The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (12 page)

‘…
I’m on it. Taking off now…’

Michael turned
to the group. ‘We only have a few seconds to cross to the hatch, so
be ready.’

The Out
Drifter rose up behind the rocky hill and hovered for a few
seconds. Several large blasts of plasma rocketed into the ship from
the alien artillery gun. The Out Drifter’s electronic shield system
diffused the attack. Sara then unleashed a series of rockets at the
alien defensive positions. The team watched as the missiles left
trails of smoke in the orange sky and exploded on impact.

‘
Now!’ shouted Michael as he sprinted forward.

They dashed
around the edge of the rock and ran for the hatch. For a moment
Michael thought his plan had worked, but then a ray of plasma shot
by, just missing his shoulder, and an instant later many more
followed. Adrastus fell in the sand, and Aradel stopped to help
him, but it was instantly clear that he was dead. Ajax grabbed
Aradel’s wrist and dragged her onward as Michael lifted the hatch
door. Cynthia was the first in, followed by Ajax and Aradel.
Michael and Ethan fired their rifles at the alien positions. Ivan
leapt in after the others; Dog-Two and Ethan followed, and Michael
jumped in after them and closed the hatch.

They were
standing in a subterranean tunnel, which was dimly lit by tiny
service lights. The lights did little to push back the darkness.
The tunnel was just large enough to stand in and there was an inch
of water beneath their feet.

Aradel moaned
in grief and fell to her knees.

‘
I’m sorry,’ said Cynthia, placing her hand on Aradel’s
shoulder.

‘
We have to make a move!’ said Ajax. ‘It won’t take them long
to find us.’

Ethan fired a
glow flare down the tunnel and the entire way lit up. Ajax and Ivan
began walking in the direction of the settlement. Michael was about
to follow, but Aradel refused to get up.

Cynthia
crouched down beside her. ‘Aradel, we need you to take us to the
hidden vault,’ she said gently.

Aradel was
stricken with grief and lifted her sorrowful eyes. ‘Adrastus didn’t
deserve to die here.’

‘
I understand, Aradel, but we have to go before the aliens come
for us,’ said Cynthia.

‘
I don’t know if I can,’ she replied in little more than a
whisper.

‘
She shouldn’t have come. This is a combat mission,’ said Ajax
harshly.

‘
Shut up, Ajax,’ shouted Cynthia. ‘Her uncle just
died!’

His eyes
narrowed, but he remained silent.

The hatch
above opened. The light of day lit up the tunnel directly around
them. They looked up. The face of an alien was staring back at
them. Its thin slash for a mouth twisted into a snarl, revealing a
sharp set of fangs. Its two dark eyes, which were many times larger
than human eyes, widened for a moment. It looked like a deformed
and mutated human, with dark grey skin, an enlarged skull without
hair, and a thin sinewy neck. Only one thought entered Michael’s
mind; it was an aberration of nature.

Dog-Two
growled up at the creature. Ajax was the first to react and lifted
his rifle. The alien recoiled an instant later and slammed the
hatch shut just before Ajax could fire.

Michael
watched the hatch for a moment. He felt something wasn’t right.
‘Run!’ he shouted, grabbing Aradel’s arm and dragging her to her
feet.

They ran in
the direction of the settlement. The tunnel behind them exploded
and began to cave in as the aliens bombed it from above.

Ivan was the
first to reach the door at the far side as more explosions rang out
behind them. He pulled the latch which led directly into a
stairwell. They dashed after him as the tunnel completely
collapsed. Ethan slammed the door and latched it shut. An instant
later the door buckled from the pressure of the cave in on the
other side.

‘
That cuts off our escape,’ said Ajax flatly.

‘
Where to from here?’ asked Michael, looking to
Aradel.

‘
These stairs lead into the engineering building. We will have
to cross an open space to the main life support building. The vault
is situated in one of the subterranean levels of the life support
building.’

‘
We are going to be out in the open with a legion of aliens,’
said Ajax as he lifted a hipflask to his lips.

