THE HODMANDOD EFFECT

Major Markus Bergh threw up a hand and stopped the small column of rovers. They were only a mile away from the ship and he wanted them to be spread out when they were within range of hostile fire. The latest intelligence had been extremely helpful and he was no longer in a mood for talking.

Davis gave them all the information they needed. The Federal States soldiers did not have prisoners and there were only two soldiers, just as the android had reported. Bergh was well aware that others could fight, but his men would make short work of any not trained in the art of war. He gave the order to dismount and spread out. His men numbered twenty-one, including him. He wished they were all androids, but Richardson was the only one…a prototype. Once they lost communication, they were certain he had been destroyed.

The men spaced out fifty feet apart and began their march to the ship. Bergh positioned himself in the middle. All of them were equipped with helmets that possessed cams and communication devices. The major was assured of having the ability to speak with all of his men in real time. The cams would send images back to his commander who would offer tactical assistance if necessary.

What worried him the most was the soldiers’ access to League weaponry. Bergh had a complete manifest of what was available on the Hope of Johannesburg. He knew the Federal States soldiers were capable of operating all their systems, as he had been witness to their ability in adapting to their enemy’s systems back on Earth. Davis had relayed to them that they brought sub-standard arms on their own vessel. It was only their access to the League ship that enabled them to be a valid threat to him and his men. It was a hardship, but one they had faced before with even worse odds than this.

As they drew nearer, Bergh noticed more than a hundred of the blue beasts wandering in the same direction as they. The further the troopers walked the more of the animals they saw. It

seemed they were gathering for some purpose he wasn’t aware. Still, he tried not to think about them and trudged on. He and his men had travelled a half mile when his helmet com clattered.

“Sir,” a soldier said. “Look behind us.”

Bergh turned around to see several of the animals moving from the left and right of their position, meeting in the middle and forming a line behind them, slowly treading in their direction. He looked to his right and left. The animals were all around them but paying no attention to him or his men. He noticed their gait was just slower than a human’s normal walk.

They were gaining on the creatures in front of them. Bergh turned on his com.

“Stay a hundred yards behind the front line of those things,” he ordered.

His unit commanders verified their understanding of the order, and the men kept marching. Bergh couldn’t be sure, but the animals now numbered nearly a thousand. He was glad to finally see the upper portion of the ship as it came into view. There was a small rock outcropping a hundred yards in front of them. Bergh took notice and spoke to his men.

“Converge on the rocks up ahead and let these things pass.”

The unit commanders acknowledged and motioned for their men to follow them. The League troopers climbed up on the rocks and were able to look down on the Hyacoms as they passed. The animals gave them little notice since they were unable to climb the steep angle of the rocks. It took several minutes for all of them to go by, and every man wondered at the alien spectacle they were witnessing. Bergh waited until the herd was far enough away not to pose a threat and then ordered his men to climb down and spread out again. Once they were in position, he gave the order for them to continue their march. When they were a quarter mile away, and the ship was in full view, the order was given for them to lie prone, giving Bergh enough time to survey the area with his sensor goggles.

He knew he wouldn’t see the soldiers. They were experts at camouflage and wouldn’t tip their hand until they were ready to fire. Bergh was looking for activated mines hidden in the ground. He took the glasses down and rubbed his lips. The soldiers facing him were smart enough to keep the mines deactivated until the proper time. Bergh knew he was walking into a death net, but he had his orders.

Rooney was watching from behind a small knoll, opposite Stone’s position. He was using a remote feed from the ship’s cameras and sensor system so as not to expose himself. The

League detachment came into view when they were only a few hundred yards away. Zooming in, he could see the major he had met was in the lead. As he expected, they were spread out and moving with caution. Rooney had to wait for a precise moment to activate the mines or else Bergh would be able to detect them in time to avoid them altogether. What he wanted was to let them get in the middle of the field and then activate the mines. He knew Bergh would detect them almost immediately, but that didn’t worry him. He just wanted to slow them down enough for Stone to get a good bead on them with the plasma rifle they had hidden on the hill. The position was perfect for setting up a wide kill zone for the sergeant. Once he opened up, they would have no cover nearby.

Rooney was also watching the massive herd of Hyacoms as they trod by. It appeared to him they were bugging out, moving to new pastures and new victims. Stragglers would hang back and stay in the valley, but the vast movement suggested they had lost interest and were moving on. He was glad to see them go.

