One magnetic cannon after another rotated into position, energy surging down their coil-shaped barrels. They threw the streams of nuclear artillery shells the auto-loaders provided at the cruiser.
Maneuvering jets fired and the ship rolled, bringing one set of guns after another into attack position just as the previous batteries exhausted their supply of ammunition.
And last of all, Clontarf’s main engines fired, propelling the ship in a randomized evasive course the temporarily sensor-blind Narakan gunners could only guess at.
Five shells made it through the cruiser’s defenses—five out of nearly one-hundred fired in a three-minute barrage. But at such insanely close range, all but a handful of the others showered the vessel with jagged shrapnel and massive doses of hard radiation.
And those five shells did quite enough damage on their own.
Detonations tore through the cruiser and it began breaking up, even before secondary explosions finished the job.
Six hours later, Captain O’Ree sprawled across her bed with the lights off and eyes closed tight. Still, sleep refused to come. She shook her head, moaned softly.
She heard a knock on her cabin door.
“Yes?”
“Updated status report, Morri.”
“Lights on,” she sub-vocalized and the cabin brightened. She opened her eyes and tilted her head upward. “Come on in, Commander.”
Kieron Murphy stood over her, concern on his face.
“Well?”
“Walsh confirms only minimal damage to various hyper-drive relays. No damage to the h-drive itself, of course. She’ll have all repaired and tested within three days—at which time we’ll read system’s edge at our present, extremely leisurely speed. Unless you’d care to push the fusion drives harder?”
O’Ree shook her head.
“Right. They’ve taken enough punishment. Anyway, then it’s into hyper-space and home for more permanent repairs. All other battle damage is stitched together adequately—including the two new hull breaches.”
Nodding, O’Ree sat up.
“We—you pulled it off, Morri.”
“Right. At what cost?”
“Hey, it went just like you said—like you hoped! The Narks were so surprised they hardly even tried to fight back!”
O’Ree’s head flew around, her jaw set at a bitter angle. “Final damage and casualty reports for the log, Commander!”
“Okay. Firing blind, they managed two direct hits, besides some fairly trivial blast-effect damage. One blew out an empty supply bay on starboard deck four. The other hurt us worse—took out ventral coil-guns two and three, along with their crews and the sections in between.”
O’Ree squinted. “So—how many people—in total?”
“Counting previous losses? Seventeen dead. Another twelve seriously wounded—of which the autodoc says two may or may not live. That would be Smithfield and Birney.” He paused, took a deep breath and gestured. “How’s the arm?”
She lifted, flexed her left elbow and looked at it, as if she’d forgotten something. “Some better. Those nanobots—”
“Ought to have the autodoc check it.”
“It has enough to do, tending the twelve.”
“One of the medics, then?”
“I’ll be okay, Kieron.”
“I guess.” Murphy paused then gestured. “Hey, Morri—you got us out of a real bad situation.”
O’Ree shrugged. “Got us into it, too.”
“Well,” Murphy tried, “you sure upheld the family name.”
“Family!” She virtually spat the word. “You know what’s left of my famous family, after fifteen-plus years of this war? Me and one younger cousin, the latest Lieutenant O’Ree!”
“Yeah. Everybody knows, respects the sacrifices you and yours have made.”
“And I was all set for more. Anxious, my mouth positively watering for revenge! After all this time, after years of just trying to survive—we were finally ready to strike back. Turn the tide! The Alliance’s first general offensive of the entire war—and what assignment do we draw? A recon mission—fifty, sixty lightyears from any major action!”
Murphy watched his captain shake her head.
He cleared his throat. “We had to know this sector was still clear, Morri. That no enemy taskforce was gonna sneak through and smack the fleet across the backside.”
“I know,” O’Ree said her anger and disgust abruptly collapsing into tired acceptance. “An important job. But hardly—glorious.”
“You want glory? Try this: We just took out a ship half-again our size and armament!”
