Tag: Sci-fi

Pegasus (Part 58)

We were alone once again in our cage in the deathly silence having long run out of things to say.

“Did you hear that?” Tabitha murmured.

“Hear what?” I replied.

But then I heard something too.

It was faint but getting louder.

Then the two Irish-speaking boys appeared at the top of one of the stairwells.

My heart jumped.

I immediately spoke to them in Irish and said –

“Come down and chat to us. We mean you no harm. Where did you learn Irish?”

The two boys looked and muttered to each other. Then slowly they walked down the creaking stairwell towards them.

“What are your names?” I asked.

The eldest boy spoke.

“I am Padraig and this is Sean.”

“How did you get here?”

“Our transport vessel was attacked. My parents were merchants. They were murdered and we were sold as slaves to Barabus.”

The two boys were shaking with tears trickling down their faces.

“This is Tabitha, and my name is Ciarán. You have nothing to fear from us. We see the way that you are treated, it’s not right. If you help us out of this cage we can help you.”

The boys looked at each other. Then Sean went to the top of the room to retrieve the keys and then unlocked the cage.

Tabitha couldn’t but hug the two boys as she left the cage.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (24)

Timothy banged his hand on the console. The hive mind had altered its tactics. The majority of the Tyranid forces now inexplicably move towards Timothy’s position. Tyranid spies must have relayed details of the defense network before they were exterminated.

For the first time, Timothy surveyed his surroundings and felt fear. Not for himself but for everybody else. This would be a very bloody and long battle. He roared out the command “Contingency 21 (a).”

All non-military personnel were to be evacuated through secret tunnels under the huge mega city. Most would not get the opportunity to use them but that is all he could do.

Wave after wave now attacked the city. Defensive artillery cut a swathe through them but some of their forces managed to enter the lower levels of the city. Timothy viewed the close-quarter fighting that ensued. Humans were being ripped apart piece by piece but occasionally taking a Tyranid with them.

Hours passed and the massive number of casualties only increased. Inch by inch, the Tyranids went forward. The ultimate war of attrition continued and they were now closing in on his position.

Timothy ordered the larger metal door to be opened and summoned his most loyal troops. The ones that he had fought with on Irideon 5.

Pegasus (Part 57)

In the next cycle of the coming and going, I tried to coax the two boys to chat with me.

“Cad is ainm duit?” – What is your name?

Their eyes opened wide when they heard me speaking their tongue.

“Labhair liom.” – Speak to me I continued.

Just then Barabus entered. They and everyone else immediately turned their intention to him.

My heart sank at the thought that any chance of freedom was slipping away.

Batababus followed the same routine. Asking each child for updates on their progress at whatever task he had set. This time he seemed more reserved. That was until he reached the two Irish-speaking boys.

I couldn’t quite make out their conversation but he lashed out striking the oldest boy in the face and then roared out –

“I am tired of your excuses. I paid a good amount for you because I was told that you could fulfill this requirement. I’m sick of you and I’m sick of hearing you speak your gibberish. Continue this, and you will end up like the rest. You hear me,”

Tabitha gripped my hand. Her face grimaced.

Fortunately, that was the end of the violence at least for now.

Once more, the room emptied quickly.

“Why does he treat those kids so badly,” Tabitha said silently.

“There are no words,” I replied.

Wheelchair Wars 3 (Part 23)

The Tyranid menace rained down from orbit in ever heavier waves. A long-orbit satellite, already the last functional confirmed that they were committing their entire fleet. Life on this planet and possibly thousands more now hung in the balance.

Screams of panic came from outside. Timothy had the large metallic doors sealed.

Timothy could see the intense fighting throughout the planet. Some minor fortifications had already fallen. But Timothy had ensured that a nasty surprise awaited the seeming victors. The fortifications were all rigged to explode. It was merely a matter of pressing a button on his screen. Alien and human life incinerated in an instant.

Another even nastier surprise was the use of the atom bombs. These were strictly prohibited as a threat to stability, not only under the Emperor but every other Empire in the galaxy too. But Uisneach as a free world had forged its own path.

The President had argued against their use but Timothy had convinced him that it was the only way. Of course, he had insisted on a limit to the number that would be used fearing that the planet would be left a toxic wasteland. Timothy had nodded dutifully, then ignored him.

The Tyranids had formed large biospheres near the largest cities. Timothy had heard about these super monsters before. They had to be stopped before they tore down the defensive positions. He gave the order for the first thirty nuclear missiles to launch.

Some of them target spaceships in low orbit. For a few moments, the room went deathly quiet. Then large cheers went up as one large mushroom cloud and then another rose into the atmosphere. Timothy immediately ordered the next round of missiles to be prepared. But the Tyranids changed their tactics pulling their ships back from low earth orbit and spreading out on the ground.

Pegasus (Part 56)

We languished for hours in the cage alone. Then we could hear the tapping sound of feet coming closer and closer till the room once more burst into life. They were largely ignored to the rear. Most of their conversations were indecipherable. But, my heart suddenly lifted when I heard some Irish being spoken between two of the boys and learned that their leader was called Barabus. Both of them were in shabby, dirty clothes. The red-haired freckled boy looked the elder at about thirteen years of age. He had a bruise on his left eye. The other boy with brown hair and light blue skin looked no more than eleven years of age. There was a great sadness in their eyes.

Then the man they called Barabus returned and immediately set about interrogating his minions about the status of their progress. At times he shouted his displeasure, or else he would hit them with his fist reducing some of them to a bawl of tears. Each boy and girl nervously awaited their return.

“He’s a monster,” Tabitha whispered in my ear.

I gently nodded in agreement not wanting to catch his attention.

Then they dispersed as quickly as they had gathered.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (22)

Timothy found himself hitting his pen off the table as he waited hour after hour in the control room for the battle to begin. An update was given every thirty minutes on the Tyranid fleet. It became that their whole armada would be involved.

The latest report told him that the Tyranid fleet had entered orbit. But he didn’t need the update. The gasp from those around him as the images from the multitude of cameras positioned all over the planet dimmed one after the other.

This was what he had been waiting for. The planet’s military leaders were all on the console in front of him kitted out in full military attire.

“Fire the planetary defense and do not stop until the enemy has been defeated.”

Timothy glanced over at the display to his left. It showed that the large guns were cutting a swathe through the enemy fleet. Then their response came.

The skies grew darker still as large and small explosions began to pulverize the surface of the planet, especially close to its two megacities.

Timothy once more turned to the console. The military men mostly looked stern and determined but others were nervously twitching.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for. Keep me updated at all times.

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.

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.”