Nova gets to her room and drifts through the door, still on her tiptoes and still dancing. She felt alive again, and she had not danced in years. She catches a glimpse of herself in her mirror. Pausing for a moment, she realises that she is a pretty girl and that she could have been a star on the dance floor. She lifts the lid on her keepsake chest and pulls off the ballerina dress, and gently lowers it in, to the darkness down at the bottom, where it would probably sit for a few more years again, before she would be brave enough to use it. She unties her shoes and puts them with the dress and reluctantly shuts the lid down. She grasps her leggings and a T-shirt and places her baseball cap back on, to hold her hair out of her eyes, and then with a sigh, heads back along towards the bridge, contemplating the past. Nova reaches the bridge and loosens her shoulders by rotating them, before she nods to Pace and sits back down to fly the ship.
“So, Cap, what we doing?” asks Nova, waiting for an order, taking the control back from Pace and gripping the handle grips tightly.
“Get us closer to the planet. We will grab some of this debris and take it with us, it should act as a camouflage should we bump into any unwanted visitors.” Pace stands up and pats Nova gently on the shoulder before leaving the room.
“Anc, I need you to grab some space junk with the crane arms, we will tow it along with us until we get to the planet. Then meet me in the loading bay, we will take a ride down to the surface and see what we can find. Rusty, I need you to make the ships lights flicker on and off, like she has no power, and we need to be venting some hypergyron fluid or something, to make us look broken to blend in more. Ok everyone, Anc and I are going to be going down to the surface for a looksee. Sit tight. Nova, let me know when we are near.”
Pace walks into the canteen and opens a cupboard and grabs a few cans of HED. This high energy stimulant drink was packed full of vitamins, and downing one in a few seconds, Pace feels better. He grabs a few extra cans and heads down to the loading bay via the lift. The doors slide open and he takes a look around the runner before walking on board. He begins to put his space suit on, which had been modified by Sam to allow his arm to work, and still seal around it making him airtight. He stows away some supplies in his backpack, along with some basic first aid, and then swings it around onto his back. The magnets and clamps cling to his back instantly, like a barnacle. He checks his weapons and work-lights and then begins the pre-flight checks.
Anc has grabbed a large piece of ship junk and has pulled it in close to the ship, and is just about to grab a second piece with the arm on top of the ship, when his sensors pick up a mech distress call. While he guides the junk in closer to the ship, he tries to pinpoint the location, only to have a lot of interference.
“Anc to Padley. Are you ok? Do you need assistance?” Anc waits a moment and then Padley replies in a gentle voice.
“No, Anc. Why do you ask? I am just cleaning medbay.” Anc tries once again to pinpoint the location of the distress call, and this time finds that it is coming from outside the ship.
“I am getting a mech distress call, but it is coming from outside the ship now. I just wondered if you were operational and are you picking it up?” Padley stops what she is doing and begins to scan.
“Yes, now that you mention it, I am getting a faint distress call, probably a damaged mech on a ship somewhere around here. Don’t worry about it, we are unable to help at this point.” Anc locks the crane arm into position and thanks Padley, and makes his way down to the loading bay.
Chapter Sixteen
Sticky eyes rip open and blink. It is a new day and all in all, Talia had slept well, regaining a little bit of strength in the process. She sits up to find the two Gulmeds staring at her in silence, making Talia look down at herself.
“What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me?” asks Talia, uncomfortable at their glare.
“Nothing is wrong with you. We were just staying quiet, as you needed the rest.”
Talia swings her legs off the bed, and drops to the floor and begins to get dressed. She is cut and bruised in places she had never dreamt of and feels so stiff, so she begins to do some warm up exercises. Dropping to the floor and doing fifty press ups should do the trick, she thinks, once I am dressed, and before we head out.
