Derailed
Somewhere north of Pretoria, South Africa
June 12th, 2013
1115 Hours
It did not take long to pass through the train and out the other side, Lukas following in the wake of Vincent and Linda. Faith, the young prawnling, clung to him at the shoulders and neck. She was quiet as Lukas ran through the train. The engineer raced through one side of the train and out through the other side.
Out of the other side there were several mercenaries, most of which had their attentions diverted to a rock formation up ahead, near the tree-line. The mercenaries were laying down a withering cacophony of rifle fire onto the rock formation while occasionally a few shots would ring out from near the rocks. Lukas saw that it was Wikus who was behind the rock formation, a pistol in one claw as he popped off a few shots in the direction of the mercenaries.
Vincent didn't waste any time in dealing with the mercenaries. He raised his Popleekwan-built arc cannon and blasted the nearest mercenary, firing a successive volley of shots as he strafed the energy fire across a group of the MNU goons. Each one exploded into a large bloody red splatter, showers of blood and wet bits raining down all around.
Lukas, with Faith in tow, ducked back behind the doorway he had been standing near as the other mercenaries returned fire. Vincent dived to the ground while Linda stepped back inside the train in order to get out of the line of fire. She exchanged glances with Lukas, looking rather doubtful as to whether getting into such a large scale firefight would be a good idea. Lukas just shrugged, not at all sure about this.
Vincent blasted another pair of mercenaries, barely pausing for breath as he took aim at another one. The mercenaries were scattering now, heading for whatever little available cover there was as this lone prawn began to single-handedly take them all down. Bullets pounded into the dirt near Vincent but the prawn ignored them, firing shot after shot from his arc cannon as the mercenaries ahead scattered. Another few of them were hit and promptly exploded, leaving large wet puddles on the light coloured dirt.
Lukas heard movement down one end of the carriage. His heart began to race quickly as he turned his head and saw the door at the front of the carriage slide open, two mercenaries armed with assault rifles racing through it. He dived behind the nearest set of chairs, Linda taking cover behind a cabinet as both mercenaries opened fire, their rifles barking loudly within the confined space of the carriage. The chairs Lukas had crouched behind had pieces explode out of them in large eruptions of fluff and foam, the engineer forced to keep his head down as the shooting continued. Faith chirped worriedly but otherwise kept her grip on him, surprisingly unconcerned with all the noise.
Lukas had no firearm on him so he couldn't shoot back. He glanced over at Linda who had stuck her assault rifle around the edge of the cabinet, firing blindly around it in the direction of both mercenaries. More of the chairs within the carriage were ripped to shreds while both of the mercenaries twirled and convulsed, tumbling over the furniture as they came to rest in bloody heaps.
With them down Lukas stood up, returning his attention to what was happening outside. Vincent was still engaged in combat with a trio of mercenaries, lying prone as he fired shot after shot from his arc cannon. He wasn't hitting the mercenaries though, all three of them crouched and staying low some distance up ahead. Linda stepped out of the carriage, taking aim with her assault rifle and pulling the trigger. The rifle barked and one of the mercenaries fell, crumpling into a heap on the ground.
Suddenly, Wikus emerged from behind the rock formation holding a small round object. He tossed it in the direction of the three mercenaries, the object arcing through the air before coming to rest near the mercenaries. When the two MNU goons saw what it was they turned around to start running but were too slow, the grenade detonating with a loud thud! A thick column of dirt and smoke erupted skywards, raining down all around the blast zone. Both mercenaries were knocked aside by the explosion and neither got back up.
With the coast clear for now, Lukas emerged from the carriage. Vincent and Linda headed over to where Wikus was standing while Iris, the female prawn, emerged from behind the rock formation as well. All of them looked rather tired, although it was hard to tell with prawns. Wikus saw Lukas approaching and seemed to frown, especially when he saw just how much the transformation had progressed since they had last seen each other last night.
"You look like shit," Wikus said bluntly as Lukas approached. Lukas merely shrugged. What was he going to do about that?
"Did you cause that explosion earlier?" Vincent asked, looking towards Wikus. The other prawn simply chirped happily.
"Yes. It was fucking awesome, wasn't it?" Wikus asked, suddenly rather pleased with himself.
"Not really…" Vincent began, but was interrupted.
A crack of machine gun fire from somewhere near the train sent the group scattering. Wikus and Iris were back behind the rock formation and Lukas joined them along with Faith who still clung to his shoulder. He felt like a father, carting her around with him everywhere.
