She was anything but fine.
She finally realized that work was the best refuge. She only had to deal with her assistants and if they got bothersome, she could always invent work for them. She had noticed the pressure alert on the main board as soon as she walked into her workspace and decided to go look for it.
Now, laying on the perforated decking in a perpetual rainfall, her mind registered something odd. It was hard to make out, with warm water falling in her eyes, but there seemed to be an area by the wall where the air shimmered as the drops fell through it. It’s like a small shield, but it doesn’t keep the rain from falling through it.
Despite the humid environment, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stand on end. She knew this ship, inside and out; what she saw was wrong.
The sound of slow steps caught her attention. Heavy boots were thumping towards her. Scanning in the direction of the sound, she could see a disturbance in the falling water. The rain was running down the surface of a man who wasn’t there. She could discern the constantly-adjusting plates of the Midgaard EVA suit as the shimmering form approached her.
Some sort of visual shielding, the engineer thought. She could even make out the form of slick hair, flattened by the falling water. His helmet is off. She slid her hand down the shattered handle of Hal’s broomstick. He’s got to know I can see him. He’s just showing off his invulnerability; or at least he thinks he is. She could see the rain sliding along the length of what looked like a wicked blade.
The form knelt in front of her. Can’t tell if his throat is exposed. Don’t know for sure where his eyes are. She knew where she wanted to strike, but she had to get his teeth out of the way. This is too much to deal with before my morning coffee. Inane though the thought was, it provided a life-saving inspiration.
She yawned. It was an old game she used to play with Mike – making him yawn until he gave in and made a pot of coffee.
Unable to resist, the watery form’s mouth opened in its own yawn. Knowing she had only a few seconds, Keira shoved the jagged end of the broomstick into the open hole in the rain. She was rewarded with a strangled shriek of pain.
She shoved on the broken handle with all her might, watching as the ghostly form fell backwards, his blade clattering to the deck. With the fear of death removed, her adrenaline rush began to fuel an incredible rage. She clambered onto the semi-visible form, wrenching the stick from her attacker’s hands. She brought the sharp end down onto the face, again and again, timing the thrusts to avoid his wildly swinging arms.
Bastard! She could clearly make out his facial features as he twisted his head back and forth. She aimed for an eye and felt the stick go in. Not too deep, she warned herself. She didn’t want him to die, at least not right away. Blood was washing through the openings in the deck, mingled with the thicker, viscous fluid of his left eye.
She took his right eye next, feeling the wood scrape against the bone at the back of the socket. Her victim gave a soft whimper. I bet it’s thin back there. She tightened her grip, leaning forward. The bone gave way with a dull crack and her hands slid down several inches.
The form beneath her began to twitch and she scrambled back in sudden revulsion. She shuddered as she watched the ghostly feet drumming against the deck.
The death rattle died out and she sat there, watching as the blood slowed to a trickle and washed away. She wiped tears from her face, smearing blood in the process. Why did you have to be so careless? She curled up against a patch locker, hugging her knees to her chest as diluted blood dripped from her chin, staining her shirt pink. I wish they’d killed someone other than you.
I hate not having you here with me.
Ghela
The Dark Defiance
Tommy opened his eyes. A white ceiling above him emitted a uniform glow, illuminating the white room. Where am I?
Airmid Trauma Center, aboard the Dark Defiance.
What the bloody hell? Tommy sat up in alarm. Where did that thought come from?
Your wave spectra have been mapped. Your mind can now communicate with the vessel.
You’re the ship?
I am.
This is incredible. Tommy hopped off the table and found his clothing, neatly folded on a side table. He glanced nervously around the room.
Please be assured, this is entirely credible. Are you having difficulties with the interface?
No. Tommy sighed. He would have to be careful about his thoughts from now on. He paused, halfway into his shirt, as a thought occurred to him. How many crew are aboard?
Eleven crew.
How long have they been aboard?
Less than one hour.
Tommy buttoned his shirt. They were all alone on this massive ship. He walked out the curving corridor that led to a large central area. Half of their team were already there, in various states of dress.
“You’re a bastard, you know that?” He glared at Kobrak. “You could have explained what you had in mind.”
“And you would have run anyway, knowing that it would get you shot?” The miner tilted his head up slightly, arching one sarcastic eyebrow. “We needed to get you into the hospital so your minds could be mapped into the system. It’s a back-door approach, but it works quite well.”
“Why in blazes didn’t you just punch me in the bloody nose?”
“With all those armed security units scurrying around?” Kobrak shook his head. “Might have gotten shot. Once a day is more than enough, thank you.”
Tommy decided to put aside his grudge for the time being. “Right, how do we get to the control center?”
An opaque image suddenly appeared in their midst. It showed a schematic of the entire ship. A green dot appeared on one of the hull segments, a second one, in blue, on a central hub whose arms radiated out to the hull like spokes on a wheel.
“Well that’s downright unsettling,” Kale remarked, stepping forward to point at the green dot. “Why do I understand that those glyphs mean us…” He stopped suddenly and looked up at Tommy. “What language am I speaking right now? I seem to expect everyone to understand it.”
