Serpents and Vipers Page 5

  “We have to get that ship off our tail,” Tavia said. “We are flying mostly on repulsor engines now and we will need them to land. Alaya, I have an idea.”

  “Ok we’re listening.”

  “Incoming. Missiles only but they are not heat seeking.”

  “Releasing Chaff,” Raul said and pressed a button. A cloud of aluminum strips called chaff flew out of the back of the ship and confused the radar on the seeker missiles, which then veered off course and fell from the sky.

  Tavia fired the missile housed in the tube aboard the Draco and it flew forward and fell harmlessly from the sky. Everyone on the bridge looked at Tavia. “Are you trying to lighten the ship?” Alaya asked.

  “No time for explanations. Raul,” Tavia said, “go below and put one of our mining probes into the missile tube. And do it fast.”

  Since Tavia was second in command, Raul went without hesitation. He pulled up a hatch in the rear of the bridge and climbed down a short ladder into the ordinance hold. There were stored five cannon shots and three mining probes. The one missile the ship carried had just been fired. Raul quickly opened the rear of the missile tube and inserted the mining probe. He then yelled up the hatch that it was loaded. Without wasting any time, Tavia fired the probe and put the probe camera up on the screen. The probes were designed to fly in atmosphere or space and look for areas worth mining. One of their advantages was that they could be controlled remotely from the ship. Alaya maintained control while Tavia switch the probe controls to her console. This allowed her to fly the probe like a ship with visual through the probe camera. Tavia quickly flew the probe away from the Draco and reversed its direction. On the bridge, they could see the Draco trailing fire and smoke as the probe passed it and they got their first look at a serpent ship, since their pursuer had also gone visible. Everyone on the bridge looked intently at the feed from the probe. The pursuing vessel was different from anything in human space. It was shaped like a large, flying animal. The front was elongated from top to bottom with a curved front and a railgun slung under the fuselage. The ship actually had wings and from the bottom of each wing hung a railgun. They could see two missile ports under the transparent bridge area. The ship itself was a uniform green color. Sly later told them that was the color of the Mountain Clan.

  Tavia increased the speed of the probe to maximum and aimed it at the transparent bridge. The serpents must have been confused as to what the purpose of the probe was and they stopped firing on the Draco. The humans could just imagine them wondering about it when Tavia suddenly burned all the fuel in the probe to send it on a mad dash at the serpents. Too late, they realized the danger and tried to pull up. The probe hit the transparent bridge window and penetrated with its engine spewing flames. While there was still some fuel in the probe, Tavia sent the self-destruct signal and the probe exploded on the serpent bridge. The probe camera went out when it hit the bridge but the rear camera on the ship was still working and they put it on the screen just in time to see a smoking serpent ship dropping out of the sky. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

  The Romani looked at Tavia with new admiration. She had always been courageous in combat, but she just proved that she could come up with effective ideas in a tight situation. She demonstrated an innate ability to command. The Slones were very proud of her, since she was their protégé, but they were also not out of the woods yet. The combat had taken them over the large continent and they were now covering the thousand kilometers over the water. They were losing altitude rapidly and they still had a fire about which they could do nothing. Alaya told everyone to find a seat and hang on. The Draco started to drop faster towards the surface of the ocean and the shore of the small continent was still a hundred kilometers away. Fortunately, the ship was travelling over 400 kilometers per hour, which meant they should reach the shore in fifteen minutes. Too bad the ship could not stay up that long. The fuel line patch finally gave way and the engine room burst into flame as both fuel and hydraulic fluid began to burn away. Once the fuel was gone, the repulsors went out and the ship dropped like a rock.

  “Brace yourselves,” Alaya shouted as the Draco hit the surface of the ocean with enough speed to make it act like a skipping stone. After contact with the surface, it jumped back into the air and then dropped down again. Neither Alaya nor Tavia had control anymore, so they just hung on and hoped for the best. The Draco skipped three more times. Thanks to its speed, it managed to make it to the shore, but it still had a lot of momentum. The ship plowed into the jungle and came to rest about four kilometers in.

