18
TYRIX
It was difficult to leave her.
I felt my brother thinking the same. Even though we would not be gone long, and would be spending far more time with Brandi after this, it caused me physical pain to depart. My human heart ached in a way that was completely alien.
In a way that was completely human.
It is evidence of why they are such a passionate species, Kerix said to me as we moved through the trees. Their emotional bonds are strong.
Strong indeed, I replied.
Brandi aside, knowing that our work was nearly complete was an extreme relief. If the Wolvae had captured our aircraft, we would have been stranded on this planet until Karak reinforcements arrived. We would have failed our mission, and been dishonored in the process.
My worries faded away like the light of a dying star.
Yet we could not allow ourselves to grow complacent. One Wolvae remained, and inside an aircraft he would be formidable if we did not take care. We needed to focus and eliminate her before we celebrated.
I felt a pulse of a similar thought from Kerix.
The urge to reach out with our consciousnesses was strong, but I held back. Doing so would alert the Wolvae that we were near. With luck, we would be able to attack the ship while she was in the cockpit, preparing the departure procedures. Such requirements were extensive on our older Karak aircraft: much needed to be done manually. Not like our modern craft which could fly almost entirely automatically.
Yet still, the desire to reach out to detect what the Wolvae was doing was strong.
A dark shape appeared through the trees in the distance. Somber silence came over us as we neared, pausing a safe distance away.
The Wolvae ship was an abomination of what had once been a beautiful Karak craft. The once shiny exterior had been dulled with age, and was black enough that it seemed to absorb the light unnaturally. Modifications had been made to the exterior: patchwork repairs that left the aircraft with hard angles and sharp weaponry. Simply gazing upon it with my consciousness filled me with disgust.
And reiterated how we could not allow a fleet of them to descend upon this unsuspecting planet.
I detect three automated turrets on the exterior.
I did a quick count, spotting them: two on the left, and one on the bottom-right. The latter appeared as though it could not tilt up to shoot horizontally across the ground (for it was designed to be used while flying,) but I could not be certain. A fourth turret, manual instead of automatic, was set inside a bubble-shaped compartment on the top of the ship.
Kerix and I shared a quick plan. The Wolvae was nowhere to be seen, because of course she was inside preparing to launch. We agreed on the plan, then turned our attention to the aircraft.
Our beams shot simultaneously, striking the two automated turrets on the left side of the ship. Both exploded instantly, sending shrapnel careening across the air to strike the wooden tree trunks, but I was already turning my focus to the third turret. It tilted up and aimed at us, having just enough range of movement to do so, and I fired another beam at it just as it shot a volley of three of its own.
Kerix and I easily avoided its lasers, and mine struck home, destroying it in a puff of fire and smoke.
Go!
We left the protection of the forest and moved straight at the enemy craft. We could have shift-teleported forward, but doing so would have left us vulnerable in the seconds after, so we preferred to take things slow and cautious. The aircraft rose before us, a dull grotesque that began to block out the sky.
We were halfway to the craft when the Wolvae appeared inside the manual turret.
Kerix and I saw her black shape within the bubble just in time. If we shift-teleported forward, the Wolvae would be able to fire upon us from close range as we re-materialized. The only option was to shift backwards to the woods.
We did so just as the turret began to fire.
The high-pitched sound of the turret was like metal scraping against metal. Thin lasers hissed through the air, kicking up fountains of dirt where they struck all around us. And then we were back in the forest, a safer distance away though still within sight of the Wolvae.
She let out a loud howl, and sent more lasers in our direction. We positioned ourselves behind two trees as the lasers pummeled the area, sending wood splinters flying in the air.
Our beams will not damage that protective bubble.
True, but she cannot prepare the ship while she is firing on us, Kerix said.
We have the advantage, I agreed. I can move around to advance from another angle while you remain here.
Excellent plan. I will draw her fire and attention.
I moved deeper into the woods away from the enemy ship, all the while listening to the PING PING PING of constant fire. When I was far enough away I turned right, making a wide circle around the enemy ship, which was hardly visible from this distance. I felt a discharge of energy as Kerix returned fire, keeping the Wolvae's attention without doing any real damage.
I moved fast, keeping the perimeter of my Karak consciousness as small as possible. The Wolvae would not be able to see or detect me from this distance, so long as I didn't reach out farther than I needed. I circled the ship until I was at a 90-degree angle of attack compared to Kerix's position, then slowly advanced. From here, the side of the Wolvae ship blocked the view from the bubble turret, which continued sending thin beams toward Kerix to the right.
There was nothing to stop me as I approached the side of the ship, where a door stood open to me.
I was thinking of the best angle of attack--should I go inside the ship and attack up at the Wolvae, or climb the exterior and hit her from the side?--when the second Wolvae appeared.
It was a complete and total shock to me. The manual turret still fired, which meant the Wolvae was still there, yet...
