Winter Dread, page 34
When I looked ahead to what we faced, it was already too late. I had almost trusted him, we all had.
“Circular wall!” Tyto shouted and my team responded, while I stayed rooted to the spot, trying my best to get through to that asshole. He was blocking my attempts at any communication.
My kenosi sparked, and I drew from everyone around me in a split second.
“Fuck, Kyle!” Hiroto said.
But I had one person on my mind. Edward. And I was knocking on his comms before he knew it.
“What are you doing?” I growled at him.
There was no answer at first. Then I could almost feel the hate, the condemnation as he spoke. “I’m doing what I need to make sure we get the best of the best out on the front line. I can’t go out in the battlefield knowing there’s people like you on my team.”
It stung, of course it did. Everything he had ever said to me, ever done, had been a lie. This was exactly what I’d expected. I had been right.
“You think by getting us killed out here, you’re the better man?” I asked. “You have no idea, and you have no idea what it means to really lead a team. A team that will follow you for everything you’re worth, die for you.”
“Oh, they’re going to die for you.” He laughed. “Never to return.”
I was the one that laughed at this as I started to see the Vrolsh almost within long-range weapons reach. “You think this will be the last of me. That I will not come forth with everything I have and nail you to the wall.”
“No,” he said. “You will not, because I made sure we were too far out. You have no chance of respawning, anywhere.”
I swallowed and felt the anger across the bonds of those I shared the merge with. Heard as they opened fire on the enemy.
Asht and Xe were working on the inside, trying to see how and why.
Kyle, we are way off course. He’s deceived all of us. Xe gasped.
I tried to see a way out of this, but the sheer numbers were impossible. All I could see in the distance was Edward’s dots reaching the ship.
I should have trusted my gut all along. But I hadn’t been there to listen to it. I’d not seen their training been part of that. Fuck! I’d screwed up again. I clenched my fists, turned my Kenosi back to my weapons. Lining sites up with everything hurtling towards us.
YOU HAVE FAILED YOUR TEAM
THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO HERE THAT WILL SAVE ANYONE
PENALTIES NOTED
Asht, I said. Whatever happens, know we’re never stopping till that fucking asshole goes down.
Don’t worry. His calm voice came back to me. I would ever stop you there, Kyle. If I go down here, I’m not coming back to you either. You know that.
I cursed again as missile fire and rail gun rounds flashed into the distance, taking down thousands of the Vrolsh but still not making a dent.
How can we get out of this? Xe asked.
I didn’t know. I was racking my brain trying to think of something, anything. There were thousands of dots, thousands more Vrolsh loping, walking, sprinting this way. I could see their long, spindly arms. Their contorted faces and dead flesh. I cringed. I’d never seen them move so fast, zombies on speed.
Quill’s voice came through to me as I could see the enemy starting to converge ahead. “We’ll take down as many as we can, Kyle. We’re never going down without a fight either!”
The chorus from Dylan’s team came in now, and I knew I had their support in everything I did. Everything I wanted to do, always.
“We’re not coming out of this,” I replied to him, to all of them. “Hold the shield wall though, I’m not giving up.”
I felt their sadness. We could see Edward’s crew already in the dropship and taking off.
Dylan was the one who spoke then. “There’s always been something,” he said. “Kyle think!”
I sucked in a breath. Asht, man both guns, take out everything you can with everything we’ve got.
Of course, he replied.
Xe, I need you to take control of the mech. I’m going to try to reach out, do anything I can to find Jai, our people.
Got it, do what you can. We’ll all defend.
“Tyto,” I comm’d. “You have control of the teams, lead them. I’m trying what I can.”
I half listened as he spoke through to the others, “Hold the line!”
Asht managed all my weapons, and Xe kept the mech working around me. With the mech still be spinning and turning, weapons firing and explosions ahead, it was hard to concentrate on my kenosi.
I opened my mind and was about to cast this net wide. I needed to find something I could connect with. I could see Edward. I had no words for him as their ship was preparing to get out of the system. I could, however, use it. I connected with the nites onboard. From there I started to relay. I was bouncing all over the system. I tracked where we were. Where I needed to go. We were indeed way out from where we should have been, and I started to look to see what was within our distance. I wanted to hightail it back to the ship and confront that mother fucking asshole. But we’d never make it—we weren’t going to make it now.
I thought fast. Then I connected with my nites. Those which had been spreading through the galaxy, those I knew were waiting for orders. When they responded it meant we weren’t on the wrong side of the galaxy, we were somewhere near enemy territories. We were not out of chances.
I flicked back to my team to see how we were doing. It wasn’t going well. Most of them were already starting to run short of ammo. They were doing their best, and the shield was holding around me for now.
It was a losing battle before we’d even started, but they were not going down yet. Not without fighting with everything they had within them.
I focussed back to the dark, to the vastness of space. I saw it, a beacon of light in the darkness. Artemis.
I connected with the nites onboard, and they responded immediately.
I’m not sure if they’re going to be able to do what you wish, Kyle, Xe said.
