SWNOVELS Chapter CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The drop ship hurtled away from New Edo and shot down towards Thosis. The outer atmosphere was filled with the flashing lights of dog fighting attack ships, battling for supremacy of the skies. Van cranked the throttle, propelling the vessel into the midst of the action. Ships exploded around them, as they soared through riding the concussive waves of devastation around them. They swooped between the fresh debris that filled the space around them, as a Skolarean drone fighter chased after them.
“Fucking shoot that bitch!” Screamed Van. He clung to the controls, trying desperately to avoid the ships whizzing past them.
“I’m trying!” Dallas yelled back, “just gimme a minute!”
He turned the guns to face behind them, doing his best to get a weapon lock. The dense hull of the drop ship was the only reason they were still alive, as laser fire peppered the thick exterior. Van wrenched at the controls, throwing them into a spiral as they flew along the side of a WWS cruiser that was locked in battle with the defending squadrons. Dallas got off a few shots and the pursuing fighter exploded. They weren’t out of the woods yet though, two more drones had seen the chase and were now approaching rapidly, firing wildly at the drop ship as it ducked past waves of ships approaching from the multiple satellites orbiting around them. He threw the ship around violently, trying to avoid being sandwiched in the middle.
Dallas returned fire as the ship straightened out. The front of the vessel began to burn white-hot, igniting as it cut through the atmosphere of Thosis. Ahead of them was a thick, dark cloud line that sparked with flashes of lightning. As they neared this brutal weather condition, the drones ended their pursuit; even they didn’t like the look of the planet’s environmental defences.
“You think they knew we were coming?” Van asked Yukimi, “It seems like they’re pretty well prepared?”
“He would be expecting this,” she replied, narrowing her eyes, “it’s what I was counting on.” Her fist clenched as she uttered these words. Van wasn’t sure if he liked his odds of survival but it was too late to think about that.
Violent turbulence racked the drop ship as Van plunged them into the thick, electrified clouds. Damage reports covered the HUD, blaring red banners and alarm sounds filled the cockpit, landing at this point would be a miracle. The electrical storm was turning the hull plating to confetti. They dropped below the clouds and Van heaved back on the throttle, trying desperately to lower their descent velocity. The controls were not responding, they were falling like a rock, thrown by an Olympiad.
“Time for plan ‘B’ guys,” screamed Van as they all left their seats and clamoured for the rear of the ship.
The drop ship plummeted toward the hard ground below, burning up like an asteroid. Chunks of ship were flying off in every direction, raining flaming metal on the city beneath. The ship exploded. Two fast moving objects flew from the wreckage, propelled by the blast. The objects crashed into a building below, turning it to dust.
A platoon of robotic guards saw the crash and went to investigate. A Skolarean officer walked ahead and inspected the smouldering remains of the street around the crash site. He moved in closer, as the drones put out the flaming rubble, so that he could get in closer. Yukimi’s body lay still atop a collapsed wall. He looked down and ‘huffed’. Another dead synthetic, he thought, not a great loss. He turned to his metal soldiers,
“No significant casualties,” he said, “Move on.” Then, he flew forward like a bullet, bursting against the edge of the crater, like a water balloon full of blood.
The robots looked at where their leader had just been stood. A humungous, bright red, metal fist, with armoured knuckles, had sprung from the debris. The broken pieces of building crumbled as a 14 foot, hot-rod red, battle-mech reared up from beneath.
“How’s that for ‘significant’, you big, blue PRICK!” Van’s voice boomed, from within the robotic exoskeleton. The soldiers raised their weapons, aiming at the head of the iron hulk that towered over them. A second mech burst from the wreckage, crushing several of the robots in the process.
“Fear the mighty ‘Trash bots’!” Dallas wailed, a distinct beam of joy in his amplified voice. The robots opened fire, lighting up the dark street with the flash of laser blasts. The two mechs launched into the fray, carving through the soldiers like tin foil. Dallas was elated, screaming “Rocket Punch” every time he tore apart another robot. The fight was over in seconds. Van walked back over to Yukimi and looked down.
“Ok ’Miss Theron’,” he said over the suit’s PA, “You can get up now. Not sure if you remember, but we’ve got a Universe to save and a douche to fuck up.”