You are speaking the Ancient tongue. It was placed in your neural pathways after your minds were mapped.
“Alright,” Kale growled, “that was cool for a few minutes, but I’m officially tired of hearing voices in my head all the damned time. Is there a way to shut this off or did the previous crew end up killing themselves?”
Muting for crewman Thompsen.
Tommy realized that they were making this unnecessarily difficult. Please provide transport for eleven crew. Destination is the control center.
Transport will arrive at emergency pad thirteen-alpha in two minutes.
“Smart thinking, whoever requested that.” Kobrak nodded as the last two crewmen emerged from their healing rooms. “Everyone, back out to the pad. Transport in two minutes.”
Kale frowned at Kobrak before letting out his breath in an annoyed burst. “Un-mute crewman Thompsen.”
The Völund
On parabolic course for Earth
Harry realized that his mouth was hanging open. He turned his head and shut it as Lothbrok remained on one knee, inspecting the carnage. Their guest had deactivated the visibility shielding on the dead intruder and Harry had almost matched Jan for shock. Liam had merely taken a deep breath and composed his features.
Lothbrok seemed genuinely impressed. “She did this?” The dead Midgaard’s face was a horror and the end of the broomstick was still in his eye socket, waving obscenely as Lothbrok turned the head to see its face better. “One of Liev’s men. I don’t know his name but I’ve seen his face and there’s enough of it left to be sure.”
Of course he would say it’s one of Liev’s men, Jan thought.
He looked up at Keira, then with a tilt of his head, a nod of respect; he looked back down at the dead intruder. Reaching out, he took the dead man’s wrist and pressed a section of his armor. The shimmering anomaly against the wall disappe
ared. “Doctor Jan, please tell your engineer that the shield would have been the cause of the energy drain in these steam lines. These shields accelerate entropy, which is why this area seems so much warmer than the rest of this compartment.”
He stood and walked over to the wall, reaching out to remove a small oval device. Behind him, Liam’s hand moved to rest on the handgrip of his sidearm. “Where wolf’s ears are, wolf’s teeth are near.” Lothbrok turned, holding the device up for inspection, and froze as he found himself looking down the barrel of Liam’s handgun.
“He says it isn’t a weapon,” Jan translated Lothbrok’s mildly amused response. “It’s a beacon for a short-range, low-power ‘Velentsgaat’ portal. I think he means a wormhole. The beacon tells the portal where to project the opening on our side.”
Liam lowered his weapon, glancing down at the device. He looked up at Lothbrok. “To board us?”
Lothbrok, having guessed at the mercenary’s meaning, nodded before Jan could translate. He mimed coming through the portal with a projectile weapon. “Assault band. That beacon was set for an opening large enough to allow warriors to run through. Liev has been far more busy than we thought. It would take a great deal of energy to fuel the reactor. Not nearly so much as the one on the Ormen, but even a hole this small would require enormous energy reserves to stay open.”
“Yeah,” Jan condensed the translation. “Our old buddy Liev wants to board us, but what for?”
“Safe bet he has infiltrators on the Ormen,” Harry answered. “He’ll know, by now, that Caul’s been over here for visits and he even made the first leg of our trip aboard the Völund. If he wants to take over the fleet, he needs to take over both ships at once. He needs to be certain he has Caul or the whole thing could backfire on him.”
Jan glared at Harry and Liam. “Safest place for her? You bloody idiots! They have one of these on that ship,” she said, pointing at the device. “They’re going to board that ship and we have no way of warning them while the distortion field is active.”
“How about I sit down here with a Mosquito sub-munition and a shotgun?” Keira spoke for the first time since leading them down to the engine section. She held up a hand. “On second thought scratch that; the blast would come back through the gate and destroy us as well.”
“There’s also the small matter of a second gate on Liev’s ship that might be open to the Ormen at the time,” Liam said with a worried look.
That look turned to sudden hope. He turned to Lothbrok. “How is this likely to play out?”
“This is an all-or-nothing gamble for Liev. He will keep back only enough men to run the ship; the rest will pour through these gates and overwhelm both ships simultaneously.” The big alien grimaced. “It pains me to admit, but you are more skilled at fighting in enclosed spaces than our people. We usually accept surrenders or we destroy the target entirely. Liev will not know of your prowess, but he will take no chances. Your ‘Mosquitoes’ will have shown him the folly of overconfidence.”
“So, possibly half of his forces will come through to our ship, if we leave this beacon active?” Liam reached out and took it, turning it around to examine the back.
“Two thirds, more like. He will rely on surprise to overwhelm the unsuspecting forces on the Ormen, but he dare not take any chances in attacking an unknown enemy like you.” He pointed at the beacon.
“Couldn’t ask for a better scenario, really,” Liam said mildly, looking over to Keira who leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the dead body on the floor. “Going to need some help from engineering, luv.”
She met his eye. “What do you have in mind?”
“You’re going to help me kill every member of that boarding party.” He grinned. “We won’t even fire a single round doing it.”
