by Randy Dyess
“Ready?” Michael asked. Everyone nodded and entered the water for their swim back to the mainland. They agreed with Michael’s plan, for no one wanted to go back into the city without an armed guard. The group agreed that any off-worlder who would help them would land at the spaceport, and they wanted to be the first people off this planet, if Candus Corporation offered.
After having the night to rest without the threat of spiders attacking them, the group made the swim without any problems. The survivors were tougher than they’d been when the attacks first started; surviving the last twenty-four hours had brought out the best in them.
As the group neared the shore, Michael called for everyone to stay in the water, so he could check out the buildings. This time, no one rushed ashore or argued. They all waited the twenty minutes it took for Michael to search the nearby buildings and return. “Okay, everyone can come ashore. There’s nothing here,” he said, putting his sword back into its sheath.
They made a plan to find supplies and bring them back before starting the trip to the spaceport. The group made its way to the buildings at the edge of the park, thirsty and hungry. Skylar, Michael, and McCoons went into one of the small markets.
“I found bottles of water and some juice,” Skylar yelled.
“I’ve got backpacks,” Michael called.
Others came into the store after searching the other buildings, and the group pulled together everything they found and had a quick breakfast before packing up.
Forty minutes later, they crowded around Michael and Sergeant Major McCoons, fed, watered, and ready for action. Backpacks full of water and food were ready to go, and makeshift spears, swords, and axes lay next to them. No one wanted to chance running into the spiders again without being able to defend themselves—they were going to fight back this time.
“Let’s get going. It’s about twenty kilometers to the spaceport, which puts us there right around noon. I don’t plan on stopping once we get started—we can rest when we get there.”
*****
Now, Fidel said to himself. His mission was to study the spiders and report back to Agent Smith when he had the chance. His ship had been programmed to land during the night at the outer edge of the spaceport. They were about an hour from it, and he needed to separate from the group and get to his ship before one of them discovered it.
He slowed until he was at the back, and someone asked him if he needed help. “No, I’m just a little tired. I’m going to rest and then I’ll catch up. You go ahead,” Fidel said.
“Are you sure? I can carry your pack if you want me to,” the man said.
“I’m sure. Thanks, but I wouldn’t want to slow you down. I’ll be fine.” Once the man and two women left him behind, Fidel picked up his speed and made his way toward the building his ship was supposed to be behind.
He hoped that whatever the spiders had used to destroy electronics hadn’t affected his ship. Senate Intelligence had built special sensors which should have been resistant to the pulse weapon, but they hadn’t survived and he was worried that his ship hadn’t, either. None of their scientists had seemed to know how the weapon operated, and they hadn’t been able to guarantee that the ship would work, even when it was not on the ground or in close orbit. Fidel had hoped that hiding it behind one of the moons orbiting Candus would protect it.
Ten minutes later, he had his answer: the ship was exactly where he had programmed it to land. He slapped his palm on the reader, holding his breath, and the door opened and the lights turned on. Thank God, he thought as he entered. Fidel powered it up and then turned on his stealth system. Usually, he would only fly onto a planet at night, making the best of his limited stealth capabilities, but he couldn’t wait to report to his superior. The sensors didn’t work, and the Senate needed to know before sending any others to spy on the spiders.
Eight minutes later, Fidel’s ship was in higher orbit around the planet, and his scanners did not report any spider ships in orbit with him. Flipping off his stealth system, he powered up the comm unit. “Report,” a mechanical voice said. The heavy encryption used by the Senate Intelligence Service made everyone sound the same—being able to identify an agent by his or her voice would put them in danger, after all.
“The spiders attacked as predicted. The new sensor package, however, did not survive the pulse weapon. I’m sending the data they collected. Hopefully it will be of some use. I also want to report that a small group of survivors is heading toward the spaceport.”
“Anything to report about the group?”
“Yes. There is a marine sergeant major with them. Apparently, his assault team was doing space jump exercises in the area and got caught up in the raid. He’s the only one who made it out. His name is Sergeant Major McCoons.”
“I’ll deal with him. What about the others?”
“Just some locals. A kid named Michael Lee managed to kill one of the spiders with a sword, and he found out a few things about the spiders that we didn’t know.”
“Like what?”
“They are attracted to movement and sound. If you stand still and be quiet, they will not be able to target you. Also, they’re afraid of water. The kid says they won’t even come close to it. They can shoot silk out, like a weapon—they used it to capture a few people in the water and pulled them right out.”
“Agent Black reported the silk capability in the attack against Voskion. How did he manage to kill one?”
