by Finn Gray
“How do you think those things kill?” he huffed as they ran. “Beak or talons?”
“Why,” Cassidy gasped, “would you ask me that right now?”
“I don’t know. Just wanted to know what to expect.”
“Shut up,” Cassidy said.
He heard another shriek, impossibly close, and they poured on the speed. His feet pounded the soft earth. His breath came in sharp, painful stabs. The humid air sapped his strength. He felt every cut and bruise he had suffered since the uprising had begun. Pain and fatigue threatened to overwhelm them.
“I’m not going to make it,” Cassidy said.
Rory had been thinking the same thing about himself, but hearing his friend voice his own desire to give up strengthened his resolve.
“Don’t make me carry you,” he warned.
“Try it and I’ll cut you.” Anger flared in her eyes, but she kept running. Moments later they dashed beneath the cover of the trees.
“Where did it go? Do you see it?” Cassidy asked.
They scanned the skies, listened sharply, but there was neither sight nor sound of the strange creature.
“What was that thing?” Trent asked. “Any idea?”
“I’ve been all around this territory and I’ve never seen anything like it.” Oates scratched his head.
Rory debated speaking up. He remembered seeing one of the creatures before. Rather, he had seen drawings. He nervously cleared his throat.
“I think I know what it is. I mean, I’ve seen one before.”
The others turned expectantly. “Well?” Cassidy asked.
“It’s a dinosaur.”
Five seconds of stunned silence followed the declaration. Finally, Cassidy laughed.
“Are you kidding us, Plowboy? Dinosaurs are a myth, and not even a very common one.”
“I know, but I’ve seen drawings of that exact creature. They were illustrations in a copy of the legend of Challenger and the Flat Mountain.”
“I read that one,” Oates said. “When I was five.”
Challenger and the Flat Mountain was a story from ancient mythology that was popular with children. As the story went, the hero, Challenger, traveled to a lost world where he discovered animals he called dinosaurs, a word which roughly translated to “fearfully great lizard.” These giant beasts were part lizard, and part bird. Most were flightless, but Challenger did manage to capture a flying beast he dubbed pterosaur, or “winged lizard.” He brought the pterosaur home to display for the emperor, but it escaped to parts unknown.
“You see something that looks like a drawing from a children’s book and you conclude it must be a dinosaur come to life?” Cassidy shook her head.
“It doesn’t just resemble old drawings,” Rory said. “It’s a dead ringer. I’ve owned several versions of that myth in book form and seen plenty of vids. All of them are a perfect match. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Oates made a little cough and politely looked away.
“Sergeant, what are we going to do with this guy?” Cassidy asked. “I think he’s losing his shit.”
Rory was hesitant to meet Trent’s eye, but when he did, he did not see scorn or mockery in her eyes, but thoughtfulness.
“I know you’ve got your issues with Waring,” she said to Cassidy, “but he’s always been level-headed. I won’t dismiss him outright just because what he says seems unlikely.”
Rory gave a single nod of thanks.
“So there have been dinosaurs, or at least a dinosaur, living on Soria?” Cassidy asked.
“No.” Oates said flatly. “Not only have I never seen anything like that before today,” he pointed up at the sky, “but I’ve never seen so much as a print on this island I couldn’t identify eventually. That thing is a new arrival.”
“But there are so many weird creatures on this island,” Rory began.
“Every creature that lives on this island, even the most bizarre, evolved from a known animal. In some cases their DNA has been warped badly, but I guarantee you there have never been dinosaurs loose on Soria.”
“Maybe it’s some sort of Memnon experiment,” Cassidy said.
“They grew and trained attack dinosaurs in secret?” Trent said. “That seems… unlikely.”
A sudden, unsettling thought struck Rory. “What if it came from inside the facility?" He glanced at Oates. “You said you don’t know what goes on inside there.”
Oates shrugged. “It’s mad to even consider it, but that thing’s very existence is mad. I suppose we’ll find out where we get there.”
