by DJ Morand
In a rare display of savagery on her own part, Echo rushed to the man's side and kicked him hard in the ribs. He swiped his hand at her, but force was not in it. The plasma she had fired was eating through his limbs. He stared up at her with one good eye and screamed. She kicked him in the side of the face and unhinged his jaw. Echo began to kick and stomp each time emitting a primal cry she didn’t know she had in her. He did not beg for mercy or ask her to stop. If he had she might have stopped.
Echo saw the sword beside him and she swept it up. Six's blood still ran down its length and she could feel it dripping on her hand. Echo dug the sword under Alek Vale and turned him to his belly. He rolled over with a grotesque moan.
“This is for my father,” Echo said as she slammed the sword against the back of a leg. “My mother!” she cried as she swung again at the other leg, “FOR ZEE!” She struck at one of his arms at the shoulder. Her rage knew no bounds as she cried for people she loved, for people she cared for as she drove the blade downward slicing and cutting at the EXO Prime. He groaned and made noises. She was appalled that he still lived while so many others had died. She thought of Abel and she wept as she drove the sword between his shoulder blades. Echo gave every ounce of her strength in that thrust and pinned him to the deck.
Echo turned to the sound of others entering the command deck and she dove for the pistol again. The gun was cooler now, but she didn't care. She raised it and fired.
30: SATYR
Quintar V - Independent ATLAS-V Class Gunship: Atlas
2973 ESD - Friday, June 18th 14:00 hours
The Atlas swerved through the clouds above Quintar V. The vessel shook and vibrated as they crossed the threshold between space and the atmosphere of the planet. Abel had forced a complete shut down before they dropped into the airspace, remembering his first encounter with the AI that ruled the planet. He had shut off the EMP that damaged his vessel so many years ago, but there was no telling what surprises the EXO Prime could throw at them.
“Alright, we're through the worst of it. Fire up the main engine, bring the computers back online,” Abel ordered.
The meager crew of two complied. The main engine roared to life again and the computers began to light up. Abel gripped the sides of his chair as they descended through the stratosphere. The violent shaking of the vessel made Abel think it might shake his teeth loose.
“Observation: Captain it would appear we are crashing, would you like me to bring the nacelles online for interatmospheric flight?” ADM asked. The AI had re-appeared shortly after the computers came back online.
“Confirmed ADM, do it now!” Abel said through the strain.
“Confirmation: Affirmative, primary nacelles booting now. Peak efficiency in thirty-five seconds. Thirty-four seconds-” ADM began a countdown before Abel interrupted.
“Cut it out. Just get them online and save us from dying.” Abel shouted.
“Confirmation: Affirmative.”
A moment later the forward and aft nacelles roared to life and the Atlas leveled out. Abel leapt up from the chair and engaged the haptic controls. He motioned for the ship to veer starboard and began a fast descent into the lower atmosphere. The vessel did not shake now, the inertial dampeners were working and the anti-gravity emitters were doing their job. Abel switched the view screen to show the scene before them. He saw the TP-D on their approach and he saw the swarm of EXOs converging on the vessel.
“Alright, time to earn your stripes men,” Abel said, addressing his crew. “Artemis take control of AaBee's turret station, I want you targeting and firing on as many of those EXOs as you can, we need to clear a swath in front of the docking ring. Tee, get me comms and get ahold of anyone down there who is still alive!”
“Sir,” they said in unison.
The Atlas blazed through the sky as the turrets fired lasers into the EXO horde approaching the TP-D. The whoomp whoomp whoomp of the lasers echoed through the area drowned out only by the roar of the Atlas' engines. The EXOs tried to mount a defense, but the gunship was impenetrable. The shields lit up as they fired but it was a futile effort. Abel swung the Atlas in a wide arc and began to clear the area around the cargo bay.
“Captain! I am reading multiple contacts converging on the command deck. Scans show a hull breach,” Tee said.
“Flak!” Abel cursed as he angled the Atlas upward and over the TP-D. He nearly clipped the LIDAR outcropping on top of the destroyer. The violent redirection almost threw Artemis from his seat. “Buckle down men,” Abel admonished.
