Subterranean (27 page)

Chapter 25

The Last Stand

Cordoned off by a dozen Ravager soldiers, she prepared herself to neutralize as many of them as she could before they vaporized her in a blaze of merciless energy. Certain she would be killed, or possibly worse, she swallowed hard and tensed her muscles for her final moment of defiance.

However, suddenly whisking her away from danger was the disrupting and powerful hum of spaceship engines igniting, and from beyond the lightly illuminated Ravager soldiers she saw the dazzling green lights of Lisa and Rasina’s success. Completely caught off guard, the Ravager soldiers shifted their attention and blitzed towards the ship, leaving Vale to slip away back into the heart of the maze where she then climbed up onto one of the ships and awaited the fireworks.

The rescue happened a little differently than she’d intended.

The Ravagers first shot at Lisa and Rasina vigorously with everything they had, but the impressive hull of the Subterranean fighter simply deflected their attacks, shrugging off blows that would’ve incinerated any other material known to her. When that failed, dozens of Ravagers began throwing themselves at the ship, attempting to climb up to the cockpit and claw their way inside. Vale heard the screams of Lisa and Rasina inside and knew right away they hadn’t yet figured out the weapons systems.

She scurried inside the ship she sat atop and typed in the access codes, activating the computer systems and an array of lights that made the dashboard nearly crystalline in appearance. Scanning the symbols for anything that might lift the ship off the ground, she quickly inputted a string of commands and soon the ship ascended high enough for her to get a fix on the Ravagers. With careful precision, she locked onto the groups of Ravagers with the targeting sensors and dispatched them in a fiery display. The enemy scattered in disarray and were easily picked off until none remained, bringing the chaos to a relieving halt.

“Vale!” Lisa and Rasina cried in the midst of the reprieve. “You saved us!”

“So it seems.” She raced to the cockpit and dove inside. “However, the danger has not yet passed.” She pointed to the tunnel, half blown to smithereens. “We need to barricade that passageway, or else more Ravagers will attack us.”

“How do we do that?” Lisa flashed a hopeless look. “It’ll take hours to block it off with more rocks…”

“There is another way. I believe we can use the weapons on this ship to collapse it.” She extended a finger aloofly. “By the way, this button activates the weapons systems.”

“Oh…” Lisa stared at the big blue button in the corner. “I knew that.”

“Of course.” Vale said flatly and then gently pushed them aside, taking full control of the ship. “Hopefully this works.” With the turrets positioned at the tunnel, she fired, rocking the hangar with a tremendous explosion that sent tremors through the surrounding caverns. “Hold on!” When the shroud of the blast dissipated, a great void sat in front of them, exposing the burning Subterranean city to their eyes. “…That did not work.” She said quietly, her voice shaky.

“No,” Lisa whined, “it didn’t!”

“Be calm,” Rasina said, nursing the lone sparkle of hope that remained, “there is still a chance the Ravagers will not attack by the time Flynn lowers the shields.”

Proving her wrong about three seconds later was the ominous clicking of a Ravager officer and the subsequent clamor of countless soldiers closing in on their position from the ruined city.

“That is unfortunate.” Vale uttered, frozen in thought by their confounding means of escape.

“Perhaps I spoke too soon.” Rasina retreated into the back of the cockpit.

“What do we do now?” Lisa hung on Vale’s words, remaining perfectly still.

Vale sat quietly, her eyes transfixed on the wounded wall in concentration. She contemplated the possibilities for a moment, with the encroaching wickedness of the Ravagers at hand, and arrived at one conclusion. Turning to the others with a sigh, she spoke. “Activate the cannon sequence with these symbols,” she pointed to the dashboard in front of her for reference, “the moment you see the shields shut down on the mother ship.”

“Why are you showing me this?” Lisa questioned, confused as to why such a responsibility was being placed upon her.

“Now, go up to the control room and wait.” Vale said, ignoring her question.

“Wait? Wait for what?” Her voice became quick and tense.

“For the shields to deactivate!”

“What?!” Lisa cried in consternation. “Why?! Why me?! Why not you?!”

“I will remain down here and distract the enemy long enough to give you an opportunity to fire the cannons.”

“No…” Lisa shook her head. “You can’t, you’ll die!”

“I would appreciate a little trust in my abilities.” Vale spread her manipulating arms out over the dashboard. “I should survive for approximately five minutes before I am overwhelmed. I suggest you deactivate the elevator when you reach the control room.”

Lisa planted a hand on the dashboard. “I’m not leaving you down here alone.”

“The Ravagers will be here soon.” Vale kept her gaze forward. “You should go now.”

“This is ridiculous! We can all go back up to the control room and hold out up there!”

“No, Lisa.”

“But…” She fumbled with her denial, her resistance faltering underneath the stoutness of Vale’s resolve.

