The Battle for the Ringed Planet (22 page)

 In the other offices on the first floor, there was nothing out of the ordinary until the last one at the end. Two human skeletons lay on the floor both with bony hands wrapped around each other’s necks.

“And these two killed each other, so it seems.” then in the hallway Torian turned to Siiri, “Your quiet.”

The blonde girl peered into his chestnut eyes with tears welling up in her own, and then she reached for him and caught the young man off guard while he took her arms in his, “Hey? What’s wrong?”

She sobbed for a moment before answering as May walked over and put her hand on the girl’s shoulder, “Siiri?”

Between sobs she lifted her head and whispered, “The voices … they’re aliens, in my head.”

A look of alarm spread across Torian’s face and May stepped back, “Damn!”

Torian recovered quickly, “You don’t know that, Siiri.”

Angrily she pounded her hand on his chest, “It all makes sense! They’re the real demons! Look at the lost ones, with their eyes! They’re not free! The aliens control them. They live through the human hosts, eating the city food stores, hunting animals, bearing children, and the poor souls can only watch, trapped!” then she let out a long sigh, “Now I know why Kayla would want me to take long walks along the river, put flowers in my hair, and to kiss Brant! She was living through me!”

Swallowing, Torian was at a loss for words, stepping back and staring into Siiri’s sad blue eyes, “But she hasn’t taken you over completely …”

“No, between her and Sarloth, they would spend moments …” the blonde girl could not finish.

“Where are they? All I see is bones and pictures. No living creatures.” puzzled, May asked.    
            “Dead. All of them.” Siiri choked, and then she buried her face into Torian’s shoulder.

The towering marine shot Torian a worried glanced, “Can they take us over, too?”

“I’ve heard no voices, and only certain people in her village were affected.” Torian held Siiri tighter, “But the original colonists were special, they belonged to a secret society, with some sort of enhanced abilities.”

“Did the aliens kill the colonists in Kaarina?”

May and Torian stared at each other in fear, “The ground troops …what if …” the young man gently pulled away from Siiri and peered down at her tear streaked face “We have to find Jarlan’s office, get the codes, and then we’re getting out of here and off-world.” She nodded slowly, wiping her face.

“The offices have names, who are we looking for?” May started down the hall.

“Jarlan Almquist”

“Not on this floor.”

“Then upstairs,” tenderly he held Siiri’s hand, “We won’t stay long.”

 On the second floor, there was a small eating area and a few more offices. There were no more skeletons but at the very back was the largest office, and on the door was a nameplate in gold with faded black lettering with Jarlan’s name.

The door was ajar and the office empty, but the window shutters, metal panels that slide closed, were partially open, and May noted the tactical view of the street outside.

“Siiri, check his desk, I’ll check the holo computer.” the blonde girl opened the drawers to the wooden desk, still intact and in good shape.

“Will that work after all these years?” May looked skeptical as Torian checked the controls of the small flat box on the desk.

“No…” he pulled out his Con, “but I can scan and decrypt the storage media, they’re built to last.” He set to work and images and documents appeared on his holo display. The wiry young man shuffled through them, stopping to read a few.

Then Siiri froze, clutching her forehead.

“Torian!” May strode up as the girl’s knees folded. He put the Con down and went by her side.

Siiri moaned and squeezed her eyes shut, “It’s not Kayla … others … they want me.”

“But they promised!” Torian brushed her hair back and she opened her glowing gold eyes at him.

“A trap.” May was grim.

“No …” Siiri whispered, “They are fighting, some are saying to leave me alone, others are demanding to have me …” then she shouted, “Kayla! Please!”

Through the small crack in the partially opened shutters May saw something and rushed over, “Space Jockey …” she whispered and then turned to the young man, “They’re gathering outside…”

“Our Cons work inside, what about the rifles?”

The long dark haired marine, who had removed her helmet, poked her rifle through the crack and fired a burst at the ground near the feet of several dozen humans with glowing eyes. The blue-black material glowed for a few seconds, but then returned to normal. The strange humans, however, got the message and backed up. 

“That material is plasma proof.”