“Not my point, Kieron. That cruiser, out here alone? He was on the same mission as us—making sure this area was inactive. Had to be, right?”
Murphy nodded.
“We were overmatched, didn’t have any compelling reason to fight. Nothing beyond my—vengeful spirit. Oh, I know.” She grimaced. “They’ll want to pin another medal on me. But in the end, what does it mean? I won a meaningless battle, barely—and got a quarter of my crew dead or wounded.”
“Morri, I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s okay. Kieron. I understand, and I appreciate what you’re trying to do. Didn’t have to deliver these reports in person, I know that. And I’m not burning out on you—I promise you. I’m just feeling—older, more mature, maybe? I’ll be okay.”
“And of course the war goes on,” Kieron Murphy muttered.
‘Oh yeah.” Morrigan O’Ree inhaled a long, deep breath and let it escape her nostrils slowly. “That, we can count on.” She raised her good arm, tapped her First Officer on the wrist. “Wanna hit the galley? Coffee’s on me.”
“Sure. Why not?”
THE END.
ONEZZELLOTT’S SEARCH By Shawn P. Madison
“Dad! Dad!” Twelve year old Tommy Ackerman shouted across the woods as he stared in horror at the thing lying in the moist green grass about ten feet away. Sparky was pulling hard on his leash, his barks echoing throughout the woods.
“Tommy?” Came a far distant reply. “Tommy, where are you?”
“Over here, Dad!” Tommy shrieked. “Come quick!”
The thing smelled awful and was curled up in a ball, shaking in the grass. Tommy grabbed his head in an effort to stop the incredibly painful sound which was bouncing around inside his skull.
The thing looked over at Tommy Ackerman and bore into the boy with its large black eyes. The bright white of its skin stood in stark contrast to the surrounding woods and its mouth was moving, forming words that Tommy couldn’t understand.
“Dad! Dad! Please...” Tommy called between sobs. He didn’t know why he was crying but between the pain in his head, that awful smell and the fact that he was alone with this thing out here in the woods of Hunterdon County, Tommy was scared to death.
He could hear the far off sounds of his father crashing through the woods. Tommy tried to keep his Remington Youth Model 870 shotgun pointed at the creature but he just wasn’t ready yet to kill another living thing, much to the dismay of his father. The thing tried to sit up once unsuccessfully and then tried again, reaching out toward Tommy with one unbelievably long white arm. Tommy took a shaky step back and almost lost his grip on Sparky’s leash. “You stay right there,” he muttered toward it between sobs and tried, once again, to bring his weapon to bear on the thing. His frustration at the tears rolling down his cheeks, which his father would see at any moment, and the fact that he was about to wet his pants in fear made Tommy Ackerman feel like turning and running away. As far away into the woods of Readington, NJ as his feet would take him. For some reason, something about this thing he had stumbled upon kept him riveted to the spot, unable to move more than a step or two in either direction.
It was getting harder and harder to keep Sparky from breaking loose and he could feel his grip on the shotgun loosening as he struggled with the German Shepherd’s leash. Oh, great, he thought to himself, the one thing he didn’t need right now was for his
father to see him crying in fear at some unknown thing lying on the ground while his gun lay in the grass.
“Dad...please...come quick,” Tommy cried as the white thing on the ground began to drag itself toward him through the leaves and sticks that littered the ground.
He ran as fast as he could over the uneven terrain of this wooded place. His First and Second were both just behind him, following him toward the terrified shrieks. I’m coming, I’m coming, he thought as hard as he could while he tried to breathe in the thin, cold morning air.
“I hear her, too,” his First called from several steps away. “She is terrified.”
“Faster, Minaan,” he muttered as his long legs raced over the bumpy ground and slick green grass. The much too bright sun was not yet up but the yellow light was steadily creeping through the barren branches all around them. “You too, Pinaan, run faster...all of us.”
“Danger!” His Second added. “Much danger!”
