Titan Fleet: The Robur

by Jason J Black

  “Aww, this is bliss, Talia. It’s so good to feel clean again,” Megan exclaimed. The two women had been covered in blood, grit and dust for so long that this was a truly a moment to be savoured as they did not know when the next haven would be found.

  “Oh yes, this is lovely, we should stay all day,” replies Talia, swimming around on her back, thinking that there was actually some beauty in this world, not just creatures and plants trying to eat them.

  The waterfall cascading down over the stones and rock was quite loud if you got close, and so soothing to the body, but after ten minutes the two women, having had their fun, sat on rocks in the sunshine, drying their hair and enjoying the rays beating down on them. They both felt like they were on a tropical holiday.

  Titch had prepared sandwiches using more of the meat from the night before. The bread was cooked at the same time and now a day old, but it was so good to have bread.

  “Titch, you are a marvel in the kitchen!” Talia enjoying her food, smiling and then taking another bite, compliments Titch on his cooking. Megan makes an agreeing “Umm!” noise and carries on chewing her food, still sat in her underwear in the sun. Then turning her head she catches something moving out of the corner of her eye, but whatever it was, it was fast and after staring for a few moments, she turns back and finishes her food. She wonders if it was an animal or something human in form. She slips off the rock she is sat on and begins to put her suit back on, and following suit Talia joins her, sorry to be getting back to work.

  The two Gulmeds point over in the direction of the movement for a few seconds, having also noticed something.

  “Did you both see it too?” asks Megan, pulling on her suit trousers and connecting the mech wires to enable power to operate her systems in her torso and legs. Then moving on to her arms, she waits for the answer.

  “Yes, Captain, we saw it, not sure what it was though, it was too fast to see.” Megan was back in her suit ready for action and Talia was almost ready too, but nothing more was heard or seen while they packed away their lunch leftovers. The meat would be recycled into a stew or something later that day; they couldn’t afford to waste anything. The tracks on the trailer began to move forward, and they left the waterfall and light behind them, everyone feeling relaxed and fresh. The drones shot off ahead of them, analysing the area and reporting back with data on some of the creatures in the area.

  Trying to stick to the Gulmeds’ map was becoming harder by the minute, the ground was so uneven with roots and fallen trees blocking the way, and navigating around them took time. However, they were making fair progress, thought Steg as she walked with Drax next to the trailer, watching where their feet were being placed at the same time.

  “I think the shrouded are following us, Drax,” whispers Steg, watching the others at the same time. “We need to get to the sacred grounds and fast. If the shrouded get hold of us then we will be in big trouble. I don’t want to become one of them.” Drax puts his hand on Steg’s lower back and in a low voice comforts her.

  “My Queen, no one has seen the shrouded for a long time, not since the Great War and why would they be here anyway? We will pick up the pace and once we get to the sacred grounds all will be well, I promise you.”

  Steg has a worried look on her face. “But what if we meet with them, then what?”

  Drax puffs out his thin chest and stands up as tall as he can. “Then I will dispose of them, just like my ancestors did all those years ago. I think we should keep this quiet. I think the others would panic if we told them about the shrouded, for now anyway. It would be too much.” Steg nods and the Gulmeds continue their silent walk behind the others, Drax scanning the area as he goes.

  The trail narrows and the track is becoming less accessible. The bracken plants get thicker around their ankles, but do not really pose a problem to them. The crew fall in line behind each other with Talia taking point and Titch at the rear, the trailer only just narrow enough to squeeze through the tightly knit trees that seem to be stood so close to each other now. It had suddenly gone from a dim light forest into darkness, even though the day was still young, but now the forest was dark and cold, and seemed very quiet and barren. They could make out the tree trunks in front of them, but when they looked up, the canopy was so thick that it was like looking at a night sky, with only a few beams of sunlight falling through the trees and touching the floor, like heavenly rays sharing hope and sanctuary.

  Talia’s suit lights come on automatically, lighting up the way and Talia raises her arm and blaster up when something in the distance crosses the track ahead.

