by Brian Fisher
Chapter 49
Corin Dante knelt in the middle of the cargo bay. He had finally found the last faulty power connection. Carefully, he removed the faulty terminal, plugged in the new one that he had been carrying, and restored power to his ship. Lights came on throughout Vengeance, finally showing just how bad things actually were. The damage was staggering. He had known that it would be bad, but seeing it in the light gave it a completely new dimension. They were in trouble. There was no possible way that he was going to be able to help T'Sula. Still, he had to do what he could. After all, it was his fault that she was in the position that she was.
"Well, now that we've got power, let's get the rest of this thing running." Kamira said, walking up behind Corin. "I already checked on the Reclamation Unit. It seems to be working just fine, so I'm going to start getting a couple of things ready."
"Wow, I didn't realize that you were out of the DioBed yet." Corin turned to face her. She seemed so confident that they could repair the ship. "Are you feeling better?"
"Oh, yeah I'll be alright." Kamira blushed slightly. "Thanks. Where's Brutus?" she looked disheveled but whole. Her eyes were bright and her voice was strong.
"You know, that's a good question." Corin sighed. "I haven't seen him in a few hours." Corin noticed that Kamira had exchanged her tattered robes for a new, form fitting blue jumpsuit. "What is it with you two and jumpsuits?"
"Us two?" Kamira arched an eyebrow at Corin.
"You and T'Sula." he replied, picking up his gear.
"They're functional." Kam cocked her head at him. 'He notices what I wear?' she thought. "And they're comfortable." Kamira added, a little uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I figured it was something like that." Corin smiled. "Unless you need me for something, I think I'll go make sure that Brutus hasn't gotten himself into any trouble." Corin made sure that he had all of his equipment and left.
'He noticed that I changed clothes?' Kamira blushed again, then headed back to her makeshift work area. She didn't have much to work with, but she would make do with what she had.
Corin quickly stowed his gear in his quarters. They were spartan, but that was fine with him. He set his gear on the deck, and then kicked the pile of clothes away from his closet. Inside, the closet was a mess. All of his belongings had come loose and fallen to the floor in the crash. Corin sighed and began to rifle through the pile.
It took him a couple of minutes before he found what he was looking for. Sitting at the bottom of the pile was a metal footlocker, sealed and capable of withstanding almost anything, including zero atmospheres.
Corin unlocked the footlocker and reached inside. He withdrew his two pistols, a belt to attach everything to, a small first aid kit, and the Bullwhip that had belonged to his Grandfather. After looking at his weapons for a minute, he stood and fastened the belt around his waist. The pistols slipped smoothly into the holsters, where their familiar imprint held them fast. There was a small pouch on the back that was just the right size for the first aid kit, and a tie on the left side for the whip.
Corin pulled out his pistols and checked them over. They were a matching set of semi-automatic, hand held railguns. High powered, and deadly accurate, the pistols had built in auto reloaders in the grips. Corin slipped the weapons back into their holsters, and then tied down the holsters around his legs. Now he was ready to go out and look for Brutus.
Time, or at least Corin's perception of it, slowed as he left his ship. The confines of the vessel were familiar, and mostly safe, but now he had to leave that safety for a much more dangerous place. An unknown jungle was never where you wanted to find yourself.
The heat hit Corin instantly. Inside the ship, even without power, had been reasonably cool due to the protection from the sunlight. Outside however, was a drastic change that nearly dropped Corin to his knees. He staggered for a moment, and reoriented himself. He had been in hot climates before, so it took him only a few minutes to acclimate.
Refocused, and wary of the heat, Corin searched for signs of Brutus. The big cat was deceptively agile, and left barely any signs of his passage. Corin however knew what to look for.
Finally, he found what he sought. At the edge of the clearing were a couple of bent branches that were missing some leaves. Corin methodically inspected the area and decided that Brutus had indeed been through there. Beyond the branches were more signs of the cat's passage.
Corin followed the signs for what seemed like hours, until he came upon something unexpected. Tucked in neatly against the mountainside, was a village. It was an eclectic mixture of high tech equipment and local materials. The village hadn't been there long, only a year or two at the most.
An uneasy feeling crept over Corin as he came closer to the village. Something was definitely wrong. There were signs of life everywhere, but he had yet to see a person. Doors stood half open, with lights on inside, yet there was no noise, and no one in sight.
Corin's pistols slid smoothly and silently out of their holsters. Creeping cautiously forward, he took the safeties off. He came up to an open door and stopped. Placing his back against the wall, Corin took a deep breath. It was now or never. He needed to know what was happening here. He needed to know where the people were, why they were nowhere in sight.
In the instant before barging in through the open door, he heard it. A faint scraping of claws against rock sent chills up his spine. Corin looked up just in time to see a Ta'Reeth hunter leap from the stone roof above his head. He dropped and rolled out of the creatures range, firing wildly as he went.
Scrambling to his feet, Corin kept his weapons trained on the hunter. This one was slightly different from the ones he had run into on Olcai. Those hunters weren't armored. This one was. It stood only a meter and a half high, with powerful hind legs, and short muscular forearms. Razor sharp claws tipped each toe and finger. The beast's head was an armored triangular plate with deep-set black eyes that darted back and forth, in search of its prey. Its jaw split at the chin, opening to the left and right while being hinged in the back allowing it to open and snap shut with razor sharp teeth designed to shred.
