A faint beep awoke Tia. She blinked groggily, her forehead pulsing with pain. It felt as if she had been tossed violently from side to side; no part of her body had been spared. She groaned. Immediately, the hulking figure of the ‘Klesian Frederik approached her, his head tilting to the side as he inspected her. Kneeling down, he looked her over with a datapad he had pulled from his belt.
“Shouldn’t we do this later?” she asked. Her ribs hurt when she inhaled. Broken, maybe bruised.
Frederik stopped and shook his head no. Tia sighed.
Curious, Tia thought to herself as she eyed the biomonitor. He certainly seems to care enough now that he has to. She snorted. Her eyes locked onto the faceless giant in front of her. Standing a head taller than her, Frederik was a giant of a man in his Hephaistos armor, his whole body magnified by the exosuit. As he examined her, Tia noticed that his movements were very precise and careful. They seemed almost… reserved.
Very interesting that things worked out this way, she continued. A man and a woman that clearly don’t like each other forced to work on the same planet under strenuous circumstances. A thought then occurred to her.
“Where are we, anyway?” she asked.
If Frederik looked over at her, there was no indicated from his head. The helmet still faced the datapad. “Mars,” he said.
Tia felt the slightest amount of heat rise into her ears. “I see my question wasn’t specific enough. Where on Mars?” she asked.
Frederik’s head moved slightly in her direction. He cocked it slightly. “About one hundred kilometers east of Tarnaeus,” he said. Again, he looked back at the datapad.
Is that it?, Tia thought. She chewed on her cheek thoughtfully. Is that what he’s normally like? Or is it just around me? The thought of someone disliking her was frustrating, though perhaps a bit juvenile. More than a few of her associates on the ‘Klesian technical staff were less than friendly towards her, but that had never been of much interest to her. If one stood up for something, one was bound to make enemies. So why did this irk her so much?
“But this is some sort of installation,” Tia noted.
Her eyes followed the cylindrical room to the ceiling. It was about twenty meters tall. A staircase wound around the cylinder to the top. Her gaze drifted from computer to computer on the ground floor, which were far different from any she had seen before. The Martians had certainly made their own advances in technology.
Do they have AIs? Tia wondered. She looked at Frederik and thought of the AI who Frederik called ‘Tallius.’ It made sense that the ‘Klesian would grow close to his ‘companion.’ Tia had seen it in various others. Having another sentient being in their brains seemed to cause the ‘Klesians to feel that the Artificial Intelligences were their friends. Do they create their AIs from human brains? Do the Martians have this same misunderstanding?
Frederik grunted an affirmative in response. Tia searched the room, looking at the various machines and workstations. It seemed to be some sort of research facility, but the power to the computers was off. Why was that?
“Frederik, where is everyone?” Tia asked.
“Dead,” he stated.
“Did you—”
Frederik shook his head. “No, they were dead when I got here. No one was in this room when I got here, but it’s secure.”
That’s why the power was off, she realized. There must have been an attack of some sort. Were the Martians struggling with insurrections, perhaps? That might be one reason why we’ve pushed them back so far. But, do we even know if their are any insurrectionists on Mars? How could they have let this happen?
“I assume you know who did this,” Tia said, watching him.
His head twitched towards her. He paused.
“Yeah,” he said, flatly. “Whoever let us in.”
Tia’s gaze bore down on him for a moment. “Let?” she asked. Frederik nodded. “What do you mean let? Is this a trap?” Another thought occurred to her. “How did we even get here? What happened?”
The visor depolarized, and Frederik’s face appeared. The T visor showed very little of his actual face, but from what she could make out, his face was one of impatience. His eyes were darker, his mouth drawn tight. One of his eyebrows was raised.
“Doct—Tia, can you save the questions?” he asked in a commanding manner.
Tia nodded. The visor polarized again. They were both silent for a moment.
“I don’t know,” he said as he put the datapad in a pouch on his belt.
“Huh?”
“I don’t know if we’re being chased,” he admitted. “But someone knows we’re here, and if, for some reason, the PR is here, we might already be dead.” He paused. “So you need to be ready in case shit hits the fan, all right?”
She nodded. “I doubt the Martians did this to their own people,” she said.
Frederik stood and put his hand out. She grabbed it and he helped her up. The pain in her ribs flared, but she would be okay to walk around. Or, at least she thought she would be.
“Why?”
“Do you know of any terrorists on Mars?” she asked.
Frederik was quiet. He picked up his rifle off the ground, strapping it on his back and looking around the room. He pointed to a computer on the ground floor across the room from them. Tia narrowed her eyes, but tested her legs. there wasn’t much pain, so she’d probably be able to walk.
“No,” Frederik finally said as they reached the other side of the room. “I don’t.”
