Survivor, page 9
"They're unstoppable," she whispered.
"Something stopped them before," Cal said.
"We don't know that. Maybe they just decided to take a nap."
"I recommend we stay hidden and wait until they leave. Perhaps then, the force-field will lift."
"We can't do that. There's the opportunity of a life-time out there. And besides, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to leave once they go. But I bet they have the technology to get us out of here."
"It's a bad idea," Cal said.
"I know. But I'm doing it anyway."
"Business as usual then."
She nodded, still too shell-shocked by the demonstrations to laugh.
"Aright. Time to bite the bullet," she said.
"In the middle of the night?"
"Well it's not the middle." Nova said. "They're up. I don't want to leave it any longer. If they are planning to wreak havoc on the universe, then I want to stop them now."
"That's if they don't kill you on sight," Cal said.
"Yes."
"Well, be safe, I suppose."
She nodded and marched to her sleeping pod. She changed out of her sandy clothes from the day before and put on a black singlet, thick trousers with many pockets and her thick trench-coat. She wore a thick khaki belt made up of pouches. She slid her knife into a sheath on the left and her gun into the holster on her right.
"How do I look for an ambassador of the human race?" she said.
"Embarrassing," Cal said.
She rolled her eyes. "Monitor the situation. If things get bad, run the simulations. If there's a chance to save me, do that. If there's not, then get yourselves out of here. When you get out tell the guys at the Maw what happened."
"Confirmed."
She strode to the storage bay and climbed into the lander. She took a deep breath as she started the lander's engine. Her stomach rolled as she laid a shaky hand on the throttle.
"Have I got maximum shielding?" she said. She hated the tremor in her voice.
"Confirmed. Crusader can't even detect you."
"Good," she said, letting out a long sigh.
She pressed the detach button and the lander clicked free of Crusader. She grabbed the controls with both hands even though it was on autopilot. She swallowed hard as the lander dove for the planet.
Her course kept her well out of sight of the Ancients. She just had to hope that they weren't scanning for foreign ships, and that if they were that they thought she was just a bird. Chills racked her body as she thought about the compression gun and how it would feel to be crushed by her own weight. Her neck tingled as the planet drew closer.
She took the time to look around and relish in her own existence. She had no idea how much longer that existence would last.
The lander came to rest on the desert sand far too soon for Nova's liking. It took three minutes for her legs to stop shaking enough for her to stand and get out of the ship. She jumped to the desert and leant against the lander.
She breathed deeply until her head stopped spinning. She pushed herself up and surveyed the landscape. The desert was just as she'd left it except that the glow from the red moon was gone.
She checked her weapons one more time, drew her back straight, and steeled her nerves. There was no way to put it off any longer; she was here and she had a mission to do.
She trekked through the sand in her thick boots. Her mind raced with what she'd say to these aliens. Her imagination filled with visions of her trying to communicate and failing miserably. In one scenario the aliens couldn't understand her and shot her on sight. In another replay they thought she declared war and retaliated by destroying the nearest human colony.
She clenched her teeth and shook the images free. There was no reason for the meeting to go badly. She just had to keep calm and be reasonable. The logical thoughts didn't stop her stomach clenching or the blood draining from her face. She bit her lip and strode on.
For whatever reason, she'd been left with this job and she'd be damned if she turned away now. As much as it should have been Doctor Codon in her place, she was glad it was her. The chance to have first contact came once in a million lifetimes. Even if the meeting did go badly she'd be remembered for the rest of time. Or she would be so long as there were human colonies to remember.
She lay on her stomach and dragged herself up the last of the rise overlooking the oasis. The broken remnants of the Confederacy ships spread around her and surrounded the Ancients. She used the ships for cover as she scurried down the hill. Her heart clenched in her chest every time she heard an Ancient speak. Miraculously she made it to the very edge of the tumbled ships without being detected.
She took a deep breath. The black-hole cannon and the compression gun leant against each other in the centre of a minor crater. The rest of the Ancients were gathered in groups, scattered around the area, working on small projects.
Nova took a final breath and stepped out from behind the ship. She approached the nearest group of Ancients with her hands held out to either side, palms up. Her breath was ragged and dry in her throat. She got five paces before she was spotted.
The nearest Ancient glanced up from his work and froze.
A torrent of words poured out of his mouth. Heads whipped around at his voice and some of the Ancients jumped to their feet.
Nova was surrounded by a chattering circle of tall creatures, all staring at her. Her chest constricted but she stood straight and stared back at them, her gaze unwavering.
"I come in peace," she said.
The lead Ancient muscled its way to the front of the crowd.
"I come in peace," Nova said again, the words coming out in a rush.
The Ancients stared down at her. They sounded like a swarm of beetles as they spoke to each other. Their clicking voices buzzed around Nova's head. More of the creatures gathered to see what the fuss was about.
"A human? What is a human doing here?" the lead Ancient said, stepping forward.
It took Nova a few moments to realise that she understood what it said.
"I can understand you," she said.
The Ancient waved its hand as if the event was of no matter. "You haven't answered my question."
