Subterranean (22 page)

“Follow me; there is something you must know!”

Clash of the Fates

“Inside the hangar control room!” Radovan said with childish excitement. “I have located an amazing device!”

“What is it?” Flynn was relieved to be plucked from despair once more, but the lingering effects of surrendering to it had doused him in doubt. “What could possibly be so amazing besides these ships?” He threw a pessimistic hand out at the dormant spaceships to his side.

“You must see it for yourself.” He hurried to the elevator, becoming more animated by the second. “This will be of immense usefulness in our fight against the Ravagers!”

As they stepped into the elevator, a synthetic boom unexpectedly echoed in the hangar; it was the unmistakable sound of weapons fire from an energy rifle. Flynn spun around and drew his pistol, snapping his weapon at the three figures coming from the entrance of Vale’s return. He fired a couple blasts at the Ravagers, but missed both times.

“Get down!” Flynn shouted as he hit the ground hard on his chest… but he was too late.

Streaks of lively blue energy crackled through the air, striking down everyone in a totally unforeseen and chaotic massive attack. Without mercy, Rolan was torn from Rasina’s embrace and sent crashing to the floor from the pure, unbridled force of a weapon set to kill. Vale fell victim to the assault, as well; underneath the flurry of fire that grazed her, one of them found its mark and ruthlessly dispatched her to the unforgiving chrome beneath her feet, where she lay motionless.

“NO!” Flynn crushed the trigger of his gun beneath the weight of his fingers, fueled by his rage over recent events.

A hail of energy blasts resounded endlessly from his weapon, causing the Ravagers to scurry for cover from his wild attack. At some point, the weapon began to flare and discharge superheated steam in every direction.

“AH!” He flung his weapon to the floor and grasped at his stinging hand as he dropped to a knee, bellowing in pain. His brief distraction, however, had given Lisa enough time to pull Rasina off of Rolan and drag her behind cover. Flynn, on the other hand, was still exposed, now unarmed, and a good distance away from the nearest thing he could hide behind.

“Go!” Radovan gave him a great push, and the burst of momentum allowed Flynn to leap for cover behind one of the spaceships. In the corner of his eye, Flynn caught the flash of an energy impact and Radovan’s silhouette timbering over from the blow.

“NO! Radovan!” He clenched a fist, gritted his teeth, and slammed his back against the ship platform. “Damn it!”

Without a weapon, he peeked out to the tranquility that began to cascade within the hangar and saw a large figure approaching through the clearing smoke.

It was Tural, flanked on either side by two of his loyal goons.

“Tural!” Flynn howled atop his lungs. “You just killed your own people!”

“They were no longer
my
people, human!” He stood dominantly in the broken battlefield, still cautious, however, so as not to come too close for he knew not where his last enemy was hidden. “Not after they fell under your sway!”

Instead, his goons entered the invisible rift of danger and examined Rolan’s body before sweeping their view to Vale, who strained in great effort, twisting and turning her way to concealment. One of the goons prepared to end her life, but a sudden slug of plasma smashed into him, making him seize up and collapse to the ground. The other goon swung his weapon to bear on the target, but another blast quickly stunned him, as well.

“What is happening?!” Tural held himself poised to flee, feigning authority in his voice at the unknown location of his assailant. “Your struggling is useless, human!”

Flynn saw Lisa from his position, holding Rolan’s energy pistol and hiding behind shelter with Rasina, who was sobbing lightly. Although she shook with anxiety, she drew a deep breath, sprung up, and fired at the overbearing figure of Tural with her eyes closed and face slightly turned away. The click of the pistol rang out for all to hear, but nothing happened, no great energetic ball of will forced itself out of the chamber, no bright light of salvation reflected on the flesh of those around her, no victorious beat of the drum signaled the fall of her enemy.

Nothing, just a frightened girl wielding a broken weapon at something she acutely feared.

“Ah, the other human,” Tural stepped towards her as she repeatedly smacked the weapon, confounded by its inability to operate, “you nearly killed me with your wretched saliva.” He neared closer and watched her heart hammer and her face redden as she prepared to run from something she knew would shoot her in the back. “But, weak as you are, you only blinded me.” He pointed to the eye covered with a protective piece of cloth. “Still,” he paused before her, “you will not have a pleasant fate.”