Tia smirked, but she could hear something else in his voice, as if he knew something that she didn’t. She bit her lip. What wasn’t he telling her? Why wasn’t he telling her?
“Are there terrorists somewhere else?” she asked.
“Classified.”
Tia rolled her eyes. “I see talking isn’t really something you’re a fan of,” she said.
Frederik reached the computer and touched his hand against a port in the sleek computer. He looked back at Tia, his visor depolarizing. His brown eyes locked on to hers.
“Not for a long time,” he said quietly. His gaze dropped to the floor.
A number of the ‘Klesian soldiers are… complicated, Doctor Marcus had once told her. Their pasts have not been the easiest for them to bear. Certainly, they are some of the best soldiers in our military, but by the end of our training they will be the greatest soldiers this galaxy has ever seen. Tia now wondered why she hadn’t asked what they had done to the soldiers in training. What had happened to Frederik in training?
Frederik stood as still as a statue next to the computer, a finger in a port. Tia knew that the Hephaistos were designed to be able to connect with nearly any computer, but what exactly was Frederik looking for?
“You’re looking for an exit,” Tia stated, though a hint of confusion edged its way into her voice.
“No,” Frederik said “I’m looking for a way in.”
Tia tightened her jaw. A way in?
“Why would you want to—”
Frederik glanced at her. “Tallius found something. Something big.”
Tia shook her head. “The missing Heraklesians?”
Frederik’s eyes flickered to the ground then back at her. “No. Something bigger. The People are working on an FTL drive.” He paused, nodded. “They have a prototype. It’s finished, and they want to use it.”
When Frederik nodded, Tia realized that he was talking to Tallius. She chewed on her cheek, frustrated at the aspect of being left out a conversation that she could undoubtably help with. She clasped her hands together.
“You are speaking with Tallius, yes?” She asked, to which Frederik nodded the affirmative. “Broadcast what he’s saying.”
Frederik looked back towards the computer. From his helmet she could hear a soothing voice. “Hello, Doctor Paulsen,” Tallius said.
“Tallius.”
“We were discussing the ramifications of my discovery,” he informed her. Frederik looked around warily, his hand on the grip of his pistol.
“How long has it been ready?” Tia asked.
“Searching… Officially? Never,” Tallius said. He paused. “Work on it was completed today.” He paused again. The tone of his voice chilled dramatically. “There is… someone doing last minute calibrations on it right now. No, there are fifteen people working on it. Twenty. Now… seventeen.”
Frederik straightened his back. His face was completely unreadable. “Tallius, can you get me video feed of the workers?”
There was a short delay in Tallius’ response. “Someone has locked me out.” A sense of deep shock reverberated in his voice.
I could do it, Tia thought, smiling smugly to herself. But could someone else? Twenty people, maybe, but only if they were highly proficient in hacking. And even then, how many people did Tia know who could prevent an average hacker from entering their computer systems? But something else was bothering her. Why had the numbers of people that were working fluctuated? Something didn’t add up.
“We’re going there, now,” Frederik stated. “Tallius, get me a map.”
Tia sensed in him more urgency than before. He seemed to have gathered something about the situation that she had not. What was it? Was it the number of workers? Was it the FTL? What had he seen?
“Already done,” Tallius said. “Uploading it to your HUDs now. You’ll want to go through that door opposite from you.”
The map appeared on Tia’s Heads-Up-Display, confirming at once that they were indeed, in an installation. It showed an enormous central cone shaped structure, the tip of which jutted out approximately five meters out of the ground. Four wings separated from the central installation in four directions. They were in the east wing, next to two long hallways that connected their wing to the central cone.
Frederik took his hand from the port, unslung his rifle, and marched towards the door, cautiously sweeping the area in case there were any stragglers from the recent battle. Extending two fingers, he directed Tia to the side of the door. He moved to a side, tapping the keypad to unlock the door. He stopped and turned to Tia.
“Look,” he whispered, “something’s not right. The PR, they should have found us already. They should be here by now. None of us know what’s going on here.” His eyebrows were scrunched together, his eyes narrowed, his face dark. “Shit’s gonna hit the fan really soon. I can feel it. You don’t have a firearm—” Tia checked her hip—no gun, “so stay behind me. Understood?”
Trying to keep her face straight, Tia nodded. She could hear extra strain in his voice, like a heavy weight had been placed on his shoulders. Whatever he had figured out, it wasn’t good. Well, obviously the Martians having Faster-Than-Light capabilities is rather unfortunate, Tia thought. Not only unfortunate, it could be quite the blow to the Allies’ cause. We’ve only had two edges over them, and they’ve only been so recent. Frederik is right to be… stressed about that.
