by K. A. Kerr
“Control, Monster here. The native has moved out of the area.”
“Copy that Monster, some good news then. Stay on mission teams.”
“Package two has been secured, moving to package three.” Games called out.
Tarik saw movement from where the single native had gone. A large group of natives jumped through the trees on their way to Goddess and Scipio.
“Control, This is Monster. I have a group of estimated twenty natives moving to package four. Any chance of a gun run?”
“Negative Monster, we have some troubles up here and the fighters are already engaged. Cover the team as best you can.”
Tarik wondered who the fighters could have been engaged with. The scouts said everything was clear. He shook the thought from his mind, he needed to protect his team. Tarik sighted the group and led them just enough to take out the leading native. They were moving fast and Tarik hoped that he could discourage any further movement. Tarik held his breath and fired a round as long as his hand from the sniper rifle. The round went through a tree and took out the lead native, it continued on and took out another tree. The natives spread out, most continued to the recovery team but a smaller group was headed towards him. Tarik sighted another native and fired, and then another after that, and then another and another. More natives were coming from where the first group had originated.
“Control package four is secure moving to package five.” Scipio said over the radio.
“Copy that. We need recovery teams to hurry, things are getting worse up here.” Bink said.
“Control, Lamb here, first three packages are secure. We are ready for pick up.”
“Copy that, Drop one move in to pick up first recovery team and spotter. Move over second team and provide support if possible.”
Tarik was still firing but the natives were are the base of his plateau now. He prayed that the intelligence was correct and they could not get up here but that also meant the extraction point was compromised.
“Control, Monster here. Extraction point has been compromised. What do we have for alternatives?” Tarik asked.
“Tarik ditch the spotter and get to team two. They are going to have to extract you hot.” Bink replied through static.
Tarik thought that was a very bad idea and considered telingl him that only team two needed to move away. Then the explosive behind him went off. Tarik dropped the sniper rifle and got to his feet. He unlocked the Kami rifle and readied himself for the natives. A horn came over the edge then and Tarik fired at it. He looked behind him and leapt off hoping his rappelling gear worked as promised. He has only made it down a few feet when rocks started to be thrown at him from the top of the plateau.
A group of natives were shouting and throwing whatever they could find. Tarik fired up with his rifle and they took cover. He looked back out to the recovery team and saw they were being surrounded at package five. A look further showed blasters going off in the clearing where the first recovery team was being picked up. He was about to descend when he felt a tug on the rope that secured him.
Tarik was not sure what scientifically constituted as intelligent life but he was fairly certain that it would include cutting the rope he currently hung from. Tarik fired up again but the natives had figured out to start away from the blasts. He felt the rope go slack and he started to fall. Tarik reached for a ledge and actually managed to catch himself before he had built up too much momentum. He still needed to get down but the rocks were being thrown at him from on top again. Tarik sent three quick blasts up and looked down to see if it was possible for him to climb down. His mind said it was possible but climbing would not be quick enough. His statoconium told him to just drop and figure it out on the way down. He was still debating when a large rock smashed against the hand that held him on to the rock face. Tarik’s decision had been made for him.
His neural, retinal and statoconium augments worked in concert. He bounded down the rock face with the grace of a mountain lion. His feet kicked out and pushed off of rocks without him consciously telling them to do so. When he got to the jungle floor the group of natives were shouting and throwing rocks; angry that he had gotten away. His mind was finally able to stop worrying about his own death and focus on getting to his team.
“Scipio is down and my blaster is out of charge! I think Monster is down I saw him fall!” He heard Goddess say frantically.
“Drop one is still taking fire. Hang on as long as you can.” Bink replied.
“What about Daze?” Goddess asked.
“Too dangerous.” Was the only reply.
“Control, this is Monster I am on the way.”
“Good to hear from you Monster. Get to recovery two and unleash on the natives.”
Tarik blocked out the rest of the radio chatter and focused on running through the jungle. He ran as hard as he could, using his enhanced balance to push off of tree roots which would normally snag him. His EPS picked up groups of natives moving in the trees ahead of him. Tarik fired a few shots to see if he could get them to scatter. They did for a short time but quickly regrouped. He could see the EPS visage of Goddess being held down by a large native. She still struggled but the creature had an easy hundred pounds on her. Scipio was crumpled into a ball a few feet away, alive but not moving.
Tarik burst through a group of the smaller natives firing shots as he did. A rock was thrown and smacked the back of his armor. If it were not for his enhanced balance he would have fallen face first. Tarik had no desire for history to repeat itself.
Tarik looked around to assess the situation. Scipio was bleeding from multiple sharpened stick wounds to his legs. He did have both packages with him which showed he was still dedicated to the mission. Goddess was being held down by the largest male, half of her clothes had been ripped off of her. He still had his rifle but even if he had time to change batteries they would have overwhelmed him. He had no idea what the status was of Drop One but it would not be here in time to rescue them.
