by Ian Woodhead
“Twelve million years,” he replied.
“I hope that's a joke. That's ancient history. Just get it opened. We so need to get out of the spotlight for a bit. Ryan wasn't sure but it did sound like that locked door had begun to buckle.
Vel-Dragil muttered something under his breath before his fingers did the dance along the wall surface. A seam, stretching from floor to ceiling opened up, next to the pilot. He jumped back, smiling as a door panel slid back to reveal the now familiar red stone corridor. Both Vel-Dragil and the pilot ran in.
“Ladies first,” he said to Todd. “This time, don't let anyone sneak up on you.”
“You are so funny.”
Both men ran inside, moments before the door panel slid shut.
“There is so much I don't understand, Todd.” He stopped walking and leaned against the wall, doing his best to keep his emotions in check, an incredible difficult task considering what he had just endured. “I thought we were friends. I mean, I trusted you with my life and yet,” he groaned in frustration. “And yet you keep all this from me. I don't get it. Why?”
Todd looked down at his boots. “I supposed the simple reply of because of orders won't cut it?”
“Come on, man, you can do better than that.” Ryan looked up at the perfectly smooth stone blocks over his head.
To think that the species who constructed this magnificent structure originated from his home planet. His reptilian ancestors did the one thing that no human had ever achieved, they actually left the planet and started to colonise other world's in far off star systems. It boggled Ryan's mind just imagining how many weird and exotic planets these Velicions must have explored in the millions of years before the human species even evolved.
Both the Velicions and the Danu were out there right now, defending his planet while everyone planetside lived inside some stagnant bubble, still believing that the Earth was flat. What had happened to make them so insular? He glared at Todd, intending to ask that very question when the pilot rushed back.
“The Velicion wants to know where you are,” said the pilot. He sighed heavily. “You should not stray from us, my friends. You are too important for us to lose you.” After he said his piece, the pilot spun around and left them.
“You know something? I think you are their new pet.” Todd grinned.”Come on, let's go see what that giant lizard requires from you now.”
Ryan and Todd entered a huge cavern and immediately saw the Velicion standing next to what appeared to me some kind of giant, bipedal, grey and maroon machine. It didn't look anywhere near benign, thanks to its almost bestial shape. The under-slung weapons on each side of its body also helped to reinforce the image that this thing was a killer. Both Todd and Ryan reached for their weapons.
“Do not be alarmed,” said the Velicion, soothingly. “These assault mechs are long dead. This is their final resting place so please, put away your weapons so show some reverence in this sacred place.” He guided them over to another door. “These magnificent creatures were placed here for all eternity to dream their dreams of glory and conquest, as only mechs can.” He nodded over to the pilot. “You humans must stay here while we ensure the next point in our journey is safe. Do not worry, we shall not be long.”
“And you called me a pet. Don't you get it, Todd? That's all we are to them, pets, to fuss over and stroke every so often. Why can you not see this? We're just caged animals unaware of anything beyond our own limited horizons. Our society doesn't care about anything apart from the desire to fulfil our own trivial needs. What happened to us, Todd, why have we regressed?”
His colleague looked across at the now closed exit before gingerly tapping the surface of the nearest Mech. Todd turned away then ran his hand up and down the hardened metal. “You know, until now, I never really believed all those stories they told me back when I was recruited. I guess I was like you, blinded by what I could only see in front of me, coupled with all those lies they taught us at school and in church.” He spun around. “We very nearly did become the next Terrestrial species to leave our planet and explore the galaxy. In fact, we weren't doing all that bad. There were the moon landings, the Mars and asteroid probes, followed by the automated landings to two of Jupiter's largest moons before we finally did set foot on the surface of this planet.”
“It sounded amazing. I would have so loved to have been there. To be part of a species with dreams as large as the horizon, pushing themselves further and further into the unknown. Pride and respect for those brave individuals involved in those great feats must have filled the hearts of every individual on the planet.”
Todd laughed. “You really are a product of our new society, Ryan. Listen to me. Most of the population at that time never even knew that Man had landed on another planet, and the few which did know, couldn't care less. Why should anything like that excite them? It didn't stop the criminals, thieves, conmen, rapists and murderers from turning their cities into segregated no-go areas. It didn't help to put food on the table, not did this accomplishment stop the three rival nation states from trying to destroy each other. By this time, this planet had already suffered another world war which killed many millions, it fact, if anything, it made the whole situation even worse. Were were on the edge of an abyss of which we almost fell into.”
“You describe a hell of which, I know something of, Todd. Do not forget, I studied the history of our world too and I know that we emerged from a dark time, of a period that was dire but it has been proved again and again, that humans goodness will shine through even the greatest of tragedies. The fact that we still live as a species proves that. Despite what you say, I refuse to believe that it really was as bad as you paint.”
“It's all true, Ryan. In fact, it was probably a far worse than I described. I do know why it is such a harsh meal to digest. I couldn't believe it either. In fact, I still have trouble understanding how we could have become so savage, and I've seen the old footage.”
