The Battle for the Ringed Planet (19 page)

“Siiri!” Torian instantly knelt by her side.

May turned and strode up, “What’s happening!”

“The voices … too many! Torian!” her eyes really glowed this time, as she clenched her teeth and groaned. Dropping his rifle and pack, he pulled off hers and gripped her shoulders.

“Tell them to go away!” he whispered. Her breathing was rapid as she gripped his hand tight squeezing her eyes shut. May stood by unsure and alarmed. Then just as suddenly as it started, they were gone, and she opened her normal blue eyes, staring at Torian.

“Kayla?” he asked, but she slowly shook her head.

“This was different, so many at once.” she sighed as he helped her up.

Folding her arms with her rifle slung May watched them both, “That was freaky.”

“That’s what I said at first.” Torian brushed back Siiri’s hair, still holding her arm, and spoke gently “You all right?” The blonde girl nodded slowly.

Turning to May, he explained, “Something happened to the colonists. They were special with some sort of extra abilities or something. Apparently they experimented and, well, I think it caused a disaster which killed them all.”

Nodding May peered at Siiri, “And I guess the effects are still present with the survivors?”

“Aye,” he pulled on his backpack, “Whatever it is lies in a lab somewhere under the rings.”

Siiri looked away sadly and wiped her cheek but Torian stepped around to face her, peering down, “Hey, we’re going to be fine. We’re almost there.”

“How far is the lab under the rings?” the black haired woman asked.

“About 20 clicks inside. I can’t read much in there. There are large rock formations, I think.”

“The ring is interfering?”

“Maybe, but I can get to the coordinates.” then he turned back to Siiri, “Come on.” He took her hand helping her sling her rifle. The blue-eyed girl nodded and walked beside him.

Rays from the setting sun made the dark shadows under the rings glow with an eerie curtain of dark colors, mixing gray tones. When they got closer, Torian spied an object as they came near a drop, a cliff, where the road descended sharply.

“Looks like a tower over there.”

“And the end of the world…” May breathed in awe as they all viewed the landscape, despite the obscure shadowy light, before them was a land of rocky towers and pillars, with swirling dust devils and blowing sand, a wavy brown sea splashing the cliff wall.

As they walked close to the edge, beside the road that angled down, Siiri glanced at a high metal post about five meters high with black spheres protruding at equal distances, “What’s this?”

“Shield fence.” Torian answered, checking his Con, “All along the escarpment. No more juice, though.”

“They wanted to keep people out?” Siiri glanced at Torian.

“I guess.” he replied, “Lets go check the tower over here.”

The three made their way across the road and stood before a high metal tower with a green hover truck parked outside the door. Approaching the truck with the windows all cracked open, Torian shined his light inside and there were bones and a skull on the driver’s seat. May walked up to the metal door of the tower, which was intact and ajar, and peered inside. Then she opened the door all the way and stepped inside, followed by Torian and Siiri.

 Illuminating the small room, an office with a desk and chair long abandoned and covered in dust, May studied a wall of flat panel screens, “They guarded the way down.”

Torian cautiously walked into a small hallway while May peered up a stairwell, “Bunk room and supply room.” he called back as May climbed up the stairs, and then stepped back down.

“What’s up there?” Siiri met the tall marine.

“A big gun on the roof.”

“Really?” Torian met both women in the office, “They sure wanted people to stay clear of whatever is down there.”

“We should sleep here for the night; the end of the world down there looks uncomfortable.” May suggested.

Nodding Siiri turned to Torian, “Are you tired?”

“Yeah, the bunks look Ok.”

Settling in the small room with two wide bunk beds built into the wall and a small bathroom in the back Torian pulled out his sleeping bag and laid it on the lower bunk. May took the bunk across, threw her backpack on the floor, and sat down pulling off her boots. Siiri closed the bathroom door behind her while Torian took out his water bottle.

After swallowing, he stood up and hung a flashlight from the wires of a metal fixture on the ceiling, “There are metal barrels in the store room, I wonder if they’re full of water.”

“After how many years?”

“We can purify it.” he relied, and then Siiri came out of the bathroom.

“How is it?” May rolled out her sleeping bag.

“Metal bowl, hover only.”

