Chapter 9
It took almost three hours to reach the city. Aidan was amazed when it came into view. It was the size of a small town, but the buildings were tall and interconnected with walkways. The ones in the centre were up to ten stories tall. They were all a clean white in appearance with fine carvings and arches. They even had gardens and trees scattered around. It was beautiful. Below the city were the landing platforms. One half of the area had layers of platforms holding hundreds of pods, four dozen or so scout craft and a few other larger vessels. For the first time in his life Aidan actually saw a mecha. Two rows of six mecha standing twice the height of his house stood on the middle platform.
The other half of the landing layers held a single large ship shaped like a giant beetle. Below the landing platforms was a complex of large shapes as large as the city above. Gem pointed things out for him explaining “That is the city. A shield keeps the air in. Below are the landing platforms. The huge vessel is the harvester hub. The weirdly shaped things below that are the resource storage silos.” Aidan had never seen such an incredible sight. “It’s amazing.” Aidan said “I never thought I would see a real mecha.” Gem was happy to see him so full of wonder as she explained “They are guardian mecha for close range defence. They rarely get used. No other races that travel space are advanced enough to pose a threat. They only exist in case we discover one. Sometimes the they assist the three exploration vessels or help with maintenance.” Gem pointed out three long vessels as long as a football field before adding “Those long ones are the exploration craft for long range. Scout craft like this do most of the work for the Lorene. They usually have a two or four man crew. That is why we are so cramped in this one.” Aidan queried how do you know so much about the city and ships if you never lived here?” Gem smiled saying “We were designed as scouts and pilots. Our modules hold a lot about Lorene technology. Fay has been adding from her collection of data as well.”
Fay commented “It’s odd there’s no other traffic. I can’t see many people on the security cameras I hacked either. What do you think it means?” They all shrugged. Kitty said “It doesn’t matter. We just have to get mother, then the city can go to hell.” Aidan asked don’t you girls feel homesick.” Monica answered “Your home is the only one we have ever known.” Gem nodded saying “Yes, I was only in the city for minutes after activation. You and Emma are my home.” Fay decided to add her opinion and said “The city is a pretty place, but it’s boring as all hell. We all want to stay with Gem on Earth. It’s beautiful and it’s more fun. Plus you treat us like real people.”
As they came in to land they saw four guards approach and point blasters at the hatch. Fay turned and warned “Four guards ready to shoot. We have to hit the ground running. Stand clear of the hatch and hold on tight until I say. I have to try something unexpected. Ready?” They all looked at each other as they prepared their weapons. “Ready.” Gem called. The hatch was only half way open when the blasters fired. There was no talking their way through this situation. The fighting had started. Fay quickly spun the craft a hundred and eighty degrees on the spot. “Go now.” she yelled. Kitty dived for the hatch with Gem at her side. They dissappeared to each end of the craft. Angel and Monica ran out and jumped up to land on top of their craft. Aidan covered the hatch with Fay at his side. Everything was quiet. “Gem says all clear.” Fay said after receiving the interface message. “Lets go.” she ordered. As they left the craft and walked around to the others Aidan was surprised to see the others standing over four bloody bodies. Fay looked disappointed as she whined “You didn’t leave me one.” Gem replied “You are probably still healing. Besides they weren’t well trained. Just normal Lorene. Not even a challenge. Why are there only four?” Fay shrugged and suggested maybe everyone’s a prisoner or something. Maybe they’re dead. There should still be more. We need to hide these bodies.” Aidan found their casual attitude to killing disturbing and asked “Did you have to kill them?” Monica replied “We can’t take chances or waste time talking. Billions of lives are at stake on Earth.” Kitty added “We can’t take any slight chances. Even if the city has to be destroyed, the price is worth it.”
After hiding the bodies Gem lead the way to the lab with Kitty. It wasn’t far thankfully. They guessed Ellan was there when they saw the two guards at the door. Gem and Kitty pounced forward as soon as they rounded the corridor. The guards didn’t have a chance with the speed at which the girls launched themselves. Gem’s opponent fell with a sword through his belly and Kitty’s had her claws pressed into the side of his throat. They tried the door but it wouldn’t open. Fay closed her eyes for a moment and said “She was locked in. Opening now.”
