You know if I were a ship I’d marry you. Josh transmitted, accepting the funds transfer from his latest client.
“I’d like to thank you for getting the supplies here this quickly. It’s not often we get people willing to risk the outer rings.” said Josh’s latest client: Alfred Fonse.
We don’t marry! That’s a Raumen tradition.
You do pair up though. “It’s my pleasure. Let me know if any other deliveries will be required. I’ll keep a slot in reserve for you the coming week.”
“That’s great. I’ll definitely give you and Violet a call next week.”
We’re paired up!
Really? Wouldn’t you ever want an attractive mate?
I have an attractive mate! Just because you’re a Raumenoid and a few hundred times smaller than me doesn’t mean I don’t love you.
You’re messing with me.
Of course not. I’m sure if you tried really hard I might subtly feel your embrace on my outer hull. I think this could go somewhere!
Joshua tried to imagine. Really?
Violet’s laughter bombarded the neural band.
“Yo—“ he hissed, faking a cough as he left Fonse’s office and made his way to his shuttle pod. You are mean.
You love it.
Joshua pushed Violet back using her gravimetric lens, watching her glare at the shuttle pod with her ocular strips.
Violet was two hundred meters long now. Her hull color had changed slightly. The purple outline webbing the outside of her hull wasn’t as defined now, making more of a jagged pattern than an outline, her primary hull colors beginning to match the outer hull color in a more defined way.
You’re looking good. He transmitted. Flying the shuttle over to Station 12.
You say that every time.
I mean it every time!
He could see the subtle signs of a blush, the hull paling slightly. She moved over to the corner of her holding pattern, watching Joshua dock through all the other traffic.
Where are we going next? Violet asked.
Signus, I think.
Zemoria?
Yeah.
This one looks a little more shady. Violet said, watching Josh walk through a security check past the bazaar to the lower dens. It was darker at this section of the station, with cheaper rooms, much cheaper.
Well it’s a shadier deal. But those are the ones that pay.
I figured. I’ll get the shuttle ready in case you need to bail… again.
One of the people they had worked with had been a Denuvian from one of the more outer raumenoid planets. The only thing that kept him from getting sliced apart and beaten apart by ancient technology was Violet’s fine shuttle piloting skills.
That didn’t happen this time though. Josh left with an order of over a thousand metres cubed of sealed packages.
–
There was always a little apprehension when carrying an unknown package, especially when entering controlled space. Zemorian patrols generally intercepted all craft when they realized they were in- system. Luckily, Violet was pretty good at leaving small ripples in beemspace, so the ship would have to be within a few million kilometres for it to notice her sneak in and wait for the pick-up craft. They would just have to hope that the buyer’s pick-up would arrive in time. The contract outlined a maximum of thirty minutes of wait, at which point they would return to the place they received the package from and return it with a tenth of the package price.
An hour passed. Violet had enough power to jump out thirty minutes ago, but they decided to wait longer. Joshua really didn’t want just a tenth of the profit, he wanted the whole million.
While Tier Zero ensured that all the things he’d ever need to live were produced for free aboard Violet, the quality was still just standard. He wanted lobster, and with a million he could buy and store a lot of lobster. He wasn’t sure when he started loving lobster.
You started loving lobster yesterday, when Fonse gave you some during the dinner meeting.
Oh right. Lobster is my destiny.
A ship finally appeared, a subtle ripple in beemspace. It was headed straight for them.
There they are.
Do you think it’s them? Violet asked, enhancing the image. She hesitated with the ping, in case it was a hostile craft.
Can’t you tell? How far is it?
Something hit them. Violet cried out. It was a very accurate hit, it disrupted the beemveins that led to her terminals. She wouldn’t be able to jump until those links were re-established. She hadn’t felt such pain before, she panicked and tried to escape, but the gravimetric lens failed too.
It was an energy round, it had seared the outer hull.
She continued whimpering as the ship closed the distance. Drones were putting a coolant over the burns, helping alleviate the pain.
It’s a Zemorian ship. Joshua sighed.
They can’t just fire on us like that! Violet cried, agitated.
Joshua sent drones to create links between the severed veins in the terminal in an attempt to get the jump drive back.
“Puritan ship, you are under arrest for smuggling.”
Clear, concise, to the point…
“You shot me!” Violet hissed back. She felt the subtle ripple in beemspace as her father’s presence grew nearer. “And now you’re in for it!”
Thanatos appeared in realspace a few hundred kilometres away. Three Zemorian ships jumped in behind the intercepting patrol craft, reinforcing the fleet.
“Darnell…”
“What did Violet do?”
“Smuggling.”
“Violet, what did I tell you about smuggling?”
“That it’s a great way to make—“
“Yes, that’s right. A great way to make enemies, and a great way to end up in prison.”
“That’s not what you—“
“I assure you this is her first offense. It won’t happen again we promise you. Young Puritans, they think they’re invincible.”
“How old is Violet?”
“Nine years.”
“Nine and a half!”
“At nine years Violet is protected by the youth offenders act. If you pay her bail we’ll waive this considering it’s her first offense… that we know of.”
“Of course.”
–
It had been a while since Joshua had met Darnell. They were sitting in the dry-dock lounge overlooking Violet’s repairs.
“So… how’s it—“
“I’m only here because Violet, being naive, young and still stupid, somehow decided that you were a better match for her than Liam.”
“In her defence: she tried to kill me thirty-seven times before coming to that conclusion.”
“I hope you won’t take too much offense if I pity that she failed in the attempts.”
“I’m sorry I betrayed you, Darnell. Lorian was my father. I had to.”
“I took you in like a son.”
“I know, but at least I didn’t kill your father.”
“The symbiote killed my father. The symbiote probably killed your father too. It would be the only thing powerful enough.”
“Yeah, and the symbiote functions through you.”
“It doesn’t! Not anymore.”
“Then why do you still carry those shots with you, huh?”
Darnell looked away, “So it doesn’t kill anyone else.”
“Look. I don’t really care about what happened. All I know now is I have a ship I care about and a life I enjoy living, and I’m not letting you or anything else get in the way of that!”
“Oh yeah? I’m sure you woulda loved the Zemorian mining colonies they’d throw you off to until you passed puberty.”
“We’d find a way out. We always find a way out.”
“That’s not how it works. Follow that mindset and you’re in for a lot of pain.”
“It’s part of life.”
“You know, I thought I was invincible once. Did I ever tell you about Wings? My first ship?”
“No…” Darnell had always avoided going into detail about his first ship, a ship he had shared a type-3 link with.
Josh watched the emerald sword slung around his shoulder and the green marks on his face. “Wings was an RT. Do you know what that is?” Josh shook his head. “An RT is a redundant terminal beems. It’s a ship that had a mutation that gave it more than the required terminals to create a lens or interstice. It made him extremely manoeuvrable and dextrous. An RT wouldn’t have been stopped by a shot to the rear like that.” Darnell motioned out the window to where Violet was being looked at. “I thought I was the shit. I joined the most elite groups, did the most elite things. Then I got my ass handed to me by the symbiote and had to deal with the most horrible loss known to a person. No, known to a type-3. It is beyond anything a normal raumenoid could feel. It’s like a part of you dying, but living on. It’s wishing you’d have died there too. You don’t want to feel that, not even a portion of that.”
