A Pride of Lions

by Mark Iles

  Selena and Linda both selected machine pistols, which fired depleted uranium rounds that were capable of knocking down a brick wall. Underneath the main barrel were powerful shotguns that could also fire grenades. Kes took a microwave laser while Fish took a slicer, the beam of which could be adjusted to spread away from the nozzle in a flat V. The further away the target, the less powerful the beam, but at a hundred feet it could cut through two inches of solid steel. Underneath both these beam weapons were light machine pistols. Each member also took a knife, whose self-sharpening twelve-inch blades were invaluable.

  Selena took a deep breath. “Everybody ready?” she asked.

  “Yup!” they chorused.

  “Then let’s go.”

  To their disbelief, the downpour increased until they couldn’t see anything and were forced to follow the maps and route indicators that blinked away inside their lowered visors.

  Evil-looking mud sucked at their feet, as if reluctant to let them go. Hideous creatures that looked somewhat like octopi skittered around them, chattering, gibbering and snapping at them until Kes lost his cool and blew a few of them to pieces with his machine gun. The creatures didn’t bother them at all after that.

  The driving rain eased suddenly but was then accompanied by a howling wind that whipped the skinny trees and thorny bushes back and forth until they touched the ground, making them lethal weapons as they sprang back. The puddles and slush blew up in a dirty spray that coated their visors, until the rain washed it clean again seconds later. They were forced to lean into the wind, constantly wiping at their visors as the storm increased, just to keep going. At one stage Selena paused to listen for a moment before hurrying on, hoping that it was just the wind that she could hear howling in the distance.

  They stopped eventually, hunkering down in the rain to open some of the self—heating food packets; not really caring what it was but just glad to be able to wolf down something hot. They gulped great mouthfuls of scalding rain-diluted tea, shielding the cups with their hands and bodies, before rising to continue on their way. The wind and rain changed from heavy to light, bringing with it a strange atmosphere of peace and quiet. Then the temperature began to drop rapidly and all the freestanding water froze, leaving only the flowing streams and rivers free of ice.

  “Something seems to like it here,” Selena said, pointing out frozen paw prints.

  “Looks pretty damn big, whatever it is,” Kes muttered, kneeling down to investigate. “Close, too. These prints are fresh.”

  Linda chuckled. “Well, if we find it, the skin’s mine!”

  “Now what the hell would you do with that?” Kes asked. “I thought that sort of thing was illegal.”

  “It was, but the law’s changed again. Too much profit to be made, I guess. Plus I could always use it as a blanket or wall covering.”

  Kes blinked as they moved on. He shook his head. “I worry about you sometimes Linda, I really do.”

  Selena and the others could easily see why the planet had been chosen for the exercise: the speed at which the frost had taken hold was astonishing, the change in climate due partly to the weather seeding, but mostly to the planet’s naturally harsh weather conditions.

  They nearly lost Fish as they crossed a frozen lake. They were moving forward in single line when the ice beneath him collapsed, dropping him into the freezing water, and only the fact that they were tethered together saved him. Once pulled free, he shrugged off his wet clothes and changed quickly; then they went on again.

  It began to snow and early morning found them crossing picturesque, white painted moors. Here they paused and, splitting into their buddy pairs, began putting up low-slung ponchos over them as make-shift tents, before they began preparing fires. One of each pair washed and carried out their necessary body functions, while the other dug a hole to shield the fire from the wind and prepared their food packs.

  “Would you look at that?” Selena said after they’d eaten. “Isn’t the moon beautiful, the way it hangs there just above the horizon and makes the snow glisten?”

  “Wonderful,” Fish commented sarcastically, burying his now empty food packets in the cooking hole before lying down pointedly and closing his eyes. “You’ll be playing music next.”

  “I think it’s lovely,” Linda said. “It reminds me of the stories my father used to read me, when I was little. We had a favourite, about a magical land called Narnia, but I can never remember its name.”