“He knows martial arts and had a sword with him. He was able to distract the spider, shout at it and make it rear up, and then he used his sword. The spider didn’t have armor, and their bodies are soft and cut easily.”
“Sounds like their attack pattern. We’re sending agents with kinetic weapons to Chaovis to determine if they can stop the spiders when they attack. We need to find ways to protect the core worlds if these things keep coming.”
“I understand. What are my orders?”
“Stay in orbit and watch what goes on,” the voice replied. “Find out everything you can about the status of Candus and watch the survivors. Don’t interfere if they are attacked, and let me know if they find a way off the planet. I’m going to order it to be quarantined, so let me know if anyone violates the quarantine. I’ll get back to you when I want you to go to Chaovis.”
“Understood. I’ll stand by and scan the planet.”
*****
“You know what’s weird?” Michael asked Alphus as they neared the spaceport.
“What?”
“I used to jog these roads all the time. The pastures from the city to the spaceport used to be filled with thousands of cows and sheep. This was a prime ranching area.”
“So?”
“How many cows and sheep have you seen? I haven’t seen anything larger than a bird. There are no horses, cows, sheep, dogs, or people.”
Alphus looked around uneasily before picking up the pace. He wanted off this rock soon.
“Do you want to know something else?”
“Probably not.”
“I haven’t seen our spider doctor in an hour, or so. It seems like he’s found something better to do than walk with us.”
Alphus turned around and looked back at the group. He didn’t see the doctor, either, and he was glad. There was something about the man that he didn’t trust.
*****
Over the next hour, Michael, Alphus, and Skylar had pulled away from the rest of the survivors. They had thought about stopping and waiting for them to catch up, but Alphus had decided they should go ahead and check out the spaceport. If spiders were present, they would see them and send Skylar back to turn everyone around before it was too late.
“How do you want to do this, Alphus?” Michael asked.
“I don’t think anything is here, but let’s stick to the shadows and walls as much as we can. I think we should make our way to the main terminal before going to any other building. If anyone else is here, that’s where they would be.”
As the tri
o made their way through the front gate, Michael said, “It looks abandoned. Not a lot of damage, but no one is here.” Air cars littered the parking lot, but no one was in them. Several had their doors torn completely off of them, and a few were turned upside down.
“Damn,” Skylar said. “How can those monsters be so strong, but soft enough that your sword cut through them like butter?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to complain about it,” Michael said. “We can come back and check out these air cars after we look over the spaceport. Maybe one of them is still working. It would be nice to have another way to get out of here if the spiders come back.”
They arrived at the front door of the main terminal. It was stuck open, but no one was in sight. “Are you sure you want to go in with me?” Alphus asked. “You could stay out here with Skylar.”
“I’ll go in. It doesn’t make a difference—if there’s anything in there, I’ll either fight them inside or out,” Michael replied.
They instructed Skylar to hide behind a planter and wait ten minutes for them. If they didn’t come back to get her, she would leave to warn the others.
“My comm unit doesn’t work. How will I know it’s been ten minutes?”
“Count to six hundred,” Alphus replied with a smile. Maybe, if she followed his advice, she’d have something to focus on, instead of jumping at every noise.
The men entered the dark building to find that the place was empty. No people or spiders could be seen. Several scattered piles of luggage were in the waiting area. “Looks like they’ve been here and are gone,” Alphus said.
“That, or everyone ran and left their stuff.” The two looked around before deciding it was safe enough to bring Skylar in. The rest of the group would be arriving at any time, and they wanted to make sure the restaurants in the back of the lobby were safe.
“It’s safe,” Michael said as he stepped through the door.
Skylar stood up and smiled. “Is anyone around?”
“No, the place is deserted. Alphus is going to check out the back and will meet us in the food court.”
The two entered the large building, hoping they could find a way off the planet.
*****
Over the next hour, the rest of the survivors arrived. Alphus had taken several of the members and explored the remaining floors of the terminal and other buildings. The place had minimal damage, but the main hanger had been hit, and any ship that might have flown them off the planet would have been in it.
“Nothing,” he said as he came back from the tower. “There’s no power and no communications. I didn’t see any ships left that we could use.”
“But there are dozens of ships out there,” Skylar said. “Why can’t we use one of them?”
“No power. “We checked them all. Whatever knocked out our weapons also took out those ships.”
“It’s weird that no one is left but us,” Michael said. “You would have thought someone would have hid, like we did.”
“Maybe they did, but they didn’t hide long enough. The spiders might have scoured everything during the night and caught any survivors.”
“I don’t want to think about it,” Skylar said. “I’m hungry—let’s eat something. We can figure out what we want to do next while we eat.”
