Warrior Chronicles 5: Warrior's Curse Read online

  Then the wave reversed.

  George knew it would. That was why the CONDOR was inside the HAWC. There was no way for the HAWC to survive the blast, but they had hoped that the CONDOR would. Whether it was the makeup of the rock around the city, some trick of harmonics caused by the shape of its walls, or some other incalculable factor, the CONDOR did not survive. In fact, it seemed to be nearly as damaged as its larger counterpart was. Cort had watched as bodies and debris were thrown at him before the towering building collapsed, severing the power feeds to the armor and burying him in the suits under thousands of tons of rubble.

  Cort tilted his head forward, causing a cord attached to the back of head to pull taught. He tucked his head into his chin and the cord pulled four tabs from the modified power pack on his back. Chemicals mixed and began to generate electricity. Now we wait.

  He was thankful that only his sight was taken in the darkness. Having spent time in sensory-deprivation tanks in the 20th and 21st centuries, Cort held on to the sensation of every touch. He started at his toes, feeling the fabric around them. Then it was his calves. His thighs, groin, and torso followed, Cort trying to identify every single sensation his body felt. It was a simple trick, but one that he hoped would keep him alert until his suit had enough power to activate. He didn’t expect to escape the debris that confined him, but at least with power he could signal George he was alive and find out how long he would have to wait for rescue.

  --

  Above the crater that led to the city, the Kalashnikov skimmed the atmosphere of the planet. A thousand of old brood Jaifans fell from the ship and descended into the dust-filled hole like locusts moving across the ravaged landscape.

  Blade-like wings sliced and eviscerated anything that moved. While the contest went on for hours, that was only because the Jaifans had to work their way through the rubble. In every building, and seemingly under every rock, new enemies were found alive. Hundreds of Jaifans died, but thousands of Gryll did. In the end, there seemed to be nothing left in the small city except Jaifans and the man they had sworn to protect. Every alien heartbeat the Jaifans could detect with their hypersensitive antennae was stilled. They began to search for Cort.

  --

  Cort’s power finally reached the level to allow him to transmit to George. He waited another minute and activated his comm. “George, can you hear me?”

  “Yes Father. It is good to hear your voice. Your vital signs are coming through. You appear to be okay. Mother has been worried.”

  “Show her I am fine. What’s going on around me?”

  “Your shock wave destroyed the city. There were considerable acoustic properties that I was not able to allow for in the calculations I used when designing your warp bubble.”

  “What does all that mean?”

  “You are buried in rubble, Father. The Jaifans are above you clearing the area of enemy personnel.”

  “A battle?”

  “Not much of a battle, Father. Most of the enemy are disoriented. There are very few areas of resistance. I believe the Jaifans will have the area secure soon. Then they will dig you out.”

  “What is the status of your heavier armor, Father?”

  “The HAWC is completely destroyed. The CONDOR has a lot of damage, but I think it would be functional if it had power. Unfortunately I don’t have a way to transfer power from the FALCON until I am out of this mess. We need to consider that for future engagements. I know I couldn’t run it long on a FALCON pack, but I’d bet I could at least dig my way out.”

  “It would depend on how much… Excuse me, Father. Mother has asked to be connected to you.”

  “Okay.” When Kim was on the line, she immediately sent a vid feed that was projected to Cort’s HUD. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “I love you baby. All I’ve been thinking about since we lost contact with you was that I didn’t say that before you got sealed up in the HAWC. I forgot to. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, baby. I mean it.” Kim’s eyes were red and swollen.

  “You told me with that kiss, Kim. I’ve never doubted it.”

  Kim smiled and Cort watched as she wiped away fresh tears. “George says you’re okay. Has claustrophobia set in yet?”

  “No, but it’s damned quiet. Especially before I got power. How long was it?”

  “Just a few hours. Cort, I need to tell you something. Just listen, okay?”

  Cort’s brow furrowed in his mask. The motion made the skin around his new eye tingle. “What is it, Kim?”

  “I messed up, baby,” Kim confessed. “I know you don’t like to air our dirty laundry, and I just aired it to the entire fleet.”

  “The stuff with Clem?”

  “I wish it were that simple. I really do, Cort. Please just listen, okay?”

  It was as though a current shot through Cort’s brain. He felt the same sensations of alertness and dread and anger he had felt when Dalek was kidnapped and when the spies from the Cuplan Empire were found on Government World. He had felt the charge when he found out about the secret base the Atlantic Alliance had placed on Mars during the war of independence, and even when he knew he was going to have to kill the first humans he met in this time. He had felt it a thousand times in his life. Every time he felt it, his emotions turned off and he became Ares, War Incarnate. And now his own wife caused the sensation.

  “I’m listening.”

  “It’s about Quinn Faulks, baby…”

  Cort felt a shift. The HAWC was wrenched open and dozens of pairs of Jaifan arms began to peel his CONDOR off of his body. “Kim, just a minute. I see H’uum.”

