Lacuna: Demons of the Void (35 page)

Saara repeated Liao’s terms in the Toralii dialect that Avaran spoke. The instant she finished, an amused, dismissive laugh filtered into Operations, the Toralii commander clearly not even considering the option.

[“Amusing, but... predictably... we will decline. My vessel is more than a match for three of your primitive ships... The only reason we’re here is to capture
you
, Commander Liao, and force you to watch as we annihilate your species from orbit.”]

There was another low chuckle, as though Warbringer Avaran was enjoying some kind of perverse joke at their expense. [“I must say, it is one of the true pleasures in life... watching the light die in the eyes of those who fancy themselves equal to the Toralii Alliance as their whole world crumbles into ashes. Everything they knew, everything they dreamed of, their hopes and desires and ambitions, all laid waste in a matter of hours.
This
, Commander Liao, will be your fate, much as it has been the fate of so many others before you. Your precious... Earth... will soon be nothing but the shattered remnants of your various civilizations, having no more life than the most barren of moons. Then, one by one, we will execute your crew, and then...”]

Avaran gave a dramatic pause for effect and Liao was reminded, once again, that she
hated
dramatic pauses.

[“...And then you, Commander Liao... Captain of the ship you call the
Beijing
, will die. You will be the last human alive; you will witness the end of your people... And in those moments, those final few seconds when you alone stand as an example of your species, you will realize that it was
you
that bought humanity to destruction. That everything that happened to your people was
your
fault. This will be your dying thought, as I drive my blade through your heart.”]

Rowe, somehow managing a weak smile, called out to Liao. “He sure loves to talk, doesn’t he?”

Despite the gravity of their situation, Liao couldn’t help but chuckle. “He certainly does prattle on a bit. Just imagine if he was here in person.”

There was a pause as, presumably, the Toralii commander issued orders to his soldiers. Then came a low whine, similar to the cutting device used to melt in the door. Liao, again, risked a peek over the console.

The Toralii were gone.

Frowning, she stood up, glancing around the room. As she did so the last of her magazines caught on the edge of the command console, snagged and fell out of the back of her pants with a clatter. Giving an exasperated sigh, Liao continued her survey of the room. She could hear the whining, but couldn’t see any sign of the Toralii except the dead intruders still firmly stuck to the floor just outside the doorway. Shaking her head in confusion – she refused to believe the Toralii had just turned around and left – Liao bent down back behind the console again to retrieve her magazine, an action which saved her life as a massive explosion blew out one whole side of the room, showering white hot sparks of metal all over the room like a swarm of angry fireflies.

Even behind the console the concussive force blew her over backwards. For a moment Liao lay stunned as she saw the heavy metal boots of the six remaining members of the Toralii boarding party storm into the room. The suits of five of them were coloured completely red, the rust-colour she had seen the others clad in, and one wore white.

Crack-crack-crack
went the Toralii rifles, white flashes of light signalling their shots as they cut a bloody path through the stunned Operations crew, and Liao struggled back into a kneeling position. Still feeling dizzy, her mind clouded by the pain of her fall, Melissa fired off another couple of rounds at the nearest Toralii. Most of the shots were deflected by the heavy suit of steal space armour he wore, but one bullet hit the invader square on the reflective visor and found its way through. The neat little hole it left, just to the left of the centre, seemed like such a tiny thing... but it was enough to bring the red suited Toralii crashing limply to the deck of the Operations room, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.

Now there were five.

Her actions seemed to have a rallying effect. Jiang and Dao broke cover together and opened fire on the closest Toralii, but despite several good hits, his red armour seemed to stop most of it. The Toralii raised his rifle and, with a single shot to each of them, blasted both crewmen back to the deck.

His grim work complete, the Toralii soldier reached out for a console to steady himself, but Liao lined up her pistol to his leg and squeezed. The limb presented a difficult, but tantalizing target; generally speaking joints were hard to protect. Fortunately for her, although most of the shots went wide or bounced off the red-clad armour, one found purchase on his knee joint – with a howl of pain the Toralii toppled over right next to where Saara was crouched. Thinking quickly, the Toralii woman gave him two shots in the visor, and as Liao went to reload she saw his body go limp. Just to make sure, Liao fired at the prone Toralii until her clip was out of ammunition.

Then there were four.

Liao jammed her last magazine into her pistol, watching as Saara picked up the fallen Toralii’s rifle and shouldered it. Her Toralii friend broke cover, firing rapidly but accurately. The weapon seemed to have a much more pronounced effect than their puny handguns and Liao was relieved to see others having success; she watched as Saara’s rounds blew out the chest of one of the Toralii, then sent a second sprawling with a wound to the shoulder.

And then, with only one red and one white armoured Toralii marine remaining, their luck changed. The red suited Toralii fired twice and Saara was flung back against her console in a spray of purple blood, groaning in pain as her legs collapsed beneath her... Then, with a faint hiss, the Toralii woman slumped to the deck.

“SAARA!”

Screaming in anger and rage Liao opened up on the red suited invader, emptying her last magazine directly into the Toralii, her very last round slipping between the armoured plates near his neck and knocking him back against Jiang’s blood splattered console.

With no more ammunition, Liao absently tossed her useless pistol away. She wasn’t sure why, but she reached out for the long-range communications headset, slipping it over her head. Immediately, Matthew’s voice echoed in her ear, his thick Australian accent calm and collected. “
-eijing
, this is
Sydney
actual, report status, over.”

