26


A tremor ran through the ship, forcing me to put one hand on the wall just outside of the hydroponics area.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“Mavis and I believe it is sabotage, timed charges left behind to further disrupt our efforts to pursue Doctor Ayers,” X-37 said.
I clenched my teeth and calmed myself before blurting profanity. “I’m really going to throat punch that guy when I catch him,” I said.
“Of course you are, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “My analysis—”
“—suggests that won’t help anything,” I finished for my LAI. “Why don’t you leave violence to me and just tell me where Elise and the rest of these alien hybrid Slayer things are?”
“Of course, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Right away, Reaper Cain.”
“I’m not sure I like your tone, X.” X-37, Mavis, and Bug talked amongst themselves while I limped forward a few steps and decided I had to have the Archangel armor off even if I had to trash it to get free of it. Normally it wasn’t as difficult to slip out of, but the Slayers had really done a number on it.
Using the enhanced strength of the arms and gauntlets, I tore apart everything on my right leg from the knee down. Relief flooded through the joint. I took a few breaths, enjoyed the sensation, and then stripped out of the rest of the gear.
“I have an update for you,” X-37 said.
Putting on the Reaper mask and the stealth cloak, I listened.
“Battle summary,” X-37 said. “You burned approximately four hundred and thirty-seven calories—”
“Skip all that,” I said impatiently, then found a tube with nutrient paste and water from the discarded equipment and slugged it down.
“You took out three of the alien hybrids, Elise killed two, and Path successfully eliminated the Slayer he was after. The combined efforts of ship security forces have reduced the number by another four,” X-37 said.
“I’m not that good at math, X. Can you tell me how many that leaves of the twelve from the cryo-pods?”
Bug jumped in. “That leaves two, mister. Wait, are you kidding me?”
“Yeah, Bug. I can actually count past ten,” I said, easing into a jog toward the main lift. If I didn’t come back to this deck of the ship for a year it would be too soon.
AI Mavis spoke in her almost too reasonable voice. “The remaining two alien hybrids are assaulting the bridge. Captain Younger has requested assistance. You are the closest response force.”
“That can’t be right,” I said.
“Her guards are fortifying the bridge and Rejon has armed himself to defend the area, but they will need help,” X-37 said. “All crewmembers who are not actively engaged in the searching and clearing of the ship have been monitoring the numerous battles with the creatures. It hasn’t been going well. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re alive.”
“I’m on my way,” I said, picking up the pace. “Get a hold of Elise and Path to set a new rendezvous point.”
“We are working on that,” X-37 said.
“Where is my mother and sister?”
“They are in one of the safe areas that were partitioned during the initial stages of the crisis. Hannah has armed herself to protect your mother,” X-37 said.
Elise, Path, and I converged at the central nexus of the main deck. From here, there were two ways to access the bridge: a security lift and a stairwell that Mavis explained had several blast doors that could be closed to stop intruders from reaching the most critical part of the vessel.
All of it looked compact compared to other Union warships I had seen, but by now, I was accustomed to the stealth carrier we’d taken from vice admiral Nebs.
Elise and Path each showed signs of a hard fight. Their once pristine armor was streaked with blood and scorch marks.
“These things are strong as hell,” Elise said, then displayed the damage her adversaries had done to her arms, shoulders, and neck area.
“You’re going to need a new rig after this,” I said.
“Where is your armor?”
“Busted.” I conducted a quick check of their armaments, just as I would before any other mission. “This doesn’t look like Slayer blood.”
Path answered, “I stopped to help wounded.”
“We also put out some fires,” Elise added.
The ship was on emergency lighting that pulsed lethargically.
Activating the stealth cloak, and sliding the Reaper mask into place, I took the lead. Without the increased size of armor, the cloak had better coverage—if that meant anything. It seemed like the Slayers had seen me because my legs and part of the Destroyer had protruded from the cloak’s coverage, but I had a nagging feeling that wasn’t the entire reason they saw me. “Let’s get moving.”