“So we must be close now, Drax, how many miles is it to go?” asks Talia, stretching to the ceiling on her tiptoes, before dropping to the floor for some more push-ups. Drax helps Steg up. Her back is convulsing and teeming with life, and Talia looks away not, wanting to stare at it.
“In answer to your question, we should make the sacred grounds by nightfall, if we travel at a steady rate and are event free.” Talia jumps back up onto her feet, nice and warm now and ready for whatever the day throws at her.
“Sounds good to me, Drax, let’s get moving shall we?” Talia sends off the drone ahead of them as she dons her metal plates for protection. What she would do for a powered suit now, she thought, as she ties some make-shift strapping together to hold it on better.
Talia scans the outside area, before opening the metal blast door. A gush of fresh air hitting her in the face reminds her she was still alive and glad to be so. It was warm outside and the sky was still red with its usual demons flying around above, waiting for a chance for a quick meal. Talia steps further out. Gooloo bodies lay everywhere, the orange blood congealed in pools on the floor, full of dead bugs and small creatures drinking it, that scurry off in all directions when they see what was left of the Robur crew, as they come marching out of the tower and close the door behind them. The wild animals seemed very noisy today and restless, and as they walked along the road, they would catch a glimpse of a creature or two every now and then, just staring at them. It was as if they had come to see Steg passing through.
“Is it me or are these creatures wanting an autograph or something, Steg? You seem to be very popular with the locals today.” Steg laughs and reaches for her lump and rubs it gently to calm the storm raging in her back.
She replies, “The creatures love me because they want to eat me and my offspring, that’s all.” Steg laughs again and Talia and Drax join in to make Steg feel at ease.
“We should double time it then,” chuckles Talia, as she cuts back a low hanging branch and a large four winged bug flies off to avoid death. Splinters of wood hit the floor and a path is visible again, and so they trudge on along the uneven stone road. They can see the tall spires in the distance, a glimmering hope for them. It had been a hard journey, but they were close to their goal now, and despite their aches and pains and the occasional sighting of a Gooloo here and there, they remained confident that they would make it by nightfall.
Chapter Seventeen
The anger begins to dissipate and the red haze in Megan’s eyes lifts like sun hitting fog. She lay on her side on the cold, dark, slimy rock she had hit when she fell with the two Gooloo, who also lie with her, in pools of their own orange tenderized flesh. Megan’s hair really did its work on these unsuspecting creatures. It also saved her life by cushioning her fall. Her hair begins to unravel its vice-like barbed grip and her pumping heart begins to slow. It was cold down here and looking up, Megan could only see a small ray of light, which illuminated only a few feet around her. She looked up to try to see if she could find a way to climb up, but the rock was too smooth and wet. She would have to take her chances and try to find another way out of this nightmare.
Megan began to pat herself down, to see what she still had with her, but the only thing of real use was the Gulmed spear, as she had lost the home-made one above. This was very comforting to her as she pulled it off her belt and activated it. It shone like a small sun in the darkness, lighting up the cavern around her. She could see that there were tunnels leading off in three directions. She began to shake with the cold and her breath steamed up the air around her like a kettle boiling. She knew she needed to keep warm, so she decided to move along one of the tunnels which dripped freezing cold water on her, as she quietly walked along using the
spear’s light as a lantern.
Megan was tired and sore, cold and wet, and wondered if she could carry on at all. She was bound to come into contact with more Gooloo and during the last attack there were hundreds of them, she thought as she drifted along, moving further and further away from the hole she had arrived by. Her eyes were squinting as the light guiding her was very bright and she could see shapes that made her stop and stare, but then realized that they were outcrops of rocks and fallen boulders. Even the stalagmites were making her feel uptight now. Her body was shaking uncontrollably now and her chin would quiver, making her teeth chatter in the process.
