Chapter 41: All You Need and More
A small voice in the back of his mind.. no.. not a voice. An echo of meaning, like a whisper of intent that wormed its way through the subconsciousness to the fore.
‘You will die.’
The crunching of shattered masonry under booted feet, the sound of fighting and dying in the distance. A bright spark flew by him, the plasma bolt close enough to singe the skin of his arm even through the protective layer of his greatcoat. He gritted teeth stained red from the blood of him biting his own tongue earlier.
Paulie chuckled inwardly at the voice as he sprinted at full speed across a seemingly insurmountable gap. He knew that there were others behind him, and he needed to take the bulk of the incoming fire for them to skirt across the gap unharmed. They were such frail things compared to him, and the one he loved.
‘Yes, I will die..’ he said to the voice grimly, the feeling of it recoiling making him smile slightly.
Another shot passed close by to impact upon the ground just beside him. There was a loud crack as the surface of the duracrete was atomised by the blast. Fragments of smouldering rock thrown by the impact pelted off his body and he growled in minor agony as a red-hot sliver scarred his cheek.
He growled again. ‘You will die, we will all die.’ he chanted in his head as he made a final leap of faith towards a large unidentifiable stack of boxes and crates sitting next to some manner of alien tree nearer to the palace walls.
He slid to a stop and leaned from cover, trying to take in enemy positions. Indiscriminate fire poured into the crates, setting the surrounding shrubs alight as their carbonised skeletons burst into flame and slagging part of his cover amid a shower of bright sparks. He was forced to duck as one nearly took the top of his head off.
Cursing under his breath he muttered aloud, “But not today. Damn it!”
Paulie stood to his full height, just sticking above the cover of the crates as he opened fire in return on one of the distant aliens. He was rewarded with a choking cry as the massive rocket assisted bullet punched a crater through them and it fell amid a spray of greenish vital fluids.
It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was a start. At least three more of the aliens poured hatred towards him and his companions.
He heard a scuffling noise and turned his head, it was Jakiikii. The termaxxi slid into place just behind him and was followed by the pair of adjudicator officers, both of them looking beat to hell. What was a simple dash across the field in low gravity was for them a terrifying slog. But he was happy that they had all made it. He would need every gun he could get on his side if he was going to save the monarch herself.
Jakiikii gripped his shoulder, “Okay, we are closer. But what now? No way even you can cross the gap there without getting shot at least once. You are good Paulie, but nobody is that good.” She said it with a warning tone, he knew what she meant. And she knew him well enough to understand his impulsive nature when it came to doing dangerous things.
He gave her a small smile, “Sometimes things are necessary. And we just don’t have the time to waste worrying.” he tensed, getting ready to spring into action.
She grabbed him harder this time, her four empty hands holding him in pace firmly. “Paulie, please..”
She didn’t get the chance to finish the request as her communicator crackled to life. A low buzzing voice issued from the wrist device, like a million beetles in a plastic bucket full of tar.
“Help is on the way. Please do not do anything rash, we were able to establish a secure connection inside the palace despite attempts to prevent this.”
“Rozz, great news! Uh.. who did you contact?” Paulie asked, looking over the top of the boxes as a new sound broke over the chaos of the skirmish.
“What is that?” Officer Kreenin muttered, his pink-skinned face contorting into some unreadable emotion.
There was a sort of high pitched whine in the air, the noise seeming to come from every direction at once though faintly. It almost reminded Paulie of the sound of high voltage powerlines, a sort of droning hum that made the hairs on his neck stand. He watched as the fire directed their way slackened and then was redirected back towards the palace. To his amazement a nearby window exploded outwards amid a shower of sparkling glass, and something darted through it as the sound grew in volume.
It was hard to catch at first, the thing was a blur of orange and black that seemed almost to shimmer as if in great heat. It took him precious seconds to realise that the shimmering effect was that of great wings like a bee or perhaps a dragonfly. Their beating so fast as to be a mere blur in the air around what must have been one of the mendagoonian royal palace guards.
He had never seen one before, only heard of them mentioned by Jakiikii and Mack before. In a flash the warrior had crossed the space between himself and the enemy before landing just behind a trio of them. Something flashed out in the air, a shimmering blade at the end of a dark handled staff from which the hissing buzz issued. In that single movement all three were slain, their corpses tumbling to the ground amid curls of acrid looking smoke as their lifeblood boiled off the energy blade of the royal guard’s plasma stave.
