by B. V. Larson
Kwon shook a bloody space-axe in my direction. “Not bad,” he rumbled. “And with the higher gravity we’ll do even better next time.”
“Fifty down, fifty to go,” I estimated. “Leave two marines and the wounded guys here. The rest of you follow me.”
I could have told Kwon to take a team and split up, but I knew he’d just ignore my orders and stick with me anyway. The big marine had made it his purpose in life to watch Dad’s back, and now mine—he’d already told me. As long as I was safe on the bridge he’d do what I told him, but with me in a battlesuit I knew he wouldn’t leave my side.
We might be facing two to one odds, but fighting on home ground with an omniscient brainbox to guide us helped even the score. The gravity trick tipped the fight decisively in our favor. With five line marines in tow, I headed for the nearest incursion my HUD showed me. Four crewmen had barricaded themselves in a compartment and were defending it against three Raptors who were chopping at the smart metal walls with their axes. The stuff kept trying to seal up, and the crewmen blasted away with their laser pistols, but without our help they were done for.
When Kwon saw the situation, he elbowed past me, filling the corridor and flanking the Raptors. None of us even got to fire or swing before the huge man chopped them down like saplings. In the tight corridor, under three gravities, they were almost helpless.
“Why didn’t they bring firearms?” Kwon asked me as he led the way toward the next fight.
“They’re trying to capture our factory. Apparently, Kleed didn’t feel like waiting around until we built one for him. This is the modern equivalent of a bayonet charge. On a planet they probably would have had us, but with our suits and the gravity we’ll have the advantage.”
“If they’re trying to capture our ship’s factory, shouldn’t we meet them there?”
I was about to disagree when I realized he might be right. Normally, shipboard battles were centered on capturing the bridge and the engineering section. But in this case, we were off the page of the Academy textbooks. They might well steal our factory and retreat, figuring they had what they wanted.
On my HUD, several enemy squads looked like they were fighting their way toward the center of our ship where the factory resided. In fact, one group of sixteen had penetrated quite close.
“You’re right, Kwon. Go, now—fast. I’m right behind you.”
We pounded through the passageways and into the factory room just as three groups of Raptors burned their way in on the other side. It looked like these guys had lasers after all.
Then I saw something that made my blood run cold. The Raptors had seized a group of crewmen and disarmed them. I recognized two of the group: Adrienne and Sakura.
My marine team had only four rifles between us. On the marine channel I contacted my troops. “This is Riggs. Everyone, finish off the attackers as fast as you can and converge on the factory room. We have a hostage situation.”
“RIGGS!” The translation software did its best to preserve inflection and intensity, so I knew this was a Raptor speaking over our channel. “This is Kleed. I have your females. You have no honor if you cannot defend them!”
My heart sank as I realized Kleed had recognized his hostages’ gender. The factory room connected to Engineering, and the women’s normal posts were in those two places. “Cease fire! Cease fire!” I called over the general com channel. “Keep back and await instructions.”
As our fire slackened and our reinforcements gathered nearby, the Raptors stopped advancing as well.
“Kleed, is that you?”
“I am here.” One of the Raptors, bigger than the others, stepped forward. “I have your mothers and your sisters.”
I didn’t bother to correct his misconception about our women, as it really didn’t matter. If there was a way out of this situation without losing Adrienne, I had to find it. I stood up so he could identify me across the deck.
“I see, Kleed. But we’re not like you. If you kill our females the rest of us will fight harder and will slaughter every one of you, and you will still not have gained our technology for your people. Where is the honor in that?”
“I’ve seen your people are not as soft and weak as I’d been led to believe by the video you transmitted. I’d thought you were merely clever technicians, but I see there are real warriors among you. In honor, I admit my error.”
“Then stop this treachery. Release our females, and we’ll escort you off our ship. I will still build a factory for you as a gift. You can still be the hero.”
Kleed flapped his helmet from side to side in the Raptor equivalent of a head-shake. “Before, perhaps that was possible, but you have already called my honor into question with your broadcast. I cannot return with half a kill. I must have it all so that my people may feast on your bodies and know me to be worthy. Otherwise, I might as well eat my tail right now.”
“I’d go for that,” Kwon said loudly.
“No matter what happens, you can’t possibly fight your way off this ship,” I said.
“I do not intend to. As I said, I will have it all or none.” Kleed waved forward a Raptor with an odd, pregnant look. The leader pushed a large button on the belly armor of that one and an oversized display lit up. “Now, if this one speaks a code word, we will all die in atomic fire. That is, unless you give me what I want. He is my eldest son, Kreel, so you know I am committed. You see, Riggs, it is you who cannot win.”
“Great,” Kwon said under his breath. “I knew he wouldn’t fight fair.”
Fight fair…
“Kwon,” I said, slapping his arm with my armored hand, “did anyone ever tell you you’re brilliant?”
“Nope. Never. Not even once.”
“Well, you are today. You just gave me an idea. Kleed,” I yelled, “Klak was ten times the Raptor you are. You’re a dishonorable weakling, and I’ll prove it. I call for trial by single combat.”
