Chapter 28

The Battle of Elex

Part 3: Survival

There have been too many moments in my life when I was lucky to survive. How many times do you escape the impossible before you begin to wonder when your luck will run out?

Federation Dropship - Nearby Salachimorpha, Orbit of Elex

We've all had an imposter. I certainly have. Ridley has. And now Weavel was looking right through one, as far as he was concerned. A human masquerading as a Space Pirate.

Cameron Randall was a soldier at one point, for the Federation. He was gruesome to look at. Like two different sets of puzzles, one flesh and one steel, were mixed and jumbled together. He looked like he was in pain just trying to keep himself together.

But there was a look in him that gave Weavel pause. He knew this was not the human's intention. Of course he knew Cameron Randall didn't want to be an experimental super-soldier for the Space Pirates. He pitied the man as much as he had contempt for him. He shook his head, hiding from the sight of Cameron's malformed body.

Weavel, Cameron, and the rest of the pirates onboard were held down by Federation plasma fire. Weavel watched Cameron, hoping to witness what the new soldier could do. Not like the Space Pirates were above wasting resources on a dud. I got used to that being a Federation hunter myself.

The pirates leered over at Weavel, waiting for an order. He held his hand up, halting them until further notice, but Cameron nonetheless burst from cover, dashing right toward Federation fire.

Weavel didn't hesitate to react. "Suppressing fire! Keep the closest contacts within cover as much as you can!" He wasn't going to let some lab rat outshine a special forces soldier like himself, but he did have a ship to gut.

Cameron dodge-rolled right in front of several Federation soldiers, getting within arm's reach of several Feds hiding behind waist-high cover or nearby corridors. He wasn't armed with a rifle, but the moment Cameron peaked over cover, he stretched out his palm - hidden within it, a barrel that immediately open fired on the soldiers before him.

Several shots rained towards him, which he kept his palm open for, absorbing the plasma shots and redistributing them into his own ammunition. As quickly as those shots rang out, Cameron absorbed them and returned fire on those same targets. Another volley of plasma rounds impacted on Cameron's shoulder, dispersing in a shock wave across Cameron's body. They too were absorbed.

PLOOM PLOOM Heavy shots spiraled towards Cameron, who leaned and ducked just in time. Suppressing Pirate fire kept a few targets at bay, but Cameron continued to push forward.

Cameron was now passed the first set of swung-open bay doors, advancing on the second. Seeing several more soldiers ahead, he ducked towards the sliver of cover at the bay doors themselves. He then grabbed onto the ledge, swinging outside of the ship and back through the second set of doors, drop kicking a rifle-wielding duo before him. Sprawled on their bodies in a heap, he clapped their suits with his other palm - an electrical short circuit, immediately paralyzing their Federation-issued gear.

Weavel was stunned. He was special forces, but Cameron was specialized. Absorbing plasma rounds and firing them back. Tactical electrical shocks to immobilize Federation armor. Cameron wasn't just any kind of super-soldier, he was a super-soldier specifically created to fight the Federation.

Before Weavel could give additional orders, Cameron had nullified a few more soldiers before literally springing out of the ship. Another damaged Federation dropship lingered nearby, and Cameron waited for nobody. He tossed himself into the other and began taking on that ship's soldiers without any back-up at all.

"Finish up the remainder of this ship. Don't engage directly unless you have a numbers advantage. Stay together!" He wasn't going to be reckless like Cameron. He wanted his pirates to come home with him. Why would Cameron be reckless? He was already in a precarious position, wouldn't his survival instincts kick in, to keep himself as safe as possible? He'd been toyed with long enough. But maybe he wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Weavel took the lead, allowing the other pirates to fan out. Weavel lobbed several Battlehammer mortars over nearby containers and air ducts, flushing out soldiers left and right. He dove forward, approaching as the mortars took their toll on the Feds. One soldier pounced at him, but he ducked into turret mode. The Federation soldier took several shots right to the chest as Weavel plunged his scythe into the soldier's back, so deep it came out the other side.