Everyone pitched in and rounded up enough food to feed the entire group. No one had any other ideas on what they should do, and they just wanted to stay and get some rest. “Looks like we’re stuck here for another night,” Michael said. “Where do you figure is the safest place to spend the night?”
“As much as I don’t want to be trapped, I think we should go upstairs to the offices. They would be more comfortable and easier to defend than this wide open lobby,” Alphus said.
“Even if it is safer here, I don’t want to sleep on this hard ground. Let’s round up water and food and see if upstairs is any better. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to get off their feet,” Michael said.
“Damn straight,” Skylar said, causing the two men to laugh and the others to join in. “I want somewhere softer than some beach. I’m exhausted and sore.”
“Should I go fluff up your bed?” Alphus teased. “How about I draw you a hot bath?”
“That would be great,” Skylar smiled. “Why don’t you go do that and I’ll find us water and food? Don’t make it too hot.”
“Yes, ma’am. Is there anything else you require? A mint on your pillow, or some champagne while you soak?”
“Now, you’re talking. Put on some soft music, as well,” Skylar said, laughing as she made her way into the food court.
“Let’s check out the offices while they’re finding supplies. I want to see what needs to be done to protect us while we sleep,” Alphus said.
The men made their way up the stairs and searched the office complex again. There was a small stairwell door, along with the main doors, that would need to be blocked. The windows didn’t open and were too small for the spiders, so they didn’t have to worry about spiders coming in that way. They also needed a way to secure the front doors.
“Here!” Michael shouted. “There’s chain in here.”
“That might work. Let’s secure the stairwell and then go help the others. Give everything one last glance.” They found a couch in one of the offices that turned into a bed. Alphus was going to make sure Skylar got first dibs on it.
After the group gathered supplies, they made their way up the stairs to the office complex. Alphus and a few men blocked the main door with the chain and extra furniture. If it didn’t stop the spiders, it would slow them down some, at least. Anything was better than nothing.
“Listen up, we need to stand watch. We’re going to do two-hour shifts, and everyone is going to help out. I want four people on each shift.”
“How are we going to tell when two hours have passed? None of our comm units or AIs work.”
“With these,” Alphus said as he showed the group four old-fashioned watches he’d found in a jewelry store. I’ve wound them up; each lookout gets one.”
Sergeant Major McCoons handed them out to the first group of lookouts and gave one to Michael and Skylar. He kept the last one for himself.
“Come with me,” he said to Skylar, leading her into the office they had discovered earlier, “your bed awaits.”
She smiled and hugged both Alphus and Michael. “You didn’t have to do that. You need sleep more than I do—you stayed up last night.”
“It’s okay, I’m a marine, and we never get beds to sleep in.”
“At least share it with me—there’s plenty of room.”
“I might take you up on that,” Michael said. “You don’t snore, do you?”
They laughed as Skylar gave him a quick punch in the arm. “And if I do?”
“I’ll find a way to block it out,” Michael said. “Besides, I bet Alphus is going to drown us all out with his snoring.”
“If you don’t like it, there are plenty of other rooms to sleep in,” the sergeant major laughed. “You two get all nice and comfy—I’m going to set up the lookouts. Don’t worry about standing watch tonight. There are plenty of others out there, and it’s about time they started pulling their weight. Save me a pillow.”
Alphus managed to get enough people to volunteer to keep watch. They were all tired, but they knew someone had to do it. So far, Michael and Sergeant Major McCoons were doing most of the work, and no one argued that Michael, Skylar, and Alphus were not included in the watch schedule.
Everyone had a snack as the sun went down, and it didn’t take long before people started drifting into the individual offices to find somewhere to sleep. Some had couches, but others made do with chairs and cushions. They were all exhausted, and felt a lot better in the relative safety of the terminal than the wide open beach.
Chapter 18
“Candus in five, four, three, two, one,” Skip announced through the ship’s communications system as the Sullivan’s Pride started dropping out of it
s FTL tunnel. She might have been the best ship flying, but she had to follow the same physics as everyone else and would be blind for the next ninety seconds as she shed the FTL bubble.
“Exiting,” Skip said.
For the first eighty seconds, nothing happened, but as the last layer of the FTL bubble stripped away, the lights flickered and the collision horn sounded. “Go to manual! Evasive maneuver Delta One!” Dakota shouted. “All stations to report!”
The Sullivan’s Pride bounced around for a few seconds as the pilot rapidly changed its course to avoid the object in their path. “Debris everywhere, Captain. It’s like we came out in the middle of a battlefield.”
“Spin up all sensors and give me my weapons. We may have come out in the middle of a pirate raid.”