by Trevor Gregg
“Okay, maybe a little more limited than when you used it last but it’ll have to do,” Alis said, completing the last of the connections. “Let’s go see if Benjam has gotten us linked to it. Then we can try to fire it up and…”
Alis stopped for a moment, and strained to hear a sound at the edges of her hearing. Something faint and… was that music?
“Benjam!” Alis cried, dashing to the bridge, Kyren in tow behind her, a worried look on his face. “Benjam, quick, scan my nanites! I think the Kirugi is coming.”
She handed him her wrench configured as a scanner and he passed it over her head.
“Indeed, they are actively blocking the signal. The Kirugi nears. Since we are in proximity to Earth, I believe it may nearly be there,” Benjam informed her.
“We’d better go soon. Can we communicate with the bot yet?” Alis questioned urgently.
“Yes. Kyren, you should be able to pass commands to it now.”
Kyren strapped on the control gear and fired up the control panel. The holoscreen before him showed a small status indicator, like a heartbeat monitor, slowly blipping by. All other systems appeared to be offline.
“Let’s see if we can start it up,” Kyren said, tapping commands and keying up routines.
Systems began to come on line, going green and indicating active. Some stayed offline, though. The bot seemed to be functional, but not fully. She hoped the failed systems weren’t going to stop them.
“How’s the warp drive look, Kyren?”
“I’ll know in a second, spinning up the system now… and… yes! It’s on line, we’re good to go.”
“What about the other systems?” Alis asked with concern.
“I don’t see anything major. I mean, performance will be affected but it should be fully functional, well not counting the damage already done to it.”
“Okay, Benjam, get us warp vectors to Earth's orbit,” Alis commanded.
In short order, Benjam had uploaded a warp vector for both the bot and the Ashari. Alis received the vector and engaged. It took several moments to recover, but when she was finally cognizant, she noticed a buzzing in her head, a cacophony, music. Dammit, not again. She desperately tried to shut out the sound, but it carried on, ever present in the background.
She checked to see that the bot had jumped with them. It was floating in space off the port side.
“We still active, Kyren?” she questioned with a slight slur.
“Yep, still green,” he slurred back.
Then she spotted it on the viewscreen, a great fireball streaking across the blue and white orb of Earth, barreling for the surface. The Kirugi was here.
81
Impact
Kyren knew this was it, this was the final confrontation. Everything had led to this. Now that it was here, Kyren knew he should be afraid, yet somehow he felt no fear. He didn’t know if it would remain so, but he reveled in the confidence while he had it.
“Benjam, what is the trajectory of that egg?” Alis demanded.
“I have overlaid the map and trajectory,” he squeaked in reply, the viewscreen changing to show an overlay of the mega-city labeled Europe.
The egg was streaming for the center of the most densely populated region labeled as Mega-France.
“Can you calculate the blast radius?” Kyren asked Benjam.
Several moments later the blast radius overlaid the long-range sensor view.
“Right there,” Kyren said, pointing at a spot just outside the blast radius. “Benjam, can you get a warp vector for the bot to put it right there?”
“Calculating,” Benjam squeaked back.
“It is about to impact, in three… two… one,” Alis counted down.
There was a flash and then a plume of debris shot upward as a ring of devastation began to pulse outward. Buildings crumbled, entire districts were obliterated by the blast wave. The spot Kyren had chosen stood on the edge of the destruction.
Kyren programmed the bot with a basic defensive routine, then uploaded the coordinates and initiated the warp. Hopefully it would be there waiting for him.
“Alis, follow that bot! Get me to the surface,” Kyren commanded.
Alis nosed the ship down and hit the thrusters, burning into atmospheric entry at full throttle. Minutes later they were clear of the visual impairments and once again viewing the city, although now at a much lower altitude, so more definition was visible.