Elise and Path spread out as much as possible and followed. I took the stairs three at a time, checking each angle before I made the tight turn for the next climb. The only weapon I had was my pistol and my arm blade. Hopefully, the stealth cloak would give me the advantage of surprise.
Mavis opened each door as I approached. X-37 helped scan the openings before crossing through. By the time we reached the deck where the bridge was located, I found evidence of a hard fight.
The hallway leading to the bridge was made to be defended. Not only were there bodies of bridge guards down, but the fortified security stations at each intersection had been ripped apart and their occupants slaughtered.
“That’s horrible,” Elise said, as blood and brain dripped from the ceiling of one of the small rooms. “These things are so freaking strong.”
I glanced at the gun ports and saw evidence they had fired their weapons through the small openings as the Slayers attacked. The doors, so far as I could tell, had been torn free, which should have been impossible. I had trained for this type of assault and never enjoyed it. Even with explosive breaching charges, it was almost impossible to take a bridge like this.
We had initially captured the ship through subterfuge and X-37’s diligent sabotage of the ships AI to let us in. The monsters tackled the problem in a much more primitive way, and it seemed to be working for them.
“Let’s move,” I said. “I’ll go first and get a look at them before we make our attack. X-37 thinks they are probably trying to pull apart the main door now and should be distracted.”
Elise and Path signaled their agreement and I moved through the final intersection that led to the bridge.
The area in front of the main bridge door was slightly larger than the hallway, which would give us a good place to fight if it came to that. I was really hoping we could shoot and stab them in their backs and end this quickly.
A wounded man crawled toward me. I stepped over him as he continued toward Path and Elise.
“At least I know the stealth cloak is working,” I said. The incident in the hydroponics farm had me worried, but the explanation was simple. The cloak hadn’t been able to cover my feet and the monsters were smarter, and more observant, than they seemed.
Sure, that was the reason. Absolutely.
“My analysis showed it is functioning well within ideal parameters,” X-37 said. “There are three other living security guards, but they cannot move. I recommend assisting them as soon as the battle is concluded to maximize their chance of survival. It would be best, however, to move slowly and use caution while engaging the enemy.”
“Sounds good, don’t let me forget.” I spotted the two Slayers. The monsters were digging their claws into the metal, creating handholds so they could pull and tug on the blast door that should’ve been impenetrable without serious firepower. Their tentacles writhed in the air, extending and retracting in a strange rhythm that I guessed mimicked their breathing or heart rates.
Not wanting to alert them with noise, I gave X-37 a hand signal to relay the information to Elise and path. X-37 soon advised me that they were ready to enter the final area and attack.
I signaled X-37 that I would initiate the attack.
“We’ll double team the other one, then help you,” Elise said.
Moving silently, I was within striking distance when it turned to me and spoke.
“Reaps, Reaps,” it said. “Why you against us?”
“The Slayer is talking to you, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.
“Figured that out all by myself,” I said, frustrated that it could see me.
“Reaps on the wrong side,” the monstrosity croaked. “Help kill. Kill them all. Only way to be sure, Reaps. We needs control ship, Reaps.”
The other Slayer spun around, opened its jaws as wide as they would go, and screamed at me before charging.
I lunged at my new target, driving my Reaper blade straight down its throat. The mouth snapped shut on my cybernetic arm like a trap, the teeth cutting into the metal. With my right hand, I drew my pistol then pushed it to its temple and fired. Each time I stroked the trigger, I changed targets, making sure to put one in each of its strange, stealth-cloak-seeing eyes.
Elise sprinted across the small area, leapt into the air, and slammed into the alien hybrid that had tried to speak to me. She drove it against the wall and I heard a wet thunk as its skull cracked. The impact didn’t kill it.
Tentacles flashed from the arms of my adversary, hooking into my torso, legs, and every place the Reaper mask didn’t cover. Streams of data flowed from what the mask observed. At the same time, I was starting to understand their language with the help of the mask and X.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough for me to believe these two, at least, were trying to hold on to their humanity. The problem was, they were also trying to murder my friends and allies.
