Lokians 1: Beyond the End of the World (17 page)

People pulled away from cover; the rooves
were destroyed in the Lokian’s wake, leaving fragmented stone
strewn about, and comm. units were wild with grunts and war cries.
To their dismay, round after round had little effect, and the
Lokian started spinning by pushing and pulling with its
tentacles.

It picked up a great deal of speed, so
everyone eased back in apprehension. It erupted acid with a vulgar
belch. The toxic bile spilled out in a full circle. Fortunately, no
one was caught by a direct blast of solvent.

“
Back off,” Korit screamed.

He yoked Franklin from harm’s way, fired a
massive burst of plasma into the creature’s side, and while Marty
dashed out from cover, Franklin and Adams called for backup. They
were preoccupied with the continued swarm of scouts.

“
I got it! I got it,” Marty
screamed.

He dashed around the tunneler, bobbing and
weaving from flailing tentacles, and sticking charges to shiny
armor. No sooner had he taken off for his life that a new threat
emerged. From the tunnels they had taken to the subterranean city,
agile Lokians jumped down and made their way for anything that
wasn’t insectoid.

They hopped and leapt like grasshoppers by
way of metal legs protruding from a circular thorax. Their swivel
joints provided them unimaginable nimbleness, and they leapt
straight up, backwards, to their sides, and off the walls. With
vice like claws, they ripped the crew to pieces.

“
What the Hell,” Fitzpatrick gasped.
“What, what are those things?”

“
Just keep firing,” DeReaux
shouted.

Between the snipers, they had enough sense to
fire at the hoppers every time they lashed out at their friends,
but when the colossus grenades went off, covering everyone from
head to toe in muck, a Lokian slammed into Sura’s back. It gripped
her thighs, anchoring itself squarely behind her. She yelled in
pain for only a second; pincers took her head right off. A plasma
burst obliterated the beast, only too late.

Day and Imes fired at scouts, when hoppers
redirected their attention. They hurtled through the air, covering
yards at a time. Adams clicked his tongue. He was close enough to
reach the Lokian, and made a run for it, red batons blazing, when a
second hopper landed before him, stopping him in his tracks.

“
Aarrgh! Bastard,” he screamed. “I need
help!”

The agent swung madly at his enemy.
Fitzpatrick and DeReaux noticed his plight, and turned their scopes
on the hopper. Though they fired round after round, scouts started
swarming their post. They posed no real threat, so far as they
knew, but the little crawlies made aiming impossible.

“
Piece of shit,” Fitzpatrick yelled as
she crushed one with the butt of her rifle.

With no alternative, Adams made a run for
safety. He scurried behind some debris, waited for the hopper to
land, and when it did, he rolled beneath it to strike at its
undercarriage. Red blasts broke through alien alloy, and the insect
fell dead on top of him. He crawled free to see Zakowski in
trouble; scouts swarmed him, erupting of their own accord.

“
Raaagh! What the shits?” he
screamed.

Marty and Nandy tried dragging him free to
safety, but another Lokian crashed down beside them, swinging
massive pincers all about. They were knocked away, skidding across
ice. Franklin suddenly leapt from out of nowhere, mounted the
creature, and ruptured its head with a well placed swing of his
baton.

Time had gone slow for O’Hara. The havoc was
compounding by the second. Men were screaming, bullets were flying,
sprays of dust and ice bounced off his visor. Silvery hoppers were
flashing all around. To his dismay, the men and women of his crew
were firing, but falling and making little headway.

Then, he saw Day and Imes were posted with
their backs to the wall, firing at anything that moved. The screams
in his ears made it impossible to focus on anything, and just as he
had aimed at Day’s threat, yet another hopper kicked up scouts,
thundering for Becker.

He needed a coordinated plan of attack, but
his thoughts raced a mile a minute. The Lokian going for Day and
Imes latched onto the crags above them. It started bearing
down.

“
Get down! Cover your heads,” he
screamed.

Fortunately, Day made eye contact. O’Hara
took off at a full run, crunching scouts underfoot. Without even
aiming, he let loose a flurry of bullets. His unsteady rifle
sprayed over the hopper. Fighting heavy recoil, and unsteady hands,
he managed to work down to his target.