  “Stop! Quiet,” Talia whispers to the others, holding her hand up and stopping the line. Talia activates her helmet visor and zooms in her optical lens scope, which was also her spotting scope for her weapons system. The Gulmeds look at each other, fearing the worst and hoping it was not a shrouded one. The zoom lens over Talia’s left eye blurs a little as it gains its focus and Talia catches a glimpse of a blue body trying to hide behind a tree, and not doing a very good job. As she adjusts her view, she briefly gets a look at the face of the figure ahead. It was Captain Miles staring right back at her.

  “That son of a bitch!” exclaims Talia, firing on the Captain, who was their way at the same time. He had obviously picked up the genetics from the Blues, of being able to fling parasites from his palms, and these now came hurtling towards Talia.

  “Get down!” cries out Talia. The others cannot see who is firing at them, but are looking in the general direction of the attacker, not noticing the two shrouded figures hidden in bushes behind them. This would be an ideal time for them to attack, but they continue to look on at the fight in front of them, just as interested in the blue as they are in the crew of the Robur. One of the shrouded figured extends his right arm and from a small tube-like device, fires a small tracking device that attaches itself to the rear of the trailer, and going undetected by Titch, a small screen on its arm is now able to track its progress.

  Talia runs forward, closely followed by Megan shouting for her to slow down. Talia is snapping dry, sap-covered twigs as she moves and snakes her way along the track, avoiding flying blue teeth waiting to connect and devour her skin. The once captain, now only craving flesh and death, begins to run at Talia. His body was now totally transformed into the monster, the only things identifying him as the old captain were the tattoos on his arms, other than that, this was a drooling mass of destruction heading Talia’s way. They are just feet away from each other and Talia operates her saw arm, and the serrated head begins to spin, ready to cut chunks of flesh. The Blue’s arms reach out its claws, curled inwards, crooked and long, ready to extend into skin and armour. Just as the two warriors are about to connect, a blur of light passes Talia’s head. It is Megan’s spear, making its home in the Blues shoulder. As Talia smiles and launches an airborne attack, firing her jetpack thruster to deliver an extra jolt of force behind her punch, and as her fist hits the Blues skin, she fires her blaster, sending the old captain backwards, a small hole appearing in his stomach.

  “That’s payback for what you did to me on the ship, you bastard!” shouts Talia, approaching his fallen body, which has slid backwards along the ground. But the old captain does not remember the past, he is too far gone, his genetics mutated totally now.

  The Blue knows only attack, as it quickly finds its footing, its purple blood dribbling slowly out of its wound. The Blue swings wildly and its sharp claws obliterate a tree near Talia’s head, sending splinters everywhere in the process. It swings a second time, this time connecting with Talia, and with no real room to get out of its way, she takes the full force to the stomach, crushing her armour and sending her backwards into Megan. Megan cushions the blow with her body, but also is sent falling to the ground underneath Talia, who lands on top of Megan with a metal twang.

  The Blue pulls the golden spear out of its shoulder and tosses it towards the two women. It glides through the air and sticks in the ground next to Megan’s head.
A bit too close for comfort, she thinks as the dirt from its impact in the ground sprays her visor and helmet with soil. Megan pushes Talia upwards to help get her back on her feet, but it is too late, the Blue has come crashing down on them both, forcing Megan’s arms back down with the weight of Talia and the Blue on top of her. The air gets pushed out of Megan’s lungs and so she begins to gasp for breath.

  Now that they are all led on the floor, there is a clear shot for the blaster turret on the trailer, and as Steg and Drax are already crouching down, Titch opens fire on the Blue, the power from each blast shot almost lifting it onto its feet again. The blue screeches with pain and retreats backwards down the track, trying to get out of the blasters range, but the Blue is being pursued by the two drones, which it tries to swat like flies, but with no success.

  Talia rolls off Megan and bends over, holding onto her knees and steadying herself.