"I- er- this planet is part of the Human Confederacy," she said.
"The humans claim to own part of this galaxy?" the Ancient said. "The parasitic human race dares?"
"We- we've been expanding for some time now. I wish to ensure that you will not harm the human colonies," Nova said. Her heart sat right in her throat but she had to do what she came for. She may not care for many humans, but she'd be damned if she didn't try to stop the total annihilation of human life, if that's what the Ancients had planned.
"Why not?" it said.
"Well-" Nova's thoughts stumbled over the question. It was so simple and yet so layered with meanings, possibilities. "We have as much right to live and be free as you."
"I don't think so," the Ancient said. "We have fought too hard, for too long to be usurped by the likes of you."
The alien held up its clawed fist and a barrel clicked open at the end. The Ancients advanced towards Nova. Their feet stomped onto the sand, leaving a trail of holes. They spoke to each other in their foreign language.
Nova's mouth dropped open. The careful negotiations she'd gone over in her head were over before she'd started. A buzz warned her that the Ancient's weapon was powering up.
She backed away from the closing circle. Her eyes flicked left and right. There was no way she could outrun their weapons and she had no hope that her plasma pistol would do anything against their armour.
She darted left, pushed past the Ancients and made a mad dash towards the crater and weapons. As she ran past her arm caught on the blade of an armoured forearm. Her flesh ripped open and dripped blood into the sand. She tucked her arm to her chest and kept running, stifling a cry of pain in her throat.
The sound of pursuit was right behind her. The sand to her right exploded in a flash of red. Smoke poured out of the hole where melted sand glowed white-hot.
She stumbled away from the explosion, darting left and right in a desperate effort to avoid their gunfire. It was hard to run in the newly churned sand. She nearly tripped on the solid cube, sitting at the bottom of its crater.
She regained her balance and pushed on.
Only five more steps, three, one. She was there.
Nova swung her arm around and pulled up the compression gun. It was heavy; her arms and back strained to pick it up. She lifted the gun to her shoulder, placed the index finger of her right hand on the trigger and turned to face the Ancients.
They stopped chasing and stood in a rough semi-circle around her. Each of their helmeted heads was turned in her direction. It was impossible to see any fear on their faces behind the damned emotionless helmets.
The biggest Ancient had its fist-weapon pointed at her. She lifted the gun higher on her shoulder and put the alien in her sights. The armoured figure filled up the whole targeting area.
She clenched her teeth, readied her shoulder for the kickback, and pressed the trigger.
She'd squeezed her eyes shut against the inevitable pain but it never came. She opened one eye and then the other. The aliens still stood in front of her. Nothing had changed.
Nova frowned and squeezed the trigger again. This time she watched the gun, but nothing happened. There was no sudden burst of light, and the creature didn't collapse into itself.
A new sound broke through Nova's confusion. Loud clicking; it sounded like laughter.
She looked up from the gun and saw the armoured creatures laughing. If she'd ever wanted to see terrifying aliens reduced to a joke it would have been this. But the joke was on her.
The lead Ancient lunged at Nova. It leant down, grabbed hold of the rifle, and plucked it out of her grasp. She had no hope of resisting; the gun slid out of her hands as if she was a newborn.
"After all our time fighting the Zions, and the Plims, and all the other pretenders, we worked out the species lock," it said.
"I-I," Nova stuttered. She didn't understand most of what the Ancient was talking about.
Without further warning, the Ancient lifted its fist and a blast of light shot out. It exploded into Nova and filled her vision. The force of it sent her body and mind reeling before she lost consciousness.
***
Nova's head pounded. Lights danced behind her eyelids. There were voices, but her ears were ringing and she couldn't make out the words. There was a smell too, like musty dirt. It was as if she'd stumbled into a cupboard which hadn't been opened for centuries.
Fragments came back to her; she'd confronted the Ancients and they'd shot her. Was she dead? Her heart kicked up faster at the thought. No, she couldn't be.
There were voices.
She forced her eyelids to open. The brief flash of light was all she needed. She was back in the tunnels, in a small room. She'd caught a glimpse of two Ancients near the door. Her eyes were closed again, but in her mind she went over every detail she'd seen in that brief glimpse.
The voices emerged over the buzz filling her ears.
"You have to get the information out of her. Remember what happened last time?"
"We were nearly wiped out."
"We can't afford to let that happen again. If they're the dominant species then they're the biggest threat. We have to know everything we can about them."
"What if she refuses to talk?"
"Do whatever it takes. Do you understand? I don't care if you have to tear this planet apart – we need to know what they can do, so we're ready. I refuse to be forced to hide underground a second time."
"I'll make sure she talks."
"Good. And do it now. They might already be on their way. We need any advantage we can get."
"I'll get it done."
Footsteps faded away. Something grated, like stone on stone. Nova flicked her eyes open again to see an Ancient slide a thick stone door across the entrance. Purple lights glowed from the walls, casting an ominous glow over the creature's black armour.
