The machine wasn’t in any way spectacular, we saw as we drew closer, besides its sheer immensity, it was just a flat platform set atop the twin tracks. Huge mechanical arms lifted away the trees as they were cut and set them aside on top of the surrounding treetops as easily as if they were matchsticks, and without consideration of the damage they were doing to them. They were in a hurry.
Despite the massive size of the machine, I doubted they would be able to get Vengeance upon it. It looked half again too small.
“They’re definitely pre-anti-gravity.” Houdar said in a whisper I was barely able to hear. The whine of saws was a nagging, annoying sound.
“They’re not going anywhere fast.” Meerla said.
“I agree.” I said. “If they’re going to bring Vengeance out, then we’re going to sit right here and wait for them.” They may as well be allowed to do all the work before we took her back. That just made sense.
“I doubt that thing has the power to fire a laser pistol.” Houdar said of the machine. “Much less fire up Vengeance. It’s a combustion engine, of fossil fuels. I can smell the exhaust.” I could smell it as well. It stunk.
“Which means there’s no point in recapturing it until they get it wherever they’re taking it.” I said.
“We should hunt and rest, and recuperate.” Guermata said, looking like he could use that rest he was referring to.
We moved back from the track and found suitable lofts. In short thrift we were ensconced in our arboreal nests. The moment I got comfortable I realized Meerla had ideas of her own, and carefully we removed our clothing. I couldn’t afford to have her rip it off me now. Wouldn’t that be a sight in the morning!
“Please, Meerla,” I said, “I do have broken ribs!” If she heard me I couldn’t tell.
CHAPTER 19
Four days passed before the transport and my ship came back down the swath in the jungle. The cut had become a rather busy thoroughfare in the meantime, with nearly all of the traffic going in one direction. Towards Vengeance. I had begun to wonder if they weren’t just going to build a base right around Vengeance rather than try to bring it out, but I had underestimated the resolve of the locals, whom we had yet to meet personally.
We had plenty of warning that the machine was on its way. The vehicles that had followed it in now preceded it out. They were army strong. From hidden spots along the way we watched, as first infantry, then lightly armored personnel carriers, and then finally, fully armored assault vehicles, crossed by in front of us, moving back the way from which originally the huge machine had come.
The infantry looked petrified. They were creeping sneakily along the edges of the jungle, peering fearfully into the jungle, powerful looking projectile weapons at the ready. They were lizards, of course. It was always lizards, I thought ruefully. They were of a similar coloration as the local larger variety, brownish mottled skin, but walked along erect and carried their weapons in highly developed clawed hands. Their heads moved about in jerky, quick movements, and they looked competent, to say the least. Their difference was their much smaller size (even smaller than us) and a rounded ridge of purplish skin that traveled from the top of their skull to the bases of their long necks.
“Those are males.” Houdar whispered. “You can tell because of their mating ridges. They probably turn bright purple or red when they want to attract a female.”
“Or maybe you can guess that because it’s usually the males who are the soldiers.” Meerla commented quietly, smirking. I glared at both of them in turn.
“Go find another branch if you two want to argue.” I told them. I had gotten tired of listening to them bicker over the last few days.
The lizards wore no clothing but were covered with bandoleers of ammunition, belts with other holstered weapons, sheathed knives, water bottles and other small accouterments that defied description.
“They look capable.” I muttered unhappily. Projectile weapons would kill as efficiently as our own, in our unarmored state.
Talk ceased among us as the small army moved by, and by, and by. They had must have airlifted all these units we had not seen coming in, to assist with the retraction. These lizards obviously understood military theory and would be hard to surprise.
Finally the huge platform with Vengeance arrived. It was moving a lot slower than it had coming in. Vengeance was chained atop it haphazardly, yet thoroughly, by hundreds of chains and straps of various lengths and sizes. Everything they could put together on short notice, obviously. Vengeance hung over both ends, front and back, like a massive diamond in its setting, and was just about as valuable to us, I thought.
Vengeance literally dwarfed the vehicle upon which it rested, so despite myself I had to be impressed by the engineering skills of these bug eaters. Unlike humans or Alartaw, reptiles came out of their shells ready to fend for themselves, and usually, at their hatchling size, the food of choice (or necessity) was insects or other small prey. Damn smart bug eaters, though. We were all relieved when the last of the cavalcade was past and gone and we could breathe easier again, having escaped notice.
“We’re lucky they weren’t infrared equipped.” Houdar said. “We’d have been in trouble.”
“Cold blooded sentients can’t use infrared to kill one another, so it isn’t a part of their regular equipment. They may not even suspect that warm blooded sentients exist.” Meerla opined.
“We exist.” I said.
“You’re a cold blooded mammal.” Meerla said, smiling wickedly. “You fit right in.”
“And you’re a cold, calculating bitch.” I replied sweetly.
“Are we following the lizards yet today?” Meerla asked. Though they were out of sight they were still plainly audible and not going anywhere quickly. Plus we could trail the platform into hell if we had to. There was no hiding the trail it left.
“No. There’s no hurry.” I said.
“Good.” She said, smiling innocently as she drug me back to our leafy abode.
