Invasion Wars 1: Crimes of War (17 page)

Outside, in the street of upper Shanghai, everyone continued to celebrate.

Chapter 12

Flames shot into the cavern, wisping into a dark cloud. The Zumwalt skimmed against the hard ground, sparks flying. Turning to its side, it tumbled, rolling in the air as it hopped. With a final launch, the wrecked spacecraft slammed into the end of the wall, crunching into itself. With a loud bang, the hatch swung loose, falling to the floor from a strong kick.

MBC4 at the ready, Emich rolled out, seeing a pack of Niflheim responding to the sudden explosion. Blue steaks from their plasma blasters filled the Zumwalt with holes, making it even less likely as a getaway vehicle. The burst of fire from his cannon sent the Wotans flying back, their limbs and heads blowing apart. With more firepower at a faster rate, he didn’t have to worry about the recoil downtime — clearing the area by the time he could make it to the wall across from his destroyed ship. Keeping his back to the wall, he looked down the corridor he blasted out of, seeing the massive hole up above.

Crystal scarring formed over the Muspell’s wall, covering up the hole to avoid more blastback from its solar beam. It wasn’t going to stop firing until its powercore is destroyed. Seeing that the area only had those few on patrol, he hurried back to the ship. Part of its outer skin was torn off in the back, the rest melted away. The back storage was nothing but bright hot metal, the demo charges turned to liquid. They didn’t go off prematurely–due to chemical safety measures that prevented heat from setting them off–but there was no way he could use them in the state they were in.

Slamming his hand against the ship’s frame, he pushed away from it and turned on his communicator. “Valerie, Demeitri, come in.”

“You survived?” Valerie asked, little emotion behind her words, other than a snide tone.

“I won’t for long.” He returned to cover, getting out of plain sight. “The Zumwalt is toast… same with the demo charges.”

There was a silence from the other side.

Emich didn’t know how well the signal was, having it bounce from the satellite on the moonbase. For all he knew, it could have been destroyed in the middle of talking. “Do you copy?”

“I’m thinking,” Valerie snapped.

“Where’s Demeitri?”

“He’s off handling some business. I’m your contact for now, until he returns. How is the suit holding up?”

Emich checked the status on his suit, looking at the right corner of his visor. His air supply wasn’t being used, letting him know there was air on the ship. He was so busy in battle, he nearly forgot he could hear the sound of gunfire and Wotan cries. Taking a deep breath, it was the first full breath he’s had since he left Earth. If he didn’t think of a plan B soon, it was surely going to be one of his last.

“Everything checks out fine. At least now I know Niflheim need air as much as we do.”

“If only we had a layout of the Muspell ship, but this is our first time seeing something like this. But, from what we could gather, a high amount of energy levels seem to come from the back end of the cannon. We figure the most likely area for the control center is there. Check your sonar map. How far into the ship are you?”

Emich looked down at his wrist screen, pressing a button to set off the sonar pulse. Watching the map create itself as the pulse transferred outwards, he saw he was located closer to the barrel’s end than he thought. “Not too far. I should find it, no problem.”

“Report to me once you’re there. Together we can find a way to destroy it for good.”

“Right,” Emich finished off, “over and out.”

He ran deeper into the Muspell cavern, knowing where to go, but unaware of what was lying in wait.

.  .  .

A Niflheim Queen will only trust a Wotan with a ship once he’s deemed himself worthy in combat. A Wotan in white, one that has had years of fighting across the galaxy. Chieftain Hlӧkk stood before the crystal lense, Niflheim symbols flying by, giving everyone in the control room information about the entire ship. Spike hooked upward on his shoulders, curling like the horns of a goat. On his back, his Queen’s rune was burned into his white scales, showing that he was chieftain of the Muspell.

The lense flashed red in a steady pulse, letting him know they had an intruder. Turning around, he walked along the plank way, held high over the power core down below. Breaking his psychic connection with the Muspell, he changed links. The Niflheim had no need for vocal communication, all being connected to the Vanir plane. Only the Niflheim were worthy of such a connection, keeping mental contact from all across the universe.

“Before me, night maidens.”

