by Aaron Frale
“How much for the blade?” Kal said.
“Somebody must have pissed you off. Taurilian blades don’t come cheap being that the Shusharshian’s made them go extinct and all. And due to their limited use, it’s a dwindling supply, my friend.”
“Name your price.”
“Because I like you, I’ll throw in a pair of Taurilian bracers, too. It’s a like a cloaking device to store the blade on your forearm. Great for concealing a weapon during your next social function, and getting it past security checkpoints. No extra charge.”
_______
The blade sunk deep into Makiuarnek’s chest. She had pierced the breathing tube that led to the helmet, and the helmet opened up exposing his face. It occurred to her that she didn’t even know what he had looked like. He was an extremely pale human with watery blue eyes, and very blond hair. She believed that Hayden had once referred to the color as platinum blond. He gasped for breath, and she could see the metal from the blade dissolve into the wound. The blade turned to dust in her hand. His veins around his neck pulsed with a corroded metallic metal color. The whites of his eyes began to fill with the murk.
Judging by the fact that he was still alive, she knew she had missed his heart. However, judging by how quickly the corrosion was spreading, she could tell she hit an artery. His suit could help keep him alive, but the Taurilian poison would end his life eventually. As much as she felt this moment would bring her satisfaction, she felt nothing. It was the same cold, empty feeling as when she struck down Dr. Feslerk. Makiuarnek was now suffering, like her mother had suffered, and she felt no better than she had before. Her mother was still dead. That fact would never change.
His entourage pulled out their weapons, and the crowd around them ducked out of the way. The sales associate dropped to the floor. Grannork and Hayden were stunned by her recklessness and were unsure of what to do. Neither of them had a weapon because of the strict no weapons policy of Earth. The fact that not only had she snuck one onto the planet but that she had done so without alerting the authorities surprised them.
The Teristaques barked orders for her to drop to the ground when she pulled Makiuarnek towards her. She wrapped one hand around his neck and placed the other on his back out of sight of the troops who were yelling and pointing their weapons. She cut through the commotion with a loud booming request. “Put your weapons down if you want to see your captain live.”
The soldiers looked at each other in confusion. The painkillers in Makiuarnek’s suit must have kicked in because he yelled, “Do as she says, you idiots.”
The soldiers dropped their weapons on the ground and looked back and forth at each other. Grannork and Hayden collected the weapons from them. Her bluff had worked. Her Taurilian bracers could only conceal one weapon, but they didn’t know that.
Grannork stepped on the sales associate’s hand, breaking it. Kal glared at him.
“He was attempting to hit the panic button under his desk,” Grannork said.
“I hope you have a plan because there’s a fucking army of Teristaque on this planet!” Hayden said.
“To the elevator. Now!” Kal said. “You stay down here and watch them.”
Grannork nodded and rounded up the hostages. He turned to the sales associate cradling his arm. “You are closed for today. Please lock up the front.”
“But our customers have access 24/7.”
“Not today they don’t.” Grannork brought the gun down to the man’s head, and he scrambled to close the front entrance. Hayden and Kal dragged Makiuarnek into the express elevator.
“Key,” Kal said.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Makiuarnek said.
Kal didn’t mess around. She shot him in the arm. He cried out in pain. The metal coursing in his veins seemed to flow faster.
“Ok, ok.” He produced a key from a catch on his armor. It looked like a platinum key, but Kal knew there was serious encryption technology inside. A panel opened on the wall asking for a DNA sample. Kal slammed his head on the panel, and he winced and toppled over despite the drugs in his system. The panel said, “DNA SAMPLE ACCEPTED.”
“What the hell was that about?” Hayden yelled as the elevator shot upwards.
“I saw an opportunity, and I took it,” Kal said.
“Are you sure? We all saw what you did to Dr. Feslerk. This mission is dangerous enough without you losing control every time you see a human in their power armor.”
Kal slammed the emergency stop on the elevator panel, and they all lurched downward. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you sneaking off to visit your father and your brother.”
“I would never endanger the crew like that!”
“The extra ID, coming back late from scouting missions, unauthorized trips to LA?”
“So now you’re spying on the crew? Way to build trust!”
“Maker manages the ship funds, and he found out when he was doing the monthly books. He thought one of the crew was going to betray us. If I didn’t know you better, I might have even suspected it myself.”
“They’re my family. How can I not see them? I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again. And who are you to talk? Your little stunt here could get us captured, killed, or worse.”
“This is the man who murdered my village!”
The words hung in the air between them. Hayden looked down at the unconscious captain and back up at Kal. For the first time since she broke free from prison, she cried. Hayden leaned in to comfort her. His face softened. The argument was forgotten.
“When I killed Dr. Feslerk, I wanted it to be this man.”
“Dr. Feslerk wasn’t a good man. He deserved what he got.”
“But what makes me different from this man who slaughtered my village? He would kill anyone who got in his way, regardless of whether or not they deserved it. My people happened to be in his way, just like Dr. Feslerk happened to be in mine.”
“You know it’s different.”