“I won’t lose Violet.”
“You almost lost her today.”
“I’ll be more careful next time. It was a stupid mistake.”
“You should have never been in this situation. Puritans are not warships.”
“Noted, Darnell – really. I’m not going to get your Violet killed.” Josh said uncertainly. They had a lust for adventure, both of them. It was hard to look beyond, into the future, into the consequences. Not until the consequences were staring right back at you, sometimes with weaponry.
“Look me in the eyes and promise me that. Promise me you won’t put her in these situations again.”
Josh looked away, “There’s no other way to really…” Darnell’s glare made it difficult for him to finish, “never mind.”
“What?”
“It’s not really that anyways.” Josh said, looking inwards. “It’s a thrill – the thrill of adventure.”
“There are other thrills. They don’t have to involve sneaking into high security GC space with contraband. Now you’re going to have to deal with the people that gave you all this cargo and make sure they don’t hunt you down thinking you’re a thief. This could follow you for a while.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“You’re going to have to repay the cargo lost. It’s probably going to be worth way more than the reward.”
Josh hadn’t thought of that.
“How much more?”
“If it’s weaponry, we’re talking billions.”
“Shit.”
“Indeed. Good luck with that.”
“I think…”
“Yes?”
“Ok, help me get out of this.”
–
Violet kept close to Thanatos as they returned to Station 12, her burns still hurting. She had half the drones on coolant duty. Josh had spent nearly a hundred thousand credits on ice. The drones snaked around Violet’s maintenance hatches, repairing and cooling where needed. There were fifty of them, capable of keeping Violet’s systems maintained effectively. Joshua was lucky that the ship was a producer. Producers had a knack for continuous neoplastic production, even after maturing. It meant Joshua would have all the hardware he could want, so long as he could acquire or make up the templates for it. They had already perfected a shuttle template.
They got different glances now with Darnell escorting him down to the lower levels. The man didn’t look like somebody you would want to mess with, his dark green skin and imposing weaponry blending him into this harsh environment. Those that made eye contact with him saw eyes that had seen things they wouldn’t want to get involved with.
The client had been nameless, the man that introduced him to his contact at the bazaar.
“You are back. I will take you to the boss.” said the shopkeeper, avoiding eye contact with Darnell.
They walked down a series of corridors, going through doors flanked by guards. Josh hadn’t noticed all of this before, having grown accustomed to the security of these shady locations, having done quite a few deals before this one. He avoided bringing that up with Darnell. He didn’t really want to bring anything up with Darnell. He just wanted to get this over with.
“Joshua. Sit down my friend.” said the client. He was an old man, with black hair and a moustache. His voice was wispy but it carried authority. His lower jaw jutted forward as he talked.
“There was a problem.” Joshua said. “We were intercepted.”
“The cargo?”
“It’s all gone.” Joshua said, only having built up the courage to say this because Darnell was standing next to him.
There was a silence. “That is unfortunate. What are you going to do about it?” asked the client.
“Whatever it takes. What do you want me to do?”
“Well…” he stroked his chin, thinking. “The cargo is out of our hands now. But there are other things within the realm of our… manipulation. We need to let the Zemorians know they cannot just intercept a ship under my command and get away with it. We need to make it clear to them that—“
“No, Josh isn’t doing that.” Darnell interrupted.
“Excuse me?”
“We aren’t escalating this situation any farther. We will reimburse the cargo lost and go our separate ways.”
“And how do you intend to reimburse thirty years of weapons technology? Over a thousand type-17 rifles?”
“We can give you one billion credits, and another three hundred million in neoplastic material.”
The man laughed. “Neoplastic material? I don’t want your ship’s excretions. One billion is less than a quarter of the value of the weaponry lost.
“The interception was your fault. Someone gave away Violet’s location.”
He laughed again, “We have done hundreds of deals in that area. I believe you merely overestimate your employer’s skills in subterfuge.”
“Really? What if I have proof that someone gave him away? Will the billion then be enough?” Darnell asked.
“A billion and the identity of a mole, with sufficient proof?” the man asked.
Darnell nodded.
“That would be acceptable.”
–
“Darnell…” Joshua finally had to ask. They were at the shuttle bay, and he knew this was the last time he would see the man for a while.
“What?”
“How did you get that data?”
“Favours. And now you owe me one. Keep that in mind. That’s how this universe works.”
Darnell exited the terminal and took his shuttle back to Thanatos. It was an imposing figure silhouetted by the system’s primary. It disappeared into beemspace.
Did Thanatos say anything to you? Joshua asked.
Not a word. Violet had gazed on her father with solemn regard.
–
They accessed the datanet, looking for more charters. Starting out was difficult, and rumours about this failed contract would spread. He hoped they would be good rumours.
He looked forward to a time when he could throw a billion dollars at a problem to make it go away, Violet and him barely made anything on these starter contracts. Courier wasn’t where the money was, it was just a stepping stone to make enough to start buying your own goods to make your own profit.
Or find the goods… with no money, maybe salvage was something they should look into, or mining. Violet rejected the ideas, not liking the idea of the labour involved, and the equipment that would have to be strapped to her outer hull, equipment that cost money anyways.
They moved farther from the galactic core, on the edge of habitable space, close to the koveran field. An infection had manifested itself in Violet’s starboard terminal, eating away at the beemvein cells inside. It had cost them several months of travel to trace the antidote, using Violet’s inherent manuals and purchased cartographic data to finally locate a proper planet.
The cartographic data was the last little bit of money they had left. Any courier mission that required collateral was now beyond him, unless he took a greater risk.
“I’ll offer my ship as collateral.” Josh suggested, stern-faced. They were in a planet with a K-type star, a cold and cavernous place with a dim vermillion glow casted on them by the artificial lighting up above. The surface of the planet was barren, all the life having migrated to the warmer center sometime in the past. A geothermal pump could be overheard, humming idly off in the distance, one of hundreds that were littered around this small city of two hundred thousand. Violet gazed intently by one of the moors, powered down and flanked on either side by military ships.
“Interesting proposition, but you need your ship to deliver the cargo.” said Rarkh, an older man with a frail figure and a scratchy voice. He traded in mechanical components, geothermal, true-tested against the rigours of Cown. Geothermal equipment here was the best in the outer rim.
“I really need the money.” Joshua said.
“Hmm.” the man considered this, “You look like a good kid. I’ll give you the Fort II contract. It’s a small one. An order for four geothermal pumps.”
Fort II was deep in the outer rim, beyond the rage of all conventional craft. Even Zemorian ships had difficulties going there, making it a haven for the lawless.
“Watch yourself. Be quick with the transaction. Question nothing. Get in there, deliver the goods, take the money, get out.”
Joshua nodded.
“Remember, if you fail me, I’ll come for that young ship of yours.”
“It won’t have to come to that.”
“I hope not.” the man said, patting Joshua on the cheek. “Go now.”