Frederik opened the door. He poked in his rifle, checking for targets. There was nothing. The hallway was empty, its fluorescent lights humming and glowing. The end of the hallway was far enough away that it seemed like she could squeeze the maroon colored door in her hands. Frederik entered the hallway quietly, his heavy boots barely making a sound. Tia tiptoed behind him, trying to make sure that her own boots were quiet. Unfortunately, her lack of training compounded with lighter gravity on Mars made for clumsy movement. Even with magnetized boots, she had a tough time adjusting to Martian gravity.
As they walked down the hall, Tia thought about what they knew so far. They had arrived on Mars who-knows-how-long ago and Frederik had, presumably, carried her entire way to the installation, which had been cleared out for a couple days, perhaps. Their mission had been to find James Tibble and Nellus O’Afu, but were they still trying to do that? Were the People’s Republic’s FTL drives more important? If that were the case, destroying the FTL technology would be a signal flair to the People’s Republic that Frederik and Tia had infiltrated the area.
But someone knows that already, Tia thought. They let us in. If so, then we’re likely walking straight into a trap. Surely Frederik knows that. Though, there was some sort of firefight here, according to Frederik. Maybe it was the militants that want us to enter. The thought delighted Tia. Could it be that the government People’s Republic was beginning to crumble under the weight of resistance?
What was it that Frederik had said? There hadn’t been any reports of terrorists on Mars, yes, but Frederik had dodged the question about insurrectionists on other planets. It was very possible that whoever had let them in actually was trying to either help them, or get procure their help.
Or it was a trap.
As the duo reached the end of the hallway, Frederik paused his back stiffening. Tia tried to peek around the giant, but to no avail. It was only when Frederik turned around to look behind them that Tia was able to see what was bothering him. She immediately regretted it as a strong urge to vomit washed over her. The ‘maroon’ door hadn’t been maroon at all. The door and the area surrounding it was bathed in blood. The door was covered in streak marks from hands scratching at it and from bodies pressing up against it.
Tia looked down.
She’d heard of this sort of behavior before. The People’s best warriors, Hunters, had often taken to punishing Allied citizens in this manner in order to demoralize them. It didn’t happen often, but it did happen, Tia just thought she would never have to see it.
“Tallius, thoughts?” Frederik said flatly.
There was a slight hesitation before Tallius answered. “This is not unprecedented,” he admitted. “It is, perhaps, Hunters.”
Tia nodded.
“It’s a trap,” Frederik said. “I expected it, but nobody was here.” He paused. He whispered almost inaudibly. “I just thought—”
“We both thought,” Tallius corrected him. “You have made the correct decisions, I think. But, regardless of whether or not this is a trap, it would be wise to erase the information regarding Faster-Than-Light travel.”
Frederik grunted.
“We can erase it from the other computer then,” Tia suggested.
“No,” Tallius asserted. “I already attempted to do so, but was,” he searched for the right words, “unable.”
“By whoever was blocking you?” Tia asked.
“Yes.”
“That leaves deleting the data from the core,” Frederik noted.
“Which is where we’re going to be ambushed,” said Tia.
Frederik was still. Tia stood there, glancing behind them every so often. What happens to the mission if we do this? Tia wondered. Even if we do survive, we’d have no way home. Not that the odds of surviving are that good anyway.
“We’ll keep going anyway,” Frederik said.
“And James, Nellus?” Tia said.
Frederik turned, his face hard. “Think about it. If those two have defected, which I doubt, then the People will be able to get those two out on missions faster.” Staring at her, Frederik’s eyes softened. “We’ll find them. I know it.”
“We won’t make it out of here,” Tia said matter-of-factly.
The giant in front of her was silent. He’d certainly faced these sorts of situations hundreds of times over, but Tia hadn’t. She didn’t know this life. I don’t want to die, she thought grimly. But what other options are there? Run? Get caught anyway?
“We go,” Frederik said.
He stepped forward to open the door. Suddenly, the lights burned intensely and popped. Everything was dark. The ambush they feared had come. Soldiers would pour through both doors and fire a hail of bullets. Tia would be the first casualty, of course, and then Frederik would be next, though he would likely take a number of soldiers with him. But he would die.
Frederik jumped into action. He whirled around, shoving Tia to the side and shielding her with his body. With inhuman speed, he drew his pistol and aimed at both doors. No one came. There were no targets. It was eerily silent, save for a faint repeating thump, like a heartbeat. Tia, squashed behind Frederik, pushed at his body. He didn’t budge. Instead, for five seconds he remained there, his back facing her. Still nothing came.
“Can you get off of me?” Tia hissed.
Slowly, Frederik released the pressure. He slapped his pistol against his belt, clipping it there. He shot a glance her way. His eyes were wide and wary, his lips were drawn tightly.
“I think you’re, as you say, ‘in the clear,’ Frederik,” Tallius whispered.