  And then he didn’t. A great wall of fire swept over him, incinerating the Jaifan limbs, then their bodies. Cort watched as H’uum turned from flexed smiling mandibles to a cloud of ashes that swirled and settled on the remains of his own armor. The flames were gone as quickly as they appeared, just like H’uum.

  “George!” he screamed. “What’s happening?” Cort began to struggle free of the remains of his heavier armor and finally stood in the middle of the ash-covered rubble around him.

  “Some sort of incendiary weapon has been used. I’m not sure by whom. There are no Jaifans left alive in the city.”

  Cort picked up his weapons. He plugged them into his suit and watched them charge. “Are there any humans here? Any allies?”

  “There are none, Father. Only enemies.”

  “Show me where they are. Now.”

  “You should wait for reinforcements, Father. There are Marines on their way. Mother has sent them.”

  Cort’s voice changed. “Show me my victims, George.”

  “Cort, no!” It was Kimberly’s voice this time. “Baby, please don’t do this. You can’t win.”

  Cort bent down to retrieve a sword from the CONDOR’s weapons pack and charged it. Rage washed over him as he brushed his friend’s remains from his FALCON. “I am coated in H’uum’s ashes. I’ll have my revenge.”

  “Baby, w…”

  Cort drew the sword from its scabbard and pressed a button on its hilt. Along the meter-long blade, molecules aligned and ensured the blade was perfect. “George, show me where they are. That’s an order.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  --

  On the Kalashnikov, Kim commed the lieutenant she now knew was named Vaughn. “He’s alone in that hell and he’s not waiting for you, Lieutenant. Get down there now!”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Vaughn began barking orders to the thirty Marines that were left. Then he asked George to take control of the shuttle and to take it in hot.

  A few minutes later, Dalek walked in and said he couldn’t find Bane.

  Sixteen

  Without the CONDOR to charge his weapons, Cort knew the pistol and railgun would have limited use. Especially given that his FALCON’s power was still limited. The sword had enough juice to hone itself over and over though. There will be blood.

  George said, “They are emerging from what appears to be a bunker, Father. There is a group of six who
are approaching from your left.”

  “Thank you.” Cort turned toward the enemy and began climbing a pile of rubble that had once been a building. He crested the debris and stood behind a section of wall that was nearly vertical. There was still a lot of dust in the air, and Cort looked at his hand. The active camouflage of the suit was working and he saw little more than a shimmer. He doubted the enemy could see even what he did. But he saw them. The six were smaller than the Gryll, but they had the same basic appearance. Their heads were narrower and longer, but the facial structure was the same. He thought of how an alligator might look with longer limbs and walking upright. Wasn’t there something like these things on Star Trek? Didn’t Kirk show mercy? I won’t. They weren’t the same species, but Cort knew these were the people who created the Gryll. These were the people who were eating human babies.

  We know you are here. You are the one called Ares. Yes?

  Cort remained silent as they approached.

  You are not the same now. You have been modified.

  Cort thought, Do you hear me?

  Why do you not show yourself? We wish to see our enemy.

  Not this time. No more strokes for me. Unless they are with my sword.

  We sense you, Ares. Why won’t you speak to us?

  You can’t hear me, can you? Because you can’t see me?

  Cort decided to risk showing himself. He looked at the corner of his HUD and turned off the active camouflage. He drew his sword and absentmindedly thumbed the alignment stud. Still dark and ominous, he stepped out from behind the wall. I’m here, lizard. What are you?

  The creatures looked up in surprise and all of them seemed to focus on Cort at once.

  Ah! You are not human. You are like our warriors. That is why we cannot harm you. But why won’t you speak to us. We must understand each other.

  Cort didn’t want to risk speaking to George, so he messaged him.

  ARES[loc:??] GEORGE THEY CANNOT READ ME. WHY NOT?

  COMMAND MOD[loc:MARE’S LEG] UNKNOWN FATHER.

  ARES[loc:??] FIND OUT SON.

  COMMAND MOD[loc:MARE’S LEG] I WILL TRY FATHER. REINFORCEMENTS ARE ONE MINUTE AWAY. I AM IN CONTROL OF THE SHUTTLE. BANE STOWED AWAY WITH THE MARINES.

  Cort watched as the aliens backed away from him. He began jumping down the mountain of debris, moving toward them. Why can’t you hear me? You were trying to stroke me out again too. But you couldn’t. Why not? You can see me now. My eyes? Do you need to see them? No. They got me last time without seeing them. What’s different?

  ARES[loc:??] GEORGE, DON’T LAND NEAR ME. THE MARINES ARE STILL VULNERABLE.

  COMMAND MOD[loc:MARE’S LEG] WE MUST RESCUE YOU.

  ARES[loc:??] NO. STAY BACK. THAT’S AN ORDER.

  COMMAND MOD[loc:MARE’S LEG] YES FATHER. MOTHER WILL BE ANGRY.