  Alaya got out of her seat and said, “Let’s get this fire out.”

  The Romani sprung into action and soon the fire was out and they could open the ship and let fresh air in. They all put on their body armor and weapons. Since they were supposed to be on a diplomatic mission, they had no heavy weapons, just their swords, knives, body armor and shields. They walked outside and looked around. There was nothing but dense jungle. They could see the path they cut from the beach into the jungle and they could see the trail of parts they left along the path. The crew checked out the ship and the news was not good.

  “The ship will not fly off this planet, she’s too far gone. The repulsors are probably in the ocean as is most of the sail ring,” Raul Cortega reported to the group. “Not to mention all of the combat damage in the engine room. We can use it for shelter, but I will have to check out the batteries if we want electricity.”

  “Ok, check on the batteries. We may need communications to contact Sly’s clan,” Alaya ordered. “The rest of you, we have to close the opening we put through the jungle and cover up the path on the beach. If they look for us, I want the Mountain Clan to think we fell into the sea, with your permission of course, Consul.”

  Juan Lorenzo flashed his usual smile, “I defer to your expertise.”

  Alaya returned the smile and she put both the Consul and her husband to work. By the time night came to the jungle, they had removed all trance of the crash and camouflaged the crippled Draco. The scout ship had pulled Alaya and Christopher out of many tight spots, but she feared her ship had taken its last flight. They set a watch in the darkened bridge and locked the ship. The batteries were working but they decided to limit their use so they could try to send a message to Sly’s clan. At least no one was injured during the combat.

  The jungle night was cool but the air coming into the intakes was refreshing. The serpent home world had a slightly higher level of oxygen in the atmosphere and that had a soothing effect on the humans. They all slept well and rotated the watch. As dawn broke, they could hear the animal noises of the jungle. They were different from those they heard on New Wales, but the level of noise was the same, almost deafening. Consul Lorenzo called a meeting in the conference room. They activated the external cameras that were not destroyed by the crash, and transferred their images to the screen in the conference room. Lorenzo also told them all to have breakfast during the meeting to keep up their strength. The ten humans sat at the conference table with ration packs before them. Sly and the hatchling sat in a corner with their live food. They had ample stores if they stayed with the ship, but they assumed there would be a search party looking for them eventually. When they cleaned up the evidence on the beach, Alaya had taken the precaution of setting up a few cameras where the jungle met the beach to allow them to keep an eye on that area. Those images were also on the screen. The cameras on the ship were picking up a lot of movement in the jungle, but Sly assured them it was just the normal fauna of the area. Now that they were on land, command of the expedition passed from Alaya, as captain of the ship, to Juan Lorenzo, as Consul of the Republic. Everyone knew this and all accepted it.

  “Ok,” Lorenzo started, “This is not exactly how I envisioned this visit would go. We are going to have to find Sly’s clan.” Lorenzo looked over at the serpent,” Sly, can we contact them from here?”

  “Sss. Yes, Consul. We must send a tight beam on serpent frequency, 552.”

>   Lorenzo now turned to Tavia, “Tavia, can we use that frequency?”

  “Yes, Consul. It is outside our normal bands but I can modify the equipment to use it.”

  “Make that happen, Tavia. As for the rest of us, we need to pack as many satchels as we can with food, water and ammunition."

  Tavia went to work on the communications console while the others ransacked the ship for anything usable they could carry. Besides the materials needed for the trip, there were also the weapons for the group. Everyone put on standard legionary body armor as well as a bandolier with grenades and a short sword that came to the right waist. On the left side there was a dagger and a pistol in the chest armor. The offensive weapons also included an automatic rifle. They would put their helmets on before leaving and they carried a lightweight body shield that was slung over the back until needed. The entire crew was legionary trained for fighting in all kinds of situations.