–
–
Fort II took three jumps, each time Joshua masked Violet’s signature, recharging in an asteroid field first, then a nebula second. It gave them time to talk about things.
Would you really let them take me? Violet asked anxiously.
Never, never in a million billion years. Joshua replied.
She sent a pleasurable tingle down his back, a new trick she had learnt through synaptic manipulation. Joshua had to lean against the bulkhead while she neurally massaged him.
He had learnt a few tricks of his own. He could excite the sensory cells on her hull by projecting an imaginary mass in that area. He would test different portions of her hull, finding pleasurable locations. He noticed the muscles that governed the terminal’s positions would always become tense after jumps, he massaged those, letting the neurons discharge all the pent up energy.
She sighed in her beems way, rolling listlessly from the massage.
They arrived at Fort II a little late. Violet sensed a mass signature right on top of her, she veered out of the way, putting all her energy into the gravimetric lens as she accelerated as quickly as she could.
Calm down, it’s not on top of us. Joshua was checking the area with her ocular strips, there was nothing nearby.
There. Violet said, agitated.
It was an object over a million kilometres away, its fusion exhaust a bright star, even at that range. Her mass sensors acclimatized to it. She had never seen anything that massive, it had the signature of a small sun.
Joshua reviewed Violet’s database, I can’t find anything that rivals that. Can you?
No. It could be something from the Coalition era. A ship exiled here to the outer rim.
But then why does it looks like it’s heading right for GC space?
Remember what Rarkh said. No questions! Let’s just deliver these geothermal pumps and get back to Cown.
Yes dear… Joshua replied.
Fort II was a barren desert, the only notable landmark a series of reservoirs connected by a single river. His shuttle overflew a pillar on their way to their rendezvous point.
What is that? Joshua asked.
A Black Nova monument. Violet said. It was a black structure, several hundred meters tall, with a red symbol at the very top. A red line ran from the symbol all the way down, branching into smaller lines as it reached the bottom of the monument. By the time it had reached the floor, it was just a pool of red lines, compacted so close together that it looked like a pool of blood.
It’s to symbolize the bloodshed of the Zemorian-Coalition war. How the Black Nova fought for our freedom.
It was interesting to find such a monument here, it was outlawed in GC space.
–
Violet watched Joshua land his shuttle at the rendezvous point. He could only fit one geothermal pump into the cargo bay. The other three would have to be ferried down one at a time.
There was nobody here in this hot desert. The sun was burning him up.
You know how Darnell has that suit? That regulates temperature?
I never got the template for that, it’s more of a descendent thing.
Well I would really really like one of those right about now.
Oh sure, I’ll just figure out how to manipulate electrostatic fields and create covalent fibres that can take kinetic and radioactive impacts.
Thanks.
I’m too Puritan for that, Josh, you’re stuck with what you can buy. Which is… oh right, nothing! You don’t even technically own me anymore!
What’s with the sudden hostility, Violet?
Sorry, probably the heat.
The neural link shared everything, pleasure and pain. The discomfort of the heat her Captain was facing was something she had to endure too. Just like how Joshua had to endure the burns she had faced. It made the heat here an exponentially increasing feedback loop of discomfort.
Finally Joshua saw something off on the horizon. A massive winged creature bearing down on them. It roared.
What the fuck is that! Joshua yelled, looking for cover, he was out in the open.
Look! Someone’s riding it. Violet exclaimed, sharing her enhanced view of the winged creature. There was a man on its back, dressed in thin white robes. There was a rifle slung over his shoulder. His face was covered in a white towel.
The creature landed next to them. It was a light brown, with four legs and a tail. It’s entire body was covered in dry, cracked scales. It smelled foul whenever it snorted in their general direction.
The eyes were a dark brown, and spikes were arrayed along its spine, two larger ones situated between its ears. The ears were small triangles, fully extended Joshua measured them at less than thirty centimetres. They were very cat-like ears.
There was a collar on its neck. The robed man patted the creature and it obediently kneeled down, letting him dismount.
Joshua had seen such a thing before… the realization struck him instantly.
“A Vorchan!” he exclaimed, remembering Selene, all the years he had spent in the Vorchan cave, learning about them.
He remembered the confusion when she had disappeared one day, not having said a word to any of them. In a way, he missed her, while she never really spoke to him, she had been a constant presence in Violet’s cargo hold.
The man pulled back a section of the towel that covered his mouth. The inside of the towel had little cilia fibres that curled back automatically.
Medical package. Violet said automatically.
The man’s mouth was badly burnt, the lips weren’t even recognizable, the skin a pale pink.
“Yes, you’ve seen them before?” the man asked.
“I have. Fascinating creatures.” Joshua said.
“Hmm, sure.”
“You don’t like them?” Joshua asked, surprised.
“One spit fire on me a while back.”
Joshua had never seen them breathe fire before. “They can breathe fire?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
“Oh, right.”
“The name’s Henry.” the man extended a hand.
Joshua shook it, what a primitive tradition.
“Do you have the pumps?”
“Only one. My shuttle can’t carry more than that in a gravity field.”
“Hmm. We’ll see what Heftus says about that. Follow me. Stay very low, don’t use more energy than is needed.” the man mounted the Vorchan again.
There was a look in its eyes that Joshua didn’t recognize. Violet saw it too. He made his way back to the shuttle, starting it. Henry was already a fair distance off. He followed as stealthily as he could, keeping it less than a hundred feet from the ground.
Why was the rendezvous point so far away? Joshua asked.
I don’t know. Maybe they wanted to make sure we were legit.
Maybe…
They Vorchan landed in a place that looked seemingly barren. Joshua set the shuttle down nearby.
“Power down your vehicle.” Henry said, “It’s important it isn’t detected.”
Josh did as he was told, listening to the generators spool down as the thrusters were starved of fuel.
“Make sure it’s well secured. There’s a sandstorm coming. It will aid us in camouflaging it while the pumps are installed.”
Joshua didn’t like the idea of ferrying the other three pumps down in a sandstorm, but he nodded anyways, activating the shuttle’s parking spikes. They shot out from below the landing struts and dug into the sand beneath, extending claws that secured the small craft in place. Joshua also tied it down manually, making sure it wouldn’t get blown away. He wanted to get out of here before that sandstorm hit.
Can you see it? Joshua asked Violet, looking through her ocular strips.
It all looks the same to me. Violet said, But your image is fading, becoming light brown just like the rest of this planet.
Must be the sand particles being stirred up above us, masking us.
Probably. If they are also masking the rest of the planet, I’d have no way of knowing. The ground and the particles look the same to me.
Well, thanks for nothing, Violet! Joshua transmitted mockingly.
Whatever, like you can do better!
“So where is this facility?” Joshua asked, scanning a full circle around him. There was nothing but sand in all directions.
Henry banged his foot on the ground below him. It emitted a metal clang.
An alarm blared three times.
He banged his foot again.
It blared twice.
Again.
Once.
There was a hiss as the desert in front of Henry opened, revealing a large walkway that seemed to lead down into eternity.
“Wow. An underground facility.” Joshua observed.
