Chapter 47

It was apparent the aliens were coming loaded for bear. We’d received reports from the other Ground Force penetrations that only guardian units were left as every other alien appeared to be heading in our direction. Whilst worrying, it wasn’t all bad, the entry corridors to the control room we occupied were not wide and would prevent the larger aliens from fighting effectively, plus we’d positioned explosive packages in various places to try and take out as many as possible before they could get to us.

“Seems to be an honour thing,” a recovered Liovol commented on the approaching aliens as I continued to work on wounded Troopers.

“That or the taller alien has gone nuts,” I chuckled.

“Think it was the boss ... or a boss?”

“Someone damned important, at least,” I acknowledged.

“Well, they won’t easily be able to get at us here; plus, we have a line of retreat.”

“Yes, though depending on where the taller alien stops, I might lead a raid on it to see if we can take it out.”

“Risky,” he replied thoughtfully.

“Yep, though I’m hoping it’ll be one of those leading from the rear types, because there’s no way I’m charging into the middle of them.”

“Glad to hear it, sir,” he chuckled. “Saves me thinking of a polite way to refuse.”

“Heh.”

Corsuuli was still angered beyond measure at his humiliation, though he had now calmed down enough to realise the guardians he’d summoned would not be able to penetrate through to the auxiliary control room and so he’d sent them back to harass and destroy the penetrations of the prey elsewhere on the ship.

‘Be on your guard,’ he warned the Reelc. ‘These are a most clever prey!’

There was no reply. He did not expect one anyway, these were not intelligences after all, though they could understand him.

‘We have positioned guard units near the hidden hatches as per your orders, Master,’ the ship’s senior intelligence informed him via the ship’s command AI.

‘Good. I wish for no distractions as I take my revenge,’ he replied.

‘As you command, Master.’

I observed the alien advance via the ‘spy-dee’ units we’d placed down the corridors that led to the control room. The AIs had also placed an overlay on the display showing the various hidden hatches we’d discovered as well as the guardian units being placed.

“Doing pretty much as we thought they would,” I commented thoughtfully as I observed along with the Monitors and sub-Monitors.

“Yes, sir,” Monitor Coval agreed. “That command alien is also staying to the rear.”

“Mmm,” I nodded. “They’re blocking the hatches, but that won’t help them when we spring our surprise.”

“Hope so, sir. Troopers aren’t too happy about you leading it.”

“Considering the mess it made out of the Troopers when they last attacked it, it’s got to be me,” I chuckled ruefully.

“Yes, sir...”

“Don’t worry, I think I can take it out.”

“Hope so, sir.”

“Yeah, me too,” I muttered under my breath.

Corsuuli carefully checked the positions his Reelc were in as well as making sure that he was nowhere near a hatch and was surrounded by the heavier Toolc.

‘Begin the attack!’ he ordered.

The Reelc swarmed forwards, coming under sustained pellet fire, which, though effective, could not overcome their greater numbers, at least until they reached the barricade set up from the various destroyed control units the prey had stripped from the rooms they’d plundered. That and the deadly long reach of the spiked poles they carried as well as the methodical movements soon had created a killing zone through which the Reelc could not pass.

“OK, they’re stalled. Set off the charges,” I ordered once the AI had confirmed an optimal moment.

All along the corridor where the aliens were concentrated a series of shaped charges went off, sending a hail of debris as well as pressure waves into their waiting ranks. This took them totally by surprise and allowed me and a picked squad to launch ourselves through the gap the explosion created in the wall directly at the taller alien who appeared to be in command. We were using bomblets to take out the heavier armoured aliens surrounding it. Other squads also broke out to keep the other aliens busy and confused, to give me time to, hopefully, decapitate their command structure.

The aliens surprise didn’t last long. However, by then we were in position and I was able to engage their leader. Again though, I had to use caution as well as my enhanced speed, but also managed to bring my falchion down on its remaining glove weapon, causing it to explode in a jet of electrical plasma as something inside shorted out.

Corsuuli knew he was in trouble the instant the small prey shorted his glaive, nor were his mental commands and pleas to the Reelc of any help as many were wounded and others engaged with the prey and thus too busy to help him. Nevertheless he drew his own blade and attacked, hoping his longer reach and better speed would hold the prey off until his commands could reach their greater numbers and he could recover the initiative.

To his dismay however, the small prey was not only able to keep pace with him, but the blade it was using was also long enough to nullify his own reach advantage. So, instead of going on the offensive, Corsuuli found himself desperately defending against a series of strikes and blows that constantly caused his own blade to move out of position to allow another cut to swiftly heal. Yet it also had him frantically looking for a way to escape as his reserve of the nectar of life was fast running out.

Finally spotting a chance, he lunged towards the prey, thinking they were out of position. Only, to his horror, he found it was a feint and the prey spun past him almost too fast to see and its blade slashed down ... and then there was nothing.

I stood there gasping as my decapitating stroke had the alien’s head bouncing off the ground and through the legs of a Trooper into the desperately fighting aliens. Yet a tenth of a rotation later the aliens just collapsed as if they were puppets whose strings had been cut.

“What in the name of the gods happened?” Liovol asked, looking confused, if pleased to be alive.

“I suspect some sort of mental command system,” I replied, still gasping as reports came in from all our penetrations of a mass collapse of the aliens.

“It can’t be that simple, can it?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” I replied, then got in contact with Gust.

“Well done, sub-Commander,” Gust congratulated me. “We observed your actions and aren’t sure what happened, but well done indeed.”

“Thank you, sir. My Troopers fought bravely and well. Enabling the killing blow,” I replied.

“That they did. Now we need to find out why it happened as it did, as I suspect finding one of those aliens on a ship will not be easy.”

“No sir, I doubt it will. But if we could duplicate whatever happened artificially...”

“Exactly.”

‘The Corsuuli has gone dark,’ the senior Master lamented.

‘Disaster, that his light can only remain in memory,’ the other masters replied in sorrowful tones.

‘Do we know how?’ a junior asked.

‘This prey ambushed him and then severed his head,’ a senior intelligence replied into the silence. ‘The decapitation caused his intelligences to send out the termination command to all Reelc, Toolc and crew on the ship in accordance with the law.’

The rest of the Masters acknowledged the explanation as the Reelc, Toolc and other creatures of the command ships, unlike those on the other ships of the fleet, were the personal property of a Master, and no other Master would have them or could command them.

‘What of Corsuuli’s vessel?’ a Master asked.

‘The prey are towing it out of the combat zone,’ the senior intelligence replied.

‘Can we intercept and destroy it?’

‘No. They skilfully isolated it and now have it safe within their numbers,’ the senior intelligence replied respectfully.

‘We must escape,’ the senior Master said into the silence. ‘Escape and reflect upon our actions that have led us to this place.’

‘I say we escape and then seek revenge for our humiliation,’ another Master proposed.

‘That may doom us all.’

‘You imagine that they will not hunt us down wherever we go?’

‘Yet I would not see our glory pass into the long night. That is reserved for prey!’ the senior Master hit back.

‘A remnant could be hidden until this Empire of prey falls,’ another Master posited.

‘You presume we will fail?’ came a reply from the Master who had proposed the attack.

‘You presume success! Produce an example by where we have succeeded against this prey,’ the senior retorted.

There was silence as the Masters pondered their options.

“Stalemate,” Gollant used the word as if it was a curse. “They can’t get away, we can’t close.”

“Nor can we keep them here forever and if they jump, it could take binary cycles to find them again,” Clessik added, eyes narrowed as he studied the Fleet dispositions in the cube.