Pain screamed through every part of my body. The injuries were bad enough, but I was certain the hooked barbs on the end of the tentacles were poisoned or at least covered in some type of acid.
I fired until the magazine ran dry and then beat it with the empty gun. At the same time, I twisted the blade in its throat, pushing my arm further into it. This broke a lot of teeth.
The entire struggle took only seconds but seemed longer. Elise rolled across the floor, wrestling with her Slayer enemy while Path ran between us with his sword. He slashed the tail off of my enemy before the tail could stab me in the throat.
The sword saint spun in a circle, blade flashing in a wide arc, and cut off the head of the Slayer trying to eat me. Path’s blade struck my blade as it passed through the monster’s neck, causing me to stagger sideways as the head came off.
It wasn’t exactly as graceful or dignified as an action hero in a holo movie, but I’d take the win.
Elise struggled to her feet, lifting her Slayer over her head and then slamming it forcefully to the deck. Without hesitation, she dropped onto it, driving her elbow into the back of its neck. She bounced up, aimed, and fired until she was out of ammunition.
Most of the bullets hit the dense flesh of the hybrid, penetrating just enough not to go bouncing around the room. There were a few errant rounds, however, that whizzed past me. Sparks from the bullets danced around the room with each ricochet.
“Easy, Elise! I’m not wearing armor! Can you try not to shoot me?” I shouted as I shook the hybrid head from my arm. The teeth remained imbedded in my cybernetics.
She ran to my side, pried open the mouth of the monstrous head, and tossed it away. Then, because she was bigger and far stronger than I was while wearing the Archangel gear, she grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me over.
“You’re a mess, Reaper. Shit, you’re bleeding out of every part of your body!” She shouted like it was my fault.
“Not every part.” I nearly passed out.
“I am restricting blood flow,” X-37 said. “Elise, can you apply pressure bandages?”
“Sure thing, X.” Elise ripped open her combat first aid kit.
“Ouch!” I hissed as she poured clotting gel into my wounds and jammed self-adhesive pressure bandages all over my body. “Your bedside manner needs serious work.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny, Reaper. You want to die or what?” she asked.
Path stood guard, watching the hallway for any threats we might have missed.
“Mavis, can you let the bridge know we’re out here?” I asked.
“At once, Reaper,” AI Mavis answered. “They would have been able to watch the battle had the creatures not smashed the cameras.”
Elise stepped back to examine me. “I shouldn’t laugh, but you’re a wreck, Reaper. You should be able to hobble forward now that we did all of the hard work.”
“Are we comparing kills now? Because I had this little trio I dealt with in the hydroponic farm.”
A voice came through the speaker box next to the door. “Are you there, Reaper?”
“I’m here, Rejon. This area is clear. I can’t vouch for the rest of the ship, but we’ve taken out twelve Slayers. That’s all of the fully formed alien hybrids.”
“Very good,” he said. “Once we can verify, I will open the door. Do you need medical attention?”
“Nice of you to ask,” I said. “And the answer is hell yeah. Maybe a few days off and a box of cigars would be nice too.”
Rejon laughed with relief. “If I had any doubt it was you, now I am sure. Several team leaders are checking in, including CSL Locke of Wallach. I’m also surprised at how well the Union turncoats performed. Many lives would have been lost without their help.”
“I’m sure they have a few good ones,” I said.
“You need to go to the medical bay and get checked out,” X-37 said. “Once we are certain you’re not going to die from internal bleeding or alien infection, Tom and Henshaw have a lot of work to do on your cybernetic arm.”
“Don’t talk about Henshaw right now.”
“He was tricked by Doctor Ayers,” X-37 said. “All evidence suggests that he thought he was able to control the man. His interest in the research is understandable, given his dedication to science.”
“Tell that to the families of the people who died cleaning up this mess,” I said.
“Let’s get you to the med bay,” Elise said. “You can walk, or I can carry you. Your choice.”
“You can’t stay in that armor forever,” I said.
She laughed. “But for now, you’re at my mercy!”
“I’ll walk.”
“That is the more dignified choice, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.
“I didn’t need that, X.”