Titan Fleet: The Robur

by Jason J Black

  It was an odd sensation for Megan, her heart sunk and she was worried that Lori was going to die, even though she had dreamt of Lori’s demise millions of times over and over. It must have been a human emotion, something within everyone to help other humans. Megan activates her spear, lighting up her side of the cavern and charges head on into an advancing Gooloo, who was just about to attack Lori on the floor. The spear and the bright light that was emitted was a shock to the Gooloo and momentarily they all look towards a loud, charging Megan, who looks like a crazy Gooloo with a spear. The Gooloo in front of Megan is impaled before it could realize she was human, but the second one stood near it bites at her left arm. Lucky for her, she had the skull shield and the Gooloo only gets a mouthful of splintered bone for its trouble, followed by a swift jab to the face.

  Lori struggles with the Gooloo to get it off her back and notices a figure fighting in a blinding light, her work lights on her suit dim in comparison. She can make out that it is human, but then her attention is brought back to a snarling Gooloo wanting to eat her face. It had got up from her elbow to its ribs and was on the attack again. As Lori sat up it rams her like a freight train in the chest, pushing her along the floor like a rag doll caught under a trucks wheel. This time it is Lori who is unconscious and bleeding, motionless on the floor.

  Megan sprints just in time to aid Lori before the Gooloo tears at her face. Megan plunges the spear into the backbone of the Gooloo with such a savage fury even she is shocked when the spine rips out of its back, and its head and spine explode up into the air, and in an instant it is dead. The bones and skull spread across the wall before sliding down, nerves still twitching the head. Megan can see Lori is out cold, so she grabs the metal handle on Lori’s suit and begins to drag her towards the obliterated fighter for cover, and surprisingly no more Gooloo are heard. Megan thought they would be swarming them by now, but was grateful they were not. A few moments later they were next to the ship and Megan checks over Lori to see if she was wounded. She was indeed alive and well, but still out cold. Megan checks Lori’s gauntlet in the hope of taking it before she woke. She would not like a blaster shot to the back, but the gauntlet was done for and no good to anyone. Thinking quickly, Megan leaves Lori and runs over to the co-pilot laid by the wing. She was a bloody mess. Her stomach had spewed across the floor and this made Megan wretch, but controlling the urge to be sick, Megan checks the co-pilots gauntlet and to her joy it was working. She quickly slips it onto her arm and calibrates it to her liking, while every now and then looking around to scan the area for Gooloo. She tries to contact Talia’s drone, but she was too deep underground for any type of signal.

  “Damn it! For crying out loud!” curses Megan, slapping her hand on the gauntlet in frustration. She then walks over to the fighter again. At least she is holding all the cards this time, for when Lori woke up, providing she don’t get a sucker punch to the face. Megan decides to tie Lori’s hands together just in case, they were safe enough for the time being and she wanted to make sure that Lori was going to be on the same side. Megan notices that Lori had got hit hard and a nasty bruise begins to swell around her eye and cheek, darkening her face. Megan realizes that she had done the right thing in saving Lori, a life is a life after all. There were not many humans around on this planet, and who knew, over time Lori and Megan could become friends. This wild notion makes Megan giggle to herself as she checks the fighter’s survival supplies. There were two dented tins of meat and three bottles of water, some chocolate and a spare gyron power cell. Not much had survived the crash landing it seemed. There was a first aid bag and Megan’s eyes lit up, but upon opening the pack she is disheartened to see that the first aid had been exchanged for six cans of ‘Crazy Joes’ cider.

  “Oh, just fantastic!” Megan mumbles, her hopes of meeting an intelligent life form dashed in a second. However, the bag would be useful to carry the supplies in, so all was not lost.

  “Who hit me?” A tired and slurred voice waits for a body to catch up with it. Megan walks over to Lori, who is coming around, trying to rub her head only to find her hands are tied. “Why am I tied up? What’s going on?” Megan looms over Lori, the light from her spear like a halo around her head. Lori can only make out a shadow with light beaming around it until Megan talks.

  “Good of you to join the fight,” snarls Megan.

  “I know that voice, don’t I?”