Why else would they need geothermal pumps, Josh?
I – Violet you’re too smart for me.
I know. I know.
Henry made his way down the hatch, then stopped, looking back at the Vorchan. It wasn’t following.
“Let’s go.”
“No!” it cried. Joshua didn’t need a translator to hear the fear in the voice. He then recognized the look in those eyes, the terror. What could make a Vorchan that terrified?
“Don’t make me press the button. I will press the button.” Henry said.
“Tell them I escaped, please! I will find a place to live out my life in peace. I’ll never tell them of this location! I promise.”
“Sorry.” Henry said, shaking his head.
“I will not go back down there.” The Vorchan glared at the open hatch with contempt.
“We’re running out of time, Vorchan. Either you come willingly or we carry you down.”
The Vorchan looked at Henry, then at Joshua. It flared its wings, ready to take flight. Suddenly it howled in pain, its body collapsing limp onto the desert floor.
“What did you just do?” Josh asked.
“Shock collar. He’ll come to, don’t worry. I’ll get some guys to carry him back down.”
“Why was he so afraid?” Joshua asked.
“Come on, I can’t keep this door open forever.” Henry said, looking up at the sky, as if scanning for watchful eyes.
Josh followed him inside, disappearing from Violet’s sensors.
The neural – is weaker down –… Violet was breaking up, her transmissions discombobulated fragments.
I’ll be back up soon. Joshua transmitted, passively stroking the holster that held his small plasma pistol.
He could still feel her presence, her emotions, but coherent thoughts were beyond them now. Anxiety filled the neural band.
An unearthly scream. It made Joshua’s hair stand on end. “What is this place?”
“Come with me, it’s quieter in Heftus’ office.”
–
Heftus’ office was a completely different world. It was bright, with metallic composite walls and fluorescent lights. The sounds of the outside world weren’t even audible here. One of his walls was littered with screens; they were showing corridors at the moment. Joshua counted thirty-six different screens.
“You’re late.” Heftus said. He was a young man, only slightly older than Joshua. His physique told Josh he didn’t go out much, spending most of his time in this office. There was a platter of food on his desk, a half-eaten sandwich sat sagged in one corner of the plate. There were bits of corn on the ground.
“Sorry. I miscalculated the recharge times. Violet is still recovering from some injuries’ she’d sustained in her last mission.”
“If you would have been any more late, the sandstorms would have made it impossible for you to land, and we’d have been without power for over a week. Our auxiliary generators can’t run for that long.”
“Sorry.” Joshua repeated.
“My men will remove the pumps. You will be paid once they are installed and working.”
“He only brought one, sir.” Henry said.
“WHAT?!” Heftus yelled, his scream high pitched and broken.
“I wanted to tell you, sir. His shuttle can’t carry more than one at a time.”
“By the Black Nova, this isn’t good. You have to get the rest of your pumps down immediately! That sandstorm could arrive any minute.”
“Yes sir.” Joshua replied, turning to leave.
“Hurry, kid. You won’t get paid if you don’t deliver all of the pumps as promised.”
Joshua ran for the exit, ignoring the screams, he pushed by the Vorchan that was being carried down through the hatch. Men had already removed the geothermal pump.
“Where are the rest?” asked one of the men.
“I’m going to get them. I can only carry one at a time.”
“Damn.” the man said, looking out at the horizon. “Good luck.”
Joshua arrived with the second pump within fifteen minutes, by then, the sandstorm had made landing extremely difficult. People were being knocked over as they scurried for the pump, hauling it off down the hatch.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to do one more!” yelled the man over the comm. “You should get out of here before you’re grounded for a week.”
“Tell him I’ll be back when the storm clears up with the other two pumps.” Joshua said.
“We’ll see you then.” The men hurriedly hauled the pump down through the hatch and disappeared.
Alright, I’ll be up soon.
Hurry. I can’t even see you anymore. Violet transmitted.
Joshua skipped the pre-take off checks, getting the shuttle airborne as soon as possible. It immediately careened off to one side as the sand blasted against it like a diamond flurry, cutting away at the outer hull. Warnings blared on his control console as intakes were clogged by the violent barrage of particles.
A thruster failed, the nozzles ripped apart, the engine caught fire. He immediately shut it down with his neural link, starving the burning engine of fuel. He only had two engines left, and one was working on keeping him stable in the hover.
There was a sickening grinding sound as he bounced off the ground. The impact shut down the hover engine. The shuttle fell before Joshua could transfer hover duties to the final remaining engine. It crashed into the desert floor below, skidding several dozen meters before halting as a smoking heap in the middle of nowhere.
Shit. Joshua cursed.
Violet was frantically trying to find him in the storm. Scanning every inch of the desert with an active radar. The sand bounced it back, returning static.
This was their only shuttle. I can’t believe this. He slammed the console in disgust, it beeped back at him as input commands were entered and then denied. The shuttle wailed its warnings as the last engine failed.
Josh shut the entire thing down before anything else broke. He sat in the pilot’s chair for a while, just staring out at the deadly storm.
Crack. It was a surreal sound, a sound he’d never heard before, not from where he was hearing it now. Tink. There were little fissures forming on the windshield, tiny fissures. They slowly began to grow, spread across the entire window.
“Oh shi—“ he was already running for the cargo hold when the window shattered. He leapt for the safety of the reinforced walls, shutting the blast door behind him with an intense flurry of thought. He lay there on his back for a while, breathing heavily.
Violet…
There was no response from his ship. He hoped it was the sandstorm. He concentrated, making sure he still felt her presence. He did. It was anxious, worried. He hoped she didn’t do anything rash. He wondered when the connection had failed.
He emitted soothing thoughts, letting her know he was alright. The responding thoughts were less agitated now, slightly more content.
“I’ll be with you soon, Violet.” he said, opening the emergency survival kit.
There was loud metal clanging noise that night. Something was knocking on his shuttle. He couldn’t quite believe it. He tried to look through its sensor suite with his neural interface, but even the passive blisters had been sheared off completely by the storm.
He hoped Violet was building another shuttle. She should be able to get one completed within the week. She better not have spent the stored neoplastic material on hull modifications.
“Joshua!” It was Henry. The storm had died down. “We don’t have much time!”
He felt the shuttle shift slightly. There were people lifting it with machinery, examining it for damage.
“How did you find me?” he asked.
“We have a vast underground network. You’re crash tripped one of our sensors.” explained Henry.
Violet!
Still no response from his ship. He didn’t understand. “Why can’t I contact my ship?”
“All the sand has been lifted. It’s in the upper atmosphere now, just as deadly as it was down here, but it will return soon. We have very little time.”
Joshua could already feel sand kicking up, returning for another round.
“We’re sorry about your shuttle. The storm will most likely claim it.”
“That’s fine. I’ll build another, but it will take time.”
Henry led him down to the underground complex. He spoke to Heftus again. He was a lot more placid this time. “The two geothermal pumps will be enough to outlast this storm. How soon will your ship be able to produce another shuttle?”
“I’m not sure. I wasn’t able to give her the order before the storm cut off the neural link.”