“Faster then!” Onezzllott commanded. “We must find her! We must...before the elder one does!”
“Tommy!” Bill Ackerman called as he tried his best to run across the rocky ground of the woods just off of State Road #202. He had brought his son out here, to these woods where he had spent many a Saturday and Sunday morning himself all those years ago, to try and teach him to hunt one last time before the bulldozers moved in and began the housing development.
Now, his son was calling his name in fear and terror of God knew what and he cursed himself for losing sight of the boy’s bright orange hunting vest and cap. “Damn!” He swore out loud between breaths, the cold air scraping his lungs raw. His Remington was nestled snugly against his body while he ran and the solid wood butt of the thing kept jamming into his armpit every time he hit a bump or rock.
“I’m coming, son,” Bill Ackerman cried. “I’m almost there!”
Tukkoozzllott Jinaan felt incredibly alone, stupid and scared all at the same time. When she had seen the young child and the beast coming her way just moments ago she could think of nothing other than to drop to the green-brown ground and curl up into a ball.
Once the child and beast had found her she began to wail as loud as she could. She knew her intense fear was blocking out all else but she felt a terrible dread throughout her small body. The beast was making an incredible noise and a thick slimy liquid was hanging from its fanged teeth. This scared her most of all, even more than the brown-black rod-like thing that hung in the child’s grasp. A thing that she had heard earlier make an amazing booming sound that echoed off the tall wooden sticks jutting up from the dirt of this place.
The beast was after her blood, this she could sense. The child was just as scared as she was, if not more so, but the loose hold he now had on the strap connecting his hand to the beast’s neck held her attention fast.
“Do not harm me!” She called to the child but the small thing just backed away. “I mean you or your beast or your elder no harm! Leave me be and I will be gone!”
The small child shrieked into the air and a similar shriek returned from much closer now than it had been before. Tukkoozzllott knew that her time was over if the elder was able to reach this place where she now lay. She could sense the urgency of her situation and felt the terror of gaining her endtime in this cruel and senseless place.
She intensified her wailing, calling out in terror for her father, as the child dropped to his knees with his hands on each side of his head. Her father would find her, she knew it. He would be here within moments. But whether he would find her dead or alive was the question still unanswered.
There he is! Bill Ackerman quickened his pace as he caught sight of the small orange vest and cap about fifty meters ahead but was suddenly hit by a wall of intense sound that brought him immediately to his knees. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time but it sure as hell was bouncing off the inside of his skull.
“Christ Almighty!” He shouted and rolled on to his back as the intense wailing made his head feel like it was going to open up and let loose his brains on to the ground. “I’m coming, Tommy,” he managed to sputter through gritted teeth and felt his consciousness begin to fade.
Onezzllott heard the burst from his little girl and knew the peril she faced just as she did. She was terrified beyond belief and he steeled himself inside for allowing the girl to wander off by herself as the repairs were being completed. He had lost himself in the finishing and had let the slight contact fade from his awareness.
It lasted until her first burst alerted him and his crewmen that she was in trouble. How much deeper into the woods do we have to go to get away from them, he thought to himself. Last night, the landing place seemed like the safest from horizon to horizon. Nothing but trees and darkness and no smells of the curious inhabitants.
Now, his decision to set down and commence final repairs before departure from Qroala seemed not wise at all. I shall find you, Tukkoozzllott, he shared and quickened his pace yet again. Your father is coming!
Tommy Ackerman dropped his gun and his grip on Sparky’s leash as the onslaught of painful sound slammed into his head. Sparky had rolled over and started shaking at first but was somehow able to gain his feet and make a stumbling leap toward the thing on the ground.
Sparky was bearing his teeth and bunching up his nose from the stench of the ugly creature but managed to lunge forward and grab one thin white ankle in his teeth.
Abruptly the painful wailing was gone from his head although the white thing on the ground was now howling in pain, howls he could hear with his ears just as it should be.
