by Mel Todd
"Get this thing going," he snapped. "We've been lucky and yes, these damn weapons were a good idea. But now they know we're here so we need to move before they get their shit together to deal with invaders." He fell silent as the elevator began its descent into the depths of the ship. "Perc, does this thing have the equivalent of stairs?"
Perc closed his eyes at Miguel's question, then he slowly nodded. "Maybe not like you’re thinking, but more ladders running up and down the sides of the shafts. Emergency access. But I’ll tell you, if what’s in my head is correct, going down will be much easier than up, and there's no margin for error."
"I'll keep that in mind. We there yet?"
A muffled giggle came from the back of the elevator, which set off a domino effect of smiles that remained as they reached their destination. The opening of the doors revealed no one.
"Over there, to the right, is one room, and a bit farther down is the other. They both are being used, so expect people in them," Cass warned them as they headed towards the closer room. Bravo group came out, hiding Cass in their midst, with their guns up as they waited for the all clear.
They headed towards the first of the rooms at almost a run, the familiar pattern of Toni slipping up to open the doors and Miguel, Perc, and 2B moving in, the guns firing their flashes of oblivion. They stepped in and looked around and blinked at the rack of people in the corner. Looking like movable scaffold shelving, it had five wide shelves, holding two slack humans on each level. They were so still that only the fact that she could hear them breathing let her know they were alive.
McKenna took a deep breath and pushed it to the side. These people weren't in any more danger than before and they would get them out as soon as they could.
~Miguel's right, this is too easy. We’re getting cocky.~ She kept her ears peeled for any sound, but with so many people moving around she couldn't hear anything that might warn her.
~I agree, but at the same time I'm not looking an easy invasion in the mouth,~ JD replied. They waved Bravo group up, and the little room felt even smaller. It didn't take long before Cass started the decanting process, full speed, then she cussed.
"What is it?" Miguel had spun around to look at her.
"They don't have the drugs I need to make them stay asleep. Maybe the first few dozen, even the first hundred, but not for thousands or tens of thousands. The system is designed to wake them and dump them out."
"Fuck," his voice low and vicious as he looked. "But you said most of them are from Earth?"
Cass spent a minute banging on icons, swearing softly to the point that JD moved over to her. McKenna's skin had started to crawl. It felt like they were trapped in here, especially with so many people crowded into this room. Plus, there was the rack of humans, and knowing more would be coming both from Earth and people being brought in to be stored.
I hate the fact that I can think about this as if it is normal—unpleasant but normal.
"Got it. Yes, all of these canisters were loaded in the last week, or week equivalent. When it’s mostly empty we'll start hitting ones than have been there a while." Cass didn't look up as she talked, still tapping on the icons.
"Good. Then let's get those phones in here and start getting our people home." He nodded at Rarz. "We're ready. Get that portal open so we can get this show on the road. The plan is to have both rooms running and they'll move people here. Since they'll be mobile, we might as well use that to our advantage. Charlie team will be the chaperones to get them into that portal. Rarz, do you need to stay here to monitor it?"
"No. I can monitor it from anywhere within a half light year."
Everyone paused and stared at him. Then there was a collective sigh of information overload and they went back to what they were doing.
"Crank it up. Every minute counts." Rarz created the portal and Miguel spoke into his com, verifying the plan with the others. A few minutes later Charlie group came through the portal from Earth with the cell phones.
"Good, one in here and one in the other room." Another few minutes to set up speakers and make sure the phones were connected to the portable chargers and they were all set.
"We ready?" Already the first few had been decanted, in human form. They were disoriented and wary, but Elaine Zimmer dealt with them. They needed to get them back to Earth well before they were capable of coherent movement. The humans on the rack were sent through the portal, and Rarz did not seem to concentrate as much this time to get them sliding without any effort on their part. They pushed the rack out into the hall, needing the space as Charlie team took over getting people out of the canisters and into the portal. Per usual, one Bravo member stayed to run the process. Elaine nodded, looking around. "We're good. Next set."
They inched their way around the portal and stuck their heads out, checking that the hallway remained clear. They headed towards where the next room was when a wave of light went through the hall, making McKenna's skin tingle.
"What was that?" Miguel's voice cut through her confusion, but no one had an answer. Now, senses on even higher alert, they got to the door of the next processing room. It slid open as they approached and a Kaylid stepped out. Perc reacted faster than Miguel, aiming and pulling the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Chapter 23 - Step One of Many
With most countries focused on their own issues and defending against the invaders, all international trade has come to a screeching halt. The stock markets have been closed since the first shuttle landing. All conventions have been canceled and most people are living on limited supplies. The toll to the economy is unprecedented. If we can't kick these invaders off our planet in the near future, we might not have a future that resembles anything except for an apocalyptic ruin. ~ Op Ed piece SacWasp
"Shit, they disabled the ray guns," Miguel barked out the comment, even as he dropped the now useless weapon reaching for his M-16.
"Don't fire, you might damage the equipment," Cass's voice came out as a boom of command and half the people on the floor paused. Perc and JD didn't. They dropped the weapons and launched themselves, claws out, at the Kaylid standing there. The being, male from what McKenna could see, snarled and met them half way.
