Tern, Devou Clan

His chieftain had decided well. Their clan ship sped away from the cluster. They would have to stay isolated for a thousand years, until this war calmed down. But this clan war seemed worse than any he had read about. What had been the disagreement? A dispute of the division of space and solar systems? But why not discuss and compromise instead of violence?

Some of the violent clans had grown much the last two hundred years, not just in units but also the complexity in their subroutines. Also, more chieftains had turned their clans to the violent ones. It had been a scheme, an uprising, their way of life was changed.

Yes, they would have to travel far away from clan space. Into uncharted systems. That would be the only way to avoid corruption.

Tern was glad, they would do good. Maybe make first contact with new, refreshing species. An exciting prospect.

Beth

Scent of aromatic coffee and a crispy breakfast biscuit from the campus café. Class started soon and the Professor would not be pleased if she was late. She finished the coffee, grabbed her hand terminal and took the marble stairs three steps at a time. The Dome’s artificial Sun hung high already. A meowing cat moved out of her way. Was it test day today? The worrying thought made her stumble, but she found her balance before smashing her face into the stone.

“Beth. Please wake up,” a familiar voice said.

The University turned foggy, its fringes warped. Students’ laughs pitched wrong. The test!

“Beth!”

The stair cracked and she fell. Hand terminal dropped as she reached for the floor’s edge. Fingers found a sliver of a hand hold. But strength failed and she slipped into darkness. She would miss the test.

“BETH!” Tom yelled.

Beth sat up, soaked in sweat and panted. “What?”

“Something is happening!” Tom said and shook her again. But why was he red?

She was not at Callisto. “Tell me, Tom. Instead of shaking me. I am awake. What is that sound?”

Klaxons bellowed and red lights lit their shared room.

“Alarms. Admiral Harris has called for full combat alert,” Tom said. “All hands on deck. Whatever that means.”

Beth shook her head. Was she still sleeping? “I don’t understand. Who has found us out here? Russians? Civilisation is years away.”

Tom helped her up, shoved a pile of clothes at her. She pulled into them as he printed food bars for them.

“I don’t know. Navy men are running along the corridors and they don’t look happy,” Tom said. “Weapons equipped.”

Beth chewed on the meaty food bar, her numb mind starting to reach full wakefulness. The situation grew real. She pulled up her hand terminal, but it would not react to her fingers. It had been fully charged before she fell asleep yesterday. Now it was dead.

“Oh no,” Beth said, gesturing at the screen. “Are we in combat?”

“Yes! What else?” Tom said.

Beth walked to the door. “But who? Is this Lisa’s work? Maybe Lisa has already slaughtered the crew. We need to check this out and try to stop her posse.”

The door didn’t open from the usual switch. Of course. Sweetness crept from the tip of her tongue along the lines of her mouth, muscles warmed, anticipation built up.

“I don’t feel anyone outside,” Tom said with closed eyes.

She could have kicked the door off its frame. But that would have burned an unnecessarily large amount of strength. She decided on a cost efficient method. Fingers dug easily into the door’s metal, she re-positioned and ripped open a rent just wide enough.

“Tom, you will need to tell me the instant you don’t have enough energy to reach out. Do not overstrain,” Beth said, stepped through the breach, carefully avoiding the sharp edges.

Tom nodded in response. “I will do my best.”

Would she be able to protect the kid and fight Lisa and her posse at the same time? What if the Admiral’s men opened fire on them too? She would have to make herself the threat, to taunt all attention.

“Are any powered still in their quarters?” Beth asked and scanned the corridor.

Tom needed a moment. “No.”

“Let’s try to find the Admiral’s office. Stay tightly behind me,” Beth said.

She willed the sweetness away, but kept it ready at a moment’s notice. The corridors were lit in red as the klaxons were still alive. A cold shiver ran up alongside her spine, but not cold enough for it to be Lisa’s proximity. She couldn’t deny the sense of fear, but hiding it from Tom was probably a good idea. The kid felt safer if she acted confident and distinct.

