Chapter 43

The old saying of 'once burnt, twice shy' was a lifesaving motto many times. Small restraint hoops were placed over the tractor controls, and a thin rope was tied around a crystal by the doorway.

I watched the walls, and deactivated tractors, as I found them. The rope was tied to my waist, and followed my movements like a long umbilical cord. The cord, like what it resembled, would serve the same function, and keep me alive.

The inside of this room was orders of magnitude more complex, than Mom's tug, the Earth or the moon bases. The rope was long, but I was concerned if it was actually long enough, for this job. If I had to, I could survive in this suit, till it was taken over, and returned to Masis.

Twenty agonizing minutes later, I had deactivated almost a hundred tractors, and literally come to the end of my rope. I took the end, and tied it to the furthest crystal it could reach, and left the controller there to mark its end.

I explored further along the maze, using my navigation aids in the suit, and the backup, that was put into me long ago. Was it only three months ago?

It took another half hour, to find the alcove with the AI crystal. This one was like the one on the moon and glowed red, as it wrestled with the virus that infected it. Its size was much smaller than its duties would warrant. Mom commented that the Samutz were in trouble, because they did not have a supply of crystals, and had to downgrade all of their facilities to make them workable.

Instead of pulling this crystal out, Mom and I had decided to allow it to stay, and the new one allowed to take over, and more or less, make it a slave. This had happened before, when a processor was damaged, but happened very infrequently. The down side was, that we didn't know if the antivirus program installed in the new crystal, would allow the new crystal to be corrupted.

The new crystal was removed from its protective cover. It glowed brightly, in the dark confines of the room. Shadows were cast from all of the crystals lining the walls. Taking out a memory module, I carefully inserted the much larger crystal in its place. The small crystal I removed was crammed amongst its fellows. After energizing the repair circuits, I saw the computer take the crystals, and integrate them into the basic structure. The processor glowed even brighter as it did its own diagnostics.

Floating for almost ten minutes, I saw that everything was working fine and wanted to get out. I had no idea what was happening, because the very walls of the computer blocked any and all communication.

With the navigation equipment, it wasn't very hard to find the controller, and the end of the rope. The door pealed back a bit and I called, "How is the weather out there."

I felt three sighs of relief. "Fine. What took you so long?" Came from John.

"We killed another group of Samutz, and a third is almost here. What did take you so long?"

Disregarding the question, I said, "Do I have time to crawl out of here, before they come?"

Secric answered, and said, "The new group is flying down the spine of the ship, and should be here in a few minutes. There are no Tandra with them this time."

I knew it would take a while to close the wound in the door, and an equal amount of time for the Samutz to walk the corridor. I just made it to Susan, when the Samutz single-mindedly attacked the controls, for the outer shield again.

Following her thoughts, I was able to find Secric, and patted her shoulder, as I returned to the room that gave access to the other controls. Susan came happily out, as I entered, and re-energized all of the controls and closed up the wall.

"This part is done. We just have to sit back and wait for the AI to take over," I said.

"I think we will have to do more than that," John added.

"Why?" Asked Susan.

John didn't answer, but we looked through his eyes, and saw fifty or so Samutz carrying a heavy disintegrator, cables, and portable shields, through the central corridor.

"If they use that, then they will be able to get into the computer room. It will be a while, till the AI wakes up."

"What do you want to do?" Asked Secric.

John answered first and pictured the enemy getting the gun into the tunnel and we ambush them, when they are busy.

"I like it, John. Let's do it."

John and Susan went as far out, the way we came as possible, while Secric and I went only a short way. I could feel her worry. Some was for her own life, but most was for her people and the rest for me.

I held her close and waited. "Don't worry. We have good suits, and the Samutz didn't even look like they were heavily armed. How many Tandra did you liberate?"

"We got twelve more. They safely made it to the hiding spot, and Sula came back to say she is spreading her forces out, keep any losses to a minimum. I am not worried about them too much, but I am worried about the forces that will come after us, when the new ones are destroyed."

The normally heavy weapon was pulled in, and carried down the wide hallway. John walked behind the last Samutz, that must have been more that twice his weight. A very visible sword plunged into its back and twisted to sever both hearts. Almost at the same time, another did the same thing. I felt Susan's distaste, for doing this necessary work, but I also felt her determination, one of the many things I loved about her.

