by Todd Mcleod
“Andrade tells me you have a ship for me?”
“Of course!” Chang gestured for Elvin to follow him. He led him to an enclosed cave area, and inside was a ship unlike anything Elvin had seen. It was sleek black, looking like it was powered not built from parts, “This is the captured alien ship. We can power it up and interface with it, but no one down here has had much luck controlling it. The thing is much more advanced than most drones we have.”
“I think there is part of this Andrade might have misrepresented.” Elvin said, as he took up a control module and attached it to the systems of his armour, “I think he intended for me to try and fly this ship, and use it to get past a lot of their air defences. I suppose if he had told me that it was not a prototype, and in fact an alien ship, I might have had some reservations.”
“We were lucky to capture it. The aliens were bringing them down, and we hit them at the right time. They likely think it is destroyed.”
“Well, if it is possible for me to control it, I will do so. I suppose if anyone is trained for this, it’s me.”
“Well, we’ve got to move. The control tower is just north of here, and it’s run by some kind of controller alien that sets the controls. Think of it like an advanced dispatch. We take him out and silence the tower, it will likely be a hole in their forces that we can use to our advantage.”
“Yeah, these things are all linked in some way. I think if we manage to do that, then we’ll have some time while they regroup. They are strong and unified, but don’t seem to be capable of rolling with the punches like we are. I’ll get this thing going, and we are gonna take that tower.”
“We will support you in any way you need.” Chang said as the console began to light up on Elvin’s arm, “It’s attuning to you. It is complicated and demanding, but if anyone can take control of it and use it to its full potential, it is you.”
“Incoming!” A soldier shouted as a streak came up from the battlefield, and gunfire rained down upon them. The reserve technicians brought up shields just in time, but it seemed that their power cells would not hold up forever.
“They seem to have figured out where you landed. We need to get moving before they can set up full artillery. If we are destroyed here, all is lost.”
Elvin nodded and continued to try and interface with the alien drone ship. He felt power coming off of the console on his arm as they were communicating. It was like it was ready and asking him for orders. He saw the attack drone. It was not much larger than the dropship, with retractable wings over its dark black body. Elvin focused the drone tech interfacing with his subconscious, as it had done with the rail ships. The drone began to power up and hovered off the ground.
“Such an impressive piece of tech,” Elvin commented, “It’s one of the best I have seen.”
Elvin recalled what Chang had explained about the artillery and realised he needed to get a move on. He focused on his connection to the console and felt a strong system interacting with him. For the briefest of moments, he could feel the intense power of the system and understood why many would not be able to control it. He focused, proving more than able for the task. Elvin climbed into the front cockpit of the alien attack drone ship. A set of controls moved out for him to grasp, the weapon systems powering up. It was like a metal dragon, and it was now hungry for a fight. The drone hovered to the front of the battalion and paced it as it began to march. He looked back to the group, the other soldiers in shock and awe to what he’d just done. He looked down below, seeing the battlefield between him and the alien command tower. The area filled with alien soldiers ready to protect it. He smiled and pointed his arm down toward the fray, guiding the drone to head forward, and the battalion to follow.
On the battlefield were all manner of alien grunts, no two exactly alike. They charged forward with high-tech weapons, ready to engage Elvin and tear him from the drone. The drone hovered low, launching contact missiles at those trying to surround it. Elvin began to shoot out with a laser cannon. They pushed back the first wave easily and moved forward, daring the second to engage. As he fought, the battalion followed. They formed ranks behind him, keeping the aliens from flanking him as he pushed forward. They all served him as if they had trained for it, staying where he needed them, and following his every move.
