Titan Fleet: The Robur Read online

  Talia also executed a five second burn on her chest inferno flame thrower, to test it still functioned, and fired off her grapple gun on her other arm, which ended up hitting a large log. As she retracted it, the log was pulled back towards her at quite a speed, before working its way loose in the soil with the grapple returning to its original starting position. In her back pack she had many useful weapons and gadgets, which were all in working condition, and after checking her helmet, she was ready for war once more.

  The Gulmeds had also been busy, rerouting power from large capacitors that used to store power for emergency circuits to operate. The engine room had gone, along with the power core, at some stage during the crash and was probably miles behind them in the forest, along with the loading bay. The Gulmeds finish splicing some cables together and then throw the main power switch. There is a hum all around the ship and a faint yellow glow as the power surges along transplanted wires and into the capacitors, which then distribute the power along more cables into the personal computer in the captain’s room. It made sense to use that computer, as all the bridge computers were damaged or at the bottom of the mountain, and at least the two rooms upstairs were now heated and in a liveable condition to use. It was a major feat of engineering skill, something a human could not have comprehended nor could have achieved in such a short time.

  The Gulmeds looked at each other with happiness and were feeling good about what they had done.

  “Drax, you are indeed a master with electronics. At least we will be safe now and will be able to sleep tonight. We all need to get some rest.” Steg hugged Drax and kissed him on his cheek as she had always done since a youngling. She then made her way upstairs to the captain’s quarters and, with help from Drax, began to reprogram the computer so it could self-automate a repair routine and run itself, so the Gulmeds could take time to cleanse their bodies before the end of the day.

  Megan, who has now seen the lights flickering on and then staying on, also hurries up to the captain’s quarters, running up the spiral stairs and opening the door, half expecting to see Pace stood there, but then realizing that he was probably dead now, and being brought back down from her dream to the ground once more. She is met by the Gulmeds, who are just about to exit the room.

  “Ah, Captain, we now have power to heating shields. We have compartmentalized shields protecting the ship, especially to the rear, so nothing can get in while we sleep. We have, as you can see, restored lights and some basic programs, and the distress beacon is still functioning, although we may not get any response as some of the components look fried, but it is still bleeping for now. This is your room, Captain. We shall take the first officer’s quarters next door, if that is ok with you, and maybe Talia could share a room with you for safety.”

  Megan is delighted that the Gulmeds have managed to pull off this miracle and is so relieved that a tear rolls down one cheek, quickly swiped away by Megan, before the Gulmeds see.

  “You two are just amazing! What can I say? I owe you both a lot. Thank you.” Megan smiles as she moves across the floor to the computer, quickly checking the programs at her disposal. “By all means take the room next door. I’ll pop down and see what Talia is up to, and I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  Megan notices that Steg has a lump forming on her back. It is a fair size, but not wishing to be rude, she does not mention it. The Gulmeds have restored power to the doors too, and as they disappear behind theirs for the night, Megan finds her way back down to the ground floor, and yet again she feels something is missing, but what?

  Megan looks around the canteen and the devastated lounge and at first the destruction is all she can see, and then she begins to narrow things down. The blood stains were still there and all the mess on the floor, and then she remembers that she would need to bury the dead, or they would have disease on their hands next. As she decides to drag the first torn body outside, she glances around the room and that is when she realizes that one body is missing. Fear really hits home when she realizes it was the body of Captain Miles that was missing. Miles had been turned into a Blue and attacked them before the ship crashed, but he had had a Gulmed spear thrust through him. How could he have survived that? Megan was thinking to herself as she placed the first body neatly outside. She frowned as she walked back in for another body. Maybe a creature had got in before the shields went up and took him off as food, but then surely any creature would be eating the carcass outside first. Maybe the Captain had survived after all, regenerated and escaped. This gave Megan a horrid feeling and as she pulled out the final body for burial, she is met by a very smart armoured Talia, who has now cleaned her kit.

  “Talia, I think that Captain Miles may be alive. I’m not sure, but his body is gone and there is not much blood. We need to keep an eye out for him.” Megan wipes the blood on her trousers before scratching her neck.

  “Captain, you need to go and get changed and cleaned up. Let me worry about security, that’s my job now, and we need to source you a suit if we are going out to that spire place.” Talia operates her tactical visor and a shield envelopes her head and a visor flips down, allowing her to view the topography around them. The scan was short and no life form is found resembling the Captain or a Blue. There were a lot of large creatures out there though, and although quite dormant at the moment, they could do them a lot of harm if they ran into them. “I just surveyed the area and I will update my drones search data. If he is out there, we will find him before he finds us, although he probably just ran off knowing we would just kill him again if we saw him.” Talia’s helmet disappears, as she presses a button on her gauntlet, and the two women walk back inside the warm ship out of the cold. It was now dark and the place took on a whole different feel as they looked back out from behind the shields.