Bergh motioned for his men to stand and proceed with their approach. Several of them were looking through their scopes, trying to find any sign of the enemy. The chatter on the coms was constant but Bergh let his men do their job. They were a disciplined group who knew how to fight. There were none among them who felt they all would survive this day. But they were confident they would prevail in the end.

At two hundred yards, Bergh ordered his men to halt once more. He motioned to a corporal that was following close behind him and the man advanced to Bergh’s position. He handed the major a small console that resembled a laptop computer. Bergh extended the antenna and punched in a series of codes on the keyboard. He knelt down and placed the console on his knee, waiting for confirmation that his attempt was successful.

Rooney suddenly saw his monitor turn to static. He tried to re-initialize his remote link, but it was no use. Somehow, the League major had managed to instruct the ship to turn off all security measures. Rooney was no longer in control of the vessel. He reached over and grabbed a transmitter, pushing the mic.

“Rooney to Captain Brubaker,” he said softly. “Come in, Brubaker.”

“Brubaker…here,” the captain managed to wheeze.

“Are you still functional?”

“Barely,” came the reply.

“I need you to suck it up, captain,” Rooney demanded. “We’re in a hot zone right now and you might make the difference for us. You remember what we discussed?”

“Roger,” Brubaker said.

“Well, it’s time. If you don’t come through for us, we might all be dead. I need you to go to condition yellow. Understand?”

“Under…stood,” Brubaker wheezed, coughing. “I’ll see you…when…you give…the

word.”

“Rooney out,” he said, shaking his head.

He wasn’t sure if Brubaker could do it, but he had to trust that he could. Rooney donned his sensor goggles and grabbed the Danko, slinking up to the top of the knoll and hoping he could get a glimpse of the enemy’s progress without being detected. Only his forehead and eyes were exposed as he watched the group get within a hundred yards of the ship. He slipped back down to his makeshift command center and picked up a small, metal box. It had a red light and a black switch on it. He flipped the switch and the light came on. The mines were now activated.

Bergh’s vest started to beep. He looked down at the warning light that flashed intermittently with the alarm sound. The major immediately knew what it was.

“Halt!” He yelled, throwing up a hand for emphasis. “They have activated their mine field. Deploy the AMD’s!”

Five men knelt down and removed their packs, placing them in front so they could remove the AMD’s. AMD stood for Anti-Mine Detector and were robotic, self-propelled sensor devices that would locate and mark land mines. The machines moved on small treads and could sniff out explosives when they were buried up to six feet in the ground. Once a mine was detected, the machine would spray a bright pink paint on the ground directly over the explosive. Each AMD could detect and effectively mark twenty land mines before they ceased to work.

Inexpensive and lightweight, the AMD was a vital tool among the League Army’s arsenal of battlefield tactics.

The men activated their AMD’s and let them loose. The small machines began to scurry forward, making wide sweeping motions as they moved along the ground. They were highly efficient and began to stop and spray paint in different locations. Once the major was sure they could safely and slowly move ahead, he gave the order and his men advanced with him.

It took several minutes for them to move an additional fifty yards. The vessel loomed up before them as they drew closer and Major Bergh smiled at the sight. Soon they would be in possession of the mother ship and begin their new life on Ajax Strata Prime without any interference from the Federal States infestation. The AMD’s were finished with their work and

Bergh motioned for his men to take up tactical positions. As soon as they began to fan out, Stone opened fire with his concealed plasma rifle.

Two of Bergh’s men exploded into a red mist as the plasma rounds pelted the ground around them, erupting on impact and throwing dust high in the air. The rest of the group fell to the ground and began to fire indiscriminately with their Dankos in every direction. Bergh knelt on one knee and began to calmly communicate with his men, ordering them to direct their fire on the hill to their right. He called up one man who was carrying a Devil Duster. It was the affectionate League nickname for their hand-held rocket launcher, guided by a state-of-the-art heat seeking system. Bergh ordered him to fire on the area where the incoming rounds from the plasma rifle could be clearly seen. He saw another man disintegrate only a few yards away and yelled at the rocket man to hurry up. Bergh drew up the binoculars and gave the man sighting

instructions. He was cool under fire and the men respected him for it. Even though he was as scared as they were, no one could have believed it from the way he acted.

“Target located, sir!” The soldier yelled.

Bergh patted him on the shoulder.