Hesitating, Frederik hardly moved, but a moment later, instinct kicked in. He stormed rushed for the door, opening it almost as soon as he reached it. There were no signs of the bodies through the door.
“Come on!” he shouted.
It didn’t need to be said twice. Tia ran after him, her heart pounding in her throat. Together they ran through the winding halls towards the central cone. Tia’s mind worked blindingly quickly. What was that? Maybe it’s the militants, she hoped. It has to be them. We weren’t ambushed.
As they entered through another dark corridor, Frederik slowed down, and Tia immediately saw why. Bodies. And not just normal corpses, these ones were mutilated. Arms torn off, heads torn from their bodies, torsos beaten to a pulp. Blood had been slathered along the walls and floor. Tia turned around and dry heaved.
“Don’t look at it,” Frederik said. “Look at the ceiling.”
Nodding, Tia kneeled there, her back to the awful scene, her eyes closed. This… This was something else. She had never imagined that she would behold such a terrible sight in her lifetime. I signed up to be a scientist, Tia groaned, her eyes still squeezed shut. This isn’t what I wanted. Through closed eyelids she could see limbs torn from their bodies, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, into her soul. She opened her eyes again and was surprised to find tears.
Pull yourself together, Tia! she told herself. With great effort, she force herself to her feet. You’re here, whether you like it or not. Turning around, she noticed Frederik was examining the corpses. Tia looked at the ceiling to avoid vomiting, but immediately regretted her decision. The ceiling too had been splattered with gore. While her night vision made it register as a sickly green color, Tia knew exactly what it was. She turned around again.
Behind her, Frederik was muttering rapidly to herself.
“What have you found, Frederik?” she asked.
Frederik’s muttering stopped.
“These are PR forces. All of them,” he spoke haltingly.
Despite herself, Tia perked up at this bit. “You mean the Martians are fighting themselves? Of course, that makes sense. Whoever let us in must be seeking our help!”
Frederik remained uncomfortably silent. Is was a chilling silence, one in which a person could question everything that they knew. And in that moment, Tia knew that she was wrong. Frederik did, in fact, know something that she did not. And he wasn’t telling her. Her cheeks burned red. She drew in a long breath.
“We need to hurry,” Frederik said. “No more stopping. We need to get to those workers, now.”
“I am of the same opinion,” Tallius stated. Just then, another pulse travelled through the lights. They popped, turning on, blinding Tia. Then, again, they turned off. “Do hurry. Or I am afraid we will not procure the data that we seek.”
Frederik nodded, looked back at Tia. She nodded begrudgingly, all the while wondering what Frederik knew. Does Tallius know what he knows? she wondered.
Again, Frederik took off, but this time at double the speed. Tia hurried to follow him. In order to keep pace with him, Tia had sprint. Luckily, the suit took some of the burden off of her, as it absorbed some of the shock from running. As they ducked around the corner, Tia couldn’t help but notice the increase in corpses. She began to feel increasingly nauseous. All she could do was keep her eyes on Frederik.
Still, her mind wandered as they ran and she began to wonder about the number of corpses around her. The Martians certainly employed an impressive amount of guards here. I would do the same if I were guarding the secret to Faster-Than-Light travel, she thought. Ah, but the Allies already have FTL. Who, or what, are they guarding it from? She tried to assure herself that it was the rebels, that they were the ones who had made this mess.
Are any of them even wearing different uniforms? She didn’t dare look down. They must be. Or are they fighting among themselves? That would still make them rebels. She nodded to herself. Yes, rebels wearing the same uniforms because they are the same army.
Up ahead, Frederik turned another corner and came to a full stop in front of a pair of enormous doors. He checked the intersecting hallway. Tia caught up to him and coughed. At least there wasn’t any trace of gore here. She put her hand against the wall and caught her breath. Frederik looked curiously at the door. He tapped a button on his wrist and looked around cautiously.
“Tallius—” he began.
“Go down the hall and to your right, there is another access way,” Tallius said.
“Right then,” Frederik said.
He started again, hurrying down a short corridor and turning sharply in just a few bounds. Tia scurried after him. Upon rounding the corner, they stopped again in front of a door. This one was significantly smaller and had a hand scanner off to the right. The words “Control Room A” were written in bold lettering above the doorway.
“This is it,” Frederik said, motioning to the door.
Tia rolled her eyes. That much was obvious.
“Before you enter, I would like to mention that I am still alive, even if I am damaged,” Tallius stated. “Do not be a baboon and do something ridiculously stupid.” Frederik laughed and was about to retort, when Tallius spoke again. “I am serious, Frederik. I will not lose you or Doctor Paulsen.”
Again, Frederik nodded. “Not this time, Tallius. Not after our last mission.”