Somehow I slept only fitfully that night so when morning did arrive I was tired and irritable. My stomach rumbled loudly as I climbed to the ground and joined the rest of my crew. I seemed to be the only one who had slept so poorly. Meerla looked as fresh as new fallen snow. She grinned when I glared at her.
“Rough night, dear?” She inquired sweetly. You’d have thought I would have slept more soundly after the exhausting hours I had spent tussling with her. I ignored her, annoyed by her constant high energy and unbreakable spirit. She smirked happily.
The caravan carrying away Vengeance had moved out of the area during the night. Briefly I wondered how many of those infantry lizards had lost their lives to the larger local predator reptiles during the night. The thought brought to mind how terrified they had seemed scouting along the edge of the swath yesterday. They were obviously quite familiar with the predators, and I thought how difficult it could prove to stop them with all their primitive little weapons, and on such high alert. Not a pretty thought, except that both sets of the lizards were my enemies.
Not in a good mood, I ordered us on in pursuit, and sometime around midday, the star was nearly at its zenith, we came to the edge of the jungle and could go on no further, at least not in the hidden sanctuary of the jungle vegetation. Humans weren’t the only ones who knew how to ravage their planet, because for as far as I could see from where we remained hidden in the jungles edge, all that was visible was an endless stump field.
“This explains a lot.” Meerla said. I didn’t know what it explained and I really didn’t care. My ship was not in sight.
“We’re going to keep moving.” I said. “Spread out. Move from stump to stump. Stay low.” We moved out.
I was an angry Alartaw right about then. I had never been too fond of lizards in the first place and now I was really not fond of them. To put mildly my feelings, I was killing mad.
There was really no reason we had to be quiet but nobody was saying much, my mood rubbing off on them. We traveled for abou
t two hours before anyone said a word.
“They’re plundering this planet.” Houdar said.
“You mean like it’s not their home world?” Meerla asked, for once not sarcastic.
“Yeah. I think.” Houdar said. “Come in. Harvest the resources. Kill off the local predators, then move in. Or move on, who knows.”
“They would have had a hard time of it if they had evolved here.” I admitted.
“It’s possible they’re from a different continent,” Houdar said, “but unlikely. They would have colonized their whole world by the time they had reached their present technological level.”
“Which means they could be shipping Vengeance off-planet.” I remarked.
“Not without one hell of a big transport ship.” Meerla pointed out.
“Like what they use to transport all this timber.” Houdar said.
“Either theory leaves us without a ship.” I pointed out. “So let’s hurry.”
We abandoned all stealth and ran along as quickly as our lungs would allow, but it was unnecessary. We had only traveled on a short distance when we saw, rising up out of the stump field, directly ahead (yet several clicks distant) the nose of a big space craft. It grew as we continued to move on.
The ship was big, but primitive. Certainly not large enough to haul off Vengeance. It was a stubby multiple engine rocket ship of a silvery color, liberally marred with black scorching from forced re-entries. Vengeance was off to its right, nearly dwarfing it.
“Primitive.” Houdar said disparagingly.
“Don’t confuse primitive with weak.” Meerla hissed at him. I glared at them both.
We were able to see them but we were as yet undetected. There was no surveillance we could detect, and Alartaw vision is as acute as you could wish. No. They were unaware and unconcerned, feeling themselves safe behind their fencing. No Alartaw security would ever have been so sloppy. Heads would roll. As we drew nearer, we fell to our stomachs and crawled forward like worms, hidden from view by the stumps all around.
The ground was hard and dry under the brutal sun. The removal of the trees, ergo its ecosystem, would leave the place a barren wasteland. I was pretty sure I knew one group who wouldn’t be doing any more damage, though. We crawled right up to the fence unnoticed.
“I think they’re all mostly sleeping.” Meerla whispered in my ear, her tone incredulous. “If we move now we’ll take them unawares.”
“Which one’s the power station?” I asked Houdar, who was on my other side. There were a number of buildings but none that were obviously the power source. Even highly advanced fusion plants were usually geodesic or domed, but there was nothing like that here.
“Their ship.” Houdar said after examining the layout in some detail. “If you look closely you can see the cables running from its base. It’s probably not even space worthy anymore, or barely so.”
“It’s probably still operational, even if it’s no longer safe.” I said. “If it lights up we’ll have to disable it. We need its power.”
“Don’t hit that ship or we’ll go up in the explosion along with everything in a ten click radius.” Houdar warned unnecessarily.
“Prepare to go in.” I said as I began setting my weapons out on the ground in front of me, the whines of blast rifles as they charged a nagging sound that irritated me for some reason, but I thought I could feel the power of them surging in my hands, as if they were eager to destroy. I was certainly eager. These lizards were about to learn a lesson they wouldn’t survive to appreciate..
I looked around at the grim faces surrounding me. All were ready. All faces were turned to me. Every hand held a weapon. They wore looks of anticipation mixed with determination. I stood up and with hand signals designated targets, shouldered one of my weapons, and aimed it at the farthest building. They followed suit, each with their own target.
