Titan Fleet: The Robur

by Jason J Black

  “Please, Padley, if you don’t mind,” replies Nova, opening the door and letting Padley out. The door closes behind her and she rolls over to the loading bay door release crank. She begins to spin it and the pressure is released out into space, along with items from the loading bay, and are sent spinning past her and out into the darkness. The force would have killed a human, the oxygen was sucked out so fast. It looked like a small tornado spinning, destroying everything in its path. The door is soon open and the runner moves close to Padley, who jumps onto the roof and magnetises to the hull without any trouble. The runner blasts out of the door and escapes the pull of the tow beam, much to everyone’s joy.

  For a few moments all looked good, and they thought they would go unnoticed, but they were wrong. The tow beam shifted from the Invictus straight onto the runner and several blasts to the ship later, the runner was also disabled and being towed into the mothership. The Invictus was just left to float in space for the rest of time. The pursuing ball ship begins to move in the direction of the runner as, still being so close to the Invictus, Pace takes a chance to grip Talia tight and fire his jetpack once more, determined to make it to the Invictus and some hope of survival. Pace can see the runner, now disappearing in through the shield of the mothership. Reaching out and activating the magnets on his hand, they continue to travel unnoticed until they reach the Invictus. The jetpack stopped working and it was a last attempt to get to the ship. Pace and Talia clambered together to an air lock and entered the ship, after using the security code on the outer panel.

  There was no power to the ship and they floated down into the scrap bay at the top of the ship. They moved slowly towards the lift at the back of the room and found the tube with the ladder, and pulled themselves down to the loading bay, where they would have to close the door, and then they would have to sort the rest out from there. Their suits’ oxygen was running low now, but there were plenty of spares in the loading bay attached to the wall, so they both quickly changed their air tanks, and then together began to crank the lever to close the door, which took a while. The door finally closes and they had one less thing to worry about.

  “Now to the engine room, and see if we can do anything. I am not hopeful.” Pace pushes off the floor and glides towards the ladder tube, closely followed by Talia, whose shield is glowing the brightest white. It was great technology from the Gulmeds, and she thanked her lucky stars she had it.

  “Captain, I can communicate with Nova and the planet if you like.” Talia is eager to see if everyone is ok. Pace hovers with his hands on the rungs looking towards Talia.

  “Would be a good idea, get to it.” Pace knows they are all in trouble, but in dire times people need something to hang on to, just like he did when he thought he had lost Megan for good.

  “Talia to Nova, can you hear me?” Talia waits for a response, but none is given. It is obvious that the mothership’s shields are blocking any transmission. After a few tries, Talia moves on to try to contact the surface. She has followed Pace back up to the engine room, and is stood in the doorway watching Pace trying to make sense of the wiring. A voice and a face appears in Talia’s hood display. It is Titch.

  “Titch, receiving your transmission, loud and clear. How may I help?” Talia smiles at the small screen over her eye, she has never been so happy to see a face in her life.

  “Hey, Titch, this is Talia. We are on the Invictus, but we have no power. Nova and the crew are captured and we need help fixing the ship. No disrespect, Captain.” She looks at Pace, who is now frustrated with things.

  “None taken.” He chuckles before stopping what he is doing and floating towards Talia, and activating his gauntlet screen for a three way conversation.

  “Titch, I have scanned the damaged areas. Can you tell us please if we are able to get her running again, or if we have to think of something else?” Titch looks down at his console and begins to compute a solution. It is reached in a few seconds and he gives his reply.

  “Captain, you will be able to fix the Invictus, however, it will take time and you will have to follow my instructions.” Pace is relieved. It will give them a fighting chance at least.

  “Ok, Titch, no time like the present.”

  “Okey dokey, Captain. First we need emergency power and gravity restored.” A small diagram shows up on Pace’s gauntlet, which he begins to follow.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  “I’m sorry guys. That is all I can do. They beat us,” sobs Nova, letting go of the controls. Sam reaches out his hand and grasps Nova’s hand and squeezes it tightly.