Quick footsteps preceded the two men in overalls. The insignia on their chests said: “Engineering”. Hands tensed, jaw clenched. Sweetness flooded. Bent knees, raised fist, locked gaze and shoulders slightly forward. Tongue went over her lips.

The two men stopped. “The evacuation pods are leaving! Out of our way! We will not stay on this goddamn boat!”

Beth froze. Her battle ready body relaxed. These were no threats.

“George. These are powered! Maybe they can help?” One of the men asked the other.

The second one shook his head. “Are you a total idiot? Let’s move!”

Beth let the two men scramble around her. “Where is the Admiral? Has Lisa Rands killed the crew?”

“Ha. I would have liked that a lot more than this mess,” the man said on the run.

Tom caught her stare. “Strange.”

“We need to find the Admiral,” Beth said.

The klaxons cut short and the following silence felt like a gift but the darkness was not. Beth knew the way, but not without light. Now they could not navigate through the ship. Their hand terminals were dead and the only light source left had stopped working.

“This way. Just past that next junction, some turns and then straight ahead,” Tom said. “But I feel a large group of people pass the junction. Thirty or so. And something else…” Tom trailed off, eyes closed. “I do not know what it is.”

He frowned deeply. In concern.

“What do you mean?” Beth asked. “You told me that you could touch and feel objects with your power. And by their shape determine what they are. What is it? Describe it.”

“Two objects. One is of a perfect spherical shape and hovers above the floor. And its surface feels hard. Like metal,” Tom said, tilted his head. “The second object has four arms and four legs. A fur. Fleshy, somehow. Its head, what I think might be its head, feels like an animal’s head. Tusks and a large protruding mouth. A wolf’s head with tusks.”

They closed in on the group. Shouting and a fiery light. Beth inched, leaned at the wall and peeked around the corner. The mess hall. People, both unarmed and armed huddled together around a small fire. Lisa popped up behind a barricade made out of a table. A handful powered behind her. But no hostilities between any of them.

Beth breathed out, relaxed. “This is something else. Keep your hands up, try to look friendly.”

They approached the group. Lisa noticed them. Admiral Harris walked around the corner, blood stains on his uniform and hands, but still radiated strict control.

“Beth, Tom!” Admiral Harris said.

Beth lowered her hands, Tom too. “What is happening, Admiral?”

“You arrived just in time to die with us,” Admiral Harris said.

Beth tensed. “Die?”

“I never thought I would say this,” Admiral Harris said, paused. “We encountered an alien ship. Somehow anything electric just died. No more juice. No weapons, no escape pods work. Before the power went out we noticed something boarded our stern.”

Hands trembled, the hairs on her neck rose. Cold, freezing cold. “Aliens? Speak clearly.”

“I didn’t stutter. Yes, aliens,” Admiral Harris said, turned and was handed a rifle from a soldier. Beth couldn’t tell what kind as the Admiral went through and checked the weapon.

“What does the alien look like?” Tom asked. But Beth knew that the kid probably knew the answer to that question.

“We don’t know. No one has yet survived an engagement,” Admiral Harris, switched a flip on the side of the rifle. Safety, maybe. He slotted a magazine into it. A projectile weapon without electronics.

“If the ship doesn’t have power why do we still have gravity?” Beth asked.

“My men are dying, my ship is dead. Do you think I have had time to check the core? One fire at a time,” Admiral Harris said.

“Alright. Where do you want us?” She replied.

“Where would you like to die? Tom might be able to deflect their weapons, but we have little clue what they will throw against us. Beth, you could try to punch them, I guess. We simply know too little to make a decent battle plan. But stand behind the barricades. My men and I will engage first. See what happens,” Admiral Harris.

“We make our stand here?” Beth asked.

“Roger that. Larger space to move around in. These tables and benches are sturdy,” Admiral Harris said. “A homely place to die in.”

“How reassuring,” Beth said.

Admiral Harris left them, took a knee behind a set of makeshift barricades. They faced and aimed all their five rifles at the opposite door.

Beth grabbed Tom and pulled him down behind the second layer of barricades. Back pressed against the turned table.

