by Scott E Moon
“Open the door,” Droon said.
Raker moved and stopped near the palm reader that would allow him to open the door. He hesitated. “Just stay there and I’ll open it.”
Droon squatted on his haunches and worked hard to feign dizziness. This was how a human deceived people. Droon learned he was good at it.
Raker smiled. “Reapers are stupid. Thank God for that.” He opened the door and stepped quickly through the gap.
Droon sprang at the man in the hallway as he desperately flailed his hand at the palm reader.
The door began to close, but Droon was already sailing through. He pinned Raker to the metal floor and unhinged his jaws. He put his mouth over the man’s head and began making clicking noises in his throat. The smell of urine and human feces permeated the air. Droon pulled back and closed his mouth. He smiled and allowed some of his venom to spill from his jaws and drip on Raker’s face.
“There is another door you must open,” Droon said.
“No. I won’t. You’ll kill me. Let me go.”
Droon began clicking the inside of his throat again. He wished he still had the Clingers, because the sight of them would have driven this man insane with fear.
“You will never figure out the door. You can’t kill me,” Raker said.
Droon looked at the man’s hand and the man began to sob. Droon grabbed his wrist and pulled the arm out of the shoulder socket. He twisted and pulled until it came completely off. The sound of the man’s screams was delicious.
He took the bloody arm to the next door, flipped it in the air and caught it. He waived the hand over the palm reader until the portal opened.
Raker continued to scream behind him. Droon liked the sound, but there was no time to feed. He stalked through a hallway and found more doors. In one direction there were many people, men, women, and children. In the other direction, an exit led outside.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
WHEN they ran out of the mountain pass and across the foothills, Orlan laughed, not like a madman, but like someone who thoroughly enjoyed life. Kin muted the helmet communication system and focused on reaching the transport ship.
“Kin, you will go to the Flagship with me and my men,” Captain Raien said.
Becca was on the Flagship. This could be his last chance to see her. Once the Fleet Armada entered space, there would be no moving between vessels until they reached a port, and by that time the ships would be reassigned to new missions. And Kin’s identity would surely be revealed. Commander Westwood had plans for him, but as soon as he killed the Reaper his value as a countermeasure to the monster would be gone. The Commander would have him executed as the Traitor of Hellsbreach and the only thing people would remember about Kin Roland was that he betrayed mankind and was executed twice.
“Roger that,” Kin said. He could go to the Flagship. Or he could do his duty.
Orlan and his men headed for their ship. Raien and her injured bodyguard waited for the loading bay of the flagship to open and entered without delay. Kin paused. He looked at the transport ship where Laura and the others were and told himself they probably wouldn’t be able to open the cargo doors for him even if he tried to enter. He imagined being left behind, incinerated by the multiple blastoffs or being hunted down, interrogated, and killed by the Imperial forces.
He thought about Bear, Maiden’s Keep, and Gold Village, wondering how many of them had made it to Crater Town before the evacuation began. He was still thinking about these things and watching tendrils of the wormhole stab into a dozen parts of the ocean when he realized he was marching quickly toward the transport ship. The doors didn’t open to greet him and his radio communication had no effect. Claxons sounded across the launch field and steam began to pour from dozens of powerful rocket boosters.
With no other options left, he stared at the cargo bay, willing it to open. When the huge metal door slipped down, he couldn’t bring himself to move. He had accepted his fate as an appropriately undramatic end for such a chaotic and pointless life. His epitaph should read: Kin Roland, who killed man, beast, and monster, died here of inaction.
“What are you waiting for?” Rickson yelled. He shielded his eyes from the wind and sand with one hand and beckoned with the other.
Kin climbed the ramp of the transport and shut the door behind him. Rickson tugged at his arm, which was like trying to pull a three-hundred-pound robot against its will. “Hurry, Kin. We have to strap in or we will be pulverized during liftoff.”
“Relax, Rickson. I’ve done this before,” Kin said. He climbed out of his armor and magnetized it to one of the cargo hold areas designed for general machinery.