“So what has this got to do with this Velicion Mech?” Ryan approached the hulking metal beast with care. Even though Vel-Dragil said it had expired, he still felt a sense of deep foreboding when he stood in front of the thing. Had this metal monster really been like that gun he fired? He shuddered at the thought of being in control of such deadly weaponry and yet, Ryan purposely bit his bottom lip to give himself something else to focus on. It didn't stop him so wanting to climb inside this beast and rampage across the surface, killing anything and everything that moved.
“Something bad happened on Mars, Ryan. The reports don't really say what, only that something, very similar to one of these still contained enough power to reactivate when it sensed organic intelligence close by.”
“One of these things killed people?”
“Nobody is totally sure what happened on Mars. Almost all the information dating back to that incident as well as what happened in the first few weeks after the governments back home found out are fragmentary. The reports only resurfaced almost a year later when it was announced that all three nations states were working together for the first time in history. It wasn't quite looking for a way to stop world hunger or to bring peace to the world. Quite the opposite really.”
“They wanted revenge?”
“You got it, so in typical primitive savage human fashion, they combined their resources and built a military vessel in Earth orbit and packed it with enough ordinance to turn the planet Mars into another asteroid belt.”
“Were they insane? Had these people never heard of poking a wasp nest with a stick?” He imagined that human weaponry would have been quite advanced by this time but compared to what the other players in this war used, their guns must have looked like toys and were probably as effective. “I can't even begin to imagine to the mindset that came up with sending out an untried battleship into a potential warzone. There could have been anything waiting for them.”
Todd nodded. “You needed to think like one of the primitives to understand their reasoning. They though
t they were superior to all other forms of life, even alien ones. So, you were right about they had no clue as to what was beyond the relative safety of their home planet. This soon changed when…”
He shut his mouth as soon as the door opened. Ryan found that action a little odd, he acted like a child caught stealing money. Both Vel-Dragil and the pilot re-entered. The Velicion did not look happy which made his heart sink. This probably meant that even more trouble lay in wait for them beyond this cavern.
“The way looks to be clear,” said the pilot and we know there are more like us, hiding in the base. If we can hook up with them there might be a chance of defeating the Marauders.”
“That is good news.” Ryan took one last look at Todd, still unsure or what just happened before looking across at Vel-Dragil. “Why is he so upset then? Is it something to do with not finding Villas and Barnaby?”
The pilot shook his head. “The Velicion never mentioned them once. He told me that he found out who had been inside this hidden chamber before.” The pilot leaned closer. “He said it was the Marauders.”
“Again, why should it matter?” replied Ryan. “You heard what he said earlier, this happened millions of years ago.”
“Ryan, Please listen to me. It is so needed for you to comprehend that time is much broader than the bubble of your own existence upon Lady Light's wings.”
“Please, don't start spouting off riddles. My brain's already cramped with enough stuff to stop me from sleeping for weeks. Just tell me what it is.”
“It really is quite simple, Ryan,” interjected Todd. “Remember our earlier chat? A few million years is just a drop in the ocean to these guys. Stuff around here does not have a use by date.”
Todd followed the pilot out, before he left the cavern, he glanced over his shoulder. “Come on, let's get out of here. The place gives me the creeps.”
Ryan nodded. He took one last look at these machines. He didn't believe the Velicion was telling the full truth here. This not feel like a mechanical mortuary to him, more like their sleeping quarters. He turned around, stifled a shudder and left.
Chapter Ten
A desperate fight
That last shot almost took his head off. If it hadn't been for the pilot firing at the last minute, Ryan would be a red stain on the wall now. He threw himself to the floor, rolled to the left and shot at the Marauder who had, foolishly, tried to storm his makeshift barrier. The new Velicion weapon that Vel-Dragil had found him did the job pretty well. On the second shot, it hit something inside that alien's armour which caused the thing inside to detonate.
The feeling he received when that vile creatures bits covered the wall beside him made Ryan wonder if he would need to have his soul cleansed once this was over. He rolled again and fired, his shot taking out yet another alien. He heard more energy blasts coming from the passageway adjacent to this one and risked getting shot by scrambling to his feet, diving over his barrier and running into the other corridor.
The pilot and Vel-Dragil were pinned down from weapon's fire, coming from two different locations. He crawled over to them, firing continuously, to cover his approach. The Velicion tapped him on the shoulder then pointed over to the side of the corridor. He lifted his head just a fraction and saw Todd doing his best to press his body into the wall. What was he going to do? He had cover. If any of the marauders spotted him then he would not stand a chance! Ryan ground his teeth in frustration. What could he do?
The pilot sighed before throwing away his weapon before reaching into his side pocket to pull out a much smaller pistol. Their time was drawing to a close. Another few minutes and they'd be all out of ammunition.
“We need to pull back,” said the Velicion. “There are more heading straight for us.”
“No, if we do that, then Todd is dead.” shouted Ryan.
“Your friend is dead no matter what we do.” The pilot shook his head. “I am sorry, but that is how it has to be.”
“No, no way!” he shouted. “I'm not leaving him there to die alone.” Ryan screamed the jumped over the barrier, and run straight towards Todd, while firing in both directions. Several more shots almost turned him into superheated mush, but he did manage to reach his friend without getting shot.
