was a dream come true.
We flew north for ten minutes before Kerix finally flinched; not physically flinched, but the sensation in my head.
There.
"You found him?"
He is two miles to the north, Tyrix agreed. Near the perimeter of the Wolvae ship.
Yes! We weren't too late! I prepared to lean on the wheel to accelerate, but then Kerix stopped me with a thought.
Land the craft up ahead. There, on that peak.
"Why?"
Do it, please.
I felt the certainty in his voice, so I obeyed and landed the aircraft. I was nervous of crashing into the ground roughly, but the craft seemed to have an automatic landing program that took over and gently guided us down the last few yards.
Kerix immediately left his spot and shift-teleported outside the craft. I watched him create a strange glowing box, placing it on a rock in the center of the peak. I felt like a nervous wreck as I watched. Where was their sense of urgency?
A communication blocking device, Tyrix explained. To keep the Wolvae from transmitting a scan of our backup computer immediately.
"That's not gunna matter if we simply let them get away!" I yelled.
Wolvae craft--our older generation of Karak aircraft--cannot take off immediately, Tyrix said. They require roughly 30 minutes. We have the time.
"Well why didn't you say so?"
You did not ask until now.
Kerix finished what he was doing and returned to the ship. And then he took over the flying, so I rested back in my chair and tried not to look like I was pouting.
We must land a safe distance away and proceed on the
ground, Kerix explained as he found another clearing a few hundred yards farther north. The rabid Wolvae outfit their aircraft with significant weaponry. Our ship would be an easy target in the air while we approached.
We also wish to capture the Wolvae aircraft intact, in hopes of collecting data from their ship computers, Tyrix said.
"Sounds like a plan."
As the Karak prepared themselves, I could feel a distinct emotion coming from their minds: satisfaction. And relief. By killing the other Wolvae, and then deploying this communication blocking device, they had essentially won.
I allowed myself to feel excited with them. We'd done it! Our own little war in the Idaho mountains had been won, and I'd helped make it happen.
But then a tendril of ice crawled up my lungs, and I was nervous about the next question that I wanted to ask.
"What happens after this? Will you two leave earth, and return to your homeworld?"
Not quite, Kerix said. Even with the immediate Wolvae threat eliminated, we must nonetheless plan for a potential invasion from the full fleet. Tyrix and I have been given agency to make official contact with your earth government.
Official contact. I could feel the scope of all of this expanding rapidly. "That won't make everyone go crazy?" I joked. "I thought I was the only one who could handle all this knowledge without going bonkers."
Tyrix said, We have no choice, now that the Wolvae motivations are clearer. I suspect, after touching our prisoner's mind, that they will invade regardless of the response from this scouting team.
It is vital that we begin preparations for earth's defense, Kerix added. You will take us to your leader when we are finished here?
I opened my mouth to make a joke about how "take me to your leader" was the typical cliche from bad alien movies, but they probably wouldn't have gotten the joke.
"I don't exactly have the President of the United States on speed-dial," I said instead, "but I think we can get word up the chain."
Kerix hovered in front of me, a brilliant beam of light that was difficult to look at directly. Good. We will return to your base with our ship after this, and the Wolvae ship as well. Will you ensure we are not fired upon?