  “We are not finished yet, but before we are done, I just wanted to say, well, you know um…” Sam goes bright red in the face and stumbles on his words. Nova looks at Sam. She suddenly realises that she had a secret admirer all this time, and although he was fifteen years older than her, he was quite handsome now that she was looking, and she always liked older men. Love knew no boundaries to her, and she was always looking for Mr Right secretly, deep down.

  “Know what, Sam?” she questions him, turning his face the colour of fresh lobster.

  “I know I’m a lot older than you, but I have always liked you.”

  Rusty rolls his eyes to look at the ceiling, and not wanting to hear all the soppy stuff involved with love, he butts in.

  “Look, its plain to see she likes you and you like her. I have seen the way you look at each other across the bridge. The way she smiles at you, and the way you both look secretly when others are looking away. I thought I might have been in with a chance myself, but stopped trying when I figured it out.” Sam and Nova are still holding hands and neither of them had retracted from the other. They were both smiling at each other, and at the same time leaned across the aisle and kissed.

  Nova was surprised. She had kissed many men in her years, but none had kissed her like this. Even though it only lasted moments, there was a certain something she could not put her finger on, but it felt good.

  Sam’s heart was pounding. He usually was a shy person, but he was glad he had spoken out this time. Fireworks were popping in his head.

  “You were saying,” smiles Nova.

  “I think you get what I mean,” replies Sam, as they all turn to look at the inside of the mothership. Hundreds of troops can be seen entering drop pods, and an area had been surrounded where they were likely to land. Nova, with a new found love in her heart, lowers her helmet, and she is soon joined by the others. She readies her gauntlet blaster and then begins to remove a panel by the door.

  “What are you doing?” asks Sam.

  “They hate oxygen, right? If we all grab spare air boost canisters to breathe, and then if I undo this valve, it will vent our ships air out into their hanger and we may kill a few in the process.” Nova slowly unscrews the valve and the oxygen releases out into the cabin.

  “They do have to get in, which should buy us a little bit of time,” comments Sam, opening his container.

  “What ya got there in that box of tricks?” asks Rusty, attaching a few air boost oxygen canisters to his belt on his space suit.

  “They are going to be a Blue nightmare, fast and deadly and we have ten of them.” Sam holds up a small spider-like robot with a small tank on its back, and what looks like large fangs on its head. “See, just like the spiders on Foloss. I think they are picking on the wrong race of people.” Sam activates his poison dagger and sets his gauntlet for war, and the crew of the runner are ready.

  Padley is lying motionless on the top of the ship and is invisible to the Blue guards, as the runner lands inside the mothership.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  A large four legged, dark blue creature approaches the runner. It is so big it can almost see on top of the ship. Its evil red eyes glow in the green pungent air around the ship. Its tentacles reach forward with its bulky muscular arms and begin to tear at the ship, rocking the runner in the process. Padley relays to Nova what she can see from her vantage point, still unnoticed by the Blues. Hundreds
of creatures gather to watch the fracas. Many different kinds of Blues gather, some smaller blue and purple creatures that spread the putrid gas around, and some larger with four arms and horns, with lava like veins running over their skin. Too many to count. In the distance, floating on a wave of green gas, are two tall, light blue creatures that seem to have force fields, observing the actions of their troops.

  The large Blue finally punches through the hull and the poisonous oxygen blasts out, peeling all the skin from its face and then it engulfs the surrounding Blues in a whirlwind of flesh eating doom. The giant monster immediately falls backwards with a mighty roar of squealing pain and falls to the ground, the dissolving flesh revealing its skull and melting part of its shoulder. A load cheer goes up inside the cabin, as they look out through the large hole in the side of the runner to see the monster fall.

  “Come and get us if you can!” shouts Nova, before disappearing out of sight. The surrounding Blues are being eaten by this unknown gas and many begin to run away in fear, leaving a large area with many Blues lying writhing in agony, their blood oozing out over the slimy floor that smelt of rotting flesh.

