The Battle for the Ringed Planet

by Richard Edmond Johnson

  “She’s a civilian, a non-combatant!” Torian replied fast, desperate to save her from harm and rape, “She has important intel, really important intel …”

  The sergeant countered, “There are no civilians on this world, they’re all dead ...” Then his face went pale and he grabbed his forehead with his gloved hand, falling forward at Torian. At the same moment, the marine beside Victus fell to his knees groaning and the other reached to grab him.

  Torian grabbed the assault rifle from the sergeant while he slumped and aimed it at Victus, caught unprepared with his arm on his comrade. Discharging a short burst, Torian stitched the marine, killing him instantly.

  The last standing enemy raised a larger assault rifle at the wiry young man trying to aim his weapon. Expecting to die, Torian grimaced, shutting his eyes, but then he heard a click and a rushing sound followed by a clatter on the pavement. Snapping his eyes back open, he spied the last soldier on the ground clutching his face, shuddering in death, and Siiri holding her pistol trembling uncontrollably.

  Hastily he clutched her arm, spinning the girl away from the grisly scene, “It’s all right…” he whispered and Siiri nodded in silence, swallowing hard. He left for a moment collecting his pistol and a couple magazines from Gregory’s corpse. Stepping back, he squeezed her shoulders, marching quickly to the nearest building, bursting through the broken door. Inside he settled her on a flight of stairs and examined his Con.

  “The shield killed them. I hope it got the rest of the squad.” Then peered over at the speechless girl, placing his arm back around her, “It’s all right, they’re dead. You saved me, you did wonderful.”

  She coughed, holding back vomit, and stifled a sob, “I’m still shaking … his face, it just …”

  “Try not to think about it. Listen, we have to move out. They’re probably moving up armour for the guns.” Then he assessed her condition, “Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t think so … but I feel like throwing up … and I peed my pants.”

  “You’re first ground combat. Lots of trained marines suffer worse.”

  “What about the other enemy marines?”

  “Probably dead, but let’s not stick around, is there another way down?”

  Siiri managed a weak smile when he took her hand, “I think there is a school nearby with an entrance underneath.”

  He checked his Con, “Got it, just a couple of blocks over, let’s go.”

  Both Siiri and the chocolate haired soldier cautiously peered around the corner of a small convenience store with cracked panel displays on the roof and saw no marines down the street. There were no armoured vehicles in the open near the tree line. Small bushes and weeds grew through the cracks in the road as they darted down the street towards the school building.

  Panting nervously, Siiri leaned against the old cracked metal wall of the elementary school, “What was it like for your first ground combat?”

  Glancing around the corner and holding his Con in one hand and gripping the black assault rifle in the other, Torian replied casually, “That was my first ground combat.”

  “How can you be so calm?”

  “I’m not, I need a beer.”

  “You’re made of titanium, just like the song.”

  “Not really, you have to be a marine for one tour before they give you titanium bone replacements. Come on, I think it’s clear, let’s go inside.”

  “Oh … I didn’t know the song was literal.”

  Creeping along the wall both Torian and Siiri hastily climbed up the steps through the broken glass double doors into the school. Inside they were met by over turned children’s desks and shards from holo terminals scattered on the floor. Through the old gym, long abandoned with a rotten floor marked with faded red and green lines for sports he followed Siiri as she led him to the custodian’s office.

  “I remember hiking here to get some school supplies when I was a girl, our teacher took us on a field trip, guarded by the constable in case of wild animals.”

  The tunnel was down a flight of stairs to a heavy steel door was locked from the other side so Torian had to blast it open with his pistol. After they descended he stopped, and then slumped to the ground with his back against the smooth corridor wall.

  “Torian?”

  “Just give me a moment,” he swallowed and she sat down beside him exhaling.

  “Have some water,” she offered him her bottle from her belt.

  “You first, I’ll drink it all,” she gulped down some water and handed him the silver container.

  “I can’t believe we survived that, I thought we were goners.”

  “Jarlan’s shield saved us. Those eyes, they really do look like demons.”

  “Aye…” Torian inspected the assault rifle for the first time and removed a rectangular box similar in shape and size to his Con from a slot on the top. Then he took his Con and fit it in.

  “You can put your Con there?”

  “On rifles, yeah. Our Cons are more advanced then theirs, but the basic functionality of targeting still works and it’s easier to operate inserted like that. I couldn’t use his anyway; it was locked out with his DNA tag.”

  Chapter 10: God of War

  On their feet both young man and woman flicked on their powerful flashlights and strode down the tunnel. Torian attached his light to the rifle and aimed and studied his Con at the same time. After a good hour Siiri stopped at a branch that led to stairs.

  “That’s where they took me.”

  Torian glanced up and scanned the stairwell with his Con.

  “Bones of all the others are scattered out there. I guess they’re all my cousins, or great aunts and uncles. Sometimes animals got them, or they just went crazy and killed themselves or died.”

  “Tell me more about the voices, Siiri.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Who are they?” they began to work down the tunnel slowly.

  Siiri paused, and was careful with her words, “They never say who they are, but sometimes they tell me their names.”