Kleed stood there frozen, but I saw his troops looking at one another. I could tell I’d touched a nerve. Marvin’s briefing to me about Raptor society had mentioned settling differences of honor with duels. Such contests were legally binding solutions to disputes based on the belief that whoever was right would be favored by the Raptor’s god and granted victory.
“Sir, let me do it,” Kwon said, trying to step forward.
“That’s not how it works. I called Kleed out, and now he has to meet me,” I hissed. “Get back to your place.” I reached up and took off my helmet after making sure the air was good. “Kleed, I know your customs. If you don’t agree, you forfeit. You’ll prove I’m right about everything. And by the way, this is also being broadcast to all your ships and all your civilians—to your mothers and sisters and daughters, too.” I spread my hands dramatically, dropping my helmet to the deck with a clang. “Come on Kleed. I’m waiting for your answer. Are you as big a chicken as you appear to be?”
Kleed made the only answer he could. Reaching up, he took off his helmet, leaving only his nose mask on.
“I accept your challenge, Riggs,” he growled, standing tall.
“Let’s do this!” I shouted, and stepped forward to meet him before he could change his mind.
-41-
Meeting a raptor face to face was daunting. They were a head taller than humans even without that long, powerful neck.
Kleed hit a release on his armor, and it opened up in several places. His troops peeled it off until the Raptor stood unclothed on the deck.
“Because you have challenged me, I choose the battle-tools. Claws and teeth and tails it shall be, nothing more. But you must normalize the gravity, halfway between yours and ours.”
I popped the releases on my own battlesuit, stepping out of it. “That sounds reasonable.” I told Valiant to set the gravity, which turned out to be slightly higher than one G, favoring the Raptor.
“But there’s one problem,” I said. “I have claws, sort of, and some teeth—but no tail. That hardly seems honorable.”
; Kleed paced back and forth, glancing at his son and the other troops as if troubled.
“Great,” Kwon said. “You get killed first, then we fight, then he blows the ship.”
“Kwon, I’m hurt. Have you no confidence?”
“He’s one big mother, sir, bigger than me even. With that tail…I know you’re microbed like your father, but still… He’s six hundred pounds if he’s a kilo.”
I smiled. “Don’t count me out yet. Kleed’s on the spot.”
Kleed spoke. “I hear you, Riggs. What is the answer to this dilemma? There is no honor in slaughtering a tailless ape such as you, no matter how brave.”
“How about if I grow a tail? Or something like one?”
“What do you mean?”
“Give me a minute, Kleed.” I turned to Kwon. “Go get me a pool bat. My favorite one, with the wrapped grips.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue, just do it!”
Kwon turned and lumbered out of the room. In a moment he was back with the bat I needed.
“What is that?” Kleed asked suspiciously.
“It’s my tail.” I swung it back and forth in my hand. “Here, examine it.” I rolled it across the deck to bump against his foot. “A titanium club with some sticky cloth to help me grip it. No power supply, no moving parts. Just a piece of metal.”
“Metal is stronger than bone.”
“And you outweigh me more than three to one. You have teeth and claws. Do you think this one object makes me your superior? If so you might as well concede the contest right now.”
I forced a laugh and gestured to the crowd. My marines caught on and loudly joined in the laughter. Hopefully Marvin’s translation program was good enough to get the point across.
“Agreed!” Kleed roared. “I have no fear of your puny club. Let us fight.”
He kicked the bat contemptuously back to me. I picked it up, resting it on my shoulder. Across the room I could see Adrienne looking at me with naked fear. I blew her a kiss.
“Okay, what’s the signal to start?”
“We start now,” Kleed said, and he attacked.
Fortunately we were some distance apart, at least forty feet. Remembering the leaping tail attack his people favored, I immediately dodged to the left. As he was already in flight by that time, Kleed couldn’t change course. I circled the inside of the impromptu ring that had formed around us, made up of marines and Raptors. Both sides had forgotten our dispute in the excitement.
When Kleed was back on his feet and charging close a second time, I found I’d already run out of bravado and plans. I had no idea of how I would beat him.
After a couple more abortive hops that I dodged, Kleed settled down to stalking me. I was faster than he was, but eventually he would get too close, and I’d have to go mano-a-mano.
My only advantage was the bat I’d scammed him into letting me have. I could block with it or maybe shove it into Kleed’s mouth and break some teeth. But if we got in close, I knew that tail would nail me. No, my best bet was to keep him at range and try to catch him with a good hard swing. I knew I wasn’t going to get more than one shot when he caught me.
Kleed stalked forward and I retreated until I was up against a bulkhead. Thinking he had me trapped, he came in clawing and biting. He performed a tail sweep, aiming low. I leaped over it, but the blades rasped against my left boot. The sole tore open and blood dribbled out. He’d scored first.
I jumped away, ignoring the pain. My toes would heal. Already, nanites and microbes were sealing up the slashes in my foot. My boot was even knitting itself back together.
Seeking to press his advantage while I was in pain, Kleed snapped at me with that toothy snout. I rocked back, wound up, and swung my bat as hard as I could for his jaw.