Then she heard a grunt. It was loud, as if she had disturbed something, and her fears were realized when a dark shape started moving towards her down the tunnel. She could barely make it out, her eyes straining to see what was coming, but unable to get a fix on anything for certain. Megan holds out the spear in front of her, its light bouncing off the walls of rock. There was not a lot of room either side of her and the tunnel was long, so she had nowhere to retreat to. The light finally picks out a snarling Gooloo, which comes to a grinding halt just feet away, curious and fearful of the light. He looks at her with evil intent evident in his eyes, its jaws snapping away at her, drooling a foul smelling slime that drips to the floor like a broken tap.
“Stay back, get out of here!” shouts Megan, thrusting the spear towards the Gooloo, which claws back trying to knock the spear from her hands. She almost loses her grip on the shaft, but then regains her composure. It was not going away and wanted to eat her and it could not be bartered with, so in that moment of clarity Megan lunges forward with two jabs, one at the Gooloo’s head and one at its chest. It was like fighting a gorilla, but at least now it was bleeding and her confidence grew by the second. A third and fourth blow hit home and the Gooloo was now screaming in pain. Megan had to end this soon or it would alert its pack. The spear connects with the wall a few times as she wildly swings it, but then it finds its mark in one of the Gooloo’s eyes. It was a sudden death and the battle echoes were no more. The Gooloo slides down the wall and blood trickles out, seeping into cracks on the floor, while Megan catches her breath. She looks down at the defeated Gooloo with sadness. It was only protecting its home and wanting food, which was every creature’s instinct, but her survival mattered too and so she plunges the spear into its hide and begins to skin the Gooloo. This was her best idea yet. This fur would indeed keep her warm and alive, for the time being at least. The skin peeled from the flesh easily and it was large enough to cover her like a trench coat. It smelt like wet dog, but she could live with that.
Megan was now warm, the skin having had hardly any time to get cold, and she tied her belt around it. She then decides to use the skull as a deterrent, and gory though it was to pick a creatures brain out of its skull, that is what she does. Megan swills the remainder of the flesh and blood with some of the water pouring down the walls, and then once it was clean, she uses it to collect some much needed water for herself and takes a drink, before pouring the rest on the floor and using the skull as a make-shift shield. She had killed this one Gooloo, and there may be many more, but she knew she could kill them, and with a determined stride she marched on down the corridor unafraid of the darkness behind her, not knowing if she would find a way out or not.
The tunnel was quiet, apart from the running water, and every now and then she would come to a section where light shone in from above. It did not seem that she was going any deeper underground, so she checked to see if she could climb up, but the answer when she fell back down, landing awkwardly on her back, was a resounding no. There must be an opening somewhere, she thought, like a cave mouth so the Gooloo could go out and hunt, so she kept searching.
Turning left into what looked like a giant cavern, Megan begins to smell the decay of rotten flesh. The stench is unbelievable. Bones of all types of creatures litter the room knee deep, and crossing this would be hard and noisy, and she notices several Gooloo sat munching on bones, eating their fill. She retracts the spear and waits a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and to her surprise she could see a lot better than before. Megan steps carefully and moves gently through the bone mine-field watching where she places her every step, one wrong move would surely mean a bitter end after seeing all these poor souls. She is looking at the nearest Gooloo, which is about twenty feet away from her. He has not noticed a thing and slurps on the flesh of what Megan can only assume was a hind leg of some kind. She loses concentration for one second, imagining it was the flesh of her leg he was sucking on, and she steps down, immediately noticing her mistake as the ribs underfoot crack. The sound echoes around the room, and as the Gooloo turns to look in her direction, Megan drops to the floor amongst the bones and lies still. The Gooloo stands up aggressively and drops its food to the floor without a care, there was plenty to feed on here. He walks slowly over towards Megan, crunching bones with each step. Megan is facedown and can see out of the corner of her eye his feet moving towards her. She grips her spear under her chest. It is just a matter of time now, but I may be lucky, she thinks, as the Gooloo stops right next to her, sniffing the air at first. Her heart is pounding in her chest and the blood races in her veins, but she stays still, even when the Gooloo claws at her shoulder, trying to turn her over. It has smelt and seen its comrade’s fur and blood and it is interested. Gunge drips from its gaping jaws down onto Megan’s neck. It makes her skin crawl, but even though she is now bleeding, she stays still and tries not to breathe deep and fast. The Gooloo sniffs more and puts his face close to hers, and then bored with no reaction, it returns to its pile of festering food and sits once again, fixated on its meal.