A small crew at the front of the now shorter column pealed off and went down a side corridor. Secric and I saw our chance, and raced after them. Using Secric's thoughts and sword as guides, I kept out of her way. Eleven Samutz fell to us. The last had turned to see its fallen comrades, but died quickly enough to hopefully not give a warning. We raced back to the main body, and saw them still walking along, as if nothing was wrong.

There were four Samutz guiding the weapon, as we got back, and John said, "Susan and I will take the two in front of the gun. Henry, you and Secric take the rear two."

We made our choices, and plunged the swords home, on John's signal. The gun remained stationary or nearly so. We took turns, till all of the crew were dead. None had even considered the possibility of them being caught in an ambush, in their own ship.

We threw the bodies into rooms along the way, to hide their presence. John and I took the gun back along its path. Susan and Secric flew out into the centre of the central corridor and looked for any eyes that might see us.

John and I pushed the clearly visible gun across the open space to protect the entrance to the corridor leading to the computer room. John was familiar with the weapon, and placed some of the heavy duty shields behind the emplacement, to protect our rear. Susan was instructed in the way the gun worked, and Secric stayed with her, to provide her own protection.

John and I went back to the outer ways, and dragged back bloated and disease ridden bodies. They were fairly hard to find, as most had gone into the void. They were placed as if they had fallen to the disease, even in the obvious vacuum.

The next group came with guns, but from their stance, didn't think to find any enemy. What they did find made them back up and flee.

An hour later the group returned with an officer. He stood out in the corridor, and viewed the bodies.

The bodies were picked up and the first few moved. John slipped up to one of the newcomers and killed it. The body that thrashed, and fell to the floor, made the rest run, with the officer leading the retreat.

We were getting tired since we had no sleep for almost thirty eight hours. We took turns keeping watch. I was just about to take the third shift, when I saw another group coming in our direction. Behind them, I saw more officers with weapons drawn, forcing the Samutz ahead of them to advance.

John was awoken, and we checked weapons and waited. I felt a smile if that could be said. John's thoughts moved away to the far side of the corpses.

The Samutz entered, expecting to be cut down by disease at any moment, and the first hesitantly reached for a body. In the back, a particularly obscene corpse, arose and moved in the direction of the new troops. There must have been some superstitions in the Samutz, for they dropped the bodies and fled. The officers shot some of their own crew, till they to were faced with the walking dead. Shots went through both the shield and the body, but it still advanced. I took my sword, and picked out the officer, that I thought had the highest rank, and killed it quickly. The rest saw their numbers diminish by one and from one of their own corpses. They turned around and fled. Bolts of energy came back, and struck the corpse again and again.

I felt John's pain now. He was hurt. I took him, the now mutilated corpse, and the officer back into the hallway.

He dropped his invisibility, and saw in my mind a long burn on his left arm. I read the diagnostics, and knew he would still be able to fight. The suit was already working on the damage, and I could feel his relief. It was good that our suits were much better, than the Samutz version.

"How is it, John?"

"It hurt like fuck, till the suit took the pain away. Did you see the way they looked when a corpse attacked them?"

"Yes, it was a good idea. Instead of looking for us, they are concerned about a virus that kills Samutz, and turns them into zombies or something else. How did you think of that?"

"It just came to me. Let's stand the bodies up, and this time, put some of the heavy shields behind them. Then we can shoot between the bodies, and the others will only rip apart the corpses, and bounce off the shields."

We did as John suggested. Some of the thin rope was used to keep them stationary in the zero gee environment. Guns were placed in their hands, and aimed forward.

John had his fourth watch and awoke me as the next group came. They marched into the hall to be presented with the dead waiting for them. My communicator brought forth harsh speech, which the AI in my suit translated. They were surprised, as the newly dead major raised his gun and ordered the rest out. I could feel John's mirth at the way his suit translated back into Samutz speech, his ominous commands.

An officer came forward, pushing through the ranks of his men, and demanded the surrender of all the dead. John repeated his command, and used the gun in the corpse's hand for emphasis. The officer was not budging till John shot him in the chest, and all the rest fled for their lives. No other shots were fired, even though we could hit many.

Hours later an army of Samutz came for us, with all the officers I presumed, forcing the ranks ahead of them. There was no way out now. As the ranks formed for the first assault, a withering fire came from across the central corridor from the gun emplacement. The entire group of officers melted to dust. The Samutz in the front of the charge, were cut down by our grenades, and from behind by the girls. Thousands were killed by the gun. Small arms fire rang off the shields we installed. John moved out of the tunnel, and fired into the mob of now disorganized belligerents.