  While the gathering of supplies was still in progress, Tavia came from the bridge and reported the communications console was ready. Sly accompanied her to the bridge and she opened the frequency. Immediately, Sly began speaking in her hisses, clicks and barks. As soon as she was finished, Tavia put the message into a tight beam transmission towards the center of the island and left the line open. Sly then went back to where the hatchling was standing and started to put the things she thought Tavia might need into a bag from the equipment locker. The serpents needed nothing when in the jungle. They could live entirely off the land, but she knew humans were not as self-sufficient as her kind. The hatchling also started filling a bag with ammunition and some hand guns, in case they were needed. The serpents would do all they could to protect the humans with them, but Tavia was their priority, since she saved their lives.

  About 10 minutes after sending the transmission, there was a beep on the communications board. Tavia went in and reported a response to the message. Sly came over and Tavia played the message for her. Of course, none of the humans had a clue what was being said. After the message ended, Sly came into the conference room.

  “Sss. The Sea Clan is in the mountains,” Sly reported slowly and deliberately. “We must move away from the shore, so the Mountain Clan does not see the ship they will send for us. We have a three day walk for serpents through the jungle, humans will need ten days,” Sly had a subtle way to remind humans they were not as fast as serpents.

  Lorenzo gave the situation some thought. “Sly, it is more important that you reach your clan quicker than we do. I want you and the hatchling to make all speed to your clan so they are no longer leaderless. Tell us in what direction we should move and we will catch up. We can also delay any pursuit as best we can.”

  Sly was touched that the humans put her clan above their safety, but she also knew they were right. As they were still discussing this, Christopher Slone interrupted, “We have company,” and pointed to the monitor. A group of hovercraft was crossing the water that separated the main continent from the large island on which they were. At their current speed, they would be there within the half hour.

  “You and the hatchling better get moving,” Alaya said.

  “Sss. I will go; the hatchling is still too slow from her wound. She is still faster than humans so will go with you. To stay here is death for her.”

  “I’ll take care of her, Sly,” Tavia said without hesitation. “Now leave before they get here.”

  Sly went out the bridge door and leap to the ground. As the humans watched, she vanished into the jungle, showing the direction they need to move. The mountains were a long way, and their trip was complicated by faster serpents trying to find and kill them.

  “We must leave before they have time to home into our scent. Once they do, they will track us relentlessly. We need to keep an eye out at all times for a defensible place when we rest,” Centurion Marshal stated.

  “I agree, we must leave now,” Lorenzo said. “If we blow up this ship, will the smell of the explosion confuse their senses for a while?”

  “I have no idea,” the centurion answered. “Tavia, can the hatchling speak with us?”

  “I don’t think so but I do think she understands. Let me try.”

  Tavia went over to the hatchling and crouched down to be at the height of the hatchling. She didn’t even know if the hatchling had a name, so she looked her straight in the eye and said, “If you understand us, can you move your head up and down?”

  Almost immediately, the hatchling nodded. Good, Tavia thought, she does understand us. She now phrased her words carefully. “If we make this ship explode, will it stop the serpents from smelling us? If yes move your head up and down.”

  The hatchling appeared to consider the question but finally nodded yes. “It appears it will confuse their senses.”

  “If I’m going to blow up my scout ship, let’s make it count,” Alaya said. “Tavia bring a remote monitor. Raul, set the engines to explode but put them on a remote detonator that we can carry with us. When the serpents come to check out the ship, I want to give them a surprise.”

  The other Romani all nodded their approval and Lorenzo told them to carry out the plan. Raul rigged the engines and the cameras showed the hovercraft coming closer to the beach. “Time to go,” Lorenzo said and they all left the ship.