Tia opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. She had never before taken part in this sort of encounter between an AI and an its user. She’d never heard an AI say anything like that; it was almost as if it—Tallius—could feel love for his user, which Tia had of course read reports of, but had never been observed. It was very interesting… But also something to be considered on another day.
Frederik looked at Tia and shuffled awkwardly. “All right,” he said, “stay out here until I clear the area.”
Tia nodded.
Delicately, Frederik put his hand to the scanner. After a brief delay, the scanner turned red, then green. Tia pressed herself up against the left side of the door. As soon as the door opened enough, Frederik jumped lithely through the door and was gone, out of Tia’s sight. Tia’s back tensed in anticipation. Then, nothing. Silence. No explosions, no rattle of gunfire like Tia had expected. Nothing.
A moment later, Frederik spoke. “Clear. Come on in.”
Tia took a step inside, taking heed of anything on the ground that Frederik had missed. Tia looked around. Frederik stood in the center of a rectangular room filled on one side with various forms of computers and work stations. At the front of the room were several different monitors. In the center was another pair of doors. Next to that a monitor was switched on, showing the spectacular figure of a jet black Martian battleship. It stood vertically, its engines facing the ground. The front of the ship was shaped almost like an ancient chinese dragon, its “head” was rectangular but not to the point that it was blocky. Tia could even imagine teeth carved into the sides of its mouth. The body of the ship was sleeker, like that of a Manta Ray, but without the tail.
Tia wondered how tall it was. It had to be around one hundred meters. Not the tallest she had ever seen, but it was certainly a beautiful ship.
“Where are they?” Frederik asked. “They should be here, shouldn’t they, Tallius?”
“I am… unsure,” Tallius said. Tia raised her eyebrow. “Wait. I am picking up comm traffic from…” He paused. “From within the ship.”
Frederik looked at the monitor. “Is that—”
“I believe so.”
He stared at the ship grimly. Tia knew that some sort of danger must have been lurking within the bowels of the magnificent ship.
“Can you purge the data from here?” Frederik asked.
“I think I can. It should be relatively simp—” Tallius stopped. “Comm chatter. This time from the exterior of the installation. Fred, you’re not going to like this.”
Frederik stiffened. Turning, he put his hand on a computer.
“Show me,” he said.
On the second monitor, the dusty Martian landscape appeared, and with it an army. Five squads of Hunters headed up hundreds of soldiers, automated and human alike. They stood at the door, as if waiting for the flood gates to open. Tia gasped. We’re dead, she said, dismayed. How do we fight that? How do we escape that? Her heart dropped as she realized that they had few options. They would either be killed or captured. Or Frederik would activate his self destruct mechanism and they would die anyway.
The ‘Klesian was silent for a long time. Tia wondered what he could be thinking at a time like this. In all likelihood, he’s already figured out what’s going to happen here. He’s just trying to delay the inevitable. But, he doesn’t want to die. She thought for a moment. I don’t want to die. Then, looking around, she searched for a means of escape. She searched her map for all of the viable path ways.
“Tallius, is that the only exit they’re covering?” Tia asked.
“No, Doctor. I regret to inform you that all the exits are covered.” The AI paused. “However, I am intrigued as to why they have not entered yet. Perhaps they are scared of you, Frederik.”
Frederik watched the monitor quietly.
Flashbacks to their passage through the halls of the installation appeared in Tia’s mind. She was immediately interested in the once sickening displays of death and mutilation that she had seen moments before. Those were People’s Republic uniforms. They had been killed, and more of their soldiers were lining up outside of the building.
Who was talking in the ship?
“Tallius,” Tia said quickly, “you said there was radio chatter inside the installation. Who was it?”
Immediately, Frederik came out of his trance and rushed the door. Tia jumped, and looked at him. But something caught her eye on the monitor of the ship. From the bottom entrance of the ship, an armored figure emerged. His sleek armor was the color of rust, his T visor glowed red, and he carried something small that Tia couldn’t recognize in his arms.
Frederik stopped outside the door, his weapon raised at the newcomer. Tia rushed to his side out of curiosity. The Rust-Armored soldier looked at Frederik curiously, then rolled the package toward them. As it rolled, Tia was able to make out more details. It was also a rusty-red color. And Tia realized it was a helmet, not unlike ones she’d seen before on security footage. It was a Hunter’s helmet.
Frederik kept track of the helmet the whole way, and when it came close to him, he firmly planted a foot on it. He looked down at it, looked back at the soldier, and nodded his head.
“Ja—” he started.
Tia suddenly was engulfed in blue lightning. She flew to the side, crashing into the wall, her head crashing against the wall again. Her heart pounded. Her head swam. She wanted to stand, but couldn’t get herself to move. Pain pulsed through her body every time she tried to move. Frederik turned to the side and fired a trio of rounds towards the wall. It was then, as her mind began to tell her what she was seeing, that she realized that Frederik must have gone insane. He was shooting into thin air.
