Titan Fleet: The Robur

by Jason J Black

  She walked slowly towards them to get a better look in the dark. Their grey faces looked hideous in this light. “Ok, none of you boyfriend material then,” she jeered. She wondered what to say next, but as long as she got a bed for the night, she was not too concerned with their looks. Just as she let down her guard, a dull thud to the back of her head was felt and she fell to the floor unconscious.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Splish-splash! The sound of blood dripping onto the ground below Lori wakes her. She is tied and bound, hanging from a tree. As she tries to wriggle, she can see a fire with figures stood around it to keep warm. They turn to look at her and laugh.

  Stood to the left of the fire, a very tall Blue talks to a large figure adorned in skulls. They discuss a few things and then the tall blue creature glides across the ground in a haze of putrid green gas. The gas gets up Lori’s nose and it makes her feel sick. She is staring at the Blue, trying to focus on its face, but she can only find the strength to make her body bend up for so long, before her stomach muscles feel like they are on fire. A large, metal fingered hand is placed over her mouth, and a second one grips her head still. The palm of the hand covering her mouth opens and tentacles force open her stubborn lips and hold them in place, while a cucumber sized creature slowly crawls from the Blue’s body into her throat, pushing her windpipe to the limits, and then downwards, where worm-like wires bury themselves into Lori, injecting her veins with Blue DNA. Lori falls unconscious for a second time.

  The tall Blue returns to the Almak leader. “She will change once she is inside and then open the gates for us. We will lose many in number, but the end result will benefit us both. I have my starship in orbit, ready to drop troops once more, and this time there will be no survivors.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The lights on Pace’s rover shine through the darkness that has now settled in for the night and the forest is very shadowy. However, a shining beacon guides them towards a golden tower, where the mech signal is coming from. As they draw near to the tower, they notice a small, broken robot attached to the side. Pace slams on the brakes and the doors are flung open. Pace drops down to the floor, while Anc gets out of the back ramp. Pace gets to Titch first.

  “Anc, he is battered, can you help him any?” Anc arrives seconds later and he takes a knee next to Titch.

  “I recognise this mech, Captain. He served on the Robur. I believe we met once. One moment, I will access his data.” Anc opens a panel on his knee and a small cable is produced and quickly plugged into a connector on Titch. The download is fast and complete in seconds, even before Titch has time to speak.

  “You heard my call, Anc. Can you patch me up? I am not in good shape.” Anc leans in and scans Titch. Titch’s wires are still attached to the tower and he is using the towers power to stay online, but he is just too badly damaged to repair on the planet.

  “I am sorry, Titch, you are beyond repair here, I’m afraid. We can move you and get you on board our rover. You can use its own supply to keep your systems running.” Anc begins to move the broken Titch away from the tower. Titch disconnects from the tower, his lights instantly dimming and he begins to slur his words.

  “Power draining CPU. Going into lockdown protocol.”

  Pace quickly asks Titch a question before he goes into sleep mode. “Are the crew ok, Titch?”

  Titch twitches his eye with the last bit of power in excitement. “Last seen alive, Captain Pace.”

  The small battered robot now lay motionless in Anc’s arms. Anc carries him to the rear of the rover and enters, and proceeds to plug Titch in, to keep power passing through his circuits, just until they can get him to Padley for repair. Pace also enters, after looking around another area with signs of life and death.

  “Ok, let’s get rolling, Anc. Same as before, let’s get to the mayday signal.” The pedal is pushed hard to the floor once more and eyes are focused on the trees and road for any signs of the crew of the Robur. It would not be far to the signal this time and there was still hope.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Lori woke up not far from where she was attacked. Her head was still bleeding slightly from the blow. Her throat was sore and dry, but she felt like she was just waking up from a bad dream. She pushes herself up onto her feet, the blood rushing to her head making her feel dizzy, but after a moment, she puts one foot in front of the other and carries on her journey to the city. This takes a little time, but she is relieved to see the great gates in front of her, a sign of life and much needed help.