The Atlas swerved to the port side and avoided any other near misses with the destroyer. EXOs were beginning to crawl across the hull. Abel watched and decided any action against them would give too much cause for alarm to survivors inside. Plus he did not want to damage the destroyer in the event it still had fire power. The last thing Abel wanted was to become a target to his allies.
“Observation: The EXO threat is attempting to infiltrate our systems. I believe they are using a portable communications device. Query: Would you like me to eliminate the device?” ADM asked.
“Fire at will ADM,” Abel said. He nearly flipped the Atlas as he avoided a surface to air missile coming from the EXO ranks. ““Where the hell did they get missiles?”
“Statement: That was a class M2 rocket, it likely came from the TP-D munitions store,” ADM explained. “Clarification: it was from the TP-D Justice munitions store, EXOs have breached the rear starboard docking ring.”
“FLAK!” Abel cursed. He stayed on his course though, survivors were more important than the munitions. “ADM be ready to deploy anti-missile flares, or any other countermeasures you deem fit. What is the status of that Comm device?”
“Statement: Three … Two … One …” the explosion on the surface gave Abel all the answer he needed, but ADM proceeded anyway, “Eliminated.”
“Good job. We've got an LZ, Artemis keep those turrets going and keep the EXOs from entering the TP-D until we get our people out,” Abel ordered.
“Understood sir.” Artemis replied.
“Tee, you're with me.” Abel said as he landed the Atlas. The engine noise died down, but the lasers continued their whoomp whoomp whoomp cacophony of death.
Abel leapt up from his chair and ran to the ladder down to crew berthing. He slid down the ladder and narrowly missed crashing into the bunks. He had forgotten that the Atlas was now a fully crew worthy vessel. He dodged the other bunks and hit the cargo release. The door hissed and opened revealing the open cargo bay. Against the wall was his SATYR armor and the control suit. Abel rushed over and pulled on the suit over his clothing. It didn't fit quite right and his clothes became rumbled underneath, but he didn't have the time to undress.
After donning the suit he stepped into the armor, “Cain, Abel. Alpha Charlie Niner Eight Tango, activation.”
The armor whirred to life and enclosed around him. Abel steeled himself as the control nodes punctured his back and embedded into his spine. Still, he winced when the nodes went in. In moments his nanites interfaced with the armor. Displays in his suit gave him atmospheric pressure readings and general location of EXO threats.
“Artemis,” Abel said through his comms, “Keep those EXOs at bay, I am going to need a few minutes to get to the survivors.””
“Understood sir. The AI is asking for permission to contact you in the suit, he said there is a firewall?” Artemis replied.
“Oh yeah,” Abel said, “I forgot about that.” He mentally opened the link to the Atlas, the schematics ran through and gave him readings on power, sustained weapon drain, and fuel reserve.
“Statement: I am reading two life signatures inside the TP-D on the command deck. One is very faint. They are very close together. Suggestion: I advise caution Captain,” ADM said.
“Understood ADM. Help fix that power fluctuation,” Abel said noticing that the sustained laser fire was causing a fluctuation in the reactor core. “The last thing we need is a breach that would compromise our escape.”<
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“Confirmation: Affirmative Captain,” ADM said.
Abel and Tee rushed down the ramp out of the cargo hold towards the TP-D. Abel could see that the forward canopy was not just damaged, but it seemed to have been torn off entirely. He guessed that re-entry saw the shields fail at some point. He feared for the condition of any survivors. He knew that the EFNF usually had advanced nanites, but they were not like his own. Echo had some very similar to Zee's though. He hoped that Echo was alive and unharmed.
Abel crossed the threshold first and plasma fire sizzled against his suit. Luckily this was a more advanced version than the one he had purchased on Eden. The personal shield absorbed the plasma and lit up around him. He looked at where the shot had come from and felt pity.