“Is it? I didn’t know it was Dr. Feslerk at the time. He was retreating and wasn’t going to harm us.”
“You can’t dwell on the past.”
“My village has a saying: pummeling with stones to keep the peace will only disrupt the peace with more stones. If I kill him, his family and his people will just come after me. I’ll have to kill more people. When does it stop?”
“You picked a fine time to have a moral crisis. If you want to kill him, fine. I’ll be first in line to provide you the knife. But for now, we need him alive. Our only option now is going after that ship.”
“Don’t you see what I’m trying to say? There are options. There is always another way.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Kal hit the button, and the elevator continued up to the top floor. Hopefully, the drugs administered by Makiuarnek’s suit would keep him alive a little longer.
“Follow my lead,” she said.
Hayden was hesitant, but he didn’t have any better alternative.
Kal didn’t notice his reservations. She was lost in thought. She had understood what was wrong the past few months. It wasn’t the mission or even her ability to lead. It was the person she would become when she saw Makiuarnek again. She had faced the darkness head on, and while she felt no guilt for stabbing the man, she understood that honoring her village was more important than ending the life of the man who killed her people. The life or death of this man didn’t matter to her anymore. What was more important was that she would walk the path of her ancestors, and use violence as a measure of last resort.
6
The elevator dinged, and it opened to a hanger. There were many human scientists and soldiers in their Teristaque armor. The drugs keeping Makiuarnek alive finally brought him back to consciousness. Kal lifted him from the elevator floor. She pressed one of the guns they had confiscated from his soldiers to his neck. Hayden pointed a gun at the people in the hanger who had drawn their weapons.
“Move,” Kal said and push
ed Makiuarnek forward. The hanger took up the entire top floor. There were scientific equipment and various workstations throughout the space. It looked like a lot of the equipment was ad hoc. After they had learned about its location in a storage facility, Maker had surmised that they probably changed locations a lot to keep the ship secret. Since every inch of Earth was settled, the wrong eyes would eventually see the project.
A technician went for a communicator on one of the workstation panels. Hayden shot the panel, and it incinerated under the tech’s hands. They pushed forward into the facility, and Kal ordered them to drop their weapons and huddle in one corner. Makiuarnek pulled his rank and ordered everyone to follow her request. Once everyone was secure, they approached the ship.
It was a considerably sized vessel. It probably had a crew capacity of a couple of hundred people. The haul was made of a sleek black substance with a metallic sheen. It was shaped like a headless, hulking creature with the landing gear down. It most resembled the body of an Earth creature called a bulldog with a bulky body and four “legs” that curved downward. In addition to landing gear, each “leg” had sensors, weapons, and other essentials. The legs also swiveled giving weapon and sensor coverage in every direction.
The odd design of the ship was a distinct lack of front, back, up, or down. There were no noticeable forms of propulsion on the ship in addition to no noticeable bridge. It looked like every direction could be the front or back depending on which direction the ship was flying. Considering Hayden had discovered some surprising maneuverability with the ship during the training simulations, he wasn’t surprised.
“You’ll never get on the ship,” a scientist said. “And even if you did, it requires an implant to pilot it.”
“Why do you think I brought him?” Kal said. She didn’t want to tip her hand quite yet, even though their chips were active and buzzing with activity. Now that they were near the ship, she had full access. She sent alerts to her crew of where to meet them. While Hayden was covering the rest of the people in the corner, he was busy prepping the ship for flight.
“Do you think he’ll let you go?” the scientist questioned. “He’ll be the one in control of the vessel. He’ll fool you with sensor data and fly you into the landing bay of a flagship.”
“Open the door,” she said to Makiuarnek.
“If you give up without bloodshed, I can work out leniency and help you avoid the death penalty. Maybe we can get you on an asteroid mining colony. I hear they have nice facilities,” Makiuarnek offered.
“Open the door,” she said again. Even though she could have done it herself, it was better to let them think he was in control. It might be useful later on.
“He’s right,” Makiuarnek said. “Once you get on that ship, I’m in control.”
“Do it.” Kal pressed the gun to his head.
Makiuarnek opened the door. A guard in full armor leaped for a tool that was on a nearby desk. It was some sort of laser welding tool. He shot it towards Hayden, and Hayden sidestepped at the last moment. What was intended for his chest only hit his arm and the beam singed the fancy jacket they had bought for his artist persona. The other guards ran for their guns, and the scientists ran for the elevator.
Kal and Hayden ducked behind workstations and returned fire. Makiuarnek attempted to sneak away while Kal fired at the soldiers.
“Not so fast,” Kal said and pressed the gun to his neck. Hayden continued to lay down the suppressing fire.
“You can’t win, you know,” Makiuarnek said. “But I do admire your gumption. The scientist is right. Once we are inside that ship, you will do my bidding.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“There is an armada in this solar system capable of bringing civilizations to their knees. How do you suppose you’ll take on them? You are outnumbered and outgunned. I’ll give you this one chance to survive. I do admire your tenacity. I’d hate to destroy a thing of such beauty.”