“Fire!” He ordered over the din of battle.

The rocket shrieked as it sped off to silence the withering fire. Bergh watched it race to the screaming plasma rifle and yelled with satisfaction when it exploded, sending rock, dust and pieces of plasma rifle high in the air. Bergh stood and talked into the com.

“Okay, men…advance on the ship. Take the ship.”

The seventeen remaining men stood and ran to the vessel. The first three soldiers that rounded the stern, running to the entrance ramp, were met with deadly force from Rooney’s Danko. Two of them were hurled into the air, their chests exploding from direct hits. The third dropped to a knee and began to provide cover fire for the others.

Rooney ducked behind the protection of the knoll as the incoming Danko rounds blew dirt and dust all around him. He couldn’t see that three more soldiers ran behind the one trying to kill him and disappeared into the ship. He also couldn’t see Bergh marching along as if on a

Sunday stroll and taking position beside the ramp. Four more men took defensive positions around him and began to fire at the top of the knoll where Rooney was hiding.

The lieutenant knew he couldn’t stay there forever and to try and fire on them again would be suicide. He reached into his pack and pulled out two Hellhound grenades. He energized them both, having taken earlier measurements of the distance between the top of the knoll and the ship. As soon as the grenades indicated they were activated, Rooney lobbed them over the top of the knoll. The moment they hit the ground, the grenades’ internal motor engaged and sped toward the ship at 100 feet per second. Rooney had pre-set the grenades for detonation and he knew that in seven seconds they would explode. Bergh saw them coming.

“Grenades!” He shouted, pointing. “Fire, fire, fire!”

The five men opened up on the grenades with their Dankos on full automatic. One of the weapons exploded from a direct hit, clouding their vision of the other item of death closing fast on their position. Bergh flew himself under the entrance ramp and curled into a fetal position.

The blast pushed him backward several feet as the five men he was with were shredded with phosphorous laced shrapnel. They all died instantly. The cover provided by the entrance ramp was what saved Bergh. He was now at half strength and only one man had made it on board.

“Unit two,” he said in the com speaker. “Unit two, what’s your position?”

“We’re in front of the ship, major,” his unit commander responded. “Behind some supply containers.”

“Can you see the knoll on the starboard side?”

“Yes, sir,” the man said.

“Flank that position to your left, understand? Flank it and move forward. Your target is

there.”

“Yes, sir,” the man responded.

Bergh looked in that direction and could see three of his men carrying out the orders. They ran left, using whatever cover they could as they advanced. He watched them disappear amid some foliage at the edge of the knoll. For several seconds there was silence.

“Report!” He demanded.

“There’s no one here, major,” the man said. “He was here, but he’s not now. I think he went into the trees about thirty yards behind the knoll.”

“Don’t move and set up a perimeter to guard against him coming back,” Bergh ordered. “The rest of you men come help me take the ship.”

Bergh came out from the cover of the entrance ramp and went inside. Soon, he was surrounded by five other soldiers. He directed them to spread out and clear the ship while he went to the bridge to re-activate the security cameras and sensor probes.

Rooney had not stopped to hide and was still running through the trees, looking for a specific spot picked out days earlier. He was in deep cover among the trees before transmitting to the Elpis.

“Rooney to Brubaker, come in captain.”

“Brubaker here…” he said. “You…better…hurry.” Rooney didn’t mince words.

“Condition Red,” he said. “Condition Red. See you on the other side, captain. It’s been a pleasure.”

“Same…here,” Brubaker whispered, wheezing and coughing as he tried to speak.

Now it was Rooney who threw himself behind a pre-determined boulder and curled up into a tight ball, covering his ears. There was no way the League soldiers could know what was going to happen to them. They never considered the Federal States personnel, along with the Federal Guard soldiers, to be a real threat to them. Yet, here was Major Bergh on the bridge, watching the sensors as they screamed and beeped and honked that his death was imminent. He turned on the monitor to see the Elpis hurtling toward him at incredible speed. Bergh calmly sat down in the captain’s chair on the bridge and sighed.

“Oh my God,” he said.

The Elpis slammed into the Hope of Johannesburg with a terrific impact, tearing into it and exploding with a tremendous roar. The gargantuan jolt ruptured the matter/anti-matter chamber down below and the two elements mixed together, resulting in an unmitigated eruption of force and fire. Several thousand cubic yards of dirt were hurled into the sky as the explosion dug a hole one hundred yards deep and three hundred yards wide. The three men on the other side of the knoll were only seven hundred feet away and disintegrated in the blast.

