The Cull of Lions

by Mark Iles

  “Christ,” she gasped. “I’m out of ammo, that doesn’t happen often.” Dropping behind the walls she ejected the spent magazine and fitted another. The weapon cocked itself and the light turned a solid green. “Four hundred rounds,” she muttered. “Would you believe it?” As she was about to stand a dozen or so enemy soldiers with gravpacks shot overhead, firing downwards as they went. Around her several troops fell. She returned fire, watching with deep satisfaction as the small explosive rounds tore into their bodies or exploded in the packs on their backs. Those who were hit yet remained alive dropped the hundred or so feet, screaming all the way to their deaths. Several of them actually made it to nearby buildings, where they took cover behind whatever they could.

  “Damn,” Selena growled, gazing down her barrel. Fingering a button on her weapon a sniper scope snapped into position in front of her eye. Peering through it she saw one man poke his head out from behind a metal shed. She fired, watching as his head explode like a rip melon. Someone on the walls besides her had the bright idea to fire grenades at the survivors and chunks of the buildings rained down into the streets below, taking the enemy soldiers with them. Extra commandos’ joined her on the walls and added their firepower to the slaughter and gradually the enemy ranks began to waver.

  Even Selena was stunned when hundreds of lenars erupted from the forest and swept towards the attackers. Within moments many of the troops were down and the lenars were tearing them to shreds. They all could hear the soldiers’ agonised screams from atop the walls. The attack faltered and those of the enemy still using gravpacks turned back to help their fellows, but in many cases were unable to fire into the mishmash of bodies for fear of hitting their comrades. Selena smiled with grim satisfaction, the fools should have kept coming. Stopping just made them much easier targets. Within a short time not one enemy remained, either standing or airborne.

  “Cease fire,” Selena said into the sudden eerie silence, watching for a moment or two as wounded enemy soldiers tried to crawl to safety away from the heaving throng of lenars. “We’re done here. Everyone, get out there and police those bodies.”

  Braxis looked from her to the prowling lenars that still tore into their wounded enemy. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope but that’s everyone except for you, Braxis. Get your lardy arse back to the hospital. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Ma’am,” interrupted a female voice she’d come to recognise. “The lenars are leaving. They’re going back to the forest.”

  “You’re Lieutenant Roberts, from the command centre?”

  “Yes Ma’am. I got kind of bored back there and felt the need to kill some of these bastards.”

  “Well, Lieutenant, perhaps you can explain to me how the FOM managed to land troops here, given our weapon capacity? How our satellites turned against us and then to top it all the damn city defences went down?”

  “That’s easy,” she replied, watching Selena coolly, “sabotage. The enemy must have a spy here somewhere, somebody with authority who knows our systems.”

  *****

  General Magki joined Selena and Singh as they walked through the dead and dying on the ground in front of the city. Every now and then a shot rang out. Spotting Arthur she huffed a white cloud on the now chill night air and walked over to him, as he searched the enemy bodies as if looking for something.

  “Arthur, I’ve been searching for you...What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Just keeping my eyes open for intel, Captain. Anything to let us know why the defences went down.”

  “Huh, any idea how many dead there are?”

  He stood and looked around; hands on hips, then shook his head. “I’ve no idea yet, but an awful lot by the look of it.”

  Selena noticed how steady his hands were.

  Lieutenant Roberts saluted and spoke to Magki. “General, what’s left of the enemy ships are leaving the system.”

  “Thank you,” Magki replied. “With luck this will make them think twice before they try again.

  “We have a lot to thank the lenars for,” Selena said. “I think you’ll agree they’ve proved their loyalty, General.”

  “They certainly have,” Magki agreed. “As far as I’m concerned they can have their reserves and anything else they need.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I’d like to suggest setting up colonies for them on other worlds. Do you think they’ll go for it?”

  “I think they just want to be able to roam this land in peace, they’re probably not interested in anywhere else. But in the meantime…hey, Arthur, have you any idea why the satellites attacked our ships?”

  “I’m a genius, not a clairvoyant,” he grunted, “but if I was to hazard a guess I’d say they hacked the backups we were running. If I’m right it means they would have identified our ships as hostile and caused the satellites to opened fire on them.”

  Selena washed her face with dry hands, and rubbed at her tired eyes. “Okay, makes sense but do you have any idea who could have done that?”

  “You’re joking, right? It could have been anyone, most probably done remotely from one of the enemy ships,” he replied.

  “Not possible,” Roberts interrupted. “The firewalls would have prevented that and would have alerted us to any such attempt. It had to be someone who was there and who could overcome the safeguards.”

  Selena pulled her side arm and pointed it at Arthur. “Well, if I was to hazard a guess I’d say that was you. What I can’t figure out is why.”

  Suddenly Shadow took to her side. He rumbled and stretched his neck towards the Arthur, who turned a deathly white and stepped back as the lenar bared its teeth. Roberts relieved him of his weapons.

  He looked shocked. “What…don’t be ridiculous, why would I do a thing like that?”