Lisa, immobilized by fear, lowered her weapon to her side, where it fell from her grasp to the floor with a clank. Standing an arm’s length apart, Tural and Lisa stared at each other tensely, the friction of their hatred threatening to boil over at any moment with physical violence. Unable to bear his pressing gaze any longer, she bolted for Flynn, but was wrenched back and to the floor by malevolent hands that soon wrapped around her throat.

In that moment of action, Flynn bounded to his feet and raced over to Tural, screaming a great cry of rage. “Tural, don’t do it! It’s me you want!” With a leaping attack, he clashed with his enemy, latching onto his back and pounding down with everything he had.

The move worked; Tural released Lisa and reached for Flynn over his shoulder, peeling him off like a cape and slamming him to the ground. Flynn threw his hand up and caught one of Tural’s huge feet before it stomped him into the floor, but freed it immediately and clutched at his burned hand with a cry of agony. Rolling to the side to evade another stomp, he clambered to his feet and raised his fists in defense.

“Stop fighting, Tural!” He dodged a couple fists. “We can defeat the Ravagers!”

“I will not heed your false words!” He seized Flynn’s leg in midair during a kick and flipped him onto his back. “You caused the destruction of my entire planet!” He tried to stomp again, but Flynn was too fast. “My entire species!”

“You’re the one fighting the people trying to save your planet!” They exchanged a succession of heated blows, with Flynn mostly avoiding everything while Tural shrugged off what few attacks Flynn managed to land.

“All I see here are a group of cowards, traitors, and weaklings running from the fate they brought on themselves!” He swung a hard right, which Flynn ducked away from and retaliated with a kick to the midsection, putting distance between the two.

“Lisa!” Flynn yelled with a glance over at her. “Shoot him!”

“Flynn!” She cried out, pointing at the secondary entrance to the hangar. “The Ravagers!”

“What?!” He swiveled his head at the abrupt presence and saw a blackened-metal-clad Ravager officer marching in with a commanding hiss crawling from its mouth.

Seconds later, a volley of energy slugs and laser beams flooded the hangar from the squad of Ravager soldiers in tow, bouncing around and off the walls as per the Ravagers’ usual methods to clear a room. As Flynn and Tural stood surprised by the sudden interruption, a tide of increasingly accurate lethal blue energy rushed at them. Without hesitation, Flynn darted towards Lisa, jumping and whirling to evade the bolts zipping past him, and finally slid into the safety of cover with her.

“Tural!” His voice strained to be heard over the orchestral highs of battle. “Look out!” Despite his warning, he witnessed a dozen blasts of energy slice clean through the large frame of Tural. “No!” Flynn saw him crash down in the torrent of energy bolts, the Subterranean leader’s demise brought on by the Ravagers in a hail of merciless death.

“What do we do, Flynn?” Lisa looked at him, horrified by the chaos continually ramping up in the hangar, permeating her composure throughout.

He retired to thought, briefly, and eyed one of the spaceships with a nervous glance. “I’ve got an idea,” he readied himself to run, but turned to her and held the side of her neck before he did so, “I love you, Lisa.”

“Flynn, wait!”

Without waiting, he zipped across like a bolt of lightning to the spaceship, keeping his head low and feet moving. His back braced against the side of the vessel, he noticed shots firing towards the Ravagers and leaned over to see the source. Rolan, Vale, and Radovan were shooting at the enemy from all around him, somehow managing to do so even when severely wounded. Infused by the valiant efforts of his friends, he scaled the hull of the spaceship and launched himself into the cockpit, scrambling once inside to find the terminal that requested the access codes.

“Okay.” He said to himself, hanging on the suspense. “I hope this works.”

From within his pocket, he withdrew an item he swiped from Tural during the fight: a data pad. After a bit of searching, he found a file that appeared to contain the information he desired. Clicking it on, he scrolled through a summary of information on the hidden hangar until he found a set of symbols arranged for specific importance.