Tarik knew the creatures were intelligent and tribal so the large one holding down Goddess should have been the leader of the group. They knew he had a weapon but they had the numbers to take away that advantage. The large male held Goddess down by a foot and was claiming her as his own. The native was urinating on her hair and thumping his chest.
Tarik locked his rifle to his back and pointed to the large male. The male roared back at him. Tarik pointed to Goddess then back at himself. If nothing else the natives should understand that he was saying Goddess belonged to him.
The male roared and pointed to Scipio then back to Tarik. He was giving Scipio to Tarik but not Goddess. A peaceful solution in the large alpha male’s eyes he guessed. Tarik couldn’t let either of them go.
Tarik mimicked the roar. He pointed to Scipio then to himself, then to Goddess and back to himself. They were both his.
The native picked up and branch and charged at Tarik smashing the branch at his feet. Goddess used the time to get up and try to run away but another native smacked her down, this must have been the alpha’s lieutenant and he wouldn’t let the prize get away.
Tarik wasn’t sure if he should do the branch thing or not so he settled for just roaring and repeating the pointing. His EPS picked up that the drop ship was finally lifting off and headed towards them.
The male charged again and Tarik reacted instinctually, he waited until the native was close enough that he stepped to the left and kicked the beast in the ribs as it passed. The male got to his feet and was ready to charge again when the shadow of the drop ship darkened the jungle. The door to the drop ship opened and figures started to drop around him; rifles at the ready.
Games and Tricky landed next to Scipio and took places to protect him. Razor landed a few feet from Goddess and dispatched the male who was holding her. Lamb landed next to Tarik and was ready to take down the alpha when Tarik put a hand on his rifle.
Tarik and the alpha were locked into a stare when Tarik pointed at the group around him. He pointed to the dr
op ship, then pointed to the group again, he picked up a branch and smashed it on the ground. You let us leave or we will kill you.
The alpha let out a roar that echoed through the jungle. He smashed a fist on his chest and roared again. Tarik unlocked his rifle from his back. The large male looked at him one last time to make sure he was serious then hooted over his shoulder. The tribe started to back away. The male roared again and turned his back on Tarik.
The team loaded into the drop ship as fast as they could. Scipio would require medical attention so he we was strapped down to the floor. Lamb had grabbed a blanket and covered Goddess who said nothing as they travelled back to the Beetle. Nobody said anything on the ride back, there was no celebration, they had been close to death and everyone knew it.
When Drop One started to get near to Beetle the team in back could see flashes of light. It seemed like there was a lightning storm in space.
“Kami are attacking the Beetle.” Lamb said. “They have them held off for now but if we don’t leave soon larger ships will come.”
“I didn’t think the Beetle had space weapons, how are they holding them off?” Tarik asked.
“We don’t have registered space weapons.” Lamb said.
The drop ship moved to the hanger and the fighters were quick to follow them. The ship powered up it’s Puncture drive and left the system before the clamps were even applied to the drop ship.
“Why didn’t Daze bring the other drop ship down to get us? Wouldn’t that have been faster?” Tarik asked.
“It would have been but Bink shut her down. I have no idea what he was trying to do.” Lamb told him.
Games and Tricky escorted Scipio to medical. Lamb and Razor gathered up the packages and were taking them to a secure locker. Mange was helping Goddess out of the ship. Tarik tried to assist but Goddess pushed him away.
“I am not your possession.” She snapped at him.
Tarik didn’t know what to say. He was only doing that to keep them all from getting killed. He was left on the ramp alone and confused. He was not sure what to do next so he just looked around the hanger for Daze.
13 - Well That’s New
* * *
From his count all of the ships were there but almost off of them showed some form of damage. Mechanics rushed from ship to ship with automated tool boxes following them. Tarik asked around but no one had seen Daze since Bink had shut down the drop ship she was in. Knowing how Daze could get, she was probably in Combat Control choking the life out of Bink.
Tarik walked calmly to Combat Control, not really in a hurry to save Bink’s life. Combat Control was right below the levels restricted to bridge personnel so it took Tarik a while to get up that far. A few wall panels had been removed along the way revealing temporary repairs that were done during the space battle. He still had no idea what kind of weaponry they had or what they had faced. Honestly he was just happy that nobody had died.
Nearly an hour had passed since he started his long walk up the corkscrew and he still had a ways to go. He saw feet dangling from a wall and knew he had found Daze.
“Hey Daze, what are you doing?” He asked as he walked up.
“Same old shit, fixing up this bug as best I can.” She said from inside the maintenance tube.
“I expected you to be in Control beating up on Bink.”
“Nah, I had to get out of the drop ship because we lost too many links to the AI core from the bridge. If I didn’t fix it we’d all be dead back there.” She shimmied her way out of the tube and stood up. “I heard things got primal down there. Some shit about you trying to take over the native pack.”
“Not exactly, I was trying to keep us all alive down there until someone could pick us up.”
“So, you don’t want to take an ape bride and rule over your territory wearing a loin cloth?” She smiled. “It wouldn’t be the craziest nor the dirtiest thing I heard about you.”
“Not this week, but I think I may have to leave my options open.”