“Peeing in the pool was much better.” the dark haired woman slipped into the bathroom with her flashlight.

“Be right back.” Torian passed Siiri and went to secure the metal door to the outside. When he returned Siiri had put her sleeping bag down next to his on the lower bunk inside against the wall.

“What, you don’t want to be on top?” he grinned.

She waved her finger, “Don’t be naughty.” then her expression went serious, “I’m afraid of…you know.”

“If they come again, I’ll be next to you.” he pulled off his boots and undid all his webbing throwing it on the top bunk. Siiri threw her web belt, back pack on the top bunk with his stuff, and pulled out her green shirt letting it hang loose to her knees, then she crawled onto the bed.

May came out of the bathroom, “Set your Prox alert?”

“Aye.” Torian snuggled in his sleeping bag, “And I locked the door, I’m not sure if the Cons are working properly, mine keeps cutting out.”

When May crawled into her bunk she groaned, “Awww.”

“What?” Siiri poked her head up from behind Torian and he laughed.

The tall marine’s feet stuck way out the end of the bunk, “Short people designed these.”

Exhaling with frustration, May moved her sleeping bag to the floor next to her rifle, and then she reached up and shut off the flash light hanging from the ceiling.   

Torian lay on his back while Siiri was on her side and moved up closer, “I’m scared of what we’ll find tomorrow.”

“Try and get some sleep.”

“What’s Kanata like?”

“It’s the most beautiful planet in all the colonies, even better than earth.”

The long black haired girl snorted, “No that would be Jiangxi.”

“Anyway…” Torian continued, “Where I live, the town is called Brendan, after some founder. There’s a fast white water river flowing near and it’s surrounded by golden hills of barley, just like a golden ocean, with golden waves when it’s windy. The whole land is a great big plateau between two giant snow capped mountain ranges to the north and south. Warm winds blow down from the mountains in the winter and we can usually grow crops most of the year.”

He shifted position and heard the blonde girl’s steady breathing, “She’s asleep.”

“Keep talking, Space Jockey, I’m almost there, too.”

Not long after he drifted off and slept through May’s snoring. Lost in deep rest he dreamed of home, his high school in the small town and his trips to the big city of Gold Sea nearby. Then there was a loud crash and he snapped awake. May was already pulling her boots on and Siiri sat up.

The flight specialist grabbed his rifle and tapped his ear, “I got nothing on my Con, no prox alerts.”

“Sounds like the door.” May lit up the room with her flash light and secured it to her rifle, then slipped on her helmet. Torian unhooked his flashlight from the ceiling and they both stood with their rifles ready at the bunkroom door. Siiri stood behind Torian with her rifle.

 “You first,” May whispered to Torian.

“Aye.” He eased the door open and shined his light. The office appeared undisturbed. Torian crept along the wall sweeping his light ready for any movement.

“Night vision implants would handy right about now.” Torian grumbled.

“I got mine.” May tapped her helmet visor, “Come on blondie.” The marine moved up behind Torian and then darted across the hall to the supply room door. When Torian glanced back, May indicated with hand signals she was going to check the room, and he nodded. Waving his hand, he motioned Siiri forward and then crouched near the desk. Then he gestured for her to get behind him.

The tan skinned marine appeared from the storage room shaking her helmeted head and inched along the wall until she was across from Torian and Siiri. They all stared at the main door still shut tight. On either side of the entrance, two thin slit windows with cracked glass offered a dark view outside.

Torian beckond with hand signals again for May to take one side while he would take another and then he whispered to Siiri, “Cover us from here.”

Her blonde head bobbed in affirmative while he snuck over to the other side of the door, “Nothing on my Con.” He whispered to May.

“The door is dented, see?” She pointed to a large bulge in the middle. They both peered out the cracked glass windows but saw nothing.

“I don’t see anything with my night vision and I ain’t going out there.” May asserted.

“You and me both. Let’s watch a while.” All three waited breathlessly aiming their rifles with hearts pounding, but as moments ticked by, there were no threatening noises from outside.   

“All right, whatever it is, it’s seems to be gone.” May remarked, exhaling slowly.

“Let’s take shifts, two up and then switch. One of us can sleep.” Torian suggested.