"Time to talk," the creature said, as it turned and locked eyes with Nova.
Even the helmet couldn't hide the intensity of the creature's gaze. She felt intelligence, cunning, annoyance, and curiosity, pouring from the alien.
She forgot her aching head and bruised body. There was just her and the Ancient.
It didn't waste any time and went straight to the far wall, pulling down a small pistol. Wires and lights sprouted out of it. Nova could only guess at its purpose.
She struggled to her feet. If the creature was going to kill her, she'd die standing. She pushed her back against the furthest corner, the rough stone scraping down her skin. She scanned every inch of the room for a way out. The only exit was through the passage, which was blocked by a solid stone door. Her breaths came hard and fast and her legs twitched to get going, to move, but to where?
"What's your name?" Nova said. It was the first thing she thought of to buy time.
"You'd never be able to pronounce my real name. For our short time together you may call me Tobius. It means torturer in your most primitive language."
"How can I understand you now? I couldn't before."
"We updated your mind-chip. Primitive technology."
"How about—"
"Enough!"
Tobius lunged across the room and slammed his armoured hand into Nova's cheek. Her head snapped sideways, her body sprawling onto the floor.
Pain tore through her face like fire, engulfing her cheek and temple. The stinging agony brought tears to her eyes.
"How far have the humans spread?"
"Fuck you," Nova said.
She pushed herself upright, her arms and legs shaking.
"I'd like to see you try."
Tobius took three long steps forward and snatched Nova's neck in his hand. His fingers wrapped around her throat and squeezed.
Nova's heart roared into overdrive. She couldn't breathe and blood pounded in her temples.
"How far have you spread?" Tobius said in a venomous whisper.
Nova clenched her teeth and refused to answer. Even so, her mind's eye was filled with mental maps of the solar systems. She couldn't help thinking of the outer planets. It was just like the time Tanguin had told her not to think of a pink elephant.
Damned elephant.
"You're a long way from home."
Nova refused to respond, even though her traitorous mind immediately went to thoughts of her childhood on Tabryn. She hadn't thought of Tabryn as home for a very long time, not since she'd found The Jagged Maw.
"The Jagged Maw," Tobius said, plucking more information from her head. "What is it? A military base?"
Tobius's grip tightened around her throat.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Stars danced at the edges of her vision as she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn't listen to him, couldn't let him win. She focused on an image of a cloud. The fluffy white form floated in a blue sky. Nova floated next to it, both of them blown along on a warm summer's day. Tobius spoke but his voice was carried away by the wind.
"I don't have time for your games," Tobius's voice was a thin whisper.
His grip loosened about her throat and she drew in a great gasp of air. She relished in the sudden burst of oxygen, until pain exploded inside her head. She screamed and her eyes flew open.
Tobius had the gun aimed at her head. It felt as if every neuron in her brain had simultaneously exploded. Every part of her was on fire. She wanted to tear out her hair so that she could get to her skull and rip it open. Anything to release the agony.
Something writhed inside her head. It was as if worms convulsed between her ears; each of them burrowed through her skull and pushed against her head. Her brain was alive, it was a living pulsating thing and it felt like it was trying to get free of her skull.
She clutched her head with both hands. She screamed but she couldn't hear it. Stars flashed in front of her eyes, the rest was darkness and pain. Her body collapsed to the ground, she writhed and kicked, completely losing control of her limbs. Her fingers scraped at her head and left bloody claw-marks.
That was when she saw them. Thousands of spiders poured out of the walls and crawled out of the floor. They were the size of gulf balls and they scurried on hairy legs. They came straight for her. They swarmed across the ground like a living wave.
She rolled away from them but they kept coming. She cast around for anything she could use; her gun was no good against a swarm of spiders. There was nothing. She struggled to her knees; if she could just get to her feet she could stomp them to death.
It was too late; they were already on her. They latched onto her arms and legs and climbed. Their hairy legs brushed over her as more of them clamboured up her limbs. Her legs had become writhing masses of brown bodies and they were climbing higher.
She flicked her arms, sending a handful of spiders flying through the air. She brushed at her body but as two spiders went flying, four more climbed onto her. Her hands worked desperately to get rid of them but she was too slow. She watched in horror as the horde reached her throat and then went higher. They scurried over her face.
She clenched her mouth tightly closed but they forced it open and climbed inside. They burrowed into her ears. Her mouth was full of them and more poured in. She gasped for air as they pushed deeper down her throat.
She refused to be choked to death by spiders. She forced her hand away from her head and reached for the pistol at her waist. Just one squeeze and it would all go away. The pain in her head would disappear and she wouldn't be able to feel the spiders crawling down her throat.
Her fingers clasped around the pistol; her hand shook with the effort.
"I don't think so," Tobius said.
Nova blinked and the spiders were gone. She swiped at her clothes but there was nothing there. She heaved a mighty sigh of relief and curled up into a ball on the ground. She didn't feel the tiny rocks and pieces of sand digging into her, or feel the tears dribble down her cheeks. All she could do was focus on her own breathing and keeping her sanity.
