part0007

Taylor’s eyes shot open as he awoke from unconsciousness. The last thing he remembered was the final charge that should have led to their deaths. Flashbacks of marines being gunned down were quickly coming back to him. He looked down at his own body to see he was still in one piece, but he was locked into steel shackles connected to a wall, holding him in place in a braced standing position. He was breathing heavily as his pulse raced. He wasn’t dead, but he was caged. A coarse smell burnt his nostrils. It was like bleach.

“Colonel,” a voice whispered.

He looked to his right to find Nunes shackled to the wall three metres away. She looked weak but had bandages over her wounds where someone had patched her up.

“Where are we?” Taylor asked.

“I’m not sure. I blacked out and woke up here.”

“Same,” he growled.

His head was pounding, but he still tried to resist against the restraints, only to find he was locked firmly in place. He couldn’t even move his limbs to get any leverage, as bands clamped all four limbs and his waist to the wall. Only his head was free to move. He looked around and could see they were in a dark cell with one tiny window high on one wall that cast a narrow bright band of light onto the middle of the floor. The walls looked to be made of metal, like the bands holding them in place, and he couldn’t make out any doors. He could hear the howl of wind outside, but little else. There didn’t seem to be anyone else in the cell, though it was hard to tell with how dark it was in the corners.

“Did anyone else make it?”

“Not that I saw. I think it’s just the two of us.”

Taylor winced. He’d not had time to know any of them well.

“Did you see what happened to Arias?”

Taylor growled as he tried to thrash against the restraints. He was furious, and he just wanted to vent some of his frustrations.

“Why are we even still alive, Sir? You saw what they did back there. They were relentless.”

“They must want to interrogate us.”

But she shook her head.

“They could have shot you so many times over.”

“What are you saying?”

But another voice answered as there was a glimmer of movement in one of the dark corners, and a deep raspy voice rang out.

“That they want you alive because of who you are.”

They were both silenced as they looked to the source of the voice, but they could only make out the vague shape of a person in the near pitch-black corner. Neither of them recognised the voice, but the accent was quite neutral, lacking much of a discernible accent.

‘Who’s there?” Taylor asked.

“Someone in the same situation as you have found yourself in,” replied the mysterious man.

“You’re not from the Audacious, are you?” Nunes asked.

“I don’t know what that is.”

“The ship, the Alliance vessel we were aboard,” replied Nunes.

But it was clear to Taylor that they were dealing with a stranger.

“Does it matter?”

“Fine, at least tell us where we are,” replied Taylor angrily.

“A prison and interrogation facility, but I do not know where.”

“That much I guessed, what else can you tell us?”

“That there is no hope for you.”

‘Bullshit,” snapped Taylor.

“How long have you been here?” Nunes asked.

“I’m not sure anymore,” the man replied in a vague tone.

Nunes looked to Taylor in fear. It was a frightful prospect.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. We’re getting out of here. It’s just a question of when,” he reassured her.

The truth was it was merely wishful thinking. Though not without precedent, for no cell had ever held him yet, but he could see the dread in Nunes’ face. He’d seemingly seen it all now, and so this was another obstacle to overcome, but he remembered the hopelessness he once felt as he went through his worst days.

“Listen, we’re going to get through this, you hear me?”

“How can you know that?”

“Because a Marine doesn’t give up. We are fighters. We will fight our way out of this, and it won’t be long until the Alliance realise that we are missing. They will come looking for us.”

“If they can. You saw what they did to our ship back there. How can any fleet stand against that? We don’t even know who or what they are.”

“Kaimahs,” said the mysterious man.

“What?” Nunes asked.

“They are called Kaimahs,” he added.

“So now you want to talk?”

“Let him speak. He clearly knows more than we do, which isn’t a lot,” added Taylor.

But the man said nothing, forcing Taylor to press further.

“How do you know about them? How did you even get here? How did they capture you, and who are you?”

Still no response came, and Taylor was getting increasingly frustrated.

“Look, we’re all stuck here together, so you might as well start talking.”

Still there was nothing, and Taylor groaned out of annoyance. But in the silence, they could hear footsteps.

“Someone is coming,” whispered Taylor.

The footsteps sounded like metal on metal and from several people walking in step. Taylor felt like he should be doing something, but he couldn’t even move.

“What do we do?”

“Nothing we can do yet. Show them no fear. You are a Marine, remember that,” insisted Taylor.