As the door opened Fay darted through first. She was jabbering in Lorene when Aidan entered and saw her hugging Ellan. Ellan looked just as pleased to see her daughters. She was weeping with joy. They were all talking excitedly so Aidan decided to look around and saw a line of five more darkened hovering in large horizontal tubes over benches. They were dark haired like two of the ones that attacked them on Earth. They were wearing a white suit like Gem had worn when he first found her. It looked like they were asleep.
Gem dragged her mother over and introduced Aidan to her. She bowed politely before looking him up and down saying something in Lorene. Gem said “Aidan this is our mother. Chief engineer Ellan Elore. She has never seen a human before. She told us that the darkened queen made her create new biods. This is the second batch. She was told Fay and the others were being held prisoner. She had no choice and hoped we could use our abilities to escape somehow.” Ellan reached up and touched his sandy brown hair curiously. Aidan turned to Gem and said “I think introductions can wait until we get home.” Gem nodded and pointed to the darkened in the replicators. With a quick verbal command from Ellan they fell to the benches below them. “They are dead now.” Gem explained. Fay looked up after a short conversation with Ellan and said “We have to go now. Most of the city’s has been killed. The rest obey the bitch queen. She wears a prototype blaster shield and keeps three new darkened biods with her at all times. We can’t fight thousands of them. Escape to Earth and make a plan like you said is still the best choice. She wants to destroy every last human, so we have to warn them and seek help.” “That was the plan. So let’s go.” Aidan said. As he turned to leave another man appeared in the doorway looking bewildered. He looked surprised and wasn’t expecting someone to be here. He was caught off guard. As he reached for his weapon Aidan slashed into his neck with the machete. “Nice work.” Fay commented. Aidan didn’t respond immediately. He had never killed someone before. It was just a reaction to preserve them all that made him strike. Now he knew how Emma felt being forced to harm another.
As they were about to leave Ellan said something urgently to Fay and pulled her back. She was pointing at her gold necklace with a red gem hanging from it. Fay swore and said “Mother has a security device. It’s a tracker and if she removes it we all vaporise.” Fay looked closely at it and reported “It’s tamper proof and hack sensitive. Might take some time.” This time it was Aidan’s turn to swear. He dragged the bodies from the corridor into the lab and Kitty shut the door. Gem looked at the device and pulled one the bodies from a replicator ordering Ellan to lay on it. She began to float as a tube extended down along her body. Together Gem and Fay looked at the scan and suggested ideas while the others guarded the door. It was an hour that felt like days before Gem ordered them all to leave the lab and head down the corridor. Monica and Kitty checked the corridor and ushered them all to follow. Fay and Gem remained. Before he left Aidan asked Gem “Are you sure about this? I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Gem hugged him saying “The chances are in our favour. Go with the others. I will catch up soon.” Aidan sounded worried as he said “Just promise you’ll be careful ok. You know we’d miss having our Gem around.” Then he jogged away to catch up with the others.
After a few minutes the door opened. Fay approached at her fastest sprint yelling “Run.”
A second later Gem appeared dragging Ellan behind her. A blinding white light suddenly filled the hallway. Everybody was blinded and disorientated. Their heads felt like they were being crushed. When he could finally see again Aidan was relieved to see everybody was ok. Gem explained “We replicated some of mothers body around the sensors. It did not last long but delayed detonation. All organic matter in the lab is now gone.” Aidan hugged Gem and smiled saying “I’m just glad you’re ok. Emma would kill me if anything happened to you.”
Carefully they headed back the way they had come. A door opened behind them and a woman’s head stuck out. Monica flicked the whip around her neck and pulled it hard. The woman was dragged off her feet and slid to Monica. She pulled her knife ready to thrust it but did nothing. The woman was unconscious so she left her alone. There was no sense in needless killing. They would be gone by the time she came to. A group of four more guards wearing armour came from in front of them drawing weapons. Gem and Kitty pounced while Angel leaped over Aidan’s head and knocked two more flying. Monica and Fay piled into the Melee finishing them off quickly. They made it back to the landing platforms without any other encounters to their astonishment.