  Padley reports to Nova once more. “Captain, first wave exterminated and they are keeping their distance for the time being. I can see what appears to be a doorway to the rear of the runner, about one hundred yards. I don’t know where it leads to, but it may be a possible escape route. Also, what appears to be many drop pods and ball ships, to many to count, perhaps another escape.” Padley remains still scanning the area for anything brave enough to try to attack. The oxygen floats around the runner like a defence shield, keeping the green gas at bay. Nothing is breathing the oxygen, it just hangs there like stale cigarette smoke, waiting for the next victim.

  The tall slender figures, that view from afar, send in a wave of smaller Blue creatures that generate their own green gas. They are not affected much by the oxygen, as the two gases mix in the air around them, due to bioengineered breathing masks. Their skin does peel slightly, but they are able to run at the humans, who use the ship for cover, firing their gauntlets in an astonishing defence formation. The small blue and purple creatures are gunned down by a rain of fire power, just like an old Gatling gun. A face appears around the hole in the ship, its bumpy, scaly, blue and purple skin disappears behind a puss dripping mask. Its metal claws grip the opening of the hole, and it is about to jump through when Sam thrusts his dagger through its skull. Brain matter splashes the following Blue in its eyes, the poison now working on two creatures at once.

  “Damn, this poison is good stuff!” shouts Sam, proud of his deadly serum. The two creatures fall down, but there are more on the way, but this time a mixture of creatures shrouded in green gas. The crew of the runner are doing well and are in high spirits and seeing the mass of evil running towards them only confirms their resolve. Peeping out, it’s Rusty’s turn to look. He can see several four armed creatures running behind the gas generating Blues. They begin to fire parasites in his direction. However, they are not great shots and the parasites explode on contact with the ship’s hull. Some spin past his head, like deadly shuriken and land on the floor, slowly moving like slugs on the ground, before coming to an end on the bottom of Nova’s boot.

  “They are playing that trick are they? Well, here is the trump card.” Sam releases five of the spider robots, which quickly clamber over the dead bodies, and some up the walls, until they launch their attack on the unsuspecting Blue army, now moving towards the runner.

  “I will save five for later,” smiles Sam, as he watches his inventions go to work on their prey. The spiders quickly poison the Blues, with their fangs injecting the blood burning formula into the Blues bloodstream. A few seconds pass and the Blues begin to slow down and writhe, and Sam can see the true power of his poison. The Blues begin to shriek and bubble from the inside, and the skin on their bodies loses its colour and becomes translucent, and then begins to slide off their bodies like jelly from a plate.

  Sam laughs, “I think that’s round two, and possibly three to us.” Nova smiles at Sam in admiration, she has never seen him like this before. He has come out of his shell and is flourishing, and she likes it.

  Yet another pile of death for the approaching Blues to view before attacking. The spiders continue their onslaught, until the wave of terror is gone. The robots are programmed to kill Blues, it is that simple, so they then move on to the Blues loading into the drop pods and cause them pain also. The slender leaders, floating above all of this, decide to hold off the next wave and recall their troops from the hanger. The leaders disappear into the green walls, which are covered in moving bugs and plant life, and the troops also disappear through doorways and into pods. The room becomes silent.

  A few moments pass and Padley once again speaks to Nova. “They have all gone, Captain.” Nova is not fooled by this move at all and peers around the hole to see the devastation in front of the ship. Blood, pus and bodies lie in her view. Some still writing in agony, but mostly dead bodies. The oxygen is making patterns in the green gas as it swirls around the ship. They can see through the concoction and stepping sheepishly out, Nova plants her boot on a Blue skull, which rocks her from side to side until she takes a second step.

  “Hey, Nova, get back in here, will ya! It’s not funny or clever to be out, there is it?” shouts Rusty, fearing for his companions life.

  “I know this is what they want me to do, I’m not stupid, but let’s see where the game take us, shall we? You have to admit, we are sitting ducks, anyway.”