  “Bye bye, blue guy,” she shouts out loud. A pod lifts up on her back and opens out, exposing a small missile shaped device that ignites with thunder and takes off in the direction of the Blue. Talia turns on her heels and a small force field appears at the rear of her, protecting the crew from the upcoming blast. An enormous blast rocks the forest as the Blue is hit by the deadly missile that pierces his chest, and in a ray of orange light and flame, he melts away in seconds. The skin and fluid evaporates, along with its bones that fall to ash on the floor, and the old captain of the Robur is no more.

  “Nice work, Talia. You have also cleared a path through for the trailer!” Megan gains her footing once more and takes the spear out of the ground and smiles at the Gulmeds. This thing could really fly for a spear. Talia’s shield drops and the Gulmeds stand up. The two drones come to a standstill and everyone can slow their heart rates down once more. The trees were blackened by the blast and warm from the heat. Some branches were on fire, which helped to light their way a little bit, as they continued on towards their destination.

  After the clearing, they were again walking in single file as before, until they came to a small opening in the forest, which a small patch of sky could be seen through. Megan thought this would make a great camp area for the night, and going any further today would not be a wise thing to do, even though the sun was still in the sky. It was a chance to collect their thoughts and a good place to defend themselves from attack.

  “We should rest up here. How are you feeling Steg? Is everything ok with you?” Steg puts her hand on the side of the trailer for support, her lump on her back moving and aching with pains.

  “I am fine thank you, Megan. I will be grateful of the rest. If you wish to stop here, that will be fine with me.”

  Talia is scanning the tree-line with her scope and once she is satisfied that there is nothing to pose a threat to them, she retracts her visor and helmet back into the neck of her suit and breathes outside air again, saving her oxygen tank canister. Talia reprograms her drones to patrol the circle around them, and then approaches the trailer to help Titch put up the shells to sleep in. The trailer is set in the middle of the small clearing with good views all around the tree-line. The turret is active and once the shells are up, Talia begins to assemble the proximity mines with Titch eager to help out. The shells have bedding and lighting inside and are domed in shape, large enough to stand in, but made from a hard polycarbonate plastic, not fabric. The three shells face inward to an area where they have placed chairs, and plan to have a fire for warmth and to ward off any wild animals. It felt like a school camp out. Everyone was busy doing something preparing for the night and collecting fire wood, and preparing food for the barbeque.

  The sun had passed over them a few hours ago and the gentle, cool breeze brushed across their faces, cooling their sweat and bringing fresh air to breathe. The sounds of the giant birds vanished and the planet was settling down for the night. The once angry growls and howls from the creatures that roamed in the daylight had ceased and were replaced with smaller hoots, snorts and whistles of the smaller creatures that were now able to crawl out without fear of being eaten.

  Once all of their chores were completed, the crew gathered around the fire pit, as Talia was lighting the fire, fanning it with a plate so it would catch the air and burn faster. Some of the wood was wet, so at first smoke bellowed into the air. The grey puffs could almost be a code, but as the fire grew so did the warmth and light. The whole area was soon lit up in an orange and yellow glow that bent everyone’s shadow into huge disfigured monsters that would give even the hardest of men nightmares.

  Megan lifts up the metal grill that was sat on the fire by its handle, her suit gloves protecting her hands from the extreme heat that would have taken her skin off. She threw on four large steaks of meat, which instantly sizzled and fizzed, shrinking the meat and cooking it at the same time. She then places the plate back onto the fire where the steaks happily cook away, the rising smell making the crews mouth water in anticipation of the feast ahead of them. Talia looks in the crates for something more that water and finds a lonely bottle of Fuzz-Fuzz, a popular alcoholic drink on Foloss, which was called Fuzz-Fuzz because that was how you felt after drinking some. Megan’s eyes lit up as Talia walked towards the fire with it.

  “So, we are going to have a party then, are we?” laughed Megan, leaning back onto her palms as she sat on the floor next to the fire.

  “Looks that way,” laughs Talia, opening the bottle, the screw cap undoing easily in her hand. Talia then pours some into Megan’s tin cup and then some into Drax’s cup, stopping at Steg, who holds her cup out waiting to savour this human drink.

  “Sorry, Steg, none for you because you are pregnant.”