In seconds, four bright flashes appeared behind him, as if they teleported. The black-hide Frickas sat at attention, their long limbs folding into themselves. The air wavered around their bodies, making it hard to tell exactly where they were. Being the only female Neflheim with mouths, they shrieked, the tentacles on their heads floating downward. The only part of them that was truly visible was the glow of their red eyes.

The one in front lowered its head at the white Wotan, her forked tongue flickering out. “At your command, Chieftain.”

“Kill the human.” With a roar, Hlӧkk pointed at the crystal wall behind them, still flashing red.

“I can smell him from here,” one of them said. “Strange.”

“Are you sure it’s a human?” Another one asked, the pincers on the sides of her mouth twitching.

“No matter,” Hlӧkk stated with a wave of his arm. “Kill.”

The Fricka stood up, their lanky limbs unfolding to make them taller than the Wotan. They bowed in compliance, the tentacles on their heads flowing downward. In a flash, they leaped up towards the ceiling, disappearing from sight. Hlӧkk approached the crystal wall, reading the lense. Closing all four of his eyes, he reconnected himself with the Muspell, directing its next solar beam strike.

.  .  .

Giant mushrooms lit the way, as it was in all Niflheim ships. In the Muspell, however, their glow was like a pulsing light bulb, fueled by the sun’s energy stored within. The caverns were mostly made of crystal as he hurried to the powercore, his reflection appearing in the corners. Slamming his back against the wall, he checked the cross way for any targets. Right when he stuck his head out, a blue streak of light shattered the crystal next to his helmet.

More shots blasted the wall more, Emich doubling back as his cover was being blown apart. One of their shots hit a mushroom, erupting it into a fiery explosion. Flying back, the kinetic repulsors on his Exoframe lit up, shielding him from being crippled by the blast. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, Emich falling flat on his stomach, groaning in pain. Lying on the ground, he could see the reflections of the Wotans crossing into each other, telling him they were advancing forward.

Lifting up his burst cannon, Emich rolled onto his side, taking them out as they straifed into sight. Blue beams flew overhead, filling the corridor with aesirium shards and roaring flames. The Wotans fell one by one, their purple blood spraying against the wall as they were torn apart. Only one stayed standing, the onslaught of rounds filling its broad chest with gaping holes. Stumbling back, the Wotan fell as Emich stood.

As he reloaded, he could hear faint sound, like a whisper. “There it is…”

“I hear it…”

“I’ve found the human…”

Smacking in the fresh magazine, Emich quickly aimed down the sight, scanning in all directions. He couldn’t see anything moving, but he could feel eyes on him. There was a presence nearby, keeping him on guard. Slowly walking back to the cross way, a flicker of white dots caught his eye, coming in from above. He didn’t see it in time, taking a good amount of hits in the side as he tried to dive out of the way.

Sliding into a crouch, he searched the area where the shots came from. There was nothing there, only crystal spikes sticking out in lines. Checking his suits motion sensor, there was something nearby taking up space, multiple targets moving quickly. Several times they crossed his mark on the sensor’s screen, but he still couldn’t see anything. Lowering his wrist screen, he saw his left side was sizzling — smoke coming off of the blackened armor and his charred skin.

Fighting through the pain, he got up, avoiding another wave of gunfire. He knew it was from a Fricka weapon, having seen it before; this being the first time he’s felt its sting. Even though the armor protected him from the hit and was regenerating as he moved, he knew he wouldn’t be able to take too many of those. If he passed out from the pain like he would in that dreadful facility, there would be no telling what would happen. He had to keep his blood pumping, fight through the pain that told him to lie down and scream.

“It’s on the run!”

“Let’s play with it!”

His heavy footsteps echoed, but the voices didn’t. They were coming from his head. Talking like if snakes were given the ability to speak. He couldn’t stop to think, he had to keep moving. The particle shots followed close behind him, making him zig zag through the cavern. His leg got hit by a shot in mid stride, knocking him right off of his feet.

Falling forward, he rolled to avoid more gunfire. Stopping his momentum with an elbow, he was able to see where a stream of shots were coming from, the flashes riding along the wall. Sending a burst its way, one of his rounds hit a solid object, purple blood bursting from thin air. A puddle began to form on the ground, a small warping of the air revealing a black Fricka — her lower half completely torn off, landing closer to Emich than the rest of her.

