Pegasus (Part 55)

“Minions, put these intruders in the cage!”

A large cheer went up behind us. I felt a gun sharply pressing into my back forcing me to the rear of the room and into a large cage with black metal bars. I heard a large clinking sound just after the door slammed behind me. I quickly turned around to see that Tabitha was by my side.

The youngsters piled up against the bar, their eyes wide open gaping at us like we were some type of weird exotic animals. They just stared without fear or understanding.

“Get away from them! Pretend they are not there,” the large man bellowed.

Gradually, they averted their gaze away from us and back to him.

“You are not to messing with them. They are now valuable cargo and to be treated as such.”

When one of the younger ones fleetingly looked back at us, his face grew read and he hit him a thump reducing the young boy to tears.

Tabitha shuddered.

They were as much his prisoners as we were.

He then started giving them instructions on what goods they needed to bring where and when. They listened carefully. It was a mixture of weapons, drugs, and key parts needed for space infrastructure. Then after an hour or two they dispersed and went back to their duties.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (21)

A few days later, news filtered through that the Tyranid swarm had entered the star system. In just a few hours their attack will have started. The Ambassador’s ship had left orbit.

Timothy felt so alive. Life felt good. The faces of dread on those around him could not quell his spirits. This was what he had been born to do.

He went straight to the command to view its screens of what was happening across the planet. Uisneach’s generals had been well informed of exactly how matters would progress. It had been a shock for them at the meeting when he informed them that Tyrranids in human form were already walking among them. They were here to sew dissent among the masses and to launch suicidal attacks on critical infrastructure such as the power grip and key communication installations just prior to the main attack.

They had listened. Their doctors postulated that they could be rooted out through a blood test. A back story was then fabricated about the population needing to receive a vaccine. What followed was a series of attacks against the injection centers. Horrific pictures were beamed across the planet of father’s carrying blood soaked children in their arms, of mother wailing over small bodies. But from a military perspective, it was a total success. Nothing of military or strategic value had been lost, and the Tyranid first wave had been extinguished.

Galway Girls (Part 30)

I had a nice long couch right in front of the TV. Always hoping that someday I’d have a nice, pretty woman who would want to sit beside me. That plan had hopefully finally panned out. The room itself was small, plain, and minimalistic. It was dark. The curtains had been left closed in a bid to create a better ambiance. The large 50-inch TV was probably the most impressive thing in the room though I doubt it made much of an impression on her.

“Want to watch a film? I have a nice romance one saved.”

“Yeah, sure put it on.”

I switched on the TV and drove my wheelchair perpendicular to the couch before transferring onto it. She sat down beside me.

“You look so sexy when you swing your bum around,” she teased.

My face grew crimson.

“Thanks,” I replied with a wide smile.

She smelled of cinnamon perfume. The film started.

I wondered what I should do. Should I make a move or stay quiet watching the film?

She rested her head on my shoulder. My heart started to beat faster. Then she licked my ear. I looked into her blue eyes and leaned forward into a passionate kiss.

Pegasus (Part 54)

The people holding the guns were three scruffy, dirty kids who didn’t look any more than ten or eleven years old. Their faces were gaunt and their arms thin. They motioned for both of us to stand up and hold up our arms. It went quiet below. We were then directed down the stairs in a single file.

My eyes moved furtively. There were another twenty kids downstairs, all looking similarly decrepit mostly armed with pistols. The large man was now pointing his machine in their direction. It wasn’t worth making a move.

“Look at what we have here, how did you too get here?”

His stomach bulged over his pants revealing a hairy, sweaty belly. Some of his teeth were missing and his shoulder-length hair looked badly matted. He had a bright red nose and a pock-marked face.

“Well, have you nothing to say for yourselves?”

He pointed his gun at Tabitha and then stroked her breast with it.

“We haven’t seen your kind round here before?”

Tabitha reacted.

“We are with the Resistance. Release us or face the consequences.”

My heart sank. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

“Oh, you are with the Resistance. That’s more than I could have hoped for. You will fetch good coin!”

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (20)

The President had a vast array of advisors none of whom had ever seen combat. Still, he listens to each of them attentively. He had summoned Timothy to his war cabinet over two hours ago. Still, he had barely the opportunity to speak among the chatter of economic support and financial precariousness. They didn’t seem to be getting the dire nature of their situation.

They were dressed in suits. None of them were carrying weapons apart from Timothy. A rookie mistake. There could be a Tyranid sleeper agent among them.

Eventually, he snapped.

“We need to discuss our war strategy. This other nonsense can wait.”

The room immediately went quiet.

The President met his eyes.

“Yes, you are right. These issues can be dealt with by those who survive.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I wish to recommend the following strategy and the relevant preliminary must be put in place at once.”

There were gasps and murmuring as he went through it.

The President then spoke.

“Timothy, we value human life here. We can’t just sacrifice such vast numbers.”

“Then you and everyone here will die Mr. President. The Tryanids do not feel pity or remorse. They feel nothing at all. All they do is consume world after world mercilessly. And this world will be next if you don’t follow my advice.”

Galway Girls (Part 29)

It seemed to take forever for Saturday to take an age for Friday to finally arrive. I was so looking forward to it, that I counted every minute. It couldn’t come fast enough. My nights were filled by late night text messages and by thoughts of her being in the bed with me.. The passion that there would be.

Eventually, the day came. I made sure my dingey little apartment looked and smelled as good as possible. A hoovering here, some Febreze there. I just hoped that she liked Lasagna. All the time I could feel my heart beating that little bit faster. Then her voice crackled over the intercom.

I pressed on the button for the door to automatically open and there she was. She looked radiant. Her curly blonde hair was now draped over her bare shoulders, the black tank top showing off her ample cleavage. A large smile greeted me before she cane closer and kissed me on the lips. It felt like heaven.