The roiling yellow plasma field fizzed and then died out as the guard raised another spindly arm and shot the remaining cultist with some manner of beam weapon he was not familiar with. In just moments the immediate area was cleared, the mastery and deadly efficiency of the alien was breathtaking to witness, but there was no time to marvel as they waved their direction and signed something with their free hands.
Jakiikii nodded, turning to him as she translated. “We are being told to follow, and quickly. We should go now, before more show up.” She said, gesturing to the now very dead attackers.
He nodded, that sounded just fine to him too given the circumstances.
He grabbed Officer Flaxiga and asked, “We need to push for the palace. Can you make it?” She was still gasping for air from their mad sprint across the open space a moment ago, but she nodded her angular canine-like head. All six eyes fixed on him as she answered.
“If it was required of me.. I could fly..” he chuckled at her stoicism.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that then, right?” She nodded and gestured for Officer Kreenin to follow too.
The four of them ran across the gap and as soon as they got close to the guard the alien took off back the way they had come. This time on foot, and Paulie got an immediate appreciation for their speed. Paulie was fast, his high density and powerful apocalypser muscles completely oversuited for the low gravity of the moonlet world of Gike. But even he was impressed by the apparent agility of this being. He looked again, closer this time.
The palace guard was wearing some manner of suit he noticed, the orange and black of it the first colors he had picked out earlier. But as he looked he could tell it was obviously artificial. The head was a mask, the glassy eye-like domes at the sides were displays of some sort, the limbs bulked out with artificial muscles and armour. The chest plates heavy and scarred by small dents and burns that may have otherwise been incapacitating wounds.
With a small jolt of realization he understood what he was looking at. The damn bug was wearing honest to god power armour, no wonder he was so fast for an alien, he was the equivalent of an apocalypse worlder in that suit.
His thoughts took him to the wall and then in a flash they were through the window and into the palace proper. Out of immediate danger and flanked on all sides by three more of the armoured aliens, guns and staves lowered in implied threat.
The original alien spoke, their buzzing accent immediately strange. It took Paulie a second to realise that he couldn’t understand the words being spoken, meaning that his translator was not working. Had the damned slug decided to take a day off? He was about to comment on it when Jakiikii spoke, her own husky rumble coming through as understandable speech.
“Understood captain, though I should tell you that the ‘Beast’ as you so put it is named Paulie, and he can’t understand galactic common. You will have to use an autotranslator, can you connect to the intranet? It should have detailed information on his native tongue that you can pull from the adjudicator archives.”
‘So they don’t use the jargon worms? Interesting.’ Paulie thought to himself. His own parasite seemed amused by his curiosity, but he ignored it. The damned worm could laugh all it liked, he wouldn’t let it get in the way of his mission though. Not again.
Meanwhile, the first of the guards was speaking in that same strange buzzing speech, tapping at their wrist. One of which had opened up into what he took for an integrated computer similar in function to his own commie device. After another few moments of this and the alien spoke again, but this time the voice was almost immediately followed by a synthetic translation in English. The electronic voice was flat and lacking emotion.
“Greetings, powerful one, I am Captain Elldite. I was told by a mutual acquaintance that we should expect to be reinforced. We got here in time to clear the way, where are the rest? Surely they have not all fallen?” The scene was so strange that Paulie nearly laughed out loud, barely restraining himself in that moment as Jakiikii shot him a warning look.
“We are it.” He said instead, suddenly deadpan and with a pang of dread. It was true he had suddenly realised, they were it. No more were coming as far as he was aware, and with the heat outside it was unlikely that more would be able to break in without some heavy armoured support.
The guard seemed taken aback by his blunt response.
“What do you mean, you are all that was sent?” Silence reigned for a few tense seconds.
Jakiikii stood tall, her petal-like eye stalks focusing on first Paulie and then the captain. Shaking her head, she spoke clearly as she put a hand on Paulie’s nearer shoulder. “We are all you need.”
Paulie gazed at her, a warmth growing in his heart at her words. She was right, he clenched a fist and raised it. “Yeah, we are all the help you need. Point us at the problem, we will solve it.”
As the computer translated his words the alien seemed unsure, but it was hard to tell the emotions of a creature entirely encased in armour. It took only a moment, but the royal guard seemed to come to a decision. Muttering in that same buzzing language under their breath they gestured towards the nearest doorway.
