by C. C. Ekeke
“Finally!” Khrome griped. He rocketed into the air, bowling over two Korvenites like an armored torpedo. Another overzealous Korvenite flew behind the Thulican, aiming a vicious kick to his head. An instant later, the Retributionary was screaming Korcei obscenities, clutching his foot in pain.
Khrome turned and scowled. Habraum couldn’t help but chuckle as Khrome punted the Korvenite squarely in the gut, driving him the head-first into the stony ground.
Clear panic gripped the five that attacked Habraum, for they were now outnumbered by two. Their attacks grew wild and uncoordinated without a Unilink organizing them. A weakened telekinetic attack slammed into Habraum’s chest, the breath rushing out of him. But his suit’s low level force field absorbed the brunt. On instinct, the Cerc rolled with the blow.
One of the five Retributionaries charged, and got promptly backhanded with a red sweep of energy, shattering the Korvenite’s helmet entirely. The comatose face on the plummeting Korvenite was male, far too young for warring. Habraum afforded him no pity. I have my own sprouts to worry about. The remaining Retributionaries continued attacking Star Brigade, something he couldn’t allow.
A strangled hiss ripped from Honaa, a hard telekinetic shove from four Retributionaries tumbling him into a drilling control console. The resulting collision cascaded a shower of sparks in all directions. And Honaa went sprawling to the floor.
On Habraum’s roared command, Khrome and Tyris launched themselves at the quartet. The Tanoeen pummeled a Korvenite with a series of hard, surgical quarterstaff strikes. Khrome dished out his own brand of punishment to the other three.
Moments later, Star Brigade stood victorious.
Liliana sank heavily to her knees and stared a hole into the Korvenite she had killed. The wall spike that skewered him, dripped with frothy green blood. Sam flew down to her side. “Li—, Crescendo. You okay?” The Commander knelt and held the doctor’s shoulders.
“That gadhua almost killed me, Heatstroke.” Liliana wiped some Korvenite blood from her cheek, her delicate features contorted with shock. “How do you think I feel?”
“Um…well, this is your first field kill. It might not have sunk in yet,” Sam replied, taken aback.
“It sunk in just fine. Excuse me.” Liliana pulled away from her and walked toward Honaa, who was being helped up by Tyris.
Habraum watched the doctor begin tending to Honaa, then turned to Sam and shrugged. “I’d say that’s progress.” He turned his attention back to the remaining hostages.
“Comms are back up,” said Khrome with that same worried look from back on the Phaeton.
“Meaning transmatting might work too,” Habraum guessed. “Khrome, try transmatting back to the ship and trace whatever unblocked us.”
“Aye, sir.” Khrome raised his comband and spoke to Liddell. One white shimmer later, he vanished.
“Arcturus and Jakadda,” the Cerc continued. The Kintarian codenamed ‘Jakadda’ had been eyeing Liliana, but not with his usual contempt. He snapped toward Habraum. “Round up all living Korvenites and place a damper grid around them. That should restrain them and their psionics until UComm arrives.”
“Reign,” Liliana broke in. Habraum turned to see her kneeling over Honaa, who leaned heavily against a nearby jut. “I’m returning to the ship with Irazu and the hostages so I can better treat them.”
Habraum stared in disbelief at how bad Honaa looked. His usually sharp eyes were glazed over, his tail limp, a clawed hand clutched his left side. Sam’s words from weeks ago ran unbidden through the Cerc’s head. Were Honaa’s best days in the field behind him?
“Go ahead, Crescendo,” Habraum nodded. Liliana helped Honaa up, tapping her comband. They vanished in shimmering flashes. What a fubbered day, Habraum thought, watching Tyris’s ice-chiseled physique pacing around and checking the cylindrical damper grid. V’Korram tossed three unconscious Korvenites into its center. The grid itself poured out from two remote spheres floating above the growing pile of Korvenites, projecting a forcefield that adapted its integrity based on the restrained species. Tyris, the team’s ordnance, carried these spheres with him on every mission. The non-human hostages, still straining against their bonds, began to quiet.
Habraum raised his arm to use his comband, and saw a quaking hand. Whether from the euphoria of combat or fear of how badly this mission could’ve gone, he had no clue. “Reign to Liddell.” Habraum spoke into his comband. “Status up there?”