Only a moment later, it wasn’t air. The air on the far right side of the room shimmered, and an MAR round exploded on the chest of a ‘Klesian. He stumbled backwards. Frederik nearly dropped his armament. Standing straight, the other ‘Klesian pointed a long rifle to the ground. Recovering, Frederik looked from the shooter to the other soldier near the ship.
“James,” she heard someone say faintly in a deep voice.
Tia peered over at the soldier by the ship, blinking the darkness away as the heat in her side became a blistering fire. The world darkened. She struggled as the pain threatened to incapacitate her. Fighting desperately, she forced her arms to move. They twitched under her chest as they struggled to pick her up.
She heard another disembodied voice speaking, then lost consciousness.
*********
James stepped towards Frederik. “It’s rather odd that you would bring her all this way instead of simply leaving her on your ship,” he said, laughing. Frederik noticed a slightly different, mechanical note in his speech. “However, you’ve always been quite the enigma to me. An irrational being in the Cloud. Regardless, shall we go?”
A blanket of confusion threatened to wrap itself around Frederik’s mind. Tia lay on the ground, her suit compromised, her body bleeding. His comrades—his friends—had shot one of the Allies’ best scientists, and James acted like it was nothing. This wasn’t right, even if Frederik didn’t feel particularly fond feelings towards Tia. Frederik shook his head and pointed his rifle from James to Nellus
“Stand down,” Frederik said, his tone unsure.
James stared at him silently. Frederik guessed he was observing, looking for some sort of response. Nellus shifted to the side.
He expects me to know something, Frederik realized. But what?
What is he talking about, Frederik? Tallius inquired of him.
Frederik opened his mouth slightly. I don’t know, Tal, he admitted.
Well, it seems James believes you are aware of what he is talking about. Or at least he did, I think.
“Can’t do that… Frederik. You know, gotta take down the PR, and other stuff.”
James tipped his head upwards for a split second. In response, Nellus began towards Frederik. Frederik turned and aimed the rifle straight at Nellus’ center of mass. Nellus ket walking.
I think that they do not approach you as friends, Tallius said.
Frederik felt it too. Nellus gun wasn’t pointed at Frederik, but it was ready to be raised. The way he sauntered towards him was also unnerving. James was slowly walking in his direction as well. It was like two wolves approaching a cornered deer.
“I understand that,” Frederik said. “But you’ve gotta come with me, James. We can stop the People’s Republic together.”
“Again, can’t do that, Fred,” James said, shaking his head. “You have no idea what we’re capable of, do you?”
Frederik shook his head. James took another step forward. Straightening himself, Frederik confidently pointed the gun at James.
“Maybe not, but if you take one more step towards me,” Frederik gulped, “I’ll blow your head off.”
James stopped.
“Then you shall end up like the rest of them,” James said.
There was a flicker of motion to Frederik’s right. He threw himself backwards. A round zoomed past where Frederik’s face had been just moments before. Nellus charged him at the same time as James. Frederik quickly recovered, firing at Nellus. With astonishing speed, Nellus dodged the rounds, and barreled into Frederik. They tumbled to the ground, their limbs like twisted pretzels as they fought one another. Nellus landed on top of Frederik and smashed his rifle into Frederik’s head. Frederik’s head hit the floor. Frederik’s shields lowered to a half charge.
As if in slow motion, Nellus lifted his gun. Behind him, James strode toward the pair. Frederik dropped his rifle and grabbed Nellus arms. He pulled in his legs and kicked out. Nellus tumbled backwards. Quickly, Frederik rolled, and in one swift motion gripped the weapon and squeezed the trigger. The plasma bolts washed over Nellus armor. His shields popped. Frederik was keenly aware then of the charging James. He jumped on top of Frederik and pounded his face with his fists. Frederik bashed his weapon at James’ midsection, but James swiped it away. Frederik’s head hit the ground again, his vision exploded. Again, James punched at Frederik. Frederik narrowly dodged the blow and grabbed James’ hand. He twisted, pulling James’ head into his shoulder. James’ head was rocked by the impact, but he still managed to twist out of Frederik’s grasp. Frederik was then at a disadvantage. A boot full of thousands of pounds of force smashed Frederik in the chest.
He fell to the ground gasping. Something cracked in his chest. Frederik groaned. A hand clasped around his throat and squeezed. He grabbed at the hand, peeling at it with all his might. Pain flared in his chest, then his throat. He struggled, flaring his limbs, kicking at his assailant. A black fog crowded the edges of his vision, threatening to engulf him in darkness. And then… the hand hand released him. His head hit the floor again.