Eight guards in scout armour surrounded Fay’s craft. “Let’s steal another ride.” Aidan suggested. Fay nodded and focussed for a moment to scan vessels. Then an idea came to her. She turned to Aidan and whispered “Wanna see a mecha in action?” Aidan grinned and asked “You can do that?” Fay nodded. “Only for a short while. If they notice in the control room, they’ll shut it down.” Fay closed her eyes and concentrated. A few moments later a mecha rose over the edge of the platform and landed at a run. The huge machine drew it’s sword and cut the first two guards in half. As it rose to swing again it froze still. “Damn it.” Fay cursed “They were quicker than I planned. I wanted to take him home with me.” Gem scolded “We should have just stolen another ship.” Then Gem was gone. All the generation three biod sisters charged the remaining guards. Aidan ran to join the battle. A man was taking aim at Kitty with a blaster while she wrestled two guards. Aidan chopped his forearm severing it. “Thanks.” Kitty said throwing one of her opponents behind her. “These guys have some training at least, but we are stronger and faster.” The man whose arm Aidan had severed was screaming in pain. Aidan stopped the screams with another slash. Fay jumped onto the back of one of the guards that had been wrestling Kitty and stabbed him in the neck while Kitty finished of the other one with her glove under his ribs. Gem decapitated her opponent after only a short exchange of sword strokes. Angel snapped the neck of her opponent with an uppercut from a wing after slicing open his belly and Monica stabbed her opponent after using the whip to disarm him. In just seconds it was over. Ellan looked stunned and asked Aidan something in Lorene. Gem chuckled and said “She wants to know what you have been teaching us.” Aidan shook his head at Ellan saying “Nothing. I thought you programed them.” Fay grabbed Ellan’s hand and dragged her on board the scout craft.
They all crammed inside and closed the hatch. “Mission successful.” Fay boasted as she prepared to Launch. Aidan heard Ellen chattering excitedly. It sounded urgent. She said something in Lorene he couldn’t understand. She was looking at the scanner display of the scout ship. Her finger was pointing at a large dot near the edge, but Aidan had no idea what it meant. Fay swore when she looked at it and explained “Oh crap. They launched the harvester hub vessel. It’s headed toward Earth. This must be how she was going to kill every human. We are too late. No point going home now.” Gem explained. “The harvester hub holds many smaller harvesters. They will chew up the Earth’s surface. It will be recycled and compressed. Organics, minerals, gasses, anything it is told to collect. I am guessing she has ordered it to gather everything for her revenge. If any humans survive, they will die soon enough. The ecosystem will fail. Everything will die.”
Aidan asked desperately “How do we stop it? Can Fay hack it? Emma’s still down there.” Fay looked up at him saying “Not from here. I can’t even reach it’s command unit.” She jumped up and said “Maybe if we get to the city’s control centre we can get direct access.” Ellan said something which Gem translated as “Mother says there is no point escaping to Earth now. We should try the control centre.” Aidan already knew that but was glad they were all on the same page. He raced to the hatch as soon as it started opening again. A thought came to him and he asked “Don’t you guys have missiles or something?” Fay shook her head saying “Why? Nobody attacks a city.” Aidan looked at her scornfully and said “Except for this darkened bitch right?” Fay began to follow adding “Well nobody NORMALLY attacks a city. I’m not saying it’s councillors are the wisest or most prepared. This might teach them to be a little less arrogant.”
Aidan was getting more desperate as he asked Fay “Can’t you shoot it? Outrun it? Head it off? Send Mecha?” Fay shook her head saying “Lorene are basically peaceful people. There are no long range weapons. I can’t remote control that far. A manned craft would kill the pilot at the speed required to catch up. If I can reach the control centre maybe I can hack it or slam other remote craft into it.” Aidan ran to the hatch stating “Looks like we only have one choice. The command centre.” Gem was already by his side ready to go.
Hurriedly they made their way to the city control centre just above the landing platforms. It was a lot further than the lab. Gem, Kitty and Monica took the lead quickly dispatching anyone who tried to block their path. Angel and Fay took the rear behind Aidan and Ellan. When they got to the main control centre Fay quickly sat in front of the controls. She quickly realised that it wouldn’t respond. One of the main components was missing causing the harvester to ignore any commands. Frustrated she began trying to find a way around. “What’s wrong?” Aidan asked. Fay didn’t stop her attempts as she replied “Sabotage. Part of the controller is missing. I guess the queen is smarter than the Lorene and took precautions. I can’t work around it. Nothing responds to my commands. Not even a single pod.”