The shock wave moved through the forest, knocking down trees as it passed with extraordinary speed. Debris in the form of dirt, rock and pieces of the ship fell all around Rooney as he tried to protect himself from the fallout. In seconds, the turmoil was over and he felt safe enough to stand up. He charged the Danko and began a slow approach to ground zero. Rooney was almost certain none of the League soldiers survived, but he took no chances as he advanced.

When he emerged from the carnage of felled trees, Rooney saw Stone standing on the edge of the smoldering crater. The sergeant gave him a half glance and continued to survey the area. Rooney walked up and stood beside him. Both men were covered in dirt, dust and blood.

Stone managed to tie a filthy rag around his wounded arm to slow the bleeding. Rooney’s bandaged hand was saturated with congealed blood. They were bruised and battered…and they had never been happier.

“Glad to see you’re alive, sergeant,” Rooney said.

“I followed your orders to the letter, lieutenant,” he replied. “Lay down suppressive fire for twenty seconds, do as much damage as possible in that time, set the plasma rifle on auto fire, and run like hell.”

“Good man,” Rooney said.

“Looks like your plan worked with the Elpis and Brubaker, too,” the sergeant smirked. “He sure went out with a bang.”

Rooney nodded.

“Yeah,” he answered. “You helped out there. That was one thing Richardson wasn’t able to report on.”

“You really think he missed us taking that power cell to the Elpis?” Stone asked. “Or do you think he knew it, but figured it was just to help Brubaker?”

“Doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

“I guess my main question is why they tried to blow it up and, when that failed, then tried to take it?”

“Hate, sergeant,” Rooney explained. “Pure hate. The League was built on it, sustained by it and profited from it. Even with the Earth gone and dying or dead, there wasn’t enough room in the universe for the Federal States. Not in their mind, anyway.”

“What now?”

“Now? Now we finish the job.”

**********

The last remnants of the Federal Guard marched to the League rovers. They commandeered one and blew up the others with Hellhounds. The men painted their faces black, with Stone using white rouge to paint skeleton teeth along his lips. It even scared the lieutenant to look at him. Rooney got behind the wheel while Stone manned the twin-mounted Dankos. Nightfall was approaching and Rooney was glad to see it come. He and Stone fought better in the night time. They were experts at infiltration and killing silently, if they had to.

Rooney stopped the rover when they were within two miles of the last operational ship on Ajax Strata Prime. He wanted to get there as quickly as possible, but he also didn’t want to allow the ship’s sensors to spot them before they were ready. His reason for haste was the League commander might not think it was in their best interests to remain there. The majority of his soldiers were dead, Davis would tell them the planet couldn’t sustain human life, and they would know the enemy was now a force with the upper hand. If it were him, Rooney thought, he would be taking off thirty minutes ago.

The two soldiers dismounted the rover and Rooney removed a briefcase sized metal container from the vehicle. They knelt down and Rooney opened it, removing two makeshift devices. They were one inch thick and measured six by six inches. Rooney handed one to Stone and kept the other, fastening it to the armored breast plate in his combat gear. The sergeant did the same.

“Okay,” Rooney said. “We can’t move faster than normal walking speed until we’re fifty yards from their ship. These will cloak us from their sensors until then if we stay slow. Once we get within fifty yards, we can move as fast as we want.”

“Croakers,” Stone said, smiling. “I haven’t seen one of these since Corsica. When did you have time to make them?”

“You thought I was sleeping in the cabin all that time,” Rooney chuckled. “From the day

I heard these assholes were coming, I started making these. Field ingenuity comes in handy from time to time.”

“That it does,” Stone remarked. “That it does.”

“Now, remember,” Rooney continued. “Their sentries will be able to see us if they have their sensor goggles on, once we get close. Keep your eye out and stay low.”

“Yes, sir,” Stone said.

The two men rose and walked slowly in the direction of their target. Rooney motioned to

Stone and the sergeant moved to the lieutenant’s right, putting fifty feet of space between them. The night was calm with only a slight breeze and stars littered the sky. The sensor goggles they wore gave them excellent night vision and for the first time in months there were no Hyacoms to be seen. Both men were glad of that, now that they were breathing in the parasites like everyone else. Rooney crossed his fingers, hoping that if they were successful, the doctor’s treatment would work. That is, if they were able to get their hands on it.

