Dominion Rising: 23 Brand New Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

by White, Gwynn

  Another Marauder came around the corner, but this one caught the edge of the newest data orb with the tip of its toe, kicking it down the corridor. It bounced off the walls, back and forth. The Marauder jumped on the spot, launching into a fighting pose. It snarled and growled, looking around slowly with crazed eyes. It sniffed the air several times. Maggie was glad her suit disguised her scent. It passed on, slowly, making the ground tremor as it went.

  Maggie peered out and saw Skip at the bars, reaching through. He had finally noticed the first orb there. She signalled to him before diving back into the alcove, where the shadows were her only ally. She waited for one more patrol, then gave another signal to Skip. She didn't know military signs, so she had to make it up on the spot. She waved her hands madly, hoping he got the idea that she wanted a distraction.

  She hid and waited. Then she heard Skip shout, “Guard! You!”

  She glanced out and saw the next Marauder turning and approaching Skip's cage. The Captain puffed his chest and rattled the bars. It seemed like he was looking for a fight. The Marauder slammed its fist against the bars. The echo continued for a while.

  That was when Maggie charged out. She gave it her all, thundering down the corridor, well aware that the noise she made in the process would alert the Marauder before her. It turned, just in time for her lunge. She slammed it into the cage, but it immediately fought back, grasping her in a bear hug. Her armour groaned.

  Skip reached through the bars, grabbing and punching. He tore a piece of fur off in his hand. The Marauder didn't even yelp. It focused all its energy and strength on Maggie, slowly crushing her armour. She could hear parts of it pop and felt others buckle. A fuse sparked somewhere amongst the metal plates.

  She could do nothing. Her arms were pinned against her chest. She couldn't turn on her shields, and that would have been useless anyway. The best she could do was stomp on the Marauder's foot with her heavy boot, but even that barely loosened its grip.

  Skip continued his own struggle from the cage. He grabbed the creature's jaw and tried to snap its neck, but it resisted his strength. He bashed at it. He roared at it. Then he managed to reach his fingers further up, poking the Marauder in the eyes.

  That was it. The creature howled, letting go of Maggie. It reached for its eyes, shaking off Skip's hands. Maggie reached for its throat, jabbing the knuckle needles of both hands in deep. It didn't even seem to notice at first, until the chemical kicked in. It froze, then toppled over, slamming into the ground.

  “Stars,” Skip said.

  “Let's get you out,” Maggie said, fumbling through the belongings of the Marauder in search for a key.

  “Look out!” Skip shouted.

  The next Marauder had come around the corner and spotted them. It charged, knocking Maggie over and pinning her to the ground. She struggled, but it was far stronger than her. It slammed her helmet against the ground. Her head smacked the screen inside.

  Throughout the struggle, she vaguely noticed Skip pressed to the ground, stretching his right arm through the bars. He snatched at the belt of the fallen Marauder, rummaging through until he produced a key. He tried to unlock the cage, but it jammed. He thrust his shoulder against it. The cage shuddered. He tried again. The lock gave a little more. Again. It swung open with a clatter.

  Maggie could do nothing but watch the scene unfold. She waited for Skip to throw himself at the beast, to jab at its eyes, to tear at its face. Instead, he ran. She was so taken aback by it, she wasn't sure what had happened. Skip ran down the corridor she had come from. He just … fled.

  And then he came back, brandishing an electro-bludgeon. She watched as he fiddled with the controls on it, turning the electrical charge up to its highest setting. The rod almost exploded with energy. Then he swung it at the creature. It screamed and writhed, rolling onto its back. Skip kept going, digging the rod in, giving a cry of his own as the Marauder's fur began to cinder. It convulsed for a moment, then fell still and silent, as the smoke rose from its body.

  Skip helped Maggie up.

  “Damn, Skip,” she said. “You didn't have to kill it!”

  He shrugged. “Oh, yeah, I did.”

