Harvester 7 (15 page)

There was no
movement of any kind, glancing up he studied the heavy grey
clouds.

"Well so much
for seeing their ships enter the atmosphere." he sighed, glancing
behind he saw that the gorge was closed to Kressa's rear, "That's
one positive," he acknowledged, if they were discovered by ground
troops they could only approach from the front following the narrow
gorge, with him sniping from the ridge and Kressa firing her
forward pulse cannon they could fend off even a heavy attack, an
assault from the air was a different matter but he forced the
thought from his mind.

Time passed
slowly as he maintained his vigil, how long he had been crouching
under cover he didn't know but it must have been a considerable
time because the methane in his suit was beginning to taste stale,
"Just like home." he chuckled as he recalled the heavy recycling
within his home cities shields. Boredom was beginning to dull his
senses, so he almost missed the unnatural cloud movement, just in
time he saw the heavy water vapour roil and begin to part as the
hull of a dark and menacing ship slowly broke through the
cover.

"Kressa,
they're here." he called, urgently focussing his mind determined to
reach her.

"Understood."
she replied faintly much to his delight and relief, they had
contact, it was weak, but it was established, he could give her a
little warning, even if it was an order to fire blind down the
length of the gorge.

Maulik
crouched lower and squeezed himself deeper into the foliage, the
ship had sunk below the level of the cloud and now hovered over a
wide plain at the foot of the gorge, light flickered across the
wide and heavy belly and small dark dots materialised in the faint
shadow cast by the hovering bulk, with a sinking feeling Maulik
realised Kressa's plasma trail hadn't dissipated as quickly as he
had anticipated, the signature must have lingered over the area,
not enough to pinpoint their location, but sufficient to give their
aggressors a starting point.

"A landing
party just transported down on the plain," quickly he counted the
dots as they spread out in small teams, "About twenty," he
estimated quickly, "And five heading this way." Kressa's reply was
very faint and he focused all of his concentration to hear her.
"When I say, fire one pulse straight ahead," he called, "But don't
fire until I say."

"OK" he caught
a very faint reply, "Just say when."

"How long
before regeneration is complete?" he prayed to the Gods she was
close, forced to open fire they would instantly alert the Drakan to
their position, one strong blast from orbit and they would be
history.

"Twenty three minutes." she replied, Maulik groaned silently,
they would be in the gorge long before she was prepared. His mind
raced, weighing options. The option that made most sense felt like
suicide, it
was
suicide he understood, but not only was Kressa at great risk
if he didn't act, the entire system would be doomed to death or
slavery. Somehow the Drakan invasion plans had to reach the Senate,
or even Go'an, he admitted reluctantly, and without wasting
precious time thinking he began to run back down the track and into
the gorge.

"I don't have
time to argue or debate with you," he shouted as he reached the
bottom of the ramp, “So just listen, I'm going to the foot of the
gorge, I'm going to draw their fire, hopefully long enough for you
to finish regeneration... when you have finished," he paused before
taking the leap that would ensure the cloners on Terrillia would
have another hatchling to create, "You have to leave, Kressa don't
argue, we don't have time." He sensed her anger and frustration
bubbling, "It's more important for you to get the invasion plans
back to 7, the Senate or High Council will know what to do, please
Kressa, you have your freewill now, you don't need me, just do as I
ask."

"But," she
began, and with a feeling of intense pain in his heart Maulik
severed their connection and began to run.

Kressa called,
and growled, the connection to her friend was blocked, she hissed
and spat with the pent up fury of her kind, but she knew if she had
a heart it would be breaking, his sacrifice was as much for her as
the plans she held, that was clear to her and her anger faded to be
replaced by a feeling of intense sadness.