‘
You shouldn’t drink when we’re on a mission,’ snapped Cynthia.
‘The last thing we need is a drunk.’

Ajax shook his
head and smirked. ‘This just might be my last drink. I saved this
Ludicrous Lava for a special occasion,’ he said as he took another
swig.

‘
Enough! We have to make a move,’ said Michael. ‘The aliens may
think we are dead, but they will want to be sure. We don’t have
time to waste. Let’s go.’

Michael
quickly ascended the stairwell, holding his rifle ready as he
progressed. At the top of the stairs they came to a metal door.
Ajax, Ethan and Ivan pointed their rifles at the door as Michael
heaved it open. Directly ahead of them was a large enclosed room
containing a variety of factory machines. The power was out and the
only light was the reddish glow which issued down from glass
portholes in the roof. The main door was directly across the far
side of the room.

‘
Let’s go,’ whispered Michael. ‘Keep your eyes
open.’

Michael was
the first to enter. He made his way across the room to the door.
They followed closely behind him. There was a small glass viewing
panel which was only a few inches across and mostly covered in red
dust. He peered through the glass; four aliens were standing in the
open. They were all about five feet in height. Their heads looked
too big for their bodies and their skinny legs bent forward at the
knees. They were wearing silicone based synthetic alien war armour,
which was a living suit that covered their bodies like an outer
layer of skin; the suits were a few inches in width and dark grey
in colour with a surface that looked like exposed flesh. The battle
suits strengthened the aliens, increased their running speed, and
could repel indirect plasma, particle beams or conventional
projectiles. Each alien was carrying a standard alien plasma gun,
which were highly advanced weapons with automatic targeting
capability.

Across from
the aliens was the entrance to the life support building. Michael
knew they would have to fight if they opened the door.

‘
Aliens,’ he whispered, looking back at the others. ‘We have to
fight our way to the vault.’

‘
Ready when you are, Cap,’ said Ajax as he pointed his rifle
and armed the attached grenade launcher. The team lifted their
weapons in readiness. Michael signalled and then pulled the door
open.

‘
Hello everyone!’ growled Ajax as he opened fire. A moment
later all their rifles were blazing.

The scene lit
up as the aliens attempted to take cover. Three of them were
instantly killed, and the last leapt behind a pile of rocks. Within
a second the alien started firing back. Streams of plasma whistled
by. They took cover behind the edge of the door. Ajax returned
fire, but the alien was safe behind the rocks. Dog-Two growled and
charged forward, leaping over the rock. The alien screamed as
Dog-Two’s massive jaw clamped around its neck, ending its life in
an instant.

‘
Come on,’ yelled Michael. He ran out into the open. Ajax and
Cynthia followed, and the others were not far behind. Instantly
they were surrounded by crossfire as more aliens were converging on
their position. Ajax launched grenades in all directions as his
rifle unleashed. Cynthia fired her rocket launcher.

Michael raced
for the life support building door. Within a moment he had grabbed
the handle, ripping it open. He turned to survey the scene. Dozens
of aliens were advancing. Several blasts smashed into the wall
beside him. The team, one by one, dashed into the life support
building as Michael and Ajax fired back at the aliens.

‘
Ajax, get inside,’ shouted Michael.

‘
You first, Cap,’ said Ajax with a half-smile as he unloaded
grenade after grenade.

Michael backed away into the building, and Ajax slammed the
door as he followed. They were standing in a large room with a
concrete floor.
A
stairwell led directly down to the underground levels. There
were only a few metal boxes in the room.

‘
Damn it! The door doesn’t have a lock,’ said Ajax. ‘We only
have a few seconds.’

Michael turned
to Aradel. ‘Hurry! Get to the vault.’

‘
We have to go down the stairs to the lowest level. It will
take me a couple minutes to open the vault once we arrive,’ said
Aradel.

‘
You could have told us that before,’ said Ajax as he loaded
another magazine into his rifle.

‘
I’m sorry,’ said Aradel.

‘
We have to hold the aliens back until she opens the
vault.’