He could see the ring of skyscrapers, some standing, others ready to topple, surrounding the impact crater. The crater from which a massive, hundred story tall beast had crawled out from. The creature was a dull brown, six-legged with a segmented body and a short, stout tail. Its legs had too many joints and ended in wicked looking claws. The head was wide and flat and bore a mouth full of sharp teeth and baleful red eyes. It was standing on the edge, and he could see tiny flecks dropping from it and descending to the ground.
Damn, the spawn were already dispersing. They’d have those egg launchers operational in no time. The Kirugi reared up and seemed to bellow, although they could not hear it, since they viewed it from so far away.
Then it looked right at them, right at the viewscreen. It’s beady red eyes felt as if they made eye contact with his. Kyren shuddered and looked away. The beast returned to its task of excreting more eggs and the caretakers, the smaller creatures.
As they flew lower, Kyren scanned the region surrounding the Kirugi. Spotting an appropriate rooftop, he marked it on the display.
“There, take me there, Alis. That’ll give me the best view while I control the Gaidan.”
“What?! I’m not dropping you off there. We’ll keep circling while you battle that thing with your bot, okay?” Alis replied.
“No, you’re needed in the sky, you’ve go to shoot down the eggs that get off the ground. In fact, Benjam, you stay here with Alis, help her shoot down the eggs. Make sure none get through or the galaxy is doomed.”
“I’m going with you, Kyren. I’m supposed to be there, after all,” Elarra added, even though he started to argue.
He realized he wouldn’t be able to stop her, so he shrugged, “Destiny and all that, right?”
She nodded grimly. As Kyren was retrieving his gear, a quantum call came through. It could only be from Isa.
Geri appeared in one corner of the main viewscreen, “The entire security infrastructure for the planet is mobilizing. That thing really made a splash, I see.”
“We’ve got to get down there Geri. Please tell us you’ve got troops,” Kyren replied, giving her a warm smile.
“I’ve got the heavy cruiser Gold Rush on-station. She’s got a full contingent of Consortium marines. Where shall I dispatch?”
“Send your troops here, have them hold the block around these buildings, okay?” Kyren finished by sending her the coordinates and pictures of the location. “Expect both human resistance and an assault by some nasty critters.”
“What do you mean human resistance?” Geri questioned.
“The inhabitants of this planet may have been influenced to provide support to the beast and its offspring. You’re likely to encounter these corrupted individuals, probably as an organized mob. Just don’t underestimate them.”
“Mom, I need comm channels to the Gold Rush, so we can coordinate the assault,” Alis requested.
Comm chatter came through the speakers as the codes came through.
“Okay, let’s get moving. Alis, get me to that rooftop,” Kyren commanded.
Alis circled the ship and hovered just above the roof.
“I don’t want to touch down, the building doesn’t look entirely stable,” she said as he was checking his gear.
“Then keep hovering, we’ll jump out. Once we’re clear get airborn and get the Gold Rush on the line. You’re gonna be the last line of defense, okay?”
Turning to Alis he was about to speak, when she kissed him again. This time quicker, lighter than before, but still just as pleasant. By the time he thought to
kiss back, she was nearly pulling back. He felt himself grinning like an idiot.
“Be careful, please,” she said, placing her hand on his chest. “Come back, alright?”
He took her soft hand in his and promised, “I will.”
She handed him a small oval device, “Communicator. Use it.”
Nodding, he stowed it in a pocket.
“Good luck, Kyren,” Benjam squeaked.
Elarra departed without any goodbyes. Kyren hopped down to the roof and Elarra jumped after. He caught her and lowered her to the ground, then waved the Ashari off. Alis banked the ship and shot for the sky, heading for orbit. Kyren watched her go, with a mixture of sadness, excitement, and another feeling, one that made his insides twinkle.
“My visions were of me in the streets. I will go street side and wait for the Consortium. You kick that thing’s ass, okay?” Elarra said as she made her way to the stairs.
“Take this, then,” he said while unbuckling his wrist blade. He handed the bracer to Elarra and nodded.