  As she walks closer to the gates, a beam of light hits her in the eyes and she is stunned and cannot talk or even move. An alien voice is heard loudly and then a pause. She is suspended in mid-air, frozen in time, waiting for whatever comes next. The voice is also heard on Drax’s console and a video feed is brought up.

  “Alien lifeform detected. Annihilate or save?” Drax can see a human at the gates and selects save and opens the gates.

  “Drax to Talia. A human has arrived at the city gates. Do you need to talk to her?” The message flashes up inside Talia’s new ship, on the wall. Talia, not wanting to miss meeting a human, runs out past the two Tarkons who look puzzled at her, and up the tunnel towards the freeing chamber. Talia pauses when she gets to the chamber, to see Steg sleeping and Drax watching over her.

  “Talia, this room will be moving deep down soon, to the sacred birthing caverns. We will not be here when you return, it will just be an empty chamber. We wish you well, no matter what you decide to do.” Talia hugs Drax and whispers in his ear so she did not wake Steg.

  “I will be shooting up into the stars, Drax. This will be farewell, and thank you for the Tarkons, they look tough.” Drax reaches out his hand and Talia reaches for his. There is a glow of golden light that springs from Drax into the palm of Talia, instantly tattooing her palm. It did not hurt, but felt warm and tingly.

  “This is a key to the city and its bridges, you will need this to activate a bridge over the chasm for your human friend. Farewell, Talia.” Talia leaves the room and the Gulmeds behind, and runs up the stairs, opens the door and then runs as fast as she can through the streets, past buildings which all were bright and full of light, now that the city’s power was back on.

  Lori stumbles into the city, the great golden gates crashing shut behind her. She finds a huge chasm in front of her. She was not going any further very fast.

  “Hello? Anyone there?” she shouts, waiting for a reply, but no reply is heard. Then, from out of nowhere, a figure appeared running towards her, dressed in a white robe. Its face was covered with a hood and mask, and it was carrying a spear and was all aglow, with a white shield around it. The figure stops on the other side of the chasm and looks at Lori.

  Talia shouts across at Lori. “Who are you and what do you want?” Talia waits for an answer from Lori, but nothing is forth coming. “What is your name and why are you here?” asks Talia once again. For once Lori thought the truth would not hurt any.

  “I am Lori, sergeant of the Pink Wings squadron of Eve Thorn’s guard. I hail from Foloss. My ship crash-landed here when my squadron was ambushed by the Blues, or otherwise known as the Oakthians. I need help.”

  Dropping the end of her spear to the floor, Talia thought, Scumbag! This is the bitch that Megan told me about. Talia instantly recognised the name from what Megan had told her.

  “Did any other humans survive? Have you seen any more Oakthians out there?” asks Talia in a stern voice. Lori thought for a moment. Telling the truth had worked so far, and there was no way this alien would care about her leaving Megan behind, and it probably knew about the Gooloo species.

  “My co-pilot and I crashed into a nest of white furry creatures and we had to fight to stay alive. An old friend of mine must had crashed too, and she gave her life to get me out of that hell hole, and here I am.”

  Watching from some distance away, perched at the top of a tree with a good view of the city, sat an Almak viewing Lori and Talia. �
��My master, the human is inside the main gates and is talking to a Gulmed. I will move soon to get a better vantage point.” The Almak turns off his comms and continues viewing in silence.

  Talia did not think for a moment that Lori’s friend that saved her could be Megan, as she had seen Megan fall to her death, but she did, however, distrust Lori. She kept her covering over her face, so that Lori did not know she was human and opened up her hand, which began to glow with a golden light. Her palm tingled and the light began to create a bridge over the chasm.

  “I shall let you into my city, but you will be quarantined until further notice. The city is at war and there is a lock down. If you are found outside of your dwelling, you will be annihilated. Understood?”

  Lori thought that a chance of a bed for the night in safety was a good deal, she was not interested in sightseeing. Lori looked at the bridge of light and stood hesitant for a few moments, before placing one foot on it. It did not break, but she could see the drop below her.