“Go!” Vale commanded. “Fire the cannon and destroy the ship! End this already!”

Sparing only a hesitating moment, Lisa looked on at Vale, wondering if the image of her in the cockpit would be her last, and then grabbed Rasina by the hand and scurried into elevator, where they reluctantly rode up to the control room.

“I’ll watch the monitor and wait for the shields to go down,” Lisa glued herself to the terminal and pointed at the window overlooking the hangar, “you let me know when the Ravagers get here.”

“The Ravagers are here.” Rasina said immediately afterwards, and from the control room she saw hordes of the creatures pouring through.

Lisa gasped, slipping into horrid scenarios of the worst happening as they made their final stand. The deafening sound of the rail guns inside the hangar served as the flashpoint, igniting another skirmish that was certain to be their last. Each massive explosion of the ship’s weapons eliminated entire scores of Ravagers, but a seemingly endless horde streamed through in total disregard for damage and losses. It was clear that the Ravagers considered the hidden hangar to be of the utmost importance, no doubt being the last area of resistance in the Subterranean city, and that its destruction had become the singular goal of every invading alien on the planet, to be accomplished no matter the cost.

Despite this, Vale continued to fire, even as the numberless flow of Ravagers seeped through and the approaching sound of a great angered beast echoed from within the ruined cityscape. She skillfully handled the ship’s weapons, obliterating everything in sight at the relatively narrow chokepoint before it had a chance to slip inside the hangar and cause harm. For a hopeful moment, it appeared as though they might actually survive the relentless onslaught.

That was, until the weapons began to glow a furious red hue from within the misty fog of hot steam billowing around the turret vents, begging for a cessation it would not receive.

Calm Before the Storm

“Are you sure?” Flynn held his fingers pressed against his forehead, attempting to relieve the limits of his stress.

“Yes,” Radovan investigated the Ravager terminal connected to the shield generator, “there is no way to avoid detection. Once we disable the shields, the enemy will be alerted of our presence.”

“And then every Ravager on this ship is going to head for this room…”

“We knew the odds would not be in our favor.”

“Yeah, I know, but I was hoping our odds would at least get better at some point.”

“They will not, as long as the Ravagers continue to live.”

“We’re working on that…” Flynn gave a great sigh and began to look about the room, suddenly returning to Radovan with an urgent question in his mind. “Can the Ravagers reactivate the shields once we lower them?”

“Of course.” Radovan stated as if it were obvious. “We will only have a limited amount of time before they override my protocols and regain control of the systems.”

“How long?”

“I do not know for certain, but it will not be long.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Flynn panicked, his face wrought with all the bitter anxiety that wrenched his heart.

“Yes,” Radovan said defensively, “there is little I can do to delay them.”

“Great!” He turned, starting towards the entrance of the room.

“This computer controls the shields, yes?” Rolan aimed his pistol at the terminal. “What if we destroy it?”

With a swipe of a hand, Radovan swatted the weapon away. “Right now this terminal is the only thing preventing the Ravagers from instantly regaining control of the shield array. It must remain intact until the cannon is fired.”

“Great,” Flynn sighed, “so not only do we have to survive against hordes of Ravager soldiers, but we have to make sure they don’t destroy the console, too. And we only have a small window of opportunity to hope that Vale realizes she can fire the cannons and is actually in a position to do so!”

“We are not entirely at a disadvantage.” Radovan replied, scrutinizing the room. “We have tactical superiority.”

Flynn looked around the room in response. The chamber was large, cluttered with enormous glass cylinders of galvanized energy that crackled dynamically with life. It burned brightly, shifting between hues of blue, green, purple, and white as it attacked the interior of the glass and traveled along the thick filament at the cylinder’s core.

The generators towered over the trio, reaching high up to the catwalks that lined either side of the room, leading to two additional entrances. There was plenty of cover to hide behind, and the close quarters meant the bulkier Ravagers would have more trouble maneuvering than Flynn or Rolan would.

“I suppose.” He grinned weakly. “Well, it seems even you can see the bright side every now and then.”

Radovan’s usual emotionless expression prevailed and he spun around to the console. “Someone has to tell the jokes.”

Flynn stood abashed. “What the…? You were joking?”

Tilting his head slightly to the left, he revealed the slightest of grins to Flynn. “Somewhat.”

“So you really think we don’t stand a chance?”

“Somewhat.”

Flynn sighed dismissively. “Just deactivate the shields.”

“Wait,” Rolan grabbed onto Flynn’s shoulder, “if we do not survive, I want you to know that your actions have made you a hero among my people… and to me.” A trickle of despondency ran down his face. “For what that is worth.”

