Black Rain Ch. 04

"Son of a bitch," Chastity whispered, her voice shaking with anger. She walked over to the smoking hulk of the alien and kicked it hard, "Son of a bitch!"

"*Must go now*," the deep voice of the Jah-Haran said, "*Now*."

Gordon knelt to gather up Jared but Tishara put her hand gently on his shoulder. The big engineer looked up at her, his eyes downcast. She shook her head and squeezed gently, telling him what he already knew. Gordon gathered up the blaster Jared never had the chance to use and the ammo packs he had been carrying on his belt. He saw something shine out of the corner of his eye in the brush. He picked up Jared's glasses and folded them neatly, doing his best to restore them to their proper shape. One of the lenses was cracked; the other had been popped out. Gordon tucked the glasses away in one of the pockets of his pants.

"Let's go," Tishara said, her eyes feeling hot and heavy in their sockets.

"We can't just leave him here," Chastity glared at her in the flickering firelight of the wreckage, "We can't."

"The big guy thinks we should get out of here," she replied and motioned to the Jah-Haran, "I agree."

"But-"

"Now."

Chastity shook her head, ready to argue but in the end choosing not to. She knelt by her friend's body and made the effort to close the lid over his remaining eye. Her hands shook as she choked back the anger and fear welling up inside. After a moment's mourning, she said a silent goodbye and fell in behind her shipmates as they followed the Jah-Haran loner into the jungle.

Not too far away, something roared. Moments later, even over the thunder above and the blustering wind, several more feral howls joined in. Chastity shivered and gripped her blaster tightly. She hoped that Tishara was as smart as she appeared to be. Chastity had no desire to end up like Jared Cole. And then she did something she hadn't done since she was seventeen years old. She prayed to God.

Chastity Barrera prayed hard.

***

Sonny ran as fast as he could along the broken corridors of his ship, tripping and nearly falling sometimes but still moving forward. When he finally reached the mess hall, he was out of breath and flushed red. All the damn cigarettes were catching up to him, his lungs burning and weak. Soniah and Ashton had just sat back down across from Harmon and Paisley when he came barreling in.

"What's wrong?" Soniah stood up.

"We got a big problem," he breathed and braced himself against one of the tables.

"What happened?" Ashton asked.

"There's some kind of corrosive acid in the ground, Cap," he said, "It's bubbling up and into the ship."

"Shit," Ashton muttered.

"And some asshole disabled the navigational array on purpose," Sonny added, his eyes falling on Harmon as he reported to the captain, "There was a working terminal down on C-deck. Before it shorted out from the acid, it showed that the nav computer had been reprogrammed from its original settings just after we left port."

Soniah shot a deadly look to Harmon, "You bastard."

Harmon only smiled smugly back at her. He was caught. What else could he do?

"Harmon, I swear to God I'm going to-"

And then there was a loud explosion. Everyone fell to the deck as the lights flickered erratically and sputtered sparks down upon them in a shower of hot light. The bulkheads rumbled and metal screamed loudly as another explosion followed closely on the heels of the first. Ashton rolled away and smacked his head hard on the wall as Sonny shouted, "That was a grenade!"

"The pirates!" Ashton called out, "Everyone get the hell out of here. Find a place to hide."

He could think of no other action. They were unprepared and unarmed. The Jah-Haran pirates would be storming the ship any minute now, shooting or taking prisoners. He'd hoped they would have more time top prepare, but that was a pipe dream now. Their only immediate hope for survival was to hide long enough to come up with a countermove. If there was a countermove...

Ashton felt a hand grab his arm and pull. He wasn't sure who had helped him up but he was off and running within moments of standing.

"Where are we going?" he asked. The sounds of blaster fire rang through the corridors as he struggled to make his eyes work once more. Ashton felt out of control and useless as he let himself be led away into the bowels of his ship.

"The med lab," Miranda Paisley huffed, "We can hide in the supply storage unit. It has an inner lock."

"Where's Harmon?"

"Don't know."

'Hope those pirate assholes nail him,' Ashton thought, and allowed himself to be at peace with that. For what Harmon had done to them, he hoped the pirates took their time with it too. The revelation was grim, but then so was the heart of John Ashton at that moment.