“No, Sparky, NO!” He called at his dog, afraid that the flesh of the hideous thing could be poisonous. “Leave it alone, Sparky! Leave it alone.”
A thick dark liquid was oozing out between Sparky’s upper and lower jaw and the look of absolute terror on the white creature’s face made Tommy want to turn away. The tears were flowing freely now and Tommy Ackerman never felt so ashamed and so afraid and so uncertain in all his life. He bent down quickly and grabbed up Sparky’s leash, tugging hard on the leather strap to pull the dog off the thing.
A rustling in the bushes off to his left signaled the approach of someone. He could only wish it was his father and not more of these stinking white things...
“Hold on, daughter, I am almost there!” Onezzllott called out. He caught a glimpse of a bright orange color up ahead and knew it to be a certain type of bodily covering. That’s where she is, he thought, that’s where her danger lies.
“We must get to her quickly!” Llizznnllott Pinaan cried. “Quickly now!”
“Run, then, run faster,” Onezzllott rasped, the fear wracking his body threatening to render him motionless. “She must return with us! She must!”
“We are unarmed,” Jummozznnett Minaan stated. “We will meet our endtimes as well.”
“RUN!” Onezzllott screamed, both to quiet his First and to settle his nerves. “RUN!”
It is over, she thought mournfully as the elder crashed through the bushes and stared at her with eyes open wide. For some reason the brown-black rod-like thing looked more menacing in his hands than the one held by the child.
“Goodbye, father,” she sobbed and hoped that he could hear through her fear. “I am sorry for venturing this far from the Humeril. I am sorry that you will no longer have a daughter.”
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Bill Ackerman mumbled as he caught sight and smell of the small white creature bleeding on the ground not ten feet away from his boy. “Tommy, get you and Sparky out of here! Right now!”
“No, leave it alone!” Tommy cried but his father pushed him away and raised his gun.
“I said get out of here! Now, son!” Ackerman said and lined the large white head up in his sights. “Jesus Christ, Tommy, get!”
“NO!” Tommy shouted, tears stinging his eyes as he tried to lunge for the gun in his father’s hands. “Leave it alone, Dad! It’s hurt!”
“I could give a shit, Thom
as,” his Dad answered and flashed him a menacing grimace. “Get you and Sparky out of here. Don’t make me say it again, son.”
“No, Dad, don’t do it,” Tommy sobbed as he backed away and watched his father raise the shotgun to his shoulder. “Just leave it alone, Dad, just leave it alone...”
Onezzllott felt as if his lungs were going to burst as he rushed toward where his daughter lay in the grass and dirt of these woods. There was much shouting going on and he had just been able to hear his daughter mumbling something which sounded like goodbye. He had raced away from his First and Second then, calling up some long dormant reserve of energy.
Just a little bit farther now, just a little farther. He could see the small one with water streaming from its eyes, a look of fear and sadness etched upon its face.
“Not yet!” He called out, hoping his daughter could hear. “Not yet, daughter!”
Tukkoozzllott stared up at the elder and felt her fear go away. She saw it lift the rod-like thing and point an empty black hole in her direction. She had heard her father and the others tell stories about how these creatures killed things and each other, most times for sport.
She was pretty sure that the rod-like thing was one of the weapons they used for such purposes. “Goodbye, my father,” she muttered once and lowered her head to the ground. “You must continue your travels home without me...”
Onezzllott stopped immediately as he heard the shot ring out in the cold morning sky. The echo of the brutal sound reverberated throughout the woods for several moments and then was gone.
The beast alongside the child began making horrendous sounds directed toward where he stood and he could see the sad eyes of the child as they looked into his. The link was gone and with it his daughter. He had failed to keep her safe in this strange place and now he would not be bringing her home. Curse Qroala! Curse this mission! He looked deeply into the child’s eyes and saw the compassion that was there. This was not the dangerous one. It was the elder that almost certainly accompanied this small one that had taken away his daughter.
9 Tales From Elsewhere 8 Page 9