Sunlord (12 page)

Then the weapon was free and in Capac's hands. He
barely had time to glance at the weapon. It was awkward in his
hands but he didn't have time to change grip. A finger found the
trigger and he depressed it immediately.

A shower of explosive tipped shells crashed into the
android's chest. Capac felt a brief surge of relief as he saw the
strange new weapon had fired in the direction he had intended.

The android's chest collapsed at point blank range.
Its internal structure was torn to pieces with the ravages of what
had been its own weapon, flying back for two metres before plunging
to rest.

Capac looked quickly at the squat machine gun he
held, grunting with satisfaction. He shook his head to clear it as
a cry sounded.

"Capac, run!"

He looked up, and saw with mounting horror the
Sunlord trooper he had shot into the sand was regaining its
footing.

Gurhuin raised his laser rifle and flicked the
auto-guided projectile panel. The seasoned A-squad warrior
depressed the trigger and a grenade shot from the powerful gun.

Capac dived for the hot sands and rolled into the
cover of a hollowed out tree. The grenade shattered above his head
and narrowly missed bursting his skull.

As he rolled he scooped up the rifle the android had
knocked from his grasp, so that he held two weapons in his hands.
His face was streaked with sweat and bent with fury as he unleashed
two parallel bursts of fire from each of the weapons.

Myshia was at the edge of the jungle, calling
him.

"Run, Capac, run!"

Capac looked over to Huso's body, shock pounding at
his heart. He made an effort to recover his friend's body, but was
driven immediately back by a solid blast of gunfire.

Capac cursed as he sought a way around the Sunlord to
aid Huso.

Myshia's voice came through the trees, but Capac
barely heard it. "Huso's dead! Leave him, Capac. Run, run!"

Capac stopped in his tracks, his bloodstream coursing
adrenalin, as the full impact of Huso's death hit him. Gazing as if
disjoint from reality, he saw the prone form of what had been his
loyal friend upon the sands. He realised his companion was beyond
help.

The tree sheltering him was lit with sudden flame as
laser rippled along the barked surface. Capac leapt for more
substantial cover as his surrounds were bathed in flame.

The world swam before his eyes and he found himself
falling into the sand.

Ashian pulled the hunter to his feet and back into
consciousness. The currach staggered as he half-dragged Capac
towards shelter as the trooper bore down upon them. Capac gasped
for breath and seemed to draw his wits together. Myshia intercepted
them at the tree line.

"Take this," said Capac, tossing the rifle to her. He
glanced down at his own weapon, the android's machine gun. "I'll
cover you while you make for Peprepa's Hill."

Myshia had caught the weapon and propped the butt
into her shoulder.

"I'm not going without you," she swore between burst
of fire.

Capac cursed. Letting off a long a savage burst back
in the direction of the village he ran into the jungle, pulling
Myshia after him.

They caught up with Ashian and together the three ran
for their lives through the thick jungle. Sounds of pursuit became
audible. They leapt over fallen logs and plunged straight through
thorny bushes, heedless of scratches.

"Down here," called Capac, darting off to the left.
He ran, and found himself in a small clearing, the ground dropping
off at his feet. Without hesitation he cast himself off the cliff
face with a cry.

Ashian and Myshia followed suit, not questioning
Capac's lead. They plummeted down through the air for a few metres
before splashing into the pool of water below.

Ashian gasped for breath as water was forced up his
nose. He sunk for what seemed like eternity until he thought he
would never again see the light of day. He struggled up, and at
last broke the surface.

Capac helped him to the bank and over the half
submerged roots of a tree. Five seconds later they disappeared into
the jungle.

Gurhuin caught himself at the cliff's edge. He peered
down, the targeting computer scanning the ground below.

He cursed as he realised the natives had escaped.

* * *

Ashian stirred the ashes of their campfire with a
stick. The moon was rising in the night sky, bathing the forest in
cold light. They had run until the light and their bodies had given
out on them, finally forcing they declare a stop and rest for the
night.

