by C. W Tickner
The men couldn’t move out from under them as Damen would have a clear shot down to the next set of stairs.
‘What now?’ Harl asked seeing the predicament that unless they rushed down the stairs together, almost guaranteeing injury, then they would be here for a long time. ‘Is there another way around?’
Kane shook his head.
The two men must have made a decision and they stepped out, firing directly up at Damen forcing him away from the edge. Green broke against the ceiling but as soon as it stopped, a wave of black material cut off Harl’s view. Dana leapt the over railings and plummeted down, her cloak flapping behind her. Harl rushed to give her cover and watched as she landed just behind the men. They turned too late as she smashed the butt of her rifle into the injured man’s temple and as it reached head height she squeezed the trigger, incinerating the second man’s face in a flash of neon blue.
She looked up, grinning as Troy came down the stairs.
‘I don’t know how you do it,’ he said, ‘but I’m glad you do.’
‘This way’ Kane said, squeezing past the two lovers, unwilling to slow before they found Tess.
They reached a long corridor lined with small workstations and doors leading to offices. At the end of the corridor an open door led to the main reactor room.
Trying to ascertain if there was movement through the far off door, Harl was staring past Kane and Dana when a man walked out of a side office. He was holding a large stack of metal boxes to a shining chrome chest-plate.
He turned towards the reactor, his back to them. The same electronic device as the others was clipped to the man’s shaven head. He stopped and slowly looked around. His eyes went wide and the boxes tumbled to the floor. In a second the man had spun and was raising a pistol.
Dana was faster. She leapt past Kane, drew a knife and silenced the man before he could warn the others. As the man gurgled, clutching at his throat she shoved him back into the room.
A moment later she stepped out wiping red hands on her cloak and looked down the corridor where they all pointed their weapons in anticipation.
‘They didn’t notice,’ Damen said.
Creeping closer, they could hear banging and inevitably Kane’s pace increased.
‘Psst, Kane,’ Damen hissed.
Kane checked himself letting the others catch up.
Harl’s heart began to pound in anticipation of a fight. No matter how many battles he’d been in, each time was filled with a fresh fear, seemingly as intense as the last time. He knew it was an illusion and he’d learnt from previous fights that it would disappear at the first sign of action.
Two shaven headed men moved around inside the vast reactor room. They were ripping panels off the exterior of the reactor and firing a rifle into the electronics behind.
Each time one fired Kane would shift forward and it was only Damen’s hand on his shoulder that stopped him from rushing into the room. Neither man was paying attention to the outside of the room and missed the five of them bundled together in the doorway forty metres away.
Harl scanned the room, wondering if there were more enemies hiding in the small offices off the main area.
Taking up the centre of room was the ring shaped reactor and directly in front of them was a small open door that led inside the silvery machine. Around the edge of the square room were desks piled with reels of wire and electronic components. Half a dozen doors led off to offices and smaller workshops. Bulky computer terminals were spaced midway between the walls and the reactor.
Damen eyed the closest series of terminals to the right of the reactor’s open doorway and directly behind the saboteurs. ‘Dana, Troy take cover behind those, don’t fire until we’re spotted.’
They nodded and slipped right, sticking close to the wall until they reached the terminal then ducked behind.
Damen turned to Harl and Kane. ‘We’ll get behind that and surprise them.’ He was pointing to a huge pipeline on the left that stretched through the room and was the only cover between the wall and the reactor.
Harl went first. He crept inside the room and headed left, trying to keep his tread light.
‘Eyos, Haff!’ a voice called from inside the reactor. ‘More in here.’
Harl froze.
The two men stopped tearing off metal plates and one grumbled a reply. They turned and headed for the reactor door.
Harl hunkered down. All they would have to do is glance to their left and they would see him frozen like a statue against the back drop of desks. He realised he was holding his breath and slowly let it out as the men began to argue quietly, unaware of Harl, Kane and Damen.
If they could corner them inside the reactor it would be easier to finish them off. But Harl had no idea where to find Tess in the labyrinth of pipes inside the reactor chamber.