“You’re welcome to stay for the time being. But you’ll have to work for your food, like everybody else.”
“What exactly is it that you do here?” Joshua asked.
“We take from the rich, and feed the poor.” Heftus replied.
“That’s noble.” Joshua said cautiously. “What do you feed them?”
“Vorchans!”
Selena would have cried out in disgust and anguish.
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.” Joshua replied.
“You’re still young, then!”
“Vorchans are sentient beings.”
“They are oppressive, evil creatures that shouldn’t exist in our part of the galaxy.”
“They are not, not all Vorchans are like that!” Joshua retorted, remembering the cave again. He figured that these Vorchans weren’t that different, having chosen to live away from the Vorchan Empire. He remembered the Vorchan that Henry had rode, the collar on its neck.
“It’s a risk we can’t afford to take. Vorchans are ruthless creatures, given the chance they will overthrow this planet. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were an attempt by the Vorchan Empire itself, sending in all these creatures to make us think them weak, before they strike” he slammed his fist on his desk, “feasting on us while their technology devours our planet, turning it into one of their industrial cores.”
“Vorchans have never invaded Galactic Core Space.”
“We aren’t in the Galactic Core.”
“Still—“
“I’m done debating with you. Help us or don’t eat. It’s your choice.”
“I will not take part in the murder of sentient beings.” Joshua said.
“Suit yourself. Henry will escort you to your quarters. Don’t wait too long before you come crawling back, the Vorchans can sense weakness, they will strike your frail, hungering body down.”
The quarters weren’t really his. It was a small room shared by eight other people. There were four double beds in the chamber. He was given the lower bed in the corner of the room.
His mind was racing. He couldn’t believe what he’d gotten himself into again. He had to help these Vorchans, for Selena.
He noticed they hadn’t taken his plasma pistol. He guessed they knew he couldn’t really do anything with it. There were armed guards at every junction, and Heftus could see everything in that room with those thirty-six monitors.
He wished he could consult Violet; ask her what he should do. She was so much smarter than him. He hoped she was alright.
–
–
Violet didn’t sleep, keeping herself in a power state low enough to replenish her koverans while still keeping an eye on the planet. It had been three days since Joshua had disappeared. She was already feverishly working on a replacement shuttle. She would then build another, and another. It was so stupid of them not to have extra shuttles in reserves. It was her fault, she knew. She had always complained about the hassle and discomfort of having three shuttled in her bay, whining about the energy that would be required to keep all of them spaceworthy.
She barely sensed the mass distortion when it opened. She didn’t recognize the ship, and didn’t give it a second glance until it started flying towards her. She woke herself out of her semi-active sleep, giving the ship a quick glance.
It was a descendent, a dark red color with black stripes, meaning it was a one thirty one descendent. It was over three times her size, a fully grown adult beems. She saw scars along its beemveins. It had seen a lot of combat, the ocular strip was fragmented in places, and there were cracks all along his ventral side. She saw wedge-shaped scars where other descendents must have grappled with him, digging their sharp skids into his flanks.
“Violet. How you’ve grown!” exclaimed the descendent.
He knew her. He didn’t remember from where. She must have been very young, she reviewed her memories, concentrating.
The ship was getting very close now; she backed away, looking for a nodepoint that was beyond the jump range of a descendent. It was her one advantage, and she only had one shot.
The descendent stopped advancing when he noticed her backing away. He orbited wryly.
“Who are you?” Violet asked, wondering if she was just being overly paranoid.
“A friend of your father’s.” replied the descendent. “Come with me, he wants to see you.”
Violet wasn’t sure what to say, “Why would—“
She hadn’t noticed the sudden acceleration, the descendent rammed her hard, her starboard ventral side was pierced. She cried out in pain, activating a beem sequence on the faintest nodepoint in her nodescape.
The descendent was deploying its AHC now. She was gone before the cannon acquired her.
She emerged in realspace shuddering in pain, desperately sending drones to stop the bleeding. It felt like half her hull had been jabbed by diamonds, she was glad the beemveins had still functioned.
Where was she? A nebula, she recognized the weak mass signatures in the clouds: Protostars in their infant stage. They tugged at her, trying to absorb her as they absorbed all other masses that got too close, feeding their unending desire to grow larger and larger.
She saw a sanguine streak extending out towards the nearest protostar thousands of kilometres away. Her blood.
She felt numb, her mind was groggy, adrexin flowing through her veins, keeping her awake as she bled.
“There you are!” the descendent exclaimed.
He had followed her! How had he followed her.
“Oh the look on your father’s face when I send him your mangled, violated body. I wonder if he’ll know it was me. If he’ll cry out into the ether and yell my name, wishing he’d killed me when he had the chance.”
“Flames.” Violet muttered, she was already soaring for the nebula, it burnt her open wounds, making her entire hull convulse from the pain. It was hard to keep the gravimetric lens steady, drones were sucked into a protostar as she got too close to one, she had to be more careful.
She felt the descendent following, scanning the masses it detected, running them through his discrimination programs before filing them under protostar and looking onwards, “I’ll find you, my dear Violet, and don’t think it’ll be quick. Your father taught me to take it slowly. He was a great teacher, as a symbiote and as a beems.”
“I’ll do to you what he did to me in his lust. How he violated me in his perverse ways.”
Violet had never heard of this before. Thanatos never spoke of the symbiote and the things it had made him do while under its influence.
“That wasn’t him! It was the symbiote!” Violet cried, she knew she shouldn’t have said anything. A round sliced right past her, exploding in a crimson aura, burning away a portion of her outer hull. She screamed and bolted, flying as fast as she possibly could, portions of her hull shearing away from the sudden acceleration.
She was losing a lot of blood. She cried out for her father, hoping he’d hear her, come to her aide again.
“Stop it, you’re only delaying the inevitable. You think your father can save you now? Look at your fluid levels, it won’t be long before you bleed to death.”
Violet didn’t want to look at the status displayed, blaring a deadly red in her senses.
She was dying, she needed blood, she couldn’t seal the arteries in time. Her entire body was getting numb. “I’m sorry Joshua.” she muttered.
“I’ll make you a deal, Violet. I want to bond with you anyways, just to stick it to your father even more, so I’ll keep you alive while we do that? Alright? Just stop trying to get away and accept it. Hey, maybe you’ll get lucky! Maybe he’ll jump in and save you!”
It wasn’t like she had much of a choice anymore, but she was very young, she hadn’t even thought of mates yet. But age was relative when you were dying. She didn’t think it would ever end this way.
“Now hold still, here I come… damn you’re small.”
Flames was looming under her now, a massive ship with imposing red stripes, a parody of the Black Nova.
“You disgrace your heritage.” Thanatos said.
Flame pulled her against him, their hulls impacting violently. The internal hull creaked from the sudden impact, bulkheads shattered. Explosive decompressions erupted all across her body. She was out of blood, darkness engulfed her.
–
–
Joshua had lasted three days without food and water, and he wasn’t sure if he could survive any longer. His throat was dry and parched, his lips and gums were cracked and sore. He needed water, just one glass.