Vincent dived into the ground, shifting his gaze towards the train carriages up ahead. There were a few mercenaries firing their weapons from the windows, spraying rounds all along the rock face and near where Vincent was lying. Vincent returned fire, blowing one of the mercenaries out all over the side of the carriage.
"We have to get to that pod before they do," Wikus said. He turned to Lukas, managing the prawn equivalent of a frown.
"Why?" Lukas asked, but he knew why. MNU would exploit the device, especially the strange viscous black fluid that had put Lukas in his predicament in the first place. "You said it could help me…"
"Not if it doesn't fucking work," Wikus snapped, "No, we have to destroy it. Letting MNU keep it…that would be fucking bad, you know?"
"How does that affect us?" Lukas asked. He couldn't work out why Wikus was so determined to see this thing through, although it seemed a safe bet that the prawn was just that…determined. Determined to see something through when he didn't have to. This was undoubtedly the sort of quality that Lukas would have expected of someone like Wikus.
"Because it just fucking does!" Wikus exclaimed, annoyed now. "Why the fuck do you have to ask so many stupid questions?"
Lukas sighed. He ducked as a few rounds skimmed the top of the rock formation. Vincent was still firing, blowing holes into the side of the carriage up ahead and making the mercenaries inside duck back into cover. Linda was lying prone nearby, spraying rifle fire at the carriage.
"How are we going to destroy it?" Lukas asked. A thought occurred to him, one that he knew he would have to see through. This alien medical pod or whatever it was had caused him to fall into this predicament. It had been what had started the transformation in him in the first place and it could very well be considered the very object that had effectively ruined his life.
Wikus revealed that he was carrying a large metal case. He opened it, showing off the nine grenades that were inside. He had probably found that in the armoury, Lukas thought, and then he had decided to blow up the whole armoury. It seemed like a waste, but Lukas thought against saying this aloud.
"With these," Wikus said simply.
"I'll destroy it," Lukas said. It was more on impulse than on genuine thought but he knew that deep down, it was what he wanted to do. He wanted to destroy the very thing that had ruined his life. It occurred to him that implied that he was resigned to his fate to transform into some sort of prawn "leader". Maybe he was resigned to it, he didn't know.
Wikus seemed to scoff when he heard the suggestion. He obviously didn't have much confidence in the engineer.
"Why the fuck would I entrust that sort of task to you?" He asked, "You're a fucking half-wit."
Lukas was unfazed by the insult. He contemplated what else he could do, noticing that Iris had been listening closely to the conversation from where she was crouched near Wikus.
"We need you, Lukas," she interjected, "We need you alive. You're our only hope…"
"Fuck him," Wikus snapped, "Just because he's turning into some sort of leader, it doesn't mean shit. He's not your 'only hope'. He's not some sort of fucking 'chosen one', alright?"
"Where's the medical pod?" Lukas asked. He was already formulating a sort of plan in his mind, but it was definitely one Wikus would disapprove of. Hence why he needed to get Wikus out of the way somehow, just not by killing him. Lukas didn't have any reason to kill any of these prawns, even if Wikus was an obvious jerk-ass.
"It's in the very last carriage," Wikus said, "I detached it earlier, that's why they reversed the train. Why?"
Lukas didn't reply immediately. Instead, with his right prawn claw curled into a fist, he struck Wikus across the face. The force of the blow was enough to send Wikus slumping against the rock face, completely unconscious. Iris chirped with surprise, shooting Lukas what he read as an aghast gaze.
"Take her," Lukas said. He pulled Faith off of him, ignoring the young prawn's protests as he handed the youngling to Iris. She took him in her arms carefully, trying to work out what Lukas was doing.
Lukas picked up the box of grenades that Wikus had been carrying and still had gripped in his claws. The engineer figured he knew how to handle a simple grenade, he just needed to get past the mercenaries that were between him and the last carriage which contained the pod. He saw that Wikus had a Beretta pistol gripped in his right claw and so Lukas pried it from the unconscious prawn's grasp, taking it up in his own right claw.
"Where are you going?" Iris asked. Faith looked towards Lukas with a solemn gaze, her eyes wide as she tried to work out where Lukas was going.
"I'm going to blow up that medical pod," Lukas said, "It ruined my life so I think I should deliver some payback to it, you know? When Wikus here wakes up you should all start making a run for it, into the countryside. MNU will be more concerned with catching me rather than you."
"You'd sacrifice yourself over this?" Iris asked, incredulous.