He got down on one knee and fired twice then had to throw himself hard against the wall as one adventurous alien decided to move away from his cover in order to take a shot. The alien almost got him too, but it never got chance to fire again as a blast from the Velicion's weapon vaporised it.
“Fancy meeting you here,” said Todd.
“Yeah, fancy.” He fired in the opposite direction, acutely aware that the weapon's energy banks were close to empty. Ryan estimated that he had perhaps another four more shots left before this gun died on him. He had to make them all count.
“What did you go have to run over here, Ryan? Seriously, you know that I'm going to die, There's no need to sacrifice yourself too.”
“Ever the eternal optimist.” He threw himself to the floor and fired at another brave Marauder. His first shot missed but the second one didn't. He shuffled back to Todd. “There can't be that many more left. I mean, they only managed to land one ship.”
“Their assault vessels can carry almost a hundred soldiers, Ryan. I know you're good at this but even you couldn't have taken out that many.”
The Velicion frantically waved while holding up his motion detector. He watched the two Terrestrials scurry backwards before vanishing around the corner. “Looks like its just me and you, my friend.”
“Yeah, I saw them leave. I'm guessing there's more aliens on their way?”
“Would seem like that.”
“How many shots do you have left, Ryan?”
“Two, I think. What about you?”
“Four.” He grinned. “How many do you think we can take out before they turned us both into crimson pudding?”
“Six shots six aliens, obviously.”
“Okay, you take the left corridor, Todd. I'll take the right. What do you say, after three?”
Ryan pulled him back when the aliens unleashed another barrages of energy bolts. He pointed to the floor before dropping down. Todd followed him, a moment later, a stray shot slammed into the wall. Ryan swallowed hard, knowing they'd just narrowly escaped getting wiped out.
“This is unreal. How are we supposed to go out like a pair of noble heroes when those bastards won't even allow us to get a single shot anywhere near them?”
Ryan jumped when another shot hit the wall a few inches to the left of his shoulder. That insane urge to go out while taking as many of those Marauders as possible had kinda left him now. He glanced at Todd and believed he felt the same too. Yet, he still saw no other way of getting out of this alive. Ryan knew they couldn't reach the other side, to that empty space left by their deserted companions. It was tantalisingly close but crawling under the weapons fire, they wouldn't be able to reach it without the Marauders picking them off.
“Don't they ever run out of ammo?”
Ryan shrugged. Like he knew the answer to that question.
One of the Marauders became a little too careless by moving out, and into the corridor just for a second, but it's all Ryan needed. He used one of his precious bolts to take it out. Ryan shot the thing directly in the middle of its chest armour, causing the creature to stagger backwards but the shot only wounded it.
It leapt to its feet, saw the pair of them huddled against the wall, took aim while shouting in their weird language. He didn't need a translation to know that the bastard was calling for its mates. Both Ryan and Todd fired together, vaporising the advancing alien. It was a hollow victory as another four appeared and started to walk towards them. Each Marauder holstered their rifle and took out a huge serrated knife. Todd moaned loudly.
“They going to peel off our skin and eat our inside while we still live! Only a single shot left as well!” he gasped. “There's only one thing we can do, my friend. Our one chance for a clean and painless death. I
t has been an honour serving with you.” He opened his mouth wide and pushed the gun barrel inside.
“No, don't do it!” Ryan managed to pull the weapon out, just as the lead alien screamed. It fell back and hit the floor. The other Marauders ran to the side of the wall. “The others must have come back!” He pulled the shaking man back to the wall, fired his last round. He only clipped the shoulder of another Marauder but the shot forced it out into the middle of the corridor . Another shot blasted out and killed it stone dead. Ryan dropped his gun, pulled Todd's weapon out of his fingers and shot at another Marauder. This one died instantly. Only two remained. He saw them clearly enough and knew they were an easy target if the Marauders still had their rifles out.
“It isn't the Velicion or the pilot,” said Todd, groaning. “This feels weird.”
“Todd, have you been shot?”
“I don't think so, hard to tell. He blinked rapidly while keeping his gaze fixed on the action behind them. “The shots are coming from behind them and they're using human heavy weapons.”
His friend looked in a bad way but couldn't understand why. He hadn't been shot. Could some residue from the stuff that Danu gave him be finally taking effect?
Ryan picked Todd up and half carried him across the corridor, fully aware that the remaining aliens were staring but he no longer cared. He stopped midway and glared, just as their mysterious rescuers emerged from hiding. Ryan wasn't sure whether to be relieved or angry at the sight of Villas and Barnaby rushing towards the Marauders. Both aliens spun around at the same time that the men fired. The Marauders didn't even get chance to scream.
He nodded in gratitude to the two men while he dragged Todd's rapidly cooling body back over to the barrier previously occupied by two Terrestrials. He looked up at Villas when he felt his presence. “Thanks for saving us but it might be best if you made yourself scarce.”
“Of all the gratitude. After we risked our necks to save your miserable lives. At least we didn't run out like those two did to leave you to die.”