It had less body weight than JD or Perc. Being one of the slighter Kaylid, it flew backwards as JD and Perc hit it. McKenna left them to it and headed for the next room, Toni and Rarz on her heels.
~I'll go high, you go low. There should be another one in that room.~ She ordered, her claws growing.
She felt Toni's presence as all of her shifted into attack mode, pushing back the worries and ethical decisions in the need to secure their target. As they came through the door, the other Kaylid spun, with a snarl wrinkling a muzzle that looked more canine than feline and it attacked. It had yellow fur with gray spots, it moved fast, attacking without hesitation.
McKenna blocked the first strike as muscle memory for things she'd never learned took over. They were too similar in their training, each of them blocking the other's strikes. They couldn't risk firing a gun and damaging equipment they needed desperately, but she couldn't break through, and even though she knew where Toni was, she couldn't get the Kaylid to turn to expose its back to Toni.
~McKenna, duck!~ The mental order came through with the strange flavor and tone that told her it was Rarz. She didn't question it, she just dropped to the floor. Above her Rarz's scaled hand slammed forward and impaled the Kaylid through the chest with wicked looking claws. A burble of surprise escaped the dying being, and blood frothed from its mouth as it sagged down, furred hands scrabbling at the iron strength of the dragon.
Crouched on the ground, McKenna looked up at the creature they had just killed, and the battle rush left her, leaving her swamped with weariness to the point she had to fight to stand up.
I want to cry, but that won't change anything. But I hate these Elentrin for what they’ve done. Making beings into tools, and letting innocents pay the price for their overinflated arrogance.
&n
bsp; The anger let her push away the grief as she stood. Looking around, Miguel had stepped inside the room and looked at the bloody corpse and Rarz standing there. He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut shaking his head a bit. McKenna didn't ask. She didn't want to know.
"Cass, Elaine, your turn. Get it up and running. What’s left of Charlie and Bravo groups will escort people to the portal." Even as Miguel talked, one of the Charlie people set up the rest of the phones and she could hear the kids talking as some of the people being roused were asking questions.
McKenna stepped out of the room, picking up her M680 from where she had dropped it. It would have been a hazard in that small area for hand-to-hand fighting. Another body lay there on the floor, its head pointed a direction that wasn't possible with normal anatomy. She swallowed hard and looked down the corridor, trying to block out everything.
~You okay?~ Perc's voice whispered to her on a private channel, though she had no faith that Rarz couldn't overhear it. Learning to lock down mental thoughts was another thing on the long list of things to remember to follow up on.
Later. If there is a later.
The bitter thought brought an odd feeling of amusement with it and she shook it off.
~I'm fine.~ She left it at that, not knowing if it was a lie or not.
Miguel stepped out with the rest of Alpha, Toni trailing behind. As Toni remained in warrior form facial expressions were difficult, if not impossible to read, but something about the way she carried herself told her Toni was freaked out.
Or maybe upset? Should I say anything? She's your friend of course you should say something.
~Toni? You okay?~
The brilliant green eye flashed towards her then away. ~No, but then if I was I'd be worried. Let's just survive this.~
McKenna understood and sent a wave of reassurance, then turned to pay attention to Miguel.
"Perc, get us to the bridge by way of the engine room. I want to have the option to blow this place up, but we’re doing everything on remote detonators, no timers. Besides, if nothing else if we can disable this ship and they won't be able to leave with our people." Miguel's smile reminded McKenna of a scene from Jaws, all teeth and hunger.
"This way," Perc said after a minute of thought. He led them back to the elevator and Toni called it for them. "We have to go down, into the engineering corridors. Engineering runs the length of this ship. Once we get access, we’re basically in a long tube. Shooting things in there might be very bad. Remember I know the schematics, not how to use any of the machines."
Miguel grunted, but gave two of his men a look and they nodded. Knives were pulled out by all the military personnel while their weapons were secured so they didn't rattle. McKenna and the others mimicked them. No one really wanted a stray bullet to take out something important. Like life support.
The doors opened and noise washed in. Compared to the silence on the other levels, this was almost like walking into a rock concert. It took her a minute, but McKenna decided it wasn't all that loud, just omnipresent. Everywhere she turned the whoosh, shurrsh, chirp, and beep of machinery surrounded her.
"I want to put bombs in such a way that we can take out the engines." Miguel looked around, talking a bit louder to overcome the noise.
Toni had her ears laid back. "Won't that mean we'll crash?"
"Eventually yes, but it’s in a stationary orbit, which should decay slowly over weeks. Either way, enough time to get people off even with a slower rate of retrieval." He sounded distracted as he peered one way then the other. "So where do we go?"
Perc shrugged, scratching an ear for a moment. "I'm not sure. I mean I know that there are five main engine banks, and I can take you to any of them, but I'm not sure where you want."
"Do you know what controls their ability to leave this solar system? I hate to say warp drive, but not sure what else to call it."
"Umm," Perc rocked back on his heels, eyes closed. "There are engines labeled small space engines and two separate ones labeled expand-contract engines." He sighed, opening his eyes. "I can read the language, that doesn't always mean the translations make sense."
