Aurelius came hopping out of main engineering, pulling on his slush suit as he went. He didn’t know what was going on, but figured whatever it was he’d stand a better chance of getting out alive if he had a little extra protection.

All around Aurelius, the ship rocked under near continuous impacts and alarm klaxons blaired, attempting to alert the panicking crew that something was very wrong.  In front of him a set of doors opened up, releasing a thick cloud of smoke and a wave of intense heat. A moment later a figure emerged from whatever hell was inside and collapsed to the deck. Aurelius couldn’t tell if it was someone he knew, or even if the person was male or female with all the burns covering their face and body. What Aurelius did know was that who ever they were they had no chance if they stayed where they were, so he scooped them up as gently as he could while he was in the Slush Suit and started running.

Aurelius still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he now at least knew where he was going. Aurelius turned the corner into the corridor that lead to the ship’s mess and stopped. He knew the mess had been designated as this section’s emergency shelter, but had never expected to see as many people trying to push their way through the doors. Intellectually Aurelius knew that a ship like the Freedom’s Reach had a crew of thousands, and even in his little section of the ship there had to be hundreds of people, but seeing so many of them trying to fill such a small space made those numbers real for him in a way they never had been before.    

He started pushing his way through the mass of humanity trying not to jostle The person in his arms as much as possible.

“I’ve got wounded!” Aurelius called out several times as he made his way up to the front of the crowd, where two security officers were scanning dogtags and trying to keep the panicking people from turning into a stampede.

   “Take them inside, There’s a small section at the far end of the mess for the wounded!” One of the officers shouted over the noise of hundreds of people trying to be heard at once.

Aurelius didn’t even try to answer. He just nodded his thanks to the officer and pushed into the mess.

Inside things were a bit more orderly. Aurelius doubted the people in here we’re any safer than those outside, but clearly they felt so and that made all the difference. There was still panic, but it wasn’t the sort of blind unthinking panic of a mob, it was more considered. It was the panic of people who believe the security officers outside, and the ship’s captain we’re doing everything they could to protect them.

The vast majority of the people huddled in the mess were clustered around several large viewports that ran from deck to ceiling along one wall. Aurelius scanned the room quickly and saw the place the officer was talking about. It was a sort of emergency aid station they had set up in one corner of the large room. There was another security officer standing just outside a cluster of stretchers, and unlike the officers outside the mess, this one’s job seemed to make sure people stayed away. The officer trained his sidearm on Aurelius as he approached but didn’t stop him.

“I’ve got someone who needs help.” Aurelius said as he reached the officer. The officer jerked his head in the direction of a group of people walking through a mass of stretchers and people leaning against the wall. Aurelius took that to mean that’s where he should go. A moment later a woman ran up to him and started helping him with the badly burnt person in his arms. It was a moment before Aurelius recognized her as the pretty blond nurse who had treated him on the trip to earth. Right now she didn’t look like Aurelius remembered, she seemed older, and tired. It was as if she had aged ten years in the short time since the emergency had started.   

“Lay them down here.” she said in an emotionless voice, pointing to a section of the deck that was reasonably clear of dirt. Aurelius complied and stepped back so she could get to work, but she didn’t spring into action. There was no call for drugs, no attempt to cut away the burnt uniform so they could better treat the wounded. She simply produced a tag reader like the ones the officers at the doors had been using, and scanned the burnt person’s tags before moving on.

“Aren’t you going to help them!?” Aurelius called to her back. She had knelt down next to another person, this one was a woman and her arm was a ragged lump lying motionless at her side.

The nurse didn’t look up as she responded and her voice seemed a thousand miles away. “He is beyond anything we can do for him. He was probably already dead when you found him.”

…

Maher came tearing onto the bridge of the Freedom’s Reach. The normally orderly space was buzzing. Crewmen moved from station to station, calling out reports to each other. Who the hell is attacking us?” He called out to no one in particular.

“A UPE vessel, sir!” The helmsman said, never looking up from his console; “It’s the Enigma!”

“Where’s the captain?” Maher asked.

“Not sure sir. The ship was hit hard in the first volley and we’re getting reports of heavy casualties from all decks. It’s possible the captain is among them or in a section of the ship where he can’t report in.” The helmsman said.

“Then who’s in charge here?” Maher asked him.

“I am, sir. I was head of the duty shift when everything started.”

Maher looked the helmsman over, to Maher’s eye he looked like a child. Maher doubted the man needed to shave more than once a week.