  To any watching, it seemed that maybe they would have an argument about that right then and there. They seemed so diametrically opposed, but deep down they were two sides of the same coin. He was sword and she was shield. Separate, they were both vulnerable. Together, if they could ever find a way to really work with each other, they would be powerful beyond measure.

  Another Marauder appeared. It halted and bellowed out. Two more came racing towards it. The three of them looked at Maggie and Skip standing over their two fallen comrades. Together, they gave the most ear-rending roar.

  “I think we better run,” Maggie said.

  And, maybe for the first time ever, Skip said, “I think you're right.”

  33

  Batten Down the Hatches

  They ran. Skip waved the electro-bludgeon behind him as they went, warding off the pursuing Raetuumaka Marauders.

  “Quick! In here,” Maggie said, racing into a storage room. Her sensors scanned the crates and boxes, which mostly seemed to contain food. There wasn't a weapon around. Maggie felt on two minds about that.

  Skip followed her in, and the duo immediately barricaded the door, dragging some of the crates over and stacking them high. Maggie had to do a lot of the heavy lifting, thanks to the enhanced strength of her power suit. She could tell that Skip felt emasculated by it. The last thing she needed was for him to try something daring, to show just how macho he really was.

  The door shuddered as the Marauders banged against it.

  Skip sat with Maggie with their backs against the crates, shoving them back into place whenever the straining door moved them out a little.

  “Well,” Skip said.

  “Well.”

  “A fine mess you got us into,” the Captain said.

  “Me? You're the one who got caught.”

  “I had it under control.”

  “Sure you did.”

  “I did.”

  They looked at each other, continuing the battle with their eyes.

  “I had it all mapped out, Mags,” Skip said. “I was gonna get them to take me to their leader.”

  “And then?”

  “And then I was gonna kill him.”

  “Right.”

  “So, you see, you've kind of ruined my plan.”

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “You're welcome.”

  Another thud against the door.

  “I do appreciate you coming out here though,” Skip said. He said it softly, as if he didn't really want it to be heard.

  “It was nothing,” Maggie lied. It was anything but.

  “Still though.”

  They looked at each other, and this time there was no battle in their eyes.

  “You're part of the crew,” Maggie said.

  “Which one?”

  “Yours. Both. Ours.” She paused. “I'm starting to think we might only survive out here by working together.”

  “Yeah.” Skip looked away. “Sure, I've worked with worse.”

  “Pff. Thanks.”

  The door rocked once more.

  “These creatures,” Skip said. “Raetuumaka.”

  “What about them?”

  “They seem to be under some kinda spell.”

  “I hope you don't mean that literally.”

  “I don't, but then … maybe I do. They're ruled by some other race which they call the Masters. I think we have to defeat them.”

  “I think our priority is on getting out of here.”

  “But we have to defeat them too. I now know where this vessel is heading. Alpha Prime.”

  Maggie didn't know what to say.

  “It's a weapon,” Skip continued, “disguised as a transport vessel. It's not just carrying waste, Mags. It's on a collision course. Try and shoot it down, and, well … you blow it all up, including you.”

  “So
we need a way to disable it,” Maggie said.

  “Yeah. I'm thinking those Masters are probably the way.”

  “What if they're not?”

  “Well,” Skip said. “I'd kind of like to kill them anyway.”

  Maggie smiled. “There's the old Skip.”

  “He never went away.”

  “We might need him to get out of here.”

  Suddenly there were shouts outside. It was a familiar voice.

  Maggie sighed.

  “Who's that?” Skip asked.

  “That's … that's Alex.”

  34

  A Royal Thorn

  It was clear that Alex hadn't obeyed Maggie's commands. It was clear that he had broken out and followed her. And, by the sounds of his shouts, it was clear that he needed help.

  Skip and Maggie glanced at each other, rolled their eyes in unison, and started pulling the crates away again. They seemed a little heavier this time, weighed down by their worries as well. They heard blaster fire, which only made them pull away the crates even faster, tearing the lid off one and casting it, and its contents, to the floor. They tried to open the doors, but it jammed halfway.