  Megan stoops down so that Lori can see her face. “You should do. I cried out for your help once and you left me to burn, but now I’m back and it is you in a bind this time. So if you don’t want to be dog food then let’s get this straight shall we? You do as you are told and you live, it’s that simple. Disobey my orders, soldier, and I will court martial your ass, and we know what that means. Got it?” Lori blinks a few times and recognizes Megan’s face.

  “No, it can’t be! I heard you died! I did time for it!” Lori sits up straight and can’t believe her eyes. “Megan, that’s your name. I’m not taking orders from you. Who do you think you are? You are not my boss!” Lori begins to get red in the cheeks again. Megan slams her foot into Lori’s chest, pushing her back down onto the floor and standing half on and half off her body, stopping her from rising up.

  “Who am I? Acting Captain Megan Frost of The Robur of The Titan Fleet, that’s who I am maggot. Your social better. Your worst nightmare unrealised. Don’t test me, I warn you, you will find a different outcome this time.” Megan leans down and holds her newly acquired gauntlet to Lori’s forehead. “So it’s up to you, Sergeant is it?” Lori looks up into Megan’s eyes. They glow red and are a shocking and a menacing sight indeed. It is like a demon had come for her in that moment.

  “We have all changed since then, Captain.” Lori swallows, clearing her mouth and stops trying to get up.

  “Good answer. Now get to your feet and do your job, and we will not have any problems.” Megan waits for Lori to struggle to her feet and then swiftly with a single blow from her spear the bindings are cut. Megan turns her back on Lori to test her and see if there was likely be an attack, but nothing was forthcoming. Rubbing her wrist and then her head Lori begins to look around for anything of use.

  Megan strides over to the fighter. “So, what happened?”

  Lori, still feeling sorry for herself, replies, “We were decimated up there. We had no chance at all. I mean we were the best pilots in the fleet and, well now I’m on foot.” Megan takes a look in the cockpit and some of the power was still making lights flicker.

  “What was your mission?” Megan asks, stepping back down and looking up at the tail fin.

  “Rear Guard for the Prime Lady. She was captured by the Blues we heard, but her vital signs were gone before we could ever get close to that ship, not to mention swarms of ball ships tearing us a new one before we crashed here. My squadron are all gone. I thought I was the last human left alive, ‘til you showed up.”

  Megan responds sharply, “Yeah well, surprise! I’m not going anywhere in a hurry.” Megan lifts up a large piece of metal and balances it on the tail fin of the fighter. It was a double fin with adjoining metal, a good strong platform to stack things on. “If we pile things here, we may just be able to get out of this large hole you made. Give me a hand with this.” Lori walked over and helped Megan to lift a large piece of debris up, and then the two women began to stack things on top of each other. The pile reached higher and higher towards the opening, and the chance of escape grew closer. Megan passed to Lori the last piece of metal and Lori stood above Megan, looking up at the hole, just feet away now.

  “Boost me up and then I will pull you out. I think we are there, you know,” smiled Lori in a friendly voice. Megan and Lori had been working well together, so Megan quickly agrees and boosts Lori up, who only just manages to pull herself up, her feet disappearing out of sight.

  “Now pull me up.” Megan waits, then it crosses her mind, what if she just runs and leaves her here, but the face of Lori appears once again, to Megan’s relief.r />
  “Throw up the bag, you will need both hands.” Megan throws the bag to Lori and reaches her two arms up, and to Megan’s surprise Lori lowers her arms and grabs Megan’s arms tightly and begins to pull. Megan kicks off with her feet with a small jump, sending the makeshift platform crashing to the floor. Megan looks up and as she stares into Lori’s eyes, she instinctively recognises that look once again. Lori stared back at Megan and knew she was back in control, and gripping Megan’s gauntlet she slides it off Megan’s arm.

  “What are you doing, Lori? No, don’t do this, I thought…” Lori gives an evil grin as she lets go of Megan, who falls down in disbelief, crashing into the metal structure below, and scattering it across the ground, making a thundering clang.

  “Get out of that one, ‘Captain’, if you can. Rank will do you no good now.” Lori does not give Megan a chance to reply as she begins to fire down with the gauntlet at Megan, to finish her off once and for all. Megan rolls out of danger several times before she is hit in the leg and yelling out in pain, she clasps the wound like a vice. Grunts and groans are heard, it sounds like the whole pack of Gooloo are on their way. Lori stands proud of her achievement, looking down at Megan, who will surely be eaten alive now by the advancing Gooloo.