The gun stopped, and we searched out the ones hiding or wounded, and put an end to their lives. We took up new positions, now that the Samutz knew that someone was firing at them. They might not understand zombies, but they could understand guns.

About thirty minutes later, we found ourselves under fire from all around the core. The Samutz had walked down the main corridors, and came into the core from all directions. They could not see us I thought, but only fire at our last known positions, and hope to get an energy discharge from us in return.

I said, "Use the galvanized slugs, in your suit's guns. Go single shot, and move around. They can't see you or your fire."

Again the Samutz died. John and I fired almost sixteen shots per second, and the AI helped with the guns at our back. Within a few minutes every hostile in range was dead. Few had fled, but some managed.

This time the wait was almost an hour, and I saw an armoured ship descend into the shaft. I told the girls to abandon the gun, because even it could not break through that shield. We retreated to the computer, and waited around the first bend, for what we knew was to follow.

A blast went down the corridor from the central core. We knew we could not fight it, and the Samutz on the little ship hopefully knew it would destroy the very ship all their lives depended on. It was only used to get us into a position, so the infantry could finish us off. Susan at our rear told us of the Samutz trying to go through the computer controlled area, and only getting fried.

John and I held each position as long as we could. We fell back eventually to the last room where Susan had opened the wall, and waited to close it after us.

John went first, and was surprised. I saw through his eyes, that the Samutz had thought the same, and had worked their way behind us. I knew we were lost. Our lives would be sold dearly I knew. They rushed our position, and the suit AI, and I, had a hard time beating them back. What actually saved us was the accumulation of bodies that the Samutz had to crawl through to continue the attack.

I felt determination in Secric to make the Samutz pay, and pay dearly. John was fairly calm, but knew the end had come. His life was much more interesting than it had been before, and he said to me, "Well Henry, I am glad to have known you. I only wish we were in this alone."

Susan cut in, "That is no way to talk. Even if we are going to die, it is better, with loved ones fighting beside you."

The next charge lasted much longer. The small ship had blasted all the bodies protecting us, to fine dust. Many partial bodies were propelled in the absence of gravity all over, requiring us to shoot the ones we thought might not be dead yet. I felt Susan get hit, then Secric moments later. They fought on, as their suits gave them much needed help. John was hurt bad, from the pain, I thought he was going to die. Looking at the indicators in my command suit, I saw he had taken a bolt to the chest, and went into cardiac arrest. His suit put him out, and gave emergency first aid, while it fought on. Three Samutz popped up as if by magic, and zeroed in on my position. I was knocked backwards, and I knew I lost my last original limb. The suit took care of my pain, as we continued. I felt Susan fade away into unconsciousness, as her suit took over all offensive capabilities. Only Secric and I remained to fight.

The end was only moments away, when I heard, "Admiral Henry Buchanan. This is ship ftb-507823-039sd78cfn0930cp. What are your orders?"

"Shit, talk about the cavalry," I thought out loud.

"What was that, sir?"

"Use your tractors, and small weapons, to remove all the living Samutz from this area, and start here first. Try to disable or destroy the small ship in the core, but avoid excessive damage to your systems."

The fire tapered off and eventually stopped altogether. I released the small probes, and found that there were no living enemy in our vicinity.

After checking all of our telltales, I ran to John. His suit was smoking, and I could tell his shield projectors were all but destroyed. I kneeled down, and began to use two hands to put him into a more comfortable position. It didn't work, and I had to look to see that my right arm was missing, just above the elbow. I used my internal thruster in conjunction with my left arm, to get his arm out from under him. He settled peacefully, and the telltales said he would probably survive, if he got better medical attention soon.

Susan was further back. I found Secric crying over her, thinking she was going to die. Susan had lost a leg and her face was in ruin. Her eyes were gaping holes, with the vitreous fluid puddling on her face, and entering her nose or what there was of it. The suit was gathering the fluid, and taking it away, so she could breathe properly.

Though tears filled my own eyes, I said, "Secric, Susan will be fine, once she is able to get to a medical facility. The ship is now ours, and I will find what we need as soon a possible." She just held me tight, as her body shook with strong emotions. She thought that she had lost her best friend.

I asked the ship AI, "Ship, how is the Samutz removal going?"

"The ship is now clear of all living Samutz, other than those in stasis. The small ship is currently being expelled, and will be destroyed. The living Samutz are being held at the end of my tractors."