I knew they wouldn’t. I tried to get one to talk to some of the others; there wasn’t enough of a connection I needed to alter their code. I couldn’t.
With one command, I knew what I could do. Our co-ordinates, the engines were primed. Ready to jump.
If you do that, you’ll frighten the living shit out of them, Asht said.
I know. And with that thought, the nites were all off and working. Doing as I asked. They were our only hope. If we couldn’t get Artemis here, with her limited spawn capacities, we were beyond dead, forever.
“I got through to Artemis,” I told my team. “I don’t know if they can get here in time. I can only hope so.”
There was an instant whoop of joy, and I took back the helm from Xe as the enemy started to make one more rush towards us. Help Asht any way you can.
There were so many of these creatures I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop them from taking us out. As the hits started to come in thicker and faster, I saw my team’s health in general start to fall. I was suckered into not believing in myself once again. That we were just going to die. This was it.
Asht was the one who became the voice of reason inside my head. Do not think at all that my mother would be happy supporting these actions here. Edward not only deserves to be taken away from his post but I will make sure I inform all of those who need to know what happens here today.
How can you do that? I asked.
If die here, my mother will know. We have only been through a few things together, Kyle, and I am very grateful to have been able to take you through into this with the mind and body of a royal.
I coughed. It has been an honour to get to know you and some of your species background from other angles. You and your family are amazing. Thank you, I said, and I really meant it.
The enemy broke through our long range, and the shield circle wasn’t going to hold anymore.
“Ready!” I shouted, watching as all their melee weapons lit with kenosi.
“For all we’re worth!” Craig said.
Making a run at them, I started to slash and tackle the enemy. Overwhelmed by their numbers still, but not giving in. We fought on and on, energy holding, then waning.
I saw Naylar go down first. Hers was the first mech I saw that was physically consumed. They took her down and then buried her. Then I lost Evia, and Paul. I’d never seen anything like this. The creatures that were before us literally tore the mechs apart. Then whoever was on the inside. I tried not to see too much of that, but I also knew I wasn’t going to look away. If I could show these memories to anyone, then I would. Edward and his teams were going to get everything I could throw at them. Even this bird’s eye view of my friends losing their lives. We were down to twelve, then eight, then six.
Los and Dylan were next to fall.
Come on Jai, I begged. We need you.
As Quill went down and then Hiroto, I screamed into the ether.
Artemis. Come on!
Down to four, then two. Tyto and I struggled with the pain of losing each and every one. We’d become more than just teams. As he’d said before. Family.
A missile struck the ground near me, shoving me away. I couldn’t see where it had come from. How had they even got missiles? These wee critters not sentient, right?
My health fell even more as another hit my outer hull.
I dropped to my knees. Through the mech I felt the terrible slicing and dicing of the Vrolsh as they attacked me. Even on my knees, I wasn’t going to go down without fighting either. I cut into them with everything I had. Sparking my energies to fight with the sword, I gave it everything I had.
I pushed and when my health dipped to less than ideal. I let myself go down.
Neither Asht nor Xe had any last words. Within seconds, our life was spent.
YOU HAVE DIED
No. No. No. Fuck.
This was the third time in as much as six months or a year. I had died. I knew the feeling. But I also hoped and prayed Edward was wrong, that there was something out here for us.
I knew Artemis would have jumped. I wasn’t sure any of them would know how dire this situation was though, or if they were ready for a full hit on our team. Our pods . . . I had no idea their contingency after we’d hit the Dox system. The Kiain respawns.
I could only hope Jai had done as he said he would be ready.
Darkness stretched on and on.
There was nothing, no feelings, no sounds.
Absolutely nothing. Black, empty, death.
Silent screams of anger turned to frustration, turned to sobs of utter despair.
I existed, but didn’t.
I failed all of them.
I’d lost all of them.
Everything that usually happened with a respawn just wasn’t here.
Nothing but empty hell.
Then I felt something, a twinge of pain.
Ripping, tearing, excruciating agony.
Light appeared before me. I tried to read it, the words jumbled.
I forced everything I was to focus in on them.
Then I read:
RESPAWN PAUSED - WAITING
IN QUEUE
IN QUEUE
IN QUEUE
WAITING
RESPAWN INITIATED
More pain. I just didn’t know where from or why. I felt something. Just not the what.
I knew someone had done something to me. The silvery lines of a vision started to form, but I couldn’t be using Future Insight in here; I was nowhere.
Then I was inside a respawn pod. I could feel liquid around me.
This was a very good thing. As I became more and more aware, there was also something very, very wrong.
I heard a voice, but it wasn’t a real voice. It wasn’t anyone I knew, was it?
Kyle, hang in there, it said.
Pain. Oh, my god. There was horrendous pain.
I screamed.
No, wailed.
It was just—no words.
I tried to speak, to ask, to hear things which were going on around me. I couldn’t. My eyes burned. My brain in flames.
Then I felt flesh and more, I could feel things, I could hear things going on around me.
My eyes started to focus in.