They heard the locks released and a door slid open. No light entered the room, but what little they had revealed the figures of three people outside. They filed into the cell and looked like those they had faced on the battlefield. Though as they drew nearer, he spotted striped markings on the chest of their armour that seemed to indicate rank. They stopped and all turned to face Taylor. They remained still for a moment as if studying him as the door sealed shut behind them. He didn’t know what to say. Finally, the helmet of the middle one retracted back to reveal its head. It was the first time he’d clapped eyes on one that was alive, and he was reminded of his first instinct upon seeing them. It had a few features that were reminiscent of the Aranui, the highly advanced race who had fought beside them in the Krys wars. And yet for a few shared features, it looked nothing like them. It looked like a malformed Human that had been augmented with machine components. The skin lacked the pigment of most Humans, but the facial expressions were very similar, though stern.

A strip light on the ceiling suddenly lit up, and Taylor looked past them in surprise to see the mysterious figure in the corner was in fact one of the enemy, although he looked different to the rest. His facial features seemed more machine and less organic, though still being skin. He was also larger and bulkier than the others, with more simplistic and crude mechanical components.

“Colonel Mitch Taylor,” the barefaced one declared as Taylor’s restraints loosened, and he was able to step forward. He looked down to see the restraint around his waist had gone. Those on his wrists and ankles were still there but had not been released from the chains in the wall. He stretched out his weary body, as he stood tall before the enemy.

“You’re Taylor?” asked the one in the corner enthusiastically.

But one of the other aliens in front of Taylor held up a small control and pressed a button. A surge of power electrified the mysterious alien. He writhed in pain as flashes of electricity flashed all around him. Taylor had no reason to care for the alien, but he didn’t like to see it tortured, and it had been the only one who’d given any answers since they’d got there. He also suspected he was rigged up to exactly the same system. The shock was enough to silence the alien as it slumped in its restraints.

“Mitch Taylor, the great hero of so many wars,” said the alien before him. The accent was soft and well spoken, though a little artificial. Like the computer-generated news reports he was used to hearing back home.

That made Taylor cringe and tighten up. It was the sort of threat he’d heard before and had battled for much of his life.

“Whoever you are, you should know that others have tried. Alien races have come for the Alliance and come for Earth. Tougher ones than you have tried, and none have succeeded.”

“Colonel, you are the greatest fighter in the history of your world, and your Alliance. You came here aboard the pride of your Navy. The ANS Audacious, the most powerful ship in your Alliance fleets. It was defeated without firing a single shot, and now here you are, the great Colonel Taylor, my prisoner. You were defeated with ease, and when your people see how easily you were defeated, they will lose hope, and they will surrender.”

“And then what?”

“Live under our rule or die under it.”

Taylor could feel his blood boiling as the alien went on.

“The universe is sick. Inferior beings have made an inferior existence. We are the remedy.”

“Why does every asshole think they can do the job better?”

The alien with control over the electrification held up the remote as if to punish him, but the leader held up its hand to stop him.

Taylor smiled, but he was also studying them. Despite being part machine, they appeared to communicate physically like a Human. He wondered if they had any internal communications at all. As far as he could see so far, there was none.

“What you have achieved in your lifetime is nothing short of miraculous, Colonel, and that is why your defeat will hit your people so hard.”

“You planned this, didn’t you?” Nunes asked, “Getting Taylor and the Audacious out here, it was all a setup so you could show off, wasn’t it?”

Taylor waited for the creature’s response, and finally it smiled for the first time. It was wicked and unsettling in equal measure.

“You were defeated before this war even began, and your people will see this before the next battle,” he declared, revelling in it as he held up a small device in the palm of his hand. A projection arose from it, showing the destruction of the Audacious and the survivors in graphic detail, as well as the moment Taylor was defeated. He watched as a rifle butt was smashed into his face, and he felt the bruises sting as he saw it happen.

“If the great Colonel Taylor cannot stand, how can any of you?”

“Take it from me, because I’ve seen people like you, more than you can imagine. I have seen you, dealt with you, and defeated you. This will not go the way you think it will. You won a small battle out there, but you didn’t win the war. I will never stop fighting you, and in the end, I will kill you.”

“No, Colonel, you won’t.”

He wrestled against the chains in frustration. They shook about violently, and that made the alien smile once more.