Yukimi stood up, brushing down her clothes and pulling Charlotte from her holster. “It took you so long to dispatch those soldiers, I thought you’d abandoned the mission, again,” she said sarcastically, “are you sure this weapon will be sufficient for the task at hand?”
“Charlotte, is the finest side arm in the Universe,” Van said defensively, “You just make sure you don’t lose her, alright Yukes?”
“Can it cut through your mech’s armour, because if you call me ‘Yukes’ one more time, I intend to find out.”
Dallas lumbered over, “twenty fucking points, right there,” he announced gleefully, “beat that!”
“24,” said Van, “try to keep up.”
“Bullshit! There were only 40 of’em and I got 20.”
“Skolarean’s are worth ‘5’, and I popped that fucker like a grape!”
“I saw that,” said Dallas, “that was cool as shit!”
“You’re keeping score?!” shrieked Yukimi incredulously.
“We most certainly are, ’zero points’,” answered Van.
Yukimi rested her face in her palm, biting her tongue. Idiots… I am surrounded by idiots.
They made off running, following the trail of decimation left by the space samurais. Commander Zeffross’ tower was a kilometre and a half from where they’d landed. Yukimi rode atop Van’s mech suit, clinging to the massive armour plating as he barrelled down the corpse infested streets. A lot of warriors had fallen here, but the robot parts and Skolarean bodies showed they’d killed more than they’d lost by quite a high margin. They rounded a corner and were met by a hail of bullet fire, raining down from a small ship floating overhead. The bullets were making short work of the road, the two metal leviathans dived right, ducking behind a mound of fallen building.
Yukimi grabbed the helmet of Van’s mech, “YOU CALLED THE PSYCHOTIC CRIMINAL THAT WANTS YOU DEAD, DIDN’T YOU?!” she screamed at him.
“I did,” answered Van, “But that’s not one of his ships!”
“Well it isn’t Skolarean. The weapon its firing shoots solid ammunition. Skolarean drones use energy weapons,” she snapped, “so who else did you call to this party?!”
“No one that’d show up with a ship, I have no idea who that is!” Van yelled.
“Who the fuck are you?” yelled Dallas, “These two won’t stop arguing until they know and it’s driving me insane!”
The ship stopped firing and a voice echoed over the PA; “Atlas Van Morrison,” said the voice, “You have not only breached a mortal contract but have also left a mound of bodies and broken lives in your wake, as you attempted to run from your responsibilities. But, you didn’t manage to kill me, I have survived your ceaseless attacks and now you will face the wrath of your nemesis; Bill Pickles!”
A confused silence fell over the trio. “Who’s ‘Bill Pickles’?” asked Van, eventually.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know me,” replied the voice, sounding more agitated, “You tried to use an army of ‘rape monsters’ to kill me, nearly drowned me in a vat of filth. You know me, Mr Morrison, now come out and face your punishment like a man!”
“Look, dude,” said Van, “I hate to break it to you, but I think you’ve got the wrong man. I don’t even know what a-“ He stopped, was this the man he saw being chased by a stampede of Nightmares? “Wait, are you the guy who jumped in the lava moat? How did you not die from that?”
Bill Pickles’ laughter echoed down the street, he sounded crazed, “You should really check that your traps are real before you use them on me. That was just fluorescent, boiling water. I sustained 3rd degree burns across 80% of my body, but that only made me stronger. Now you will face my justice!”
He turned off the PA and switched on the missile systems. If his target wouldn’t come out, he would wipe him from existence. The targeting system locked in on to the pile of rubble the trio were hiding behind. He licked what was left of his lips and pressed the launch button. The ship exploded.
The space that had once held Bill Pickles’ ship was now filled with a wide shaft of red light. It extended from the scorched ground and up through the clouds. It cut through the sky, clearing away the electrical storm around it, revealing the battle happening above.
“What do you think that was all about?” smirked Van, as they left the cover of the metropolitan debris.
“I can only assume you were just being yourself and made an enemy, it is the most likely scenario” said Yukimi, “I’m much more interested in what this is.”