  “Are they from this city, echoes of the dead or something? I’ve heard of that happening in space, or maybe they’re just old voyager stories.”

  “There are only two, most of the time; one of them is nice to me, her name is Kayla. But the other one, Sarloth, is very impatient and demanding.”

  “Who warned you about the armoured vehicles?”

  “Kayla, always Kayla. She said to stay with you, that you would never harm me like Lexor or Brant.”

  “She did? I wonder how she knows? And what does Sarloth say?”

  “He wants me to kill Father Jarlan for sending me to the city. He was the one who was with me when we went to see him.”

  “So how many of them are there?”

  “I don’t know …” she looked away pained.

  Tenderly placing his hand on her shoulder, “It’s all right, we’ll figure it out.”

  “We’re going there? To the Outlawed Lands?”

  “Do you want to know?”

  “Yes, I want them gone.”

  “All right, let’s move.”

  Then she quickly reached in her back pack, “Do you want something to eat?”

  “Sure, what have you got? I’m not hungry enough for rations yet.”

  “Strawberry tarts? A little stale.” she held out a small round bun with strawberries embedded in the dough.

  After chewing and swallowing one, he nodded, “They’re delicious.”

  “While you were getting inebriated I made them myself.”

  “You are a good cook and a farmer’s daughter, perfect for my planet.” he grinned.

  “Brant said I’d be a good farmer’s wife, stay at home, cook his meals, and wait for him in the bedroom.”

  “Somehow I doubt you’d be that kind of wife. But that’s not how it is where I’m from. Everyone usually has a second job besides farming. My mother worked in a biochemical lab for a while and dad worked with heavy machiner
y.” then he checked his rifle, “Anyway, you’re a good back up, and that’s what counts right now. I’m glad I let you have the pistol.”

  “You had no choice, I wasn’t going to give it back …” Suddenly she looked away and sighed, rubbing her temple.

  “Siiri?”

  Without turning back she spoke softly, “Kayla doesn’t want us to go the Outlawed Lands.”

  “Why?”

  “She says we won’t like it.”

  “She knows we’ll find out about her.” he betrayed a hint of anger.

  But then Siiri turned to Torian, her eyes glowing, “Sarloth says there are 20 large star ships and 11 belonging to your fleet, he knows all the locations, around the moons and planets and that’s more important than going to the Outlawed Lands.”

  “He knows the coordinates of the Imperium cruisers?”

  Siiri nodded.

  “Tell me! I’ll make contact! We’ll go to the surface!”

  “He says we must promise not to go to the Outlawed Lands.”

  Torian stared at Siiri, her glowing eyes still unnerved him, “He’s lying.”

  Then she turned away and gritted her teeth, “No!”

  “Siiri?”

  “Go away!” she shouted, “Get out of my head!” she grasped her temple and squeezed her eyes shut. Torian and stepped up beside her and held her shoulders gently. She heaved her chest and let out a long sigh, “Kayla sent him away.”

  “How could he know the coordinates of the Imperium cruisers?”

  “I don’t know. But they know stuff in the stars. Kayla told me about you before you landed, not to give up when they banished me.”

  “Well, then we’re really going to find out what’s going on.”

  The tall chocolate haired young man started up abruptly down the tunnel with a quick determined pace and Siiri jogged to catch up.

  Turning back he fumed, “If they know all those coordinates, how do we know they’re not feeding our positions to the enemy?”

  “They need to get inside someone’s head.”

  “What if there is someone with your ability in the enemy ranks?”

  “They have to be from this planet.”

  “Are there others besides the people from Grondalle here?”

  “There are rumors about the Lost Ones, other survivors that are wild, in the Outlawed Lands. …”

  “Are they possessed? And can the voices give them coordinates?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “My fleet could be in peril!”

  “Don’t be mad, Torian, Kayla is sorry.”

  Torian stopped, and turned to Siiri, “She’s sorry? Who the Hell is she?”

  In a low quiet voice Siiri whispered, “She says she cares for me, and will do anything to protect me. If I want to go to the Outlawed Lands, she won’t protest anymore.”

  Frowning, Torian nodded, “Well then good, tell her to stay out of this. If she really cared for you she would have left you alone in the first place. And if she knows the coordinates of the enemy fleet, give them to me!”

  Siiri’s eyes glowed golden yellow, brighter than before, “I hate it when you do that.” Torian seethed.

  “I don’t do it.” her voice trailed.

  Collecting himself, “I’m sorry, Siiri.”

  “When do you want the coordinates?”

  Unbelieving he stared at the girl “Really?” Torian started pulling up screens on his Con, “Ok.”

  In a distant monotone voice Siiri began to recite numbers, moons, and planets where enemy space ships were located. Torian inputted the data and saved it on his Con.

  “They’re not going to believe this. Even our best long range scanners can’t get that detailed.”

  The blonde girl looked away as Torian tried to think, “We’ll go up the entrance back where they cast you out.”

  Turning around the he started to back track, but Siiri just stood facing away.

  “Siiri?” he stopped and slowly walked back.

  Her shoulders shook as Torian came up behind her, reaching for her, but she turned away. The girl was sobbing, tears flowing and she covered her face with her hands.

