HAWK

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: INVADER (1/5)

Before any of the soldiers had even armed their weapons, the alien had leapt from the Infinity Fighter and landed on top of the adjacent courier ship like a grasshopper. It opened its mouth and let out a terrible distorted scream.

With no time to think, Kas dived sideways and rolled across the floor away from the ship, arriving next to Captain Mack just as he, Sudds and Beak armed their EMP rifles. Three blue shockwaves exploded from their guns like smoke rings, soaring towards the slender gold creature atop the courier ship. They all missed. The moment the soldiers pulled their triggers, the alien leapt into a backflip, disappearing behind the Infinity Fighter where it screamed again.

'Spread out!' Mack yelled over the noise. The three men broke apart and crept forwards, their weapons aimed high.

When a voice called her name, Kas turned to see Pari holding two rifles. She chucked one of them at Kas who caught it. They armed their guns before following the men, with Pari trailing Sudds around the left side of the cargo hold and Kas following Beak and Mack around to the right.

The alien stopped screaming, leaving the hold unpleasantly quiet. Kas glanced at the engine room doorway and was glad to see Worm had retreated. The hush didn't last for long, however. A strange sound like a badly tuned radio made the group stop in their tracks. Mack held up a closed fist to instruct them to remain still. They listened to the noise for several seconds until it stopped. Kas saw Sudds looking at Captain Mack, waiting for him to give the signal to advance, but Mack kept his fist up and remained still.

But Sudds couldn't wait any longer. He started forwards, creeping silently around the left side of the hold while Mack shook his head at him, mouthing for him to wait. Sudds paid him no attention and continued on until he disappeared from view.

Just as Mack lowered his fist, a blue pulse of light illuminated the ceiling and a dark flailing shape was hurled through the air. Sudds struck the wall above the cockpit door and fell to the floor in a crumpled mess, conscious but badly winded.

'NOW!' Mack shouted, and all at once, he, Pari and Beak ran around the sides of the ships, ready to unleash hell. Kas stayed back and aimed her sights high, knowing there was a good chance the alien would leap into the air.

Show yourself you gold-skinned bastard...

She heard the alien scream again as several bright blue flashes lit up the hold like a rave. There was a heavy slamming sound before another dark shape soared into the air, heading straight towards her. Kas almost pulled her trigger before she realised it was Pari. She stepped aside as Pari landed and rolled hard into the wall beside Sudds. Kas wanted to check if she was OK, but if the alien appeared, she'd only get one chance to take it out. That was if Beak and Captain Mack didn't neutralise it first.

The blue flashes stopped and the hold went silent. Kas tightened her grip on her rifle and didn't blink.

Did they get it...?

She got her answer when several small shapes slid across the floor towards her. She glanced down and saw four EMP rifles skate to a halt by her feet, their nozzles bent into right-angles. Kas heard a noise to her right and saw Worm emerging from the engine room in her X1 suit. Her metal forearms had split open and unsheathed two long blades from within like swords. She held them up in front of her, one crossed over the other.

Kas wanted to shout at her to get out, but before she could, a flash of gold smeared itself across her peripherals. The alien was running at her from the left side of the hold.

She pulled the trigger and a circular blue pulse was ejected into the air, sailing towards its target before Kas had even locked eyes on it. In the split second it took her eyes to swivel left, the gold alien was already sliding across the floor towards her, narrowly dodging the blue EMP halo which sailed over its head.

Kas tried to fire again, but by then the alien was already at her feet. A gold foot struck her arm and sent her rifle flying up towards the ceiling while a second foot swiped her legs out from under her. Her body pivoted in the air, her feet swinging up over her head while her body was pulled down to the floor. She landed on her back and was held there by a gold foot which planted itself on her chest victoriously.

She looked up in a daze and saw the alien catch the EMP rifle in both its hands. It aimed and fired and Kas tilted her head back to see what its target was. Upside down, she saw Worm charging towards them, her blades raised above her head. The blue pulse washed over her and conjured a mass of sparks from her joints. Worm's robotic limbs locked tight and suddenly she was no longer running but falling. She landed with a crash on her front, her arms still held out above her, waiting to finish their attack. Kas could hear a thumping noise and realised Worm was trying to get out of her suit, but she was now trapped inside it.

She looked up again at the gold alien and saw it bend her former rifle in half like it was made of rubber. The alien dropped it to the floor next to the others, then turned its gaze on Kas.

So this is how I die...

To her surprise, the alien removed its foot from her chest and stepped back.

'If you're going to kill me, then kill me,' Kas muttered, but the alien paid her no attention. It raised its head and looked up at the ceiling and started making that strange noise again, like a distorted radio. Kas looked at Sudds and Pari and saw them sitting up with pained expressions. She heard a clicking noise and turned to the X1 suit as its back cracked open. Worm emerged like a bird hatching from an egg and stumbled to her feet. Her face was red with panic and anger. She saw the alien standing a few feet away and ran towards it.

'Worm, no!' Kas shouted, but Worm was already mid-air, her little leg flying at the alien in an attempt to kick its knee. The attack connected but the alien didn't budge and Worm fell to the ground. She rolled back to her feet and was about to try again when the alien looked down at her.

'I'm sorry,' it said. 'Are you alright?'

Worm froze. Behind the alien, Beak and Captain Mack staggered into view.

'Get away from it!' Mack shouted.

'I didn't want to hurt any of you,' the alien replied. 'You are my friends.'

Kas felt a rush of relief as she realised who the alien was.

'Astrid...' she whispered.