Lukas shook his head. Death wasn't really on his mind, in fact it was the last thing he was thinking about.
"Nobody said anything about sacrifice," Lukas said. He looked at Faith and reached out with his left hand, patting her on the head. "I'm pretty determined to stay alive, actually. So, I'll be back."
He turned around and stood up, leaving the unconscious Wikus behind while Iris and Faith watched him leave. Ahead, Vincent and Linda were still lying prone and firing at the mercenaries in the windows of one of the carriages up ahead. Lukas raised the Beretta pistol and fired a few shots as he started running across the open ground. He watched as one of the mercenaries disappeared from view, a spray of blood erupting forth as he fell.
Lukas climbed back into the carriage he had emerged from only minutes before. He was not sure on how to approach the situation: he could get to the last carriage from outside but that would leave him exposed to anyone who might decide to start shooting at him through a window or something. He could go through the inside of the train and fight his way through hordes of mercenaries. Either approach had its risks and so, gathering up every last ounce of courage he could find, he started through the inside of the train.
The door ahead opened up and he went on to the next carriage. The door into this carriage was locked so, summing up some strength he delivered a kick to the faulty metal door. It tore straight from its hinges landing with a dull thump on the floor of the room behind. It was a surprise to find that the inside of the carriage was a sort of control room, filled with startled technicians and a few mercenaries who were busy firing their weapons out of the windows at the others. As soon as the door came crashing inside all of them turned their attention to Lukas and the engineer could only utter a startled gasp.
He saw that most of this equipment was much the same as what had been in the technician's van that had accompanied him and the rest of the team into both Districts 9 and 10. He saw a familiar looking cabinet nearby and so rushed for it, just as several guns opened fire in his direction. He dived behind a panel of computers, raising his pistol and squeezing off a few shots. The nearest technician fell to the floor, blood seeping from a few holes that had appeared in his chest. Lukas shifted his attention to the cabinet, fumbling with the latches for a moment before finally getting it open.
The day before he had delivered the alien weapon found in Vincent Matheson's shack to the technician's van. Here, most of the very same technicians were working and the very same cabinet that the weapon had been put in was within the carriage. It was a prawn weapon, operable only by those with prawn DNA. Lukas was fairly certain he qualified, seeing as he was almost halfway in turning into a prawn.
He opened the cabinet as rifle fire hammered into the wall behind him. Within lay the large black metal alien weapon and Lukas grabbed it, feeling that it was strangely lightweight within his grip. It had been quite heavy the last time he had handled it but the object's new lightness merely hinted that his changing form was providing him with increased strength. This would have to have been one of the bonuses that came with turning into a prawn.
Upon gripping the weapon he felt it begin to vibrate, a high-pitched whine sounding from it for a few seconds while a panel on the rear of the weapon began to glow a pale blue colour. Lukas knew then that it would work for him so pulling the weapon out of the cabinet, he raised it and leaned around the partition ahead.
Pulling the trigger, the weapon did not seem to recoil at all. It fired rapidly, thudding loudly with each shot which sent forth a blue-white blast, each one leaving a smoking vapour trail behind it. The first few rounds slammed into the front of the nearest mercenary, each blast simply going straight through him and leaving fist-sized holes in his torso. The blasts passed through him and the technicians who had been seated nearby, blood splattering all over the control panels as the shots blew chunks of the innocent technicians away.
Lukas swept the alien weapon fire across the whole group of mercenaries within the carriage, cutting them all down as well as the technicians within. When the smoke finally cleared there had to be at least a dozen corpses scattered throughout the inside of the carriage, all of them with numerous fist-sized holes blown through them. Lukas lowered the alien weapon, taking a few deep breaths as he tried to get over what he had just done. He had never killed anyone before (he had never needed to) and he had no idea what to think now that he had gone ahead and killed a whole bunch of people. Wouldn't these guys have had families…friends…distant relatives? Should he even be thinking about that?
He was settled: he wouldn't be thinking about those he killed otherwise that would simply strike doubt in him. Chances are, such thoughts would simply make him lose concentration and get killed. These people wanted to kill him so he would have to do it to them first. It was as simple as that.
And so Lukas walked on through the train, arriving at the last carriage that was still on the tracks before stepping outside. By now Vincent, Linda, Wikus, Iris and Faith had all gone, running off into the countryside. He was alone against these mercenaries, if there were any left. The alien medical pod was still in its cargo carriage, the carriage itself lying derailed near the tracks but still upright. He started walking towards it, determined to see this whole thing through. Why, he couldn't be sure. It was just one of those thoughts that nagged away at the back of his mind.