  “I met your father a couple of times, when we were at school. He’s a nice man,” Selena commented, taking first guard.

  “He is, or rather was. We’re all legally dead now, remember; the only family we have left is the regiment. But I’ll get back home one day. I’d like to see my parents again.”

  “We all need to have something to keep us going, huh?” Selena replied, in a neutral tone. “Talking of which, get some sleep while you can.”

  A few hours later they were moving again.

  * * * *

  They walked throughout the day, flurries of snow whipping about them as the wind rose once more. When night fell they paused briefly to open packets of self-heating soup, dipping dried fruit and rock-hard biscuits into it. Kes had forgotten to grab any soup, so Selena gave him some of hers rather than take them from the extra rations. She knew full well that one day he might be in a position to repay her.

  Exhaustion began to set in as the night wore on. From time to time someone would stumble, cursing vehemently. The first time everyone thought this was a great hoot, but as they grew more tired it rapidly ceased to be funny. Selena actually fell asleep on her feet, tripped, and fell headfirst into a deep puddle, smashing the ice as she went in. She was helped spluttering to her feet by Kes and Linda, both laughing hysterically. The icy shock and constant sniggers from the others served to keep her awake from then on.

  It was still night when they entered a small wood at the edge of some hills. They were walking in a jagged line through the trees when a waist-high, four-legged creature burst snarling from the dense undergrowth and ploughed into their midst. It moved with blinding speed and, for a moment, utter chaos reigned. Nobody could see a damned thing in the dark, although Selena could hear one of the others screaming. Suddenly, someone struck a flare, bathing the entire area in an eerie green glow.

  A long, bulky catlike creature gripped Fish’s head in its dripping jaws; shaking him viciously as he screamed in a high-pitched voice; his hands grasping fruitlessly at the monstrous head as he tried to tear himself free. Muscles bunched and rippled beneath the ridge of short stiff tan-coloured hair that ran down the creature’s back as it worried at his face, biting and tearing at him. Unable to fire, lest they hit their colleague, Selena and the others just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then Linda drew her knife and dived straight at the creature. It dropped the man and turned on her instantly, jaws clamping down onto her thigh even as her blade struck home; followed immediately by those belonging to Selena and Kes.

  The beast collapsed, but the damage had been already done. Fish was clearly dead, whilst Linda’s leg was nearly bitten in half and the bones totally crushed, with shards and splinters sticking through her leggings. Selena cradled her friend’s head in her arms while Kes administered painkillers and antibiotics, and then tied a tourniquet to try and stem the gushing blood. While Selena comforted her friend, Kes pulled the emergency radio from his pack, and called the control ship.

  “It’s okay, Linda,” Selena whispered. “Don’t worry, love, I’ll take care of you.”

  Kes’s frantic calls on the emergency frequency were answered immediately.

  “Describe the creature,” a monotonous male voice said in reply to their urgent explanation of the incident. When Kes had done so, there was a brief pause. “It’s a hellcat. Sorry, but the creature’s bite is highly toxic to humans and even a minor bite can kill. We haven’t the antidote on board. The mother ship might have it, or the means to make one, but as it is, she won’t be back in ti
me for your casualty. I suggest you leave her.”

  “No!” Selena shrieked.

  “Your instructions are as follows. Leave the injured and dead where they are, and proceed on to the rendezvous point. We can pick the bodies up later from their location markers. You only have another twelve hours left in which to complete the mission. Remember, if you’re late, you get left behind. Out.”

  “We can carry her!” Selena wailed.

  Kes shook his head. “Like they say, Selena, the bite’s poisonous and we can’t help her. We’ve got to go on. I don’t fancy being left behind at the end of this test.”

  “She’s only a kid and I’m not leaving her!” God, had they all grown so callous, so blind? Didn’t the people on the control ship remember how young, how fragile she was?

  Linda cleared her throat. “Selena?”

  “Yes Linda?”

  “I’m the same age as you, remember; and I have the Right, we all do. Don’t deny me that.”