Just then Trent raised a hand in warning. Like a lion stalking its prey she peered out of the thicket, eyes narrowed. “Something is coming,” she whispered.
It was one of the mutated, wild-hog creatures that had treed Rory and Marson. Rory set his rifle to fire and watched as the beast continued to move in their direction.
“Does it know we’re here?” Cassidy mouthed.
Rory shrugged. The beast did not seem to be headed in any particular direction. But then it froze, raised its head, and sniffed the air.
“Uh oh,” Oates said.
But it was not the four people hiding in the trees that the boar had caught the scent of. Fifty meters away, something dashed from the cover of the tree line. An instant later, two others broke from cover, all from different directions. The trio closed in, keeping the boar hemmed in. The big creature tried to run but the hunters were too fast.
Rory had only a moment to take in the sight of these new arrivals before they were on their prey. They looked like leathery ostriches. A fringe of green and black feathers ran down their spines and down to the tip of their tails and along their wings. Their feet were tipped with razor sharp claws. One, a head taller than the others, let out a high-pitched shriek.
“It’s got a mouthful of razor sharp teeth,” Cassidy whispered.
The hunters leapt onto the boar and it let out a cry as they began tearing into its thick hide. But the fearsome beast was not about to go down without a fight. It shook two of the creatures off and snapped at the third.
“Get down and move, Oates said. “Don’t be seen or heard.”
No one questioned his order. They hit the dirt and snaked their way through the clearing. The soft earth was thick with clinging vines and fat, overripe gourds that fell apart at the slightest touch. The stench they emitted was overpowering.
“That’s worse than what you do in the latrine,” Cassidy whispered as Rory put his hand through one. A stench like rotten eggs filled the air and he retched as he wiped away the stinky goo.
“Look on the bright side; it might mask our scent,” Trent said.
“Right,” Rory agreed. “I meant to do that.”
They continued their crawl. Behind them, the fight continued. The mutated boar was proving to be no easy meat for the ostrich-lizards, which Rory assumed were more dinosaurs. The boar bellowed and one of the dinos shrieked.
Keep fighting, Rory thought. We’ll just get out of your way.
When they finally emerged into sunlight on the far side of the thicket, Oates let out a curse and pointed up ahead.
“The wall is down. I was hoping we could take shelter on the other side.”
A thick wall, surrounded by a moat and topped by razor wire, barred their way. But a hundred meters to their right, the wall had collapsed. A section had fallen outward, filling the moat and forming a bridge.
“Wait a minute. I just thought of something,” Cassidy said. “If the monsters came from inside there, do we really want to go in?”
“We have to go somewhere,” Rory said.
“And we need to do it now.” Trent’s voice was sharp. “They’re coming.”
Chapter 24
The Scarn Nebula
Teddy shouldered past Smoke and found himself standing on an observation deck looking down at a replica of an ancient temple. At first glance, it resembled artists’ renderings he had seen of the sanctum in the ancient Temple of Aquas. Columns flanked an empty reflect
ing pool. Steps led down into its dry depths.
“Why in the hells would you build a replica temple here?” Teddy asked, unease creeping down his spine.
“I don’t know, but that’s where the signal is coming from,” Smoke said, pointing at the pool
Teddy led the way down into the temple. Up close it was even more bizarre.
These columns aren’t made of stone.” Gwen ran a gloved hand down the surface of the closest one. “It’s a synthetic material like I’ve never seen before.” She leaned in close “This isn’t art; this is electronics.”
“And what’s with this empty pool, anyway?” Teddy moved down to the edge. A rectangle was cut into the heart of the meteorite with laser precision. The steps were smooth and sharp, the stone shiny and black, both inviting and revolting at the same time. All around the edge, odd symbols were carved. Teddy narrowed his eyes, looked around at the many images, then up at the columns that surrounded the pool.
“What is it?” Gwen asked.