Kyren turned his attention to bringing the bot on line. Its visual sensors had all been damaged so it had to be controlled externally. This was like the old days. Bot fighting at its most basic.
Programming. Execution of carefully crafted routines, fire and forget, so to speak. Only this was a living, thinking opponent, able to move, to adapt. It was going to be a difficult fight, he knew. But at least he knew how to kill the thing, at least he knew its weak point.
He quickly began to build routines into the bot, assembling a collection of attack behaviors and linking them into a combination of moves. Some bits of the routine would be used now, others discarded but kept for later use.
Finishing his programming, Kyren hit the initiate button, and the bot sprang to life. It broke into a run, aided by its jump jets, and barreled into the Kirugi, shoulder checking it into the buildings behind. It turned and glared, letting out a tremendous howl, then charged. The fight was on.
82
Allies
The door from the roof into the stairwell squealed shut behind Elarra, plunging her into darkness. She strapped the bracer to her forearm, it was comically large. But igniting the blade provided a wan light by which to navigate. She began to descend the staircase, but only made it several floors before it was blocked by debris. Perhaps there was another way?
Elarra went up a floor and entered the building’s halls, the heavy stairwell door clanging shut behind her. She entered a maze of corridors and began to search for another staircase.
“Youuuuuuuuu!” a voice growled gutturally behind her.
She whirled to see a human woman holding a crowbar, standing behind her, having just exited what appeared to be a bathroom.
“What do you want?” Elarra questioned, unsure of what to do.
“Youuuu’re not one of us. So you die!” the woman shrieked maniacally.
She charged Elarra, raising the crowbar. Elarra felt her eyes change, her vision shift. She began to see the future as she experienced it, seeing things mere moments before they occurred.
Stepping aside she dodged the woman’s clumsy, untrained strike. With a deft maneuver she plunged the energy blade through the woman’s heart. Her body hit the floor with a thud. What was that Elarra just felt? Glee? Was that Joraq’s memory bleeding through? Was Joraq’s personality influencing her somehow?
Feeling disconcerted, Elarra continued her search for a another staircase. Her search rewarded her with a second staircase. This one took her to ground level, emptying out in the building’s lobby. She was alone, save for a single figure.
A man stood in the center of the lobby holding a long curved sword.
He spoke when Elarra approached, “Killed Janice, I see. If you’re here and she’s not, then that means you must’ve killed her.”
“I didn’t mean to, but she attacked me. You aren’t going to attack me, are you?” Elarra said, trying to mimic an actual child, but not sure she was doing a convincing job.
The man swung the sword, whipping the blade back and forth through the air. He had some measure of skill, it would seem. But she knew it wouldn’t save him. Her use of her power allowed her to see the blow before it came.
Advancing, Elarra ignited the energy blade and came in low. She dodged his swipes, rolling around his thrust and jab, then she dodged back inside and delivered a vicious swipe to his gut.
The man’s sword clattered to the ground and he fell to his knees. He struggled at the gaping wound in his gut, trying to keep his insides from falling out. He screamed and toppled over.
Mortified at her own viciousness, she was flooded by Joraq’s memories, her cackling, her demented mind, it was all there overpowering her. She couldn’t help but feel Joraq’s memories. And it was influencing her, she knew. Joraq was dead but she wasn’t gone. She probably never would be, Elarra realized. Joraq’s madness would live on in her.
Extinguishing the energy blade, she stepped past the screaming man out into the street. Elarra was confronted by a mob of humans, normal civilians interspersed with the city’s local security forces. Corrupted by the Kirugi, no doubt like the other two inside the building. They turned nearly in unison, staring Elarra down, readying their makeshift weapons, the soldiers raising their pistols and rifles.
Elarra was about to dart back into the building when a barrage of energy weapons fire cut through the crowd. They began to scatter as the pew-pew-pew of energy weapons chattered after them. Then they advanced, charging the force that had just come around the corner.