She pointed to the blinding beam of light that was punching a hole into the street. Van knew what the beam was; he had seen it used before. This was Mondo’s ion canon; he used it to clear planetary defences and terrify his enemies. Through the hole in the clouds, Mondo’s galactic cruiser began to enter the planet’s atmosphere, as if it were being birthed by the sky. “Is that your former employer?” Yukimi asked angrily.
They watched as the giant vessel tore through the clouds. But something was wrong. The ion beam cut out and the Cruiser was moving faster than Van had ever seen it go. Then he noticed, the cruiser was on fire. Swarms of WWS and Skolarean ships had all begun firing on the unknown combatant. The ship was billowing smoke from every side. It fell through the air, spinning out of control, before crashing into the planet a few miles south of the dumbstruck heroes. The shock wave rocked the earth beneath them. The street crumbled, the vibrations tearing it apart. Van grabbed Yukimi in one hand and leaped into the air. The legs of the mech suits threw them away from the path of dust erupting from the massive crash site. They landed on a rooftop, several stories up and watched as the cloud of smoke filled the now sun drenched streets.
Van set Yukimi down next to him. “See,” he said, “some problems do fix themselves.” He crossed the arms of the giant robotic armour and smiled triumphantly. Yukimi chose not to lower herself to Van’s level and instead went to the edge of the rooftop to get her bearings.
She looked out onto the concrete landscape. The once monumental, grey city was being reduced to ruins all around them. Fleets of fighter ships were carpet bombing the sky scrapers, causing them to disappear behind the ones that were still standing. The sky was full of ships as far as the eye could see. New Edo filled the sky above, like a cubist moon. The ground forces of the WWS were becoming overwhelmed in the streets below them. Never ending streams of robots, led by Skolarean captains, were still filing down the streets, attempting to drive out the invading warriors. This battle would be over soon, and to the incumbent, would go the victory. War was truly Hell and Van had ‘hubbed’ it
Yukimi scanned for the Commander’s tower, it was still standing. The light shields around it had protected it from the ceaseless onslaught of the WWS attacks. As she looked at the devastation surrounding the monolithic tower, Yukimi couldn’t help but wonder if the WWS had gone a little too far in their quest for Universal justice. They had sacked this world like marauding barbarians, had it been up to her this would have been a surgical operation. This seemed needlessly excessive and all they had achieved was to stave off their inevitable defeat in a battle they had incited.
“The shields on the tower are still up,” said Yukimi, turning back to her cohorts, “we will need to enter through the access tunnels.”
“I’ll take it that these ‘tunnels’ you speak of are of the subterranean persuasion?” Asked Van.
“Naturally,” answered Yukimi.
“Uh-huh. Well,” said Van, “in case you haven’t noticed; we’re on top of a building and these suits are built for war, not base-jumping. So, unless we can get to the tunnels by leaping from rooftop to rooftop, like some outdated superheroes, you need to think of another way in.”
“You survived the ship crash, did you not?” she asked.
Van raised his giant robotic finger to make a point, then thought better of it. “That… Is a really good point. I retract my previous statement.”
A squadron of samurais were pinned down, a half mile from the target area. The robots were closing in and things looked hopeless. The captain turned to his men, “It’s now or never, my brothers. We will die with honour. On the count of three. One…Two… Three!!!”
The battered warriors dove from behind their cover and charged the encroaching army of Skolareans and their metal slaves. They drew their power swords, a WWS warior’s last form of attack. They let forth a mighty war cry, and then froze in a stunned silence. Watching speechlessly as two crimson, metal juggernauts, one being ridden by a blue warrior woman, fell from the sky and crushed their attackers. The metal men appeared to be posing and one screamed something that sounded like; “super-rocket-punch”, as he punctured the road beneath him. They smashed straight through the street, the ground giving way under the force of their impact. The samurais just stood there, alone. The captain spoke up; “Yes, well… That was exactly as I had planned, good job men.”
Van was able to cushion his fall with half a dozen Skolarean troops as he landed in the depths of Thosis’ underground tunnels. He was impressed that Yukimi had managed to hold on for the whole descent, they were at least 300 feet below street level now. He looked around for Dallas, who had landed a few metres away. He turned and waved, brandishing a dead Skolarean in his hand.