‘
I’ll hold them as long as I can,’ said Ajax. ‘Cap, we can’t
return this way.’

‘
Is there another way out of the building?’ asked
Michael.

‘
There is a service shaft with a ladder that leads up from the
lower level and opens at the back of the building,’ said
Aradel.

An explosion
rang out and the door blasted off its hinges. Ajax fired into the
opening. ‘Get out of here!’ he shouted and streams of plasma lit up
the room.

Aradel dashed
down the stairs and the others followed. Ajax took cover behind a
large metal box and continued to fire out through the door. His
rifle was blazing and every few seconds he shot a grenade through
the open doorway.

The stairs
took them down to the main sleeping quarters where they found
another set of stairs that led into complete darkness. Ethan fired
a flare into the lower level.

They made
their way down and entered a large room with metal walls and a
concrete floor. The room was full of boxes of supplies for the
colony. Michael scanned the area; he could see the ladder against
the right hand wall that led to the exit shaft. Aradel crossed the
room to the wall at the far side. She placed her hand against the
metal and nothing seemed to happen.

‘
The lock is connected to a hidden sensor in the wall,’ she
said. ‘I have to hold my hand on the wall for sixty seconds without
breaking contact. It’s the only way to release the
lock.’

They waited;
the seconds dragged by.

Michael’s
wrist-com beeped. ‘…Cap, they’ve taken out the entire wall. I can’t
hold them much longer. This place is as hot as hell…’ said
Ajax.

‘
Fall back to the stairwell,’ said Michael.

‘…
I’m trapped behind this damn metal box. They’ve got me hemmed
in. I can’t break cover…Leave me…I’m not getting out of this one
alive…’

Michael turned
back toward the stairs and loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle.
A surge of adrenaline rushed through his body.

‘
I’m going back up there. Once you free the colonists get up
the ladder and contact Sara to extract you. Don’t wait for me.’ He
lifted his wrist-com. ‘Ajax, I’m coming to get you.’

‘…
Cap, I’m hit. It’s really bad. I’m losing blood…’

‘
Just hold on.’

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Cynthia and
Dog-Two followed him as he ascended the stairs. He glanced back
over his shoulder.

‘
Cynthia, leave this to me. Go with the others.’

‘
I don’t want to leave anyone, not even Ajax. You’re going to
need my help carrying him,’ she replied firmly.

Michael stared
into her eyes for a moment. ‘All right, Cynthia, but don’t be
afraid when the time comes.’

‘
I’m not afraid,’ she replied.

‘
All right then, follow me.’

They ascended
the stairwell and reached the level above. Michael quickly climbed
the second stairwell and held his rifle ready.

He reached the
top of the stairs and could see Ajax crouched behind a large metal
box. He was bleeding from a wound in his upper chest and another
just above his right knee. He was still clutching his rifle and
firing back at the aliens. The entire front wall had collapsed and
several aliens were firing from outside the building as others were
advancing on Ajax.

Dog-Two
growled and bared his teeth as Michael dashed around the corner. He
opened fire as Dog-Two charged across the room and brought down one
of the aliens. A small rocket exploded beside Dog-Two, sending him
flying back across the floor and crashing heavily into the far
wall.

Cynthia
sprinted toward Ajax and grabbed his arm.

‘
Come on!’ she yelled as she lifted him up off the floor. He
held on, his arm across her shoulders, as she heaved him back
toward the stairs. Bright streams of plasma blasted past them. The
gaping wound above his knee was preventing him from walking on his
own. His face was pale; he had lost a lot of blood. His head was
hanging and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Michael headed
back toward the stairs as Cynthia helped Ajax down the stairwell.
Dog-Two followed. They reached the level below.

Michael lifted
his wrist-com. ‘Ivan, are you still in the building?’

‘…
No, Captain, we freed the trapped colonists, and we are
heading for the south side of the settlement to meet Sara. The
aliens know about the exit shaft. You will have to locate an
alternative exit…’

‘
Damn it.’ Michael held his rifle ready and waited.