Echo stood staring at his form with wild-eyed fury. She raised the plasma pistol and pulled the trigger several more times, but the weapon was spent. Abel looked at her. She was covered in blood and visceral fluid. He followed the trail of blood and guts to the impaled body of Alek Vale.
“Statement: He is alive. Nanite repair estimates that he will have full recovery in seven point nine five hours,” ADM said through Abel's comms.
“Echo,” was all Abel said.
“Abel?” Echo replied. She began to cry and rushed towards him. She flung herself against his armor and wrapped her arms around him as much as she could. Echo wept. “They're all dead …” she said between sobs.
Abel nodded. He understood. “Come on Echo, we don't have time, the EXOs are still coming, we need to get out of here.”
“Is he …”
“No, he'll survive, but the EXOs won't be able to move him if we can close this canopy up,” Abel said. Echo nodded and looked out at the Atlas.
“Yeah, let's get back to the ship and get out of here. The Atlas, she's got at least one nuke,” Abel said.
Echo just nodded again and started to move towards the Atlas. Several EXOs leapt from above and pounced on her. Echo scrambled, but one of them managed to hit her in the back of the head. Echo pitched forward and fell into a heap.
Abel watched in horror as Echo fell. He didn't know if she was dead or alive, but he had seen the EXO hit her with something like a baton.
Not a baton, a rifle! Abel noticed.
He leapt forward, the rear jets on his armor gave him a boost. He landed beside Echo and he stepped over her. His baton slid out from his right wrist and a laser module from his left. Tee had already began firing rounds from his plasma rifle into the oncoming EXOs.
“Tee, get Echo on the Atlas and tell Artemis to prep for take-off,” Abel ordered.
Tee circled around the defending Abel, being careful to fire off bolts to keep the EXOs at bay. He gave Abel a look and the armored captain gave him a nod. Tee nodded back and grabbed the back of Echo's jacket. He dragged her back towards the Atlas as he continued to fire.
Abel held out his left arm and let laser fire pick off an EXO crawling down from the top of the TP-D. With his right he swung the charged baton down on another EXO advancing towards him. Two more leapt on his armor, but could not break through the force field. He could feel the vibration as they slammed their fists and weapons into his armor.
Something is wrong, they're idiots. Savage mindless beasts, Abel thought. Normally they're at least coordinated … He let the thought trail off as it dawned on him. The EXO Prime lay unconscious in the TP-D. The EXOs are acting on their last order to kill anything that moves.
Abel checked to make sure Echo and Tee were onboard the Atlas then he again did the unthinkable. “Alpha Alpha Alpha, self-destruct sequence. Tango Foxtrot Seven Four Alpha, Sixty seconds, on my mark.ℍ
Abel continued to fight but did not give the final command, “ADM get the engines fired up. We need to get the flak out of here.”
“Confirmation: Affirmative, engines prepped and ready for exfiltration,” ADM replied.
“MARK!” Abel yelled and ejected from the back of the armor. The control plate still connected to his back and spine he ran for his life towards the waiting cargo bay. The giant turbine-like nacelles roared so loud he couldn't hear his footsteps. The heat they generated made the area around the Atlas feel like a desert in the middle of summer.
The cargo ramp began to ascend as he approached. Abel ran for the door and leapt in. The ramp closed and Abel slid down into the cargo hold. He pushed his back against the SATYR charging station and the control nodes retracted, tearing his skin again and freeing the ejection plate from his back. Swinging around, he hit the airlock close for the hold and made his way through crew berthing.
“Get us in the air now!” Abel bellowed.
He saw Tee tending to Echo in one of the bunks. A pang of jealously lit through him as he saw Thomas Tee brushing hair from Echo's face. He could see her breathing, though. Abel brushed away his feelings and climbed the ladder to the command deck.
“Why aren't we in the air yet?” Abel said, exasperated.
“Statement: Exfiltration point not yet determined.” ADM replied.
“Flak the exfiltration point, we'll find our way out once we're clear of the TP-D and the SATYR armor about to self-destruct,” Abel said as he sat in the captain's chair.