“Colonel, those restraints cannot be broken by any man. You resist needlessly, just like your marines will, for you have already lost. Earth is ours.”

His eyes glazed over in fury as all the muscles in his body tensed, and he felt the augmented parts of his body take up the strain on the chains. Just as Captain Keyes had said, he was no longer just a man. Much of Taylor’s body had been replaced and repaired over a great many years, with improvements along the way. His heart and mind were still the same, but he was more than just Human. He took his one deep breath as his nostrils flared furiously.

The creature watched with glee and supreme confidence in their position. But Taylor was not one to be toyed with. He summoned all his strength and pulled with everything he had. The smile on the face of the alien soon faded as the mounts on the wall began to crack. They could hardly believe what they were seeing, when the chains holding his arms were ripped from the wall. The alien with the controller went to depress the button, but Taylor lashed one of the chains on his arm down over the alien, knocking it from his grasp. Taylor stormed forward, breaking out of his leg chains, and rushed at all three of the enemy with fury.

They could barely believe what was happening and froze for a moment. He smashed his fist into the face of the one who had taunted him, before kicking the one with the controller back towards the chained-up creature in the corner. He was all too pleased to get his hands on his torturer. Wrapping his hands around its head, he snapped the neck in one. The third went to draw a pistol, but Taylor reached his hand as he brought the weapon up and forced it back against the torso. He covered the trigger finger with his own and forced it to fire two shots into its own body.

A war cry rang out as the open faced one came at him with a determined attack before the other had even hit the ground. Taylor caught its fist in mid-air, delivered a brutal second punch to the face, and finally lifted it up into the air with both hands. He dropped it down onto his knee to snap the spine as he roared with anger. Nunes and the alien could barely believe what he had done. Taylor had ripped it apart like a savage animal, and still looking like he had not had his bloodlust fulfilled. He looked and acted like a man possessed. Finally, he looked to the only alien still breathing, the one restrained in the corner.

“Start talking, or you’re next,” declared Taylor.

“I am a prisoner here, same as you. I have no fight with you.”

“But you are one of them!” Nunes screamed.

“Do you not ever fight with your own kind?”

“He’s got a point,” replied Taylor as he went to Nunes. He tried to prise her restraints off, but while against the wall he could get no purchase. They were anchored in strongly.

“On the wall, you need a security pass.” The alien pointed to a small scanner beside the door.

“That one, see it on his belt,” said the alien, pointing to the one with the broken spine.

Taylor took off a magnetised plate that looked like nothing more than a small plate of steel. He rushed to the scanner and held it up. The screen activated and revealed simple restraint icons. Lock, release, open, and electrify. He hit the open for Nunes’ restraints, and they opened immediately, but she dropped down to her knees, too weak to walk. He rushed to her and helped her up as he went back to the door and stopped at the scanner. He held his hand up over the controls for the mysterious alien in the corner. His hand hovered over the electrification option, for he was still furious and his pulse racing.

“He’s no enemy of ours,” whispered Nunes weakly.

“If I release you, will you help us escape this place?”

“If you release me, will you let me come with you?”

That was all Taylor needed to hear. He hit the release and watched as the hulking alien stepped out from the corner. He stretched out as if having been there for a long time. He was too tall to go through the door without ducking and was as imposing and formidable as the largest of the Krys warriors. It was an intimidating sight as he loomed over the two marines.

“What is your name?” Taylor asked.

“A number, that’s all you have?”

“Okay, so how do we get out of here?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Earth, my homeworld.”

“I do not know our location, but I can guess. We will need a ship.”

“Yes, anything.”

Taylor shook his head in amazement as he propped Nunes against the wall and went through the bodies for weapons. They each carried a single sidearm, a small pistol. He stuffed one into the belt of his uniform and carried the other, while handing one to the alien, who looked surprised.

“We can choose to trust each other, or we can fight it out now, what’ll it be?”

“I will help you,” he replied, taking the pistol.

“Well, lead the way.”

Taylor pulled Nunes onto his shoulder again as the huge alien ducked under the doorway of the cell and led them to freedom.

“Give me a weapon, Sir,” insisted Nunes.

Taylor smiled, as he appreciated her spirit.

“You focus on staying alive, and you leave the fighting to us.”

“I can fight, Sir.”

“I know you can, and if the time comes that we need that, then you will have a weapon,” he insisted.

