Starship Desolation (17 page)

O
ut of the
corner of his eye, Walker could see the creature hovering over him. It rolled Walker around, looking over its next meal. The creature had to defend his prize from other would-be thieves trying to steal his meal. The creature growled and snapped at the other predators. It bought Walker an extra few moments of life.

He lay on his back, paralyzed, looking up at the sky. The hideous creature hovering above him. Its sharp, razor like teeth waiting to gnash his flesh into tiny bits.

Time seemed to slow down for Walker in his last moments. It was a surreal, almost out of body experience. The clatter coming from the horde of creatures seemed to fade away into the distance. His steady, thumping heartbeat filled his ears. Like some type of lucid dream, he thought of his parents, his childhood, his friends, lovers, brothers-in-arms, the comrades he had lost on DC6, the many covert operations he had carried out. And, of all people, he thought of Aria Slade. He wondered if she had made it back to New Earth.

He was surprisingly calm. He was going to die, and somehow, that was okay. He had served his time in this life, and now he was on to the next. He didn’t have a perfect life, no one ever does. But he knew he had given it everything he had. He had never done anything half-assed. And he had no regrets. Well, maybe one or two.

Just as the creatures revolting mouth was lunging toward his flesh, he heard the roar of an engine. The Verge gunship descended through the clouds. Then he heard the most beautiful sound in the world. The report of two, 30 mm chain guns.

Muzzle flash illuminated the sky. The massive rounds tore the creature hovering over Walker to shreds. Blood and bug parts splattered everywhere. Walker and Bailey were covered in bug juice—which was a good thing. It kept the other bugs from attacking them, at least until the rain washed it off. But by that time the gunships had eviscerated everything in the vicinity.

Malik and Saaja had cleared a nice circle around Walker. A bug free zone. To make the perimeter even wider, Saaja unleashed the fury of the
Inferno
rockets.

Walker grinned as the bugs were incinerated and blasted into bits. Rocket after rocket exploded. It was like dropping napalm on these bastards. They flailed about, burning with a flame that not even the rain could douse.

The gunship landed. Malik dashed out and ran through the mud to Walker. He pulled him up and heaved him over his back. Bailey followed as Malik carried Walker back to the gunship, while Saaja kept laying down suppressive fire with the 30mm guns.

Malik set Walker in the cargo area, then climbed into the pilot seat. Bailey jumped in, and within seconds, they were dusting off.

Saaja crawled out of the gunner’s seat and attended to Walker’s wounds. “I guess it’s my turn to patch you up now.” She smiled.

“I never thought I’d be so glad to see a Saarkturian.”

“Lets hope we have enough power to make escape velocity,” Malik said. He throttled up, and the ship raced toward the upper atmosphere. The engines roared. The ship rattled and shook as they streaked through the turbulent air.

Within moments, they cleared the atmosphere, and Walker felt the weightlessness of space. Bailey didn’t know what the heck was going on as he floated above the deck. He had never been in space before.

Walker had to chuckle. “It’s okay, Sergeant.”

Bailey barked a few times in protest. But he quickly adjusted. He even started to have fun, gliding across the compartment.

Saaja cleaned and disinfected Walker’s wounds, then applied the regenerative, skin sealing gel. He’d be good as new within a day.

“What made you come back?” Walker asked Malik.

“A man is only as good as his word,” he said with a grin.

Walker smiled.

“I had to leave you behind, temporarily. I would never have made it back to the ship in time if I had to carry you. I had to hope that you would make it through the night. You seemed tougher and more resilient than the average human. Looks like I was right.”

“Bailey and I thank you,” Walker said.

Bailey barked in agreement.

“I don’t suppose you want to drop us off back at New Earth?” Walker asked.

I
'm just
a geek who loves sci-fi and horror. I was abducted by aliens and forced to travel the galaxy as the official biographer of an evil galactic ruler. This is where I learned to hone my craft. Fortunately, I escaped and made my way back to Earth, and now I write about my adventures. I hope you enjoy!

• @trippellisbooks