We were highly visible now but there was still no sign from the reptiles that we had been noticed. What fools! Grinning now, I let my finger settle onto the activator, the weapon roared, and recoiled powerfully on my shoulder, sending instant agony through my battered body, but I didn’t notice. I was watching the yellow/white fireball as it leapt away from the end of my weapon, passed through the fence (leaving a perfect hole where it passed) ripped across the intervening compound, and smashed into the squat, rectangular building.
The blast was deafening. Whatever had been stored there, besides the lizards themselves, had been highly volatile. The concussion buffeted me strongly, but I was already sighting a new target, and when the whine of recharging ended, I fired again, the second ball of flame now racing out and smashing into one of the armored vehicles they had parked in neat rows on a concrete or poured rock tarmac, like sitting ducks at a carnival shooting game. The tank blew meters into the air as it exploded, raining fire and debris all around it. Methodically we blew away tanks, aircraft, and buildings until there was nothing left to shoot. The whole attack had lasted no more than twenty seconds and no lizard had even gotten off a return shot.
Snatching free a laser pistol, I ran at the fence, activating the laser and slashing it downward from the top through the height of it. The two new edges sprang apart as the tension was released and I ran on through, my crew on my heels, Meerla suddenly at my side.
Then something smashed me to the ground viciously and all I knew was new pain, shooting stars, nausea, red blood and blistering anger as once again, somehow, I was facing death and defeat.
The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Meerla, standing over me, firing her weapon. Then I was gone.
CHAPTER 20
When I began climbing back to reality again, it was harder than at any time previously, ever. I truly believe that my indomitable will was the only thing still holding me, even if only tenuously, to life. I know that I purposefully attempted to wake, unsuccessfully, several times before I actually succeeded. Even unconscious I was aware of my vulnerable situation, but the pain kept driving me away, no matter how I struggled. All I do know for sure was that I had to fight for consciousness, struggling up towards the pain, and finally, embracing it fully, I found myself once again among the living.
I cracked open blood red eyes to blinding yellow light. The blood was all my own and it had matted my eyes. The most I could open them at first was but a sliver, but it was enough to draw Meerla’s attention, who had been diligently waiting at my side, to notice that I was once again awake and presumably going to survive.
“So you are alive.” She said humorously.
“Unfortunately.” I croaked, but I wasn’t sure that the word came out clearly. My processor was corrupted.
“You’re the Emperor now, Brune.” She said. “Nobody expects you to be the first one to charge into the fray.”
“I hadn’t thought of it.” I said. I really hadn’t been concerned with what anybody did or did not expect of me. I had just wanted to get my ship. I could be single minded like that.
Slowly I worked my eyelids the rest of the way open. As usual, Meerla was no worse for wear, almost fresh. I was lying nearly under the lizard ship but still in the sun's warmth, for the moment, soaking up the life giving energy. It was the only pleasurable feeling I could identify, otherwise I was solid agony, the worst of it emanating from my skull.
I tried to raise a hand to feel my head, but Meerla caught my lethargic hand before I could explore.
“Don’t.” She said. “Just lie still.”
“What’s wrong with me?” I asked, still barely more than a mumble.
“You caught a projectile. With your head.” She answered. “Your skull is fractured. It didn’t penetrate, thanks to your hard head, but you’re in bad shape.”
“Am I gonna survive?”
“Unfortunately.” She said and smiled.
“Looks like you get all your jewelry back.” I said. She looked startled. “Don’t tell me you haven’t already checked it?” Now she glowered, the Meerla I knew best.
“For some reason
I can’t figure out how I thought it might be best to make sure you survived first. I don’t know what I could have been thinking.”
“How long have I been out?” I asked, ignoring her sarcasm.
“About a day, sleeping beauty.”
“That long!” I said, surprised. I must have had a good concussion. I tried moving my head to see what progress had been made on my ship but Meerla grabbed me by my chin and easily held me still. I was very weak.
“Don’t move stupid.” She said. “Your skull is fractured. How dense can you be!” Her tone brooked no argument.
“Are we gonna get out of here? Where’s Houdar?”
“Working on the lizard’s reactor. He says a few more hours, so just hang on that long.”
I wasn’t exactly sure I would. Exhausted, I faded back out, but I was at a modicum of peace of mind because I knew Houdar was at work and if anyone could repair Vengeance, it would be he. Later in the day I felt myself being moved but the pain that smashed at me pushed me back deep into black unconsciousness and I didn’t remember the end of it.
When I woke, yet again, I awoke easily and painlessly, refreshed. I was in my doc, everything running smoothly, thanks to Houdar, no doubt. I had no idea of how much time had passed. I was ravenous.
I got out of the bed, put on clothes that had been left for me, and walked to my bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. I no longer looked like the Brune I had met the first time I had looked at myself in a mirror after my change. I was not happy with this Alartaw pride of scars. My nose was completely transformed, now a flattened replica of the original. I was missing a chunk of ear and a swath of scalp and hair on the left side of my head. There was a scar on my forehead and another patch missing from the back of my skull. I looked positively grotesque!
“Good morning Daddy.” Meerla said behind me where she was standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Of course I had not heard her approach. I glared at her in the mirror.
Chronicles of a Space Mercenary Page 31