He followed the boy to the personnel hold. People were strapped into seats, even the small children who had to be separated from mothers and fathers for the liftoff. Laura was the only person other than Rickson not wearing a safety harness and murmuring prayers.
“I thought you had abandoned us,” Laura said.
“Slight delay. I hope you saved me a good spot,” Kin said. He went to the far door and opened it.
“Where are you going, Kin?” Laura asked.
“I want to check on the Reaper and the containment fields. Go to your seat. Rickson, you too,” Kin said, pointing at Laura. He shut the door behind him and began searching for the doors that led to the makeshift prison meant to hold Droon. Rickson and Laura followed him through the door a moment later. Kin shook his head.
“I’m glad that sergeant isn’t on this ship. I didn’t like that guy and never believed what he said about you,” Rickson said.
“What did he say?”
Laura gave Rickson a warning glance. “Rickson.”
Rickson ignored her. “He showed me some medal and said it was supposed to be yours, that it was the Hero of Man medal, whatever that is, but said you wouldn’t get one unless they made a new medal for the Enemy of Man.”
Kin felt like someone had opened his guts and spilled them on the floor. For a second, he was standing on Hellsbreach watching the explosions that would not eliminate the Reaper threat and regretting his moment of weakness, but at the same time feeling a huge weight lift from his shoulders. He forced aside the memory and looked at the young man.
“They don’t even make medals like that, do they Kin?” Rickson asked.
“Orlan talks too much,” Kin said. “Don’t worry about him or what he says about me. Just be thankful you’re alive.” He walked toward a door that seemed thick enough to repel an artillery shell.
He was ten feet away when it opened. Orlan and two of his men stepped out, followed by Commander Westwood.
“Listen to him boy. You are lucky to be alive. Kin, on the other hand, is not,” Orlan said. He didn’t laugh, but seemed in an exceedingly good mood.
Kin ignored Orlan and the others. He focused on Commander Westwood. “Shouldn't you be on your flagship?”
“I have some regrettable business to handle first. The Reaper would have been a prize, but now that he has escaped, I have only you and your witch to deal with. I’m not talking about you, Laura, so don't look at me like that,” Westwood said.
“Ten divisions of Imperials are advancing on Crater Town as we speak,” Kin said. “Thousands of trained, armed Reapers march with them. The planet is coming apart. Are you out of your mind?”
“Listen to me, Kin,” Westwood said. “The Fleet is here by accident, but the Reapers have come for you. Droon confessed that any Reaper who found the last man on Hellsbreach would become the ruler of the Reaper race. He found you. There are thousands of others blundering through the galaxy looking for you, but he is the boss Reaper now, and he escaped. I pray to God that you had nothing to do with that, but after what you did on Hellsbreach, I wouldn't put it past you. The Imperials have come for Clavender and spent thousands of years doing it. So here is what is going to happen. I’ll give you to the Reapers and Clavender to the Imperials. Then we will fight our way free of this planet and run for reinforcements.”
“
Droon told you that?” Kin asked.
“There may have been drugs and a little torture involved,” Westwood said. “I believe you met Lieutenant Raker. He was an expert at getting answers and solving riddles. Reapers are not good at keeping secrets. A skilled interrogator only needs the right questions and a strong stomach. He learned much before he was murdered.”
“And Clavender?” Kin asked. He moved slightly to one side. The shift would not give him an advantage on Orlan and his men, but it would give him a chance. Orlan had his helmet down, as usual. Kin might kill him at least.
“You told me most of what I needed to know about her. But she is in pain since Droon left, and tired of keeping secrets, apparently. Some of what she told me might be worth the cost of a new fleet,” Westwood said. “Sergeant Orlan, put him out of the ship. The woman and the boy will have to go as well. I will remain on this ship for the launch and transfer to my flagship once we achieve orbit.”