  “Now there’s a good question, all along my instincts have been screaming at me not to trust you. I’ve thought about when we were talking to the Manta, after the battle with the lenars. Like I’ve said before, we were doing okay until they saw you. It was when the Sken came to rescue them and the first time we saw their weird protoplasmic ships. The Manta were carrying chrysalides towards one of them, remember? Their whole demeanour changed when you appeared. I understand why now, and should have paid more attention to Shadow here and why you didn’t like having him around. All rather stupid of me, really. You’re one of the ForeRunners, aren’t you?”

  Her team looked from one to the other, then drew their weapons and pointed them at Arthur.

  “You’re talking rubbish,” he replied with a half laugh, stepping back even further while eying the circling and watchful Shadow. “You damn well know who I am. I was with you during the attack on Mantis.” He spoke calmly, licking suddenly dry lips, his concern about the lenar obvious.

  “It would explain everything,” Selena continued. “Do you want to know what I think? That our Arthur really did die in the battle of Mantis. I believe whoever, or whatever, you once were climbed into that robotic shell and waited for Henry to arrive. When he did you downloaded the data he carried and then destroyed him. You cloned Arthur and waited in that plasteel casing until your body had completely reformed, only then discarding your outer shell. Our trust allowed you to sabotage the satellites and our other defences.”

  “You’re wrong,” Arthur snapped.

  “Oh, I don’t think so. But you didn’t take Shadow into account, did you?” Selena continued. “He’s empathic, remember? I just couldn’t figure out why he really disliked you. I guess he knew exactly what you are and, as I got more used to working with him, I’ve finally realised what he was trying to say.”

  “My DNA will check out, test it.”

  “We already have and you’re right, it does, but that doesn’t mean a thing now does it? We knew a long time ago the Manta hit your race with a weapon that prevented you from reproducing. It meant you had to work on extending your lives whilst trying to find a cure, hence the reinforced bone structure to help prevent injuries. M
anipulating DNA must be nothing to you. It’s game over as far as I’m concerned. So, what do we call you?”

  He was silent for a while, his eyes lingering on the lenar. Finally he said, “Arthur will do, why not? Yes, we knew your lieutenant was dead and also that he was a genius. It was a good gamble you’d accept our story, and you did.”

  “For a while,” General Magki replied. “You’re under arrest for endangerment, spying and being a member of a hostile government. Lieutenant Roberts, take ten men and escort our guest to the cells. Ensure he remains in full view and under armed guard at all times. As for you, Arthur, we’ll speak later.”

  “Unbelievable,” Singh muttered, as Arthur was marched off. “A real live ForeRunner and our Arthur really is gone. He never did feel quite right, but I just put it down to him being killed, something like that would screw anyone up.”

  Together they walked through the dead and dying, watching as shots rang out and the bodies were piled into skimmers and taken away to a site a few miles away to be burned to fine ash with beam weapons. To Selena’s sorrow she saw many lenars laid there too and ordered the troops to collect them and lay them side-by-side in the foliage of the forests they loved, and where their bodies truly belonged. In the distance, oily acrid smoke began to rise from the funeral pyres.

  Singh stopped for a moment. “We complain about the Federation showing no mercy and yet look at us. Perhaps if we showed them some they’d reciprocate. The stench of blood, death and burning bodies, it follows us around.”

  “They’d still kill us,” Selena replied. “These are shock troops and the enemies finest. They don’t take prisoners, end of story. If we let them live and eventually released them we’ll only find ourselves fighting the same people a short time later, and they’ll be killing what few friends we have left. Do you want that on your conscience?”

  “Not at all,” Singh replied. “It’s just, well, wrong.”

  “Yes, I know. But think about the people we lost at Bernard’s Star, when they took us by surprise by planting those bombs on our ships and then mopping up what was left. They didn’t warn us or ask us to surrender. We have no choice. It’s either kill or be killed now.”

  Selena saw Shadow staring right back at her, and felt his horror and despair at the loss of his kin. There were few of them left now, so many killed in recent weeks. Yet she was aware they knew they had to stand their ground and fight for what was theirs, or risk losing it altogether.

  As one they turned back to Capulet City, watching the flags and banners flapping noisily atop the fortress walls. Even from where they stood sentries could be seen patrolling them. A strange despair filled Selena. This had once been her home. It was where she’d been raised. Her father had been murdered here and she’d seen her mother commit suicide, leaving her all alone in the world except for her Aunt May. She knew who was responsible and they would pay. Just not quite yet, she could wait.

  Until then another home beckoned, one called Loreen. Even that thought brought sorrow, for Bryn had asked her to settle there with him, on the side of a beautiful crystal-clear lake in a home which Franks had agreed to build for them. But that was before Bryn died, and the dream was long gone now.

  What worried her most was that if Arthur was really a ForeRunner what did it mean for Hope, who had the same skeletal anomalies? Was she a ForeRunner too? If so, who was going to tell give her parents their daughter was probably dead and there was an enemy doppelganger in her place?