Small chunks of rock and exoskeleton fell.
The beast collapsed in front of Day, writhing. Stunned, she caught
O’Hara’s eyes for a second time. Then, her vision blurred; Imes
took off.

Becker had been floored. Lokians held her
pinned down. When Imes called for help, Korit booted through
scouts, trying to reach the Human, who struggled to get a grip on
her rifle. Saliva pooled on her visor as the aliens lowered their
tentacle ridden faces.

“
C’mon, asshole,” she spat.

“
Get off her, you son of a bitch,” Imes
yelled, slamming into chitinous mass with full force.

Both he and the Lokian tumbled over each
other, giving Korit a chance to aim for the other one. Becker
managed to bat away some rupturing scouts and snatched her rifle
from the ground. She rolled over, took aim, and filled the injured
hopper full of holes.

“
Pull yourself together, Imes,” Becker
mocked as she stood. “I can handle myself.”

At the other end of the misty expanse,
Franklin dropped his batons. He reached for a device hanging from
his harnesses, and threw what looked like two bolts of white light
at a Lokian holding Zakowski in both pincers. The bolts hit the
monster’s backside, shooting bright lightning out in arcs. That
hopper fell, a smoldering, sticky mess, and Zak wriggled free from
harm.

“
Lord Almighty,” he peeped.

Just feet away, Swain stood over Martinez. He
turned, keeping his gaze and rifle on two hoppers, who were leaping
in to and out of one another’s paths. Without looking, he lowered
his hand for Marty, keeping his eyes and flashing muzzle on the
closing threat. A small group of scouts were steadily climbing his
body, but there wasn’t time to care; Marty was up, and doubling up
on rapid fire.

A sudden jostle move through Swain’s
backside; Korit had his back to Swain’s and fired at more Lokians.
Without taking his eyes off the target, he stomped a scout,
finished off a hopper, and turned to fire over his crew mate and
Nandesrikahl, who made it to Zakowski’s side. The small man was
jarred, but uninjured from the previous attack.

The two bolted for a Thewlian compatriot in
time to see a hopper land on top of her. Even with her large frame,
she was forced to a knee, so Nandesrikahl attempted to wipe some
rusty goo from his visor for better aim. Regretfully, it smeared.
He tried looking through the muck and fired a lucky shot, saving
her from harm.

Flem ran into the melee in an attempt to pull
he mate to safety, but received a steel leg to her midsection. She
doubled over in flight before smacking hard against a building.
Quickly coming to her feet, she aimed at the enemy.

“
Get away, Thewl, we have this,”
Zakowski shrieked and swung his hand.

He and Nandy held the remaining hoppers at
bay; casings poured onto the ground as bullets ricocheted off
metallic plating. Whether it was they or the snipers who killed the
creature, one more Thewl was safe for the moment.

The captain howled. “They’re moving towards
Imes.”

O’Hara bounded over a roof, trying to both
flee a hopper and help his friend. Sadly, the snipers had abandoned
their scout laden post for a higher ledge and were unable to heed
O’Hara’s order. By then, the hopper vaulted through the air,
slammed into Imes, and sent him reeling to the ground.

He crashed over icy formations. Immediately,
he tried to stand, but his leg was numb and tingly. After catching
a glimpse from his peripheral he turned. Becker was trying to reach
out for him, but another hopper got away from Korit. The beast
covered the distance to in a single leap. With an imperceptible
movement of its sharp pincer, the hopper snapped off her
outstretched arm.

“
I,” she whispered.

The Lokian swiveled about and struck Imes in
the gut. Sharp claws cut through his armor, spilling blood. He fell
to his knees and faded. Becker was fading, too. Insurmountable pain
accosted her body; she was torn apart. The whole of Phoenix Crew
watched it happen in the blink of an eye.

Nandesrikahl barreled across the terrain,
making for the wounded, but they had already died. “Nooo,” he
screamed from hands and knees.

He clenched his teeth in rage, screaming and
firing until his gun
clanked
. Either he was out of rounds or
it overheated. Some Thewls had recovered, however, and provided
cover. The snipers, having weaseled into a depression high up in
the wall, gave their all to fight for survival. Finally, they
carved away at the enemy.

“
You have to take cover! Try to,”
O’Hara warned before he was cut off in mid-sentence.