“Five points, right here,” he said pointing at the pulverised corpse he held aloft, “Also, on an unrelated note; I can’t believe I can still pilot this thing with such a massive erection.”
“I got at least ‘10’ points, stuck to my huge, robotic arse,” laughed Van, “You still need to catch up, bitch! And; I know, I’ve been rocking a full-on power-pecker since I punched that first guy. These things are AWESOME!”
“If you two are quite finished whipping them out and comparing size, we still have a long way to go,” snapped Yukimi.
“Whoa-ha-ho!” Van exclaimed, “War makes you sassy… I kinda like it.”
Yukimi rolled her eyes and they set off toward the command tower. The suits made things much faster, allowing the two men to run at around 30mph over even ground. They raced down the monotonous tubes, following Yukimi’s directions. They reached the area below the Command Tower, Yukimi jumped down from Van’s shoulders and walked over to a control panel, on the side of a large service gate. The distant sounds of Skolarean troops were getting louder.
“As fast as you can, Yukimi. That doesn’t sound like a welcoming party.”
She typed in the last digits of the code and was confronted with an ‘incorrect code’ alert. “FUCK!” she screamed. Dallas and Van both did a double take, this was the first time they’d heard her swear.
“What is it?” asked Van.
“My clearance doesn’t work anymore!”
“Are you kidding?” exclaimed Dallas, “Of course it doesn’t. That’s like the first thing a super villain would do.”
“Well this shaft is the only way we’re getting up to the control room, so I’m open to suggestions.”
“I got this,” said Van, walking up to the door, “You two just buy me some time.”
He stood before the huge, reinforced doors. He pulled back his right arm and began wailing on the outer plating. The force of each impact sent thunderous roars echoing down the tunnels. The Skolarean troops heard the noise and came charging toward them, firing wildly.
Dallas launched himself into them, carving a path through the front lines. Yukimi raised Charlotte in her hands and began picking off foot soldiers, who had escaped Dallas’ latest ‘rocket punch’ moment. She ran towards him, shooting down enemies with expert precision. Dallas was now swinging around wildly, like a brawling ogre. He used the suit’s physical enhancements to his advantage, performing inhuman kicks and punches. Yukimi used a charging robot as a spring board, sailing through the air and landing gracefully on Dallas’ shoulders. She swung Charlotte around, acting like a turret on top of the walking tank beneath her. Some of the soldiers were ignoring the two person totem-pole of death and were heading straight for Van. Yukimi spotted them and asked Dallas to get her over to them. He obliged and launched her like a spear at the flanking combatants. She spiralled toward them, landing, feet first, in the side of a Skolarean officer’s jaw, sending blood flying through the air. He fell and she proceeded to begin tearing through the aggressors, mixing physical combat and gunfire in a symphony of violence.
Robo-Dallas had grabbed a couple of corpses and was now using them to increase his range. He swung with enough velocity to send heaps of reeling attackers sailing through the air, like homerun baseballs. He wept with unbridled joy as he played out the ultimate Otaku fantasy. He was in his happy place, nothing could bring him down. As he mowed down another battalion of metallic soldiers, he felt the jagged edge of a small, red button against his right thumb. He depressed its surface then watched on, in near-orgasmic wonderment, as the hands of his suit retracted and were replaced by 6 feet long dual-chainsaw blades, on each wrist. He let out a triumphant wail and turned to the, now reluctant, army heading towards him. Time for a bonus round, he thought and he sprang towards them, spearing half a dozen front-line soldiers. He raised them high above his head before flinging their dismembered bodies into the ranks ahead of him.
Yukimi had cleared out the forces that were encroaching on Van and was now picking off the lucky survivors of Dallas’ vainglorious onslaught. Away in the distance she could see that more heavily armed troops were nearing them. She doubted even her companions’ mechanical suits could withstand a direct hit from the firepower that would soon be upon them. She turned back to see if they were any closer to getting the elevator door open.