“We’ll this is my ship, so I’m taking command.” Maher said and was almost taken aback by the look of relief on the young helmsman’s face.

“Yes sir.” he said quickly.

“Don’t relax yet, I’m a civilian and have been for almost thirty years. I’m fine giving orders, but I’m going to need you to figure out how we’re going to follow them. Is that understood?” Maher said to the helmsman, who he had just turned into a serving first officer.

“Yes sir.” the helmsman said sharply.     

“Damn, governor!” Maher turned to see Jerula standing next to him on the bridge, in the Chaos he hadn’t even noticed the towering soft tech until he spoke, but he must have followed Maher all the way from the cargo room they had been playing poker in.

“Jerula, I’d ask why you’re here, but right now I don’t care. Go help them figure out exactly how bad it is, and bring me a report about what we can do about it.” Maher ordered.

Maher took the captain’s chair as the ship rocked from a particularly fierce onslaught.

“Can we run?” Maher demanded.

“No, sir! They’ve killed our engines.” The helmsman replied.

“How far are we from the Gate?” Maher asked.

“At least another half day.” Came the reply.

“Any chance the escape pods could make it that far?”

“No, they were meant to keep a person alive for weeks, but their propulsion is limited.  The Helmsman said.

Maher sat back in his seat and thought. Nothing in his experience had prepared him for this. All of his battles had been battles of words and policy. This was something else.

“I guess this is my retirement party,” Maher said begrudgingly.

A light lit up at the communications station; “The Enigma is hailing us.” The man at the station reported.

“Put them through.” Maher demanded.

Quickly an image of a dark haired stocky man filled the big screen in front of the bridge.

“Freedom’s Reach, this is captain Shard of the U.P.E. Enigma.  Your ship is crippled and outclassed. You are to prepare for boarders. Any resistance or failure to turn over the traitor will be met with deadly force.”

“So I’m a traitor now?” Maher asked; “they couldn’t get me to lie down during the meeting, so they send out attack dogs and call me a traitor.”  

“This isn’t about any meeting, governor. You are a traitor because you harbor a traitor.

Surrender and turn that man over and your lives may not be forfeit.” Shard said with the calm confidence of a man who knows everything that’s happening is under his control.

“We aren’t harboring anyone.” Maher said.

“Don’t lie to me Maher.” Shard said.

“I’m not lying. We are harboring no one. You’ve attacked our ship for no reason.” Maher said.

“Very well then, Governor. You brought this on yourself.” And with that Shard’s face vanished from the screen.        

Maher didn’t know what Shard was talking about, they weren’t harboring any traitors to the U.P.E.. It was possible of course that that was just their story, their justification for getting rid of someone who was proving difficult for them to deal with. Either way it was clear that the time for talk was done.

“Communications, put me through to the entire ship.” Maher ordered and a moment later a small light lit up on the arm of his chair telling him he was broadcasting.

“Freedom’s Reach crew this is your acting captain speaking. The ship is under attack by A U.P.E. warship. They have issued us orders it is not possible for us to obey. I expect boarding parties shortly and expect them to be operating weapons free, so I am giving the same instructions. security teams are instructed to treat anyone in a U.P.E. uniform as hostile until further notice. All noncombat personnel are instructed to make your ways to the escape pods, the rest of us will give you as much time as we can to get out of here. It has been a pleasure traveling with all of you, thank you. That is all.” Maher made a cutting gesture and the channel went dead.   

Maher turned to the bridge crew; “Did you not hear me? Get to the escape pods. I’m not having anyone stay in danger that i don’t have too.

“Governor Someone should stay here.” Maher turned to look up at Jerula. He had obtained a rifle from a security cabinet and was standing next to him looking like he was more than ready and able to use it.

“No go, I’ll be ok here, and I’m sure the sight of you on the decks might make whatever teams see you think twice about pressing the issue.” Maher said.

“But sir…”

“Jerula go. I’ll be fine.”

...   

Aurelius had been standing against the viewports in the mess hall when the announcement had gone out. He had watched as nearly twenty craft departed the massive form of the enigma and head for the Freedom’s Reach. Now however he was running down a corridor, and he wasn’t the only one. on all sides of him people were moving as fast as they could to try and reach the nearest open escape pods.

Aurelius stopped at a junction of corridors that contained an airlock. In front of it were half a dozen security people, their weapons pointed at the closed hatch.

A moment later sparks began to fly from the rim of that hatch.