There was no way to gain control over the harvester hub ship. Fay couldn’t hack into it or find any other way to make it respond. A screen above the panel indicated it was already two thirds of the way to the planet Earth. In around an hour it would enter the atmosphere and launch it’s fleet of smaller harvesters. Each would begin to gather the resources it required. The worst would be the dozens of craft harvesting organic matter. That would include people.
Aidan suggested that perhaps the air force or a nuclear missile would destroy it, but Fay assured him they wouldn’t launch in time, the hub ship would be invisible to detection until it launched the harvester fleet. All harvest vessels had a shield weapon that would defend against attacks. Any missile would have it’s circuits fried on approach if it wasn’t shot down. The earth aircraft also stood little chance against the mecha that the queen had installed on board according to the cargo manifest. No earth weapons would penetrate the shield enough to cause real damage. They would most likely bounce off the hull or drop when they passed the shield.
Aidan banged his fist on the wall in anger and cursed the conceited attitude of a race with no powerful weapons or missiles. It seemed the only decent weapon they had was this farming tool they called a harvester. He looked around for someone to offer hope and noticed Monica was gone. “When did Monica disappear?” Aidan asked. He soon realised as Fay yelled “No. Someone just launched a mecha transport. It’s in over-drive.” Fay shook her head in dismay and muttered “It’s Monica. She’s pushing the ship so hard the shield generator and avoidance scanners can’t keep up. Every bit of space dust it hits will pass straight through it. Her body and ship will tear apart before she even gets there.”
Aidan demanded angrily “What’s she doing? Can her weapons destroy it?” Fay responded with a grim expression on her face “No. I don’t think she plans to shoot it anyway. I think she plans on using it’s shields as a weapon.” Fay pleaded over the coms device for Monica to turn back, but she would not or could not reply. They
watched the screen as the gap between the two vessels closed. Fay was frantic as she said “I guess around twenty minutes till she arrives. I have to do something.” Her tiny hands were moving over the controls as fast as she could move them, but it was to no avail. Without the missing component it was useless.
Ellan and Gem hugged each other. They knew they were about to loose Monica. Fay switched the view on the display to a camera mounted on the top of the harvester and collapsed in the seat sighing “I’m sorry. There’s no way. We can only watch, not control.” They all felt helpless as they watched what was probably Monica’s final moments. As the hub ship passed the earth’s moon, Monica’s vessel slowed a short distance behind the harvester. It was tiny in comparison. It launched it’s full compliment of six mecha by remote and lined them up single file between the transporter and the harvester. “What’s she up to?” Aidan asked Fay. Fay looked puzzled as she answered “I don’t know for sure. She maximised their shield power. Her ship’s damaged and leaking air fast. It’s a miracle it even made it that far. Just a fluke. She should be dead. The mecha can’t harm a harvester. The shields will just absorb their shots and destroy them if they approach.”
The mecha on the screen began to move toward the huge hub ship firing all their weaponry in a concentrated area as they closed in. As the first two mecha hit the shield, they disintegrated. The other mecha hit the same spot in close succession as Monica followed them from the rear in the huge transport. Ellan couldn’t watch. The third mecha disintegrated immediately. The fourth exploded into dust and small segments. The fifth mecha was torn into large pieces, leaving large chunks of debris. The last mecha was severely damaged, but the remains of the torso and stumps where the limbs had been attached floated through the shield. “She’s creating a weak point, before it regenerates but it won’t be enough.” Fay exclaimed as Monica’s ship rammed the hub shields. The impact caused a blinding flash of shields clashing. Once the image returned Monica’s vessel was through the shield leaving most of it’s outer shell trailing behind it. Large chunks of the vessel were now gone and Aidan could clearly see inside the hull in places. The transport craft did not falter from it’s path as what remained of it impacted into the top of the hub ship’s control centre. The ship crumbled in that area and split most the way down it’s spine. It lurched sideways and began to drift.