I was on a ship. I could see . . .
“Sadie?”
“Kyle, calm down!” Her voice came to me. “I know it’s hurting right now. We’re struggling. You respawned only because we jumped, because we thought something was going down.”
“The others?” I demanded, trying to move and I couldn’t.
“They’re mostly coming through.”
Mostly. That was never going to be something I was going to accept.
I tried to get up, focussing in on her. My body wasn’t responding. What . . . what was this. This wasn’t a body.
“Sadie . . . what the fuck is this?”
36
I looked down, saw metal legs. Saw things I’d never thought I would as part of myself.
“We did the best we could, Kyle. Dylan’s older body was the only thing we could model on and we had to do it fast. We’d no idea where you were going to end up, or when. We’ve been on standby since you last sent in your report to Jai. The M-Wolves were the ones who helped here with the transfer too. They knew the kenosi level had to be something else. Needed to be something more, and the engines are out.”
“Tell me everything,” I said to her, trying to move once more.
“We’re trying to get to a nearby planet where there’re real pods. You need denti, there’s no way to get around this.”
“We had some, and some of the team they’re okay. But we’re losing the others. They came though much quicker than you.” Another voice spoke to me, Ocas?
I managed to move, to sit up, clunky as it was. I then looked around the room. I had no other voice within me. I was alone in here. There was no Xe either. This didn’t feel right, this wasn’t what I wanted, what I needed. I needed to get something normal to do something that no one else could. I tried to spark my kenosi, again nothing. Fuck. I was useless.
I looked to the other beds; the med bay had been taken over. There were shells, metallic, totally. Bodies, but they weren’t waking. Not like me.
“Tell me, tell me the truth here, what’s going on? Who’s closest? What can I do, how long?” My many questions assaulted her ears.
“Kyle.” She placed a hand on my shoulder, and I didn’t feel it as much as feel pressure. “You’re not something that you can get accustomed to, not right away. Naylar is closest to death. The take to metal skin is not easy at all, and she’s been here the longest.”
I was up and then I knew which bed I was heading towards. It had two techs, and of course, Denn’s face was there, via screen, but she was glued to the side of the woman she loved.
My legs didn’t work well, and I struggled with the balance. Sadie was by my side. “We’re a few hours away from a safe planet. We’re hoping the bodies will keep them at least alive till we can let them respawn again.”
Fuck.
“So close to each other, is that going to have any other detrimental effect?”
“I don’t know. I am sorry, I really don’t.”
I managed to move in closer to the bed, and I placed a hand on Naylar’s.
Denn looked up at me. “Kyle?”
“It is I,” I said. “You’re on Armastai still?”
She nodded. “Jai’s got us linked in, the other techs are with me. They’ve been trying to help.” Her face changed as there were several beeps from Naylar. “You woke, why won’t they? Why won’t they take?”
“I don’t know,” I looked around the room, the med bay was so familiar. “This is Artemis? It looks so different.”
“Yes. When you left after the Dox system, Jai was the one who intercepted most of the messages coming from the quadrant. There’s been several people who have said things were going to go wrong for a while, including you. I don’t think even Ohara expected this. It was only . . .” she paused. “Xirob that sent us the real warning message. I was talking to Jai when Artemis just jumped with no warning.”
I swallowed. Xirob and I had not been able to talk at all. Why—how did he know something was off?
“Ohara’s had no clue at all,” Denn said. “If we can fix this . . .”
“No, she didn’t have any clues,” I said. “She would never have thought someone would have gone to this amount of trouble to kill us off. To make it look as much an accident to us here now and take what we value the most. What all of us do.”
I squeezed Naylar’s hand. Felt the pressure the metal, but it wasn’t her.
“Denn,” I said and looked to the screen. “I’m going to sort this. I will. She will not die, not now. Not ever.”
Denn’s face said differently though. And when I turned to Sadie, I just said, “Get me to the bridge, now.”
“You shouldn’t leave the med bay. The take’s not—”
My shaky metal legs were already moving and heading out the door.
I was not ever going to back down on this. My friends were lying there, dying.
I hit the button to enter the bridge, but I couldn’t get on. When Sadie caught up, she palmed the panel for me, and I was finally allowed in. Jai looked our way but then took a step back.
“Kyle?”
“Yes, it’s Kyle,” Sadie replied.
He was at my side as I wobbled.
“You kept your promise,” I said, as his strong hands took hold of mine and guided me to his chair.
“Always,” he said. “We’ll always have your back.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you. Now let me see these things . . .”
I sat—well, mostly just plonked—down in his chair. Sadie stuck to me, scanning and checking, making sure I was okay, but there wasn’t anything that really was okay right now.
All my systems didn’t add up. Nothing in my mind or my brain wanted to work, but when I put my arm near the control panels, there was an instant reaction. There was something here I knew I could do. Hack.
“Kyle, be careful. I have no idea how you might take this.” Jai’s concern crossed his face, and yet he stepped back. “If I order you off that chair, you’re going to listen to me, right?”