  “Don’t do this, Lori. I will court martial you, and that’s a promise!” cries Megan in pain.

  Lori laughs like a cackling witch. “Doubtful, Megan. Doubtful!” Lori turns her back and slings the bag over her shoulder, and she vanishes from Megan’s sight.

  Megan lies on her back for a moment shaking her head. “That’s what I get for being the good guy, is it?” She drags herself up, using the spear as a walking stick, just as a Gooloo enters from one of the tunnels. She is caught off guard with no plan of action, and by the sounds of it, a lot more were close by now. The Gooloo is on her in a flash, clawing and biting at her with a demonic fury. She tries to defend herself with her arm, only to remember leaving the skull shield on the floor. A bite of tremendous strength crunches down onto Megan’s already wounded shoulder. The Gooloo lifts her clean off her feet and shakes her with manic passion, it almost feels like it is shaking the life out of her. She stabs at the Gooloo with her spear and it lets go of its grip, flinging her over towards the cockpit, which is now her only place of refuge. She finds the little strength she has left to drag herself to the cockpit, flipping herself into the pilot’s seat and activating the canopy, in the hope it will close. Her luck was in, and she gives a sigh, as the canopy closes just in the nick of time, as the wounded Gooloo jumps at her, only to get a mouthful of fresh air for his efforts. The Gooloo hammers down onto the canopy with rage, but the canopy holds.

  Megan is bleeding profusely and is feeling dizzy. She frantically tears at the wires hanging around her, to use as a tourniquet for her leg, and when she binds the wound she feels a little better. She presses down on her shoulder wound, with the palm of her other hand, in the hope of stopping the bleeding, and leans back in the seat. If she stayed like this it may stop, she hoped, and then she looks outside to see her spear led on the floor, little use now. Looking down towards her legs, she can see that the ships mayday lever had not been pulled, so she yanks on it and to her surprise it begins to flash and beep, almost in rhythm with her now beating heart.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Invictus draws closer to the planet, and Nova scans the planet surface for signs of life. There are a lot of life signs, but then she spots a sight for sore eyes. “No way! Captain, I found her!”

  Pace is just about to fire up the engines of the runner and leave the Invictus when he hears Nova’s happy message. “What’s that, kid?”

  Nova begins to talk fast. “Cap, I have found the Robur. The cloud cover cleared and she is torn up, but it would be faster if I put her down, and that way we can give instant help. There is a landing site on their doorstep. You want me to put her down?” Pace feels a rush of excitement race through his mind as he imagines Megan running into his arms in a loving embrace.

  “Yes, do it. Padley, get to the loading bay asap, we are landing and we may have injured. Suit up everyone, and be ready for anything.” Pace powers down the runner and exits with Anc, and stands at the ready by the door release button. Nova releases the space junk from the ship, and enters the planet’s atmosphere in a direct dive to the landing zone, the hull heating up like a furnace and spraying red sparkles over the windows.

  Rusty quickly makes sure he is belted into his seat and hangs on for dear life, as the ship quickly drops.

  “Almost there, Cap. A few life forms in the area, but nothing concrete at the moment. Hang on, air brake activated and landing in five, four, three, two, one. Down, Cap. Air is breathable.”

  Pace slams his hand on the button and the loading bay door slowly lowers down, with an eager Pace waiting impatiently behind it. Padley arrives in the loading bay and rolls down the ramp behind Anc and Pace. They all stand in awe at the sight that sits before them, it is a scene of total devastation. Pace’s heart thumps in his mouth, as he wonders how anyone could have survived this. Wreckage is everywhere and not much of the ship is recognizable now.

  “Cap, I’m not reading any human life forms apart from ours in this area, I’m afraid.” Pace’s heart sinks. Maybe Megan died in the crash or before the ship crashed, he had to find her body to be sure.

  “We will take a look inside. Hang five, and lockup to be safe.” The loading bay door lifts up and the Invictus’ guns are in over-watch, monitored by Sam and Rusty. Pace walks slowly towards what looks like a part of the bridge, but before he gets there, he notices that several mines had gone off and several large creatures lie dead. One creature looked half eaten.