Before the two men reached the door, a huge man stepped out and began to berate them.
‘You scum, hurry up or we’ll be-’ He stopped and looked straight up at Damen and Harl, his eyes widened and lightning fast, he dashed back around the door.
‘Kill them,’ he called.
Before either man could react, Troy and Dana were firing across the room and Harl scarpered for the pipeline that ran in a line from one wall to the reactor.
Both men slammed back into the wall as the blue blasts struck them, burning through their armour. Another pair of saboteurs leant out from a side room and unleashed a torrent of shots and forcing Dana and Troy to run behind the reactor.
Red light streaked towards Harl as another man fired from the doorway to the reactor.
The shot swept over Harl’s head he threw himself behind the pipeline. He fired blindly over the pipe and heard someone curse. Harl glanced over the top and saw to his horror, a man racing towards him. His shot had hit the man’s arm but even injured, he rushed forward.
His eyes were filled with a savage hatred as he leapt over the pipe and landed hard on top of Harl. He knocked the pistol out of Harl’s grip and then tried to raise his own. Harl tried to roll him off, but the man was too strong. It was like trying to bend steel.
Stars spotted Harl’s vision as the attacker pounded his fist repeatedly against Harl’s face. Harl’s nose broke and he spat blood into the air. Before a second blow could connect, Damen roared and threw himself at the man. They tumbled over and Harl scrambled to his feet, and dived for the pistol as the two men rolled again. The attacker drew back his fist and began to pummel Damen while the hunter struggled to get on top.
Harl couldn’t get a clear shot as they wrestled. They rolled back into the pipe and Harl rushed forward, pressed the pistol against the electronic component in the man’s head and fired. The enemy soldier went limp and Damen tossed him off.
The large man who had ducked behind the door stepped out and Kane yelled out as they all froze. He had a hand wrapped around Tess’ neck and was holding her up so her feet barely touched the floor. Just above his arm he had a thin knife pressed to her throat. A trickle of red lined the blade.
‘Let her go,’ Kane said, raising his pistol.
‘Lets us pass,’ the man said and started to drag Tess on her tip-toes forwards to the door.
‘Tin injectors-’ Tess shouted just before the man tightened his grip. She let out a choking whimper as he pressed the knife harder against the cut in her pale flesh.
Kane sighted down the pistol.
‘Move aside and I’ll let her go,’ the man said.
‘When?’ Harl asked, tracking the man with his pistol as they shimmied away from the reactor’s door.
‘When we get safe off this island.’
‘No,’ Kane said.
Time slowed for Harl as Kane fired, and a bolt of neon blue traced towards the man. It missed him and hit a pipe that coiled around the outer wall of the reactor.
Tess twisted, turning her attacker’s back to the pipe. It burst open and a shower of molten metal rained onto the man. He screamed as the metal melted through his armour and he re
leased his grip. Tess ducked and rolled away before the liquid could reach her.
Kane kept firing at the man, even as he crumpled onto the floor, writhing in agony until his screams died. Kane stopped only when Tess ran into his arms.
Harl was unable to tear his eyes away from the silver liquid cascading from the pipe.
‘What was that?’ Troy asked, staring at the gleaming puddle as the flow ceased.
No one answered until Tess stepped away from Kane.
‘Liquid tin,’ she said. ‘We used it to contain the heat flux.’
‘Of course,’ Troy said.
Harl knelt beside one of the bodies and turned the bald head to one side to inspect the rectangular sliver of metal.
Kane jostled him aside and plucked a thin metal tool from under this long coat. He used it to pry open the shiny plate. Beneath was a copper lined circuit board connecting thin tubes of multicoloured liquids.
A group of Damen’s soldiers entered the room and spread out to check the rooms as Damen barked orders to make sure the ship was clear.
‘Fascinating,’ Kane said, wedging the tool between the metal and the skin. With a sucking sound, he prised the board off. A series of needles connected to the back slid out from the skull. The needles were coated in slick blood and varied in length. Harl guessed that for some reason they had connected the circuit to the man’s brain.