“Both ships haven’t moved sir. I’m hitting them every six-point-five macroms to make sure.”
Sam eyed Habraum and made a face. Given the Raider-Class ships’ small size, a single neutrino blast should disabled them for at least 40 macroms. Habraum swallowed a laugh. Somewhat overzealous, that one. “Good job, Ensign.”
“Thank you, sir,” there was a hint of pride in Liddell’s voice at the compliment. “The UComm Cruiser Genova is twenty-five macroms away, like Heatstroke projected.”
Habraum frowned in shock. In the heat of battle, it felt like they had been down here for only five. “Keep us posted. Reign out.” Suddenly the babbling hostages disappeared in a blue shimmer. “Khrome,” he muttered with a smile. Before he could celebrate this moment, Sam appeared before him, eyes on her datapad.
“Reign, I’ve synced my datapad directly to Phaeton,” she said, tucking stray locks of hair behind her ear. “And I’m detecting rising energy levels at the auxiliary docking bay in one of this facility’s smaller asteroids. There are also 10 Retributionaries, one human, and one unknown sentient being in that area.”
Habraum glared at Sam irately. More Retributionaries meant another conflict. CT-1 had gotten lucky this time. Do we really want to tempt fate again? Then he eyed the pile of crushed humans in the corner. “Arcturus, Jakadda. You done rounding up those Korvenites?” he asked. Tyris and V’Korram both nodded, the large pile of Korvenites in the force grid backing their claims.
“Let’s go, then. Those Retributionaries must’ve felt what we did to their chums.”
“And they’ll likely take it out on that human they found,” Tyris breezed.
The thought made Habraum shudder. “Ensign Liddell,” he slapped on his comband. “Transmat four to the mining facility’s auxiliary docking bay.” Glittery ore walls and jutting spikes disappeared in a shimmer, and Habraum felt a cold vein of fear crawl through him.
But his fear wasn’t for the team this time. The KIF killed all of those innocent humans in vicious fashion. He shuddered at what they might do to those two souls.
Rows of ships in a docking bay grew clearer through the shimmer…
…as did a Korvenite hurtling at him. Habraum and the other three Brigadiers ducked. The Korvenite sailed over their heads, colliding hard with a small passenger convoy. As the Korvenite slid limply to the ground, Habraum noticed his lack of Retributionary armor, only a mining suit with a foot imprinted in the chest. What the hazik?
“Seems the Korvenites are the ones needing the help,” Sam gaped past Habraum as she rose into the air. The nine remaining Korvenites stood in the middle of the docking bay, half of them armored, cornering two figures against a stack of barrels. Habraum quickly identified one figure as a frightened human female, seated and quivering. The other figure was also female yet stood upright, tall and lissome, her crimson hair tied back in a ponytail. She faced her attackers fearlessly. Before Habraum and his teammates could react, one long-haired Korvenite whipped out a pulse rifle. “You’ll die this day, half-human filth!”
The female shoved the other human out of the way, right before the wall got shredded apart by rapid-fire photon shots. Then she moved, a blur of gold, crimson and quicksilver. Blistering pulse rifle blasts ripped the barrels behind her to shreds, never touching her. The female danced around each searing blast as if performing for an audience. All the while, a bright flash of light flared in the female’s metallic hand, morphing into a double-ended energy blade.
She dropped to a knee, easily batting away shot after shot
with her blade, deflecting them at the Retributionaries zooming toward her shrieking companion. Two shots ricocheted back at the Korvenite firing at her—knocking the rifle from his hands and burning a hole through his chest.
Tyris stared at Habraum, who in turned stared at V’Korram. “Jesus!” Sam exclaimed.
The other eight Korvenites now advanced, shouting something in Korcei. Two unarmored Korvenites took the lead and pointed at the female. She froze, trapped by their telekinesis. Three armored Retributionaries flew forth and trained their chestplate weapons on her.
“Alright, enough,” Habraum started forward. He needed Liliana down here to disrupt their Unilink. A cold grip on his shoulder held him back. The Cerc stared at Arcturus in annoyance. “What—?”