***

Heading towards the bow of the ship, Soniah and Sonny found an open vent near one of the crumpled overhead supports. She tapped Sonny's shoulder and motioned to it. The engineer wasted no time in grasping the slim alien by the waist and lifting her up to reach the vent's edge. Soniah tucked her arms close and wriggled her way inside, teeth bared and lungs pounding for air. She had never felt so scared in her life.

The sounds of heavy footfalls reached Sonny's ear as he grasped the vent and pulled himself up. Soniah was already a few yards inside, so he was able to wedge himself in quickly. The voices of the pirates and the accent of their heathen language rumbled through the ship. They were laughing, having a grand time at their work. Sonny wriggled like a madman until his forehead brushed Soniah's heel. He could feel the hard inner walls of the vent shaft at the tips of his boots, so he knew he was inside safely.

"Keep going," he whispered to Soniah. She had stopped.

"Can't."

"Why?" he hissed.

"The vent is crushed flat just in front of me."

"You're kidding me."

"No," she replied impatiently, "I'm not."

Sonny rolled his eyes, "Fuck..."

All it would take was one pirate happening to look into the vent and see his feet and ass in the tube. Sonny could feel a claustrophobic panic trying to over take him, but he calmed himself as best he could and relaxed his body. He supposed there were worse places he could have been just then, but that didn't make him feel any better being packed like a prick in a condom with blood thirsty pirates at the back door.

"Fuck!"

***

Jai-Hessex led her team through the hazy wreck of the Haven. It was dark inside the ship. Their initial attack of two electrical grenades had knocked out the power quickly and effectively. The small devices packed a powerful punch and even sounded like a real explosive when they detonated. Instead of incendiary properties, however, the weapon released a powerful electrical pulse that could disable almost any power grid and leave it salvageable. Hessex knew that Koor would want every single scrap of technology that could be harvested from the Haven.

As the clouds overhead blocked the last of the sun out, the wrecked ship became a fording labyrinth of steel and alloy. For the humans inside, this would be a disadvantage, but for her and those like her there wasn't much of a problem. The naturally glowing eyes of the Jah-Haran physiology were a natural night vision. It had become something of a legend amongst the species they raided. Their fiery eyes and the dark skin somehow evoked images of death and hell from those they raided.

This amused Hessex. To her, they were as natural and mundane as breathing air into her lungs was. To the humans, it was a frightening trait that made them uneasy and filled with fear. She had seen some of the texts dealing with what they deemed supernatural and evil, and if ever there was a species in the known galaxy that fit the description contained within it was hers.

"Cowards," Kale muttered, "Not worthy to be our equal."

"They think the same of us," Hessex said.

"Sympathy for the weak?"

She looked sideways at Kale. "Understanding."

"They are hiding when they should be facing us head on, with honor."

Hessex sighed. Here was a pirate speaking of honor when his sole skill in life was robbing people of what was rightfully theirs. She said, "With as loudly as your men talk and laugh, they have the advantage."

Kale looked back at the raiding party and barked, "Silence!"

Hessex nodded. "Much better."

She motioned for half of her team to split up and branch out into the ship as they reached the mess hall. Jor-Kale led one half away towards the lower decks as she took the remainder with her further along A-deck. The humans were hiding, readily enough. There were many places to hide in a wreck this size. The further in they went, the more broken the vessel became. She was dismayed by the amount of damage to the ship. There wouldn't be much that could be salvaged beyond the viable computer systems and maybe the A.I. from the central control alcove.

"Wren," she spoke into her wiry headset.

"Yes?" came the garbled response, thick but still audible.

"Go to the central alcove and recover the A.I.," she whispered, her hefty plasma blaster aimed in front of her. She walked down the tilted corridor like a feline predator, cautious and alert, her eyes glowing subtly in the shadows. Behind her, two of her best men followed in close.

"As you wish," Wren replied and then closed the frequency. The hint of sarcasm and the accent underscoring each word were meant to needle at her. She bit her lip and pushed Wren from her thoughts. He might have been tempted to be petulant around her, but failure on a raid was grounds for execution as far as Captain Koor went. He would do his job.

"Be alert you two," she whispered to the men behind her.