He reached for the haptic controls and noticed that he was bleeding severely from his right hand. At least three of his fingers were missing. He could not remember how it had happened, but they were cauterized.
I must have clipped myself on the laser somehow, he thought.
The Atlas responded to his direction and lifted off. The laser turrets continued to fire on EXOs as Artemis directed it. Abel decided not to worry about it as he pulled the vessel up and accelerated away from the TP-D.
“ADM, once the SATYR armor detonates, I want you to send the cruiser missile we brought and target the open canopy of the TP-D. The EXO Prime is in there and if we can finish him off here and now, we'll have saved more lives than we can count,” Abel said.
“Confirmation: Affirmative Captain, prepping the Cruiser NP missile now. Statement: The Cruiser Nuclear Payload will likely cause a detonation of the TP-D core, this would result in significant radiation fallout and compounding shockwaves. This may make it difficult for exfiltration,” ADM replied.
“Do it,” Echo said. Abel turned around to see Echo standing at the stair entrance to the command deck. “Don't give me that look Abel, do it,”” Echo's voice was haggard and raw with emotion.
“You heard her ADM, do it,” Abel said resigned.
“Confirmation: Affirmative, Cruiser NP missile scheduled for release in Five … four … three … two … one. Statement: Ignition achieved,” ADM said.
“Have a seat and buckle in Captain,” Abel said to Echo.
“Not much of a captain without a ship,” Echo half grinned.
Abel chuckled in spite of her grave tone. He heard the explosion of the SATYR armor and a short moment later he heard the detonation of the Cruiser missile. They felt, more than heard the chain reaction of the TP-D's explosion. Chunks of rock and expelled earth deflected off the Atlas' shields. The explosion was followed by a shock wave that the Atlas' inertial dampeners could barely compensate for. The gunship shook violently as they climbed higher.
Klaxons began to blare across the ship signaling system failures. Abel gripped the sides of his chair as he let ADM take control and navigate away from the shockwaves. The inertia became too great and consoles began to spark. Abel struggled to maintain consciousness, but his vision was blurry and his head ached. Echo slumped in her chair as did Artemis.
Abel heard something crash in crew berthing and he realized that Tee had probably succumbed as well. He tried to hold on, but the darkness took him.
31: BREAKER'S BACK
Quintar V - Orbit - Independent ATLAS-V Class Gunship: Atlas
2973 ESD - Friday, June 18th 15:20 hours
The Atlas broke through the atmosphere and the dark of space loomed. Abel breathed a sigh of relief as he ran a systems diagnostic. Echo was now seated at the engineeri
ng station monitoring defenses and power output. The raw statistics of the station helped her to take her mind off the events of the days she had been stranded on the planet. She had faced her fears, succumbed to her doubts, and lost to the rage inside of her. Echo was feeling broken like a porcelain doll.
She continued to monitor the ebb and flow of the ship's engines and took solace in the strength of the vessel. Echo decided that Abel had done well in rebuilding the Kodiak. She knew he called it the Atlas now as an homage to Zee, but to her it was the same gunship that had altered her life and opened her eyes to real threats in the galaxy. The console in front of her suddenly squawked and klaxons began to show energy readings far below normal. She watched as shields depleted to nearly half.
“Captain!” Echo yelled. “Shields at forty-nine percent!”
“Flakking hell,” Abel said.
“I'm reading an increase in anti-matter molecules all around the ship. I think we've been hit by an anti-matter cannon,” Echo said.
She was certain it had been an AM Cannon and she knew who it might be. The EXOs didn't use anti-matter often because it confused their sensors. Abel had used an AM cannon on the Kodiak for the same reason - to disrupt EXOs. Now, Echo was certain, Breaker Jones in his modified URSA GS was attacking them.
“It's Breaker,” Echo said.
Abel stared at her for a moment, then nodded, “I think you might be right,” he said. “ADM, get shields back online, take from propulsion power if you have to. Fifty percent won't cut it against that AM Cannon.”
“Confirmation: Affirmative captain. Statement: I can pull power from the quantum belt. However, we may lose the ability for the quantum plates.” ADM said.