Cries of the Wolf Page 7

  Yelling and screaming filled the hallways. Meomi ran toward the sounds only to find an empty vessel. “What is this?” She looked to her side and saw the bridge with its doors wide open. “These doors should be sealed…”

  Soft humming filled the air.

  Meomi followed the familiar sound onto the bridge, again finding an empty room. “Anyone here?”

  The humming noise grew louder, closer. The source shifted directions, now coming from behind her.

  She spun around to see a jet black cube floating knee-high. “I don’t have time for this…” Meomi wanted to find her first officer. She tried walking past the artifact but her Tempest suit suddenly seized in place. “What the…” She checked the locking mechanism and ran a quick diagnostic test but found nothing wrong. Both her hands began moving on their own accord, reaching for the floating object. “NO! Don’t touch it!” She yelled at her gloves.

  Too late. Her fingers grazed the artifact. The ground disappeared beneath her. Meomi flailed her arms and legs as she fell. The walls of the ship crumbled to dust, showering her with the ashes of the Cerberus.

  Voices called out to her. Meomi opened her eyes to see the twin moons of Dressa pinned to the sky. She sucked in a deep breath of air as she woke.

  “What did you do to Captain Hana?” Rayfin yelled at Inoke while Thorne held him back.

  “I didn’t… nothing,” Inoke meekly answered.

  Meomi groaned. As she propped her hand on the ground to push herself up, she noticed a shiny object hovering next to her. “The cube…” Her skin itched, feeling like a colony of ants crawling over her body.

  “Captain Hana!” Rayfin broke free and ran to her. “I thought for a moment I lost everyone…” He wrapped his arms around her chest.

  “You went somewhere, didn’t you?” Thorne stood over Meomi.

  “What are you talking about?” Rayfin raised his eyebrows. “Give her some space!” He shoved Thorne away. “Are you OK, Captain?” Rayfin pulled Meomi up.

  “After Inoke touched me, I had a… It felt like an out-of-body experience. I was here, then suddenly on the Cerberus, and then on the bridge. I saw the alien artifact again.” Meomi stared at her hands and began flexing them. “My hands… I couldn’t control them. They picked up the cube, and I couldn’t stop them.”

  “OK…” Rayfin took a few steps back from Meomi. “I've never believed in demonic possession, but I’m willing to believe a demon lives inside you, Captain.”

  “Do you have an explanation, Inoke?” asked Thorne. “Did you do anything to Meomi’s mind?”

  The young Entrent shook his head. “That was not my doing.”

  “Thorne, if you know what this cube thing is, you have to tell us,” Meomi said.

  “I don’t know exactly.” He shook his head. “Whatever it is, whatever it does, I believe it to be extremely powerful and possibly a key to stopping the Mimic invasion.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re not being completely honest?” Rayfin asked.

  “As an Intelligence Officer, I deal in factual information. I’m here to gather intel — on the cube, the Mimic invasion, Fleet traitors, and anything of value. Besides, we have more pressing issues than the mystery of this cube.”

  “What could be more pressing than the demon box?” Rayfin raised his voice.

  “The Mimics fired a weapon into orbit.” Thorne pointed to the volcano in the distance. “We broke comm silence. They probably know we’re here.”

  “Oh crap… You’re right,” Rayfin stared in the direction of the volcano.

  “We need to keep moving. We cannot stay in one place for too long.” Thorne picked up his rifle.

  “It’s too late…” Inoke said in a soft voice.

  Dozens of red dots appeared on Meomi’s mini-map. Multiple enemy proximity warnings flashed on her HUD.

  All three droids switched to active weapons' mode.

  “We’re surrounded.” Meomi aimed her weapon forward.

  A laser blast streaked past Rayfin, hitting Centuria-1 in the chest.

  The droids returned fire into the dense vegetation.

  Thorne grabbed Inoke and shoved him to the ground, kneeling on top of the Entrent.

  Meomi and Rayfin took cover behind a massive plant while returning fire.

  “I don’t know who or what we’re shooting at!” Rayfin yelled.

  A grenade went off next to the droids, sending all three flying into the air. The shock wave knocked everyone off their feet.