The Wolvae was not as shocked as I was. She wore reflective armor over her torso and head, the latter of which came down over her eyes like some human gladiator. She opened her mouth in a snarl as she pounced. Normal physical interaction would have passed through my photon body, but the Wolvae warriors wore electronic rings on their fangs and claws. The pounce knocked me back, took me off-balance before I could fire a beam.
I tried to scramble the blow into a quick retreat, but the Wolvae was already on top of me, pinning me to the ground.
She snarled again and snapped with her jaws, and I was only barely able to shift a thick block of air to shield myself from her teeth. Rage filled her eyes as she snapped forward again, plowing through the barrier while I reinforced it with another, saliva glistening on her enormous teeth. Then she was scratching with her paws, the long claws tearing terrible rends in my photon body. There was no physical pain, as Karak had no nerve endings, but it was an emotional and conscious pain nonetheless.
NO, I screamed at the animal attempting to tear me apart.
Her jaws were immensely strong; each time she bit down it ripped apart the thick air I was using as a barrier, and I had no time to shift-create anything more substantive. I tried an attack beam but was cut off as she sank her fangs into my chest, the electronic rings on her teeth dealing immense damage to my body. She pulled back for another bite just as I shifted more air to block her jaws. And in her rabid bloodlust she attacked faster and faster, smashing through my defenses as quickly as I could create them, and all the while her hind legs tore at me like an animal digging a deep hole.
HELP, I screamed to my brother, hoping he heard my plea.
I could feel myself growing weaker with each passing moment. The Wolvae claws were wearing me down steadily, my energy draining out like blood gushing from a human body. In moments, I would not be able to fight back at all, and then she would finish tearing my photon body apart.
The light of the world began to dim at my peripheral consciousness, until all I saw was the Wolvae's face above me.
I am sorry, brother, I sent in all directions. I could not sense Kerix, which either meant my strength was too low or he had been killed by the other Wolvae. Forgive me for failing.
And then I thought of Brandi. The human we had only just met, had bonded with so quickly. Failing her filled me with immense sadness. We had failed the entire planet, if the Wolvae were able to escape, but it was Brandi's life for which I cared.
As I prepared to die, to give in and let the Wolvae jaws devour me entirely, it was only Brandi that occupied my mind.
Without warning, the Wolvae flew sideways away from me. I didn't understand until I saw a thick green beam shoot across the air above me, striking the Wolvae again in the side armor, sending her tumbling across the ground like a boulder.
I am here, brother.
Kerix appeared above me, firing beam after beam at the enemy who was trying to regain her footing. Each beam would have been a killing blow, but with the armor it only had the effect of a concussive blast, which was enough to save me. I focused on my body--my crippled, injured body--and began to shift-heal myself.
Kerix hovered next to me, keeping the Wolvae at bay. She had regained her feet and was dodging the blasts, but they kept her at distance while I healed myself.
She almost got me.
Kerix didn't respond; he focused on hitting the Wolvae. Each beam missed now, easily dodged by the cunning lupine beast, but she dared not get closer. I could see the fury in her eyes, the desire to throw aside caution and charge straight at us, but it would surely mean her death.
I focused on healing myself, mending the photon connections one by one. It was far more difficult--and painful, if you could call this temporal discomfort pain--than shifting anything else into existence.
And then, without warning, the Wolvae turned her tail and fled. She ran sideways across the space into her ship, darting into the safety within.
Kerix kept his focus on the ship, but allowed a few motes of attention to drift toward me. Are you okay?
Barely, I said. My atoms would have been scattered on the wind if not for your intervention.
The Rabid Wolvae are terrible indeed. He hesitated a moment, then said, I must finish them.
I flinched as I did the calculations. You cannot defeat two Wolvae in such close quarters.
There is a chance, he insisted, pulsing in the air. Unlikely, but a chance nonetheless.
No! You will die!
And yet I must.
I struggled to think of something to say to stop him. Allow me a few minutes to heal; then we may attack the ship together.
I felt the mirth of bitter laughter from within Kerix, a remnant of his human self. Brother, it will take hours for you to regenerate. You are barely alive as you lay there.
I wanted to argue, but I knew the truth. And what other choice did we have? We could not allow the Wolvae to escape.
Fight well, I said, sending a final pulse of confidence into his consciousness.
I will try.
Before he could move, there was a deep rumbling in the ground. The air itself seemed to vibrate terribly, unnaturally. The trees around us trembled and lost their leaves, a steady rain of foliage.
The sound of the Wolvae ship's engines increased in pitch. Slowly, it lurched into the air, and the door in its rear closed tight. Kerix screamed a battlecry in his consciousness and fired three heavy beams at the ship, but they bounced off the hull ineffectively.
Oh no, I said as the ship pulled into the air. We are too late!