Kane thrust the box in a pocket and stood, staring around in horror at the destruction.
Where there had been a solid wall of metal plates covering the exterior of the reactor there was now just twisted pipes and charred circuitry underneath.
‘Ruined,’ Kane said and agony wracked his voice.
‘Can it be fixed?’ Troy asked.
‘It can,’ Kane said, standing straighter, ‘and it will. Send out instructions for every metal worker and anyone with knowledge in electronics to come here now.’ He pulled out his notebook and pencil and began to scrawl furiously.
Chapter 11
The ship is ginormous. I did my research and it is two thousand meters long, seven hundred wide with one hundred and thirty decks. My rough math puts space at one hundred and eighty square kilometres. Time to find a place to live while I decide what to do.
Tess burst in through the door to Harl’s house as the sun rose, flooding the room with yellow light. Elo spun on the newcomer but Tess’ red face told Harl she’d run to get there and there was clearly no time to greet the child.
‘What is it?’ Harl asked, looking up from a bowl of hot porridge. He hoped it wasn’t another attack, he was still covered with bruises from the previous night’s encounter.
‘Kane,’ Tess stammered. ‘He’s going to the heads to ask them to attack Harvest Ten.’
‘When?’ Harl said, standing.
‘He’s leaving now,’ she said.
Harl raced to a cupboard under the stairs and dragged out his old flyer. He jumped up on it and hoped it had enough battery charge to get him to Orbital. He zoomed out of the house and swept over the nearby neighbourhood towards the market. In a stroke of luck he caught Kane walking out to the shuttle on the top open deck of Orbital.
Harl leapt off the flyer. ‘Kane, wait!’
Kane turned at the noise.
‘I’m coming with you,’ Harl said.
Kane glanced around the blue sky as if expecting the usual entourage in tow. ‘Just you?’
Harl nodded.
‘Hop on then,’ Kane said giving him a suspicious look. ‘You can act as co-pilot if your not about to smash it to pieces again.’
Kane took them up high over the trees, seemingly to test the shuttles abilities after the patchy repair work.
‘I’m sorry,’ Harl said.
‘About the shuttle or the reactor?’ Kane asked, banking to avoid a cluster of large birds, flying in a V formation ahead.
‘Both. But mostly the reactor. I know how much it meant to you.’
‘I’m just glad we got Tess out alive.’
It was Harl’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Kane caught the look. ‘Fine,’ he said giving in. ‘The reactor was important as well but together we can rebuild it.’
‘Perhaps you both should take a break from all the hard work,’ Harl said wondering if it would improve things between the two.
Kane sighed. ‘Our work is what brings us together. Yes, we’ve had our ups and downs recently but there’s no mathematical formula to use in dealing with women. Then again...’ he drifted off for a second. ‘Maybe I could bring together the variables of-’
‘Perhaps,’ Harl said, ‘just stick with rebuilding the reactor for now?’
Kane nodded. ‘You’re right, Harl. No doubt when I found a formula she’d set about to disprove the theory.’
Harl shook his head and watched the cathedral come into sight.
The leaf patterned dome capped the building like some strange religious hat. The metal path that encircled the circular building reflected the sunlight and forced him to squint to see the Aylen that strolled around the structure.
They crossed the fence had been erected on the outside of the walkway since his first visit. It was only knee high to an Aylen but it separated the wilderness that surrounded the cathedral from the small human communities and kept predators at bay.
Kane brought the shuttle down on the human landing pad near the market where the fight had broken out, and entered the main entrance. They stepped onto the hover platform and with Kane sat comfortably in the centre seat, they were soon in front of the Three Heads.
‘Welcome,’ Vax said. ‘We have had word of your loss and we’re deeply saddened that we were unable to protect your city from these intruders. We wish to know if you are able to fix the reactor before the coming elections?’
‘I want to say we can fix it,’ Kane said, ‘but my calculations have revealed we need much more time.
‘Even cutting corners where safety might be concerned?’ Drake asked.