  Skip leapt through the gap, spinning his electro-bludgeon, which caught the attention of one of the Marauders. The other two were closing in on Alex. One of them limped from blaster wounds. By the time Maggie squeezed out into the hallway, Alex was out of charge, and the Marauders were about to pounce.

  She grabbed a shieldwall bomb from her belt and launched it down to where Alex was standing. Its tiny sensors detected the walls and fired out rays from either side. Once they hit the walls, a shield formed beneath them, blocking the Marauders' advance. She sent another down behind them, blocking them on either side. They banged against the barriers, making them shimmer. They wouldn't last for long.

  Skip danced with his own attacker, taking one step in to jab at it, before stepping back to avoid its swipe. They circled, moving back and forward, striking and dodging. Then the Marauder moved in quick, trying to grab Skip in a bear hug. He ducked out of those bulging arms and lashed its ankle with the electrified rod. The Marauder hopped and yelped, and its uneven structure made it topple over with ease. Just as he was about to finish it off, Maggie charged in, swatting away his arm.

  “No more killing,” she said, before jabbing the Marauder with the paralysing needles.

  Skip shook his head. “Where's the fun in that?”

  “You should see what that mentality has made in Alex.”

  They looked to Alex now, finding him ducked down behind one of the glowing barriers, as if cowering from the Marauders trapped between the shieldwalls. Yet, on further inspection, he wasn't cowering at all. He had torn open a terminal on the wall and was rerouting some of the power to his blaster, replenishing its charge.

  “He's an innovative one,” Skip said, “like you.”

  “Not like me,” she replied.

  They approached the first barrier, where the Marauders bashed and roared.

  Skip shook his head at Alex. “What're you doing here, boy?”

  Alex grimaced at the last word. If Maggie had said it, he would have told her he wasn't a boy, but you didn't say that to the Man of No Tears. You didn't complain. You wiped your nose and dried your eyes and kept on marching. That was the only way to make it as a soldier. Yet, no matter what he tried, he would never be one. The royals were there to sit and look pretty, to help prop up the Emperor.

  “He doesn't want to be safe, apparently,” Maggie said, rolling her eyes.

  Skip blinked. “Huh?”

  “His words.”

  Skip shook his head. “Don't even explain. Let's just get out of here.” He tapped the first shield, watching the snarling face of the Marauder behind it. “Let's leave these fellows inside their playpen. Alex, you'll need to find a way around.”

  “Are you kidding?” Maggie asked. “We can't let him wander off on his own.”

  “I'm not a child,” Alex said.

  Skip gestured to the teen. “See? He's not a child. Besides, he has a blaster. And by the looks of things, he'll have an infinite charge for it too.”

  “I can fight them,” Alex insisted. He held his blaster with grim determination. Maggie didn't mind the determination. It was the grim part that worried her.

  The shields began to weaken from the Marauders' blows.

  “Come on,” Skip said. “Let's circle around this block and meet at the far end.”

  Before Maggie could protest, both Alex and Skip left, departing in opposite directions. Her scanner suggested they should meet up again in a few minutes, assuming there was nothing blocking their paths. That was an assumption she was very hesitant to make.

  35

  How They Fall

  Maggie continued on, following Skip around, until they saw Alex on the far end of a different kind of corridor, which was just a thin mesh bridge down the middle, with dropped to a lower level on either side. Alex waved his gun from across the way.

  “See?” Skip said to Maggie. “Easy as target practice.”

  Maggie never was much good at that. She didn't like the idea that they were someone else's target practice too.

  Maggie beckoned for Alex to cross the bridge.

  He shook his head and pointed down a passage on his side. “I think this is the way out.”

  “It's not,” Maggie said. Her scanners made that clear.