“Look,” the Tanoeen whispered. Habraum looked, and started in shock. V’Korram warily crouched, growling low in his throat. Countless metal wires burst through the side of the convoy nearest to the battle, its hull ripping and shrieking in protest. Coils shot forward like voracious snakes toward the two Korvenites. They gagged in surprise at cords bound their limbs. Soon their choked gags became screams, as brilliant yellow jolts of the convoy’s plasma energy scorched through their bodies and cooked their internal organs.
The Korvenites’ telekinetic grip was broken—just in time for this mysterious female to backflip twice over a trio of blistering psionic beams. Three Korvenites flew up and tried to surround her, pouring on the concussive energy of their chest weapons. But she moved too fast for their trap, feinting to the right, side-flipping back and forth over blasts and springing into the air just above the Korvenite bombardment. The female rolled to the left in mid-air, kicking the two Korvenites on either side of her in the stomach, then spun right to punt their faces. She rebounded off their armor to hit a perfect split kick that knocked the two Retributionaries out of the air, in tandem dodging a psionic blast at close range. The female swung her energy blade like silvery lightning with a backflip, shredding across the chestplates of two more Retributionaries. They fell to the floor, lifeless.
Habraum and the other Brigadiers stood in awe. She was single-handedly beating Korvenites that his combat team had struggled against.
A wet crack sounded in Habraum’s ear. He, Tyris and Sam turned. V’Korram stood over the broken body of the Korvenite near the passenger convoy. Whatever sneak attack he had attempted, V’Korram caught the Korvenite and handled him soundly.
The Cerc nodded to V’Korram, who simply scowled in return. Habraum turned back to see two Korvenites remaining. Their panicked actions betrayed what the facial masks hid, fear. Habraum sensed the flickering psionic energy rising and falling in their bodies as they communicated with each other. The woman faced the remaining Korvenites regally—her cold blue eyes daring them to attack. In a flick of her metallic hand, the double-ended blade winked out of sight.
Habraum wanted to get involved, but he was too beguiled by this one-sided affair to interrupt.
One of the Korvenites moved, but not fast enough. Twin cerulean energy beams shot from the female’s eyes, scorching the Korvenite in the face. Down he went. The other Korvenite shot into the air to gain an advantage. Before he could act, the female was on him with her fantastic agility. She leapt to the left and bounced off a passenger convoy. Rebounding to the right, she sprang off a small cargo freighter and hurdled up to meet the Retributionary. Frantic, he jerked away, but not far enough. The female backflipped with a kick, smashing open the Korvenite’s helmet. Teeth and lime-green blood sprayed from his mouth. Completing her flip, the female kicked into her opponent’s torso with both feet.
A limp Retributionary hit the floor, the resultant clatter echoing throughout the cargo bay. The female, landed again in half-crouch. For an instant the female’s right eye blazed a bright blue glow and the ground around her ruptured up with cybernetic coils. Habraum and his teammates backpedaled in surprise. Each coil ripped through the ground with a distinctly raucous shriek of tearing metal. The enlivened tendrils snaked around all the unconscious Korvenites lying around the female, jutting them into the air before the coils intertwined them in one big bundle above her. So completely frazzled was other human female by what occurred, she shrieked out and dashed toward a much larger cargo freighter. She hid behind its engines, her whimpering audible.
The cyborg ignored her as she rose and approached Star Brigade. Taller than Liliana, her regal stance bore a subtle womanly sway as she walked. Though she had fought Star Brigade’s enemy, Habraum shared a quick glance with Sam that asked, Is she our enemy as well?
Without moving her swan-like neck, the woman studied the Star Brigadiers up and down. Her deep ocean-blue eyes raked the air; Tyris clearly shuddered when those orbs fell on him. Her aquiline nose matched the sharp triangular structure of her face. Her long scarlet hair was pulled back in a taut plait falling far past her shoulder. The halolights heightened the gold sheen of her skin and face, all too immaculate to be an unaltered human.