He had no idea how severe her injuries were, but he had no time to check, and even if he did, there was no equipment or drugs to help the wounded Marine. She’d been patched up, and he had to hope that was enough to keep her alive. They stepped out into a corridor that was barely lit except for tiny spotlights in the roof that provided just enough to navigate.

“You knew who I was? How?” Taylor asked.

“Because we are programmed from creation with knowledge. The first generations like me were created with the knowledge of the Alliance and the efforts you had made to save it, and to save our people.”

“Our people?” He’d never seen them before, let alone fought to help them.

“The Aranui, they created us.”

Suddenly, it made some sense to Taylor who had been constantly trying to establish why there was something familiar, and yet so different about them all at the same time. A91 moved a little like the huge Guardians that protected the few surviving Aranui race. A people who were gone before Nunes was even old enough to meet them.

“I thought they were all long gone?” she asked.

“Yes, the last survivors were killed by my people. Or the generations that followed me.”

“So, you were the first?”

“One of the earliest models of Kaimah, yes.”

They continued slowly along the empty corridor. Taylor looked around cautiously, and yet there were no doors, windows, or corners from which to be ambushed.

“Why did your people turn on the Aranui?”

“Because they believed they were flawed, and that we were better.”

“Who did you side with?”

“All of the A models fought for our makers, but there were too few of us.”

“But the Aranui were legendary, I have heard they were more like gods,” replied Nunes.

“Yes, but they were too few in number. The Kaimahs were made in their millions to protect the Aranui from extinction.”

“And instead, they caused it?”

“Then why are you even still alive?”

“Because the Kaimahs believe they are the perfect evolutionary being. They do not believe in killing their own, and that we can be re-educated and re-programmed to bend to their will.”

“I guess that hasn’t worked out to well for them. You didn’t hesitate to kill one of them back there.”

“We are different to them. Stronger, and more resistant to such things.”

“Then how did the rest of them get created?”

“By one of us who thought they could do a better job. A constant pursuit to be better and make better Kaimahs. A traitor to all our people. A518b, but the Kaimahs call him Atua, and treat him like a god. They have forgotten who they are.”

“And what do they want now?”

“Everything. They believe they know better than anyone else how life should be. They will conquer or kill all they can find.”

“But why? Why not just go on living? We didn’t know you even existed until this attack.”

“Because Atua believes it is their sacred duty to make the universe a better place, and that he alone can do that.”

“Great, a zealot, that’s all we need. What kind of resources does this Atua have at his disposal?”

“Nobody knows for certain. But the Kaimahs are being born at an incredible rate, and they work hard.”

“You keep calling them Kaimahs, but aren’t you one of them?”

“We were, but those who remained loyal to the Aranui came to be called Piripos.”

“And how many of you are left?”

“Not many,” he replied with sadness.

“Like what, thousands?”

“I could be the last one, but I cannot say for certain.”

Taylor shook his head, for it was a lot to take in.

“If you know our history and who I am, you know I won’t stop fighting for Earth, and that eventually, I will win,” declared Taylor.

“That is the legend.”

“To the Aranui you were revered as much as the Kaimahs think of their Atua. We were programmed to never harm you or any who followed you.”

“I guess that didn’t last into the next generation?”

“How did we get into this mess?” Nunes asked.

“We didn’t. They came for us, like they always do. But don’t you worry, we’re going to get out of here, and when we do, there will be hell to pay.”

“You think the Kaimahs can be beaten?” asked the alien.

“Of course, but you don’t?”

“It is statistically unlikely, if not impossible.”

“And yet you are helping us? So, you must see some hope?”

“I was programmed to assist you no matter what.”

“And so, you would go to your death helping us?”

Taylor shook his head.

“I always thought we would hear from the Aranui again, but not like this. This is a nightmare, and you’re telling me it was of their creation?”

“Yes, the soldiers the Aranui created to protect them are the ones who destroyed them.”

“And you want some payback for that?”

“What would that achieve?”

“It doesn’t have to achieve anything. It just has to make you feel better about it.”

The creature seemed confused and yet intrigued as he mulled over the prospect.

“So, what are you really, machine or living being?”

They turned a bend to find it opened up into a large hangar with dozens of craft in a large natural rock cavern. At the opening an energy shield glinted, protecting it from the elements beyond. Heavy rain and wind blasted past beyond the shield, and it seemed to be forming as ice in the extreme weather.