  Tavia carried the remote monitor and Raul gave Alaya the detonator. The group quickly left the area and moved in the direction Sly pointed out before she left. The going was rough and they could not help leaving a trail. They were about three kilometers into the jungle when Tavia reported the hovercraft reached the beach and discharged a squad of five serpents. Two more serpents came out to guard it. The Romani went another kilometer when Tavia reported the serpents found the ship. They moved around it looking for scents but also examined the ship itself. One of them jumped up to the bridge door, which had the ladder retracted. The Romani put the ladder up and locked the bridge entrance to make it appear they left a guard behind. The serpents no doubt wanted to capture a human and use their mesmerizing speech to question them. As Tavia and the others watched on the monitor, the serpent that jumped on the bridge door put her claws into the gap between the door and the fuselage and pulled with all her might. After several tries, the door began to give way and the other serpents began to gather round the ship in case there was an armed party waiting inside. When the door locks finally broke, it swung open and the serpent hung on as the other four jumped into the opening.

  “Do it,” Lorenzo said and Alaya pressed the detonator button. There was a massive explosion they could hear from a distance and they saw a fireball rise out of the jungle and turn into a smoke cloud. The explosion knocked out the camera they were watching but they didn’t need it to know the serpent squad was dead. Not even their armor scales can protect them from that much force. Tavia switched to the camera feed from the beach. The guards looked anxious and were on alert. They appeared to be communicating into a device they carried and the Romani assumed they were trying to contact their squad. At some point, they must have contacted their superiors who told them to finish the mission. They plunged into the jungle in the direction of the blast.

  “I think it’s time to leave,” Alaya said and the Consul agreed. “The Draco was my last contact with Sinclair Corp. I thought I would be more upset to see her go. She did her job well.”

  “Yes, but with her gone, we’re here for the duration,” Christopher said.

  “She was not going to take us home without major repairs, so the question is moot,” Lorenzo said. “We’ll get you a new ship, when we get home.”

  They were moving west during this conversation and could see the mountains in the distance. They had succeeded in reducing the serpents hunting them from seven to two, and that made all the difference. Serpents are fast and don’t need weapons to kill. They have sharp, retractable claws and an armor tipped tail that they often cover with a metal spear point to enhance its penetration. They are formidable fighters and seven of them could have annihilated the Roma
ni party. Two were manageable.

  They moved as quickly as they could in the dense jungle but were sure they would not be able to stay ahead of the pursuit. The serpents moved much faster through the jungle, since it was their natural habitat.

  “We need a cave,” Christopher said and all agreed. The Romani legionaries were the rear guard and the Consul was in the center with the Slones, Tavia and the Centurion led the way, using their short swords as machetes. The ship’s crew was on the flanks next to the Consul. It was the job of all of them to protect their leader.

  Tavia looked at the hatchling traveling next to her. “Can you find us a cave to protect us?”

  The hatchling darted ahead into the jungle. As they came to a slight rise, they could look backwards over the jungle and the movement of the vegetation about two kilometers behind them, revealed the pursuit was catching up fast. The Romani redoubled their efforts to move forward. About a half kilometer further the hatching suddenly darted out of the jungle and made it clear they were to follow. The hatchling led them slightly to the North West and soon they came to a cave with a small entrance they could easily defend.

  Lorenzo looked at the hatchling and smiled. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

  No one could tell if the hatchling smiled but she did not leave Tavia’s side as the group entered the cave and the Romani formed a wall with their shields across the entrance. This is where they will make their stand. The entrance was wide enough for six of the ten to form a shield wall. The problem they could foresee was the ability of the serpents to leap over their heads and into the cave. To prevent this, the last four were inside their cave with swords out. If they were going to jump in, they were going to be impaled on short swords. The line at the entrance consisted of Centurion Marshal who anchored the left side. The rest of the line was made up by the two legionary bodyguards and the three crewmembers from the Draco. Inside the cave were the Consul Lorenzo, the Slones and Tavia with the hatchling. All were equipped as legionaries and had body shields. They wore their helmets with the face shield open until battle started.