"Are the medical facilities here able to help our causalities?"

"Yes, they are Admiral. I can only provide physical transportation, because the main matter transmitter has been broken for some time."

"Do so, now." Thinking of Mom and the rest now, I knew the need for secrecy had ended. "There is a tug following us. Boost my transmission ability so I can reach it."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Mom, are you there?"

A slight pause then, "Yes Henry, I see that you accomplished your objective. You have been hurt again, and so have your friends and family."

"Yes, they have, but Tandra medicine will get them fixed up."

A large sled manoeuvred into position, and I guided Susan's slumbering body onto it, after cutting her internal gravity off. Secric held onto the vehicle as it left, ploughing through the bodies of the dead Samutz. A second sled pulled up, and I did the same for John. Even with one arm, the task was not difficult in the absence of gravity.

I hung onto the hind rail, as the sled slowly accelerated, and pulled me into the central core, across the wide expanse, and a kilometre further along our previous course. Lights came on, but dimly at first. The colours on the walls and deck were much richer, than in Mom or the other ships we had taken. Tandra designations covered the walls, and a harsh script, probably Samutz, tried to cover the symbols beneath.

We came to a very large room, capable of repairing very many Tandra or Human bodies. We stopped beside Secric and Susan. Her naked form now covered with small transmitters and receivers. She was being lowered into a vat, to begin her regeneration.

John's suit was stripped, and the small transmitters were just being attached. The shield left the top of the unit, and tractors picked up his blackened body, and slowly lowered it into the solution.

I put my only hand on the glass like sides, as I saw John's diaphragm slowly stop, as his blood was oxygenated by other means. I exhaled, and thought of a few months ago. Perhaps Carl had felt the same, as he saw me being lowered into a similar vat.

I walked over to Secric, as her hands too tried to clutch the clear material, and view her metsu or female head of our family. She too, remained almost perfectly still, and just gazed in, her mind in turmoil. The gravity slowly returned to what the Samutz considered normal.

I took one of Secric's hands away, and held her tight. Her head turned to see the shape within the tank, and be assured that it was safe. Worry for Susan and the rest of us was still high. She knew we had succeeded against impossible odds. The spectre of death was strong upon her, and I knew what worked for me, after a battle.

I turned to bring her face away from the tank and cupped her beautiful face by the jaw in my left hand. Our lips came close only to meet an invisible obstruction. Checking my sensors, I knew the room now had enough oxygen, moisture and heat.

"Take off your suit darling."

"Your arm." She exclaimed.

A sphere came to me and did an assessment. I knew it wanted me in the tank, and I overruled it. A doc unit came over and hovered around my arm carrying on the work my suit had started. I ignored the mechanical, as I looked at my wife. Her breathing increased as she found that this indeed was what she needed to help her recover. Her field had de-energized to match mine.

"Ship, decrease the gravity here. I want the command of your pressors and tractors."

"Yes, Admiral."

I picked Secric up, and kissed her small delicate mouth, with one hand assisting me. Silent commands to the AI and the controls worked to assist as well. Her arm though badly burnt, was still serviceable, and tended to by the doc unit. Her tongue furiously attacked mine, to get me as hot as she was. Her legs came up, and surrounded my hips, as she tried to slide into position, and get some relief from her sudden frantic and urgent needs.

Instead of cooperating, I used my mind to direct the ship's energies into picking Secric up, and placing her on her back. She frantically clutched at me, trying to get me into her. She was embarrassed, since she had no time to clean herself in days.

She arose to a comfortable position for me to feast on her charms. Her embarrassment soon faded, as the sensations flooded her body, and pushed most rational thought out of her mind. The primal animal in her, did more than venture out, it pounced on me. Her hands held me strongly, keeping me from leaving this most sensitive of places.

I felt surprise, and even amazement, as the surviving Tandra started to respond to various degrees, to our love making. I sucked strongly on her engorged clit, and the first of many thunderous orgasms racked her body. My head was almost pulled into her small channel, as her hysterical strength curled her body into a foetal curve, and flung itself backwards. I was prepared, and the ship eased her back to prevent damage to her spine. Her body convulsed, as it came forward and back again, not quite knowing what to do with the sensations racing through her body.

Now I only held her thigh, to my shoulder as the animal in her slowly went back into her psyche. My own needs were held back, waiting to find relief with one I loved.

"Ship, do you have a safe lubricant that can be used internally?"

"Yes, Admiral. It will take a moment, as it must be fabricated."