  Yeah, she had the Right okay, the Right to death at any time, place or way that was available. Just like Yung had. Let’s face it, thought Selena, it was the only damn right they did have.

  “God damn it,” Selena shouted, shaking Linda viciously, until Kes stopped her by grabbing her arm. “All my friends end up dead; what the fuck’s wrong with me? Have I got the plague or something?”

  “Bullshit,” Linda coughed. “This isn’t about you and your feelings, Selena. It’s about me. We both know that mankind’s spread too far, too soon and that things like this are bound to happen. It’s a vicious circle; we need room because there’s too many of us. So we find a new world, colonise it, and then before you can blink there’s millions more humans all looking for somewhere else to live.

  “Your friends die because, like you, they live dangerous lives; can’t you see that? The death penalty helps to keep the population down and the organ banks full. As for me, I’m just unlucky, I guess, pure luck of the draw. But look around, it’s not that bad. Although I find it kind of ironic that I get bitten by a poisonous lion in a land that looks like Narnia.”

  “She’s delirious,” Kes said. “So how do we do it, Selena? We can’t fire the weapons in case the instructors pick up on it, if they haven’t already seen our radio beam or flares. We’ve got to get in without them seeing us, remember?”

  “He’s right, as usual,” Linda agreed, turning to watch Kes stride over to the dead beast. “If it was one of the others, you wouldn’t hesitate. Come on, Selena; don’t go soft on me now, not when I need you.” Then she handed her own knife to Selena. “Get a move on, it’s starting to hurt, even through the pain killers.”

  “Hang on,” said Kes. Squatting down, he draped the animal’s still bleeding skin about Linda’s shoulders.

  “Hey,” she gasped, “looks like I got my animal skin after all.”

  “Yeah, guess you did,” Selena said, bending over to kiss her friend on her blue-tinged lips. As she did so, Selena plunged Linda’s knife deep into the girl’s throat, cradling the jerking choking body as Linda clung and clutched at her.

  Tears ran unhindered down Selena’s face, as she rose and stared down at the twitching body of her friend. Eventually, they moved off, leaving the two bodies side by side behind them. Despite the time, they weren’t that far from their target and, her face set like stone, Selena stomped off through the woodlands at a punishing pace, Kes following silently behind her.

  They marched through the woods, over hills, mud and mire. Then they ran. Always Selena led, her eyes chunks of blue ice and her chiselled features promising mayhem and murder to any who stood in her way. As time grew short, they threw down their backpacks, pocketed a few necessities, and began to jog relentlessly over the alien landscape. On and on they went, sprinting from time to time and then catching their second or third wind; hearts hammering, breath rasping in their throats. On and on, slowing down and then speeding up, until finally they stood in the shadows outside the rendezvous point, staring into the camp.

  A short time later, one of the other groups arrived. The leader looked at Selena and said, “We heard what happened over the radio. What complete bastards. I always liked Linda, we all did.” He paused. “You were here first, Selena. Have you got a plan for getting in?”

  “Fucking right I have,” she replied.

  * * * *

  Even through their protective clothing, they could feel the icy cold of the stream; its numbing wetness as they floated slowly into the camp. If they got it right, and quickly enough, they’d be able to change into warm dry clothes soon. As Selena had suspected, there was only one guard on the waterfront. Creeping from the water, Kes took him out with silent and savage delight. Stealthily, the others sneaked towards the instructors’ tent, neutralising the remaining guards, sensors and auto-alarms as they went.

  They could see the instructors through the tent flaps, enjoying the comfort of hot food and a warm environment. Selena looked at Kes and the others, who nodded.

  Ripping the tent flaps aside, the recruits burst into the marquee.

  The buzz of conversation died instantly, as the astonished instructors gaped at the levelled and cocked weapons pointing straight at them.