  “Well, I think someone survived here, what do you think, kid?” Nova is viewing everything through Pace’s suit camera.

  “Looks possible, Cap. Look over there. Looks like you can get in there.” Pace walks over and walks into the opening. Wires hang down and there is plenty of blood, but no bodies. Padley scans the blood to try to get matches for the crew. Everyone had to give a blood sample before going into space.

  “Anc, guard the rear.” Pace walks through the doors to the bridge. Branches and the trunk of a tree and a large opening stand before him, but still no crew. Pace moves over to the open hull and looks out at the scene before him. “I can see a structure. It’s large, perhaps they have gone there, they certainly are not here.” Turning around Pace notices Megan’s scratching on the door. “I think Megan’s alive, well she was when she wrote this anyway.” Pace runs his hand over the writing and smiles, a tear begins to well in his eye, he is just glad no one can see. A few quiet moments pass and Pace gets his composure back and strides back outside, tapping Anc on the shoulder to relieve him of his guard duty.

  “Cap, I am picking up a weak distress signal nearby. It is in the direction of that structure in the distance, and also a strong mech signal. It’s not possible to land in these areas, so you will have to take a rover, if you want to check it out.”

  Pace looks at Padley. “Anything, Padley?” Padley has nothing of any use to them.

  “No, sorry Captain. What are your plans, sir?” Pace walks over to the carcass of the giant bird.

  “Padley, join the crew, and Nova, I want you to dust off and sit in orbit and monitor us, so if we need off the planet, we have an escape plan. I will take a rover and head for the two signals. By the looks of it, they are on the way to that large structure anyway, so a good place to look.” Padley enters the ship along with Anc, who collects a rover and drives it out of the Invictus, ready for its adventure. Pace is still amazed at the fact that they had survived the crash landing. He jumps up and grabs the hand rail on the side of the rover as Anc drives near him, and swings himself in and closes the door. “Man the gun, Anc. You know the drill.” Pace presses down the throttle and steers around a hump of dead flesh and leaves dust behind in his wake. A few seconds later the Invictus lifts off and blasts into space once more.

  Chapter Ninete
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  Talia looks up at the great gates to the sacred grounds. They had made it after all. The gates were huge, strong, metal towers, glimmering with gold and covered in alien writing, something of which Drax began to read upon arriving. The gates were fixed to immense walls of which the tops could not be seen from the ground. A great place to rest and be safe, thought Talia.

  “Hey, Drax! Not being funny, but should we not do the reading inside, where it is safe?” Talia touches the gate and then knocks on it making a loud din. “Sorry, I forgot myself for a moment. Yes, inside is better. I believe if I press this emblem and, yes, that will do it.” A loud scraping noise is heard and a square opening appears in the giant metal gate, and a blue beam hits Steg and Drax in the eyes. Then the beam hits Talia in the eyes. It dazzles her for a moment, before disappearing. A second beam of light hits Talia in the chest, stunning her. She is unable to move or say anything. A loud voice sounds in an alien language and it is obvious to Talia that the Gulmeds can understand every word.

  “Alien life-form detected. Annihilate or save?” The voice waits for instruction. The two Gulmeds look at each other for the answer. Talia had kept her promise and was almost as useful as a Tarkon. In their ancient language Steg and Drax make the decision.

  “The choice is yours alone to make Steg. It is your city now and you decide who enters.” Steg rubs her lump. It was very sore now and she just wanted to rest.

  “Humans are a funny lot. They eat the children of other creatures, such as eggs and think nothing off it. On the other hand, they fight fiercely for each other and tend help others, and this one could have even killed us if she had chosen to, but she stood by us. So from this day forward, humans will be allowed in my city.” Steg throws some words at the gates and the hold over Talia is over. Her hair has all stood up with the static charge, which they all giggle at.

  “So what was that about, or should I not ask?” Talia follows the Gulmeds into the sacred grounds. The giant gates slam shut tightly and Steg touches a round dial on the wall next to the gates. They begin to glow a glorious golden colour, just like the golden tower before, which they had activated. A few feet in front of them was a large drop into darkness. It must be miles deep and at least fifty feet across.