For Habraum, her silvery right arm held his attention the most, twining and flowing cybernetics running up to her shoulder where it seamlessly blended into shiny golden skin. Her attire, some leathery metallic material, had a obsidian tint that further accentuated her lithe physique. She stopped about a metrid away from the Brigade, scrutinizing each Brigadier with a detached and slight superior gaze. Tyris warily stepped back and drew out his quarter staff. V’Korram got between Sam and the female. Her eyes finally came to rest on Habraum, boring into him like needles. The Cerc tried to speak, only for his voice to catch in his throat. He knew her!
Marguliese, the Cybernarr, looking more human now than Cybernarr. How?
“You,” Habraum stated, hearing the shock in his own voice. Marguliese, here with Star Brigade. “You disabled that second ship’s cloak.”
“Yes, Habraum,” her voice sounded more feminine and human, yet still flavored with a cybernetic resonance like Khrome’s. “Your ship was damaged and unable to deactivate the Korvenite cloaking device.”
Sam irately elbowed past V’Korram. “Move, Jakadda. Look, whoever you are—.”
“Marguliese.”
“Okay then, Marguliese. Your help is appreciated, but who are you and why are you helping us?” Sam was always suspicious, and if Habraum didn’t know Marguliese, he would have agreed with her.
“I am an ally, Samantha D’Urso. One you can trust.” Her voice was remote and abrupt.
“Let me be the judge—wait, how do you know my name?” Sam’s anger melted into shock.
Habraum opened his mouth to explain, only to be cut off by the sound of a transmat. What now?
Khrome, his noseless face contorted by utmost loathing. Habraum’s heart stopped. No! Not like this!
“I KNEW IT!” the Thulican thundered, stabbing a shiny finger at Marguliese. “A Cybernarr!”
Everyone gaped at Marguliese after that claim. She silently regarded Khrome like one would a gnat. Habraum moved quickly toward his subordinate, hand raised in warning. “Khrome—.”
“Don’t ‘Khrome’ me!” Despite his squat height, the enraged Thulican seemed to loom over everything in the cargo bay. Since last night, Habraum still hadn’t figured out how he’d tell Khrome that a member of the race who had been his species’ sworn enemy was joining the Brigade. But seeing the Thulican this furious, and considering the raw power at his disposal, Habraum realized no approach would have worked. “Khrome. Let’s wind down and talk—.”
“The Cybernarr DIES!” The Thulican rocketed toward his rival, a breakneck, armored missile. Marguliese remained rooted in place, seemingly indifferent. The other Brigadiers stood transfixed, too shocked to react.
“Lieutenant, stand down!” Habraum yelled at Khrome. His words fell on deaf ears. Khrome zoomed forward, the air screamed in his wake.
He was almost upon Marguliese, who fixed on him with a pitiless stare. Khrome’s teeth were bared, both hands reaching out for the Cybernarr’s throat. Marguliese’s right eye smoldered bright blue.
Sam shouted at Khrome and took to the air in a fiery burst. Tyris spun his staff in one hand and raised his other hand to fire an icy salvo at the Cybernarr. V’Korram was on all fours, ready to pounce.
Habraum moved quickly, holding out an arm to block them. “Star Brigade, stand down.”
The three Brigadiers gaped at their field commander. “Reign, she’s going to kill him!” Sam cried.
“If she wanted him dead, he’d already be. Trust me on this.”
Tyris and Sam looked at each other uneasily, but complied. V’Korram remained crouched but motionless. Khrome struggled and kicked with all his considerable strength, fighting against thousands of binding coils snaking all over his body. Marguliese said nothing, her cold eyes never leaving Khrome’s. He managed to free one burly arm from his restraints, clawing furiously at the air to get at Marguliese.
But the cables and wires continued binding up relentlessly. Before long, the only thing visible was Khrome’s head. Marguliese cocked her head sideways in an almost childlike manner and sighed.
Habraum shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. Not quite the introduction he had planned. He could almost taste his teammates’ apprehension. “Was that really necessary?” Habraum asked, folding his arms.
“Yes,” Marguliese said flatly, her gaze falling on him. “He attempted to dismember me, Habraum.”
“And with a big friggin’ smile on my face!” Khrome spat, still struggling. “Reign, leave NOW!”
Fear churned inside Habraum like a hurricane, but on the outside he kept a cool demeanor. For all their sakes, he had to. “Khrome. Calm. Down.”