  Steg’s face clenches up in anger. “What is pregnant, and why do I not have some of your drink?” questions Steg in an angry tone.

  “It means you will be having children soon, and alcohol is bad for the babies that’s all.”

  Steg looks at Drax and then back at Talia and giggles. “I see. Well, our bodies purify any impurities in our system, so we can never be poisoned nor in turn poison our younglings. The egg sack, although attached to my body, has a separate system and a different way of living, so we do not suffer any, only have to carry the extra weight around with us for a while. So you see, I would like to taste your fuzz fizz stuff, if that is good with you,” smiles Steg, as once again she holds out her cup. Talia fills Stegs cup and then she makes a toast.

  “To new friendships and new adventures ahead of us.” Then Talia sits down between Megan and Drax to enjoy her drink and her food when it is cooked.

  The time passes slowly as they drink and eat, and everyone is feeling the effects of the Fuzz-Fuzz, as their minds become hazy and they begin to feel at ease amongst all the shrieks and screams the forest has to offer.

  Evil eyes watch the crew, as the homing beacon gives up their position to the two shrouded figures that had been tracking them, and without any audible sounds or communication, the two beings split up and watch from two vantage points in the trees.

  After a few hours of chatting around the camp fire, Megan decides to turn in for the night, but first she must relieve her bladder and walking over to her shell, she opens the door and quickly takes off her suit, leaving it in a heap just inside her shelter. She then runs over to some bushes, out of view of the others, but still in the protected area. After pulling her trousers and knickers, she squats down for a pee. Her lily white bum now shining in the moonlight for all to see, that was if there was an audience, she thought giggling. There was suddenly a large snapping sound behind her and finishing quickly, she pulled her trousers up, looking behind her to see what was there. She could make out a figure standing on a tree branch a few metres into the forest in total darkness, the occasional flicker of light from the fire exposing its face. Around the face was a grey hood. The face was also grey in colour, and was long with a drooping jaw and red eyes. It was not there to make friends, but was waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. This idea make Megan cringe and goose-bumps went up all
over her body. The fright of seeing such a thing stopped Megan from calling out. It was either the drink talking or it was real. Even though Megan was scared, she decided to approach the being and see what it was up to. As she moved forward, it slowly moved backwards into the forest, making a low, odd sounding growl. Megan was both fascinated and drunk, as she continued to walk towards the dark figure. A sudden beep, beep, beep, and a deep human voice yells out, warning Megan to stop.

  “You are leaving the safe zone. You are leaving the safe zone. Please stop!” Megan does not dare to take another step. This being was a clever one, trying to draw out Megan into the forest where anything could happen.

  Talia turns and shouts at Megan. “What on Foloss are you doing, Captain?”

  Megan regains her senses as Talia’s voice resounds in her ears. The shape of the being now disappearing into the dark, whispering as its outline shape fades away. “Captain…”

  This sends a chill up Megan’s back and she turns quickly. She is spooked and makes for the fire.

  “There is something in the forest, a figure cloaked in grey with grey skin,” she tells the others. Talia instructs the drones to scan that part of the forest, but after twenty minutes or so, they return only having found a nesting bird and a lizard like creature curled up under a log. Megan relaxes, thinking it must have been the drink after all, and decides to say good night and get to bed. She wanders over to her shell and climbs in and closes the door, making sure she keeps her spear next to her for quick access in the night.

  Talia stokes the fire, sipping her drink, and almost burning her fingers on some embers, the stick she was using had burned down somewhat.

  The Gulmeds also think it is time to turn in for the night and say good night, before entering their shell, leaving Talia and Titch awake for the first watch.

  Titch is stood scanning the area and this gives Talia some time to relax and watch the embers of the fire float up into the night sky, like glowing leaves trying to warm the sky. It is peaceful now and she takes the time to remember her friends and the old days. Talia sits on her lumpy log for a seat, the dusty mould rubbing off onto her clothes and making them green. She checks the drones again, and then the warmth of the fire helps her to drift off to sleep, her eye lids slowly closing, as she slides down off the log and rests near the fire.