Siiri pointed to the hall, “Not me, off to bed, Torian.”

“Go on Space Jockey, let me have some alone time with blondie.”

“Fine,” he stood up and then strode past Siiri into the bunk in the next room.

After he was gone, Siiri crept forward to the window and peered out into the darkness. Both women sat in silence for a few minutes while Siiri gripped her rifle a little too tightly.

“You killed an Imperium marine?”

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

“Well that’s one up on me. I haven’t seen combat yet, blondie.”

“Don’t call me that, someone I despise used to call me that.”

Nodding, May watched out the window, “All right Siiri. So what do you think is down there?”

“Something I’m not going to like.”

May paused for a moment, “Hey, I just want you to know I’ll stick with you no matter what.”

“Will you?”

“I ain’t good at judging people, but I know Torian is cool, he says it like it is. If we figure this place out, then maybe they’ll let me go home so I can be with my son.”

“I’m sure you’ll see him again soon.”

“Thanks Siiri.” May watched the blonde girl for a few moments, “So, what about you?”

“Me?”

“You got family here?”

“They’re in hiding.”

“Smart. What about a boyfriend?”

“Why do you want to know that?”

“Just asking. You’re really pretty, so I figure there’s got to be someone.”

“I had a boyfriend and he called me blondie. But he was bad.”

“Where is he now?”

“Dead. A space fighter shot him.”

“Oh …was that a good thing?”

She hesitated, “I don’t know, I didn’t really want him to go out like that …” sighing, “… but he was cruel to me.”

“I’m sorry you had a rough time.”

Smiling in the dim light of her flashlight, she remarked, “You’re not so bad, all that tough girl stuff …”

“Hey, I’m a marine, I have to be tough.”

“I see,” Siiri relaxed the grip on her rifle.

“So ...”

“Yes?”

“Then there’s Torian.”

Siiri glanced away.

“You two have been through a lot, fighting and stuff.”

The girl was quiet.

“He seems like a good guy, and believe me, I know fleet guys, most of the time they’re jerks.” She leaned over with a wry grin, “You like him.”

“It doesn’t matter who I like. I have this affliction, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get cured. Anyway, he’s kind, that’s all. Well, caring, and thoughtful ...”

“Don’t stop.” Torian leaned against the wall in the hallway, smiling and sipping a cup of coffee.

The blue-eyed girl sighed, “Eavesdropper.”

“Well, if you’re up, I’m going to crawl into my sleeping bag.” May rose and slung her rifle. She grinned at Torian while striding by.

He sat against the wall on the opposite side of the door and swallowed some of his hot drink, “Awkward.”

“Yes you are.”

“Anything out there?”

“Just darkness,” she glimpsed at the floor, averting his eyes.

“We are going to find a cure.”

“I hope so …” raising her head she watched him in the dim light, “I see the way you watch me, Torian.”

Pausing, and taking another sip before he replied, “You’re very pretty.”

“Even when I’m all dirty?”

“You’re clean now.”

Siiri got up and sat beside him, hesitating a little, “I know it’s hard to talk about, Torian, and I heard a little from your nightmare, but what happened to Tristan … and you?”

“Yeah, it’s hard to talk about.”

Placing her hand on his, she moved a little closer, “I care about you. I can be a friend if you need to talk.”

Glancing down at her hand in the shadowy light, he turned to stare into her eyes, “Shrinks couldn’t get it out of me, and they got so mad they put me back on active duty.”

Maybe it was her warm expression, or her round azurite eyes that captivated him, but he let out a long sigh, “Well …we tunneled into this system. It was supposed be a probe hunt, nothing more, but it was bad intel. There was an Imperium fleet, 8 battle cruisers and we were right in the middle of them. Tristan and I had been in tight spots before, but this was it, no way out. Solvairs, must have been a hundred, surrounded us, boxing us in. Hawkeyes are more advanced than any recon ship they have, so they wanted us and the ship intact.”

He turned away and put down his coffee mug, “We tried to break out. We dumped both our tunnel pods and exploded them to make a gap, and tried to run for it. Without a tunnel pod we couldn’t leave the system…Tristan said we’d figure out something.  But they blew out our shields, and then …” he choked and his hand trembled under hers.