Another soldier grabbed Weavel by the wrist, slamming him into a steel panel then tossing him across the room. Weavel's turret shots couldn't respond in time. As the soldier let loose a flurry of shots, Weavel stuck his scythe out, deflecting every shot. He slid to the ground, quickly turning on a dime. He slingshotted past the soldier, rejoining himself with his lower half and letting loose a Battlehammer shot all in one fell swoop. And just like that, the soldier crumpled to his knees and finally to the floor.

Weavel stood up and turned, leaning over the edge of the bay doors. Cameron and the other ship were long gone in the chaos of the battle.

Federation Carrier Salachimorpha - Destroyed Bridge

Kelso kept his forearm over his mouth, desperate not to breathe in any debris or smoke. He was already coughing, his lungs heaving with every gulp of air. His eyes burned. The hair on his neck sizzled. His skin boiled. He was trapped in an oven with the door slammed shut - debris was haphazardly piled in front of the bridge exit.

The bridge was barely in one piece, and from the outside, the ship was tattered and bruised. It looked like a cruise liner about to roll into the sea. Portions of the ship had been obliterated or were drifting off into space. X blobs began to break off from the main cloud, slowly inching towards the destroy debris, likely looking for survivors.

A sight like a Federation carrier nearly destroyed was not common nor something you'd forget. I wish I was there so I could have had it burned into my head - as motivation.

Somehow the integral parts of the ship were still intact. Fires were burning, but the power was still on. The nearby command center popped and fritzed, yet the receiver was still online.

"Bridge, come in. Any and all officers on the bridge, please report!"

Kelso stumbled towards the command center, clutching his right side. He gingerly put the receiver to his temple. "Lieutenant Kelso, go ahead."

Kelso expected some line of questioning, but that was naive. That's what he was trained for - proper etiquette would drive home the point of making sure you were talking to person in charge. You find the highest authority on the other end. Kelso expected they'd want someone to shove him off the line and put one of the Colonels on. But this wasn't training, this was the real thing. You'll find how quickly things like etiquette go flying out the window when an emergency arises...

-wait, the Colonels! Kelso looked around. He hadn't seen either of them since before the attack.

"Status report! We've lost Sectors 4 and 9. Engines 2 and 3 are offline, and 4 is unstable. Reactors A and B-3 are also offline!" It all added up to being still enough to keep the ship functioning, but just barely. The ship had lost a quarter of its vital sections, engines, and reactors in a single shot.

Kelso looked around, hoping to find someone with more authority than him. The bridge was barren. If anyone else was still alive, they were buried or gasping in the vacuum of space. His heart was beating a hole right through his chest. His veins coursed with blood. He could barely put the receiver down with his violently shaking hands. He stammered, searching for the words to calm himself down. The growing fires nearby lapped at him, and pushed him farther and farther into the center of the room. Not backing down just yet, he tried to gather any information he could off the remaining panels, peering at screens that were more cracked glass and splintered plastic than actual help.

The receiver was still live, thankfully enough. Kelso stumbled back and picked it up.

"I'm deserting the bridge," Kelso said through labored breaths. He took a moment to ready himself for the rest. "Have all personnel report to the Reconnaissance Deck. We'll conduct operations from there. All destroyed sectors of the ship must be sectioned off before proceeding. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!"

Kelso slapped the receiver down and turned towards the exit. Still blocked. The debris was sharp, rough, and slowly increasing in temperature. Kelso tore at his outfit, ripping fabric to tie around his palms. But when he got to the debris, he couldn't even make it budge.

"Damn it!" Kelso's cry rang out. The debris wasn't moving anywhere fast -

- except in a pile just to his left, back near the command center.

"Holy-h-hold on! Hold on! I've got you!" Suddenly Kelso's feet were back under him, propelling him toward the pile. The debris tore at his clothed palms. His biceps tightened, nearly cramping. He tugged and tugged at a large panel, finally dislodging it after several pulls.