Aidan was shocked at what he had just seen. “Is there any way she survived?” he asked desperately. Fay shook her head saying “She was dead for sure the moment she passed through the shield, but she was probably dying already.” Ellan and the girls were mortified. They had just lost Monica. Fay scanned the area on the instruments and said in a mournful voice. “No pods, no mecha, not even a suit. Nothing. She’s definitely gone.”
Aidan felt intense anger building up inside him. He had never felt so much. His head felt about to burst and his fists were clenched tight. He was full of energy that had to be released before he exploded. Slamming the wall in anger he growled. “I’ve had enough of this darkened bitch. She has to die.” He sprinted from the room clutching tight to his machete. He had no idea where he was going, but the biggest building in the middle of the city seemed logical. Gem and the others chased after him. Gem was calling out something, but he was in too much of a rage to understand her words. Nothing was going to stop him. A guard stepped out to block him in the corridor, but he didn’t even slow down. He lowered his shoulder and sent the man flying, totally ignoring the sword that was about to swing at him. Kitty slashed the guard’s throat as they passed.
As he approached the crowded courtyard in front of the main council building, Aidan leapt from the top stair and kept charging. It took a wall of Lorene and biods to hold him in the courtyard before the council chamber. Most were not guards, but they all blocked him reaching the queen. That made them enemies. He was punched and kicked repeatedly, but he didn’t feel it. He slashed at them, bit them and hit or shoved when he could. He was berserk. Gem was thankful there wasn’t enough room to swing a sword or fire a blaster as she dived into the melee with Kitty. When a pair of guards knelt ready to fire when the chance arose, Angel glided from the top of the stairs knocking them sideways and speared them with her sword before they could regain their footing. Fay pulled out her daggers and joined Angel patrolling the perimeter while Kitty, Gem and Aidan were fighting recklessly with no concern for their safety. Unsure what she could do Ellan picked up a sword and a blaster from a fallen guard to watch their rear. She was in a state of disbelief as she watched her daughters mutilate their opponents. This was an image she thought she would never see. They were like animals driven by rage and inspired by Aidan’s wild charge.
Though they had been outnumbered ten to one, a third generation biod was still faster and stronger than a regular Lorene or even a generation two biod. Soon the courtyard was fall of bleeding bodies. Only a few were left moaning on the ground, no longer able to stand. Aidan was barely able to stand himself. He was covered in blood from the beating he had taken. He was limping badly. Every part of his body was swollen, scratched, scraped or cut. He couldn’t even feel his arms or left leg any more. Gem supported him as he looked about to collapse. Fay was scraped and scratched, but seemed in good shape. Kitty and Gem bore scratches and bruises, but nothing to be concerned over. Angel came back to the group bleeding from a minor stab wound in the side. One of her wings hung limp. She was in a great deal of pain but swore it was nothing. Ellan checked the wound and told her to keep pressure on it. She removed angels wings and tied her control arms together with a sash from a nearby body. It was broken. “She’ll be ok.” Ellan reported to quell their concerns.
Aidan broke free of Gem and smiled at her saying. “I’m ok. Thanks for the help but you shouldn’t have followed. You all stay here and guard the entrance. Let me do this.” “No.” Gem argued “You are hurt. Let Kitty and I go. We have a much better chance.” Kitty nodded saying “Yes, leave it to the Elore sisters. You guard the rest.” Fay wrapped her arms around Aidan’s waist and stated “You aren’t going anywhere. I won’t let you.” He was too weak to fight Fay and let himself slump down to the ground.
Naele had three of her new biods with her. Two were wingless males and one was a female with razor sharp wings that looked like a venetian of thin metal strips. The darkened queen clapped as Gem and Kitty entered the room. “Well done girls.” She congratulated them. “So you must be the ones that killed my sons on Earth. Naughty girls. We will just have to rip you apart slowly for that. It will hurt a great deal I’m afraid. Meet the new generations threes. They are even more enhanced than you. You have no chance.” Kitty grinned wickedly and said “Well your sons were crap. They went down dead easy.”