"The expand-contract is most likely their entanglement drive. While small space should be the thrusters for maneuvering around the solar system." Rarz said, making them look at him. He bobbed his head in a weird approximation of a nod. "We have had centuries to study them. But something else I should point out. These ships are made to land. The Elentrin do not have space stations the way your stories do."
"Huh. Can we fly it? Landing it would make all of this much easier." Miguel sounded both excited and annoyed. "How big is this ship anyway?"
Perc blinked and sighed. "Wefor, how long is 1242 wythers?"
McKenna spoke as Wefor provided the information. "Approximately .75 of your miles or 1320 yards."
2B whistled long and low. "That's a big damn ship. Where the hell would we land it?"
Feeling like a parrot McKenna spoke. "White Sands at your Edwards Air Force base could handle it. It’s the equivalent of a VTOL ship. It doesn’t need a long runway in the manner your planes do."
"Can we fly it, though?" Miguel asked again and everyone looked at each other. Toni sighed and moved forward.
"Maybe. But I'm not sure I'd risk well over a quarter million people on my maybe. If we can find Ash and he's really on our side, we might have a better chance." She refused to meet anyone's eyes, and McKenna noted she never stood next to Rarz, but always seemed to know where he was.
"Agreed. The last thing I want is an amateur flying any plane I'm in, and when the plane is bigger than the largest ship I've ever seen, that goes double. So let's save that as a last option before self- destruction, shall we?" Miguel's voice had a sardonic tone to it and McKenna couldn't help but bark out a soft laugh. "Which way to the entanglement engines, Perc?"
"Right. Towards the front of the ship, assuming I haven't gotten turned around." His voice was dry as they made sure to check their guns. Firing here would be stupid and maybe kill them all.
They started at a brisk trot towards the direction Perc indicated. The noise was pervasive, not loud. It swallowed your attention as it constantly changed and morphed, and McKenna found herself fighting to not try to identify all the sounds. She was just putting one foot in front of the other, trying to be alert, and not let the strange sights overwhelm her, and the sights were distraction worthy. There were flashing machines, lights whirling, funny color liquid bubbling through like lava lamps on steroids, and supporting it all, the knowledge they were on an alien ship.
When the first flash of light impacted the man in front of her, Alpha 2B, McKenna just stared at him for two heartbeats, which was almost one heartbeat too long.
[You are under attack!] Wefor's voice slammed into her and McKenna moved, dropping to the floor as if her legs had been cut. The red light flashed above her head, splashing on a bulkhead, even as she rolled towards the light, her world narrowing to attack.
Movement in the corner drew her attention and she saw a flash of pale blue, like that of a robin's egg. They had weapons that would work. She didn't, at least not without serious risk to the ship. While McKenna doubted a bullet would go through the hull of the ship, damaging equipment seemed very probable. Laying the gun down, she lowered herself to the floor, and tried to focus on everything and nothing but the enemy at the same time. The never-ceasing clock ticked in her head. They had to succeed; her world depended on that.
The blue peeked up again, weapon training across what would have been at chest height if she'd been standing. McKenna launched herself with a strong thrust of her legs and arms at an almost horizontal angle, taking the attacker at waist height. Even with as much weight as she'd lost over the last two months, McKenna figured she outweighed the being she'd tackled by at least fifty pounds.
Claws out, the embedded training and memory took over and she attacked in a swirl of claws. The being snarled out words, something part of her brain translated into the equivalent of "
You animal, how dare you!" but the thin clothes and soft flesh didn't provide much protection from McKenna's claws. The being, a female, with hair the blue McKenna had seen, lay in a pool of blood. She resisted the urge to lick her claws clean.
"One taken care of. Anyone need help?" Her voice was calm as this became one more thing to push back and deal with someday.
"2B is dead. 3B is seriously injured. Anyone see any other attackers? Perc killed one and Toni and I killed one." Miguel said across the coms.
Negative responses rippled through the coms and McKenna wiped her dripping claws on a clean bit of fabric, then went to grab her gun and head towards the others. Miguel stood near the body of 2B with 3B leaning against the wall. The smell of charred skin and burned blood seared her nose.
"We have to get to the engines and get them disabled. Rarz, how far can this ship get away before you lose the portal? What if people are in transit?" Miguel didn't snap the question, but his jaw clenched tight as 4B and JD bandaged the wound of 3B.
"I will lose it if too many planetary bodies get in the way. But distance? We would need to be outside the boundaries of your solar system. If there are people in the tunnel it will dump them to the closest point as it collapses. Worst case might be a fall of a few feet." Rarz's voice stayed calm, but she noticed he had almost the same rigid tenseness as she did.
"Well then, we better get to the getting to." He turned and headed in the direction indicated, a ray gun in his hands and a hard look on his face.
McKenna darted back to grab the one belonging to blue girl, and followed. Human weapons were an annoyance at this point. The path to the engine room Perc said they needed to get to was tense and they all jumped at every strange sound. Toni fired her rifle when a puff of colored air hit her in the face, and then all of them were on the floor as the bullets ricocheted off everything.