After what seemed an interminable time, the League ship loomed in the distance. Rooney was hoping beyond all hope his devices would function like they had back on Earth. So far, there was no indication they had been detected, but he wasn’t sure if the League sensors had been upgraded to the point where his little trick was no longer viable. It was all he had, however, and he had to go with it. When they were within three hundred yards, Rooney motioned for Stone to get flat. He did the same.

There were two sentries standing guard outside the main entrance. Their camp had been set up similar to the one at the other site. Three pods were arranged in triangular fashion and

Rooney could see dim light coming from them. He wasn’t sure if those inside were combatants, but he couldn’t take the chance. He considered the situation and came to the conclusion that it might be impossible to take out the two sentries and not alert those in the pods. Rooney turned on his helmet to helmet com.

“Let’s just wait here a little while,” he said to Stone. “Give those guys in the pods time to go lights out.”

“Roger,” Stone replied.

The soldiers laid there for more than two hours before the lights in the pods started to go out. One by one the lights in the pods, spaced about fifteen to twenty minutes apart, went dark.

Rooney gave them another half hour to drift off and then issued the order to advance. They both stopped when someone came out of the ship and approached the guards. It was a female and it looked like she was giving them something hot to drink. Both of the guards were speaking to her and this gave Rooney a perfect opportunity to gain the advantage.

“Keep moving,” he said. “Let’s hope she chats awhile.”

The woman stayed with the sentries for close to five minutes before re-entering the ship. The two men resumed their position and continued to drink the offering that she gave them. By this time, Rooney and Stone had entered the fifty foot perimeter that would allow free movement and they were still undetected. They both had their combat knives in hand and were positioned on the opposite side of the vessel, behind the two guards.

In unison, the two soldiers crept up on their unsuspecting victims. When both of them were only ten feet away from their targets, Rooney looked at Stone and nodded. In simultaneous fashion, the men rushed the guards and wrapped an arm around their necks, pulling the chin upward. A quick slicing motion of the combat knives rendered the guards useless and they let them fall to the ground, twitching and grabbing at their throats as the life flowed from their bodies.

Rooney removed his pack while Stone covered the ship’s entrance. He took out three

Hellhound grenades and set them for sixty seconds. Rooney placed one each at the entrance of the pods. When the time ran out, the internal motor would kick in and send them hurtling inside to explode the moment their progress was stopped. He grabbed the pack and the two soldiers ran up the entrance ramp, gaining access to the interior of the ship.

Stone covered Rooney as he ran to the control panel, pushing the button that would cause the ramp to hydraulically retract. They knew it would create a lot of noise, just like the ship they had come from. Rooney looked at his watch and then glanced outside. The ramp was closing quickly and his last sight was the grenades skidding inside the tents, leaving a dust trail behind them. As the ramp clanged shut, the vessel shook from the three explosions outside. A loud alarm began to sound off inside and before Rooney could turn, Stone was firing his Danko, killing two soldiers who ran around the corner to enter the cargo bay. Rooney ran to the corridor at his left. The ship was of the same configuration as the other had been, and he knew where the quarters and mess area was. He stopped at the open door and threw a Hellhound down the corridor. Rooney heard men yell and try to retreat, but the Hellhound exploded and roared, sending shrapnel and body parts flying through the open door. Rooney spun in and showered what was left of the corridor with Danko rounds, just in case anyone had survived inside.

Then, it went quiet. Rooney entered the corridor and Stone followed, setting up at the door’s entrance to stop anyone from coming in behind them. Rooney checked each door and found them all unlocked. There was no one in any of the rooms. At the end of the corridor was the mess area. Rooney stopped just before the entrance and listened. He heard nothing.

“If anyone is in there,” he said, “tell me now. I’m about to send in a hound!”

“Wait!” A female voice said. “It is only me.”

“Are you armed?!”

“No,” she said. “I am Doctor Linda Connoway. I’m coming out.”

“No tricks!” Rooney shouted.

The woman appeared at the door, both hands above her head. She was a beautiful woman of about thirty years. She was a brunette with long hair down to her waist. Dr. Connoway was as shapely as Leslie was, with full lips and bright, brown eyes.

“Are you sure no one else is in there?”

“Only dead men who fell inside after your attack.”

“Turn around,” he ordered.