Hearing footsteps and looking up, Liao found herself staring down the barrel of the white-suited Toralii soldier’s rifle, the gun only inches away from her bloodied face.

[“Go on,”] spoke the Toralii, reaching up with a hand and pressing a button to the side of his visor, causing the thick glass-like substance to liquefy and disappear. Now his face was visible... a face that held a mixture of rage, contempt, and the thrill of victory. [“Go... give your report. Tell your comrades on the
Sydney
that the great Commander Liao is down and bloodied, her crew dead and her ship in ruins. Tell them that you are
beaten.
”]

“You understand English? You’re... listening to our transmissions?”

[“Evidently. Now...
tell them
.”]

Slowly reaching up to the talk key, Liao depressed it, feeling wet blood slowly trickling down her head.

“
Sydney
, this is
Beijing
actual.” She gave a low, mirthless chuckle, shaking her head, hearing her own words repeated back to her from inside the white-armoured Toralii’s helmet. “Believe me... you don’t want to know.”

The Toralii jabbed the rifle barrel towards her, splitting her lip and causing her to grunt. [“I said tell them you’re
beaten
! Obey me, insect!”]

“
Fuck
you.”

Lowering his weapon slightly, the Toralii pressed the barrel to Liao’s shoulder and pulled the trigger.

White hot pain sprung from the wound and Liao fell back against the deck, crying out in pain. She curled up in a ball as blood poured from the injury, clutching her shoulder so hard her fingernails dug into her skin and her eyes closed tight.

[“Worm!
Less than nothing
! You
will
tell them how Varsian the Immortal cut down your crew like a scythe through grass! You
will
tell them how you
begged
for death, about how you pleaded for your pathetic life as-”]

“HEY!” came the shout from behind the Toralii soldier. Liao’s eyes flew open, looking up in time to see a flurry of red hair. The white-suited Toralii man twisted around and raised his rifle, but then there was a sickening
splat
and he dropped it, his hands moving up to his face as he howled in pain. The Toralii staggered backwards, rifle clattering to the ground, clutching his face...

…with Summer Rowe’s pen firmly lodged in his left eye.

Leaping forward, Rowe snatched up the white-armoured Toralii’s fallen weapon, raising it up and pressing it directly to the Toralii’s white-armoured chest.

“Bangarang,
motherfucker
.”

She pulled the trigger. With a white flash, and a spray of blood and broken metal, the last of the Toralii collapsed against the
Beijing
’s deck. Blood pooled out from his wound. Varsian seemed to be staring directly at Liao, lips trembling slightly as the light in his remarkably feline eyes slowly faded.

Rowe dropped the weapon, moving to Liao’s side.

“Holy
shit
, Captain! You’re shot. You’re shot... Can I help-”

Coughing and wincing from pain, Liao shook her head. “
No
! No... I’m fine, I’m fine... Help Jiang, Dao, Saara... help them... get Doctor Saeed up here!”

Fortunately Liao saw Summer move away, rolling Jiang’s crumpled form onto her side and applying pressure to the woman’s wounds. Dao, groaning feebly, gave a wet hacking cough, blood trickling from the side of his lips.

She vaguely heard Rowe call Doctor Saeed, but she found it hard to pay attention...

The headset crackled to life once again. She had forgotten she was wearing it. Knight’s voice once again spoke to her.

“
Sydney
to
Beijing
,
Tehran
; the Toralii vessel is disengaging from the
Beijing
and moving into a firing solution!
Beijing
, you have got to move, you’re a sitting duck!”

Liao blinked, the wooziness returning twice over, probably due to the blood loss and shock of her wounds. She stared directly up at the ceiling, her blood pouring out onto the deck as she reached up and pressed the talk key on the left earpiece.

“
Beijing
to
Sydney, Tehran
... This is
Beijing
actual. Most sincere apologies, Captain, but we won’t be able to manoeuvre at this stage... The borders have been repelled, but most of the Operations crew are fucked. Our engines are
fucked
. Our electronics and optics are
fucked
...”

“
Tehran
to
Sydney
, this is Captain James Grégoire... I got this one. Just get clear, I’m going to take care of it.”

Liao, despite it all, could not fight the warm smile that spread over her face. James’ cockiness was inspiring, despite the hopelessness of their situation. It was just like him to make a stupid joke when everything was hopeless.

“Oh, you’ve got this one, do you?” she asked into the microphone, by now completely disregarding radio protocol. The world itself seemed to be getting dimmer and more distant as her blood spread below her like a dark rust coloured stain. Rolling her head to the right, she saw Saara’s crumpled form lying sprawled on the deck... her lifeblood blooming like a sanguine flower out from her various wounds and slowly spreading over the bare metal of the ship’s floor.

“Mmm... see, I’ve got a plan. Do you remember that story I told you, back when we were in Sydney? Right before the attacks, the one about
War of the Worlds
?”

“Uhh... yeah. Something about a
Thunder Child
.” A small smile graced her lips, recalling the memory. “...I still haven’t read it.”

Suddenly, the memory came back to Liao as if illuminated by the light of a firework in the night sky; James and his crew had sunk an American aircraft carrier by breaking the rules of the contest, by...

The sharp knife of panic began to cut through the dull fog that was her barely functional mind, fear building within her. Surely she was wrong... “James? James, what’s happening? What are you doing?”

Grégoire gave a chuckle into her ear, his voice carrying a strange edge to it. “Well, I got the propulsion and guidance systems up and working... but the only weapon we have left is the ship itself.”

There was a moment of dull shock as Liao processed what he was going to do.