“It will regret that!”

A quick shine slashed downwards, Emich leaping backwards fast enough to slide. Crystals clashed where he was lying, a burst of blue light coming out of the ground. Floating in midair, the crystal blade receded back into the invisible Fricka’s wrist, hiding her position once more. Emich fired in its direction, hitting empty air. From behind, a swift pain shot up his back, his feet shuffling forward.

Grabbing his neck with a long spidery hand, the Fricka unsheathed her other wrist blade, ready to slice it across his throat. Struggling to stand, Emich spun in place, sending her into the wall, the blade coming out of his body with a wet swish. As she bounced off for another attack, he whipped his auto cannon upwards and sent a burst her way. Her left arm turned into bits, while her body was split at the collar. Landing back against the way, she slide down, her long legs losing strength.

A line of white dots came at Emich, being predicted before they could hit him. He knew they would fire the second he stops moving, trying to get the upper hand on him. Seeing the continuous flashing from down the corridor, he opened fire, shooting of as much as he could. His shots echoed down the passages, joined by a pain filled scream from the Fricka. Her right leg was hit, the lower half flying away, leaving a trail behind it.

Crawling up to him, she wouldn’t let up. Her hands got close enough to claw at him, reaching out to him. Before she could touch him, Emich fired a burst straight into her partially invisible face, the warping of the air fading away from whatever was left. He couldn’t stand steady, his feet growing weak. The armor was rebuilding its plates, but the hole was taking its toll.

“I have you now!”

As he stumbled, to keep moving, he was knocked down, falling flat on his back. The Fricka’s face was right next to his, her bulging red eyes rubbing against his visor. With a delighted shriek, her pincers clamped against the armor on Emich’s neck, slicing through the metal with their crystal tips. Before he could even know what hit him, he could feel his neck being chewed through, the tearing of his flesh. The pain was enough for him to scream, the Fricka’s digging her way further with her tongue, little by little.

Grabbing the Niflheim by the head, he bashed his visor into its eyes, bursting them on impact. The Fricka reeled back in agony, her tongue still flailing about. Holding the Niflheim by the tentacles on her head, he stood up, dragging her into the close-by wall. Each punch he sent to the back of her head caused her to let out a scream, pincers going wild. Her arms and legs flailed about wildly, but they were too long to get a good grip on Emich.

Cracks appeared on her skull, bits of her shell falling off from the blows. With an open hand strike, Emich held on and pressed down. Using the Siegfried’s hydraulics, he straightened out his arm. The Fricka’s head flattened out in his palm, purple blood spurting out of the holes. Her arms stopped moving, dangling lifelessly, all the way down near the ground.

Tossing the corpse to the side, Emich fell to a knee. Walking was more difficult that it should have been, his feet sluggish. Holding his side, he could see the purple blood on his Exoframe was not just from Niflheim he killed. His own purple blood was pouring out quickly. Crawling for his cannon, he grabbed it, using its long barrel to stay upright.

Slamming his damaged shoulder into the opposite wall, he trudged away from the area, some of the severed limbs behind him twitching. Sliding along the crystal cavern, his steps were growing slower, more unsteady. His vision was growing dim, blurred. Sticking the front of his auto cannon into the ground, he practically used it as a walking cane.

“Emich, what happened?” Valerie sounded concerned for once. “Your vitals have gone critical.”

It hurt to talk, the wound on his neck making it hard to breathe. “... I’m not going to make it.”

“Quit talking nonsense. You can regenerate, just like a Niflheim. Just keep your blood pumping and you’ll patch yourself up automatically.”

“The pain is too much.” Emich gasped for air, hissing from the armor reconstructing itself around his stomach wound. “Something is wrong. My Exoframe is fixing itself, but I can’t heal. What is it that you’re not telling me?!”

Valerie was silent.

Panting heavily, Emich’s voice was harsh enough to make him cough. “Answer me!”

“The only way for the Seigfried to repair itself automatically is by using a host. Whoever wears the Exoframe enters a symbiotic relationship with it, being its source of energy and compounds. As long as you are connected with the suit, you are its host. There’s no way to prevent it from going too far. Once it needs to be fixed, it’s going to take what it needs from its host.”