A hopper landed next to him and kicked him
over. He fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of his lungs.
Still, he aimed his rifle at the monster, let loose a couple of
shots that bounced off its sturdy undercarriage, and then scrambled
to stand.

A plasma burst nailed it from the side,
busting off an arm, but it was far from dead. The beast rotated and
placed a leg on the captain, keeping him pinned. Day screamed and
fired at the Lokian, but it hopped straight into the air, touched
the ceiling then propelled itself at a Thewl. Swain and Korit saw
the alien flash by their vision. Together, they blasted it beyond
recognition.

“
Captain,” Day gasped, helping him
up.

On his feet, he grumbled his thanks, and
rejoined the fray. The enemy had lost its edge as snipers picked
off remnants. Franklin mounted the last hopper, placed a device on
its head, and rolled to safety. Millions of super thin, razor
sharp, metallic fragments erupted from the device, decapitating the
hopper.

Swain had managed to round up anyone injured
while Martinez tossed grenades. Between the explosions and his
cursing, Korit figured out the Human was out of ammo. He kicked up
the fire power on his pack, unleashing more gas from his cannon,
turning it into a flame thrower, spouting bright, blue fires. All
around the red giant, scouts sizzled, puffed, and crackled.

The crew slowly came off their battle high.
Snipers still picked off more scouts, but the bugs were in flight.
O’Hara looked everyone over. His eyes were wide and his mouth
slightly agape as he tried to catch his breath.

Jun and Flem were helping Swain,
Nandesrikahl, and Zakowski look at everyone’s wounds. O’Hara wanted
to say something. Everyone wanted to say something, but there was
nothing to say. War was an ugly thing.

Chapter Ten

Franklin spotted a scout scuttling off with
an object in tow. He moved quickly, but it burst as he reached out.
Blinking from surprise, he turned to see Fitzpatrick. She
winked.

“
I-I couldn’t,” the captain stammered.
Day walked over to his side and placed a shaky hand on his wrist.
“We lost Becker and Imes. I couldn’t do anything to save them.” She
just looked at him. His heart was heavy. Guilt tightened his
throat, and tears stung his eyes. “Nandy, Zak, make sure everyone’s
okay.” O’Hara slowly walked away.

Korit approached then. “This is what Lokians
provide, fear and bloodshed. There is nothing simple or beautiful
about war. Your friends fought well and did their best to keep each
other alive. One can ask no more. They died in battle. That is good
for a warrior. At least that is what we are taught.”

A welling of emotions accosted the Human. He
narrowed his eyes. Anger flooded him.

“
We came here to help you on your
mission.”

“
These monsters will not stop. Now, you
have seen them. We have fought them many times. We are not the only
ones, who need the travelers’ help. Soon, your kind will, too,”
Korit replied, harshly. “Otherwise, what you have lived through
today will be experienced by all of your kind.”

“
These travelers aren’t even here,”
O’Hara yelled.

“
We haven’t explored the whole
planet!”

“
Captain,” Franklin intervened. “The
Lokians did come here. There must be something to it.”

Adams added, “Either there’s a clue around
here, or the Lokians wanted to kill the travelers, and if they can
do that then imagine what they can do to mankind.”

“
I…I’m not convinced,” O’Hara said,
looking to the ground. He wasn’t sure he believed his own
statement, but he was confused, frightened, angry, and sad. “What
if they’re not here? What if there are no more
travelers?”

“
Listen, Captain, I may be out of line,
Sir, but we’re already here. We agreed to do this, and Admiral Lay
chose you to take over. We, I still believe….”

O’Hara scrutinized his compatriot; he was
angry at the situation not the people around him. “This just isn’t
what I expected. We weren’t trained for this.”

“
Tsh, how could we be? No one saw this
comin’, Sir,” Martinez replied after dusting himself
off.

Fitzpatrick and DeReaux emerged from their
post to join up with the surviving members. “Captain...we should
wrap it up,” DeReaux advised.

O’Hara nodded. Some of the others—Thewls,
mostly—sorted through the rubble and whatever few, intact buildings
remained. Their inevitable conclusion was that the travelers had
packed up and left. Either, they simply moved to another area on
the planet or they left completely.