Warhawk's Sacrifice - Ch. 5 - The Weapon - Alpha (Patreon)

Seb tilted his head. While Essix held onto his hand, he watched as the three other maintenance workers all positioned themselves in a circle around the room, pointing their weapons at him. He couldn’t help but laugh at his dumb luck. His chuckle built into full blown laughter, as the maintenance workers glanced at each other and scowled.

“What’s so funny, Warhawk?” Essix asked.

“Syn, I want you to close the cargo bay door, take the ship out of standby, and when I give the signal, reverse the cargo bay’s gravity,” Seb said over his helmet’s comm.

“Acknowledged, Captain.”

As the roar of the engines vibrated through the ship and the rise of the cargo bay door echoed throughout the large room, Seb could hear the workers' skittering footsteps behind him, signaling their unease.

The captain raised his free hand and pointed his finger. “You know, Essix. You’re pretty fucking stupid for attacking a captain on his own ship.”

“What are you doing?” she shouted, wide-eyed. When she attempted to jerk her hand away, Seb tightened his grip. “Let go of me or I’ll shoot.”

“No you won’t,” he said with a mischievous grin.

She raised her laser pistol and pressed it to Seb’s helmet. “I swear I will!”

“You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. You already tipped your hand and told me it was Madam Hurona who wanted to see me. No doubt wanting to collect that bounty on my head, which my guess is ten million alive. You kill me and you don’t get paid.”

When all six of her eyes blinked at once and her arm relaxed, Seb knew he had her. Now was the perfect time to strike. “Syn now!” he shouted.

Seb clicked his suit’s magnetic boots and shook off Essix’s grip. He watched her and her allies shout as they flew through the air. Their bodies slammed into the ceiling. A satisfying groan of pain followed each thud.

Seb drew his Lawbringer and fired four shots, one destined for each of his attempted kidnappers. He felt the pressure of each blast of his high caliber revolver through his suit as it discharged it in the tight metal space. Their carapace bodies snapped with deep pops like a hammer hitting a melon. Chunks of their flesh and green blobs of their blood painted the roof above.

Once he was certain he’d dealt with the threat, Seb hit his cylinder release and ejected the spent casings into the air. After reloading his weapon, he flicked his wrist, snapping the cylinder back in place. He spun it just to make sure it was secure before holstering it. “Syn, you can reset the gravity to normal.”

“Gravity reset complete, Captain,” his virtual intelligence said.

The green rain splattered on the ground like overturned paint cans. The fractured bodies hit the ground with meaty thumps. Seb smeared the speckles of green across his visor.

“Yuck…” he said, shaking off his limbs.

After deactivating his magnetic boots, he jogged out of the room and into the armory. He slung Betty over his shoulder and wrapped a grenade bandolier across his chest. Fully armed, he sprinted toward the cargo bay door.

“Do you have eyes on with the rest of the crew?” Seb asked.

“Negative, Captain,” Syn said. “I believe a communication disruptor has been deployed.”

“Are there any hostiles outside?”

A thunderous boom from the ship's rear flack cannons answered the question for him.

“Negative, Captain,” Syn said with a hint of a smile in her voice. “I’m no longer detecting any threats in the surrounding area.”

“Lower the ramp, then.”

Once it tapped the corner of the landing platform, Seb ran up and jumped off the edge. The outpost’s metal floor groaned as his feet slapped onto the weak surface. Seb slid the laser mini-gun and grenade launcher amalgamation off of his shoulder and tightened his hands around the small grip and handle. He quickly scanned the surroundings, expecting a fight.

A dozen bodies in silver and black armor lay contorted in slabs of flesh and twisted metal. Smoke rose from glowing orange holes, creating a no-man's-land separating the Amnesty from the rest of the station. All the nearby civilians scattered like rats, bolting the nearest cover or room.

Was that it? Seb wondered. Maybe Madam Hurona was trying to keep this under wraps to not draw attention to any nearby bounty hunters?

An explosion deeper in the complex shook the ceiling lights and rained soot from above. It pulled Seb’s attention. He hopped around the dead bodies until he reached the stable side.

A synthetic voice spoke over the loudspeakers, preceded by a warning alarm. “All available station security on level one proceed to commercial district three.”

“Syn, do you have any idea what’s going on?” Seb asked, jogging deeper into the complex.