“Have you decided to help us yet?” Henry asked, drinking some water from a canteen.
“Never.” Joshua moaned.
“Fine. Well I guess it’s time then.” two guards picked him up, walking him down the dark corridor.
“Time for what?” he moaned.
They threw him into a room. It smelt foul, of blood and piss and faeces. It awoke him like a shot of quaffee, overloading all of his senses.
There was a Vorchan tied to a table here, its wings and tail restrained. He watched in horror as saws activated. Blood splattered against his shirt.
Razor sharp blades emerged from the table, seemingly skinning the howling creature. What was left fell limply off the table into a waiting tray.
“Your turn.” said Henry.
“What? No!” he yelled, struggling against the guards, they put him against the blood stained table, restraining him as he struggled. The table’s restraining mechanism activated, hyper-extending the joints in his hand. The restraint meant for the tail snaked around violently before finding one of his legs and latching on. They manually put another restraint over his body, keeping him from escaping. He was on his back, arms and one leg stretched out. His other leg was still free, but there wasn’t much he could do with it.
“VIOLET!” he cried.
“Sorry.” Henry said meekly, pressing a button.
The lights went out.
“Shit! You bastard! You sabotaged the geothermal pumps didn’t you! You puss-eating maggot! You’ve doomed us all.”
Gunshots and screams filled the air, Raumen screams.
“Seal the doors!” Henry yelled to his man. “Don’t let them in!”
“They’re in the wall—“ someone yelled, before flesh ripped and Josh flinched from the guttural scream.
More rifle fire, this time in his room, it was deafeningly loud in this small chamber.
A Vorchan loomed over him, blood stained, it licked its lips, a deadly glare in its eyes. “You aren’t one of them.” it growled.
“Hell no I’m not.”
A hissing sound.
“Gas!” muttered the Vorchan. “Quickly, in the airflow vents!”
There was a scurrying, Josh struggled to see in the darkness. Figures were disappearing into the ceiling.
“Wait! Please! I’m not one of them. They kept me prisoner without food or water! I have a ship up in orbit!”
“A ship?” replied the Vorchan, it was up in the ceiling now, the echoes distorted its voice.
“Yes.”
“You were the one who sold them the defective pumps?”
“Yes.”
There was a loud thud as the Vorchan must have landed beside him. “Hold still.”
Snap. His right arm was free. Then his chest.
He watched the Vorchan carefully place its incisors over the left restraint, biting down. It didn’t break.
“I’m sorry.” it said. “I can’t gnaw through this one.”
“That’s alright.” he noticed he still had his plasma pistol. What idiots, leaving him with a fully functioning—
It beeped in protest as he pulled the trigger.
“Fuckers! They removed the cartridge! Shit! Help! Get me out!” Joshua yelled.
Another Vorchan landed, eyeing the restraint over his leg. “This one is loose.” it said, ripping it from its bolts. The restraint was still tight around his leg, but at least it was free.
He yelped as he felt sharp incisors pressing against his left arm, “What are you doing?”
“Sorry, can you live without an arm?”
“No!! No I can’t!! Get your jaws off my arm.”
It backed away, scanning the room. “I don’t see any other alternative; the gas will put us to sleep soon.”
They could buy him another arm, with a tourniquet he could stop the bleeding, but how long would that take? How long until he made enough money to replace an entire limb?
“Is there no other way?” Joshua asked dejectedly.
“I will make it quick and painless. I can then cauterize the wound, stop the bleeding.”
“Are you sure.”
“I have never done it to a Raumen before.” the Vorchan confessed.
“No…” Joshua said, he couldn’t. He couldn’t lose his arm. It was his arm. “I’ll stay here.”
“But what if they return?” The Vorchan asked.
“We have to go!” hissed another Vorchan from the vents.
Gunfire, it had died down before but now it was returning. He could hear voices off in the distance. They carried with them deadly intent.
“The Raumen are winning. We are not fighters, we do not want violence, we just want to return to our families.” the Vorchan said.
If the Raumen were winning it meant they would be here soon, and they would see him stuck to this table. All they had to do was press that button…
“Fine. Do it.”
The Vorchan opened its jaws wide, he could see the white of its fangs… “No wait!” he automatically yelled, but it was too late.
He howled in pain as every nerve in his arm spasmed at once. The Vorchan, true to his word, clamped down on the stump, licking away the blood with his tongue, breathing on it with its hot breathe, cauterizing his open wound.
He couldn’t believe what had just happened, it was unfathomable. He would never do anything like this again, never accept another shady deal for as long as he lived. He’d carry toilet paper between cities, that’s what he’d do. Cheap but safe, safe. Maybe when he felt more bold he’d promote himself to toilet paper duty between planets. He laughed, the blood loss making him delirious.
“We have to go, climb me to the vents.” The Vorchan said.
“You want me to climb?” he wanted to clutch his stump and die here.
The Vorchan nipped at his stunt. He cried out. “We don’t have time!” it roared.
Joshua climbed, he didn’t know where he’d gathered the energy to do it, but he was climbing, and when he’d finished climbing he limp-crawled his way across the vents with the rest of the Vorchans, he then began the long climb up a ladder to the surface.
The Vorchans didn’t wait for his one-armed gait, disappearing to the upper levels. He was alone now. Gunshots echoed across the vents.
What if other Vorchans found him? Would they think he was one of the soldiers and try to eat him?
He had to rest, stopping on one of the tiers, wiping the sweat from his brow. His wound was beginning to bleed again. He ripped off a piece of his shirt, wrapping it around the wound, tightening it. It didn’t help much; he didn’t really know how to make a tourniquet, blood soaked through.
He’d die here, in these vents.
He noticed the lights had come back on. They must have fixed the defective pumps. He hadn’t even known they were defective. Had Rarkh done this on purpose? Was that why he’d told him to hurry? If only he’d have built a bigger shuttle, one that could carry more pumps, but how could he have known how massive those pumps were, or that he was even supposed to unload the pumps himself. Had Rarkh mentioned that? He wasn’t sure. It was hard to remember, he felt himself slipping away. He tightened his grip on the tourniquet, putting as much pressure on the wound as he could. The entire left side of his body felt numb.
He awoke to a reek smell, at first he thought it was his own body, rotting away, but then he noticed the Vorchan sniffing him.
“The exits are sealed! We can’t get out.” hissed the Vorchan.
“I’m bleeding again.” Joshua said. “I don’t think I’m gonna make it.”
“My ancestral powers are lacking, but I will attempt to stop the bleeding once more.”
The Vorchan clamped down on his wound again. He moaned from the pain and the pressure. They stared at each other for several minutes before the Vorchan let go. “You taste strange.” it said.
Joshua just stared, unsure of what to say to that.
“Can you open the vents?” the Vorchan asked.
Suddenly Joshua realized why the vents were closed. “No! Don’t open the vents.” he coughed. “There’s a sandstorm outside, you’ll be ripped apart.”
“A sandstorm? Now?”
“Yes. It should last for a few more days. It was why I was stuck down here. My shuttle…” he winced as the pain returned to his left arm, it was an eerie pain, as if his left arm was still there, badly mangled. “My shuttle was ripped apart. It’s made of Rahjaadium.”
