“What the hells is that?” Dallas heard the voice of Gareth over the comm as the shape drew closer to the salvage ship. It looked like a giant, floating cloak in the air, and its rippling, flat body was moving closer to the only passage Dallas and his team had off this world.
“Jue?” Dallas said, “you got anything on that thing?”
“Negative, Captain. I cannot access the infranet here because of the interfering nature fo the cloud cover. But I do have similar lifeforms cataloged in my databank. If this is consistent with those entries, its standard move will be to envelop its prey and then use either teeth or digestive acid to-”
“That’s enough. Gareth, can you kick in more speed? That thing’s gaining on you.”
“Negative! We’re at full speed already! There’s some kind of-”
The creature struck. It lunged so fast, Dallas didn’t actually see it envelop the salvage ship; one moment it was sliding through the air, flat as a flapjack, and the next, zip! , the salvage ship was covered completely, as if enveloped in a dark tarp.
“Gareth? Gareth!” Dallas yelled as the ship dropped towards the treeline.
There was no crash. No sound of landing reached them. Only silence.
“Crud,” said Joker, and a few other words Dallas didn’t know.
“Okay, new plan,” Dallas said.
“What, boss?” House said, “you gonna flap your arms really hard and go buy us a new salvage ship?”
“No, listen, House. No time for that. Jue, how long does it take something like that to eat?”
“Anywhere from minutes to months. It depends on the species.”
“Fine, then. We’re going to operate on the assumption that it’ll take at least an hour. Jue, can you scan and see where they dropped?”
“Yes- a two-hour walk on foot, a ten-minute stride in our WarMechs.”
“Good. Jue, strap up and get your chicken-walker ready. You’re coming with me.”
“What?” House said, “What about me?”
“Or me?” said Joker.
“I’ll sit this one out, ‘kay?” Anja whispered.
Dallas looked at Anja’s prone form for a second, then back at the two men. “Joker, you’re spitting blood. You don’t need more jostling. House, you’ve gotta stay here just in case anything else big, dark and scary jumps out’ve this jungle and tries to snack on Anja or Joker. Get in your mech, pick them up, and keep your weapons hot. Big, dark and ugly out there just changed the rules of engagment, and we’re gonna rip him apart, save the salvage ship, and then rip that giant-arse mech up with it so we can get paid. Makes sense?”
House looked at Joker, then Anja.
“I said,” Dallas repeated, an edge in his voice, “makes sense? I don’t have time to debate this, House! Do you understand?”
“I- yes. Yes captain. I get it.”
“Rodeo. Jue, follow me,” Dallas said, running towards the Galatine. “Let’s go save a ship!”
“Yes, sir!” Jue said, the legs on her machine springing to life and running to stand dutifully behind her captain’s war-mech. Dallas was already inside, sitting in the chair and flipping switches, the sword still extended as the engines of his war machine rumbled to life.
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“Alright, let’s move out!” he yelled as the Galatine began taking giant, forty-ton stomps through the jungle underbrush. “Jue, keep scanning to make sure the location of the ship stays constant, and let me know if anything changes. Any other reading coming off? Life signs, engines?”
“Negative, sir. The creature’s body is blocking scans somehow.”
“Fine. Ten minutes. Hold on, Gareth. Ten more minutes.”
“Nine minutes, seventeen seconds, Captain, if it helps.”
“It does. House, you got our friends safe?”
“Yessir! They are encased in my mech’s hands, and I’ve got my shoulder-mounts ready to unleash nine-hells of death on anything that-”
“Good, House. Tell me if anything changes. I’ve gotta focus here in the meantime. Get it?”
“Got it, sir!”
“Good. Rodeo good!”
#
“Prime Authority Moreded?”
“What now Fay?”
“You asked to be notified if there were more developments in the attempts to undermine your credibility.”
“My- what happened now? Another blackout?”
“No, sir. A new video has gone out through the underground channels mocking you and your alleged inability to prevent the older Morgan brothers from sabotaging your rule.”
“Did it now?”
“Yes, sir. Would you like me to play it for you?”
“No, I think I have a better idea. Open a hyperwave channel to Golgotha. I think a slightly more public demonstration of who is in charge now is needed.”
The A.I. paused. “Sir, if I may: The Morgan brothers have yet to be apprehended, and they have demonstrated an ability to cause significant difficulty. Were you to execute or publicly torture their parents, the ramifications for you could be-”
“I don’t give a flup, Fai! Now do as you’re told for once!”
“Yes, sir. There is significant interference due to a dust cloud three light years away. It will take me approximately five minutes to open the channel.”
“Fine. Fine. Just do it and shut the hells up.”
“Yes, sir. In the meantime, there are more calls for services to be reinstated that have as of yet gone unanswered. Third sector is without light, fourth sector is without running water, and another squad of newly-sworn-in gendarmes has been overwhelmed by a small gang of miscreants.”
Moreded sighed, wondering for the ten-thousandth time if he still would have usurped the colony from Texas Morgan if he’d known just how much of the job involved dealing with annoyances like this.
#
“Time, Jue?”
“Three minutes, twenty seconds at our current speed, Cowboy.”
“Thanks Ju- I mean, Jill. Sorry, forgot to use callsigns.”
“Understandable, Cowboy, as this is your first actual mission, and it has become far more stressful and involving more intense command decisions than most team leaders encounter.”
“Thanks, Jill.”
“Your welcome, Cowboy.”
The plume of dark smoke in the sky was visible over the treeline, and getting closer. “Jill,” Dallas said, “any protocol or options if the rescue ship is done?”
“Yes, sir. Options range from committing suicide to avoid prolonged suffering from a lingering death to attempts to colonize the world and adapt ourselves and the planet to our needs.”
“Colonize?”
“Yes, sir. However, both Joker and Red Queen are unlikely to survive their injuries longer than a week without specific medical attention, leaving you, House and I to engage in colonial activities. The drastically reduced genepool means…”
“Uh, that’s enough on that. Suicide, colonizing- Anything in between?”
“Continued calls for help on varying frequencies. Unlikely to work, since the Palefroi had only one working salvage vessel. Further, our new crew is unlikely to try to hail help rather than leave.”
“This job keeps getting better and better. Hold up!” Dallas said suddenly, his warmech stopping , Jue’s smaller scout runner looking very much like a chicken next to an adult as it halted behind the Galatine.
In front of them was the ship.
At least, they assumed it was the ship. It looked like a giant black blob that was raising and lowering its back slowly. A single engine from the ship peeked out of one corner of the blob, and it was from this engine that the black smoke was slowly pouring without any hurry.
“What now, Captain?” Jue asked.
“Now,” said Dallas, breathing deep, “we save the ship that came to save us. Weapons set for maximum effect, Jill. I don’t want to have to do this for too long.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, her lasers whining softly as power from the ‘mech’s core began flowing into them.
...TO BE CONTINUED...