“Each column has a symbol on it that matches one of the symbols around the pool. Damned if I know what it means, though.”
“Take a look over here,” Smoke called from the other side of the pool. He stood above what appeared to be an ornate pedestal.
Teddy had no doubt that, like the columns, it would prove to be much more.
Although the pool appeared to be nothing more than a hole in the floor, he skirted it nevertheless. Something told him he shouldn’t step inside.
The pedestal was, in fact, a console. There was a vidscreen, a row of buttons, each marked with a symbol that matched one of those around the pool, and another of the odd, raised sets of keys.
“It’s just like the keyboard on that weird tablet you found,” Gwen said.
“I think this is what is emitting the signal,” Smoke said, checking his display again.
“Which means this thing still has power going to it.” Gwen’s gaze met Teddy’s. “This thing, whatever it is, must be the reason this place exists. But I’ll be damned if I can figure out what the hells it’s for.”
Teddy took it all in. Whatever it was, somebody had gone to a great deal of trouble and expense for it. He was dying to know more. Unthinkingly, he reached out and tapped a key at random. The vidscreen flared to life. Lines of indecipherable characters filled the screen.
“Teddy! What the hells did you do?” Gwen said.
“I figured it must be in some kind of sleep mode because the signal is still running. I guess I was right.”
“Congratulations. Now leave it the hells alone.”
Teddy looked down at the vid screen, then glanced at his companions. “Aren’t you the least bit curious what it does?” He thought he saw a glimmer of curiosity in Smoke’s eyes.
“Don’t we sort of have an obligation to try and figure it out?” Smoke asked. “What if it could be useful to the fleet?”
“What if it blows up?” Gwen asked.
“There’s no evidence of that,” Teddy said. “Just the remains of one person who died in bed.”
“Clearly not blown up,” Smoke added. The young pilot moved in for a closer look at the controls. “Let’s see. These look like power on and off.” He pointed to a pair of buttons—one aquamarine and one black. He cast a sideways glance at Teddy.
“Show of hands,” Teddy said. “Who votes we turn it on.”
The two men’s hands shot up. Gwen stood, hands on hips, tapping her toe.
“When we get back, I’m requesting a transfer to any battlecruiser at all. I just want to get away from you two assclowns.”
“That’s three yes votes.” Heart racing, but certain he was doing the right thing, Teddy hit the on button.
The columns began to glow. Blue fire danced up and down their surface. It ran around the lip of the pool, filling each symbol until each shone with an incandescent light.
“What is happening?” Gwen whispered.
Blue mist filled the pool. It swirled, thickened, and then resolved itself into a glowing, waterlike surface.
“It really does look like a pool,” Gwen said.
No sooner had she spoken those words then everything went wrong.
Chapter 25
Battlecruiser Dragonfly
The bridge was abuzz with activity when Sabre and Lina arrived. They had not been summoned. Sabre was fed up with doing nothing, and she had failed to convince Lina to accompany her to the speakeasy or down to launch bay. When she had mentioned visiting the bridge to ask if there was news about Kestrel, Lina had agreed right away.
“I could ask Graves if he knows anything about the colonizers,” she had said.
“Her highness on deck!” Fisher, the XO, barked when she saw the two women enter.
Everyone snapped to attention, but Lina held up a hand.
“Please, pay me no mind. You have jobs to do and I don’t wish to be a distraction.”
“This is a surprise. How may we be of assistance?” Graves asked. His tone was polite but the gaze he directed at Sabre was flinty.
“It’s my fault we’re here,” Lina said. “I’ve been working on what you and I discussed and I was hoping you could help me out with something.”
“I’ll try,” Graves said.
Just then, communications officer Cassier called out. “Commander, we’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?” Graves asked.
“Our Scarn Nebula patrol ship is overdue. The next patrol is prepared to launch but not sure how to proceed. What are your orders?”