"I can't believe they're gone," Capac muttered.
"Huso, the Elder, all of them. And it's my fault."

Myshia massaged the hunter's shoulders. "We did all
we could."

Capac eyes lowered, taking a few deep breaths as he
managed to soothe his mind. His husky grumbling voice was audible
only to himself.

"I will avenge you Huso."

Ashian spoke. "I...I have never seen such death and
killing," he began slowly. "But what I do know is that we cannot
remain here. I will say all the prayers I am able and give my
utmost supplication to the dead. But that is later..."

Myshia picked up the thread of his thoughts. "Now we
have to rid our home of these monsters."

Ashian nodded, his mind boggling at how quickly the
invaders had gone from mysterious godlike entities to feared
terrible creatures.

A new light of determination shone in Capac's eyes.
"What can we do now, Currach?"

"We must go after the Sunlords."

"That's crazy," muttered Myshia. "We were lucky to
escape three - let alone an army."

"No, we don't use violence," interceded Ashian. "We
must some how join their group, for that is the way to the ship in
the sky."

"What, just join the end of the queue?" Capac was
becoming uncomfortable and restless.

"I'll think of something."

Capac was unmoving, his brows sunken in
contemplation. "Just tell me when you think of your plan. Too many
have died already because of your dallying."

"Do you have a better idea?" Ashian retorted.

Capac fumed with emotions brought the surface by
stress and fatigue. "You were the one who lead us off on your merry
waltz while my village was slaughtered."

Ashian managed to put a lid on his temper and replied
with calmness. "Just remember who left the trail for them to
follow. Besides, you came with me of your own free will, and blame
cannot be laid upon me. But this disaster must strengthen our cause
in the fight against the invaders." The Currach spoke as if from a
pulpit. "Those departed for the spirit world are blessed in the
company of Abas. They are gone beyond our care. It is our sacred
duty to defend the living."

"Spare me the sermon," grumbled Capac as he rolled
over, settling himself into a rudimentary bed of leaves. He lay
down and in moments appeared to be asleep.

Ashian shrugged in response to Myshia's gaze. Soon
Myshia too settled down in her makeshift bed by the fire.

"Get some sleep, Currach. We've got a full day ahead
of us tomorrow."

Capac did not sleep - how could he when his mind was
a turmoil of emotions and deranged thoughts. He kept dreaming he
saw Huso, almost convincing himself that his friend slept on the
other side of the fire just like the old times...then the memory of
Huso's headless corpse flooded his mind and bitter emotions
returned.

Capac cast aside the layer of broad leaves that
protected him from the cold. He stood, angry that he could not
sleep even though his body ached and craved for rest. Gathering up
his newly acquired machine gun he decided to go for a walk.

Leaving the smoking embers of the campfire he glanced
upon the sleeping Currach's form and felt a stab of remorse. He had
not meant to argue with Ashian, but at the time he seemed the
target upon which to take out his anger.

He stretched to his full height and gazed up at the
full moon. He turned and was about to set off on his walk when a
sudden rustle of motion erupted from the trees.

Capac ducked low, his heart suddenly beating in his
ears. Then the sound came again, a rustling in the bushes like an
animal shuffling though the undergrowth. But Capac's trained ears
knew that no animal on the planet made no such noise. This noise
was distinctly of someone making their way towards the fire.

He shook Myshia awake.

"What is it?" she whispered, immediately alert.

Capac rose to a half-crouch to gain a better
perspective.

"There's something moving in the bushes."

Myshia perked her head and held silent and listening.
Then a snap of a twig and drag of leaves alerted the Eloprin
hunters that the thing was very close now. Both were silent as
Capac gripped his machine gun in an offensive manner. The Eloprin
hunter stalked over towards the clump of trees from which the noise
seemed to be coming.

Myshia was at his side, indicating he should restrain
himself from firing if possible. Capac nodded in understanding,
knowing that such a racket would alert the entire Sunlord army.
Together they stepped forward a little closer to the rustling.