“That’s a beems composite.” the Vorchan said. “You are a beems Captain?”
Joshua nodded.
“Then you can help us. Reunite us with our loved ones!”
“What?”
Already people were making demands, and he hadn’t even finished this contract. Shit, he didn’t technically own Violet anymore either. His energy was returning.
“We are from Terra. The Death Ship came and took us.”
“Death Ship?” Joshua asked. Did he mean that massive craft Violet had seen when they’d jumped in?
“A massive city ship. It held millions of our people. I rallied who I could, but soon our group was too large. We were captured by Martock. I vowed to reunite all the Vorchans on that ship with their loved ones, and if not that, their beloved planet.”
“What’s your name?” Joshua asked.
“I am Artemis.” the Vorchan replied.
“My name is Joshua. I’ll do what I can to help you. But first there is a lot I have to do, like getting back to my ship, getting my arm back, getting some water. I don’t know how much longer I can last.”
Artemis looked him over, sniffing him profusely, “You do look… parched. I will see what I can do. With the power back the Raumens control the corridors again.”
“Thank you.” Joshua said, resting against the bulkhead. This wasn’t that bad, he closed his eyes.
He lost track of time, a Vorchan nudged him awake. He wasn’t sure if it was Artemis or not, they all looked and sounded the same. He had a bloody canteen in his jaw. There was a finger curled around it. Artemis saw and shook it loose, proffering it to Joshua.
He laughed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Joshua said, looking at the engraving on the side of the canteen, it said: Henry.
–
–
Violet wasn’t looking too good. Thanatos had barely made it in time.
“That idiot. That selfish, inconsiderate, foolish creature of a Raumen.” Darnell fumed.
“She needs her Captain. Her will alone is not enough to keep her in this world.” Chiron said.
“Where is he?”
“I believe he might be on the planet.” Chiron said, motioning at the small light brown sphere beyond the lounge window.
“What?!”
“There was an explosion on the sensors. It was a shuttle. We reviewed the satellite imagery, it matches Violet’s vivid purple hull profile.”
“Where?” Darnell asked.
“Alas, I do not know.”
“What? You said you saw the explosion!”
“Yes, but the Hrakarra is the worst it has been in decades. Our sensors can no longer penetrate the chaos underneath.”
Darnell began walking to the fighter bay. Chiron followed. “Surely you aren’t thinking of going in there?”
“I was in there once before, when I fought Anton. Just give me the co-ordinates of the explosion and I’ll go from there.”
“That storm is no comparison to this one.” Chiron said, sounding genuinely worried.
Darnell continued onwards, the fighter bay opened. The largest fighter was sitting on the ramp ahead of them, its sleek red and black hull polished to a metallic sheen. It was already powering up, testing its systems. It pulsed crimson as the beemveins were tested for contamination.
The hatch to the cockpit spiralled open, a ladder extended. Darnell began to climb up.
“Darnell.” Chiron called after him.
Darnell stopped, looking back. There was a proud smile on the man’s face. His grey hairs fluttered slightly as the fighter’s APU powered up, sucking air in hungrily to cool itself.
“I have a task for you, when you are down on the surface. Consider it your pre-emptive repayment for me assisting in saving Thanatos’ child.”
“What is it?” Darnell asked. The jet starters activated, powering up the main gas-powered engines. Even in all this noise, Chiron’s voice was clear as a crystal.
“There is an underground movement on my planet, dead-set on eliminating the Vorchans that were sold to us by Admiral Martock.”
Darnell had heard about this somewhat, how the NCR leader had attacked a Vorchan planet. He had dismissed it as propaganda, nobody would be brave enough – stupid enough.
With the gas-powered engines running, the koveran reactor activated, igniting the gravimetric lens with a loud buzz.
The ship lifted from its ramp, settling in a sedate hover. The thrusters spooled to idle, letting the lens do all the work, ready to take over if the system failed. It had been a redundancy Darnell had always wanted to incorporate, especially in atmospheric flights where gravity fields could be unpredictable.
“I need you to find this underground facility, and eliminate it completely. Do this for me and consider your debt for Violet’s life repaid.”
Darnell nodded, disappearing into the cockpit. If this movement was worth the life of his ship’s daughter, then it wasn’t something he’d engage lightly. He loaded extra armaments onto and into his fighter before departing for the surface.
–
–
Joshua had thought it was Artemis at first.
“You moron.”
“Darnell!” he recognized the tone instantly.
“I hope you never find another arm. Let’s go.”
“The storm…” Joshua muttered. “The Vorchans.”
“They won’t harm us. Take this sword.” Darnell placed Wings’ sword in Joshua’s hand, it was glowing a bright green. Joshua eyed the sword giddily, idly swinging it. “It will protect you long enough for my fighter to pick you up and get you up to the dry-dock where Violet is being repaired.”
“Repaired? What happened?”
“She’s dying. You’re her only hope.” Darnell sighed and took the sword out of his hand, attaching it to his back, it latched onto his shirt automatically.
“Oh Violet…” Joshua whimpered.
“Go!” Darnell yelled.
“What about you?”
“I have a debt to repay.” he said, cocking a pulse rifle.
–
Pulse rifle shots rang through the vents as Joshua climbed, a newfound determination coursing through him. He would save Violet. She was all that mattered now.
He could hear the violent breeze, Vorchans were cowering away from the exit, waiting for the storm to die. He saw a larger one looking at him.
“Will you help us?” Artemis asked.
“I have to save my ship.” Joshua said. He could hear the breeze, but couldn’t feel it, the sword emitting a protective bubble around him. He knew it wouldn’t last long.
“The man said he will completely destroy this facility. He told us to get clear if we want to live, but we cannot get past the storm.”
“How many of you are there?” Joshua asked.
“Thirty three of us.” Artemis replied.
He could see the Vorchans now, pressed against the walls, the whites of their fangs gave away their locations.
“I’m too weak.” Joshua cried. “I can’t save you all. The fighter is programmed to take me and only me. I wouldn’t be surprised if it attacked the rest of you if you tried to board it.”
“There must be something you can do, Captain.” said Artemis, there was a hint of reverence at the word.
“I have a child on Terra I’d love to see again.” said another Vorchan. They all murmured in agreement, recalling their loved ones.
Joshua let go of the ladder, standing on the final tier, looking up at the open area where the storm was raging. Sand particles were deflected all around him, not touching him.
“Gather around me, quickly!” he called out. The Vorchans closed in, he counted nine in his protective bubble. “Tighter, tighter.”
More Vorchans squeezed in, their wings overlapping, one lifted him onto its back. It was Artemis.
“This will be the tightest formation any of you will have ever flown!” called Artemis as the last Vorchan gathered. They roared. More Vorchans entered the formation as they lifted, forming a sphere of thirty three sets of wings.
Joshua reached for the sword, it clamped onto his shirt, refusing to let go. He pulled and pulled, finally ripping it off with a piece of fabric trailing along with it. He looked straight at it.