Connoway did as she was told and Rooney forced her hands down, cuffing them behind her back. He glanced inside the mess area and confirmed she was telling the truth. If she was a doctor, he thought, they damn sure needed her alive. He pushed her down the corridor and close to Stone’s position.

“Anything?”

“No, not yet,” Stone answered, keeping the Danko trained on the door opposite.

“How many are left on this ship?” Rooney asked Connoway, gripping her right arm until

it hurt.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Many were outside in the environment pods.”

“They don’t count, lady,” Stone informed her.

She glared at Rooney.

“Counting me that would be eight,” she replied.

“How many soldiers are left?”

“The same as you,” she answered, meaning two.

Stone quickly moved back, ramming into Rooney and Connoway as he yelled.

“Incoming!”

A Hellhound grenade was whisking across the floor of the cargo bay and straight for them. Stone shut the metal door and managed to lock it before the blast. The door flung inward from the force of the explosion and struck the big sergeant on the side of his head, opening a large gash that exposed his skull. Stone fell in a heap, blood gushing from the wound.

Rooney stepped forward and unleashed a barrage of Danko fire. He leaned over and grabbed Stone by his combat vest, pulling him away from the opening. Rooney hustled Connoway back into the mess area, dragging Stone with him until they were out of the corridor and in relative safety.

“Turn me loose so I can help him,” she requested of Rooney.

He looked at her and then at Stone, trying to make up his mind whether he could trust her or not. After several seconds, she tried again.

“Turn me loose,” she said. “I’m a doctor. I won’t hurt him. I’m the one who let your commander go. I want to help him. He may die if you do nothing.”

Rooney nodded and unlocked the cuffs, allowing her to do her job. He watched as Connoway ran to the serving area and picked up several towels. She ran hot water into a large bowl and grabbed a bottle of anti-bacterial soap, returning to where Rooney was standing.

“Don’t just stand there,” she ordered. “Put him on one of these tables.”

He slung the Danko over his shoulder and picked Stone up, gently laying him on the table in front of her. Connoway immediately went to work at trying to stop the bleeding and cleaning the wound. It was then he heard a familiar voice. He couldn’t believe his ears. It was Richardson.

“Lieutenant!” He cried out. “Lieutenant!”

“I hear you, Richardson!” Rooney yelled, walking to the door but not exposing himself. “There’s no way out, lieutenant,” Richardson told him. “We’re all armed out here. Why

don’t you give up and we’ll let you live.”

“Tell me something,” Rooney said. “How did you get the android on the Astraeus? Was he with us the whole time?”

“No, my boy,” Richardson said. “I was at all the briefings and the training sessions. It wasn’t until we went to the space station that my doppleganger took my place. Quite convincing, wasn’t he? We programmed him with my personality, fears and anxieties, hopes and beliefs. Only, we also programmed him to watch, learn, wait and eventually try to destroy you all. I’m sorry he failed.”

“Yeah,” Rooney yelled out. “I’m sure you are. What about Davis? Is he an android, too?” “No, no,” Richardson admitted. “He’s quite human. In fact, during the training sessions

we went to a lot of trouble to turn him. When he saw how the League far surpassed you fellows in technological advances, he knew who the winning team was going to be.”

“Did he kill Trotter?”

“Yes, I’m afraid he did,” Richardson said, not sounding sincere at all. “We needed the analysis for these nasty bugs you found here. We can’t really let you all live.”

“Why not?” Rooney asked. “Earth is dead. We’re the only humans left. What is killing all of us going to do for you?”

“What, and allow the war to spread to other solar systems? Allow the hatred and the lust for each other’s blood continue to thrive? No, lieutenant…it must stop here. It is a fact that only the strong survive. And…we are the stronger. It is time for all aspects of the Federal States to end.”

“But, I thought you said you would let me live?”

“I will, lieutenant,” Richardson promised. “But only to spare any more harm to my ship. You see, we know humans can’t live here. Even with a means to kill the parasites, we can’t survive here. We have to go elsewhere and search for a new home planet. If you throw out your weapon, you can leave. It’s as simple as that.”

“Simple?” Rooney said with mock surprise. “It’s the same as putting a Danko round through my head. I’m dead anyway.”

“Unfortunately, that’s true,” Richardson agreed. “But, at least you get to spend your final days with your own people. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Rooney thought for a few seconds on how to buy more time. What he came up with seemed lame, but it was all he had.

