Vantura: Collosi

Chapter 2 : The heavens ran red

"7 contacts closing fast, small one or two man starships!" my voice is cracking with terror, bio-warform transports operate in 7s.
"Ike, activate the point-defense batteries!"the commander's voice has a distinct tremor like she's barely holding it together. She was there in Vantura. When those things were unleashed en-mass.
"They're not responding!" Ike's voice is well and truly panicking and the sentiment is shared by the rest of the control room.

The first ship hits one of the high altitude defense platforms. The others quickly follow suit. Slamming into the station like rogue meteors. The live feed from penta-station displays cargo doors blasting open in a burst of smoke and depressurising steam. Then it emerges. A horrifying blasphemy against nature, its claws drag against the ground as it jerks out of the transport. The station's soldiers open fire and the things head snaps up.

Horned ridges on its skull unfold into a second set of skewers and it appears to prime itself to leap. It moves. A blur slams into the nearest trooper leaving only a thick red mist behind. Then the next and the next. Screams echo down through the Comms channel. Its horrifying face leers in front of the camera and the feed cuts off. Like the heavens have split open, a ship in upper orbit de-cloaked, sending a torpedo screaming towards the command center.

Down it came, the wrathful meteor of a torpedo tearing down to obliterate us. The last thing I saw as it crashed through the window with a screech of shattering glass. The last thing I see as an inferno hurtles around the command center was the blood from everyone on penta-station flowing over the side in crimson rivers. Then the world was nothing but fire and noise.
*************
"Kayden, Kayden get up!" my eyes snap open and I'm alert immediately, something you learn from a life alone on this little slice of hell.
"Yeah I'm awake, is it my watch?" That's when I realize that morning is poking its grubby tendrils of light through the halls of the hideout we were hunkered down in.
"You should have woke me, it's impossible to keep an even semi decent alone for 12 hours!"
"Yes, yes I'm sorry it won't happen again. Now listen. The core worlders arrived last night. Bio-warforms hit defense platforms across the world and the planetary command center is only good for commanding the afterlife."

That hits like a truck. Whatever plan mother had for keeping us safe can't work now. Not with them here so soon.
"That settles it then, we have to get off this rock as soon as possible," I say, my voice cutting her off.
"But how can we, there's a cloaked ship in orbit and anyway shuttles will be at a premium right now?" That's true enough. This world is infested with greedy, self serving bastards who'll seek to make a pretty penny off peoples panic. And the core worlders will let them do it. After all, it just spreads word of another of their victories across the rebel worlds.

"So we're fucked then," she isn't asking, she now's as well as I do that armageddons coming for this backwater.
*************
I hate the man in the chair in front of me. I hate him on principle of course, him being one of the governors legion of sycophants but it's more than that. He's a greasy triple chinned worm of a man. On top of all that he's stubborn and cuts me off constantly.

"The planetary governor doesn't deal with criminals," he says through that damned rebreather mask. It gives his already nasally voice a worm like quality that crawls inside my head and flicks all the switches labeled annoyed.

"For the last time you stupid man, if you don't you're doomed. My people will fight twice as hard as you're damned PDC with their rich dads and soft upbringings. These are men and women used to fighting for survival. Have you ever had to fight for your very right to exist? Because you will now, you ignorant slimeball. The core worlders don't care about how big of a scheming bastard your grandfather was. They only care about purging anyone and everyone who dares oppose them. Now are you going to help me or am I gonna have to fight this war alone?" his face is bright red, I can practically see the fury oozing out of his ears.

"The planetary governor..."
"If you say dosn't deal with criminals I swear to god I will shoot you here and now!"
He raises his hand, his voice something that might be called authoritative in a poor light,"The planetary governor will consider it under these exceptional circumstances."
"Good,"is all I say before I whisk out the door, leaving him to see himself out.
*************
"Boring conversation?" asks Petra, my lieutenant and the closest thing I ever came to a daughter.
"If by that you mean incredibly infuriating then yes, very much so," she chuckles in that hissy way that she does, probably the result of half a life time spent inhaling industrial fumes. Arriving at the room where I left Kayden and the other one. I hear the girl say, "So were fucked then."
"Not necessarily," I say, bursting into the room with Petra hot on my heels," I can just about scrape together funds for 3 shuttle tickets."
The girl speaks up," You Kayden and whoever your friend there is. You're his mother and that means something despite how much of a shitter I think you are."
"Very noble," I say with new respect for the pipsqueak blossoming in my soul, "but no. I still have people here and shithole as the planet is, it's our shithole and I won't abandon it to some pigheaded core worlder."
"If you're staying then so am I!" Petrah interjects.
"I think not. I'm getting on in years now and you're a bright young lass with a future ahead of her, besides these two will need someone to look after them," my voice is quiet and calm and in that moment I knew that I wouldn't survive the coming war. We might just win it but however it happens I won't see it.

And as if sent by the divine, an ear-splitting claxon shreds through the air around with a great and terrible roar. That can only mean one thing. They've found us.