The skies above the ship were beginning to storm. Soon the black rain would fall and their time would be spent. She had heard the stories about this planet, and while Jor-Halen had promised them the bounty of many ships to salvage, they had found none. None that were above ground anyway. It was as though they had all sank into the surface of the planet, slowing disappearing from sight over time.

Something caught her attention.

A noise, subtle but definite escaped from the end of the dead and blackened hall to her pierced ears. She readied her weapon and placed one hand on the grip of her ceremonial blade. The long sword was still steadfast against her thigh, one of the few exposed areas of her body at the moment. While she might have worn less on the ship, on a mission she would take no chances. The thigh-high boots she wore were connected to the hip-cut bottoms of her uniform by metallic netting, revealing a glimpse of her dark flesh and the red tattoos that adorned it.

She wiped a mist of sweat from her brow, a strand of her thick black mane loose from the tie she had used to keep it in a ponytail. She could see someone at the end of the corridor, moving back and forth as though trying to squeeze into a vent shaft. She charged her weapon and motioned for her men to stand by.

"Do not move," she spoke in English as she activated the powerful light beacon mounted to her gun, "Or we will shoot."

The person at the end of the hall paused for a moment in the sudden pool of bright light. She tried to get a better look at him as they approached, craning her neck to one side. He was very pale and white, and apparently without clothes. Hessex thought he might have gotten the message. She spoke very good English, one of the few aboard the Black Wraith who did. But after a few moments the man began trying to escape.

"I will not warn you again."

When the head of her prey shot up from his work, she realized she had made a mistake. The thing at the end of the hall was no more a human than she was. It was a ghostly white color, muscular and fleshy. Powerful tripod legs unfolded from underneath it and grasped the broken frame of the corridor with prehensile toes, tipped with deadly black claws. Its strong arms were poised to match the crouching attack position of its lean body.

"By the goddess," she whispered. She had never seen anything like it before. She had heard about the rains of this world and the evils that never sleep, but they had all been second hand stories. Myths even. No one knew for sure because no one had ever come back. Now, seeing this abomination standing before her, she understood why. This creature was one of the white demons, the T' Nogru.

The albino alien leapt at her.

Before it had cleared the distance of five feet, four blasts of pulsing green energy took it in the face and chest. The creature fell dead and skidded to her feet. She stood there, looking down at the carcass as her men stood behind her.

"What was it, Mistress?" asked Jor-Mammon, the weapons specialist.

"I do not know."

A gut-wrenching scream issued from somewhere deep in the ship. They turned and began running towards their comrades. Hessex could feel a sick feeling boiling in her gut. They had stumbled upon something far more deadly that a band of frightened humans. For all she knew, the humans were dead. They weren't as resilient as the Jah-Haran, and their weaponry was less advanced.

"Wren?" she called out into her radio.

No response.

"Wren, respond."

Static filtered through the earpiece.

"Kale? Respond."

"A jamming frequency, Mistress," came the frightened voice of Jor-Kell. He was the youngest of the crew and Koor's nephew. His bright yellow eyes were wide with panic. It was not befitting of a Jah-Haran to show fear, let alone a mature male. Still, she did not begrudge him for it. In fact, she felt if more Jah-Haran males would accept their fear and understand it, more of them might live longer. Besides, she was as frightened as he was, but she dared not show it.

"The humans?"

"No, my Lady. This is different."

"Interference from the storm?"

"Possibly." Kell looked back down the corridor and then added, "My Lady, the humans are most likely dead."

The came to the corridor Kale and the remaining troops had gone down. It was dark, as though the shadows themselves were living and writing just beyond the reach of her arm. She felt as though she looking into a chasm that wanted nothing more than to devour her. Hessex braced herself against the bulkhead and called down the inclined hall, "Kale? Report!"

Her echo came back to her quickly.

"Kale!"

As the second echo died, she began to hear clicking sounds, wet and thick in the darkness. A warm, thick odor wafted up from the corridor and graced the three pirates. Mammon stood back, her face pinched in a register of pure disgust. He breathed, "What could be down there?"

More clicking, and then the sounds of something scratching metal hard answered his question. She brought her blaster rifle to bear and shone the light into the shadows. At the end of corridor she could see the body of one of her troops, a second year member of the crew named Jor-Maul. Steam was rising all around him, from his body and the deck plating beneath. His lifeless eyes were tilted towards her as she began to realize he was slowly sliding down the incline of the deck.