“Let me think about it,” he yelled. “It’s hard to consider what you’re offering.”

“You have five minutes, lieutenant,” Richardson advised. “Five minutes is all. After that, we have to root you out.”

“Understood,” Rooney answered.

He walked over to Connoway. She had washed and dried Stone’s head wound and was wrapping it with strips of towel.

“Will they kill him if I’m not here?”

Connoway looked at him like he was crazy.

“You going to walk through walls?”

“Something like that,” he replied. “Answer my question.”

“Not right away,” she said. “They’ll be too busy looking for you…I think. After you’re dead, then yes, they will kill him or throw him outside to die.”

“What about you? Will you kill him when I’m gone?”

Connoway took on a serious face, her eyes betraying the sincerity in her words.

“I would not do that, lieutenant,” Connoway said. “I would not try to stop them from killing him…but I myself would never do that.”

“Make sure you keep that promise,” Rooney said. “If I survive this and find out you didn’t, you don’t really want to know what I will do to you.”

Rooney hurriedly walked to the air duct on the wall nearest the cargo bay. He took off his combat helmet, armor plated vest and combat fatigue shirt. He was now bare-chested and slung the Danko over his shoulder. As he was working on the air duct grating, Richardson called out.

“Three minutes, lieutenant!”

Connoway finished Stone’s bandage and watched Rooney as he took the grating down. “You don’t even know where that goes.”

“I know I can’t stay here,” he remarked, readying himself to jump up and inside the duct. “And where this leads is better than in here.”

She marveled at how quickly he slipped inside the duct and disappeared. It didn’t look big enough for him to fit. He barely made a sound as he moved down the narrow shaft.

“One minute, lieutenant!” Richardson called out again.

“He has a hostage in here!” Connoway shouted. “When you come, remember that!”

Rooney knew where the duct led without having to look at a blueprint. There were three rooms on that side of the corridor and any idiot would know the duct connected to each of them. All he had to do was get in behind his adversaries and that would regain the advantage for him.

He chose to come out in the middle room. Rooney had to time this just right. If any of them were able to make it into the mess area, then they could hold Stone hostage and force him to give up.

He wasn’t going to let Stone die like that. Not even if it meant his own life.

The duct teed at a ninety degree angle to connect to the room next to the mess area. He moved quickly for another ten feet where the second tee was. Rooney braced his shoulders against the side of the duct and pushed with both hands against the grating that kept him from entering the middle room. There wasn’t enough space to allow him to kick at the grating, and even if there were he couldn’t choose to do that. The noise would be great enough to alert those on the outside. Every muscle in his back and arms tensed as he pushed. The pain in the hand that

lost two fingers was immense, but he had to ignore it. He could feel the tiny screws giving way when Richardson shouted for the final time.

“Time’s up, lieutenant,” he said. “What’s it going to be?”

Connoway was staring at the open hole where Rooney had disappeared. She thought hard about telling them he was gone. Richardson would come in and hold the soldier she was caring for hostage. The other would surrender and be killed immediately. The wounded one would be thrown outside to suffer and they would leave. She closed her eyes, wondering what to do. Men have to stop killing each other, she thought. We’re the only ones left. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, and decided to keep her mouth shut.

“Lieutenant?” Richardson shouted. “What is your answer? Lieutenant?!”

Richardson grumbled and looked at his two remaining soldiers.

“Kill him,” he ordered and stepped back from the cargo bay door. “Doctor! I would take cover if I were you!”

Connoway lay down on the floor, covering her head with both hands. She didn’t know if they would shoot first and ask questions later and she wasn’t willing to take the chance. The two soldiers slowly walked down the corridor, one to each side. They walked past the first room, and then the second. When they got even with the third room’s door, one of them leaned forward to reduce the angle of his vision to the entrance of the mess area. He tossed in a percussion grenade.

It would make a loud ‘bang’ with a brilliant flash of light, hopefully stunning the soldier inside and rendering him momentarily incapacitated. As soon as it went off, their plan crumbled quickly.

The explosion of the percussion grenade was the soldier’s cue to move in. But, before they could start, the door to the middle room burst open and Rooney came halfway into the corridor, blasting with the Danko at the two men, his back to Richardson. The explosive shells ripped them apart, sending pieces of body parts and blood splattering the walls, floor and ceiling. Shocked at the turn of events, Richardson fired two rounds from his Chidi-19 and then turned to run. One of the Chidi rounds screeched past Rooney’s right shoulder and struck the door facing in front of him, exploding and shooting shards of metal in every direction. The shrapnel tore into Rooney’s face, neck and chest, one piece gouging into his right eye, forcing him to reel back into the room and scream in agony.