There
, he memorized the eight digit code and typed it in with trembling fingers. The terminal screen pondered the code for only a second before blinking green and allowing access with a happy beep.

“Yes!” He clamped his hands together and jumped excitedly; the ship now had full power.

Frantically seeking the controls for the weapons systems, Flynn pressed a variety of buttons, activating all sorts of random features and functions accidentally, even turning the ship at an angle.

“Well, at least I know how to aim it now…”

The Ravagers, seeing the ship powered and moving, quickly turned their attention away from the others and onto Flynn, unloading everything they had at him. Their weapons, however, had little effect on the hard shell of the ship, as it deflected most of the energy blasts away.

“There, just need to find the weapons systems now…” he said tentatively, the span of buttons and switches now seeming more like a box of assorted chocolates, “…this one, maybe?”

The sound of gears grinding and pistons hissing revealed the two turrets on the front of the ship, primed and ready to fire. “Hmm…”

He found the last remaining button yet to be pressed and slapped it down, feeling like an invincible god of war as he awaited the fulminant finale through the viewfinder.

BOOM!

The great spheres of energy burst through the air, leveling everything in its path in the blink of an eye.

“Whoa!” After the bright flash, Flynn slowly reopened his eyes and marveled at the trail of destruction a single blast of the two turrets left in its wake: the Ravagers were vaporized, metal was curled and smoldering, a crater was carved into the ground, thick smoke clouded the hangar, and the air felt supercharged with electricity.

Almost entranced by the sheer power now at his fingertips, he quickly snapped out of it at the sight of Lisa and the others, remembering his friends were badly wounded, if not dead.

“Lisa,” he vaulted out of the cockpit and ran to her, wrapping her in a loving embrace, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Her expression clouded at Rasina sobbing over Rolan’s body. “We have to help them.”

“Hold on.” Flynn rushed over to Vale leaning against a ship platform. “Vale, where are the medical supplies?” He hadn’t the slightest clue of how to treat wounds as bad as these looked, but he was eager to do all he could.

“They are…” she gripped at the wound in her side and groaned, “…usually located… next to the power control panel.”

“Got it.” Flynn zoomed over to the far wall. “Lisa, I need some help.”

Chapter 20

Gauging the Odds

“Are you okay?” Flynn leaned over Vale, his face wrought with worry.

The wounded were laying supine on the floor in a row while he, Lisa, and Rasina attended to them. He’d done the best he could to treat their wounds, but he was no doctor. Rasina was able to help him stop the bleeding, but apart from that, she knew nothing of how to deal with such severe injuries, so they waited anxiously for one of them to awake.

“I am fine.” She tried to sit up, but the shock of pain jerked her back down. “Ouch,” she exhaled with a groan, “…perhaps I am not fine.”

“You were shot by a lethal blast to the side of your body.” He gagged slightly at the melted patch of green skin on her body, revealing a network of blood vessels and sinews of tissue. “It looks pretty bad. I tried to heal it, but I don’t think I did enough…” He seized the pack of medical supplies in his hand. “I need your help.”

She tilted her head forward and eyed her injury, sighing as her head fell back in exhaustion. “Okay.” She explained the next few steps with a cool and calm voice as he withdrew a few vials and a syringe, along with some cloth pads. “Put these on the wound and inject me right here with one of those vials.”

Rigid with concentration, Flynn did as Vale asked and applied the bandages with the dexterity and care becoming of a lover. Upon injection of the syringe into her arm, she drew a deep breath and rolled her eyes back into her head.

“Another.” She said after a few quiet seconds.

“Are you sure?” Flynn looked at the size of the vial with furrowed eyebrows. “This looks pretty big.”

“Please, Flynn.” She wrapped a weak hand around his arm, the warmth slowly fading from her palm. “Another.”

“Alright.” He reluctantly grabbed another vial and loaded it into the syringe. “One more.” He injected it slowly into her arm, causing her hand to slip away.

“Another.” She said weakly, barely retaining the ability to speak.

“Vale, that’s too many.” He held a gentle hand on her forehead. “What next?”