Megan wants to cry out in pain, but she begins to drag herself slowly and quietly along the ground through the guts and bones and rivers of blood. She must look a sight, she thinks as eventually she is able to stand once more and take refuge behind a large rock to one side of the cavern, just a little distance from another tunnel. Well at least she looks like a Gooloo now and could use it to her advantage should she need to. Taking a chance, she slowly walks towards the tunnel opening in the wall. A few of the other Gooloo look in her direction and only see a Gooloo walking through the hole in the rock and carry on with their meal, the sound of breaking bones resounding in Megan’s ears as she cringes on leaving the cavern.
Sighing, Megan is relieved to be out of that death trap and feels more at ease in the tunnel, but then again, will she wander these tunnels forever more, she thinks as she pauses to catch her breath. She has been walking briskly to try to find a way outside, a sort of race she wants to win soon. She smiles and leans against the rock wall and rests her head on the cool stone, cooling her brow for a few moments. She had no idea which direction she was traveling in or where she had come from, it all looked the same down here, and she hated that she was not in control of the situation.
“Ok, pull yourself together girl,” she mumbles to herself and pushes herself off the rock and trundles along the twisting path. Her eyes are drawn to a flicker of light, perhaps another hole above letting in daylight. The light seems to be dancing, only a little flicker moving in the distance. Then a voice, some sort of mumbled and muffled voice shouting something. Perhaps an intelligent life form trapped down here too. Megan quickens her pace, but she is so tired now, her body battered and bleeding and she had not eaten for quite some time. Despite this, the chance of teaming up with someone bettered her chances of escape. Upon reaching another cavern, she slowed down to hide in the darkness of the doorway, to view who was making the light. She peers from behind a rock to see several Gooloos walking around in a hunting circle, taunting a human whose back was turned to Megan. As Megan begins to think out her next move, the human turns and shouts at the Gooloo just in front of her.
“I will punch you into the next world.” A shiver runs all over Megan’s body like a billion ants running and racing over her skin. She could not believe her eyes. It was Lori, her arch enemy from ol
d. A Gooloo dashes in towards Lori, hungry for fresh meat, but Lori connects her fist with the creatures jaw and it is sent yelping a few feet from her, rolling across the floor, but then swiftly gets back on its feet, shaking its head like a dog trying to dry its fur after rain.
“See that? I got plenty more. Come on, bring it!” shouts Lori, her red face full of anger. It looked like she had crashed landed and dropped down into the cavern in her fighter. Her ship lay behind her, twisted and full of blaster damage. Megan, staying in cover, looks around to see Lori’s co-pilot dead just a few feet behind Lori, her blond hair red with blood and her body shredded and slumped against the ships wing. The decision now for Megan was to either let Lori die a horrible death, something she deserved and had earned, or put the past behind her to join forces and survive to fight each other another day, something that Megan would also relish, it would be a good fight now that she was stronger and not afraid. Silent and enjoying a little bit of payback, Megan still ponders her thoughts until Lori is caught off-guard by two Gooloo.
One Gooloo tried a frontal assault, only to get knocked out by the champion punch that had always served her well in her fights. But a second Gooloo had managed to climb up onto her ship and had launched itself down onto Lori’s back. This second attack she was not ready for, and she was slammed face down onto the hard rock floor, biting her lip and losing the air in her lungs. The Gooloo was tearing at her spacesuit, splinters of metal being slung up into the air like confetti at a wedding.
Titan Fleet: The Robur Page 11