Elvin and his forces pushed through the seemingly unending waves of aliens like a hot knife through butter. As he controlled the drone and used the cannon, he envisioned his victory. There was none that could stand before him. A massive mech suit alien charged toward him, knocking his drone back, nearly disconnecting him from the controls of it. Elvin turned his cannon to face his opponent and shot downward, cutting into the mech’s canopy, the strike immediately tearing through to the aliens inside. The sight of such a devastating blow created a tactical chaos in the alien forces. Many of the alien soldiers were not trained for such intense combat, as their larger commanders grew confused. The effect went on reaching the back ranks as they became less and less aggressive. Elvin and his forces easily cut down the aliens that attempted to flee. After the fight was over for now, the control post within reach, he climbed out of the ship and looked back at his men.
“You have done it, Sir,” Chang said, and he saluted. The others followed suit.
“That was just the beginning. I can set the drone to defend the area. Can you hold this ground?”
“Of course we can, Sir.”
“Then let’s get to it,” Elvin replied proudly as he looked up at the tower, “This ends today!”
It was time to take the fight to the alien that controlled the sector. There was no more time to wait. He’d cut through many of the forces, leaving them in such a state of disarray that the other forces behind him could capitalise on his lead. He charged in, knowing that in here only his own skills would help him.
Waiting for him were dozens of guards, all protecting a central column area, and the stairwell leading up to the top of the tower. He would have to fight his way up. He drew a pair of repeating plasma pistols and charged forward, using a cross between martial arts and marksmanship to cut through patrol after patrol of alien soldiers. He went up the stairs, pushing through them. The aliens seemed to think they had him blocked off, but the narrow stairs provided a bottleneck for Elvin to take advantage of, as well as a way to dispose of the defeated. The aliens once struck plunged off the staircase to hit the ground far below. Nothing could stop him now. He was set on his singular purpose, and nothing short of his complete destruction would stop him.
As he reached the upper floors, the aliens were becoming wise to his tactics. They were not so much rushing him as waiting for him. This served him fine, as he was itching to charge in and increase his aggressiveness. His suit gave him enhanced speed and strength, his sharp mind guiding his augmentations much further than anyone had before. He hit buttons on his guns, causing them to deploy small laser blades from under the barrel. Those who didn’t get close enough he shredded in gunfire, and those that got in close he cut to pieces. No matter how the aliens came at him, he dispatched them, sometimes three, four at a time.
By the time he reached the top of the tower, the aliens’ guard core was all but decimated, and it would take them quite some time to rally. He knew that he had an unprecedented moment to attack. For the small amount of time before him, it was just him and the command alien. He tossed a bomb at the doors, blowing them open as he walked in through the smoke. Before him was the alien sector commander. He was tall and gangly like the other aliens, although larger. He had an exoskeleton with tech not unlike his that was meant to increase his strength and speed.
“Human, surrender,” the control alien said, his voice box shouting in English to taunt Elvin, “Surrender or die.”
“Not a chance, ugly,” Elvin retorted.
The control alien simply stared at him, realising that any further attempts to communicate were not worth his time.
“Let’s go,” Elvin replied, charging forward.
CHAP
TER FOUR
The control alien moved faster than Elvin had anticipated, and it attacked with its two extra arms, catching him off guard. The hits struck home, barely repelled by the shielding in his suit. The impact sent him back and made him drop his repeater pistols. He took a moment to regroup, intending not to underestimate the control alien again. As the alien powered up his weapons in his hands to change from claws to full laser blades, Elvin drew a rod from his back. It extended instantly, lighting up to create a powerful glaive. He charged forward, and the pair engaged in intense close combat fighting.
The alien might be stronger than Elvin, and with more limbs, but Elvin had resolve. He envisioned all the faces of the people he knew were waiting for his victory, and saw the price of failure should he falter in front of the alien. It was easy to lose focus, to think that you are fighting a powerful alien being, and that one mistake could lead to death. Elvin never felt nervous of such things. He knew that his focus was razor sharp, and he would only worry about loss if it happened. He focused on his training and skill, moving faster and slicing off one, then two of the control alien’s arms. They were now evenly matched, and Elvin pushed the advantage. He fought hard and saw something in the alien’s inhuman eyes.
