First Contact Fallout by Aer-ki Jyr (novels for teenagers .TXT) 📗

his weight returned to his feet and he took several slow steps out of the pod and onto the lab floor, looking around with an intensity Sol’an had never seen before. “Armor?”

“We have none here, and the Zak’de’ron have too many soldiers to fight. We are being bought time to flee, after which the Zen’zat will fall back and try to survive. The sooner we get clear the more of them…”

“Go,” Tu’vac ordered, though Sol’an was not sure how much of this he was processing. She wasn’t going to debate any further and moved to the doorway, feeling Tu’vac following her in her Pefbar. She had to remember that his was suppressed, so he could not see what was occurring behind him.

“Follow me. Do not get distracted. Do not attempt to help in the combat. Stay right on my tail,” she said, accelerating to a slow jog and glad to see that Tu’vac was able to keep up. They moved through the facility to a different exit, then had to cross through the night air as the sounds of suppressive fire from the now elevated turret were crashing down into the jungle surrounding the facility.

They ducked across to another building and traveled inside it in order to get to the jungle edge, then Sol’an unlocked a heavy sealed door that led to a wall of plants filling in the gaps between the mighty Jumass trees.

Push through, she said telepathically to diminish the noise, though she couldn’t sense anyone near this side of the compound, and Mario’topa had indicated the assault was occurring on the far side.

Sol’an stayed in the lead, crushing underbrush with every step until they got deep enough that the sunlight couldn’t penetrate during daytime to sufficient levels, leaving only small plants and visible sightlines through the mass of tree trunks. That allowed them to move quicker, though they still had to wiggle through many tight areas. This jungle hadn’t been designed for body types of their size to move through quickly, rather it had been allowed to free grow randomly beyond the Zor’do.

Tu’vac stayed quiet and followed Sol’an as the sounds of battle grew fainter and fainter, but the turret stopped firing entirely before they got out of earshot, which was a bad sign. With no weapons other than the single Dre’mo’don strapped to Sol’an’s right arm, the two Era’tran were vulnerable should they be caught, for there was little room to fight amongst the trees that would essentially pin them in place while the smaller infantry surrounded them. They could fight here, knocking some down to create a makeshift arena, but they’d be stuck there and enemy reinforcements would eventually overwhelm them. Running was their only hope.

Sol’an kept them moving until they were out of the artificial canyon that had been carved into the planet to shelter the Zor’do. With the higher gravity there wasn’t much in the way of natural terrain on the planet, leaving their trek ahead on mostly flat ground. The question was, where to go? The Zen’zat had set up several evacuation plans for them, but without access to the Urrtren or even the tactical grid…which could potentially be tracked…Sol’an had no way of knowing where the enemy was or where friendly units were aside from their last known positions.

“Where are we going?” Tu’vac asked once they stopped for a breather as Sol’an studied her options using the crown-like data ring she wore on her head.

“As far away from here as we can get,” she said amongst the nocturnal chirps of the Saipenna. “But first we need to get to a dead drop. We left several around the perimeter in case evacuation on foot was required, but most take us back the way we came. There are two ahead. One near and one far, but the one far is more in line with our current trajectory.”

“And after?”

“I don’t know. We needed to stay in the facility to continue your healing. At this point we’re just trying to stay alive and hope the planet can hold out. If it doesn’t…we’ll have to hide as long as we can.”

“Why can’t I…use my claws? I feel like I should be.”

“Your psionics are deactivated because part or all of the memory cells associated with them were damaged. They weren’t the highest priority to heal when you couldn’t even stand up on your own two feet.”

“What else can I not do?”

“A lot. I am sorry, you are not ready for this, but we have no other options. Surrender means death or enslavement. For the Zen’zat it means immediate execution. Itaru had decreed they all must die and will be replaced with their cursed Bo’ja.”

“Replaced how? Are we not at war?”

“Itaru is calling on all races to return to its leadership. The Era’tran and others have refused, but not all. The empire is fractured and failing. Only legacy defenses are keeping Itaru from sweeping it all up.”

“What are legacy defenses?” Tu’vac asked, and Sol’an could see the strain in his face as he tried to remember.

“Large, permanent defensive infrastructure that cannot be moved from system to system. The war fleets on both sides have been mostly destroyed, so Itaru cannot conquer many planets, though they are pouring a great deal of what they have left into this assault.”

“Are we losing?”

Sol’an bowed her head in shame. “Yes. I do not know what to do. There are no ships nearby to evacuate you from the planet, even if we could get through their blockade. And even then I do not know where we could go. Holloi was the safest place in the galaxy, which is why you were brought here, but now…I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

“Does the dead drop have armor?”

“I don’t think so, but I don’t know for sure. The Zen’zat set it up. They said they couldn’t get any armor. Everything was