  Then Skip dashed across the bridge, shouting. Maggie looked to see several Marauders approaching Alex. Skip leapt and kicked at the nearest, only for it to grab him by the leg and toss him aside, almost knocking the electro-bludgeon from his hand. Alex unleashed a hell-storm of blaster fire, while Maggie charged along the bridge.

  Maggie dove into one of the attackers, wrestling it to the ground. It fought back, twisting around her body, grabbing her in a headlock. If that had been her head and not her helmet, it would have crushed her neck in seconds. Instead, the power armour groaned from the pressure, like a submarine at the farthest ocean depths.

  Despite the resistance, the armour started to buckle. Parts of her shield array splintered under the awful weight of the Marauder. She tried to trigger the shields, but they wouldn't work at this proximity. She'd built that in as a safeguard to protect nearby allies, but it worked just as good for enemies too. It seemed that her suit was simultaneously saving and killing her.

  She saw Alex kill one of the Marauders, wearing it down with blaster fire. It tried to continue on its knees, then drag itself along on its arm, but fell limp at Alex's feet. Skip killed another with his electro-bludgeon, then moved on to hers, striking it in the back. She was never so glad of violence before, because the strike loosened its grip on her.

  Skip struck again, and this time the Marauder picked Maggie up and flung her at the far wall, across the gap in the mesh floor. She struck and fell, down to the next level, which was at least twelve feet of a drop. She was glad she'd put responsive air cushioning in the suit for big impacts and falls. They helped soften the blow.

  Then something else fell down after her, landing with a clatter. It was the Marauder, still smoking from Skip's attack.

  Maggie groaned as she sat up. No matter how much cushioning she had, it still hurt. If you were dropped high enough onto a pile of feathers, those feathers would have felt like jagged rocks.

  “I'm coming down,” Skip said. It seemed that all the attackers had been dealt with, and there was a hint of disappointment in the Captain's voice, as if he was just getting into the swing of things. She was sure there'd be plenty more for him to swing at.

  “I'm fine,” Maggie replied. “My scanners show me a way out. There's a lift on the far end. I'll meet you there.”

  She heard them race off as she struggled to her feet. Then the overlay on her screen started to go fuzzy, and blinked out entirely.

  “That's odd,” she said. She tapped her helmet.

  Something drew her attention from the far end of the passage, where the shadows seemed
to gather. She couldn't see anything, and her scanners were not picking up anything either, yet she felt a presence there—an evil one. With a scientific mind like hers, she didn't scare easily, not even after watching the scariest of movies. She didn't jump at shapes on the walls. She didn't start at unfamiliar sounds. But now, she felt an immense terror. Her breathing changed. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

  “Wait!” she cried. “There's … there's something down here.”

  She glanced up, but Skip and Alex were gone. No doubt they were waiting for her further on. Yet, she felt there was something else waiting for her on this level.

  36

  Out of the Shadows

  It emerged. A shadowy figure came forth, the black smoke of its form billowing around it. It had no distinct shape, just a nebulous gathering of darkness. There was a sense of a deeper, darker part of it pulsing inside, like the core of a planet, or the maw of a black hole.

  “Guys,” Maggie said, taking one step back.

  The shadow stepped forward. It half-floated, half-clung to the ground. The wisps of shadow that flowed around it grazed the walls, like the antennae of an insect feeling its way towards its prey. There were no discernible features, no arms or legs, no face. Yet it seemed intelligent, and it felt malevolent.

  Maggie took another step back, holding her hand out in front of her, as if that could keep the shadow at bay. She had no idea what to do. It seemed like the kind of force that could seep through vents, that would not be blocked by doors, and maybe not even by shields.

  The creature, if it was a creature, advanced to match her pace. As much as she studied it, it seemed to study her, though it exerted a feeling of glee to match her terror. Perhaps she had fallen into its lair or nest. Perhaps this was the result of all the radioactive material aboard the vessel, or some imprisoned fiend the Raetuumaka had acquired. Yet the words of Skip came back to her, and she wondered most of all if this was one of the Masters.