Laura lunged at Westwood, and since Orlan and his men were watching Kin, her fist smashed the Commander's lips into his teeth before anyone could react. He staggered, spat blood, and lunged at her. Rickson tackled him. Orlan snatched Rickson up with one hand and tossed him across the room, laughing as he helped the Commander to his feet.
“Get it done,” Westwood shouted. He strode out of the room.
Orlan smiled at Kin. “You heard the man. Out you go. Give me problems, and I break the boy’s legs.”
“Give me an FSPAA unit at least,” Kin said.
Orlan shrugged. “Take the one you brought onto the ship.” He followed Kin to the loading bay, helped him suit up, and opened the door. He followed Kin outside, and to Kin's surprise, kept following him away from the ship. His men pushed Laura and Rickson out the door and shut it.
“What are you doing?” Kin asked.
“I’m coming with you,” Orlan said. “Besides, I need to show you where we left the witch bitch.”
“Why would you leave the ship? You know it's a death sentence,” Kin said.
Orlan laughed. “You don't know me at all, Kin. I’m not Westwood's lab rat.”
“You would rather be dead?” Kin asked.
Orlan laughed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
THEY came to the earthworks that the converted tanks had constructed two miles from the launch site and climbed over. Westwood had indeed hedged his bets. The earthworks would have been a good defensive position, if the Fleet was not about to launch and burn anything caught on the wrong side. The ground beyond the berm had been excavated, making the earthworks harder to assault, but in this situation, provided more protection from the launch. Kin froze when he saw who waited for them. Two massive mechanized suits of armor, Shock Troopers, faced him. He moved to Becca's unit and glanced at the name on the other one. The identification plate read Lieutenant Randal Dogface.
“Is that your real name?” Kin asked, though he knew it was. Regulations about identification plates had always been enforced in the Fleet, embellishments and macabre filigree notwithstanding.
“Better than Kin Roland,” Randal said.
Kin faced Becca. “I wish you had left with the ship.”
“We were told to bring the woman here and leave her. I couldn’t run once I heard Orlan intended to stay,” she said.
Her words hurt. She claimed to be staying for unit pride, not him. He’d forgotten more about Fleet service than he realized. Everything came back to him now. Fleet troopers were stupid about dying. They would die for a good cause or on a dare. It was all the same.
“Why leave her?” Kin asked. Westwood had said the Imperials were after Clavender and her people. On the face of it, this made sense. The Fleet could slip away during the battle to come, but Kin didn’t like it.
“I was not ordered to discuss his reasons,” Becca said.
“But he didn’t forbid you from giving an explanation,” Kin said.
She didn’t answer immediately. Randal and the others looked at him, but remained silent.
“He’s afraid of her,” Becca said. “She threatened that if she took the Fleet through the wormhole, she would send us to a quadrant far beyond the reach of Earth Fleet.”
This made sense to Kin. He hadn’t thought the Commander would believe such a threat, but going beyond the reach of the Fleet was a fear every person held. Commander Westwood wanted to survive the war and return triumphant. Being lost in an unknown corner of the galaxy would be intolerable for such a man.
“The Imperial vanguard will be within view in fifteen minutes. They would have already been here if Captain Raien and her company were not harassing them in the pass,” Becca said.
Orlan slapped Kin on the back. “Can you believe that? Her entire company stayed. That's leadership.”
“It's a bunch of fools,” Becca said. “They’re giving the Imperials and their battle-slave Reapers hell, but she reported three times the Imperial’s number of wild Reapers approaching from the south.”
“Three times the numbers of Imperial Reapers or three times their entire force?” Kin asked.
Becca looked down on him with her face shield transparent. Her expression was controlled. “Three times their entire force.”
“Who will get here first?” Kin asked.
“They’ll arrive at the same time, thanks to the 11th LRC slowing the Imperials in the pass. She’s a real battle bitch.”
Kin moved forward and surveyed the battlefield. The area between Crater Town and the mountains was broad and open. The fields sloped into the foothills. Mountains loomed in the distance with breaks in several places. Each pass could admit a large force, but most were narrow. A good commander would choose either the northeast pass or the tamer mountains to the south.