  There were small flowers that emitted small puffs of a neon green coloured fungus into the air. This lit up the forest and surrounding area, so they could see quite well. It was not as black as the nights on Foloss, but had a romantic feel about it; the sort of setting you would see on a wedding night on Delgen 9 back in the day. Dark shadows loom in the trees, waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting prey that was to pass them, and Megan thought to herself that it would be a deadly place at night and was grateful of her safety inside her ship. As she was about to turn and head for her room, Megan spots a small creature on four legs. It is light orange in colour and hopping along nibbling at small bushes.

  “Ah, look Talia, it’s so cute!” Talia looks at the docile creature and smiles. As the two women watch, a large vine with a yellow bulbous end shoots out of the forest. The bulb springs open, revealing a mauve interior full of barbs, which shoot out and grip onto the back of the orange creature. There is a sound of bones crushing and a slurping noise along with a loud screech from the orange creature, which sends chills up Talia’s spine. The little creature is lifted from the floor and smashed back up and down several times, each time breaking more bones and scraping flesh on the ground, changing its shape into a bloody ball of gunge. Before they can blink, the bulb retracts and the creature is gone into the forest forever.

  “Wow! Did you see that?” The two women say at the same time, both of them shocked.

  “That vine was almost thirty feet long. I hate to think what the rest of it looked like. It’s a good job we are not going that way,” sighs Talia, “I would not like to fight that in a hurry.”

  The two women are almost asleep on their feet. It had been an interesting day and a busy one. Walking up the stairs and into the room, the two women chat a little to calm their nerves, before getting undressed and into bed. Megan needed a shower, but there was no running water so she uses surgical wipes to clean herself down, while remembering how nice it was to have a quick shower, and she slips into a sleeveless top and knickers, and dives into the double bed next to Talia, for a well-deserved sleep. Talia is out like a light and snoring loudly, which keeps Megan from sleeping. All she needed was a few hours and after a little while her
eyes became heavy like lead weights and she too falls fast asleep.

  Chapter Four

  Pace gives the order to take off. The search for Megan will be fraught with danger and who knows what the crew of the Invictus will find on the way. Nova does her system countdown and the docking clamps are released, and the Invictus is lifted up out of the docking bay, through a shield wall into the launch tunnel which opened out into space. The engine core glows and the power begins to pump around the ship eventually reaching the four engines. As they begin to burn with intense heat, the ship begins to move, held up by giant magnets that begin to propel the ship forward, and with the power now at maximum, the Invictus jets away from the Fahrenheit at top speed to find Megan and the Robur.

  Even at top speed it would take a fair amount of time to even to get to the planet where the signal was coming from. So much time had passed since Pace had seen Megan’s smile, but now there was a small amount of hope at least, and anything is possible when you believe, thought Pace, turning on his viewer on his chair and calling his sister, and in a moment she answered with a smile.

  “Hey you, go careful out there. Lily has drawn a picture for you for when you get back, it’s a surprise so I can’t show you, so you better not let her down. Look after your crew; they love you as I do. I’ll see you soon. I have to go now, I’m in charge and it’s hectic.”

  Pace smiles back at Cassy, getting comfortable in his seat. “Don’t worry, all will be good, I’m sure. See you soon, and give that niece of mine a hug from me.” The screens at both ends go black and all is set. The Titan ship, Fahrenheit is moving out of the galaxy and the Invictus is on a rescue mission.

  Chapter Five

  Megan is woken by Talia who is putting on her armour. Her crew-cut ginger hair was perfectly tidy, not a tangle in sight or a hair out of place, which was a very different story from Megan, who must have tried to eat hers throughout the night. Talia’s lean body was well defined with muscle and once fully armoured up, she dropped to the floor and began to do her push-ups. Her daily routine had started. Megan lifted herself out of bed, bruised ribs and a few tears in the skin, but overall she was in good shape. Her plan for the day was beginning to form in her head, all in order and ready to get started. Her feet touched the floor and she stood up and still for a few moments, then walked over to the wardrobe to see what there was to wear. The problem was, it was Captain Miles’ clothes she found, but at least he had a good sense of style. She rummaged through and found a pair of combat trousers that looked on the small size for a man, but should fit her if she belted them tightly. Megan slid into them and belted up, then pulled her long knee high boots up on top. Then she spotted a dark blue shirt, which she puts on and then rolls the sleeves up and now she is dressed. She leaves Talia and walks down the metal spiral stairs and onto the bridge, where Titch is still twitching. His CPU had shut him off so that he did not further damage himself, so Megan pulled out her tools and began to repair Titch.

  It was not really her field of expertise, but another set of hands would be advantageous, especially when he came through for her several times before. She owed it to him to get him on his feet again, but there was a lot of damage. He must have been hit hard in the head by the trees that had breached the bridge. How damaged was his CPU; that was now the question. Megan spliced wires together and straightened bent metal. She was also able to repair his left hand, which had been crushed a little. The servos made a grinding noise when she moved them by hand, but they should hold out. Megan finished and although a little rough around the edges, Titch looked almost the same as he did before, but the test would be when Megan turned him on.