“I’m still unable to connect to any station comms, Captain,” Syn said. “However, my assumption is that a similar attempt to subdue the crew occurred at the same time as your capture. They’re likely preventing that.”

“Maybe I can reach Iris.” Seb used his glove to connect to Iris. Even though they were hundreds of feet apart, he felt her presence as if standing right next to her. He opened himself to her, only to fall to his knees.

A flash of fear preceded a torrent of rage unlike anything he’d ever felt. He screamed as all the muscles in his body tightened. The door to close the connection felt like shutting an open exterior door of a sinking boat. It took all of his mental power to sever himself from her.

Syn’s muted voice echoed distantly in his helmet. “Captain, are you okay? Your vitals spiked.”

“I’m… okay,” Seb said, trying to get his breathing under control. He picked up his weapon and stood. “Iris is alive, but she’s pissed. I couldn’t handle the connection. I just hope the rest of the crew is safe.”

“I get infrequent pings from Vi and Eni’s armor. Both are alive. However, I cannot determine the rest of them.”

“I know we’re low on supplies, but if you manage to get a message through, tell Nalla to prepare for any injured.”

“Acknowledged, Captain.”

“How do I get to them?”

“Reviewing the recording I have access to, there's a hallway ahead of you. Fifty feet beyond that will lead you to a rectangular room with elevators that expand the complex.”

Seb pointed to the doorless opening that was shrouded in darkness. “There?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Seb bolted up to the wall, slamming his shoulder into it. He glanced all around him before peering around the corner. Machine haze was thicker here. It covered all the light in a gray hue. Thin illuminating fixtures swayed on thin wires, casting dancing shadows along the walls. While shouts echoed further down, he saw no one.

The heads that peeked out doorways jerked back inside their abodes once they saw Seb coming. The glowing red bar across the shut metal doors indicated their locked status. He felt more comfortable knowing they hid from him. However, all it took was one gun wielding goon to make his day worse.

The hallway was small enough. He knew if he caught a foe out in the open, the overwhelming laser fire from Boom Boom Betty would be enough to put them down. So, he kept his grip tight and weapon pointed down range.

Just as Syn had said, the hall opened up into two-sides both with five elevators for each side before continuing further in. It took Seb a minute to acclimate himself on the older aesthetic. There were no holograms displaying which floor each cabin was on. A mechanized arrow rose up and down between set numbers on the walls in between each opening. Most of the numbers were missing or snapped from their screwed positions.

“I’m guessing they went up?” Seb asked.

“That’s correct, Captain,” Syn said.

He tapped the up-arrow button on the wall and waited. The mechanical floor tracker slowly lowered from the top down to the bottom. Seb pushed his hand onto the wall as another eruption above caused the entire facility to shake. The floor tracker fell with unnerving speed. Seb’s eyes widened, and he stepped back as it descended closer to his floor.

A ding sounded, and the doors opened, revealing an empty shaft. A glowing orange light illuminated the chasm moments before the squealing cabin flew by. Horrific screams of the locked passengers rang until silenced by an explosion.

What’s happening? Seb thought. The whole place seems like it’s coming apart.

The synthetic voice spoke again. “All available station security on all levels proceed to level one.”

Seb turned around and hit the up-arrow button on the other side of the wall. The floor markers all ascended except for one that was just a few floors above him. When the doors opened, he stuck his foot inside, stomping on the floor. He wanted to make sure it was secure enough, not wanting to end up like the burning carriage.

Once inside, he raised his hand over the buttons on the wall. They were split into two groups. On the left were eleven buttons in a column. Next to them were ninety-nine, all labeled with white paint on the brown faux wood.

“Syn, which floor did they leave on?”

“The recording has them on floor one. Hit the zero button and then the one.”

Seb did as she said. The doors closed, and the elevator cabin ascended. “So, what happened in the recording after they got off the elevator? What am I walking into?”

“Unfortunately, I am unable to provide that data, Captain. As the elevator ascended higher into the facility, the signal weakened, and the audio and video became static. That is why I believe they used a signal jammer.”

“Then it was as Essix said. They knew who we were as soon as we made contact with the station. If the whole galaxy is after us, we’re fucked.”

“I have confirmed that the bounty boards are showing you as target number one and number two. Number one is the bounty put out by the GRC for you, the ship, and the crew for ten million credits. Number two is the bounty from Williams Correctional Corp for one million credits. Both are for capturing you alive.”

Seb let out a short laugh. “Never thought I’d be the most wanted man in the galaxy. That’s got to count for something, right?”