There were clouds gathering on the horizon. Colonel Francis Keller could see them and he could feel the cold breeze that accompanied them. Soon, rain would be here. How soon was hard to tell but this was beside the point: the one thing he didn't need to do today was get wet, especially after how everything else had gotten royally fucked up. Rain would just add more insult to an already infuriating "injury".
Still, he did have something to be pleased about. The alien medical pod, the very centre of this operation, was completely intact. It sat within the derailed cargo carriage, understandably shaken about but in one piece. Keller stood surveying it from one end of the carriage, cigar sticking from the corner of his mouth as he took in the sight with one long, careful gaze.
Marinus stood outside, keeping watch. Sarah was at the other end of the carriage, also keeping watch through the doorway there. From what Keller could tell it seemed that Lukas and his prawn friends, as well as that human woman who hung around Vincent Matheson, had started to flee into the countryside. That was of little concern to Keller since MNU would have no trouble picking them up again and dealing with them accordingly.
Keller fingered his radio, finding the appropriate channel. He heard Hermes' voice filter through the speaker, something that made him wonder what the hell that guy had been doing all of this time.
"Uh…Who's this?" Hermes Kossel asked, his tone uncertain.
"It's Colonel Keller, you prick," Keller snapped, "Where the hell are you? I need a pick up. As well as that, I need you to call MNU and tell them that there's been a problem."
"I'm in the chopper flying over Pretoria…Uh…Where are you?"
"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere," Keller replied. He turned around, looking outside towards the tree-line up ahead. Hills and open grassland went on for as far as the eye could see, numerous trees blotting the landscape as well. There were no indications as to where in the world he was and unfortunately the GPS systems were inside the train and not in the immediate vicinity.
"Uh…You're going to have to be more specific than that, sir…"
"Well, I'm pretty certain I'm somewhere several kilometres north of Pretoria. Just use your helicopter's equipment to triangulate my radio's signal. It shouldn't be too difficult."
"You said there was a problem?"
"Yes, there is a fucking problem," Keller said, "I've got a pack of fugitives fleeing across the countryside and this 'pack' consists of three prawns, one human woman and one half-breed. I need you to get on the horn to MNU and tell them to send every available man they have to get out here in order to track these criminals and apprehend them. The half-breed is of particular importance. Make it explicitly clear to them that the half-breed, otherwise known as 'Lukas Farber', is to be taken alive."
There was a pause as Hermes took note of everything that he said.
"Right, sir. I'll try and get in touch with them right away."
Keller switched off his radio and stood surveying his surroundings for a moment. The train lay on the tracks just off to his right, completely still. The shooting had ceased moments before, having culminated in one last radio message from one of the mercenaries outside. He had told Keller that the fugitives were on the run once again, heading out into the countryside. Keller doubted that they would get far, especially in open country such as this.
Marinus was on patrol outside of the carriage although he seemed rather bored going about it. Keller frowned, noticing some movement up ahead but finding that it was impossible to determine what it was. Naturally his eyes widened when he saw a grenade land a short distance in front of him, having seemingly come from nowhere.
"Grenade!" Keller shouted, his cigar falling from his mouth as he shouted this. Sarah looked up and Keller dived to the side, just as the grenade detonated and left an annoying ringing in his ears. A cloud of dirt exploded through the open doorway of the carriage and Keller landed on the floor, trying to gather his bearings as another explosion sounded from outside somewhere.
Keller took out his Automag .44 pistol, rubbing one ear in an effort to get rid of the ringing. Sarah had her rifle raised but was ill-prepared for what happened next, another grenade flying through the doorway and landing a few inches away from the medical pod.
Keller saw it and stood up, jumping through the doorway mere seconds before it exploded. The carriage itself went up in a column of smoke and fire, the medical pod's glass dome shattering and sending a shower of the black alien fluid raining down all around. Marinus was knocked aside by the explosion and he didn't get back up, knocked out cold when his head struck a rock.
Rising to his feet, Keller felt an almost uncontrollable rage when he realized what had just happened. The medical pod had been destroyed…and thus went another of the very things he had supposed to have kept secure. And thus went another opportunity to receive a bulky pay-check, denying him the luxury San Francisco estate he had always wanted. Whoever had done this would pay, he knew that much.