  Meomi’s HUD flickered for a moment before stabilizing. “Everybody still here?” She asked in a groggy voice.

  “Rayfin, still alive.”

  “Inoke and I are in one piece,” said Thorne.

  The shooting stopped.

  “Humans,” shouted a deep, menacing voice. “Put down your arms, and you will not be killed.”

  A two-meter tall humanoid alien walked through the bushes and showed itself.

  “Are those Mimics?” Rayfin asked.

  “Not a Mimic I’ve seen before,” Meomi replied. “Thorne, you know what those things are?”

  “Unfortunately, no…” Thorne breathed.

  The alien had two arms, two legs, and was standing upright like a human, but the comparisons ended there. Around its mouth and chin, were tentacle-like appendages which constantly squirmed and wriggled. Its scaly, gray skin stretched taut over its muscular frame. Dozens of thick metal rings were embedded throughout its head, limbs, and torso. Weathered metallic armor attached to the bodily rings covering roughly eighty percent of the skin. The top of its scalp glowed with a menacing red light.

  “We’re outnumbered, put down your weapons,” Thorne ordered his team.

  “Who knows what they’ll do to us if we’re captured,” Meomi resisted.

  “I’m with Captain Hana. I’m not letting… whatever that is, take me without a fight.” Rayfin activated his quickness neuromod and stood defiantly in the center of the group.

  The giant alien creature walked to the Ensign as if accepting whatever challenge Rayfin had to offer.

  More aliens revealed themselves.

  “Ensign, what are you doing?” Thorne asked sharply.

  “These are some of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen. No wonder they cover so much of their skin with metal. I would too if I had their terrible complexion,” Rayfin said smugly.

  The alien swung his fist at Rayfin.

  He dodged the attack thanks to his neuromod and countered with a blow to the exposed alien abdomen.

  The alien roared a ghoulish cry and began convulsing — not in a way to indicate pain, but rather in laughter and amusement. “Pathetic humans. Using their neuromods to overcome their weaknesses.”

  Strange gurgling sounds came from the other aliens.

  “Are they laughing at me?” Rayfin narrowed his eyes.

  The red light on top of the creature’s head flickered and changed to a dark blue. Glowing pulses traveled down its body, momentarily illuminating its veins in a grotesque, navy web pattern.

  “Rayfin, I would concede. Right now,” Thorne said with heavy notes of urgency.

  “Does blue mean calm?” Rayfin asked Meomi. “I think…”

  Before he could finish his sentence, the alien punched Rayfin hard enough to shatter his visor. Blood spurted from his helmet.

  “Ray!” Meomi screamed.

  Thorne held her arms before she could do anything to provoke the situation further.

  The alien stepped on Rayfin’s chest with enough force to dent his Tempest suit. “Anyone else wish to challenge the great Obik of the Voidi?”

  11

  Meomi struggled to free herself from Thorne’s grip. “Let go or lose that hand!”

  Thorne's strength neuromod was activated. “You don’t want to do this, Captain Hana. Please, stand down.”

  Blood poured out of Rayfin’s helmet, pooling underneath his head.

  “He will die if we don’t do something!” Meomi’s heart plunged from her thro
at to her stomach. “Not Rayfin too,” she murmured to herself. It was selfish, but Meomi did not want to be the only person left to carry the pain of losing the entire Cerberus crew. She clenched her fist as the pounding in her ear intensified.

  “Let her come.” Obik beat his chest and pointed at Meomi, taunting her.

  Inoke touched Meomi's arm.

  The rage instantly drained from her mind. She dropped to one knee, feeling winded as if the air had vanished from her lungs. “Stop doing that…” Meomi said in between huffs.

  Thorne stood tall with his shoulders and back straight. “What do you want, Obik of the Voidi?”

  “Are you the leader of this group?”

  “Yes.”

  “What is this miserable life worth to you?” Obik pressed down on Rayfin’s chest with his foot.

  Rayfin howled in pain.

  “Stop!” Thorne held his hands up. “Stop. That life is important to us.”

  “Is it important enough to trade for yours?” Obik made a gurgling sound again with the other aliens following.