“Well, we have need of reinforcement in the hall of reflection. Enemy forces broke through the weaker perimeter there and are threatening the defense of the main council chambers. Holy Nastrica herself has been moved into a secure vault behind the main chamber. But she has expressed fears for the star children. We have been unable to assess their condition as communication with the residential wing has been entirely cut off.” They paused, looking around a nearby corner with one single lens of their strange hammer-shaped head. “I fear the worst.”
“Contacts ahead, not friendly.” One of the other guards said.
Captain Elldite turned to them, “Can you fight?”
Paulie and Jakiikii shared a glance, smiling as they did. “Like hell itself.” he answered.
The alien nodded, likely not getting the reference but his intent was clear enough. “Okay. When me and my men pass left, go long and to the right. We will attempt to catch them in a pincer, cutting off their flanks and retreat in one move. I assume you are faster than your great bulk makes apparent?” Paulie nodded, holding his gun close and checking the chambers. It was fully loaded again and he felt the flush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He felt ready, as ready as he could be anyway.
Jakiikii had unslung her rifle and handed one spare MDF pistol to Officer Flaxiga. The heechian woman holding two guns now in her flexible grip.
“Ok, ready as we will ever be.” Paulie said, nodding to the mendagoonian soldier.
He waited a second as he watched the four guards move out in near perfect sync, they must have some manner of internal communications. Nodding his head, he tapped Jakiikii’s middle shoulder and leapt out of cover a heartbeat later.
More of those bright green lasers erupted from the royal guards as they sought cover behind a series of red stone pillars in the expansive hall. Jakiikii and the officers jumped into cover too, but Paulie had another idea. With the enemy distracted, even for a moment, he stepped into the middle of the corridor and rushed straight at the enemy position.
It was dumb, it was dangerous.. and it was immediately effective.
The movement carried him in a shallow arc down the hall at lightning speed, skidding on his knees past the surprised looking cultists on the hard stone floor. He fired twice in quick succession as he went by, striking at least one bultesian who was thrown out of cover by the impact. Another went wide but was forced to stagger from the near miss, the alien quickly cut down by shots from Jakiikii and the officers on the other side of the corridor.
He scrambled into the shadow of a nearby recess in the wall as a flurry of shots were directed toward him, but the damage had already been done. With the additional distraction of his mad charge and the new weight of fire being poured his way the power armoured royal guard were able to quickly move in and take the remaining enemy out with little counter fire. They did not surrender, and in return no quarter was given by the armoured mendagoonians.
The last snapping cracks of the firefight still echoed in Paulie’s ears as he shook his head and stood. Slowly reloading Nemesis as he stepped into the light of the hall.
Jakiikii and the two officers were joining them as the captain looked around and then noticed Paulie. He strode to him, the alien’s features unreadable behind their enhanced suit. Paulie finished reloading his gun and rocked the cylinder cover closed with a snap, holding the large revolver up near his shoulder with the barrel pointed at the ceiling far above.
Finally after a moment of observing him the mendagoonian stepped closer and cocked their insectoid head. “I suppose that you might indeed be enough. How did you move in such an agile manner without a suit to enhance your strength?”
Paulie shrugged. “The gravity on this planet is really weak. I am from a world with much higher gravity.” He explained, as if it were obvious.
“How much more?” the captain chittered.
Paulie looked toward Jakiikii for help, shrugging.
She stepped up, nodding her six-eyed head toward Paulie and answered for him. “His homeworld called Earth is classified as an extreme level apocalypse world with a standard surface gravity of more than three-point-eight GSG. Despite this fact, his people still have the muscle mass and density to walk as upright bipeds even under the crushing gravity of their titan world.”
Paulie and Captain Elldite looked at each other, the alien taking a small step backwards. “Impossible.”
Paulie shrugged again, a little exhausted by the whole ordeal. “I am not here to say what is and isn’t possible, man. We should get moving, which way to the throne room?”
The royal guard made a hand gesture that Paulie was not familiar with before speaking. The mechanical translator giving the words a sort of flat robotic tone as he spoke. “The Monarch is safe, we must protect the star children. It is my only goal to ensure their continued safety.”
Paulie gave Jakiikii a sideways glance, seeing the concern etched onto her features. The wrinkles around her bright orange eyes creased with worry. Turning back to the alien as he was issuing silent commands to his troops, he asked, “What are the star children?”