The three darkened biods grinned menacingly as they approached while the Naele lined up her shot at Kitty’s head. The female darkened biod suddenly spun with amazing speed. Kitty and Gem sprang backward. Kitty was bleeding from a shallow cut on her belly and Gem felt blood trickle from her upper arm. Before they could react the two males were upon them. As they wrestled they found the males were stronger, but the girls were fighting with heart. It still wasn’t enough for long. Soon Kitty was pinned and the one on top of Gem had just held her down so the female darkened biod could spear her with a wing tip. Gem struggled at the last moment, but it still pierced through her shoulder. A pair of blaster shots cracked over their heads as the man on top of Kitty and the female darkened biod fell to the ground. Angel and Ellan were firing from the corridor while they were all distracted. A bullet whistled past Kitty’s ear as she finished off the one who had pinned her down and pounced to help Gem. Landing on the other male biod’s back she dragged her razor claws across his throat. Kitty helped Gem carefully to her feet. As the female biod tried to stand she fell to a dagger in the throat thrown by Fay. Naele had backed up against a pillar for cover from the blasters. She was switching targets regularly between Gem and Kitty. Both of them were looking very weakened. She called out “You girls are fast, but not fast
er than a bullet, especially in the condition you are in now. Drop those blasters and I will disappear. Nobody else needs to die. Take the city.” Ellan aimed her blaster level with the hidden Naele’s head saying “No, you will kill us anyway. Drop your weapon and we wont kill you.” Naele grinned and replied “Well I got my revenge on the Lorene I guess. That will have to suffice. I will surrender.” Naele was glad she was wearing the blaster shield on her belt and hoped it worked. Deciding that Gem was the most convenient target, Naele kept the rifle pointed at her as she slowly feigned lowering the rifle.
Just as the rifle shot rang out, and the blasters cracked the air Gem had felt herself suddenly thrown through the air. Something large impacted into her. She landed roughly against the wall and crumpled to the ground. Kitty took the opportunity to strike before the darkened queen could line up another shot. She pounced with all her speed digging her razors into the arm supporting the rifle and her dagger thrust up under Naele’s chest armour. The darkened dropped to the ground as Kitty grinned in her face saying “Suck it bitch queen.” Naele tried to murmur something, but made only a gurgling sound as her lungs and mouth filled with blood.
When Gem got to her hands and knees she looked back to where Aidan had slammed into her. He now lay there unmoving. There was blood pooling underneath his head from the bullet wound. Gem screamed in horror and raced to his side. He was motionless. She burst into tears screaming “No.” Fay entered the room with Ellan and Angel close behind. “I’m sorry, he slipped away from me when I saw one of the wounded guards reaching for a blaster.” Fay confessed. Gem looked pleadingly to Ellan who had knelt beside her to check the body. There was no pulse. Aidan was dead. “Can you fix him? Please fix him.” Gem pleaded. Ellan shook her head sadly saying “I’m sorry. He’s gone. There is nothing we can do now. It passed through his brain.” Gem wouldn’t accept that. She yelled at Aidan to wake up and shook him vigorously. It was useless. Gem wept heavily in her despair. Looking back at Ellan between tears she ordered. “Put him in a replicator. Give him an interface. Give him mine. I do not want to exist without him.” Ellan held her daughter tight and explained “It will not work. He is dead. His memories are gone now. They have dissipated. Gone. The person who he was is no more and can not ever come back.”
Gem wasn’t listening. She struggled to lift the lifeless body in her arms and staggered to the door ignoring the blood pouring from her shoulder. Ellan called after her “Gem, you can not bring him back. There is too much damage. Even if we could somehow manage to install an interface, his mind will be blank. He would not be the Aidan you knew.” Angel and Kitty followed Gem as she walked away. They kept a few paces behind and would not interfere. They just wanted to make sure she did nothing to harm herself or collapse from blood loss.
Fay asked Ellan, “Is there really no chance to revive him? Maybe turn him into a biod or something?” Ellan shook her head saying “None. He is human for a start. If I repair the body, modify the genetics and install an interface, he will still not be Aidan. Aidan is gone.”
A Lorene woman entered the with a man at her side. Seeing the body of the darkened they fell to their knees thanking and praising them all. Ellan looked at the two. They were pathetic. Ellan said “You are all cowards. She controlled you all with fear. None off you banded together to rebel. Now even more of us are dead.” Ellan slumped to the floor admitting “I guess I am no better. I feared for my daughters. Now I have lost one. Another is in great pain. The Lorene people need to change.”