Maulik
sprinted as he had never sprinted before, in his mind it was
imperative to reach the mouth of the gorge before the Drakan
troops, if he could hold them off just long enough to give Kressa a
fighting chance of escape his sacrifice would be worth it, even if
he was hit by a massive plasma pulse from orbit he would be far
enough away from Kressa to avoid any damage to her systems. After
what he judged to be five minutes he began to slow, his sprint
dropped to a jog as he began to sense their presence. They were
still distant, but too close to continue his headlong charge, the
last thing he wanted to do was run into them at full speed. His
plan; to tuck himself behind solid rock and with a series of rapid
pulses he would hopefully stall their progress, "They don't know
what a lousy shot I am." he laughed nervously, "For all they know
I'm a crack Colonial Marine, a trained killer."

The gorge
began to widen as he slowed to a cautious walk, "Here," he told
himself, "This is as good a place to die as anywhere else." and
stopping he began to search for a secure position to lie up and
await their arrival.

The Gods must
have been with him he decided as he spotted a large boulder part
way up the right hand wall, he dashed up the slope and dived behind
the solid rock taking cover. The boulder was larger than it had
looked and he pressed his hands against the solid security.

"This should
deflect rifle fire," he decided with more hope than certainty, he
was an ex gunner and could strip a pulse cannon with his eyes
closed, he could reel off the capabilities and specifications
without thinking, but pulse rifles were not cannon, they were in
the grey area of his knowledge, it was all guesswork, maybe the
boulder would disintegrate at the first strike, he didn't know, the
only surety he had was he was about to find out... very soon.

Nervous
seconds dripped away into minutes, how many minutes he wasn't sure,
but he reassured himself that every second that they didn't appear
in his sights was a second bought for Kressa. The gas in his suit
tasted sour, fear he guessed and considered venting in an effort to
clear the foul taste, the air outside was worse he remembered and
settled his mind to watching again.

He didn't have
to wait long before the first of the Drakan troops crept into view,
they were professionals he appreciated by the way that they were
spread, he'd had a vain image in his mind of spotting them huddled
together presenting a wide target, one shot would wreak devastation
and he could race back to Kressa leaving five smouldering bodies
crumpled on the gorge floor, his hopes of a quick solution and
ultimate survival withered and forcing his shaking hands to steady
he took careful aim and fired.

A split second
later his lousy aim was confirmed as the shot he had so carefully
placed on the advancing Drakan's chest sheared off his legs just
below the knees, the soldier dropped instantly but the scream of
pain that Maulik was anticipating never occurred, the damaged
soldier struggled onto his chest and fired directly at Maulik's
position, in the split second before he ducked for cover Maulik saw
the flicker of electrical shorting in the severed legs, a mechanoid
he realised instantly and his heart sunk.

"Discount
fear," he told himself as he quickly re-evaluated his position,
"Mech's don't register fear, they are programmed to be
disposable... which means I have to improve my aim and take out
their power source with the first shot, or I am fried."

Splinters of shattered rock rained down on his suit as the
damaged Mech kept up a steady barrage of fire on the boulder, "So
much for me keeping
them
pinned down." he laughed with resignation as he
realised that not just one but three of the mechanical soldiers
were firing a steady stream at his hiding place, "They are keeping
me stuck here while the other two are circling round to come at me
from the side and finish me." the realisation made him feel a deep
nausea, "At least the new me won't have a scar, or be covered in
burns." he laughed trying to find a positive before his impending
and inescapable demise, that thought almost lifted his spirits
until he realised the new Maulik would have no knowledge of Kressa
or their unusual friendship, for Maulik that thought signalled the
greatest waste and deepest regret he could envisage, he felt his
heart aching, “Such a terrible waste,” he sighed and stood up
firing his rifle wildly at any target he could pick through the
blurring caused by his deep sadness, a sudden courage swelled deep
inside and rather than wait for the final blast as he had intended
he remembered he was supposed to be buying time, quickly he dived
aside into the thick undergrowth and rolling quickly onto his
stomach he took aim and squeezed off a pulse, to his delight the
damaged Mech exploded, the head disintegrating seconds before the
body slumped releasing the rifle to clatter on the stony
ground.