“Another… vial…” A deep and strained breath preceded each word. “Now…”

“Vale,” he pushed the supplies away when she tried to reach for them, “is there anything else I do after the syringe?”

“Flynn… please…” She shifted her eyes around carelessly. “Just one more is all I need.”

“No,” he stood up and tucked the supplies under his arm, “what you need is rest.”

“Yes… rest…” She smiled. “After one more vial.”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re trying to die on me.” He frowned. “You can’t die now, there’s too much at stake.”

“You have the spaceships… go save my planet, Flynn.” Her chest rose and fell slightly, dangling from a thin thread of life. “Thank you for everything.”

“Vale,” he crossed his arms, “stop talking like that. I can’t save the planet alone, even with the spaceships.”

“Yes… you can.” She struggled to swallow. “I believe in you… I trust you.”

“And I believe in you,” he kneeled down next to her and touched his forehead to hers, “so stop trying to prove me wrong with more medicine and help me defeat the Ravagers.”

“Hah.” She chuckled lightly. “I cannot help… not in my current condition.”

“I believe you can.” He said with a smile.

“Is that all… is that all it takes?” Her eyes drifted shut and then slowly reopened. “Believing?”

“I’d say so.” He stroked her gently from her temple to her cheek. “But a little help from friends never hurts.”

“Really? Just a little?” Her head fell to the side. “That is good… because it appears you will not receive much… from us… for now.”

Flynn nodded with a smile, and then turned to the others. “I’ll be back, Vale, I am going to check on Rolan and Radovan.” He treaded softly up to Rasina, who was leaning over Rolan with a silent and mournful aura. “Here.” With grace and patience, he demonstrated Vale’s procedure on how to treat the wound, feeling the depressing aura lift from her spirit as Rolan received the proper attention he needed.

“Thank you, Flynn.” She kept a hand on Rolan’s chest, inches away from the wound.

“You’re welcome.” He rose slowly to his feet. “Let me know if he wakes up.”

“I will.”

Moving over to Lisa, he joined her as she lay on her knees, examining Radovan’s body. “Hey, Lisa.”

“Hi, Flynn.” She was relieved by his presence, but still concerned for Radovan, who had been the recipient of a particularly damaging blast. “He is still asleep.” She turned away and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know if he’s okay, though.”

“He will be,” he held out a vial and a couple of bandages, “thanks to you.” Watching her closely as she applied the bandages, he helped her insert the syringe by shadowing her with his hands on her arms and his chest against her back. “You’re doing fine.” The needle pierced the skin and injected the substance, easing their minds while the medicine went to work. “There.” Flynn went to stand up, sliding his arm along Lisa’s amorously. “He’ll be fine.”

Lisa swiveled her head over her shoulder at Flynn, and their eyes converged, instantly reigniting the magnetism of their love. “Thank you…”

The warmth of her breath graced his face, and they found themselves drawing closer to each other with each quickening breath. “Anything for you…” The tension between them bulged with increasing passion as they soared into the air and their lips met softly. “I…”

“Where are we?” The impassioned curtains ensconcing upon them were blown away by Radovan’s sudden stirring. “What happened?”

“Radovan!” Lisa rushed to his aid, alleviating his confusion while keeping him still. “You’re okay.”

“Where are the others?” He glanced around the hangar with wide eyes. “Ah, yes,” with a flick of his will, he returned to his usual reserved, calm demeanor, “the hidden hangar.” He rolled his head over to Lisa. “I assume we were victorious, then?”

“Sort of.” She gave a weakly sarcastic smile. “We still need to defeat the Ravagers.”

“That is no small task,” he sighed, groaning in thought. “However, it can be done.”

Flynn crossed his arms. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Good,” Radovan sat up slowly, clutching at the injuries discouraging his movement. “I was afraid you would deny me the opportunity to assist you.”

“Not in the least,” his smile faded to concern, “but your wounds look pretty bad.”

“They will heal in time. Injuries are the least of our worries right now.”

“Can you move?” He surveyed Radovan’s wounds, impressed that he was hardly disturbed by the gruesome burns staining his tough skin.