‘Only a fool would skip-’ Kane stopped at the dangerous look Harl shot him and the beginning of a growl from Drake. ‘Forgive me,’ Kane went on, ‘but I would not be alive if I chose to skip such procedures.’ He looked at Veel and Vax. ‘I ask your permission that we launch a counter-attack against Harvest Ten.’
Veel narrowed her eyes on Harl. ‘What do you think, Harl?’ she asked.
They had not discussed Kane’s sudden departure from Gorm and Harl guessed the scientist assumed he had come to help persuade the heads.
He sighed, not willing to look at Kane. ‘I can’t see the benefit,’ he said.
Kane twisted his head to glare at him in outrage, his pale complexion turning red. He stammered but Harl cut him off. ‘With the meeting so close and the damage already done, I can’t see what effect an attack would do other than endanger more lives.’
Kane’s breathing grew heavy and Harl wished the seat would swallow him.
‘A wise choice, Harl,’ Veel said. ‘We will of course bring up the attack during the meeting but it is known we are classed as an enemy of Harvest Ten.’ She looked at Kane. ‘When the meeting is finished we will discuss what action to take, Kane. And trust me, we will take action against Harvest Ten.’
‘Just not yet?’ Kane said. ‘How can you claim to protect us and yet do nothing when the enemy have crossed the wall and raided our homes?’
Veel’s skin shifted to a darker blend of colours, like the clouds of a rainstorm. ‘We do not have an army to attack with,’ she said. ‘Revenge is not a path we choose. Have I not said we will take action?’
‘It is not enough,’ Kane said. ‘The reactor was everything and now it is ruined. I refuse to do nothing and be destroyed piece by piece.’
‘It is shameful to hear you say such a thing,’ Vax said.
‘Always endangering others,’ Drake said.
‘But it is true, for him,’ Veel said with something close to a human frown. ‘Tell me Kane, if we launched a counter attack this very moment, do you not think that the enemy would
be ready for retaliation? Do you judge our enemy to be so unprepared? The decision had been made, Kane Martin and you will abide by our rules as you agreed to when you first arrived on the island.’
It was the first time Harl had heard Kane’s last name and he felt embarrassed having been through so much with the man and never bothered to find out.
Kane just shook his head in disappointment.
A bird soared in from a window above the Aylen and swept past the platform.
‘Heya boys,’ Sky called as she swooped back to land on Vax shoulder. Vax cocked his head to listen to her. It was too far for either Kane or Harl to hear.
‘It seems,’ Vax said as Sky kept the bird still on his shoulder. ‘That Harvest Ten have called for a private meeting.’
‘What do they want?’ Harl asked.
‘To speak with you it seems, Harl.’
‘Me?’
Vax nodded.
‘Who will I be meeting?’ Harl asked, unsure of where all this would lead.
‘His name is Grakka.’ Vax said. ‘He is the director of Harvest Ten and their leader.’
‘Why?’ Kane asked.
‘The message says only that he wishes to discuss recent events.’ Vax said.
‘Then we should take him out,’ Kane said, a burning desire in his eyes.
‘No,’ Veel said and Kane seemed to shrink into his seat at her tone.
‘Where and when?’ Harl asked.
‘Tomorrow,’ Vax said. ‘It is to be held at high pass.’
‘The bankers capitol?’ Kane said.
‘And they’ll allow this?’ Harl asked, wondering why another faction would get involved.
‘We must of course make a donation,’ Vax said. ‘But Grakka knows it is the only place we’ll meet him without fear of further attacks.’
‘Myself and Veel will go with you.’ Vax said, ‘We’ll travel ahead in a transport mech, and Drake,’ he turned to the third head. ‘Will you stay and keep watch over the island?’
‘Of course,’ Drake said. Harl was sure he saw Drake relax his grip on his chair at the words.
Vax nodded slowly to Harl and Kane. ‘Then you are dismissed.’
Harl wondered why he hadn’t just refused. Who in their right minds would want to meet this Director Grakka. An Aylen who had almost systematically ruined an entire planet, purely for the sake of profit?