“So, this is your gaffe?” she said peering in my eyes.

I tried to think of something funny, something to immortalize the moment but instead came out with the rather bland, “It is.”

“So are you going to show me around?” she asked still enthused.

“Well, this is my kitchen and dining area behind me. My bedroom is in to the right and sure, follow me into my sitting room.”

I decided it would be overly optimistic to go straight to the bedroom.

Pegasus (Part 53)

I opened the heavy door and went out into a bright, white corridor. Tabitha followed close behind. We went slowly trying to ensure that we didn’t make a noise. It felt claustrophobic, so different to the other habitats I had been on. Each room we came across was full of the same boxes and they were in a similar state of disrepair. A repugnant smell of sweat pervaded the ship sickening the intrepid .

Then they heard the sound of shouting coming from in front of them. They continued on onwards to an open door at the end of the corridor. It led them onto a balcony. We peered down at what lay below. A big, heavy-set man was speaking to a large of people. What looked like a machine gun was strewn around his neck. They could just barely make out what he was saying –

“See I told ya. But did ya believe me? Not a chance. But the proof is with us now. I told you that there was a flaw in their security. Now we have their merchandise to sell to the highest bidder. And we will.”

Just then, I thought I felt something prodding my back. So intently was I listening that I ignored it, but then I got a much larger prod that sent a dart of pain into my side.

“What?” I whispered angrily as I looked back to guns pointing at my face.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (19)

The days passed and Timothy and his troops grew to know what was a new world. Timothy was continually impressed. It had progressed beyond anything that he had expected. The only thing that bothered him was most of the progress was made after the Emperor’s grip on the planet had been loosened. This was not the way it way it should be. It was thought that the Emperor was the savior of humanity.

It was something of a shock that women were now treated on a par with men. In the latest wheelchair wars, they tried to reduce the bloodletting as much as possible. The poor’s health needs were met almost as much as those of the rich.

The Emperor’s ship had never left orbit. He sensed the nervousness of the people. They feared his return only slightly less than that of the impending Tyranid invasion. On a trip to the surface, he saw people pointing to its proximate location in the now blue sky.

He wondered if one of the Gods of Chaos was at work in the World but they were far from the Warp and the telepaths among his troops sensed nothing. A terrible truth dawned on him. They were doing better due to the Emperor’s absence.

He decided to rid his mind of such thoughts by focusing on the planet’s defense. After learning more, he was now quietly feeling more confident.

The planet had multiple lines of defense. The first was its multiple-battery orbit guns dotted around the planet. They were the best Timothy had ever seen. Almost too good. Who were they to be originally used against?

Then there was the planet’s federal army, which consisted of a land force, a navy, and a space force. The best troops in the land forces were modeled on the Space Marines and had undergone body augmentation and were fitted with the best lasers and blasters that money could buy.

The navy consisted of hundreds of battleships, aircraft carriers, and corvettes. The space force had nearly a thousand advanced fighters but no large ships.

There was also a territorial army, a large reserve force containing millions of men, albeit much more lightly armed with mostly machine guns and rocket launchers.

Finally, there were the militia. These had the poorest equipment and consisted of the young and old who were able to fight.

Now, it was a matter of finalizing exactly how the planet’s defenses would be used with the planet’s President.

Galway Girls (Part 28)

“Just be careful,” Bianca said quietly, “I wouldn’t like to see you getting hurt.”

The conversation was getting all too serious now so I mischievously brought up her Garda guy. He was older and usually only met her late at night..

“So, what about your Garda fella? Still on the radar?”

“Oh, the less said about that, the better.”

Tony couldn’t help but chip in.

“No booty call so?”

“Would you fuck off?” she replied to our laughter.

With our cappuccinos and scones finished it was time to make the short trip back to the office.

It did give me pause for thought. Was I just setting up myself for a world of pain?

What sort of life could I offer her anyway?

I need not have worried, I still had a few hours of scrolling through spreadsheets to look forward to.

Later that evening as I relaxed in front of the television I texted Lizzie.

  • So what are you up to?
  • L: Working late. Hope you are good x
  • Yeah, I’m grand. What do you work as anyway?
  • L: Trainee solicitor.
  • What a clever girl. Better try to keep hold of you. Lots of dosh lol
  • L: I will probably be replaced by AI any day now lol
  • Thinking of you a lot xx
  • L: Coming to see you next Sat. Arrive at 2 pm. Meet at your house. That ok?
  • Excellent xxx

My heart throbbed. She was coming.

Pegasus (Part 52)

“I have no idea. I’ve never seen such a shoddy ship before. How is it still even functioning?” I replied dryly.

Tabitha looked at me wide-eyed and then replied, “It must be a scavenger ship. I’ve heard about them. They bring goods of all types from one habitat to another for the lowest possible price. Many of the first-generation ships ended up getting purchased for this purpose and it was said that some of them are still out there. Scavengers have a very bad reputation for violence and I was told never to let my guard around them. There was one story about a group of rebels who asked to let them hide in their ship. The Scavengers said yes but they were not heard of or seen again. You ever hear about them?”

“No nothing. But the media and everything else were tightly controlled in my habitat so that might not mean much.”

A siren went off in the ceiling corner. We both froze. There was a scurrying sound coming from outside and instinctively we rushed behind some of the metal containers. The scurrying noise grew louder before receding away. Then the siren stopped.

I glanced at Tabitha knowingly.

“The siren is a summoning device. Come on, let’s see where they went.”

But she gripped my arm tightly.

“We have to see what’s going on. We’re not on the right ship.”

She let my arm go and nodded in agreement.