“Siiri, I have to make sure we get the codes, and then we’re going to leave.” Torian tried to reassure the girl, who stared at him with her normal azurite eyes and nodded. He bent over the Con and examined some of the files.

As the data was transferring to his Con, he would pick a document or image at random, “Jarlan kept logs … he says the original surveyors of this planet were from a secret society, he names it the ‘Colonial Environmental Safety Society’, but really they were a people with very high intelligence, and brains exhibiting extra functionality, he calls it. But nothing obvious, they did tests, there was a dormant potential.”

“You mean like telepathy and all that?” May glanced back from the window.

“Some sort of known condition, top secret in government medical circles…. there’s more…certain members of the society knew about the alien city, and he says they explored it before the colony was established. They deliberately built the colony knowing the aliens were here, but didn’t tell anybody.”

“What about the codes?” Siiri’s voice was shaking.

“The colony lasted 15 years … then all Hell broke loose.”

May stepped closer, “What did they do?”

Torian glanced up at the marine, “It’s hard to say, he says some people began to exhibit paranormal traits, telepathy, projection, and telekinesis, it started when they began to excavate the tubes, and found alien bodies in the spheres, one per tube. Then he says the aliens began to take over …”

“And killed them all?” May looked shocked.

The blonde girl stepped up behind him and glanced over his shoulder, “I can do some of those things, well at least one I know of…”

Looking back at Siiri, Torian was puzzled, “What thing?” the girl then walked across to the other side of the room.

Inside his head a voice spoke, clear, like a thought, “Torian, can you sense my thoughts?”

Turning to May, Siiri smiled, and the tall marine frowned as a thought registered, “May? Can you sense me?”

With his hands on his hips Torian grinned, “You can project your thoughts, just like that cry for help!”

“That’s when I was first discovered, I played tricks in school,” she poignantly recalled.

“Do you do anything else, like read Torian’s lovelorn mind?” May chuckled.

“No, that’s it.”

“You’d get lost in the empty space up there.” he replied, leaning over the small desk holo computer, then after a moment of files zipping by on the virtual display he exclaimed, “Ok, some shield information.” He paused reading the information.

The tall marine shook her head letting her hair fly then peaked out the window, “More coming.” she poked her rifle out the window again and they backed off. Suddenly there was a loud banging downstairs and May moved to the door in the hallway.

From the desk where Torian was reading files he let out a gasp, “Aye …” he glanced up at Siiri with an ashen face.

The blonde haired girl shot him a questioning look, “What is it?”

May called out “Torian, they’re breaking down the door!” she slipped on her helmet.

He scooped up his Con, “I got the code, let’s go!” The three, May first, followed by Torian, then Siiri, ran down the hallway to the stairs. With one swift movement, May aimed her rifle and fired at the door from the top as several figures burst in. It glowed red and burst into flames while the figures scattered. Torian pulled out his bayonet and attached it to the end of his rifle.

“What did you see in the computer?” Siiri asked again as they clambered down the stairs.

“I’ll tell you later.” he replied hastily as they picked up their backpacks. May opened hers and pulled out some items, the mini food processor and rations, stuffing them into her webbing pouches and Torian did the same and checked his grenades and magazines. While the door was still glowing red May kicked it with the sole of her boot, then once again, and it broke open.

Outside the three formed a line facing several dozen figures wielding pipes, pointed spear-like metal rods, and throw-able debris. They were mostly men, younger, but some were women.

“Damn!” May cursed in English.

“Con is out.” Torian checked his rifle and then pulled the trigger. This time it fired a burst and he stitched a line near the feet of the front liners in the crowd.

“You’re it, Space Jockey, mine is out, Siiri?” in answer the flaxen haired girl fired a burst in the air and the crowd backed up leaving room for them to escape.

“Go go go!” Torian called and May raced ahead followed by Siiri, but someone lobbed a perfectly round object striking Torian in the backpack knocking him on the ground while his rifle flew out of his hands. The crowd immediately seized the opportunity and began to descend on him.

Hopping to his feet, he fumbled with the straps of his backpack dropping it as a tall male figure with long stringy hair charged him menacingly with a metal pipe raising it in the air.