“Criminal documentaries are quite popular media. They are some of the most watched holovids. We could look into licensing your story and—”

“I was joking, Syn.”

“Oh, my apologies, Captain.”

For the remainder of the ride up, Seb stood in silence. Every additional rumble above and shake of his cabin caused him to grab the hand railing. He just hoped to make it to the top. As the carriage slowed down, Seb let go of the bar and readied his weapon for anything that would be on the other side of the doors.

When they opened, Seb peered around both sides. He couldn’t see anyone around. The elevator exited in an alleyway littered with food wrappers, grime, and an old mattress. Neon signs illuminated both ends. Distant sounds of shouting, screams, and laser fire filled the air.

With his weapon raised, Seb stepped into the alley. “Syn, I made it on the top floor. Do you read?” There was no response. “Vi, Eni? Can either of you hear me?” Again, no response. Guess I’ll just follow the gunfire.

Seb walked down the end of the alley, stopping along the edge to check his corners. However, as his eyes gazed over the blazing surroundings, his jaw dropped. He shuffled down the middle of the street, taking in the bleak view.

The station’s small buildings stood shoulder to shoulder, only breaking for small pathways that wound further into the complex. The station’s short ceiling and no windows made the facility feel more like an underground cave than a space station floating above a pink gas giant. But it was the condition everything was in that gave Seb a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The streets were littered with rubble and debris. Entire buildings stood cut in half as if someone had taken a hot knife and sliced through butter. A station security vehicle sat split in two with the charred remains of its passengers still smoking from the attack. Massive advertisement screens hung in pieces, sparks flying from the parts that remained.

What in the Maker’s name did this? Seb wondered.

He marched forward for a few more minutes, still on guard. His gun swung at each shadow that approached. The few inhabitants he saw either turned and ran as soon as they saw them or were too busy helping other injured to pay him any mind.

As he looked for his companions, a glowing orb that looked to be floating in the distance caught his eye. It moved frantically but with precision, too much to be an optical illusion in the smoke and flame. Seconds later, red and blue bolts shot at the anomaly.

Seb knew that was where he needed to be. His shuffle became a dash as he pursued his lead. He jumped on top of overturned vehicles and small trash fires. Looters paid him no mind as they ran out of the nearby shops with armfuls of food and medicine.

As he got close to his target, he could hear more shooting ahead, only this was at ground level. Seb slowed to a jog and approached the edge of the nearby building. The thicker smoke hindered his view of the combatants, but he could see flashing bolts of blue laser fire in one direction, and muzzle flashes coming from the other.

Seb toggled his helmet infrared vision, giving him a better view. Two shooters were standing in a shop's entrance. One, he could tell, was short and the other tall. Six foes stood behind several vehicles for cover, using their larger numbers to their advantage.

He assumed that it could be Eni and Vi based on their frames and weapons, but there was only one way to be certain. Seb crept to the corner, using the smoke as cover, before entering a store entrance on the opposite side of the street. After slinging Betty over his shoulder, he cupped his hands around his helmet’s speaker.

“Eni, Vi, is that you?” he shouted.

“Seb?” Eni yelled back. “Great for you to show up. Fucking help us!”

The conversation drew the security team's attention toward him as a blue bolt slammed into the wall near Seb’s head.

“Fuck,” Seb said, before spinning around the corner. He grabbed two grenades from his bandolier, pulled the pins, and hit the top plungers. After rounding the corner again, he tossed both of them over the vehicles. His screen lit up with orange and red as the incendiary rounds coated everything in fire.

Seb deactivated his infrared vision and took Betty into his hands. The synthetic screams of his adversaries' helmets filled the air. They rolled and tossed around like fire effigies used to ward off anyone who approached. Those still moving by the time Seb reached the back of the vehicles received his weapon’s mercy, peppering them with laser fire. He confirmed there were no more threats before walking over to his allies.

“I’m coming over!” Seb shouted. “Don’t shoot!”

“I’ll think about it,” Eni shouted before cackling.

Once Seb entered the front door of the convenience store, Eni and Vi shut the electronic door behind him and turned on the lights. The overhead LED’s flickered before turning on.

Eni and Vi stood, double checking their weapons. They were covered in soot, but there didn’t seem to be any scorch marks on their armor which filled Seb with a sense of relief.

“Are you two okay?” Seb asked.

