Chapter 37 – Confrontation

Mk23 -IRJ Droplet – Class 7 – Carpe Victoria (Wrecked)

Sector - Unknown

Planet - Unknown

13th November 2342 (BSST)

At first, I don’t notice the shriek, the thunder drowns it out, however, as I start to settle down after finishing the log Enigma interrupts me.

“Ronja, I’m picking up the signal again, I suspect it means that a humanoid is close by. We should be wary.” He tells me, the monotone voice not conveying the urgency and worry that should be present, but what do I expect from him? Despite the fact that computer synthesised voices have improved a lot over the past years the computers can’t work out when to inject emotion so most of the time it comes out just as flat as Enigma did.

I fall silent, barely daring to breath. As I stand, stock still listening for any sounds that would tell me more I rack my brain thinking about what to do. Sure enough, I hear it, the panting snarl of the rabid monster sneaking around outside and investigating everything. I must be downwind thankfully otherwise I’m sure it would have found me.

The suit is resting up against the wall on the lower sides of the house, I’m assuming it is going to find me, so it is basically assured that I’ll have to make a break for it at some point.

I decide that point is right now as I know it hasn’t found me yet.

I have my small sword here, it’s sitting on the shelf at the end of the hut, about 2 metres away. Gaining my nerve, I move slowly over the floor until I reach it, grabbing the sword, I unsheathe it from the scabbard – a simple covering made from tanned leather.

The metal slides out with a slight sound, I wince slightly not sure how sensitive the monsters are to sound. Not very I hope with all my heart.

I let out my breath in a slow even flow, relaxing as I do it. To my surprise I hadn’t even noticed that I was holding it in despite my training. Against a regular adversary I rarely felt nerves, probably because even without the suit I felt confident to beat anyone and with it I felt almost invincible.

Now though? Even with the suit I wasn’t confident of a win. I thought I could hold my own, but I hadn’t fought one to the death yet. Without that experience the nerves were slowly building.

It was ruining me, this living, constantly on edge, it was ruining my temper, taking my edge away.

Taking a few deep breaths, I turn around and sneak over to the door, I flex my hand rubbing the fingers and palm together as I get ready to open the door. Sliding my hand around the handle I decide at the last minute to go fast, slamming the door open and bolting out. Once I see it’s not beside the door I chuck the sword away it’ll only slow me down now and set off at a sprint.

My injury slows me down slightly and I slip over as I try to take the turn around the corner of the house at a fast pace.

I can hear that I’ve got the beasts attention, some primal instinct tells me to speed up and not look back, though as soon as I recognise it I struggle to not do that.

Like when someone tells you not too look down, the first instinct is to do just that.

The suit is just a few metres away when I feel the slam of the humanoid. It has slammed into the house collapsing one of the walls a it tries to barrel straight through to me. I’m rather lucky it didn’t break all the way through.

The suit opens up and I slide to a stop turning around with remarkable grace, like an ice skater I finish my slide at the step and with a deft little hop I’m in.

The comforting straps start to tighten as the faceplate comes down and flickers to life.

Though I wish it hadn’t as the first sight it shows me is the snarling monster flying through the air at me.

Like a rugby player it shoulder-charges me knocking the wind out of me and flinging the suit away. The suit, still trying to close up the front section, manages to shield me from most of the blow but my left shoulder gets caught on the beasts’ spine, pinning it in place before I get sent flying away through the undergrowth from the impact.

I catch a tree in the head and though the suit is still booting up it stops me from dying or even getting knocked out though I can feel my head throb and my vision start to narrow as a black fog billows in from the sides.

As I tumble through the forest taking knocks here and there I focus on staying awake.

I land with a crash and slide over the water-logged ground the suit closing up around me as I stop.

I blink, once, twice and regain my mind.

A roar catches my attention and I roll backwards just getting out of the way as it lands in a crash. It slashes at me, with a right hook but I block with my left and drive up with both legs, grappling with it around the waste and throwing the creature back a few paces as it sends a hammer fist on my back. It glances off the metal armour to my relief.

When it lands it snarls at me, showing off its needle like teeth and foul demeanour and we begin to circle each other. I get out my right karambit and wait. I’ve got the advantage with counters and timed blows with my intelligence and patience whilst it will thrash me if I’m careless or complacent.

As I expected it lashes out with it’s right, favouring it for some reason – perhaps the human it was before was a righty – I trap the arm and twist inwards rotating my right shoulder to its joints and slamming into the arm.

It rips me away with the left, but my knife catches the joint ripping through the muscle and tendons and almost severing the arm at the shoulder.

It screams in pain at me and rushes me ignoring the crippling injury with sickening ease. I block again but the momentum carries it through me smashing me through a few of the smaller trees. I fall to the floor winded once again and it kicks out catching me in the chest with a vicious blow that’s going to hurt on the morrow.

Over the next couple of minutes, we circle each other landing hits though it certainly comes off worse from each encounter. I’ve now ripped off the right arm leaving a messy wound that bleeds profusely coating its right side with the slick fluid. Considering it has a longer reach that me I have to get close and it is basically oiled up now meaning that I slip off whenever I try to close.

After a few more exchanges I spot an opportunity, it overextends on a left swing and though I know it will hit me on the return I take the opportunity to launch a kick at its leading leg. I swing with all my strength kicking at its knee trying to take it out.

My foot impacts its knee spike and though I crush the bone and kick through the knee wrenching it around and breaking the joint apart I feel the suit buckle slightly and an intense pain jolts up my system.

As it falls I get hit with the arm spinning around and falling to the floor with the humanoid. Keeping my wits, I roll away to avoid the coming blow and get to my feet.

The humanoid crawls after me its ruined leg and missing arm crippling it. I don’t want to close with it anymore as its far more dangerous now that it has nothing to lose so I go get the sword for the suit.

As I retrieve the sword I notice a big rock has washed up at the little pebble beach in the meandering stream and I take that with me as well.

Returning to the humanoid I stare down at it compassionless for such a brutal creature, though it once was human I know it holds no resemblance to the person it was before and so with no mercy I walk around to its head and lift up the rock.

It sounds like a coconut cracking as the rock lands with a sickening thud, it bounces off and ends up sliding a way down the bank before stopping at some upturned roots. The monster is now quite delirious and safe enough too approach with the sword.

With all the emotion of gutting a fish I pierce its neck and slam the sword to the ground cutting through the spine and musculature and decapitating it in one smooth motion. The blood pours out before being washed away with the water that flows over the ground, the blood dispersing until only a faint red cloud remains of the life force which powered this machine of destruction.

I wince as the adrenalin wears off and the injury to my foot hurts like hell again. Limping I return to stare at the ruined hut and all the work I’d spent building up.

As tears build in my eyes – from exhaustion and emotion - I take a seat among the rubble and catch my breath.