Flynn sensed the internal battle of guilt and happiness raging inside of his friend and, when he was nearly overcome by the collateral damage of both sides, somehow managed to find a solution for such a weary soul amidst the chaos. “Do not worry, Rolan. We
will
survive.” He reached out to the brilliantly shining beacon of hope that always eluded him in the past and took it assuredly in his hands. “Trust me.”

Rolan smiled, even managing to chuckle lightly at Flynn’s words. “I trust you now with the lives of myself and my people.”

Flynn smiled. “I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

“Okay,” Radovan snatched them away from the maudlin moment as he leaned over the console, “the shutdown sequence is primed and ready. All you need to do is press this button.”

Taking a deep breath, he perceived an inner calm touch his mind, overflowing with halcyon purity that filled his easing stomach. The room that so peacefully sang the hum of life and energy would soon be host to the sinister corruption that commanded it, and while fateful turmoil ensued in this crowded room, its purpose would survive only until a greater calamity would sweep it away in a beam of destruction. Despite the nagging doubt chewing at his mind, Flynn nodded to Radovan with certitude and a few moments later the point of no return was crossed with the push of a button.

Chapter 26

The Final Battle

“The shields are down!” Radovan wheeled around and approached a panel on the wall.

“I believe we have their full, undivided attention.” Rolan crouched down, aiming his rifle at the doors in anticipation with a finger on the trigger.

“Lucky us.” Flynn said across from him, his sights placed on the same spot.

“What are you doing, Radovan?” Rolan nearly shouted over the blaring alarms that began to pervade the atmosphere of the mother ship.

“Attempting to shut down the lights.” He bounced from control panel to control panel, fiddling with buttons and rewiring circuitry. “The alarms have increased their intensity by fifty percent. If we can turn them off, we will render the room dark, and perhaps grant ourselves a significant advantage.” At the end of his sentence, a loud clank fluttered through the walls and floors, followed by the hum of something powerful slowing down to a stop. Seconds later, the room fell to darkness. “There, we should now survive slightly longer.”

“Great,” Flynn heard the drum of hurried footsteps nearing on the other side of the door, “here they come.” He tightened his grip on the handle of his weapon. “Get ready. When they enter the room, wait for my signal to fire.”

“How will we know when Overseer Vale fires the cannon?” Rolan awaited the answer with bated breath.

Radovan imagined the sheer destruction that such a weapon would cause to an unshielded vessel, even one as gargantuan as the Ravager mother ship. “Do not worry, we will know. I programmed it to strike the reactor core.”

“And exactly how much damage will that do?” Flynn already began speculation of the worst.

“A great deal.” He took position behind a shielding array and targeted the door. “We will have approximately twenty minutes to escape before the reactor breach destroys the ship.”

Rolan turned to Flynn. “How do we intend to escape from this ship while it is in the process of total destruction?”

Flynn reflected for a moment. “I haven’t quite worked that part out, yet.”

“There is a hangar not far from here housing dozens of Ravager ships that we can use,” Radovan peeked at his scanner tethered to his belt, “but arriving at that destination safely will be difficult.”

Flynn grunted in frustration. “Figures, but it won’t matter unless Vale fires the cannon.”

Radovan nodded. “Indeed.”

With the enemy accumulating outside, Flynn and the others waited expectantly for the doors to give way at any moment, letting loose the hounds of war in a spectacular fashion. The Ravagers hastily tried to force their way in upon meeting Radovan’s override that locked them out, leading to a series of explosions.

The first boom nearly tore the two metal doors off their tracks.

The second boom warped the metal into a disfigured wall barely clinging to its purpose.

The third boom flung the curled slabs of metal through the room, where they met the floor with a resounding clang.

A volley of energy slugs combined with laser beams rapidly flooded the room thereafter, bouncing off and around the walls as per the Ravagers’ first strike to clear a room. A short lull followed, and then the creatures entered in several at a time, their weapons brandished vigilantly for enemy targets to dispatch.

Flynn and the others held their ground and stayed quiet so as not to alert the intruders of their presence too early. The trap was proceeding well; Rolan anxiously watched Flynn for the signal to open fire, frequently switching his view back and forth while the room filled with numerous hostiles. Flynn’s chest swelled with oxygen-infused anticipation, knowing that the perfect time to spring the trap was well-nigh upon him and, when it came, he emerged from cover with Rolan and Radovan at his side, compelling his weapon to fire with a squeeze of the trigger.

In an instant, the storm of energy blasts from their weapons eradicated the nonplussed collection of Ravagers and the subsequent explosions from nearby flammable canisters vaporized any others standing within the immediate vicinity, propelling the cracked bodies of seared flesh and bone up and away into the walls. The trio continued to unload their weapons, wiping out any of the Ravagers that weren’t incinerated by the initial attack in a hail of gunfire, the staccato of their guns resounding like beating drums that incited them to push beyond the limits of destruction they thought possible.