  “What’s the matter?”

  Wiping away her tears she cried, “Is that why you want to take me to your fleet? So you can use me to fight your war?”

  “There are hundreds lives at stake.”

  “And you’re going to kill hundreds more. You’re going to lock me in a room and make me tell you numbers. You only want to help me if I can give you information to help your war.”

  “Siiri… no.” he reached out his arms again and she buried her face into his shoulder and cried.

  “I don’t want them anymore. I want to be free!”

  “We’ll go to the Outlawed Lands, we’ll find out.”

  “Do you promise? Torian?”

  “I promise, Siiri, we’ll get you cured.”

  She sobbed for a few minutes and then stood back, clearing her face of the streaks of tears, “And I smell bad again because I wet my pants.”

  “And I haven’t showered and smell like a brewery, come on.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “It’s better for your people if my fleet secures orbit and that means blasting away the Imperium cruisers.”

  “Ok.” she sniffed.

  “We have to get the surface to make contact. And then we’ll come back down.”

  “Let’s get it down, then.”

  But then he turned to her again put his arms around the teary blue eyed girl leaning his forehead against hers whispering, “It’s going to be all right. I hate this war. All I want to do is go home and when we get you fixed up you’ll see things out there that will make you forget all this.”

  “I hope so, I’m so scared.”

  Gently he took her hand, “Come on.”

  “Torian?”

  “Yes, Siiri?”

  “You’re the only one I’ve ever told that the voices have names.”

  He nodded, “I’m glad you did, it helps me understand a little bit better, I think.” Through the tunnel they ran and jogged back to the stairs that led up to the glass municipal building with four pointy towers. Siiri stood back for a moment.

  Squeezing her hand, he reassured her, “It’s all right.”

  Responding with a weak smile she nodded and they both ascended the stairs. Like the last door at the school it was steel and reinforced with a bar across to block entrance from the outside.

  Sadly Siiri stood back as Torian shot out the lock mechanism with burning plasma bolts from the assault rifle, “I remember the click when they clamped down the bar.”

  As he pulled the door open he held out his hand, “It’s different now.”

  Stepping out into the daylight Torian almost tripped over the femur of a broken up skeleton. In fact the area around the doorway was littered with human remains and skulls. Torian grimaced when he thought of the terror Siiri must have felt to be cast out with all the other dead. The memories were making her shake and she gripped his hand.

  Then Torian noticed one of the skulls and bent over to pick it up.

  “Torian!” she whispered, unnerved.

  “You said the animals got them or they killed themselves?”

  Studying the cranium he noted that the top, the parietal, was removed completely, and that fractured fragments along frontal and occipital lobes bent outward, opposite a crushing wound. Carefully placing the skull down, he glanced around and then strode over to another one with similar characteristics. Then he gasped when he saw another similar skull, but the size of a child.

  “Siiri, what happened to these people? Sure, some of these people died from carnivores … but not all. And children?”

  Sighing and with a shaky voice, “Father Jarlan says no one wants to see us executed in front of our family and friends, so they bring us here. I heard they give you a drug so that you die painlessly and quick, but Lexor didn’t give me one. And then …” she swallowed and pee
red with frightened blue eyes at Torian, “it can get so bad, with so many voices, that your skull explodes. Father Jarlan said it was merciful to send us here so no one panics.”

  “Have you come that close?”

  “Kayla promised she wouldn’t let it happen …”

  The tall brown haired young man suddenly heard a familiar alert in his ear piece from his Con, “We have company.” he studied the instrument.

  “Wolves?” Siiri reached for her pistol.

  Torian hefted the assault rifle and brought up a holo on the Con attached to the rifle, “A dozen wolves, I have them all targeted.”

  They both heard growling and in the bushes a few of meters away there was movement. Then a pack of large rough looking grey wolves and a few large dogs, shepherds and thickly furred collies, menacingly circled the side entrance to the municipal building.

  “I supposed they remember the easy prey here.” he commented.

  “Torian, if you’re going to do something … do it soon!”

  A large wolf, the pack leader lunged and Torian fired! The assault rifle vibrated with loud clicking and humming as twelve plasma bolts, a red tracer every fifth, almost simultaneously, struck every animal in the critical region of their chests, killing them instantly with large burning baseball sized holes. They continued to burn after death.

  “That’s the power of a plasma rifle.”

  “I hate wolves. They came really quick this time.”

  “Yeah, probably displaced by the troops landing on the outskirts,” Torian slung the rifle, “let’s find an open spot.”

  Through the narrow spaces between buildings filled with overgrown vegetation and trees they found a small court yard with a round fountain. A statue of a half naked winged woman held a jug that presumably poured out water at one time. Both Torian and Siiri sat on the edge and she stared at an old toppled over abandoned three wheeled baby carriage with a child’s doll lying nearby. Torian fiddled with his Con frowning and then finally sighing.

  “Signal is blocked. Rebels are running interference; we’ll have to see if the Hawkeye is still intact, the comms array is more powerful.”

  “I wonder what really happened to them?” she continued to stare at the carriage.

  “I thought you said it was the Sky Demons.”