  “You will be safe. The bridge will hold you, but I will take any weapons that you have when you cross.” demanded Talia. Lori crossed the bridge and stood in front of Talia. She thought to herself, this alien has a spear and cannot possibly know what a human weapon looks like.

  “I carry no weapons, they were left on my ship.” Holding out her arms, she stood, looking at Talia and lying once more. Talia notices the gauntlet. This Lori was indeed a snake.

  Talia raises her spear to Lori’s throat. “I said, give me your weapons.” The spear travels from Lori’s throat to her gauntlet and then back to her throat.

  “Whoa, whoa. That is just a communicator, not a weapon, silly. I promise,” replied Lori, still trying to dupe Talia.

  “Give it to me or leave my city now!” shouts Talia firmly, not moving the spear from Lori’s throat.

  “Ok, ok. Have it your way. Have the stupid communicator, if you want it. Here take the bloody thing.” Lori slides the gauntlet off and throws it at Talia, who catches it in her other hand.

  “Now walk!” yells Talia, prodding Lori to move in front of her where she could be seen at all times. Not only was Lori a liar, but Talia was already beginning to regret letting her in to the city. Now what would she do with her. She certainly did not want to take her on board her ship. Talia walked towards the first building in the first square, opened the door and showed Lori inside. It was indeed a nice place to live, just like the Gulmeds had promised. There was light, warmth, and a food replicator, and after checking around for weapons or anything else that could cause trouble, Talia was satisfied that Lori would be contained here and there was no chance of trouble.

  “Make yourself at home. I will be back later.” Talia opens the door to the street and Lori slumps down, exhausted, as the door closes. Talia raises her hand and the door locks down and Lori is now contained. The bridge over the chasm disappears once more and Talia decides to go back to the bridge of her ship. If Lori had crashed landed, then maybe other humans would be out there alive, and her ships communication system would be powerful enough to check.

  Talia enters the bunker and travels down the steps to the first chamber, and the room had indeed moved. The chamber now was just decorated as a room, and the door to the hanger had gone. Upon looking at the wall, Talia raises her hand and a secret door opens, leading her down the same tunnel to her ship. The secret door closes behind her, hiding the hanger once more. Anyone searching that room would not find a thing. Very clever, thought Talia.

  As Talia approached the ship, the two Tarkons were stood either side of the door, guarding the ship.

  “Hey boys, have you settled in yet? You haven’t been stood there the whole time, have you?” The Tarkons salute Talia.

  “We have been guarding the ship. We stowed away our things and await your instruction, Commander.” Umm, Commander Talia had a nice ring to it, thought Talia as she tapped the Tarkons on their shoulders.

  “I take it there are more of you protecting Steg and Drax?” The Tarkons follow Talia inside the bridge.

  “The queen is safe, yes, and we are still in contact with the other unit, should we need them.” Talia is surprised that Steg was a queen, but then that would explain a lot of things.

  “Sit down boys, you may be able to help me make sense of these controls.” The two Tarkons take their seats just below Talia’s seat and one looks over his shoulder.

  “We both have piloted Gulmed ships before, Commander. What is our destination?” Talia was happy to have these guys around, they were very useful indeed.

  “I don’t want to leave just yet. I still have to work out what to do with Lori, but I do need to see if anyone is up in space. Anyone friendly, that is.” The two Tarkons begin activating systems and start to scan space around the planet.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Drax presses a few more buttons and the freeing chamber comes to a halt. Giant grapples secure it to its new resting place, deep in the caverns of the planet, many miles underground. Steg is still asleep. She had been sedated and wired into her birthing chair. Two large tubes wait to connect to the lump on her back through the back of the chair.

  Drax walks over from his console and strokes Steg’s head a few times, he is obviously worried about his mate and queen, and hopes that the birthing goes well. It is imperative to the survival of their race. He turns to a second console and begins to power its systems. One by one lights begin to pop, shining brightly in the darkness of this massive cavern. Small pod shaped incubators begin to glow with warmth and light. They shine against the cavern walls, reflecting against the terracotta coloured stone. Cables and tubes criss-cross the ceiling and floor like spaghetti, and the pods crackle and buzz. They had not been used in a long time. They hang down from thick, clear tubes like light bulbs.