Van was still pounding on the door. The arm of his mech was beginning to crack apart as he thrashed the wall of metal. His brutal attack had not been in vain, however, as the door was almost busted through. The gap he had forced between the door panels was widening. He put all of the suit’s strength into one last swing; the door bust open as the gigantic steel fist of the mech suit exploded into a million pieces. He turned to shout his crew mates over, but then the world went black.
Van’s eyes opened to see Yukimi’s face, she looked like she was yelling but Van couldn’t hear a word of it. A sharp tone rang in his skull and he felt as though he was underwater. He stared around and saw that the front of his mech suit had been blown apart. Yukimi was yanking at his clothes, heaving his body from the wreckage. Over her shoulder he saw Dallas. His suit now appeared to have giant double-chainsaws for hands, which he was using to cut the attacking forces to pieces. If that wasn’t a concussion-induced hallucination, it was by far and away the single coolest thing he had ever seen.
As Yukimi dragged him to his feet, pulling him towards the open door, his hearing came back with concussive force. He broke into a run, following her toward the destroyed door. They climbed through the opening, and into the elevator inside. Yukimi hit the control panel and the doorless cage began to rise.
“Wait,” cried Van, “what about Dallas?”
“He said he was having too much fun and would catch up with us later,” answered Yukimi in a calm voice, “He is braver than I thought.”
“He’s not brave,” said Van, wiping at the blood that now openly poured from his forehead, “he just doesn’t give a single fuck.”
The elevator came to a halt and the two passengers stepped off. They emerged from an artificial wall that was being projected over the elevator entrance. They looked around and found themselves in a long grey corridor, with ceilings too high to see behind the floating orbs of light that lit the ground around them. Yukimi handed Charlotte to Van and they made their way down the deserted hallway. They entered the doorway at the end only to be greeted by the sight of a massive computer interface and, in front of it; Commander Thasren Vora Zeffross.
Van raised Charlotte and fired repeatedly at Zeffross only to have him dash out of the way. He was surprisingly spry for such a large figure. He moved like a shadow his long, flowing cape trailing like an after image as he moved. Van lost track of him and stopped firing. He frantically scanned the room, gun raised, but the Commander was nowhere to be seen.
Yukimi ran for the computer and plugged in the data pod. Before she could press any buttons, the commander knocked her flying across the room. Van opened fire again, screaming at the rapidly moving alien. He grabbed at Yukimi’s body and held her up as a shield. Van ceased fire, but it was too late, his last shot hit Yukimi’s left elbow, severing the arm below.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” Van shouted. The commander laughed malevolently;
“You fools, did you really think you would get your revenge? You had the audacity to come here in the vain hope of exposing my involvement with the OEO. I assume that’s what is on the data drive former agent Sephtus plugged into my computer,” he said, holding Yukimi between himself and Charlotte’s barrel. “You’re pitifully predictable,” Zeffross continued, “throw your gun across the room, before I snap this disappointment’s neck.”
Van looked him in the eyes, he wasn’t bluffing. He tossed Charlotte across the room and out of sight. He looked at Zeffross; Yukimi’s blood was running down his horned boots and pooling on the floor. Her skin was turning grey through blood loss. She was trying to speak. “What’s that my former favourite pet?” goaded the giant, blue stick insect, “Do you wish to beg for your life?”
“No,” came Yukimi’s laboured voice, “I just thought you might want to know, that wasn’t a data pod.”
“Oh?” said Zeffross, turning her face towards his, “And what are you going to tell me it ’really’ is, huh?”
“It’s a ‘send all OEO files to all servers’ device.”
“Your friend’s clumsy shooting, has made you delirious, my little wretch. There’s nothing called a ‘send all OEO files to all servers device’. You simply wish there was.”
The computer behind them beeped and the Commander realised, to his own horror, what she had done. Yukimi was no fool, she had idolised this man for years; forging her place in his shadow, learning everything she could about him. And knew she would never be able to break his encryptions; but she knew how to avoid having to. The device she had plugged into the computer wasn’t a data pod, it was a microphone, that engaged the computer’s vocal command input. Zeffross wouldn’t be able to help mocking her, so she gave him a phrase to mock, a phrase that would destroy him and the OEO.
She had not admitted as much, but Yukimi’s mission she had committed to, upon landing on the planet of the Nightmares, was not to end tyranny, but to get her vengeance, even if she had to die to do it.