And that's when he heard Sarah's agonized and enraged screams from behind. Keller slowly turned around, viewing the smoking wreck of the carriage. He noticed the suspicious puddle of black alien fluid that had pooled around the remains of the medical pod. He also noticed the familiar figure of Lukas Farber approaching from the right, alien weapon in hand as well as having a box of grenades tucked under one arm.
Sarah was screaming still. She was crawling away from the wreckage, her uniform soaked through with the thick black ooze. It was in her hair, across her face, in her mouth and in her eyes. She seemed to be having trouble seeing, rubbing at her eyes furiously while yelling and swearing in a rather literal blind rage.
"FUCK! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"
She collapsed in a heap on the ground and writhed around a few times, rubbing at her eyes and wiping some of the black ooze away. Lukas stopped a short distance away from her, looking at her with a completely neutral expression. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, now that half of his face was no longer human in form.
"Sarah, you bitch," Lukas said simply.
"LUKAS! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" She looked around frantically, unable to see him despite the fact that he was mere metres away. Somewhere nearby, the chop-chop of helicopter blades became audible as Hermes' helicopter approached. Keller watched Lukas and Sarah, curious to see what happened next.
"I never really liked you, Sarah," Lukas said. He glanced quickly behind, seeing the incoming helicopter. He knew he would have to hurry things up if he was going to get out of here alive.
"Now you'll know how I feel, I guess," Lukas continued. Sarah simply moaned and started crawling away.
"Lukas!" Keller shouted, deciding to interrupt now. Lukas turned around, raising the alien weapon he held and aiming it at the Colonel.
The pair made eye contact. Keller considered shooting the engineer right here and now, especially after he had just destroyed the medical pod. Keller raised his Automag pistol, contemplating where he should put the bullet.
"I didn't think you were the killing type, Lukas," Keller shouted. For the first time in a long while he wasn't sure on what to do: Should he kill Lukas and thus lose the one chance he had of getting a bulky pay-check from his superiors? They wanted Lukas alive after all. And yet Keller was in absolutely no position to take the engineer alive.
"I try not to be," Lukas replied, lowering the alien weapon. Keller didn't shoot, not when there was simply too much money at stake. In the end it all came down to the money.
Without warning Lukas raised his weapon and fired, the blast grazing along Keller's left thigh. The Colonel grunted at the searing burning pain, falling on all fours. In the approaching helicopter Frans Jochem brought up an assault rifle and opened fire in Lukas' direction. The engineer started running, disappearing from view as bullets kicked up the dirt near his feet.
Keller slowly stood up, feeling another uncontrollable fit of rage building within him. He looked around frantically for Lukas, unable to find any sign of the engineer. Sarah had gone as well while Marinus was only just coming to, rubbing a bleeding cut on the back of his head while managing a pained grunt. The helicopter was descending nearby, a swirling cloud of dirt erupting around it as it came down. Hermes and Frans were seated inside and the former waved at Keller.
Keller stormed towards the helicopter, forgetting about Sarah and Marinus entirely. Marinus followed after Keller as the Colonel climbed into the helicopter but Sarah…well, she was nowhere to be seen. She had most likely crawled off somewhere to wallow in her own misery. Keller didn't care about her, nor did he care about anyone else. He just wanted to get Lukas and the rest of his prawn buddies, even if it was the last thing he did.
Keller tapped the pilot on the shoulder, getting the man's attention. Through clenched teeth Keller told the pilot what to do.
"Find Lukas and follow the bastard," Keller said, "He'll lead us to the rest of his group. I want to kill every last one of them…myself."
While the helicopter took off again, Sarah Taylor had climbed aboard the train and had managed to find her way into a bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror she found that her vision was beginning to clear up, albeit the eyes that she saw looking back at her in the mirror were not hers. At least, they were not the ones that she knew. They were both golden-yellow, like the eyes of a…prawn.
Lukas Farber had done this to her. She was covered with the black alien fluid…it matted her hair, it dripped down her face and it had stained her uniform. She was no longer outright angry, no…she was something else. Where there had once been rage there was a mere tranquility, as if she was suddenly at peace with herself.
She would kill Lukas Farber. And, once she had done that she would kill herself. She would make sure that she did not turn into one of those aliens, even if it meant taking her own life. In her opinion, her life would not be worth living if she had been turned into some sort of disgusting, smelly alien. She would prefer to be dead but she would not take that step until the man who had done this to her was dead. And, with this in mind she started to wash the alien fluid off of her face and out of her hair, smiling to herself while she did it.