“Torian!” Siiri shouted raising her rifle, but as she was about to fire, her eyes changed color and she screamed, dropping the rifle and falling to her knees. May instantly turned and grabbed her bayonet and fixed it on the end of her rifle. At the same time, a spear sailed through the air and she looked up too late as it struck her shoulder armor, the strange metal penetrating it easily, and embedding in her flesh.

The man with the pipe was about the club Torian but reacting instinctively, the trained soldier drew his pistol and fired. Plasma struck the man with the stringy hair in the chest. Others began to charge and he fired repeatedly.

Half screaming and grunting May yanked the spear out of her shoulder bloodying up her camouflaged armor and then aimed the rifle at three men with glowing eyes surrounding her with clubs of metal. It would not shoot, so enraged, she charged and bayoneted the first stranger and received a club to her helmet. She pulled out her rifle from the rib cage of the unfortunate man, butted the next man in the chest, and then turned to face the last one with her bloody bayonet. He tripped and fell crawling away while she threw off her backpack.

Torian killed another robed raggedly clothed figure about to spear him and with his free hand grabbed the arm of another, pushing him aside with desperate strength. Siiri, bent over double on the smooth road only a few meters away, remained purposefully untouched. Unexpectedly, one of them picked up his rifle, but Torian whipped around and, dropping his pistol, grabbed the weapon pulling the strange man close. Then Torian forced the butt end of the rifle into the other man’s face knocking him cold. When the man fell to his knees, he ran to Siiri.

Spitting and clenching her teeth, May used her weapon with both hands shoving a couple of assailants away and then bashed another with the butt, “Torian! I can’t hold out! I don’t have any more frags!”

“I’ve got some!” then shouted, “Frag out!” and a loud flash followed by a crack dispersed the crowd chasing him. Kneeling beside Siiri who was crying, pressing her hand against her head, he tore off her backpack and tried to lift her head.

“Torian!” May screamed in rage as a club struck her upper back knocking her off balance. Then another struck her leg and another pipe slammed into her abdomen. Only a few meters away Torian leveled his rifle and fired. Nothing! He pulled the trigger again and again while May was getting beaten down. Slinging the rifle, he drew Siiri’s pistol and it worked. He shot three times and bodies fell away from May’s crumpled form.

“Siiri! You have to get up!”

Moaning, her eyes opened to the brightest gold had ever seen them, and she tried to speak, but nothing came out. People were starting to form back behind him after the grenade, despite the twisted wounded bodies on the flat surface.

The wounded marine staggered to her feet still holding her rifle, “We have to go …”

“I’ll die before I leave her!” he growled, holstering her pistol in his webbing.

Then with blood dripping from her mouth she grinned showing red teeth, “Spoken like a true grunt, Space Jockey.”

Aware that the crowd was closing in, he hauled Siiri’s form over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and sprinted towards May. With one hand on Siiri, he wrapped the rifle sling around his arm and pulled out his last grenade.

“I’ll let you do the honors, marine!” he tossed her the grenade and ran ahead gripping the rifle with one hand and aiming at a limping man charging at him, but at the last moment turned away after sighting the weapon.

“Frag out!” May called and charged after Torian followed by a loud bang and some screams. 

After almost a kilometer Torian was panting and May kept pulling the trigger on her rifle and in frustration called, “Changing mags!”

Figures lined the street peering out of doorways and on rooftops. Projectiles flew at them, mostly wide and missing. The click and hum of May’s rifle was music to his ears and she shot several bursts behind and on the roofs before it stopped again. Siiri came alive and gripped his sides.

“Can you run?” he called.

“Put me down …” she replied and he stopped and dropped her feet first.

“Did I ever say you had pretty blue eyes?”

She drew her pistol from his webbing and with a wry smile she quipped, “Don’t stop there.”

“I thought you were gone …” he took her hand and they began to run.

“Kayla, she’s fighting them off, there are thousands who want to take me.”

Yanking on the trigger May got a couple more rounds off and the crowds along the street kept their distance. Siiri fired in the air as did Torian, then his rifle quit. They could see the door in the wall but they still had a distance to cover.