The commander’s face twisted into a murderous glare. He swung Yukimi around his head, roaring. Van rushed him, but was swatted away as Zeffross used his captive as a bat. He skidded along the floor, crashing against a wall. Before he could pick himself up, he felt Zeffross’ hands clasp around his wrists and ankles, lifting him off of the floor.
He pulled his limbs tort and brought their faces closer together. “Pulling your arms and legs off would cause me no more internal conflict than it would if you were an actual insect,” he snarled through gritted teeth, “That’s how above you I am! You dare to defy your betters, and your betters will correct you.” Van spat in his face, spattering it with crimson saliva. The Commander scowled at him then broke his left ankle. The bone snapped like a twig, making Van scream in agony. “Quod erat demonstrandum. And, if you interrupt me again I WILL TEAR IT OFF! Do you know how long I have lived? A mere animal, such as yourself, has no concept of a ‘long life’. You believe that one has lived a lengthy time if they reach a century. I have lived for over a millennium! I used to abduct your ancestors and probe them, just to satisfy my peoples’ curiosity. My only regret is that I had to put them back, nothing truly great can be accomplished, in such a short time.
“You are nothing to me, an insolent dog at best. And like any ‘pet’ which goes rabid, it’s time to put you down. But before I do I’m going to make you watch as I punish the lap dog you infected with your undeserved sense of significance.” He looked over at the unconscious Yukimi then turned back to Van. A malicious leer upon his face, he said; “I’m going to strip down all that she is made of and I’m going to keep her aware for the whole process.”
Van looked horrified. Of all the unbearable ways he could have imagined dying, this was definitely in the top three. There’s was nothing he could do about it. The pain in his ankle was causing him to lose consciousness, but Zeffross wouldn’t allow this. He squeezed the broken bone, the hot agony of it shot up his leg. Wait, he thought, this can’t be how it ends. He remembered about the ace up his sleeve and began to laugh, coughing up blood. Zeffross’ lip began to twitch; “what could you possibly have to laugh about?”
“I- I called another friend to the party.”
The sun went black. A sound like a rolling explosion thundered all around them, shaking the entire building. Zeffross roared and threw Van against a wall. He went limp and lay still on the floor below. The Commander zipped to the window and looked out. Above him, blocking out the sky, was a pink planet. You see; once Yukimi had told Van what the formula he had been carrying around was, he had contacted the scientist and offered to complete the delivery, on two conditions; first, that he not tell Mondo that the job had been finished and, Second; That he bring the planet here, today.
Van wasn’t the greatest tactician who ever lived, but he also had nothing left to lose, so he knew that the only way to win an unwinnable war, was to hub Hell itself. And nothing is more Hellish than having everything you hold dear, ripped apart as you watched. He planned to win, no matter the cost.
The gravitational disruption it caused was tearing apart all of the buildings on Thosis. A crack ran through the room, splitting it in two. New Edo was retreating, to avoid being destroyed as the two celestial bodies began to rip each other apart. He spun around, the rage of a dying sun, burned in his eyes, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” He screamed. But Van was just smiling, he stretched out his right arm and pointed at the baleful Commander;
“Something you wouldn’t understand,” he panted, still laughing.
Zeffross lost all control and charged at Van, bellowing. He bore down upon him with all the strength he had. But Van just smiled as his arm began to reorganise itself. His fingers and skin slid to his elbow, revealing a long, chrome gun barrel. The blast was blinding, cutting through Zeffross like he was made of tissue paper and vaporising everything in its way.
The commander fell to his knees, there was nothing left above his waist, save for a pair of his arms, which now lay on the floor beside him. The remains fell over, spilling smouldering intestines onto the ground. Van’s arm returned to its previous state and he collapsed onto his back. He looked over at Yukimi; it was almost over, all that was left was for the planet to be destroyed and for them to die. Not the worst way to go, he thought, at least I won’t go out like a bitch. He closed his eyes as the room started to crumble around them. Not too bad at all.
As he drifted into death’s cold embrace, he got the sensation of being carried by a giant hand. The rocking feeling soothed him, letting him feel at piece as the blackness invited him home.