There was no time to react before the beast was on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Corin twisted and dodged, desperate to avoid those teeth and claws. Laying flat on his back, Corin managed to wedge his feet between himself and the hunter's chest. He pushed up hard, and blasted the creature in the head with both pistols. He watched as the head exploded in a shower of bone and gray matter, then stood and checked himself for wounds.
His wounds were surprisingly light. A few cuts here and there, and more than a few bruises, but he would live. He just wanted to find Brutus and get back to the ship.
Corin brushed off what he could of the debris, and started looking for Brutus again. He kept his weapons at the ready, wary of another attack. As he moved through the village, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. The buildings sat open, allowing Corin to see inside. Everything was well taken care of.
He came across the largest building in the village. Corin froze in his tracks. The inside was bathed in blood. In the silence, he heard a sound. He heard Brutus growling. His heart raced. There had to be more Ta'Reeth around. In all of his experience, they had never hunted alone. Brutus' growling grew louder as Corin scanned the area, looking for any sign of the hunters. Finding none, he moved inside.
The building must have been the Town Hall. It was easily the largest, most ornate structure in the village with carvings adorning the walls and the otherwise bare support beams. Corin moved cautiously into the building, stepping over body parts, and trying not to slip in the blood.
Bright lights cast haunting shadows across the bodies. There had to be nearly a hundred men and women of a dozen different races scattered across the meeting hall. Something had come in here when they were together and defenseless. Corin could only imagine what had really happened. The village was dead. The buildings were left in the kind of shape that belied the carnage he saw before him. Had they all
gathered here hoping for safety in numbers, or had they not known that anything was happening? He didn't know, and dared not let himself dwell on the thoughts either.
Nestled in the wall at the far end of the great room was a set of double doors that sat ajar. No light spilled out through the crack, only the low rumble of Brutus growling.
Corin gave up on stealth and caution. He started to run, jumping over bodies and furniture as he went. He skidded to a halt just outside the door, nearly falling as he did. The growl grew in volume and intensity. Now it was nearly a howl.
The door was actually cool to Corin's touch as he slowly pushed it open. With barely enough room to squeeze through, he entered the darkness. A wave of nausea swept over him as the smell of fresh blood permeated the air.
Corin's eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. Brutus was crouched near the back of the room, ready to lunge at any second. His head and eyes followed Corin, intently watching every move.
"Please don't hurt us." a woman’s voice called from behind the big cat. There was terror in her voice, pleading for salvation.
"I’m not going to hurt anyone." Corin called out as calmly as he could manage. "What happened here?" he asked, coming close enough to see whom he was talking to. She was tall and thin, with straw colored hair. The woman trembled as she stepped forward, holding a small child.
Corin saw a blur of movement as Brutus lunged past him, then felt a crippling pain in his shoulder. He looked down to see a thick thread piercing his body and running straight into the woman’s chest. She fell forward, into his arms as the thread ripped out, nearly dropping him to his knees.
"Mekala." was the only sound she made before she died. Corin turned, bewildered when he heard the scuffle behind him. Brutus had pinned a Ta'Reeth hunter. Its body lay limp under his paws. A long tendon stretched from one of its outstretched fingers, and ended in a bloody talon. The Sand Panther looked at his friend, and then dropped the hunters severed heads from his jaws.
"The kid!" Corin exclaimed, and turned over the dead woman. He felt the pain of her death, and could not help himself in caring for the child. He carefully took the child from her protective embrace and peeled back the blanket. He looked into the eyes of a small Bakeeron girl. She had to be no more than two years old. Her dark hair clung to her angelic face, belying the fear that was painfully evident.
Not sure what he needed to do, Corin picked up the girl. "Mekala, huh?" he winced at the pain in his shoulder. "Looks like you're coming with me little one." he was surprised when Mekala reached up and grabbed him, holding him tight as she trembled, too scared to cry.
"You're going to be alright." he tried to comfort the girl. "Do you see Brutus over there? The big fuzzy kitty? He's coming with us too. We won't let anybody hurt you." Corin surprised himself when he actually meant what he said. He gently rocked her back and forth as he and Brutus quickly made their way out of the town hall.
Corin held Mekala as best he could with his good arm. She wriggled a little, but held as still as could be expected. Mekala held Corin as tight as she could and buried her face in his shoulder.
The light had begun to fade when Corin emerged from the building. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that Brutus was still with him, and then headed towards his ship. They traveled as quickly as they could manage, not wanting to be caught in the jungle at night. The going was rough and Corin had to stop to adjust how he held Mekala. He used her blanket, and his whip to fashion a sling to hold her tight to his chest.
With Mekala secure, Corin began to run. He tried not to jostle her as he ran. The hair on the back of his neck bristled at the noises coming from the jungle. There was no way to know how many Ta'Reeth were out there, or where they were. Corin knew that with Mekala strapped to his chest, and his wounded shoulder, he was relying entirely on Brutus for protection.
Brutus and Corin were running at full speed when they broke into the clearing. Kamira was standing between them and Vengeance. Beside her was a monster.