  Chapter Ten

  Arthur looked up from one of the three lime-green comfortable looking armchairs in his cell. “Hello General, come to gloat? Ah, Selena you’re as gorgeous as ever,” He said, legs crossed and peering over the top of his steepled fingers, and elbows on the arm rests. “What news? Please...” He gestured to the other chairs.

  As they sat General Magki replied, “As you ask, an accord had been reached on Emerson between all parties concerned, including the aliens. We’ve forged an interstellar organisation called the AOW, or Assembly of Worlds. Mutual defence had been agreed in principle but we’ve still some way to go yet. It looks to me like you could be on the losing side.”

  “I doubt it,” Arthur replied coolly.

  “Oh, you think so? We’ve told them everything we know about Eden and the rabbit holes. We did this to ensure they understand Eden’s importance, and so help us protect Loreen. Let’s face it they’ll be helping us to explore those worlds when all this is over. Having them aboard is a great idea, especially since those planets once belonged to you. ”

  “They still do.”

  “As we see it,” Selena joined in, “Loreen is going to become a major hub for our colonisation projects and, unlike you, we intend to share everything. We’ve been completely honest and open with everyone, and that includes the Manta and Sken.”

  Arthur was silent for a moment, still watching them over his fingertips. “And what did they say?”

  “Why, they agreed of course, why wouldn’t they? The AOW have unanimously approved funding for whatever Loreen needs, in addition to pledging ships and troops. Oh, and the Sken informed the Assembly that in ancient times your race, the ForeRunners, rampaged through the galaxy murdering many of the races that had been around at the time, including the inhabitants of what we now called Arcadia. We’re told the Sken also had access to that world but were too far away, exploring places we can’t yet imagine. The one or two ships they had in the area arrived far too late to help the inhabitants. It was they who dug up those burial mounds our people found, and which the caretakers had been so busily trying to hide when they learned visitors were on the way.

  “So you see your secret out and I’m sure the Federation will find out soon too, so much for your little secrets. The Sken are back here in force and they tell us that out of all the ancient races only the Manta stood up to you, but when they did the cost to both sides was horrendous. Billions of lives were lost and many worlds destroyed. It was then the Manta released a plague that scythed through your race, until only a few were left. Arthur, we know you eventually found a cure for that illness, but the disease and the treatment itself sterilised what few survivors there were.”

  “Yes,” Arthur snapped. “That’s exactly the point isn’t it, we survived. But it’s an existence of the worse sort. We can’t have children nor can we clone ourselves, despite all of our knowledge. For some reason when we try it reactivates the plague and both the foetuses and hosts die. You’re also right there aren’t many of us left, so when just one of us is killed it’s a major blow to the whole race. Rest assured though, there are enough of us still around to do what we need, and we have what you call the caretakers.”

  “Let’s face it, you got your asses kicked,” the general interrupted. “So much so you fled rather than be eradicated, and when you’d gone the Manta had to go into hibernation.” Magki paused dramatically. “When they finally awoke it was to find mankind trespassing on what was once their worlds and, mistaking us for you, they struck without warning. Is that about right?”

  “Almost, but you don’t understand,” Arthur snarled, his face contorting. “The Manta are a virus! They were spreading so quickly and taking new worlds we desperately needed. You have a very blinkered view, General. You need to appreciate we were defending ourselves and you need to do the same. For what it’s worth, I don’t understand why the Manta hasn’t used the virus against you, it would certainly work. Perhaps they had a guilt trip after what they did to us or, more likely, the Sken stopped them. Remember, it only needs a few Manta to survive and they’ll breed millions in no time at all. You humans almost destroyed them once and if you don’t exterminate them now they’ll spread throughout the galaxy. Trust me in this, in time they will come after you and when they do there’ll be no way you can stop them.”

  “What about the Arcadians and the other races you wiped out? Protecting yourself against those as well, where you?” Selena asked, sweetly.

  Arthur ignored her.

  “Tell us a
bout the Federation of Man,” the general said, to fill the sudden silence. “I’d really like to know why you’re helping them.”

  “It’s quite simple really,” Arthur replied, putting one leg over another and bouncing the foot up and down. He no longer wore the black uniform of the penal corps but bright-yellow prison coveralls and, bizarrely, matching slip-on shoes. “We want Loreen back. The technology we left there was experimental. What you call rabbit holes lead to every world in our empire.

  “During the plague we lost so many people we had to abandon Loreen. The Manta were surging through our territory and we had to pull back quickly. You can’t even begin to imagine what it was like to watch billions of your people dying all around you and wondering if you’d be next. Whole cities and planets were laid waste. There were ships floating in space filled with our dead and dying, and we had to destroy those vessels rather than let them fall into enemy hands. Luckily we managed to disguise the entrance to the rabbit holes when we left, and when we found your people had discovered it we had no option but to take action. We allied ourselves with the Federation of Man on the understanding that Loreen is returned to us.”

  “The FOM don’t know the truth about Loreen, do they?” Selena asked.

  Arthur drummed his fingers together, watching them both carefully. “Okay, so we may not have been completely honest with them, but that’s politics for you. We offered to help them and that’s all they were interested in. Let’s face it, all the Federation wants is humanity restored, under their control of course.”