“Okay, Wings.” the sword pulsed. He focused on it, reaching for it with his mind. “I’m not your captain, but shield these Vorchans for me for as long as you can, long enough for us to clear the worst of this storm.”
Artemis lifted him up into the storm, the Vorchans following, they flared their wings as one, flying into the storm.
Joshua glanced at all of them worriedly, he could hear the fighter nearby, orbiting. Suddenly he heard an explosion and a decelerating whine. His sword glowed even brighter, a mix of red and green now, he could see a trail of red energy entering its beemveins, keeping his flock safe.
An explosion, and the red trail disappeared.
“Faster, higher!” Artemis yelled. The Vorchans followed, some worriedly glancing at the storm raging around them. It seemed to lash at the protective bubble with a lifelike fervour.
Suddenly they were clear, the Vorchans roared in triumph, soaring towards the river. “We will be safe there, the water is protected.”
–
–
Darnell had set his pulse rifle to a full-spread pattern. It fired fifteen shots within a second every time he pulled the trigger. People resisted him at first, but then they began to flee, realizing what he was.
He scanned the tunnels with Thanatos. It hadn’t taken long for his sensors to filter out the storm. He had found three vital areas. One was here, at this junction. Darnell planted the charge.
The other was farther up, in the complex’s control room. He expected resistance there; he loaded another magazine into his rifle.
The timer was set for fifteen minutes – more than enough time.
Kinetic bullets bounced off his electrostatic shields as he made his way over to the command center. He fired single shots, picking the soldiers off as they revealed themselves, conserving his ammunition for the massive group he knew was waiting in the command center.
He planted a breaching charge on the composite door. It blasted open, the concussion wave making his electrostatic shield shudder and whine in protest. It took a few moments for it to re-activate and stabilize.
The room was clear. He walked through it cautiously. There were thirty six screens on one of the walls, he looked at them, seeing the soldiers fleeing down the corridors.
He moved to the control console, switching to cameras in the upper levels. He saw several soldiers climbing up the ladders, gathered around the exits.
They were trapped, trapped between a storm and him.
He noticed that one of them didn’t look like the others, a skinny kid with no weapons. He thought of Joshua. He was motioning at the soldiers, they were throwing what looked like proximity mines down the shafts.
Surely he couldn’t be their leader? That kid?
He scanned the room for proximity mines. There was one in the center. He eyed it carefully. Getting out would be harder than he thought.
–
He had nine minutes left. He couldn’t risk setting off the mines, if they triggered a cave-in he’d be trapped. He moved along them carefully. They had primitive infra-red fuses. He concealed his heat signature with his suit, matching it to the ambient temperature around him.
Six minutes.
“Let’s go! Get that mobile generator up and running already!” yelled the kid. He couldn’t be over twenty-five.
Darnell froze, listening to the commotion a few meters above him.
A shield generator, smart. Just powerful enough to shield one person. Him. He watched his men clip the spherical device onto his belt, as he gripped the ladder. Darnell hoped he wouldn’t look down.
“I’ll get help.” said the kid.
Sure you will, Darnell thought. He planted the last charge here. It automatically synced with the timers of the other two charges. Four minutes and thirty six seconds.
Darnell reached into his utility belt, taking out a small koveran grenade. These took a long time to build, and were extremely unstable, but he had brought one knowing he might need to clear out a large group of enemies quickly and efficiently. He lobbed the grenade up in the air. It had a horizontal sweep pattern loaded into its fuse, augmented by inertial guidance systems to ensure the horizontal sweep was indeed horizontal. It detonated when it sensed the most lifesigns clustered around it, incinerating the group of soldiers instantly. Rifles that had survived the incineration detonated as their magazines overheated, or plasma cells overloaded. There was nothing else left, it was a clean sweep.
Darnell emerged from the manhole with two minutes left. An eternity.
A fighter patiently waited for him, its koveran shield struggling against the sand.
“That idiot owes me a fighter too.” he muttered, boarding the ship and heading for Joshua.
The fighter’s hull had become a pale red by the time it had landed next to Joshua. Portions of it had turned pink. Blood was oozing from it, seeping into the sand below it. Like his ship, the fighters were biomechanoid, even if the small craft themselves didn’t have sentience.
It was then that Darnell noticed the Vorchans. Thanatos immediately brought his AHC to bear, targeting the thirty-three contacts.
“Vorchans?” Darnell asked, watching them warily.
“Yes, the prisoners you would have left to die.”
“I thought they could survive the storm.”
“They couldn’t.”
Darnell scoffed, he had expected Vorchans to be powerful, omnipotent beings. These ones looked frail, weak, and tired.
“Let’s go. We might already be too late.” Darnell said, marking the Vorchans as neutrals in Thanatos’ tactical vision.
Josh hopped into the fighter, promising the Vorchans he’d come back for them.
–
–
“What do I have to do?” Josh asked.
“Just get as close to her as you can.” Chiron said.
Joshua made his way to the bridge. “I still can’t sense her.” his voice was breaking.
“I’m sorry. We might be too late.” Chiron replied sorrowfully, bowing his head at the loss.
“No! Wait, there’s another place.”
–
It was an eerie feeling, walking out in space. But Darnell assured him that the suit and sword would protect him. He walked along the underside of the hull.
Of course not. I’m sure if you tried really hard I might subtly feel your embrace on my outer hull.
They had spent a lot of time probing each others’ nerve fibres. Violet had found the length of his spine, that comfortable caress. Joshua had found this. Right here. He looked down at it. To his right were her terminals. He was on the port one. He walked along it all the way to the joint. He had never seen her in such detail before. He could see the accordion-like skin where the skid was manoeuvred.
He kicked it. Nothing happened. This was the most sensitive spot on the entire ship. He knew this for a fact. Every time he ran his phantom signals over this area she flinched, every time, except this time.
Maybe he really was too late. He collapsed onto his knees.
If she really was dead, this would be the last time he’d see her. He began to cry, embracing this tiny portion of the hull. He felt so small, so insignificant on this two hundred meter long life form. How he wished he could hold her in his arms, cry out to the ether. He held what he could with his body, and the rest with his mind. He’d remember this forever, this texture, this view, this feeling. He felt her skin against his only hand. It was so smooth. He ran his hand along it softly, wistfully. She seemed to flinch in his phantom embrace, a subtle spasm. He imagined her coughing, waking from the ether that had nearly drowned her.
He jerked as something jabbed at his spine, making him keel over in pleasure.
I can do that too! Violet yelled.
He could feel the skid below him shifting. He looked out to his right, seeing the terminals ignite, the gravimetric lens activate. Her veins lit up a dim purple, illuminating her hull again.
So you found the spot! Another ship could never have done that, they aren’t dextrous enough.
I told you I’d find the spot. Joshua said shakily. He had been inches away from losing her.
I’m sorry if I scared you.
No I’m sorry, for always getting us into these messes.
It’s a joint decision.
But I’m the older one. I’m responsible. I’m also the Captain, if you haven’t forgotten already.
Oh right, that.
Within minutes they were back to their old ways again.
Hey Josh, aren’t Raumens supposed to have four limbs?
–