  Cort looked at the aliens. You don’t know what to do, do you? I’m somehow immune to you and I am going to end this. Do you have weapons? Or just your minds?

  He reached the ground and began walking toward them. The blade projected from the side of his body. “Can you hear me now?” he spoke aloud.

  Yes. You speak English. How are you immune?

  “What is your name?”

  Answer my question please. How are you immune?

  “What is your name? I won’t ask again.”

  Four more aliens appeared. The group looked at one another, then all eyes turned back to Cort.

  One of them looked to be straining. WHY ARE YOU IMMUNE?

  Cort remembered torturing Cuplans on Government World years before. He spun the blade absentmindedly in his hand. “I went through this once before. It will not end well for you. You have been eating our children. That has been stopped. Now I will learn everything there is to know about you. I’ll ask you once more. What is your name?”

  One of the newcomers stepped forward and began to think, This is our…

  Cort’s blade cut him off. Literally.

  He turned to the first alien to think to him. “What is your name?”

  I am Nawsig.

  “I am Ares, Nawsig. Your reign of terror has ended. This planet is now mine.”

  Nawsig looked around and thought, You are one, Ares. We are many. How will you stop us?

  "Nawsig, you don't know me very well. I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to kill you. You will only live as long as you cooperate with me."

  Cort sent a message to the ship.

  ARES[loc:??] GEORGE. WHY IS MY SCREEN LIGHTING UP? I TOLD YOU NOT TO LAND.

  COMMAND MOD[loc:MARE’S LEG] FATHER, YOU TOLD ME NOT TO LAND NEAR YOU. THE MARINES ARE APPROACHING ON FOOT. BANE IS NOT IN ARMOR. OTHER EIGHT WOLVES ARE. THE TELEPATHIC EFFECT ON CANINES IS NOT KNOWN. BANE IS MUCH CLOSER TO YOU.

  ARES[loc:??] GODSDAMMIT!

  Cort continued speaking to Nawsig, almost casually. “My people are here. Your time is up. Close your eyes and lay face down on the ground or I will not protect you.”

  Yes, there are thirty-one of your warriors approaching. We sense them. They are not immune.

  Cort saw George’s count and knew he was about to lose thirty-one Marines. Marines. But not Bane. They cannot sense him. He’s immune!

  ARES[loc:??] GEORGE, HOW MANY ENEMY ARE THERE?

  COMMAND MOD[loc:MARE’S LEG] TOTAL ENEMY COUNT IS 34.

  Cort activated his command link and said, “Ares to ground forces. Release your wolves. Do not engage. Repeat. Release wolves, do not engage. Humans are vulnerable. Acknowledge.” Does that mean I’m not human?

  Cort signaled the wolves and began to watch their markers on his HUD approach. Where is Bane in that pack?

  Your warriors have stopped.

  “Will you cooperate, Nawsig?”

  How do you understand us?

  Cort studied his HUD. “Nawsig, you have very little time.”

  We must know how you resist us.

  “Nawsig, you are out of time, and I cannot let you live. You are too dangerous to us.”

  Bane came around the building debris behind Cort and stood between him and Nawsig’s group. Cort leaned down and drew the blade of his sword through the alien he had already killed. As more wolves appeared around him, Cort held the blade to the wolves noses.

  We do not understand. What are you doing, Ares?

  Every wolf became agitated. Cort peeled back the mask of his FALCON and looked at Nawsig. “I am sorry, but you brought this on yourselves.”

  We do not understand.

  Cort looked at the wolves and said, “Jakt.”

  Yokete?

  The wolves didn’t give Cort enough time to tell Nawsig the word meant hunt.

  --

  The shuttle landed in the bay of the Kalashnikov. When its hatch opened, Cort and Bane were the first two out of the craft.

  Kim and Dalek were waiting in the safe area near the shuttle’s landing pad, but when Cort appeared, they both ran forward. Cort’s FALCON was covered with alien blood, but it had been sterilized. Kim hugged him anyway, while Dalek held his hand.

  “You always stink when you come home Poppa,” the little boy said.

  “I sure do buddy.”

  Cort looked at Kim and whispered, “Sure.”

  Kim was confused. “Sure what?”

  “Sure you can wash my back,” Cort whispered.

  Kim’s eyes searched Cort’s face. “I said that out loud?”

  “Didn’t you?”

  Kim shook her head and they turned to walk away. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Bane too.”

  “Are you washing Bane’s back too, Momma?”

  On the way back to their quarters, Cort said, “Shouldn’t we talk about that when we are alone?”

  “What?”

  “Quinn. You just asked how to bring Quinn up to me.”

  Kim stopped and looked at him. “No baby, I didn’t.”

  “You heard it didn’t you, Son?”

  “No Poppa. Momma didn’t say anything.”

  Kim smiled down at her son. “How abo
ut you take the wolves to the grooming area, Dalek?”

  “Okay. Bane stinks too.”