Sabre’s heart skipped a beat. The patrol ship was missing. Did that mean the Memnons had returned to the nebula? And if so, what did that mean for finding Kestrel and getting Hunter back alive? She had to do something!
“Who are we missing?” Graves demanded.
“Smoke and two of the new pilots—Teddy Bear and Battle Cat.”
Graves considered. “Send the next bird out but tell them to jump back at the first sign of danger.”
“If the Memnons are there, what happens then?” Lina asked.
Sabre did not hear Graves’ reply. She was already out the door and headed for the pilots’ barracks at a dead sprint.
“Grab your socks and your jocks and come with me!” Sabre shouted through the doorway when she arrived.
One of the privacy screens unzipped and out poked a bleary-eyed, dark-haired pilot. One of the new guys. Shapiro, she thought his name was. Callsign Spartan.
“Who, exactly, are you speaking to, Lieutenant?”
“You and the next pilot to poke their head out.”
Shapiro groaned. “I knew I should have played possum. This is my first rack time since the battle.”
“I can hear the violins playing in the background.” Sabre raised her voice. “I need one more volunteer. Don’t make me choose.”
“I’ll go.” A sturdily built ginger-haired man spoke up. “I’m Schroeder. Callsign Shepherd,” he said, seeing her frown.
Sabre kicked herself for not remembering. She had only just met these pilots but that was no excuse. They were under her command. She ought to know every one of them.
“How’d you get stuck with that one? Is it a statement on your dating habits?” she asked.
Shepherd laughed and started tugging on his flight suit. “What’s our assignment, Sir?”
“Our recon bird did not return to the nest. I’m going to take a Mongoose to the nebula and check it out.”
Shepherd and Shapiro froze.
“Teddy and Gwen?” Shapiro asked.
“And Smoke. Now get your asses in gear. You’re wasting time.”
The men were up and out the door in ten.
“Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the empress, Sir?” Shepherd asked, smoothing down his disheveled hair.
“That is correct.” Sabre did not elaborate. She was certain Lina would be fine.
“You said Teddy and Gwen didn’t make it home at the end of their patrol. What about the crew that relieved them?” Shapiro said.
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“How about you stow the questions until we complete our mission?” Sabre said. “Time is wasting.”
“Yes, sir,” both men replied.
Ten minutes later they were strapped into a Mongoose, going through their preflight checklist when a voice came over the comm.
“Sabre, this is the chief. What in the hells are you doing?” Ray Logan was the deck chief. A solid man, easier to deal with than most, but he had a low tolerance for bullshit.
“Secret mission, chief. Strictly on a need-to-know basis.”
“Why do I have the feeling that the commander is one of the people who did not need to know?”
“Are you going to tattle on me, Chief?” Sabre asked, all false sweetness.
Shepherd called out from the back seat. “Wait. I thought we were under orders to carry out this mission.”
“You are. My orders.” She returned to launch prep.
“Sabre,” the chief continued, “you are putting me in a difficult position here. You tricked my crew into helping you out…”
“I didn’t trick anyone. I issued an order, they obeyed. Which is what I’d advise you to do as well.”
There was a long silence on the other end. Finally the chief spoke. “Sabre, if Graves finds out I let you leave…”
“The only way you could stop me is to close the launch bay doors. Is that your plan? Because I’m bugging out of here in about ten seconds.”
The chief sighed. “No, sir. But this conversation never happened.”
“Don’t sound so glum, Chief. Everyone knows I don’t listen to a thing you say.”
The chief chuckled ruefully. “Good hunting, Sir.”
“Thank you, chief.”
From the copilot’s chair, Shapiro glared at her as they made their final prep.
“Don’t bother, Spartan. My efforts are being wasted on guard duty. I need to do something that matters. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Yes, sir,” Shapiro said dully. “Ready to take off.”
Unlike a Cobra fighter, which required a launch tube for takeoff, the Mongoose hovered and then shot down the launch bay and out into space.