Hunter Killer: Legacy Earth 7, page 31
“I won’t be a part of any of your plans, even if that means we both have to die today,” the captain snarled before lunging at Sabo.
EPILOGUE
Sabo’s body drifted into the void as Lance’s plasma blade ran out of juice. The Gladius started to break apart more violently as it was pulled toward a nearby planet. Lance marched to the cockpit and strapped himself into one of the chairs as all power to the ship shut off.
Violent jolts coursed through the ship, slamming the captain around in his chair. He took several deep breaths as he looked through a massive hole in the ceiling to see dozens of life pods and both fighters corralling together. He connected with Valdivia’s channel.
“Hey, sweetie,” he said, closing his burning eyes. “It doesn’t look like I’m getting off this ship…” As it entered the atmosphere, heat alarms started to ring in his helmet as silent tears rolled down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I really wish I could’ve shared more of this crazy life with you. No matter what happens next, know that I’ll always love you, in this life… and the next.”
Static came back. His heart sank as he opened his eyes to see a thin veil of green hidden behind violent torrents of orange.
“I love you too,” Valdivia’s voice barely cut through.
A peace filled the soldier as one final explosion finished splintering the ship. Everything went dark.
Chirping, the sound of strange birds blended horribly with the deafening ringing in Lance’s ears. His eyes shot open as he took a deep breath, causing his lungs to burn. He coughed, trying to meet equilibrium from having all the air forced from his lungs.
Lance moved all his fingers and toes before pushing off the ground. As he stood up, the world spun around him. He stagger-stepped and caught himself. Every joint ached, every muscle hurt, although his adrenaline kept the pain significantly dulled.
Looking down at his body, he saw his armor was gone. Most of his multi-tool was intact, but his under suit was torn to ribbons, barely hanging on to his body. All of his dirt-caked wounds appeared superficial.
Looking back up, he fought against the confusion that whirled within his mind. The light of the nearby star flared when he looked in its general direction, doing no favors for the migraine he nursed.
His concussed mind allowed him to focus on his surroundings. A dense forest had a strip that was overturned dirt and fire, littered with the wreckage of the Gladius. Lance staggered toward it, hoping that he could find something to signal the dropships with.
As he reached the wreckage, he grabbed one of the pieces of metal leaning against the shredded hull and pulled it away. He took a sharp breath as it hit the ground. Sabo, missing his smaller right arm and larger left, stood in the wreckage.
Before Lance could process, a massive fist hit him in the chest. Flying backward, he bounced off a broken tree before hitting the dirt. Sabo kicked some of the debris out of his way as he started marching toward Lance.
“Your survival of re-entry just proves why he wants you alive,” the Svikari sneered.
Lance looked around to see a pipe, torn from itself to a jagged point within reach. He looked up at the approaching Svikari and smirked.
“I’ve got to give it to you… you’re one tough mother,” he said as he panted. “How’d you manage to get your whole crew to just abandon ship?”
“My master called them home.”
Sabo stepped closer.
“And who is he?”
“You will see,” the Svikari said, standing over Lance.
“Not today!”
The captain grabbed the pipe and jammed it as hard as he could into the small weak spot between the protective plates on Sabo’s chest. It punched through, hitting the chitinous plate on his back.
Sabo grabbed Lance by the shoulder as a wicked smile spread over his skeleton-like face. He turned and flung Lance toward the wreckage. Fear nearly froze the soldier in place as Sabo pulled the pipe from his chest, causing a mutation to rapidly spread over his body.
“Oh my God,” Lance whispered.
A familiar almost living flesh spread from the hole, overtaking the Svikari with a hint of technology to it. Within seconds, the former SOAT looked like a blend between the flesh of the surviving Galio and the monsters in the monolith.
Lance grabbed a nearby jagged piece of metal as Sabo lumbered at him, letting out a mechanical screech. He was slower in this form. The captain was grateful. He dodged the initial swipes, rolled behind Sabo, and slashed at the back of his knees.
Lance’s jagged weapon cut deep, causing Sabo’s right leg to collapse. Sabo turned and bit at the captain, causing him to jump back, dodging the attack. Being off balance, the mutated Svikari fell forward.
Lance knelt and held his weapon against the ground. Sabo’s mouth slammed into it, punching out the base of his skull, causing the monster’s body to go limp.
“Oh, I hate you so much,” Lance murmured as he rose to his feet.
Exhaustion attempted to pull the soldier into its tentacle-ly embrace. He staved it off as he entered the ship. Small fires burned everywhere. He started to inspect the wreckage to find pieces of technology he could put together to call for help.
Getting his hands on a fuel cell, wires and a few intact motherboards as well as half a transmitter, he started to take inventory of his stock. As he got to work, a snapping twig behind him caused him to turn around.
“HOLY…” he shouted; his heart skipped a beat.
Sabo was back on his feet. Dull blue lights pulsed under the cancerous flesh around the projectile protruding from his mouth. Without even thinking, Lance opened the fuel cell he’d found and threw it at the fire next to the monster’s feet.
An explosion rocked what was left of the ship, engulfing the Svikari in flames as it threw Lance against an opposing wall. As he hit the ground and started to fall unconscious, the captain looked up to see Sabo’s flesh completely disintegrate from the flames, leaving little more than a skeleton behind.
Falling unconscious, the soldier felt his body start to move. He tried to pull himself awake, but exhaustion prevented any movement. He heard voices; they were little more than muffled tones. Unable to make anything out, he fell into the inky depths of forced sleep once more.
“You’ve been asleep for quite some time; would you mind waking up now?” a familiar voice asked.
A rough tap on his forehead pulled Lance into consciousness. He squinted as bright, white lights nearly blinded him.
“Ah, good! You’re awake. I was worried you might have some brain damage from that crash,” the man said.
Lance squinted, trying to get his eyes to adjust. He became aware of his body. It was in a standing position with his arms and legs spread. Thick metal cuffs held his forearms. Looking down, he wore a white lab suit with metal cuffs holding his shins.
His eyes still adjusting, he couldn’t see the man’s face who was speaking. The Veles symbol on his chest, however, was clear as day. Lance’s body stiffened at the sight. He struggled against his bindings.
“Where am I?” he demanded.
“Ah, ah! That information is classified,” the man said before stepping close enough for Lance to see him revealing the familiar face of Jacob Cecil. “And not even Dexter in his suit could break out of those.”
“You’re… you’re Veles?” Lance asked in disbelief.
“Surprising, is it not?” he asked with a smile. “Allow me to introduce my Right Hand. Would you come out here, dear?”
Lance’s heart started to race at the clicking of boots. The lighting only provided a silhouette as they approached. His heart nearly stopped as the scent of cherry blossoms and honey filled his nostrils. Hypnotic eyes looked at him with a callous pity as perfect, full lips arched to a frown.
“I thought he’d be in better condition,” the Right Hand said.
The captain’s body fell limp as his will shattered. He managed to get a single word to leave his lips, calling the person before him.
“Amber.”
BOOKS IN THE LEGACY EARTH UNIVERSE
1. Legacy Earth
2. First Contact
3. Detterence Expidition
4. AI Wars
5. System Harbinger
6. Overrun
7. Hunter Killer
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