The heated battle lasted for about two minutes; the first wave of attackers had been neutralized, with Flynn, Rolan, and Radovan not even taking a scratch while the Ravagers had taken heavy losses. By the end of the skirmish, the room was littered with bodies and the walls were scored by the impact of wayward energy blasts.

“We have done it! We have won!” Rolan burst out into laughter and cheer.

“Unfortunately, your celebrations are premature, Rolan,” Radovan stared at his scanner, “that was only a meager strike force. There will be more on the way. A lot more.” He withdrew a spherical device from a compartment in his belt. “There are two other entrances on the catwalk. Next time, it is likely they will attempt to gain access to this room through those locations.” He threw the spherical device to Flynn. “Catch.”

“What’s this?” He caught it gracefully with a cupped hand.

“It is a device capable of emitting a blinding flash of light that will stun and disorient any Ravagers in its vicinity for six seconds.” He tipped his chin up. “I trust you will know the appropriate time to use it.”

“Right.” He caressed it curiously. “Thanks.”

Rolan looked at him pleadingly. “Do I not receive an interesting and useful device, as well?”

Radovan grumbled. “Fine.” He rummaged around in the various compartments of his vest and retrieved another spherical device. “Here, this one will discharge a considerable amount of acidic fluid capable of disintegrating any known material.” He handed it to him gently. “Be careful with it.”

“Thank you!” He eyed it in fascination, wielding it like some great source of power that he couldn’t wait to unleash against the enemy.

“Yes, be certain you throw it at the Ravagers and not us.”

Suddenly the foreboding spirit of their circumstance was renewed by the march of approaching Ravagers and they again prepared to repel another wave of deadly attackers bent on annihilating them. This time, however, there were far more soldiers than the last.

This time, they had come through the entrances on the catwalks, as Radovan had expected, and exploited the advantage of higher ground to full effect by driving Flynn from cover and forcing him to take refuge away from the group. Eventually, they had all been divided from one another by the close calls of weapons fire from all sides as they struggled to stem the flow of enemies in the tightly constrained quarters of the shield array room.

“We can’t take much more of this!” Flynn dispatched a Ravager with his pistol and shouted across the room. “Where the hell is that cannon blast?”

“Perhaps they were overwhelmed!” Rolan yelled over the sharp rhythm of his weapon as he eliminated several Ravagers in sequence with precise shots.

“It is possible!” Radovan lobbed a grenade into a group of Ravagers, blowing them to bits. “Perhaps we should seek another way to destroy this ship!”

“No, they just need more time!”

Just then, Flynn’s pistol was knocked from his hand by the slash of a Ravager claw, forcing him to stab the alien repeatedly with his knife as it tried to physically overpower him. Nearly crushed by the weight of a bloody dying Ravager atop him, he somehow leveraged it off his body and scrambled to his feet.

“Rolan?! Radovan?! I lost my weapon!” He brushed around on the dark floor for his pistol, but failed to find it amongst the debris and bodies.

“Come to the control console!” Radovan cried out between abrupt detonations of explosives and weapons.

Groping his way around in the half-light of the lively columns of electrical static, he bumped into a Ravager upon turning a corner and felt the immediate thrust of a claw strike his face. He screamed in agonizing pain, reeling from the blow a few feet back where another forceful attack sent him flying into the wall.

Stupefied and on the ground, he managed to draw his knife and readied it to stick the first thing he saw. He felt the grasp of something around his arm and stabbed it fiercely, but it had no effect, and soon after his last means of defense was swatted from his hands. Before he could cry out for help, a pair of claws snapped onto his neck and clamped down steadily, choking his words into a garbled gasp for air.

“Flynn!” A voice struggled to be heard over the uproar of battle. “Where is Flynn?!”

“I do not know!” Another voice responded. “Has he fallen?!”

“Rolan, look out!” A precipitous explosion then severed the connection between the two voices and a scream of denial was heard.

Flynn felt his consciousness fading as he kicked and swung at the Ravager strangling him, becoming more convinced he had failed the Subterranean planet by the second.

Would it end like this?

He supposed it wasn’t a complete failure; he did achieve some form of reconciliation for his actions, however small it was, although this particular fate did deprive him of the opportunity to save his planet and rediscover his sister.

Regardless, he would fight his final destination until the last, even though it wouldn’t do him any good; his fate was well within the grasp of the dark shadow strangling the life from him and there wasn’t anything he or anyone else could do at this point…

Or so he thought.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a tremendous surge of supremely potent energy quaked throughout the ship, tearing entire sections of the hull to pieces and causing secondary explosions on every deck. In the snarling disorder of the destruction, Flynn found himself on the ground, free of the Ravager’s grasp, grinning at the pained moans of the mother ship.

              A great shining beam of energy had just pierced the hull.