“Yes, sufficient enough to show you my discovery.” His large frame squirmed around to balance on its feet.

“Yeah, I was wondering about that.” The two then made their way over to the elevator, where Radovan suddenly stopped short and turned around.

“Wait a moment.” His eyes fell amiably upon his healer. “Thank you, Lisa.”

Instantly, she was filled with gleaming warmth that beamed from her eyes and cheeks. “Anything for a friend.”

“Indeed.” He said flatly, and then resumed his trek to the control room with Flynn.

“Here it is.” He waved his presenting hands over the computer terminal, revealing its grandeur in a most excited manner.

Flynn furrowed an eyebrow. “What is it?”

First slightly offended by his reaction, Radovan then tipped his chin and responded with a magnanimous smile. “These are long range sensors, capable of detecting anything on the surface of the planet, as well as any object in high orbit.” His eyes glowed with glee at the constantly updating readouts.

“Great,” Flynn crossed his arms, “it
would
be nice to know what we’re up against.”

“Possibly.” Radovan said with a finger, as if to say, “not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you can see by these sensor readings,” his finger trailed along the information feeds scrolling down the screen, “there is a substantially large object orbiting this planet.”

Flynn shrugged. “A space station? The moon? What?”

“A spaceship.” He kept his eyes on the monitor. “A very large spaceship.”

Flynn felt anxiety reach out and twist his stomach. “How large?”

“I am not certain, exactly, but it is too large for the spaceships we have to inflict any damage in a direct assault.”

Flynn was nearly pulled into another bout of despair. Those ships were the only advantage they had and they couldn’t even use them. Still, he clung to whatever piece of hope he could find, no matter how dim it shone. “So we’ll do an indirect assault.” He said, fully expecting his suggestion to be shot down.

“See these little dots?” Hundreds of blips marked the radar. “They are Ravager fighters, approximately the size of our spaceships. It is almost certain they are waiting to intercept us the moment we launch from the hangar.”

Flynn stared at the sensor readings, seeing similar lines of code from the terminal inside the Subterranean ship. Satisfying his stark revelation, he made a bold claim. “They
are
our spaceships.”

“What do you mean?” Radovan’s face contorted in confusion.

“Rolan said the ancient Subterraneans gave the Ravagers technology so they could find more resources in space. I’m thinking they still have that technology.”

“It is possible they are the same,” Radovan said after a dip into the raging stream of his thoughts, “though, if that is true, then it is likely their ships have been upgraded since then and are therefore even more advanced than our older models.”

“Great,” he rolled his eyes, “any more good news?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” He motioned him to follow as he swung over to another terminal, checking all of the other screens along the way. “There is an ancient orbital space cannon installed in one of the caves east of here.”

Flynn grunted a laugh. “That’s convenient.”

“Quite.” His fingers inputted commands with the fluidity of a musician. “It appears it was installed specifically for the purpose of repelling a Ravager invasion in the future, should it ever occur again.”

His eyes fell away. “So, why didn’t Tural use it, then?”

“I do not know,” he said with a shrug, “perhaps he did not know how to operate it.”

“Great… do you know how?”

“No. However, given time, I am certain I can learn.”

“I hope so,” he said, “we don’t have much time.”

Radovan pried away from the terminal and stood level to Flynn. “Hope is what has sustained you thus far, according to Lisa, and it will see you through.”

“Yeah…” Flynn arched an eyebrow at the unexpected words, “…thanks, Radovan.”

“I must begin learning these controls.” Without delay, he returned to the flurry of activity required to maintain the systems and slipped into a comfortable monotony.

“Right, well I’m going to see if the others are okay.” Flynn opened the elevator and stepped inside. “Keep running scans on those ships.”

“Very well,” he said as the doors were closing, “I will be here.”

Looking through the transparent glass of the elevator, he gazed down at the others and sighed. He was beginning to wonder if he really knew what he was doing. The odds of survival for an entire planet ebbed and flowed with each uneasy decision he made and it seemed like every five minutes something negative jutted up to stifle his way. The stress of it all bent the joints of his mind in an uncomfortable direction.