  Drax activates the two tubes at the rear of Steg’s seat and two spinning discs begin to rotate, their cutting teeth are razor sharp to eat though the tough hide. As they connect with Steg’s flesh, the two drill like pipes spit skin and blood, and tear two holes in Steg’s back, releasing fluid, and begin to suck once buried in her lump. Steg’s body twitches, but her vital signs are doing well under the watchful eye of Drax. A small blue ball shoots from Steg’s back through the tube, and travels along the tube into a glowing pod near Drax for his inspection. He lifts the pod slightly and the ball begins to open, and tiny eyes blink at Drax for the first time. Drax smiles and taps the clear resin pod, making the small baby inside tap back at him.

  “You will be our future, little one.” whispers Drax at the pod. He swiftly turns back to his console and continues his work.

  One by one, small balls fire out of Steg’s back and along tubes into pods, to the new warm homes suspended in the air. They wriggle and turn inside, and begin to wake. After half an hour passes, hundreds of pods swing with life, and Drax is beginning to think that to complete the process of freeing is going to take a long time. Steg, however, is doing very well. Her life signs are strong, and Drax calculates a possible ten thousand or so offspring, which is a healthy number. The offspring will grow quickly, even though they are only tadpole size at the moment, which is a blessing for their race. They will learn the old ways, thought Drax, smiling at a youngling dancing in his pod.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The signal grows stronger and stronger, as Pace gets closer to it. The ground becomes uneven and so they slow down, noticing large holes in the road and surrounding area. They hit a pothole and the front wheel drops into the hole. Fearing that the whole rover will drop, Pace slams the rover in reverse and pulls the wheel back out.

  “Just what we need, a mine field of holes.” Frustrated slightly, Pace decides to get out and walk in front of the rover as a guide for a while, and Anc takes the driving seat. They dodge and weave in the darkness, the spotlights lighting up the road and Pace. They begin to hear grunts, and Pace catches white flashes of fur running near them in the forest.

  “Looks like some sort of dog running out there in the woods.
How many, Anc? Can you see?” Anc looks on the rovers scanner screen and there are too many to count. The red dots on his screen swarm around them like angry bees.

  “Too many, Captain, but so far they are keeping their distance.” Pace stops for a second and looks around. In just a few moments he notices at least ten, and realises this was probably not the best idea he had ever had. In the middle of the wood, in the dark, surrounded by a pack of hungry dogs, death traps underfoot waiting to swallow them, and all for a signal.

  Stopping for these few moments and the revs dropping on the rover, Pace is able to hear a commotion going on in front of them. Pace wants to rush, but that would be foolish. He activates his suits weapons systems, something that Sam had modified since his last outing, and continues along the road until he notices a large hole in the ground before them. The signal stops here and Pace peers down into the hole to see hundreds of dogs clambering all over a downed fighter ship, beating on it and trying to get into the canopy. He continues to look on with disbelief as he notices a woman’s body, on the ground, being torn and shared with several beasts. Her flesh and guts are being eaten raw off the bone in front of him. Perhaps there was a survivor in the canopy. He has not been seen yet and so he stays silent, trying to get a better look inside the canopy, but all he can see is blood inside. However, the canopy is steamed up, so someone must be breathing inside, thinks Pace.

  Pace holds out his hand, readying to drop a small frag grenade canister, and with a few seconds of thought, he commits to finding out if anyone is alive. The canister drops down, spinning and smoking in the air, speeding to its destination. It hits the floor and rolls, unnoticed by the Gooloo. Pace leans back, out of view and gaining some cover. A large explosion rocks the cavern. Flames engulf the Gooloo creatures and travel down the tunnels, clearing them as they burn in a blistering heat. The Gooloo were dead in an instant, and the fighter has stood up to the blast, just as Pace thought it would.