“You said that to me before. I’m having trouble seeing it.”
“Before… when did I… Oh, you’re the girl from the prison? I thought you had died in the riots. I have a hard time telling Nigs apart, you know. They all look the same.”
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“You need me. Threats are meaningless unless you act on them. I heard you had orchestrated the riot. That makes me admire you even more. There is a spot for people like you in the UPE military. I think I can make some requests on your behalf.”
“Desperately bargaining for your life doesn’t suit you. I’d think you’d know that, for someone with so much deep appreciation for beauty.”
“It’s a pity you said that. I do like you. I’ve never had a worthy adversary. It’s a shame you are nothing but an annoying insect. Goodbye.”
A gun turret from the ship came down from one of the square “leg” areas of the ship. It turned towards Kal. Makiuarnek tapped his head and mouthed the word “implant.” He had used his control to access the weapon systems of the ship. At the last moment, the weapon turret rose, and it fired over her head. It gunned down every pocket of resistance in the room. Makiuarnek stumbled backward, his eyes wide. Kal smiled and tapped her head and mouthed the word “implant.”
While Makiuarnek was stalling for time, attempting to access the weapon systems of the ship, Kal was accessing systems of her own. Since she had captain’s access, she was able to deactivate implants. She shut down all of Makiuarnek’s crew except for his. She had set permissions on his implant for training purposes only. One of the fail-safes for training was the inability to fire real rounds. She was about to take away his access entirely when one of the walls blew out.
A team of Teristaque soldiers dressed in Makiuarnek’s colors burst through the hole. The ship that had been hovering over her village the morning of the massacre was now floating next to The Vault skyscraper. What had looked like a giant black bird of prey to her as a young and scared villager, now just looked like a ship with a long haul and two wings that sprouted from the back armed with gun turrets and sensors. Under the nose, there was a hatch opened where Makiuarnek’s crew jumped over the cityscape below and used rocket thrusts from their armor to traverse the distance. They were swarming the interior and would overwhelm them in a matter of seconds.
Kal locked one of the missiles on the hatch opening and fired. The missile connected to its target and set off a chain reaction of explosions inside the ship. It spun out of control and smashed into a neighboring building. While she was firing the missile, her attention had drifted away from Makiuarnek for one second too long, and he jumped her. They rolled to the ground in a grapple.
After a few moments of struggle, he subdued her and brought his fists over his head to crush her skull. She yanked the med pack from his suit, and the drugs keeping him from experiencing the pain from the Taurilian blade were cut from his system. The metal that had been coursing through his veins and filling up his eyes came back with a vengeance. He doubled over and fell off her.
Hayden was at her side with Grannork. Grannork lifted her off the ground with one hand. She felt a pain course through her body as her run-in with Makiuarnek had broken her ribcage. She had broken so many bones in her youth. She almost didn’t notice.
Grannork said, “I came up when I heard the gunfire.”
“How did you get past security?” Kal said as she looked toward the elevator. There was a dead scientist with his body halfway out of the door. Grannork must have waylaid the man on his way out the door. The room was more or less under control. Some of the soldiers who had made it through before their ship exploded were taken out by another set of gun turrets controlled by Hayden. Grannork had taken out the rest.
Hayden and Grannork hefted Kal into the ship. More soldier ships were on the way. Both Kal and Grannork took over manual control of a gun turret from one of the four legs of the ship. Kal scanned the area and saw no sign of Makiuarnek. He must have crawled away during their escape. It didn’t matter much n
ow. He would be dead before a medic unit could arrive. Without the drugs from his med pack to keep him alive long enough for the medics, he was a dead man.
Even though they could control the ship from any room, they made their way to the bridge. Kal insisted that she walk on her own once they were inside. Every person with an implant had plenty of time to take virtual tours of the ship. The command center was at the heart of the craft. It was in the very center because they would be protected from just about anything, including all known forms of weapons of mass destruction. However, most weapons of mass destruction would leave the bridge as nothing more than a floating life pod.
The bridge was sleek and well designed. There was a captain’s chair in the center with various stations surrounding it. The pilot and weapons were at the front; science, sensors, navigation, and other stations were near the rear. The odd part was that there were no controls, only chairs. The controls appeared in their mind’s eye. To the crew, it was like they were controlling a ship. To an observer without an implant, it would be like watching people swipe at thin air.
Kal climbed into the captain’s chair, and she could feel the pain in her chest. Her lung might also be punctured, but she had no time for pain. She pushed through it. Grannork and Hayden sat at the front. The seat was too small for Grannork, so he tore it out and tossed it to the side. She made a mental note to find him a new one. The implant in her head made an actual digital note of her thought.
Since they had spent hours of every day training on operations in the simulations, they took to it with ease. Hayden lifted it off the ground. They didn’t know the code to open the hanger doors, so Grannork blasted the doors off. They lifted into the air above the building. Once they were clear of the scan resistant walls of the storage building, their warning sensors picked up ships screaming towards the city in all directions.
“The rest of the crew have been briefed,” Kal said. “They should be ready for pickup by the time we get to them.”