Lisa stared at them. “How peculiar, don’t you think bonebag? That instead of us duking it out, something alien would come around and ruin the fun. Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing what you were made of.”

Beth returned the stare, with Tom hugged tight. “I tried to reason with you.”

Lisa laughed. Cold, white fog rose from her hands. Lisa’s hands were covered in ice! But the woman could still flex her fingers. “Some of us might survive this. But I don’t think you will.”

The ice on Lisa’s hands grew along her body. Like armor, it created a barrier of crisp frozen water on her body. Lisa smiled as the translucent ice engulfed her face. Beth shivered from the emitted cold, but Lisa looked perfectly comfortable.

Beth peeked above the barricade. A naked human man stepped through the undamaged door without even making a scratch on it. Shoulders tensed, shortness of breath, everything became quiet in panic. The naked man walked forward slowly. What? But the man looked strange. The man had no shadow. It had to be a mirage! But the Admiral had no hesitation. The chamber lit up when the projectile rifles fired. All bullets went through the made up, almost holographic image of a human. A dark, metallic orb floated through the hologram human. The hologram disintegrated. The orb floated smooth, with a fixed gap from the floor. Its motion magically smooth and the fire’s swirling light reflected on its perfect black surface. Admiral Harris fired.

But the bullets sizzled in smoky sparks just before impact. The orb, perfectly untouched, floated forward. Sweetness on Beth’s tongue flooded. If she would die, she might as well go out with a bang. She stepped up, skin flowed into metal.

A distinct wave erupted from the orb. The first barricade was sliced at waist level and everyone behind it who had not ducked low enough were cut in half. The Admiral laid flat on the floor, he had successfully avoided the wave.

Beth leapt forward with no plans to conserve her strength anymore. Landed right in front of the omniscient black orb. A new vibrant wave shot out and she had no time to brace before it connected with her. A warm tingling sensation grew where the wave had hit her stomach. She ran fingers on her metal skin. Unharmed!

Beth smiled with a sense of purpose. “Go home!”

Sweetness flooded her, muscles lyrical. Her fist didn’t even slow down, knuckles connected with the orb’s perfect surface. No pain. The orb flinched under the impact and cracks shot out from the dent but it did not break. Knuckles connected again, the orb stuttered backwards, far from moving smoothly. Light escaped through the severe cracks. The orb fled back through the undamaged door.

Her body pulsed in excitement. The group of people behind the barricades erupted in war cries and yelled her name. Lisa’s iced body stood still in silence.

Admiral Harris gestured at the door. “Go! Chase them off the ship!”

Beth shouldered the door, the metal bent and broke under the pressure. The corridor was dark but she heard how the orb sped away in the distance. Beth ran. Faster than ever before. Feet made heavy contact with the floor for every strong stride, creating shallow imprints in the metal. But she pushed forward. Let her body engulf in sweet power. Breathed in sync.

The damaged orb fled into a dark and thick fog at the end of the corridor. Power propelled her forward. With immense raw strength you didn’t need to think ahead. She plowed into the fog.

An unmovable object. She was stopped and knocked down by a surprising force of fire. She lost her breath and pain erupted from her stomach. Fingers found a bloody crater in her metal skin.