“That’s a good plan, I think my father is looking for you.”
“Is he pissed off?”
“Didn’t seem like it. I wouldn’t go too far you might have to meet him on the bridge.”
Tarik didn’t know if he liked the sound of that. He was a ground pounder, he had no desire to go near the bridge. The people up there were a different class, he couldn’t relate to them. If Dav wanted him to look at something up there it probably wouldn’t make sense to him.
“I’m going to head over to CC, I need to find out what the fuck happened.” He told her.
“Don’t pick a fight with Bink, they surprised us and they are still trying to figure out how.”
“Not picking a fight just trying to get some information.”
“Alright but let Bink talk, he probably wouldn’t take being interrogated too well.”
Tarik just smiled and left. If Daze wasn’t in Control beating the hell out of Bink he must have made the right choices. Daze would have gone down and picked him up if it were possible.
Bink was arguing with a tall man from the bridge Tarik couldn’t remember the name of when he reached the doorway. Bink noticed Tarik first and cut him off before he could ask anything.
“I don’t know Tarik. The whole system fucked up. I could see what was happening but I could only get out a few words.” Bink said.
“Dav wants you on the bridge. I will escort you.” The tall man said.
“But what happened to the … “ Tarik started to say.
“Come on we have to go now.” The tall man said as he pushed Tarik back into the corkscrew. Tarik looked at Bink who just made a shooing motion with his hands.
Tarik followed the tall guy in silence as they walked to the extended section of the corkscrew. It was a small room that he’d run through before but was not permitted to go up into the outer shell of the ship. They took a hidden doorway which led to stairs instead of the ramps that the rest of the ship used. After a few flights of stairs they came to a small landing and another door. A scanner looked over the tall man and Tarik and the door turned green. The tall man pushed open the door and Tarik saw the bridge for the first time.
The ceiling was all smart screen, it showed stars highlighted with words next to them. Lines extended out of the stars to other stars for unknown purposes. The view tapered down all the way to the floor, a few stations were spread out but he had no idea what any of them actually did. Dav’s chair sat in the middle of the room, laid back so that he could view the stars above him. The tall man walked next to the chair to announce that Tarik was on the bridge. The chair snapped to an upright position and Dav jumped out.
“Come here Tarik, I want your opinion on something.” Dav said.
Tarik walked over to where Dav was and stood next to him.
“So Scout Two went past this small asteroid field past the fifth planet. Watch what happens and then tell me if you have any ideas.”
The video started playing on the wall in front of him before he could ask any questions. Scout Two made a pass by the planet and was moving at high speeds to check out the asteroid field. This field was denser than normal but still wouldn’t be profitable for a mining operation. As the scout ship moved through the asteroids some kind of interference caused the camera to blink in and out. Scout Two flipped over to check out what had caused the interference when it was face to face with three Kami ships. Tarik would have assumed the ships had just arrived and it was a coincidence that Scout Two was that close but something caught his eye. The asteroid that had been at that spot before was cracked into pieces.
“Did they come from inside that rock?” Tarik asked.
“So you saw it too? I think they were hiding there, not just on the outside of the rock but inside of it.” Dav said.
“They could just use beacons deposited by scout ships and that rock had one.” The tall man said.
“I'm not sure about that.” Tarik interrupted. “Look at the way the rocks are radiating out. I think the
y came from inside that rock.”
“That's crazy. So they materialize in rocks?” The tall man asked.
“No, I think they formed the rock around themselves to hide. Maybe they went active because the scout got so close.” Tarik replied.
“It would make one hell of a shield. Thanks for coming up Tarik. We are going to send this up to the parent company.” Dav said.
Tarik wasn't sure what to make of it but he would look at it some more when he got to his room. Right now he just wanted a shower and a meal.
The following day he was at midday meal and thinking about the Kami bursting from the asteroid. He wondered what could have cause the interference on the camera.
Goddess walked into the dome and straight up to him. She looked great as per usual with just a few scratches to show for her encounter yesterday. Tarik was worried things could get heated because of the way she spoke to him after the mission.
“Tarik, we need to discuss yesterday.” She said and her voice fogged his mind. “I realize why you did and said that I belonged to you yesterday but you must know I cannot allow that.”
“I know our cultures differ but I only said that to buy us time. If I hadn't we would not be here to talk about it.”
“As a Dereft woman that is hard for me to accept. I cannot be the possession of a man.”
“I'm not saying that you are. The native culture is that way and the only thing they would understand. You know the history of my world and you know that over time that has changed. I appreciate your independence and I do not look at you as a possession.”
“Then I owe you an apology.” Goddess leaned in and sniffed at him. “I will see you later.”
Goddess walked out of the Dome and Tarik was confused again. Human women were confusing enough but when it came to Dereft he had no idea what was happening most of the time. He looked up and saw Razor up on his perch.
“That was weird right?” He asked the old Gorrex.
“Every pup will have his day.” Razor replied.
“Umm yeah I guess.” Tarik replied. Maybe Gorrex were even more confusing.