  “What the hell?” began one sergeant. “Hey, well done, Dillon—”

  Selena kicked him straight in the face, stopping him in mid-sentence and knocking him off his chair. “Shut the fuck up! You’re all dead, every one of you, and we all know that dead men don’t need clothes. So get rid of them, now!” Seeing the glint in her cold blue eyes, no one argued.

  When they’d stripped, Selena said, “Tie their hands behind their backs. Good, that’s it. Now outside, you lot. That’s far enough, now sit down.”

  Only when the course instructors were sitting naked in the snow did Selena and the others change into the instructors’ discarded clothes, post sentries and begin to eat the hot veritable feast.

  They had almost finished their meal when they were suddenly interrupted by a major, whom one of the sentries had captured.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” he thundered, glaring straight at Kes.

  Kes shrugged and pointed to Selena. “Ask her.”

  “Ask her, Sir! Well, are you supposed to be in charge here, woman?”

  Selena’s eyes glinted dangerously as she saluted. “I am in charge here, Sir, yes.”

  “Name?”

  “Recruit Private Dillon, Sir.”

  The major stared at her for a moment longer, and then to everyone’s surprise he began to laugh. “I’m Major Van Pluy.” They shook hands as he continued to grin. “Well done, Dillon. Now, is there any of that food left?” He cast a contemptuous eye at the tent flap beyond which sat the shivering instructors and added; “Serves the buggers right. You know, I do believe that I’m really going to enjoy this meal.”

  * * * *

  Selena stood rigidly at attention on the parade ground, almost lost in the long black lines of troops at the passing-out ceremony. She was surprised to see Major Van Pluy among the officers present; even more so when it was he who returned their Drill Sergeant’s salute and began to inspect them. He stopped in front of Selena and chuckled.

  “Hello, Dillon. Do you know you gave me indigestion? Never mind, it was still well done!” He pressed a white button onto each of her epaulettes, the mark of an officer cadet.

  Selena was thrilled beyond belief, but as the major wandered further down the lines, her mind returned to the rumours she’d just heard, that one by one the outer colonies were falling silent. If true, something dreadful and unknown was coming their way.

  War with a rumoured alien force might be no more than a few years away and she wondered whether she’d live to regret her decision to join the army after all.

  Chapter Six

  Selena sped through officer training, discovering in herself a flair for leadership that was soon picked up on the by school’s senior officers. While the procedures and protocols were new to her, the basics were so simple that sh
e felt a child could have passed, although her peers looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and dismay. Frustrated at the lack of a challenge, Selena was quickly promoted to Lieutenant and put into an advanced class.

  Passing out as Best Student at the end of the twelve-week course, Selena immediately applied for a Small Ship’s Command Course: on completion of which she found herself at the rank of Acting Lieutenant Commander and drafted as the Commanding Officer of the Vampyre, a patrol craft running out of Andros Prime, a small but busy world in the Andros system. Two weeks after completing the course, she arrived on her new home, ready to assume her post.

  Sitting in the hover-bus to the space port she read through her notes once again and glanced out of the window at the multitude of ships adorning the black asphalt. When the bus stopped, and lowered itself to the ground, she spent a moment or two admiring her new command. Long white banners ran up either side of the gangway, from the asphalt to the hatch in the side of the ship, in which two armed guards stood watch. Gold letters on the banners proclaimed Vampyre. At only sixty metres long and ten metres wide, she wasn’t a big craft. Grey, sleek and shark-like, she sat there bristling with guns and one could almost feel her straining to be freed, desperate to cruise the space-ways in search of prey. Eventually, Selena rose from her seat, hoisted one bag over her shoulder and carried the second as she exited the bus, much to the relief of the driver who was about to mention the constraints of his time-table to her.

  As she strode up the gangway, the two guards came crisply to attention, staring rigidly ahead with weapons held tightly at their sides. A high-pitched electronic three-tone whistle announced her arrival

  “At ease,” Selena said, eyeing a tall, slim female officer who’d appeared from inside the ship. “You must be my First Lieutenant. Potts, isn’t it?”