“Are we still on Temia?” Nunes asked in amazement.

“Possibly.” He ducked down for cover and laid her down as he surveyed the scene. It was dead, besides one guard patrolling between the craft.

“You sure you can fly one of these things?”

Taylor looked at the box like craft that barely looked like they could fly. They had a brutal design and were all black like the first warship they’d seen. They looked large enough for a single squad at most.

“Yes,” replied the alien.

“And they’ll get us to Earth?”

“Those are the fastest transports in the fleet. If we can get airborne, nothing will catch us.”

“Then get on board, and take her with you,” he said, nodding towards Nunes.

He didn’t want to leave her side and knew he was taking a big gamble on the mysterious alien, but they had little choice. The alien picked her up with ease as he took one last glance at Nunes, before creeping forward.

He waited for the guard to be facing away before scurrying forward into the cover of one of the craft as quickly but quietly as he could. He looked up and around for any sign of other targets, but there were none. He wasn’t surprised, who could even pose a threat to them at this stage? He held his pistol at the ready, but he didn’t want to use it. The cell had been sealed and concealed the gunfire, but shots in the hangar would echo far and wide. As he moved from one ship to another, he spotted some tools on a small table. One looked like a large wrench. It was as long as his arm. He picked it up to feel it had a good heft to it, though was not as heavy as it looked. He went on and ducked down for cover as the guard turned his way.

He looked across the way to see a reflection on the steel side of another tool chest. The guard was nearing his position slowly, its helmet rolled back. He clenched his fist around the wrench in readiness. There was no fear in him; in fact he revelled in it. He wanted some payback, and this was the most visceral and immediate way he was going to get it. Finally, the guard came into view and turned as it spotted him. But it was far too late. He leapt forward and swung the wrench with all his strength, catching it on the chin and snapping its neck in one. The body dropped to the floor. It was every bit as satisfying as he’d hoped for, and he took the rifle from its hands as the engines of a shuttle powered up with a whirling jet like sound.

The ramp to the craft was down and he rushed to it. Five seats lay either side of the fuselage. Nunes was in one and the alien in one of two pilots’ seats that were beside one another. Taylor leapt in and propped the rifle on a seat beside Nunes. He dropped into the seat next to the creature, though it was cramped, as A91 clearly was not the intended size of a pilot. A flash of light flew between them and the cockpit glass. It burst on impact but didn’t penetrate. Three Kaimah soldiers were rushing towards them.

Before he could lift his pistol, a shot hit one of them in the chest and knocked it down. Nunes had the enemy rifle in hand and was firing back. Taylor snatched his pistol from his belt and joined the fight as their alien ally hit the ramp switch, and it began to rise before them. Another shot came through the opening and struck the roof before it finally sealed shut, and more shots glanced off the rear of the craft. Though the ramp was seemingly bulletproof to their weapons, it was also translucent, and they could see more enemy troops pouring into the hangar.

“Now would be a good time to get us in the air!” Taylor shouted.

But the alien was already on it as he put the power down and they lifted off. The intensity of fire from the ground was increasing as dozens of shots glanced from the hull.

“Come on, come on,” said Taylor impatiently.

The alien pushed the power to full and white-hot flames burst out over their attackers, vaporising several, and forcing others to cover as they soared forward, bursting through the shielded entrance at remarkable speed. A wall of snow hit them as they got out into the elements. The alien pulled back on the controls, and they gained altitude quickly, moving at such a speed that Taylor was forced back into his seat. It took a few moments for them to rise above the clouds on their way out of the atmosphere. Taylor breathed a sigh of relief as he looked back to check on Nunes. She was still clenching the rifle and had a smile on her face.

“I said you should have given me a weapon.”

“Yes, you did,” he replied with a grin.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“Of course, we all know the location of Earth.”

“Yeah, that’s part of the problem, isn’t it?” replied Taylor cynically, “So, you helped us get out, what now?”

“If you will have me, I will fight beside you to rid this world of Atua and his followers. They are a scourge on this universe, and they must be stopped.”

“How do I know we can trust you? It’s a fair question,” said Taylor, despite all the alien had done for them, “Sure you helped us out, but that was to get free. Once we’re back at Earth, it’s a different story.”

“The Aranui told us that your word is what mattered to you most. That you were honourable people, like they were. You have my word that I will fight them and serve you in any capacity. I say again, you have my word, Colonel.”