I knew I was going to pay for this move because Kleed’s tail was like a third hand, always striking in combination with his claws and teeth. He got an arm up in front of the bat, taking some of the power out of my blow. It still broke a bone and smacked into the side of his head, but now I was off-balance with my follow-through. I tried to roll with it, but I felt those tail spikes snake upward, trying to gut me. The blades clattered over my ribs, tearing up my chest muscles.
Kleed staggered away, his tail pulling away a hunk of my skin on the embedded spikes. My gut burned and ran red. I wanted to scream in pain, and my marines were gritting their teeth and hissing in worry. I forced myself to straighten, ignoring the blood and the pain.
When I lifted my bat, I found my left arm didn’t cooperate. The muscles and tendons there had been sliced away and that side no longer operated. I switched to using my right alone, wielding the bat one-handed like a sword or baton. To show I was still in the fight, I swung it in a figure eight and came on, trying to finish the Raptor off. Even with nanites sealing my skin, I could feel the loss of blood. Possibly I’d black out soon.
Kleed must have suspected my weakness. He kept his guard up. With only one hand, I wasn’t able to generate the power I needed to smash through. His forearms were the size of my thighs.
The Raptor shook off the blow I’d given him and began to come back at me. Now I circled away again, rolling my left shoulder to try to get some feeling in it, urging my nanites and microbes to greater efforts. I could feel the strength returning, but I wasn’t sure who would win the battle of the microscopic healers.
I felt a shock of pain. Kleed had lunged forward at great speed and caught me in the leg with his tail, in the back of the thigh this time. The flexible whip of it tended to wrap around any guard and do horrible damage, like a spiked ball on a chain. I stopped moving as I could barely stand. Running or jumping was out of the question.
I had to end this quickly. The next time his tail came at me, I didn’t jump or duck or spin as I’d been doing. Instead, I took a little hop to one side and swung my bat, imagining the spiked end of Kleed’s tail was a hard-driven pool ball. The wet smack when titanium hit bone and flesh at three hundred miles an hour sounded nothing like the crack of pool, but the effect was electrifying. The ball at the end of his tail slammed into his gut. Blood flew in a spray, and I could see several of those spikes buried to the hilt in his chest.
Kleed fell on the ground, thrashing. I advanced, hobbling over the floor. I suspected a trick. With his eyes closed, he cradled the end of his appendage and keened like a man with crushed gonads.
“He has been disemboweled by his own tail,” I heard one of the Raptors say, and the others took up the call. They backed away, heads down as if ashamed.
“I claim victory!” I yelled, waving my bat above my head. “Kleed has lost the battle and is without honor.”
“Kleed is without honor,” echoed his son, the one with the bomb on his belly. Slowly, he took a claw and pressed a sequence. I thought we were goners.
The display on the device winked out. I gasped with relief.
The Raptors dropped their weapons. Adrienne pushed past her erstwhile captors to touch my injuries. Her face was wreathed in worry.
“Are you going to live?” she asked me.
“Only if you give me a kiss right here in front of everyone.”
She did it. My lips had been split open at some point, but I didn’t care. With blood in my teeth and a slightly sick feeling in my head, I grinned and faced the group.
“Round these bastards up and get them the hell off my ship!” I ordered Kwon.
To the cheering of the crew, Kwon and his marines marched the Raptors to the launch bay. They cheered even louder when I kissed Adrienne again. I had to hang onto her neck with my good arm. The other had gone numb, and I’d dropped my gory bat. But the only thought in my head was that I needed to rethink my policy on fraternization. After all, the captain had to have someone to share his confidence…and his bed.
I was hauled to the medical bay by Adrienne and Sakura. I was weakening fast, and I didn’t think I could fight them off if I wanted to.
Lying on my back with a blinding white light in my fac
e, I contacted the bridge.
“Hansen, let the Raptors come pick up their people. You’re going to have to fly us out of here now. I’m—out of commission for a while.”
“Yes sir. What about the factory plans? They’re requesting that we honor our agreement and hand them over as a sign of good faith.”
“Really? You know what I say to that? Screw ‘em! They can fight the Lithos on their own next time around.”
“Yes, Captain!” said Hansen. For once, he sounded very pleased with my orders.
I frowned for a second as the channel closed. Had that been the first time he’d called me “captain?” I thought that it might have been. At the very least, it was the first time he’d done so without at least a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
Adrienne fussed over my injuries after that, with Sakura lingering nearby, watching. I wondered why she was there. Maybe she wanted to personally thank me or to make sure I was properly cared for. After all, I’d saved her life.
A few minutes later, Kwon showed up and posted himself next to my bed as a guard. Adrienne played nurse—there were endless needles, sutures and unpleasant sensations.
Taking a last look around with half-shut eyes, I noticed Sakura had left. She’d never said a word. Mentally, I shrugged. She wasn’t the most expressive person. I decided to take her gratitude as a given.
* * *
The Raptors left us alone after our refusal to share technology. They didn’t even bother to make contact. I think they were embarrassed and ashamed, although whether by their champion’s defeat or his behavior, I wasn’t sure.
I was far from an expert on the nuances of Raptor honor, but by skill, luck or divine providence I seemed to have used it against them. I’d pushed all in with my paltry pile of chips and won the pot.