  Meomi tilted her head up at Thorne, fixing her eyes on his. Her lips parted wanting to speak. She desired nothing more in that moment than for Rayfin to live, even at the cost of Thorne’s life — a stranger with which, in her mind, was the catalyst for coming to this planet.

  Inoke stared at Meomi.

  Guilt and shame pressed against her skin. A part of Meomi tried to utter the word, “No,” to Thorne. The sound never escaped her lips. It was understandable, even forgivable, for Meomi to value Rayfin’s life over Thorne’s. But she could not ask him to trade his life for her shipmate. Thorne shouldn’t have to sacrifice himself for Rayfin. She was Rayfin’s captain, not him.

  “I will surrender if you let everyone else go,” Thorne said in an authoritative voice as if aware of Meomi's internal debate.

  “You are in no position to bargain.” Obik took his foot off Rayfin. He gestured for another Voidi to approach.

  Meomi searched for the black cube. She desperately needed an escape from this danger and was willing to pay any price for it, even an unknown one. If Meomi could activate the artifact’s powers then perhaps she could save everyone. But it was nowhere to be found.

  Obik spoke in an unintelligible language to his subordinates. The other Voidis made loud, high-pitched sounds and waved their arms cheering.

  “Stay alive. For as long as you can.” Thorne said to Meomi as a Voidi warrior tried to grab him from behind. “Survive at all costs.” He quickly turned around and with his strength neuromod engaged, he easily broke the alien’s wrist.

  More Voidi rushed out of the jungle, swarming Captain Thorne. They tackled him to the ground and held his limbs while another landed a barrage of strikes to his face and chest until unconsciousness carried him away.

  Meomi kept herself in front of Inoke as she fought off attackers, but she too was overwhelmed by the mass of Voidi minions.

  Obik left, presumably returning to the volcanic base.

  Two warriors dragged Thorne away, following their leader’s footsteps.

  Four Voidi remained behind to finish the rest of the team. They quickly subdued Meomi after one devastating punch to her sternum.

  Inoke ran to Meomi’s side but otherwise made no attempts to fight.

  “Sorry… Captain… I… Tried…” Rayfin struggled to speak between gasps of air.

  “Save your breath, sailor.” Meomi feigned a smile. “At least we’ll be with the rest of our shipmates soon.”

  “I… Don’t want… to be… With… Rhyne,” he said between wheezes.

  One of the remaining Voidi, the only one holding a rifle, barked something at the other three.

  The Voidi standing behind Meomi picked her up by the shoulders and placed her next to Rayfin and Inoke in a firing line. Her team would soon be executed, and she was powerless to stop it. Pain radiated from her chest, both from the punch she suffered earlier and from the burst of sadness in her heart at the loss of her entire crew. In her mind, she utterly failed them as their captain. Her legs became weak, no longer able to support the massive weight of grief.

  The Voidi behind Meomi kneed her in the back and forced her to stand on her own.

  Meomi stared directly at the rifle-wielding Voidi and bared her teeth. In her mind, she pictured herself breaking free of her captors and jamming the rifle down the tentacled face of the smug-looking Voidi. But she could barely stand on her own. Meomi glanced at Inoke who appeared calmer than she expected him to be given the situation. “If you have any Entrent tricks, now would be the time to use them.”

  “Someone is coming to help,” Inoke said nonchalantly.

  “Who?” Meomi asked, but Inoke kept silent. Her mind raced, trying to figure out who could help them. The mission was intentionally kept secret. She and her crew were under strict orders not to talk to anyone. As far as she knew, Thorne didn’t tell anyone either.

  The Voidi with the rifle appeared to be grinning as he pointed his weapon at Rayfin — his tentacles writhing faster than before as if he enjoyed watching the agony of his victims as they waited to die.

  Four green spherical capsules landed at the feet of each Voidi. Before they could react, emerald gas streamed from the spheres, surrounding everything in a thick plume of smoke.

  “She is here,” Inoke whispered.

  The Voidi seemed confused by the gas but was otherwise unfazed.

  Red ribbons of light swirled around the four Voidi. The unique, buzz and hum of an energy sword followed. Within seconds, all four Voidi dropped to the ground. Their heads rolled a short distance from their bodies.