“That’s it, they’re coming through. Hold as long as you can, let’s make them pay for every inch.” one of them called to their comrades.

There was a deafening clang as the airlock hatch dropped to the deck, and almost immediately after the louder sound of half a dozen rifles going off at once. Aurelius took cover behind a corner and watched as the two sides exchanged fire. At first it seemed as if the Freedom’s Reach people were keeping the upper hand, there were already several dead wearing U.P.E. uniforms and not one in a Service Corps one, but then everything changed.

Aurelius almost missed it in the chaos, a little round metal ball, thrown almost casually.

“Grenade!” One of the Freedom’s Reach people called as he leapt for cover. His comrades all attempted the same, with varying levels of success.

Aurelius instinctively shield his eyes from the blast, and when he opened them the deck in front of the airlock was a blaze, and several figures laid motionless in the flames, figures he knew had been Service Corps Security officers just a moment earlier.   

Aurelius grabbed a rifle from one of the bodies and opened fire. Somewhere in the back of his head he heard the voice of one of the surviving officers yelling for everyone to fall back, but at this moment he didn’t care. This was his ship, those were his crewmates and he had a need to pay back just a little of the death he had seen today.

It was difficult to say for sure through all the smoke and flames, but Aurelius was reasonably sure he scored a few hits on the commandos who were attempting to advance past the airlock and through the inferno. that was when he saw it, he wasn’t comfortable calling it a person, the size seemed too large for that, and the way it moved through the flames as if fire didn’t touch him.

It was a creature, a hulking amalgam of man and machine, of flesh and metal, with glowing red eyes shining out of a dark hood.  

Aurelius and a few of the security personnel who had remained with him opened fire on the mechanical abomination with everything they had left, emptying clip after clip into it, but nothing touched it. The bullets didn’t bounce off it, Aurelius could have mentally dealt with that, instead the bullets seemed to avoid him, curving around him. It was as if even they understood the danger of the creature in front of them.

Aurelius watched in mute horror as the thing advanced, stopping to lift a security officer by the skull and crush it like an egg. Another fell to its massive fist, crumpling bonelessly to the deck.

Aurelius didn’t want to run, even now something in him told him to stand and fight, but he knew. Aurelius knew that staying here was death, He had no training for situations like this and a weapon that couldn’t hurt the  thing bearing down on him. What he did have was a slush suit and an escape plan that didn’t involve an escape pod.

…

Aurelius sped down a corridor using the slush suit’s jetpack for all the speed it could give him. All around him people poured out of doorways, wounded and on fire. Everyone was frantically running to what ever escape still remained for them. Behind Aurelius, the terrible shadow of the hooded, mechanical figure fell against the wall. He was getting closer. Aurelius moved as fast as he could but it didn’t seem to be fast enough; if he hadn’t been looking over his shoulder, he may have avoided the impact. Aurelius had hit something soft, something that was now lying underneath him.

“Strifer, Get the fuck off me now or I swear I will lift you off me and throw your sorry ass down  the hall to clear the way.” The voice was a bit muffled, but aurelius would have recognized the threatening tone anywhere.

“Jerula?” He said pulling himself off his friend and helping him up.

“Yeah it’s me, now turn around and go back the other way. A team of commandos is not that far behind me.” Jerula said.

“No good. I don’t know what it is, but something worse is coming from that way.” Aurelius said, glancing back to make sure the monster had not caught up yet.

“What kind of worse?” Jerula asked as they picked a corridor neither had come down and hoped.

“The kind that crushes skulls with its hands and deflects bullets around it.  

“Yeah that’s worse. Leave it to you to find the one thing to make this day even more horrible.”

Up ahead of the two they saw a crewman stepping into an escape pod that had for some reason not launched.

“Hold on! jerula yelled to him, and he turned.

“No get going!” Aurelius Yelled a moment later.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jerula half yelled half asked.

“I’ve a better way off.” Aurelius said as they raced passed the crewman and his escape pod. A second later Aurelius heard the sound of its hatch sealing and a clang as it was launched.

“You had better have something good!” Jerula said.

“I do.” Aurelius said, with a confidence he only half felt.

Behind them they heard the sounds of gunfire again, and the pings of bullets impacting with the deck steps behind them or against the walls.

“Where are we going?” Jerula asked, kicking up a bit more speed as the misses became closer.

“Here!” Aurelius said as they reached the doors to a large cargo bay.

“What the hell are we doing here?” Jerula asked as they entered the bay and sealed the doors behind them.