A familiar face strode down the street. Well, he wasn’t exactly familiar, she didn’t know him personally. But he was a raxi, dressed in full battle armor bearing a plasma rifle. Small arms fire pinged off his armor and he raised his rifle, mercilessly gunning down the security forces and charging civilians alike. The firing ceased as the last of the crowd was felled.
“Serve the Visikaji!” the raxi soldier called gutturally, thumping his fist to his chest. “What we do for you now?”
Elarra was ecstatic, the raxi were here to help. A squad of nearly one hundred? That would do nicely. It wasn’t going to be easy of course, but this made it possible. She couldn’t have held the building by herself, no matter how much future sight she had.
“Hold this building. Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets inside unless I say so, okay?” she instructed.
“Affirmative!” the raxi nodded once and peeled away, returning to deliver orders to his squad.
Suddenly, another crowd burst around the corner. This time they were unarmed, and appeared to be fleeing in terror. The crowd surged past her nearly driving her to the ground. Then she saw them, what the crowd was fleeing from. The smaller creatures that the Kirugi had disgorged, the miniature versions of itself.
They tore into the people, biting and slashing. Feeling a sense of familiarity, she turned to her left and saw a horde of the creatures traveling down the side street, moving to flank them. The raxi reacted, taking up defensive positions and unloading on the approaching creatures. They felled many, but the creatures kept coming. Their charge was suicidal, though, as the last one was splattered by screaming plasma bolts.
The raxi were not complacent about their victory, though. They immediately sprang into action, fanning out and taking up defensive positions around the entrance. Many streamed into the building and soon appeared at broken second and third floor windows. They were now dug in, it was just a matter of waiting.
Several more began moving vehicles, creating a barricade at the building’s entrance. As she stood near the entrance and watched, she spotted a sturdy police vehicle turn into the street heading toward the entrance. It began to accelerate at a greater pace the closer it approached.
“Raxi, be ready!” she called, and they hunkered down.
The vehicle sped directly at the building entrance, but slammed into the vehicle barricade, jerking to a halt. However, the occupants of the vehicle apparently were unharmed, and opened several hatches and began
firing out. The raxi returned fire but many were downed by the barrage from the vehicle’s laser turret. The raxi return fire was stymied by the vehicle’s heavy armor.
Elarra darted for cover as fire was directed her way. This was going to end badly. They would be gunned down where they stood, and they couldn’t touch their attackers. She peeked around the pylon she was sheltering behind and watched her raxi being savagely gunned down.
Dammit, there wasn’t anything she could do to save them. They had no heavy weapons. She watched as another crowd began to advance on the building.
Suddenly, a smoky trail streaked down the street from the opposite direction, terminating in a fiery explosion as the police vehicle detonated. The heat from the blast warmed her cheek as she cowered to avoid flying debris. Looking past the now burning police vehicle, she spotted the squad of Consortium Marines, clad in the typical white battle armor.
A heavy weapons soldier in power armor was reloading the rocket launcher they had just used on the police vehicle. A familiar figure led the squad. Geri.
“Geri!” Elarra cried, dashing over.
“Elarra?” Geri said tentatively, seemingly unsure of her own response. “I landed with Isa and this squad a couple of streets over. We’re here to help. What can we do?”
“Just make sure nothing gets into this building, okay? We’ve got to protect Kyren, he’s on the roof controlling the bot.”
“Got it. You heard the girl, nothing gets in here Marines!” she bellowed to the troops.
The Consortium Marines fanned out, taking up defensive positions outside the building alongside the raxi. They had a fighting chance now. But she knew, from her visions, that a wave of trouble was coming their way.
83
Brawl
Kyren initiated the first of his attack routines. The bot stepped back, then delivered a vicious spinning kick. The Kirugi dodged, as he anticipated, and the bot whirled, pointing the remaining plasma emitter at the beast’s eye. But before he could fire, it dropped its head, the blast taking it on the highly resistant carapace of its skull, instead of the eye as he had aimed for.