Suddenly a figure slumped into the open and fell
across the shifting shafts of moonlight. The natives recoiled
defensively - it was without doubt a Sunlord. Capac overcame the
initial flutter of panic to swing the end of the machine gun over
his head almost instinctively.

"Wait!"

He was poised to strike but at the last minute this
word spoken by the creature stopped him, his face a mask of
surprise. The creature had its arms protectively over its head and
was obviously wounded. Capac saw on his second glance that this
thing was different to the Sunlord; it was smaller, thinner, and
the frontal bulge that appeared on the skull of the Sunlord was
non-existent. Although this thing wore Sunlord clothing Capac saw
that it was almost smoothed skinned, not unlike an Eloprin infant.
Whatever it was, it wasn't Sunlord, and it wasn't a Currach.

Capac backed off slightly uneasy, the rifle still at
the ready.

"Wait," groaned Shaun, propping himself up from the
humus. He hawked and spat blood, cradling bruised ribs with his
right arm. His misty vision slowly cleared, revealing the
glistening end of a rifle barrel hanging millimetres from his
chin.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, thought
Shaun.

Chapter Five

Plans Afoot.

It is much safer to
obey than to rule.

- Thomas A Kempis.

Rows of fluorescent lights flickered into life
overhead, driving away the oily darkness to reveal a huge hanger
aboard the space craft Urisa. Giant machines lined the walls,
silent with inactivity. Multi limbed service droids were locked
into position in each of the many docks harbouring small space
craft. A massive jaw like machine hung from the roof that could,
using the matrix of interwoven tracks overhead, lift small ships
and place them in another location, where another machine would
take it up.

Rows upon rows of cylinders containing rounds of
ammunition were flush against the walls behind the docked ships
which allowed re-arming in a matter of seconds. Huge blue lettering
on the wall proclaimed it to be Hanger 09.

The dock housed a myriad of craft, from the simple
scout ships, to the Sova-1 fighter craft, and the huge Daml
bombers. All sat awaiting with infinite patience, ready to launch
at a single command from Avatar.

As the lights came into life harsh shadows cast from
the square machinery, distinctly etched into the surroundings. Two
forms made their way into the hanger via a brightly lit corridor,
their elongated shadows dancing almost ghoul like over the steel
floor.

They were Sunlord mechanics, suited in a specially
modified Helicasuits constructed of lightweight titanium mesh that
would cushion a heavy blow or protect them from an accidental
explosion. An air mask hung limply like a dead parasite from their
necks, to be used in case of an emergency. Both wore a tool belt
fitted with a variety of small mechanical aids - all small and
supplementary since the main tools were available from the consoles
embedded into floor space. Besides, the droids did most of the
work. The crew was only put on to assist the droids and to oversee
that a short-circuit did not result in disaster.

Conversation echoed eerily about the sleeping dock as
the two crew members stepped through into the hanger. They stepped
with carefully controlled steps in the half gravity of the
hanger.

The gravity inside was half that of the rest of the
ship so that manoeuvring and lifting would be made easier. Although
this would be easier in zero-gee a weightless environment presented
countless difficulties; disembarking to find oneself floating
halfway across the hanger in an uncontrollable state, or dropping a
tool or part and watching it become irretrievably lost once
dropped. So a compromise of half gravity was obtained, the docking
days spinning half as fast as the main section of the Urisa. At the
rear of the huge interstellar ship, surrounded on either side by
jet propulsion systems, was the main docking day at zero-gee. This
was explicitly for high tuned fighter craft which was maintained
all activities to maximise efficiency, the absence of gravity in
this section making work easier for the machines. The result was a
strange hybrid ship with different sections revolving at varying
speeds, making it fascinating and beautiful to look upon.

One of the two mechanics punched a button on a
control panel to bring up a status report. The board was green, so
they moved onto the next. Irfide, one of the mechanics, broke the
silence with casual talk, his speech harsh and almost rhythmic as
he spoke in his native Sunlord tongue.