"One down." he
screamed before leaping away from the damp brush just as a volley
vaporised the spot where he had been lying a second before. Without
conscious thought or decision he raced further uphill, kinking left
and right as the pulses exploded around him, he spotted one of the
Mech's that had circled high to flank him and through reflex alone
he raised the rifle and fired, his spirits soared as the shot
struck perfectly on target and the mini reactor nestled inside the
chest cavity spluttered and sparked, he didn't wait to watch it
fall but raced on higher. A plan began to form in his racing mind,
"They have tried to flank me, so why shouldn't I flank them?" and
clinging to that thought he shot sideways across the side of the
steep bank and struck a wide animal track, glancing down into the
gorge he spotted two of the Mech's striding towards his original
hiding place, halting he quickly dropped to his knee and aimed, the
shot was hurried and wide and served no other purpose than
highlighting where he was, diving to the ground he heard the deep
thwump of discharge moments before the trees around him splintered
and exploded in gouts of blue flame.

"Well, at
least I got two of them," he told himself as apathy flooded over
him, "Two lucky shots." he knew he couldn't rely on getting lucky
again, "It's just a matter of time now." he told himself as another
tree exploded showering him with sparks and burning leaves, the
felled giant crashed down at his side sending shock waves through
the ground and into his chest. Maulik slowly raised his head and
peeped back into the gorge, the Mech's were still approaching but
he suddenly noticed they were not handling the slippery and steep
bank with any great efficiency, "Just a couple more lucky shots."
he begged the Gods, and resting the rifle on the tree trunk at his
side he calmed his nerves and aimed.

The shot was
guided by the Gods he decided, he had quickly adjusted the gain to
maximum as he took steady aim, he knew that once fired the rifle
would be useless for at least a minute while it recharged, but
considering he rated his chances of survival at considerably less
than zero if he missed, he was finished anyway, he wouldn't get
another shot even if the rifle held any residual power.

The massive
pulse smashed the butt back into his thin shoulder and he cried out
in pain at the impact, a moment later his cry of pain turned to a
shout of victory, the leading Mech exploded and the force of the
pulse smashed through the metal body with sufficient energy to
spare to disrupt the reactor of its partner, with a mental sigh of
relief Maulik watched the second Mech spark as its knees bent and
it crumpled to the ground.

"That's four."
he counted as his hopes began to resurface, maybe he could survive
to tell the tale, a second later his heart sank as he heard the
ominous and very familiar hum of a rifle charging directly behind
him, and deciding to face the final shot rather than take it in the
back he rolled over just in time to see the Mech levelling his
aim.

***

Chancellor
Go'an woke slowly from the nightmare, in his dream he had been
aboard his private transport returning from talks with the Su'al.
Na'ta had taken his hinted advice and despatched a squadron of
Kressa into Su'al space, but his brother hadn't restricted himself
to military targets, the Kressa had wiped out the small fleet of
fighters quickly and efficiently before turning their attentions on
the base ships, the families of the fighters, the supply ships, the
small flotilla that was the heart of the clans society. Na'ta had
wiped out all trace of the Su'al's second largest clan. An action
that had opened eyes in the galaxy, and caused dissent in the High
Council. It had created a diplomatic headache for Go'an, but it had
also brought the scattered Su'al together, fear of the Kressa had
driven them as a united race to the negotiating table, they sued
for peace. Go'an demanded loyalty and obedience, the Kressa threat
was too real for pride to stand in the way of sense, so the Su'al
had knelt before him and sworn allegiance.

He opened his
eyes a little wider and searched his memory, where was he?

The nightmare
began to take shape again. He had been in his transport, the talks
had gone well, the Su'al had added another three thousand
star-fighters to his growing fleet, he was feeling particularly
pleased with himself... but something had happened to crush that
happiness... but what? he searched his mind.