It was doubt and fear. He was thinking about how he might lose, and this was an advantage Elvin could press. He pushed on, striking the alien again and again. It staggered back, seemingly trying to regroup. He imagined it might be planning bartering, surrender, or some sort of trickery. None of this mattered to him, as he simply swung and beheaded the alien. He was there with a job to do, and nothing short of decisive victory would suffice.
As the alien’s head hit the floor, a group of alien guards came in. They took one look at the sight, the death of the one that ruled over them with power and fear, and stopped in their tracks. They scurried off, retreating, and it would spread with them. The aliens would attempt to flee the area now that they were cut off from their orders, but he knew his comrades would run them down to buy time for the rest of the mission.
Elvin knew he was disobeying command, what he was doing was counter to his training, and to his orders. But he could not allow his best friend, a person he’d sworn to always look out for, stay in the hands of the enemy. This was his risk to take, and anyone helping him had to do so at their own risk. He was deep behind enemy lines and had done so much already. He didn’t care if he was court martialled, didn’t care if he was punished. If he could rescue Vi, he would be okay with it.
The skirmish with resistance fighters bought him time as he snuck into the facility beyond. Weeks in avoiding scouts had taught him how to elude the alien patrols, and he went in deeper than he’d ever done before. He was low on power, low on resources, but that was no problem to him. This was not a situation that would be won with force, but by subterfuge. As he passed pens of Humans, he knew he had to keep moving. He wanted very much to help them, but he couldn’t hope to get any more than a handful out. He had an ace that he knew would help him. Vi and he had devices, transponder chips implanted above their ears. They were short range and not able to do too much, but if he got close enough he could pick up a signal. Sure enough, he got a faint signal, the aliens luckily taking so little stick in their technology they didn’t attempt to detect or block it.
Elvin found his way to a massive facility, a place where it seemed they were holding high value captives. He found a way in using the under structure of the city. The aliens built on top of it, not caring how the latticework of sewers and maintenance tunnels worked. He plotted a path in, making sure to remember how to get back out after he’d found Vi. He soon found his way into the base, keeping to the shadows, and closing in on his destination.
Vi was with two others, a pilot, and an old man. They had their arms pinned to their sides, having been brought before an alien. It was tall and spindly, its slim body inside a mech suit nowhere near as armoured as the rest. It had a head with tentacles where its mouth was, coming out an opening in its helmet. It didn’t speak, it did not react, seeming to be about to take information from the group, but with means only it knew. Elvin recalled of others being tainted by the aliens, converted to their will.
Was this one of them?
He looked at his gear, having used much in the fight with the control alien, but he did have one EMP grenade. It would not hurt biological matter, but it might stun him long enough. His suit and tech were insulated against the grenade, but he hoped the alien’s were not. The alien latched on to the older man’s head, appearing to communicate with him like two computers doing a handshake to share data. Elvin wasted no more time, tossing the grenade and setting it off. There was a flash, and all the lights save for the emergencies went out. The room went still, the alien fell to the floor, the older man with him seemingly still linked. The restraining field devices on the others fell off, disabled.
“Elvin you came for me!” Vi hugged him, “I knew you would.”
“We’ve got to go! I have an escape route out of here, but we need to get to it as fast as we can.”
“We have to take the others with us.” Vi gestured to Geiz as he was helping Faiz up.”
“All right, but can he move? We cannot carry him.”
“I’m all right,” Faiz said, “I was linked to the alien when he was shocked by his tech going down. I took from him as much as he did from me. I have intel that might mean the end to the invasion once reinforcements come.”
“Then let’s go. You might have just proved this whole mission worthwhile, not that I needed any more than finding Vi.”
“You always have my back.” Vi smiled.
“And always will.”
Elvin led the group out. There was much to do, and new intel that might turn the tide. He hoped he could get back while there was still time to use it. The Humans had not lost yet. In fact, they’d just begun to fight.