"Maul!" Hessex called down to him, "Somebody report."

"The walls, Mistress," Kell said, "Looks at the walls."

Steam and smoke were beginning to filter from the metal as the corridor slowly sagged downward. She looked past the body of Maul to the heavy doors at the end of passageway. A thick, tar-like substance was bubbling up through the metal and creating a pond at the bottom of the corridor. Maul finished his dead journey down the incline and sank into the growing pool of vile liquid. The acid began eating his boots, clothes and flesh immediately.

Hessex stood for a moment, not wanting to believe what she was seeing.

"It's getting hot in here," Kell said and wiped his brow.

It was getting hot, Hessex realized. She looked at her subordinates and said, "We're withdrawing."

"But Mistress," Mammon stepped in her way, "Captain Koor gave express instructions about-"

"We withdraw now," she growled and stood an inch from his face. Male or not, he was in her way.

"My Lady," he bowed and stood back, though his eyes betrayed his sincerity.

***

Sonny and Soniah listened as the pirates walked away. The leader, the woman had spoken English but Sonny hadn't been able to make out the words very well. The tube in which he was jammed allowed for little audio clarity.

"Well?" Soniah huffed.

"They're pulling out I think," he said, "Something spooked them. There was weapons fire too."

"They're gone?"

"I think so."

"Then let's get out of here."

Sonny worked his was back until he came free of the vent. He was glad to be breathing fresh air, such as it was. He looked around carefully, unable to see much beyond the black surrounding him. The ship shifted again, settling and groaning under its own weight. Sonny nearly fell over as he tried to steady himself. There was a loud pop and snapping sound from above and then the screeching of metal against metal. As Soniah lowered her legs down, the vent bowed suddenly and pinned her down. Something heavy, probably a broken support beam gave way and partially crushed the shaft. She cried out and struggled to move.

"I'm stuck," she whispered.

"What?" Sonny asked.

"I'm stuck," she repeated, her voice echoing in the vent shaft.

"You gotta be kidding me," Sonny grasped her legs and pulled.

"The vent is collapsing," she said. She could feel it tightening around her, slowly beginning to crush her.

Sonny pulled again, this time harder.

"Shit!" he cursed.

"Go," Soniah told him, though she had never been more frightened in her life than she was at that moment, "Go now."

"Shut up," The engineer grunted and pulled, this time almost pulling her knee out of the socket.

"You're just wasting time and hurting me," she gasped, her lungs suddenly feeling tight as the vent closed in on her.

"Shut up!"

"Go," she wheezed.

"Hang on," he said.

"Just go," Soniah told him. In the distance, even through the moaning of the construct crushing her and the thundering of her own heart, she could hear the pirates moving about still, "Sonny go."

"I'm not leaving you here," he said and then patted her ass, "Don't go anywhere."

A few excruciating moments passed as Sonny hurried down the corridor and she was left alone in the vent, half her body stuck inside. She thought he might have actually gone on without her and hadn't wanted to tell her so. She wouldn't have blamed him. And then she heard him coming back. There was some movement around her waist and then something wet and cold coating her midsection.

"What is that?"

"Oil," he said quickly, "From the maintenance locker at the end of the hall. Almost missed it in the dark... just hang on."

Sonny coated her with the thick oil until she was dripping with it. She could feel her body getting slick against the metal of the shaft. The oil drained down to her arms, underneath her stomach and breasts. Soniah felt his hands grasp her hips from below. He said, "Exhale on three and pull in tight."

"Okay."

"One..."

Soniah took a deep breath.

"Two..."

With all her might she exhaled and positioned her arms out in front her, fingers reaching into the dark.

"Three!" Sonny grunted and yanked back hard as she tried to compress herself. She slipped out of the vent and the fell to the deck, catching her chin on the edge and then taking Sonny with her. She bit down on the end of her tongue and could taste blood. He tried to hold on to her greasy body and help her up. Soniah grabbed the front of his coveralls and held tight as they stood up.

"We gotta go," he told her, "Come on."

"Okay," she nodded, tears stinging her eyes. Her tongue ached as she ran in along the back of her teeth. It was all still there, but it hurt with a vengeance.