Frederik opened his eyes again. James held him by one shoulder, a pistol in his other hand. This is it, huh? Frederik thought. I always thought I would go out with more of a… bang.
James didn’t move.
“Ah,” James said. “Yes, I do believe that he is still in need of your brutish skill.” He punched Frederik again. “Now, you will listen, both of you. The time will come… And when it is so, remember: we are Alpha and Omega.”
Alpha and Omega… There was no time to think about that. Frederik clenched his fist and swung. James’ boot smashed down on his wrist. He felt the butt of James gun crash into his chest again. Air jumped from his lungs, and he looked at the ceiling in agony.
Frederik, they are leaving! he heard Tallius screaming. Withdraw immediately! Get Tia and go!
In the corner of his vision, Frederik saw James run towards Nellus and help him to his feet. The pair hurried towards the battleship. The ramp withdrew, and the entrance to the ship was sealed. Frederik wheezed, trying for all his life to suck in breath. The pain in his ribs flared. After a moment, his diaphragm relaxed, and Frederik sucked in a huge breath.
They’re leaving, he realized.
Frederik jumped to his feet, ignoring the searing pain in his chest. He glanced at the ship; its engines had begun to glow. Springing to action, Frederik grabbed his rifle, then sprinted towards Tia and scooped her up. In the background, he could hear the engines as they flared to life. With increased urgency, Frederik dashed to the door. It opened, and Frederik squeezed through. It closed behind him. He fell into a computer, releasing Tia and pressing against the worker’s station.
Frederik’s breath was ragged. His heart raced. Tallius, he thought, let’s get out of here.
Frederik, you are going to want to see this, I think, Tallius said quietly, but urgently. Check the monitor behind you.
Beside him, Frederik heard Tia shifting. She was waking up. But Frederik looked at the computer monitor and his heart dropped. The outer doors to the installation opened, and the Martians flooded in.
“Holy hell,” he whispered.
“What’s going on?” Tia asked groggily.
With no time to answer, Frederik leapt to action. Is there any way out here? Frederik asked, searching his map. Anything, Tallius. Anything. He grabbed Tia off the ground. She squealed.
“Frederik!” Tia shouted.
“Hold on!”
Only the way we—Tallius stopped. Oh, Frederik, you are not going to like this. Well, perhaps you wi—
Tallius! Frederik said. What is it?
Sir, two things. One, there is a bomb. And two, go to launch bay two.
Taking a deep breath, Frederik tried to control himself. A bomb? Here? Why didn’t you detect it earlier?
It was not there earlier, Tallius said. I am sorry!
Frederik cursed. All right, let’s go.
A waypoint appeared on Frederik’s HUD. He dashed through the doors to Control Room A and off towards Launch Bay Two. The ground beneath him rumbled faintly. James and Nellus were leaving or were gone. Frederik picked up the pace. Launch bay two was, luckily, not too far off. Hopefully they would be able to make it before—
Frederik heard the doors at the end of the hall behind him open up. Someone shouted at him. He grabbed his pistol from its holster. Plasma fire splashed the walls around him. Frederik ran at full speed and reached the door to Control Room B in seconds. He jabbed the keypad behind him.
Tallius, lock the doors, now!
It is done, Tallius informed him.
Can you start up the ship remotely? Frederik asked, moving to a computer monitor
Give me a moment.
Banging came from the other side of the door. Frederik leaned against large computer, holding his pistol in one hand, and holding Tia with the other. He aimed at the door. The banging increased. The door began to glow.
Done, Tallius announced.
Frederik rushed for the door to the launch bay. The ship on the other side was identical to the one in the launch bay over. You’ve gotta be kidding me, he thought. It was another ship with an FTL drive. The design was the same. The engines glowed faintly. The ramp was open. He entered through the ship. Next to the entrance, there was a series of buttons. Upon pressing one, the door closed.
“Frederik put me down,” Tia ordered.
In his haste to find the control room, Frederik dropped her. She grunted as she hit the floor, then spun and glowered at him. He took note of her mood, but continued his search. A ladder on the other side of the room seemed particularly promising, so Frederik approached it. He scurried up, though with great effort. His arms banged against the steel walls, sounding like enormous gongs in a echo conducive building. Below him, Tia muttered lightly, but said nothing more to him.
The ladder seemed to go on forever. It dawned on him that, in his haste, he might have ignored the fact that there was likely an elevator. He swept the thought aside. Thinking about past mistakes would only get him killed. There was only now. There was only getting out of the facility and getting back to Earth. There was only Earth. His eyes were fixed on the top end of the ladder, which presumably led to the control room. Frederik picked up the speed, jumping three bars at a time.