The Ormen
On parabolic course for Earth
Caul looked down at the partially camouflaged body on the deck. It was visible from the right shoulder to the top of the head. Where the heavy, plasma-edged sword had smashed its way through his armor, the shielding stopped, making it look as though only the head and upper torso lay at his feet.
“Visibility shielding.” Hallfrid spat on the body. “Skulking cowards! He’d be one of Liev’s creatures. I’ve never seen this face before, he must have slipped aboard at the transfer station.”
“Or he’s been aboard the whole time, and he won’t be the only one. Have you ever seen a bear with only one claw?” Odin had hammered that old saying into Caul for centuries. No enemy could ever be dismissed as defeated. A Hauld must always be on guard against threats. But you missed something important, didn’t you, Father? “Search the ship. Every nook and cranny.”
He started to walk away but he stopped, turning his head to the side, catching Hallfrid in his peripheral vision. “Hallfrid, I want the next one taken alive. The fiefdom of Beringsburg will go to the man who brings me a captive.” He made his way back to the bridge.
I am blind in this matter. He returned the nods of his crew as he stalked the corridors. What is the purpose in hiding men aboard the Ormen? Would he be so foolish as to destroy the ship? He stepped into a riser and drifted across to the far side of the shaft, bending a knee to place his foot against the small ledge on the back wall. With a shove, he bounded up at an angle towards the opening on the next deck.
Mayhaps he plans to assassinate me, but he would need to be here as well, to assume command. He stepped neatly out onto the deck and strode off towards the bridge. That would only work if he had sufficient forces to subdue my crew. He shook his head. It’s not practical; we’d be forever bumping into them, and Liev doesn’t have the courage to risk his own neck. That’s the chief reason I was able to retain this command.
He walked onto the bridge, looking around at the deck officers. There was a lot of empty space here. He briefly considered asking if anyone had bumped into ghosts lately but dismissed the idea almost immediately. Mad captains were good in the sagas, but nobody really wanted to serve one. The intruder could have been a spy, searching for weaknesses. He might have queued a message to slip out as soon as we drop out of distortion.
He walked over to the communications officer, catching himself before he leaned in to whisper in the man’s ear. This business is going to make a fool of me. He stood straight, speaking in a normal voice. “I want a summary of all pending messages. Send it to my cabin when it’s ready.”
He walked to his door, stopping by the control panel to scan his eyes around the bridge one more time. A shielded intruder could be looking at him right now. He grunted in disgust, drawing inquisitive glances from nearby watch stations. Norns curse me, he thought. Liev has me looking over my shoulder like a damned rat.
Ghela
The Dark Defiance
Their open-topped transport raced down the central traffic corridor towards one of the massive spokes connecting the hull sections to the central spine. Tommy tried to keep his eyes on the buildings around him. The reddish-brown hue cast on them kept drawing his eyes back up to the spaces between the massive sections of hull. The atmosphere of Ghela flowed past.
Billions of tons of toxic gas out there and, yet, here we sit in an open vehicle. Though he knew he was far safer here than he was in the drop ship, he still had to make a conscious effort to keep his finger away from his helmet controls.
Their small ship was close enough to the spoke for Tommy to see the traffic markings on it as well as the pedestrian walkways on each side. Where it reached the deck of the hull segment, a curving section joined spoke to hull, allowing a gradual transition for surface traffic.
When they were roughly a hundred meters from the spoke, the personnel transport pulled up to follow its line towards the central spine of the ship. Tommy’s hand slid back towards his control pad and he forced himself to stop again. With a rueful grin, he looked around at the rest of his companions. Half of them had their helmets closed, including Gelna.
“I’d rather feel foolish than end up dead,” th
e Dactari medical officer declared.
You do not need your helmets. I wouldn’t let you come to harm.
Tommy decided to trust the ship. He forced his hand back to the handle on the side wall of the seating enclosure. The central spine raced towards them and he tightened his grip as they finally pulled up to run along the massive shaft that ran down the center of the gigantic vessel. At the outer end of the ship, the radius of the central spine was roughly a hundred meters wider for the last half kilometer.
The transport flew into a large hangar at the back of the enlarged section and came to a halt next to a landing platform. Next to the platform, a medium-sized compartment hung from a single rail.
The small group stepped out. Tommy walked over to the compartment, his hand twitching towards the grip of his UMP as the door slid open. Taking a calming breath, he looked at the display inside, seeing the words ‘Control Center” above a map of their route. Looking back at the crew, he caught Kobrak’s eye. With a slight nod he led them onto the car.
The ride to the control center was very short. Though the support beams and columns began to race by in a blur, they felt no discernible acceleration or deceleration. They came to an abrupt halt in a small compartment. Stepping out, Tommy could see that there was only one way to leave the room and he followed a short hallway that quickly opened onto a spacious bridge.
It was a very open design – so open, in fact, that it didn’t have exterior walls. They must have had absolute faith in their shield design, he thought as he walked towards a curving rail that ran along the outer edge of the decking.
Thank you! We certainly did.
Who are you? Tommy leaned on the railing, gazing out at the haze of gas.
I am the Dark Defiance. The voice sounded slightly perplexed. I thought you understood that already.
The Dark Defiance Page 24