“Fuck no we’re not okay!” Eni shouted, loading more shells into her tube magazine. “We’ve been fighting ever since we got up here. We’re almost out of ammo. This wouldn’t have been a big deal if you’d had let me bring Betty in the first place.”

“Here,” Seb said, handing the pracovi her body-sized weapon.

“Oh so you can bring it, but I couldn’t?”

“Cut me a break! I didn’t think there was going to be an attempted kidnapping.”

“Kidnapping?” Eni asked before swapping weapons.

“Yeah, my guess is the station owner Madam Whatever wants to turn us in for the bounty. Syn checked the boards. GRC has issued a new bounty of ten million credits for us.”

“How did they know it was us?” Vi asked. “Didn’t we give them fake ship transponder codes?”

“I always cycle through our codes every time we land somewhere new,” Eni said. “But that doesn’t do shit if they just look outside the window. We are flying a one of a kind ship.”

“That’s my guess,” Seb said. “Our faces are plastered all over the boards, including the Amnesty.”

“So you’re telling us we’re fucked, great…”

“I don’t know. It definitely doesn’t look good. Either way, we need to get off the station, back to the ship, and then we can decide to go from here.”

“Yeah, I hear ya.”

Seb looked around the room at the spilled food and drinks spilling from the wall mounted shelves. “Where are the others?”

A pounding from a backroom door preceded Zara’s cries. “Help! Someone let me out of here this instant!”

“As you can see, we’ve got the dragon princess locked in a closet back there,” Eni said with a smug grin. “Once the shooting started, she became a liability. Iris and Mischa… I don’t know. We got separated.”

“You can’t just leave it at that,” Vi said, punching Eni’s arm.

“Ow!”

“You need to tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Seb asked. “What happened?”

Eni scowled at Vi as she rubbed her arm before looking up at Seb. “When we got to the top floor, that maintenance guy asked what we needed. We told him and he led us further into the complex. We saw him whispering into a comm he had, but didn’t really think anything of it. After walking down the road, station security swarmed us from every side. They had several men positioned on rooftops, down every road, it was an ambush. They did the stereotypical thing and shouted for us to lay down our weapons.”

“So, how’d you get out of it?”

“Luckily, Mischa is the size of a tank. She shouted for us to run and drew fire for us. She charged the nearest group, using her powersword to cleave through four of them. Vi and I took Zara and Iris with us to get some distance.”

“So you got away?”

“Not really. A group followed us.”

“You didn't lose her, did you?”

“No! Of course not. Well, not really…”

Seb placed his hands on his hips. “What do you mean not really? Either you did or you didn’t.”

“Will you stop asking questions and give me a second to explain,” Eni said, holding up her hand. “While we were running, Iris screamed this horrible scream. We turned around and saw Sister Mischa take a few rounds to her armor.

“What?” Seb shouted, raising his hands. “Is she okay?”

“Of course she is. Like I said, she’s built like a tank. We knew she was okay, but Iris didn’t. Seeing that did something to her. She became something different.”

“Different? Different how?”

Eni looked up at Vi, who stepped forward. “We didn’t get a good look, but she radiated so much light it was blinding. She hovered from the ground and made this horrible noise. When we turned back, only the soldier's boots were left. We tried shouting for her, but she wouldn’t stop. She flew off toward Mischa. That’s when we got separated.”

“Did you follow?” Seb asked.

“We tried, but we started taking fire from reinforcements that showed up. Since we had the princess with us, we made a run for it before getting trapped at this intersection. We held up in here until you arrived.”

The light I saw earlier has to be Iris, Seb thought. I have to get to her. He drew his Lawbringer and headed for the door. “Come on, we need to go find her.”

“What about the princess?” Eni asked, pointing over her shoulder.

“Bring her with us.”

“She’s dead weight, she’s just going to slow us down.”

“Then take her back to the ship. The way back is clear.”

“Why don’t you just try talking to Iris and bring her back here?” Vi asked.

“I tried that before I came here,” Seb said. “She’s full of rage. It rendered me immobile when I opened myself to her. All I could do was scream. It’s like Eni said. She’s something different right now. I don’t think she’s going to calm down until I can get her to look at me.”

“There’s nothing we’re going to be able to do, anyway,” Eni said with a sigh. “Go and get her. We’ll grab the princess and head back to the ship.”

“Are you sure?” Seb asked.

“Yeah, go ahead. We’ll get things ready to depart.”