  Shaky fingers found their way into the top of Titch’s head. Megan pressed the power button on and looked into Titch’s eyes. A slow glow began to form in the hardened glass eyes.

  “Running diagnostics program Alpha.” The little robot was obviously trying to reboot, but was still having a few problems, so Megan inserts a small screwdriver into Titch’s head and slowly turns a few small screws. She did not know what they would do exactly, but anything was worth a try at this stage, and to her joy the little robot sat up and began to speak.

  “Okey-dokey, Captain. What are my orders please?”

  Megan is delighted. She bends down and kisses the robot on the cheek. “Titch, I need you to arm yourself with a weapon and defend the crew. Also, if you can patch into the computer in my room and download all of files, that would be a great start.” Megan steps back as Titch stands up and begins to walk out of the door. “Oh and Titch, we have crashed landed on a strange planet and most of the ship is missing, but I know you will figure it out.”

  “Okey-dokey Captain, will do.” The small maintenance robot was not built for defence, but it would pack a punch if it hit you, and its power core was still operating at one hundred percent, so it was good to have him back again. Somehow it made Megan feel safe again. Megan walks over to the huge rip in the bridge and stares out over the forest and cliff. The giant birds are back in the air, soaring way up high in the red clouds. Every now and then one swoops down and then flies off with something in its arms.

  The Gulmeds have been up for a couple of hours. They have sat outside basking in the early morning sun. Nothing has swooped down on them, as they have shields protecting them. The bright white glow, along with an occasional buzz, is enough to keep anything away. Drax is rubbing Steg’s back, which now has a lump that has grown considerably overnight.

  “How are you feeling my queen, is this helping any?” asks Drax, continuing to run his hands over her back.

  “Yes, that feels better Drax, thank you. I can’t believe this has all happened and we managed to stay alive. The Oakthians have a lot to answer for, and will eventually be punished for the destruction of our world and our people.”

  The two Gulmeds watch as the sun raises its red and orange strength in the sky, warming them and giving them an uplifted feeling. The night had been a cold one even with the ships heating, but at least they had slept well. It was the first time in a long time that they did not have to worry about the Oakthians. They both continued to sit on the floor close together, their love also keeping them warm from the cool air, waiting to be heated by the sun.

  Megan had also been watching the sun rise from within the bridge, a wave of light washing over the trees and ground at an impressive speed. It would be great if she could rustle up a cup of tea or coffee, but without water it was just a dream. It was these little things that she had taken for granted that now seemed a big deal to her.

  Megan strode through to the canteen and began to search the cupboards for anything that could be drank or eaten. After about ten minutes of searching, she grabs at the back of a broken cupboard, her fingers just reaching a container which spins as her fingers try to grip it, but then it finds traction and rolls out. It was a dented container of coffee. Megan quickly stores it, along with two small metal mugs in her bag, along with a few cereal bars and some ginger cake that had not been opened. There was a small amount of food that Megan had managed to sort out, which would do for around two days rations, if everyone carried their share, so that was something at least. Megan stacked the items on the side and then it was time to find some sort of armour.

  Talia had made her way outside to check the mines she had set up around the camp, but first she was analysing the information from the two drones she had sent out last night. They had returned after their mission and were floating outside, waiting to be sent on their next mission. The information was great and Talia pulled up a screen on her gauntlet and began to look at the data, nodding as she became aware of what was around her. Talia was too busy looking down at her gauntlet to notice a shrouded figure in the distance, watching everyone. It was something that was not found on her drones data either. The shrouded figure watched on with evil eyes that meant to do harm. It did not move or even make a sound, but just blended into the trees as if it were one with the forest, its claw like fingers gouging the bark with only t
he slightest of pressure. It waited for Talia to finish deciphering her information, and then only when Talia had turned her back to check the mines did it begin to move again, not making a sound and disappeared with darkness following it.

  Megan had finished looking for armour. She had found nothing that would be of any use at all to her, so decided to settle for her two knives and her large monkey wrench. She eventually made her way outside with her equipment and walked over to the Gulmeds, waving out to Talia on the way to say good morning.

  “Morning you two. How did you sleep, was everything ok?” Looking down at the seated Gulmeds she noticed the lump on Steg’s back move slightly.

  “We slept well, Captain, thank you and how did you sleep?” Making polite conversation, the Gulmeds had learned so much from the humans and their ways and customs. Megan watched with avid curiosity, as Drax rubbed Steg’s back, not being able to hide her interest.

  “Really good thanks, Steg. Umm, if you don’t mind me asking, and you can tell me that it’s none of my business if you like, but what is that lump? Is it an injury?” Steg and Drax laugh as they look at Megan and Drax pauses rubbing for a moment to explain.

  “We have not had the chance to say, we have been busy, but Steg is the new queen of our people, and is also my mate. We were on our way here to do the ceremony of freeing, when the Oakthians had killed our queen and destroyed our planet, but then we crashed. It was only by luck that we crashed on the Sacred Planet, and so we can still save our race.”