The Imperials entered the field from the largest pass on the northeast corner of the battlefield. The wild Reapers came through the foothills to the south, just as he had predicted, bounding across the ground and gathering near Stone Forest. Kin surveyed the teeming mass of killers and thought briefly of Hellsbreach. He had witnessed a larger army of Reapers, but only once, and only before he detonated the warheads.
Many of the wild Reapers were armed with blades, clubs, or flaming whips. A few rode reptilian creatures the size of warhorses. That was new. Kin had never seen them fight in alliance with another species or use mounts. Droon wasn’t the only Reaper who had learned to adapt and innovate.
The two armies saw each other and halted. Kin and his companions waited in silence. A gust of wind blew across the battlefield, flattening patches of tall grass near the foothills.
“Will they fight?” Laura asked.
“I think they will,” Kin said. “Each force came to attack the Fleet for its own reasons, but won’t tolerate each other.”
“They could join forces.” Orlan’s tone was both belligerent and unconcerned, as usual.
“It’s too late for that. Reapers don’t parley. The Imperials should understand the Reapers are the greater threat,” Kin said.
“That’s good news,” Rickson said, hopeful.
“It could buy us time, but make no mistake, we will be the only real losers today,” Kin said.
The Imperials sent their Reaper battle-slaves against the Reaper center, while armored vehicles sped toward the distant right flank and Imperial troopers moved to the left. Soon the battlefield would be crowded with death.
“They’re holding Tanks and a Stryker force in reserve along with most of their troopers,” Orlan said.
Kin agreed. “I see that, but it’s not what I’m worried about.” Three companies of Imperial troopers had separated from the main force and headed toward Kin and his companions. On open ground, Raien’s company couldn’t hold them. He watched as she supervised the retreat, gave final orders, and rushed back to the Crater Town perimeter.
“Three to one odds aren’t the worst I’ve faced,” Raien said. “But they have unlimited reinforcements. If you have a plan, Kin, now is the time to hear it.”
Kin turned aw
ay and moved to Clavender's side where she knelt. “You must release whatever barrier is keeping your people out of this area. They are going to come anyway. The difference is how many die before they get here.”
Clavender nodded. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Kin waited for something to happen, but Clavender did nothing.
“You have not seen what war does to my people. They become uglier than the Reapers. Their battle lust is horrible,” Clavender said. She looked up and gazed across the land toward the Imperials. “They made us like this.”
Kin doubted her conclusion. He had never met a creature without the capacity for murder and war. He said nothing to Clavender. This wasn’t the time for an honest, academic discussion of her people's base nature. He sensed Rickson moving quickly toward him.
“We have to hide her,” Rickson said. “Commander Westwood said the Imperials were coming for her.”
“Where? Don't think I haven’t been racking my brain…” Kin stood in alarm. The marching Imperials accelerated, advancing double time. A moment later they began to run, holding formation despite the headlong rush. The precision of their movement startled him.
“Now, Clavender. It must be now.”
She nodded but didn’t look up.
The barrier around Crater Town and the area from the sea to the foothills was now visible—a dark wall of energy-charged clouds ringing the battlefield like a thousand-foot wall. The wormhole writhed in the sky. On the launch field, Fleet ships initiated blastoff. The rumble of booster rockets firing and smoke blasting toward the earthworks deafened Kin. He knew he should look away and take cover, but watched with desperate intensity. As soon as the ships were gone, he would lead Clavender and the others toward the sea.
“Will you look at that,” Orlan said, and Kin realized his enemy stood beside him watching the launch. One ship lingered longer than the others in its formation. He saw cargo bay doors open, but his view was quickly obscured.
From the smoke and flame of the ship’s rockets came the remaining Shock Troopers. They began to fire rockets from shoulder mounts, though they were not in line of sight with the enemy. The rockets sped above Kin and the others leaving smoke trails toward the Imperials.