The Madman's Clock

Chapter 6

There was a sudden silence. The low, background hum of the ship seemed to disappear. All I could hear was my own slow, measured breathing. My suit creaked slightly at the elbow joints as I readied myself. I held as still as possible, waiting, listening.

I felt myself tense up, and my right index finger slid down onto the trigger. I looked behind me, and saw that Raj and David were taking up positions for a fight. We were stacked two by two, now. I faced forward, watching for any sign of movement in the darkened passageway, hoping for some shadow from around the corner that would give us the second or two head start we could use to our advantage. I heard Kyle pull one of the stun grenades from his pocket, followed by the slightest clicking sound as he prepared to remove the safety pin.

If the Edra came at us, there would be no negotiation. They wouldn't ask us to lay down our weapons. Edra commandos were not diplomats or bureaucrats. They were the sharpest point of a very far-reaching spear, for a species that made its demands known in no uncertain terms. I had hoped to avoid them, at least until we had a better handle on the situation. No such luck, apparently.

We waited silently, still as statues. Thirty seconds crawled into a full minute, then two, then three. Nothing. No hissing or clicking. The silence was almost worse than the deafening crash of a firefight. Almost. Still, we couldn't stand here forever. I slowly moved my left hand from the rifle, and signaled for my guys to be ready to move.

'Single column, hook right,' I signaled silently.

I didn't listen or look for a reply. There wouldn't be one. We knew the drill without having to say anything. I took a step forward, taking point. I crept past Kyle carefully, slipping in front of him, against the bulkhead. I could hear his breathing grow faster, as the anticipation of a fight welled up inside of him. He took a step back to allow me full cover behind the corner, and took hold of my belt so he could yank me back if I took fire.

As soon as I felt his hand take hold of me, I leaned forward, careful to present as little of a target as possible. Not even my entire head was exposed. The lights in the passageway flickered, buzzing slightly as they kicked back in. The shadows disappeared as the lights came back, exposing the length of the passageway before it ended in another T juncture. It was empty.

I motioned for Kyle to release me, and stepped into the passageway, my rifle still pointed toward the sounds that were no longer there. Kyle stepped out, facing the other way. David stepped out in front of him. Raj took up a position at our rear, so I turned forward and ordered us onward.

The moment we began to move, the clicking and hissing returned. Raj and I turned around, just in time to see the flash from the end of the passageway. The Edra rifle fired three rounds, each accompanied by a terrible shriek. Their weapons did not have the usual loud crack of a projectile weapon. Instead, each round tore at our eardrums, like some fiend screaming in our ears. The rounds whizzed past my head, striking the bulkhead to my left.

"Contact rear!" I yelled, stepping to the left of Raj.

I opened fire a split second before Raj, and Kyle a second after that. The bark of our pulse rifles jabbed at our ears, the sound lower and fiercer than the Edra weapon. Kyle's pistol made its own distinct sound, slightly higher in pitch, but just as loud and deadly. The air warmed quickly as the hot plasma streaked down the passage toward a half-seen target. I popped off two rounds, as did the others, all eight blasts tearing into the wall nearest the shadow.

The Edra returned fire, several more rounds streaking past us, this time from both corners of the far intersection. I could hear their clicking and hissing, their unmistakable chatter. It was louder, faster, and more forceful. I didn't understand the language, but I knew the tone well enough. It was pretty much universal.