Seb tapped the door’s manual open button. “See if you can figure out what’s blocking our comms.”

“You got it. Good luck.”

“You three be careful.”

Seb ran around the corner and raced further into the complex. He kept his eyes up, looking for any sign of the glowing figure. He spotted Iris flying over a large dome building that towered over the small shops and condos. As Seb crossed from road to road, he realized they all led to that structure. It marked the middle of the station, hinting at its importance.

As he got close, he heard the familiar thunder of Sister Mischa’s automatic pistol. It wasn’t until the density of the streets evaporated, revealing a circular park-like courtyard, that the heavy smoke dissipated. The once green grounds were littered with severed bodies, scorch marks, and melted steel.

Seb followed the sound of the  gunfire. Only then did he spot the flaming powersword wielded by his ally. With a heavy horizontal swing, the security officer fell to his knees, attempting to put his guts back inside. Her last combatant pleaded for mercy, scrambling backward from his missing leg. She granted him none, severing his head from his neck.

“Mischa!” Seb shouted, racing toward his companion.

The Sister swung around raising her gun at Seb, only lowering it once he approached. “Seb, I need your help!” she yelled.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s Iris. I can’t get through to her. She’s not responding to me and completely lost control. You have to do something.”

“I tried that once, and I couldn’t.

Sister Mischa holstered her weapons and grabbed Seb by the shoulders. “Try harder! If you don't, she'll destroy the entire station!”

Seb looked up the floating orb above them, his HUD adjusting his screen due to the brightness. Her body emanated a bright white light, shifting to a light pink that outlined her body. Her tendrils flickered like the flames of a sun. A fiery rage replaced the softness in her eyes, leaving them pure white like the rest of her form.

The weapon pulled her shoulders back as a deep hum resonated within her. When she pushed her hands forward, rays of plasma shot out of them, cutting through the dome’s metal and glass surface like it was paper. In a matter of seconds, the building collapsed into itself as its structure weakened.

Micha’s shaking pulled his attention back down. “Dammit, Seb! Don’t just stand there, do something!”

“Okay!” Seb shouted, pushing Mischa away. He holstered his weapon and adjusted his overcoat. Looking up in the air, he tapped the side of his helmet, allowing his suit to pull off his visor. He coughed, the nearby smoke itching his throat and eyes. After clearing his throat, he opened a telepathic connection to his companion.

“Iris!” Seb shouted. His fists tightened and his jaw clenched as he absorbed her anger. “Iris! Get down here right now!” The glowing figure turned, and he felt her heated gaze upon him. With blinding speed, she appeared in front of him. He raised his hand as the heat she put off felt like his head was in front of an oven.

“Sebastian?” she said, her voice floating in his mind.

“Yes, Iris it's me.” Seb strained. “You need to come with us.”

Her eyes blinked rapidly, as if coming up from a deep sleep. She looked down at her body and gasped. “W-what happened? What is this? Why am I glowing?”

“I don’t know, Iris, but it’s all right. We’ll figure this out. But right now, I need you to calm down and come with me. We need to get out of here.”

He felt the shift in disbelief back to anger momentarily as her fists tightened and she frowned. “Because they want to hurt us.”

“There’s no one left to hurt us, Iris. But there are people who will come for us if we don’t leave.”

She soared higher in the air. “I won’t let them!”

“Seb, whatever you’re doing, it’s not working!” Sister Mischa said frantically.

“Just give me a second!” Seb snapped. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the emotions that hit him like a rogue wave. “Iris, I understand the anger you feel. I’ve been angry my entire life. Angry at my parents not giving a shit, angry at getting caught and going to prison, and angry at all the poor decisions I’ve ever made. But do you know what makes me even more angry?”

“No…” she mumbled.

Seb hung his head. “I’m more angry at myself for failing you. You should never have to feel this way. I should have seen this coming, and avoided having to put you in danger like this. I’m sorry.”

In an instant, all the anger and rage dissipated. A flood of love and adoration filled him. He felt the heat of her presence before the softness of her hand. When he looked up, Iris stood before him, a single tear falling along her cheek.

“Your love quelled my flame, my Inhibitor,” she said, smiling. A weariness washed over her face as she fell backward. Her glow faded.

“I gotcha,” Seb said, catching her as she collapsed in his arms. He pulled off his overcoat and wrapped it around her nude body. When he lifted her into his arms, he whispered. “I’m taking you home.”