  As the smoke dissipated, Meomi watched as a shapely woman wiped her blade clean. This woman wore an unusual red and black combat suit Meomi had never seen before. Her eyes were drawn to the gold Fleet wings with two crossed swords near her neck. She recognized the insignia. “Whisper…”

  Whisper removed her helmet. White and blue war paint streaked across her face, her distinctive look.

  “Lael!” Inoke ran to Whisper and hugged her.

  “It’s nice to see you again, my young Entrent.”

  Inoke displayed an ear-to-ear smile, like the one he showed when he met with Valric.

  “We’re… still alive?” Rayfin coughed up blood.

  Whisper knelt down next to him and removed her helmet. She opened her forearm panel and typed into her keypad.

  “I’m Meomi. Captain Meomi Hana.” She rested on the other side of Rayfin and also took off her helmet.

  “I know. I’m Lael. Most people call me Whisper.”

  “You’re… a Whisper?” Meomi stared at her face, noticing her smooth caramel skin and bright brown eyes. "I’ve heard rumors about your unit but…” Members of Whisper Unit lived in rarified air, revered as the substance of myths and legends among the Fleet community.

  “I get this a lot. People aren’t supposed to know we exist. It makes the spy thing easier that way.” She winked.

  Meomi smiled and nodded then turned her attention to Rayfin. “Can you help my shipmate?”

  “Trying.” Whisper kept her eyes on her forearm console while taking to Meomi. “I see a punctured lung, which accounts for the wheezing and blood in his aspiration. Several broken ribs. He will need a few days in a medical pod. Do you have one on your shuttle?”

  “No,” Meomi said with her head bowed.

  “I need…” Inoke handed med-gel vials from his suit’s storage compartment to Whisper. “Thank you, you read my mind.” She smirked.

  “The med-gels should fix some damage. He’s going to be in a lot of pain, but depending on his tolerance level, he could soldier on.”

  “I can handle it,” Rayfin said. “Combat stims are fun.”

  “How did you know we were here?” Meomi asked.

  “Khoan. Or rather, Captain Thorne. He told me about the mission and asked if I could assist. I saw all the laser rifle fire in this area which lit up my sensors like fireworks.”

  “So
you know about his Fleet conspiracy theories?” Meomi asked. “The ones about the secret cabal of admirals and captains working with Mimics.”

  “It’s not just a theory.” Whisper scoffed. “I was skeptical myself, but certain events have convinced me otherwise. It’s ludicrous to think about, but there are some very high-level members of Fleet Command and Commonwealth Parliament that seem all too interested in the extermination of mankind.” She turned to Inoke. “Hand me my…”

  Inoke handed Whisper a backpack. “Thanks, love.” She smiled and removed a small, shiny black cube from her pack.

  Meomi’s eyes opened wide. “What is that?”

  “It’s a nanobrick.” Whisper raised her eyebrows. "What did you think it was?" She placed it above Rayfin’s crushed chest piece.

  The nanobrick immediately broke apart into millions of tiny black dots over his Tempest suit. With each passing second, the crumples in Rayfin’s armor smoothed out and returned to its pristine shape.

  “Each brick has hundreds of millions of nanites that repair damaged exo suits or equipment,” Whisper said.

  The nanites moved to his helmet next, fixing the holes in his broken visor.

  “I don’t know if it’s the painkillers talking, but you sure seem like an angel to me…” Rayfin said.

  “I get that a lot too,” Whisper grinned. “Let’s see if we can salvage some Centurias droids. By the way, I take it Khoan has been captured?”

  “He sacrificed himself for us,” Meomi said.

  “That sounds like the Khoan I know.” She examined the broken droids.

  “I have some information about the Voidi,” Inoke said.

  “You mean the squid-faced aliens,” Rayfin corrected.

  Inoke ignored him. “According to Valric and the Katok archives, the Voidi existed around the time of the First League. They are an enemy of the First League. The Voidi, along with two other races — the Chorda and the Streydr — banded together and fought a war against the First League and lost.”

  “That would explain their general hostility toward everything.” Rayfin tried to laugh but winced instead.

  “Focus on healing, try not to talk.” Meomi placed her palm on his head. “Continue Inoke.”