Half a body jutted out from the rest of the debris - a woman, still clad in military garb. She was breathing - her body moved so slightly it was barely recognizable to the naked eye.

Kelso leaned in. "Hey, hey! Stay with me. What's your name? C'mon, what's your name?"

"S-Sergeant Maggie…" She could barely utter a sound at this point.

"No, that's not good enough Sergeant!" Kelso himself could barely buy the brave facade he was attempting.

"Sergeant Maggie Kaiolas, s-sir." She finally got it out. Her head picked up slightly, her face drenched in the glow of fires nearby.

"That's great to hear, Sergeant, thank you." Kelso pulled at the debris. The smaller bits were still a lot to handle, and the largest of the lot wouldn't move at all. Kelso had barely anything left in the tank. "I'll have you out in a second. Stay with me."

The Sergeant put her head back down in the rubble. "It's fine, r-really."

Kelso grabbed her by the hair, pulling her face up to his. "It's NOT fine, Sergeant. We're both getting out of here."

Kaiolas still had a few panels across her. Before Kelso could barely make them budge. Kelso, on the brink of hyperventilation, tore the fabric off his palms, revealing bloodied wounds and sores. He gripped the debris, wincing as he did, and lifted as hard as he could. Finally, the first panel was dislodged, with another on top of it sliding to the wayside.

Kelso bent back down. "Sarge, listen to me. I need you on your feet when I start lifting this. I don't know how long I can keep it up. You need to get out as soon as possible. That's an order!"

He bent down again, pushing out from under the last and largest panel. Veins popped along his temple, his skin turning beet red. His vision began to black out.

"Come on!" With the last ounce of strength he had, he had the panel just barely above his waist. But it was enough for Sergeant Kaiolas to crawl out, just before it slipped from Kelso's fingers.

He fell back onto his rear, panting uncontrollably. Kaiolas was still sprawled out, then mustered enough energy to flip over onto her back.

"Can you walk?" Kelso asked.

"I think so," Kaiolas hoped.

Kelso sighed in relief, at least relative to the situation. "Good. N-not what I expected to hear, but good."

He had his eyes on the bridge exit. They needed to get to the Recon Deck pronto before the whole ship fell apart, figuratively and literally. He had no idea who was left on the ship, if there was anyone above his pay grade still in one piece. At this point he had come to accept that there might not be any.

"That's our way out," Kelso said to Kaiolas, pointing to the exit. "I barely have anything left in me. You'll have to help me move all of that out of the way. It's the only way out."

Sergeant Kaiolas still clutched to her side, reminding Kelso of his own abdomen injury. He winced in pain again. Kaiolas was holding her lower rib cage - she had to have had at least four or five ribs broken. Any more and she could have had a lung punctured, and this would have been as far as she could have gotten.

But before Kelso could speak again, Kaiolas slowly got to her feet, cringing in deep pain. Kelso wasn't even close to getting on his feet yet, but he picked up the pace real quick.

"Okay," Kaiolas said. "I'm ready, sir. Whenever you are."

Kelso was thankful to have found someone he could save, but now he was lucky to have someone that would make sure he'd be saved too. Kaiolas was now as much of a lifeline for Kelso as much as she was a survivor just like him.

They approached the exit. The edges of the debris tinged with heat. Blood dripped from Kelso's palms as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Alright. Ready as I'll ever be."

With mirrored nods, the two grabbed hold of the debris and began to move it piece by piece. Each panel, board, portion of machinery, it all felt heavier than the next. Kelso's arms were giving way much earlier than he'd hope. He jumped forward - the ceiling was caving in behind them. Wreckage was dropping from above faster than they could get the debris out of the way.

Wiring and circuitry dropped next to Kaiolas, showering her in sparks and smoke - but she never let go of the debris, not even to cover her eyes. If the smoke and heat wasn't blurring her vision already, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. She and Kelso were able to get more of the debris out of the way.