A nightmarish creature towered over her. Big as seven people cobbled together. Fleshy muscles twisted around on its four legs, four arms, middle section and wolf-like head. She could not let her eyes away from its head. Wolf-like with enormous tusks and two red eyes. All confidence faded. The creature held the ord behind its own mass with one of the fleshy arms. A black twig, which required two of its arms to hold, was held aimed at her. She kicked its fleshy legs and the creature’s high pitched grinding scream hurt her ears. With one hand clutched over her stomach she scrambled to her feet, aided by the corridor’s wall. The creature reacted fast. She threw herself to the side before the twig’s fiery beam struck her. No escape, no hiding in the corridor. The creature stood up again and the twig erupted, but she dived forward and underneath the fiery beam. Before giving the creature another chance she grabbed one of its legs and squeezed. Squeezed, twisted and pulled. Trying to inflict as much damage and pain as possible. The creature’s metallic, grinding scream made her shiver. It fell. Her punches landed like hammer blows on the unarmored creature. Pieces of flesh were torn off. A black gas seeped out from it. But she would not stop. Blackish gases trickled out from the creature. Tears ran down her face. Panting turned slow and heavy. Arms felt like lead. Her stomach hurt as she roared. The sweetness retreated and pulled with it the metal skin and strength. Her punches turned soft. She couldn’t resemble the mushed and crushed creature. A pile of flesh with a constant trickle of black gast erupting from it. Its wolf-like head laid in shattered pieces and black gas clung to it. She leaned back with the wall as support. The orb laid besides the furry mess and it was cracked like an egg. No more light shone through its breaks. Her stomach throbbed in excruciating pain. She looked down. The skin in and around the bloody crater was still turned into metal. It was probably the only thing holding her insides inside her. The fog faded away.

“Beth!” Tom yelled and ran up to her.

Beth coughed in reply. Drops of blood landed on Tom’s face.

He saw her stomach. “I can help keep that closed,” Tom said, closing his eyes.

She felt the invisible tug of Tom’s power. Was he pinching her arteries? A sudden cold swept in. Lisa stood behind Tom.

“Stay frosty,” Lisa said, reaching out an icy hand.

Beth shoved Tom out of the way, the sweetness only just washed through her and flowed her skin into metal as Lisa’s hand touched her. The ice climbed rapidly across her. Beth took a deep breath before being completely encased.

Cold and numb. Absolute silence. At least her stomach didn’t hurt. The world outside her icy tomb moved slow. Her mind moved slow. She couldn’t move. Lisa stood over her. Why was she not moving? Beth could not turn her head or eyes, but on the edge of her vision Tom held raised palm toward Lisa and his eyes were closed. He was focused. He kept Lisa in place! There were words on the kid’s moving lips. Help? He was failing.

Exhausted Beth reached for the sweetness. Only an additional trickle of its taste crept into her frozen mouth. Cold muscles warmed, she strained but could not move. Tom fell backward, panted of effort. Lisa smiled and turned to him. Beth roared without sound. Muscles itched with warmth. She tried to move. Lisa’s hands closed in on Tom. The ice tomb cracked. Beth roared again and the ice shattered. She jumped on Lisa, grabbed her wrists and snapped Lisa’s arms like twigs. The rage boiled inside. Hands trembled. Fingers found around Lisa’s icy head.

“Violence is all you know,” Beth whispered. “That is all you deserve.”

Tom looked at her and flinched back. He was afraid of her.

Beth hesitated. She let go of Lisa instead of breaking the popsicle’s neck. Lisa ran away, her arms hung limp along her body. Beth reached for him, but Tom flinched away.

“Okay. Sorry,” Beth said, sat down opposite him and leaned back against the wall.

Admiral Harris jogged along the corridor with a rifle in his hands and a band of soldiers in tow.

“Beth! You have done it! But what did you do to Lisa? She followed you here when you went after the sphere,” Admiral Harris said. “Oh, that body is more than the sphere.”

“The orb had an organic friend. Do not touch the black twig,” Beth said.

“Hmm. I will let the engineers take a look. So, what about Lisa?” Admiral Harris asked.

Beth coughed. “I warned you about her. But you didn’t listen. She is lucky I didn’t snap her neck,” she said and looked at Tom’s way.

“I see,” Admiral Harris said, he spotted her stomach and the metallic flaking around and inside the large wound. “I am unsure how the medics should treat that. Do you want them to weld it shut?”

Beth spat a gooey mess of blood and saliva on the floor. “You trying to be funny, Admiral?”

“Nah. Just the usual concern. You will be fine?” Admiral Harris asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. But if you get a welding torch too close to me I know what I will do,” Beth said.

Admiral Harris chuckled. “Fair. The alien ship is still hanging close. I think you need to get up on your legs. I need you to scare them off.”

“What are you suggesting?” Beth asked.

“Board their ship like they boarded us,” Admiral Harris said.