“Fuck!” He yelled, falling to the floor and rolling back and forth, holding his bleeding eye with one hand. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Determined to be victorious, every muscle in his body tensed as he rose to his feet. He shook his head so vigorously, blood splattered in every direction from his torn eye socket and face. He started a rapid breathing, focusing on that instead of the pain. Gathering his weapon, Rooney marched toward the door and quickly walked back out into the corridor. He fired several rounds in the direction of the cargo bay until he was sure there was no one there. He strode to the mess area and walked inside. Connoway gasped at the bloody sight that was approaching her.

“Bandage my eye,” he growled. “Do it now!”

Afraid to hesitate, Connoway did the best she could in cleansing the area. She then took several strips of cloth and managed, with shaky hands, to fashion a patch and head bandage to stem the flow of blood. Connoway started to tend to his facial and chest wounds, but Rooney grabbed her hand with a fierce grip.

“Leave it!” He barked.

Rooney walked over to Stone and took the Danko from his hand. He checked the magazine and found it was almost full. Dropping his own, he positioned the weapon in the attack mode he knew all too well and left the mess area, determined to end Delmar’s life.

**********

Richardson fled to the bridge and met the flight crew that was huddled there. They consisted of one man and two women. Their eyes were wide with fear as they saw Richardson enter.

“Are they dead?” The male captain asked. “The Federal Guard soldiers? Are they dead?”

“One yet lives,” Richardson told them. “Grab some weapons and follow me.”

“What?” The captain said, disbelieving what he just heard. “You can’t be serious. Us?

Fight a Federal Guard soldier? You must be crazy.”

Richardson leveled the Chidi-19 at the captain’s head.

“You’ll fight you son-of-a-bitch or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

“Go ahead,” the captain told him. “Either way, I’m dead.”

“Is that how the rest of you feel?” Richardson hissed. “I need to know now so I can kill you all while I’m here.”

“We’re not going to fight a Federal soldier,” one of the women said. “He won’t kill us if we don’t fight. It’s their way.”

“Put down the gun, Richardson,” the captain said. “He won’t kill you if you’re unarmed.” “Are you insane!?” Richardson screamed. “He’s going to kill me no matter what I do.

I’ve destroyed his ship and killed his people. I’m the reason most of his people are dead!”

“Then,” the captain said, “we are all dead if you kill us. What will that benefit anyone?”

“I’ll tell you,” Richardson mumbled with vile hatred. “It will make me feel better to kill

cowards like you.”

He raised the Chidi-19 once more and aimed it directly at the captain. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his forehead and pulled it back. A combat knife appeared at almost the same time and cut Richardson’s throat so deeply the attack almost decapitated him. Blood spewed in a gory stream as his body fell to the ground, revealing the thing standing behind him.

The flight crew gasped at the sight. A Federal Guard soldier stood before them. One eye was bandaged and that was soaked in blood. His face was painted black, making his one visible eye a stark contrast. The man’s blonde hair was dirty and disheveled. Small metal shards jutted from his face, neck and chest. Where each shard was, a stream of blood ran down his body, soaking the waist portion of the man’s fatigue trousers. Two fingers were gone on his left hand and the bandage there was filthy and caked with dried blood. He was bruised about the head and face, shoulders, arms and rib section. To top it all off, the man was covered in grease, dust and any other kind of filth that one could imagine. To put it lightly, he was a horrific thing to behold.

“Do you surrender?” Rooney asked them, his muscled chest heaving from animalistic blood lust and with a tone of fierce tenacity in his voice.

Without a word, all three raised their arms and nodded slightly. The expression on their faces conveyed sheer fright. Rooney sheathed the knife and told them to turn around. When they obeyed, he tied their wrists together with anything he could find and sat them down.

“Where’s Davis?” He ordered, a menacing tone in his voice.

“We don’t know, sir,” the captain said. “He could be in his quarters or in the lab. That’s usually the only two places I’ve seen him.”

“Don’t move and don’t try to escape,” Rooney ordered. “If you do, you stay here…on this fucking planet…forever.”