  Rusty silently nods in agreement, but hates the thought of walking around out there, when so far they have been ok. Sam is seconds behind Nova, and then followed reluctantly by Rusty. The other five spider robots act as an escort for the three friends, and this makes Rusty feel a little bit better. He saw first-hand what they can do, and can still see the other five mopping up the last of the Blues in the hangar.

  They all began to look around and are surprised that only moments ago this area was a hive of activity, and now it had become a grave yard.

  “Perhaps we could use a few of those pods to escape.” Pointing at the closest pod, Rusty makes his way towards it. It was a logical idea, if he could work out the tech, but as he approached the nearest pod, two ball ships lifted up into the air and begin to blast the spiders. They destroy the first wave of five in just seconds, and then turn their attention to Rusty, who was now the closest to them. A shower of fire poured onto him as he ducked behind the pod for cover. Jumping out of their skins, Nova and Sam also take cover behind pods.

  “I would have said grab some of those ships to escape, if I had noticed them sooner,” whispers Nova to Sam, crouched down next to each other. The two ball ships float toward them and Rusty makes a run towards Nova and Sam, but the blasts from the rotating ball ships hit the slimy floor and fragmentises the ground beneath him, lifting him up in the air and he lands on his belly, like a child falling for the first time. He crawls quickly around to Nova and Sam, with a frightened look on his face.

  “That was a close one,” he squeaks in a wobbling voice. Nova looks at the door behind the runner, and realises that for now it was the safest option for them.

  “We’ve got to move. Let’s get over there. On three, ready?” Nova points in the direction of the door, not knowing if they will be able to open it or not, but the Blues seemed to pass through it easy enough before.

  “Padley, you stay put, they cannot detect you.” After the count of three, they all run as fast as they can towards the door and upon reaching it, the door just glides open without any trouble at all, letting them out of the hangar and into a dark, fousty corridor that was dimly lit.

  The walls were the same as before, covered in a weird moss with plant life growing all over the walls. The green gas was everywhere, so they dare not to take off their helmets.

  Sam looks at Nova’s oxygen level and all was good for now, and they all had plenty to last them for a day or so. The spider robots also tri
ed to get through the doorway, but all but one was destroyed. A single one had managed to survive by jumping out of the way of the blaster fire, and clasping to Sam’s suit as he dived through the door, to avoid death. The spider drops down and makes its way to the front of the group, and shines a small work light so they could see a little bit further than their work lights could.

  “I have a bad feeling. Let’s go back, we are getting further into trouble. Come on guys.” Rusty has dropped back slightly, walking slower than the others, and is very jumpy.

  “We have to stick together. Come on, at least we are not being attacked, and it’s quiet,” says Nova.

  Rusty looks at the backs of his companions and continues to complain. “Yeah, the quiet is what I’m worried about.” Rusty stops and looks back down the corridor to see the dim lights go dark. It was like a strange darkness was following them. “Wait! Something is following us.”

  Nova and Sam turn around to hurry Rusty to catch up, thinking that he was just scared and that his mind was playing tricks on him, but they also notice a darkness covering all the lights, and even the door they had come through had disappeared. They moved to join Rusty and they all stood still, as the darkness approached closer and closer, until Sam could make out thousands of slow moving, cucumber sized bugs slithering towards them, small wire like tentacles twisted all over them and they were moving towards them like a tsunami wave.

  They all stood, shocked but intrigued at the same time, until one jumped at Sam, forcing him to lean backwards, bumping Nova. Sam activates his chest inferno cannon and the corridor is bright once more. The flames burn and make the creatures explode and pop like acne, pus dripping all around them, but this wave kept moving forwards towards them, forcing the friends to begin to walk backwards. Nova and Rusty join in, burning everything that got close. The spider bot turned a corner out of sight.

  “They are herding us, like cattle,” Rusty scalds and shakes his head as they fall back, until they get to the corner and turn, taking a quick look at what the next corridor had to offer, only to be greeted by a large creature chomping on the spider bot, its poison having no effect.