With one last heave, the pair got enough debris out of the way to squeeze through the dilapidated door behind it. But not before Kelso rushed back into the room one last time.

"I need a recovery team up to the bridge stat!" Kelso screamed into the receiver. He clicked the receiver, changing the channel. "AND GET US SOME DAMN BACKUP OUT THERE!"

"Hey, come on!" Kaiolas gestured Kelso to come back to the door, but he turned away. He was scoping out the bridge, hoping to see more signs of life. He took steps closer, but the blaze keep him at bay. With every step he tried to take, more twisted steel and burning circuitry fell from the bridge ceiling. Kaiolas kept calling for him. "We can't stay here any longer!"

Kelso gulped and took one last look. Not a trace of Anderson nor Lennings. He turned back and followed Sergeant Kaiolas through the door.

Pirate Carrier Absolute - Bridge

Commander Veron's mandibles thrashed wildly, saliva dripping from their ends. The pirates were slowly increasing their numbers advantage out on the field. With a Carrier practically destroyed and their ship number dwindling fast, the Federation were against the ropes. Very little could kill Veron's pleasured mood.

"Commander," rang through his earpiece. "The main cannons have to recharge."

Veron growled, slamming his against the control panel. He sighed and kept his cool. "Acknowledged. When you-"

"VERON!" It was Weavel. "We have ships going down on the perimeter. What's going on?!"

His eyes darted back to the isometric map. Red blips were popping up along the left and center reaches of the formation.

On Weavel, Pirate Corvette - Near Salachimorpha

Weavel held on the line, but Veron still hadn't responded. He flipped the switch, cutting the comms line. He cranked the throttle, nearly breaking it. His ship immediately cut away from his group, which had the capture Federation dropship in tow.

He was making a beeline for the outer ships. Something was taking them down, probably a brave Federation pilot getting in way over his head.

But as he got closer, he couldn't find a single Federation ship within the mess of Pirate vessels-

-Another ship exploded, right in his blindspot. It was close enough to feel the reverberation within his ship.

Then he caught sight of it - "...t-the Hunter," Weavel said.

Orange and red armor. Green visor. Arm cannon. Rounded shoulders.

It stuck its arm cannon forward - the cannon pulled itself forward, stretching out into a gruesome, alien tendril that splattered against the side of another Pirate Intercepter. The tendril pulled it toward the ship, and the cannon instantly reformed into its initial shape. It punched a hole clear through the ship, then sprung away as the ship exploded.

It was the SA-X, in true form.

Pirate Carrier Absolute - Bridge

"VERON!" Weavel shouted through the Commander's earpiece.

"Something is mimicking the Hunter's appearance and attacking the ships. It's not human!"

"THAAAAAAT!" Ridley roared through the comm line. "THAT IS WHAT I WANT. Capture it at ALL COSTS."

Commander Veron chirped back. "But High Commander, should we not finish the Federation off first before-"

"You will capture that thing before you do anything else!" Ridley screeched back.

"But what of the Federation? Their reinforcements?"

Federation-Controlled Space, En Route to Elex

A group of Federation vessels soared toward Elex, but in a chaotic scramble. Their formation was entirely in shambles, just as a blur cut another swath through the pack.

Ridley burst from the other side, fire streaming from the sides of his mouth. He curled a wide path before facing the ships again. As he came to a halt, holding in place, his eyes widened. They weren't yellow, but instead glowed green.

"Don't worry about that," said Ridley. His jaw was closed. A grin slowly grew. "Stick to your orders. Capture it. The Federation has already lost."

The green flashed from his eyes, reverting to yellow. He reared back, relishing in the silence of the vacuum as white-hot plasma gathered between his teeth. Then he let loose. A blinding beam flashed across space, vaporizing countless ships.

Pure, white light erupted in every direction. Ridley disappeared within it, snarling with delight.