“Get up to the cargo controls. I’ll get her started!” Aurelius yelled.

“What?”

Aurelius pointed up into the air. There above them, suspended over the deck by two giant grasping claws, was the twin-engine, two-seater planet hopper Jerula had been looking for earlier in the night. Even the blue tarp Aurelius had pulled over it couldn’t hide it.

“There’s that deathtrap of a hopper!” Jerula said disbelievingly.

“Hey I got it running, and it’s a lot faster than the escape pods.” Aurelius said.

“It had better be.” Jerula said running over to a latter and shooting up it.

Aurelius watched as his friend hit the release for the claws without bothering to lower the them first. The hopper hit the deck with a crash that echoed off the walls for almost a minute.

“Dude!” Aurelius yelled.

“Sorry, but those things are slow, and we don’t have a lot of time!”

Aurelius knew his friend was right, but it still hurt. He ran over and yanked back the tarp. There it was, the little planet hopper he fell in love with in San Francisco. It was cleaned up and shiny enough to blind someone, best of all it looked ready to fly. Across its side in white lettering The name Storm Chaser was written, and aurelius smiled at it briefly as he popped the canopy and leaped in.

“Come on!” he called to Jerula.

The Deck began to shake as Jerula climbed into the Storm Chaser. It was a dull rhythmic thud that was growing stronger with each thud. Aurelius knew what it was, what it had to be.

Aurelius whipped his craft around as best he could in the cargo bay,  and there before him, in the doorway stood the terrible monster that had been on his heals ever since the airlock. Its stature was colossal, standing nearly seven feet tall and almost impossibly muscled. It began a heavy mechanical sprint toward Aurelius and the Storm Chaser. Leaping through the air, it grabbed hold of the right wing of the little planet hopper. The craft sank to the side and began to spin, the rush from the engines blew debris all over the cargo bay. The rear stabilizer crashed into a catwalk and scaffolding, showering the room in sparks and fire. The mechanical terror started to climb up the wing and across the sagging craft, pressing his foot against the engine housing causing the hopper to go into a slow spin.

Aurelius tried to swing the craft around and get the nightmare off, but nothing was working, the beast just kept climbing closer. The extra weight kept the craft dipping to one side, its engine unable to articulate or stabilize its flight.

The creature had nearly reached the open cockpit, it’s fists reaching closer to Aurelius with every swing. Aurelius couldn’t keep his bird in the air. He did the only thing he could—he thrust the craft down hard into the deck. It bounced violently and skidded along the plating into a stack of boxes but the impact knocked the cybernetic demon off. Aurelius threw the throttle in reverse and the engines rotated backwards. They threw out a mighty crimson blast, igniting the boxes surrounding the fallen form.

For a short ecstatic second, Aurelius thought he had finally ended the thing, but only for a second. He couldn’t believe his eyes as whatever this thing was pulled itself back to its feet. Its hood had completely burned away along with whatever flesh the fire had touched leaving clean bone that seemed somehow too dark. Not like it had been burnt, but more like it had been carved from some black stone. Even still the creature turned to watch them, it’s glowing red eyes untouched by the engine’s blast and as it watched them Aurelius noticed that the lower section of the skull had some sort of metal plate fixed to its jaw, making it impossible for the thing to even open its mouth.

“Guess they don’t want their monsters to talk back.” Aurelius thought as he lifted his craft back up off the deck.

All around them the cargo bay was on fire, crates and barrels burning so hot that they were melting the metal around them.

In the floor the massive cargo doors were swinging open, A specialized force field keeping the air from rushing out, but otherwise allowing free movement from both outside and in.

Aurelius swung the craft over the doors. From across the room, he was looking the terrible creature right in the eye. It looked back; pieces of it were on fire but it seemed to take no notice of this. Burned and infuriated, it tried to make a running jump for the Storm Chaser. Aurelius threw the control sticks forward, causing his craft to fall downward through the open cargo bay doors and out into space. The beast caught himself on the lip of the doorway. He looked down with a fury that burned hotter than the raging inferno it stood in, but there was nothing it could do now to stop their escape...

…

Maher heard the commandos breach the bridge door with a bang.  

“Get down now!” barked their leader.

Maher ignored him for a moment.

“I said down!” Their leader said again.

Maher turned around in the captain’s chair to face the group of heavily  armed people who were pointing very long and heavy looking weapons at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you knock.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 36: A Rude Awakening