In no time he had reached the control room. Opening the hatch, he entered a room with all of its furnishings and monitors bolted onto the wall. Five chairs were bolted to the wall behind a line of impressive looking computers. A long monitor curved around the length of the bulkhead in from top the monitors on the “ceiling.” Frederik slid into the seat and strapped himself in. The seat was bulky, and Frederik’s large frame didn’t fit in the seat completely, but it would have to do.
Tallius, initiate pre-launch check. Can you fly this thing? Frederik said.
There was a huff from his companion. Why Frederik, of course I can fly it. A pre-launch check was initiated as soon as we entered the ship. The ship shuddered to life.
All right, well, hurry up. And get me video feed of outside the ship.
The controls in front of him lit up. Help yourself, Fred. I am quite busy, I think.
Frederik heard the soft pitter patter of Tia climbing the ladder. A moment later she entered the hatch. As she hurried over to the seat, Frederik felt her hard eyes glaring at him the entire time. He turned to the controls and keyed the monitor on. Far below them, Martian soldiers were busy making a perimeter around the ship. A squad of Hunters approached the doors.
Tallius, Frederik warned.
I am aware of the situation, Tallius said. Do try to be patient. A tense moment passed by. Engines ready. Twenty seconds to liftoff.
The Hunters paused, then charged the door. Out of instinct, Frederik’s jaws tightened. The behemoths grabbed at the door and pulled. But their attempt was in vain. The countdown continued dwindled down to five. By this time, the rest of the soldiers had bugged out of the launch bay. The Hunters paused, then sprinted.
Zero.
The ship exploded into action, Frederik felt his head forced back into the head rest behind him. The ship lurched started into the air, passing out of the facility… and into a warzone. Hundreds of small aircraft awaited them, ballistic missiles and lasers of all kind being fired immediately in their direction.
“Evasive actions!” Frederik shouted.
The ship lurched in response. Chaff shot out from the back, disrupting the heat seeking missiles. Below them there was a massive explosion that rippled through the sky. Frederik could feel the shockwave crash against the ship. A number of the smaller craft around them lost altitude, spinning out of control upon being hit by the shock wave. Others recovered quickly and kept up their barrage.
Frederik wondered how much the energy shielding on this ship would be able to endure.
Then, through the mists, Frederik spotted something he hoped he would never have to see. A Carrier class ship, equipped with five nukes, two S-Type Plasma Cannons, and various types of missiles. The very sight of these carriers struck fear into even the best Captains the Allies had. Frederik tightened his grip on the controls.
Rip-Drive at ninety-five percent ready, Frederik, Tallius informed him.
Frederik gulped. No one had ever made a jump inside the atmosphere of a planet. Even outside of a planet, their calculations weren’t one hundred percent correct. There were times when a ship would land up to a million kilometers off course. But right now, they didn’t have much of a choice.
The cruiser’s plasma cannons glowed blue-white.
Unable to contain himself, Frederik shouted. “Hit it Tallius. GO!”
“On it,” Tallius announced. “Warning, activating Rip-Drive when not at one hundred percent capabilities may result in—”
“I don’t care!” Frederik snapped. “Get us to Earth!”
Tia tensed. She had closed her eyes. Her lips were shut tightly.
Blue-white plasma balls exploded from their cannons. Like sharks hunting for their prey, they jetted towards Frederik’s ship. The Rip-Drive activated with a muffled thump. The sky in front of the ship tore in two, revealing the void. The plasma bolts were just about to hit.
Frederik had a powerful urge to close his eyes. He couldn’t. His eyes were glued to the swollen balls of plasma as they streaked through the sky in slow motion, trails of voracious blue flames trailing after them. He refused to close his eyes, his last act of defiance against the People’s Republic of Mars.
The world around the ship was enveloped in total darkness.
A feeling of absolute euphoria gripped his heart. He looked from the monitor to Tia beside him. They were safe. They had made it. Presently, Tia opened one eye. When she noticed they had been delivered from danger’s arms, she opened her mouth… and laughed. Cocking an eyebrow, Frederik glanced at her. Curious, he thought.
“We have entered the Rip,” Tallius announced. “We should arrive at Earth in approximately two days. Make yourselves comfortable.”
“Thank you, Tallius,” Tia responded immediately. On her face was plastered a giant smile.
After a moment, she noticed Frederik watching her and scowled again. The smile was gone.
“Thank you,” she said, her mouth fixed in a permanent frown.
Frederik furrowed his brow. He was again confused by Tia’s quickly changing attitude. He nodded to her in response.
“You’re welcome.”
She folded her arms and sighed. “But, if we’re going to work together, you can’t just keep me out of the loop. You have to tell me what’s happening.” There was something different on her face; still a stubbornness, but there was something else there after their mission. Frederik had seen that same look on his own team’s faces after their first mission together.
Respect.
Slowly Frederik nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”
