The Madman's Clock

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Tell your men to relinquish their weapons, Captain," the Edra holding me hissed, his words coming out with a slight slur, as if he were making sounds he wasn't used to. "Tell them to do it now, or I will order my soldiers to execute them."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Kyle still had his pistol. Though he was on the deck, and had an Edra rifle in his face, he was still in the game. His pistol was pressed against his attacker's stomach. At that range, if he fired, he would tear the Edra in half, armor or not, and probably kill the one behind him, too.

I glared at the Edra holding me. "Kiss my ass. I'm not telling my men shit."

The Edra seemed confused by my reply. He cocked his head to the side quickly. It was odd to watch, like seeing something happen at double speed. I remembered that from a briefing I attended years ago; the Edra naturally move faster than humans, much faster. It also meant they had reflexes humans couldn't compete with. That's how they hit us as fast as they did.

The Edra holding me hissed and clicked at another soldier, who was standing in the shadows. I could see that the other soldier had several pieces of equipment that the others did not, including an odd band of light which extended from a small device attached to his skull, and wrap over his eyes. Edra used neural interface technology, and this stuff was wired directly into his brain. Why he needed a screen in front of him wasn't something I had ever heard explained properly, but apparently it had something to do with the way their eyes worked. It wasn't something the Edra discussed with other species. They kept their technology very close to their chest.

After a moment, that Edra hissed and clicked at my captor, who turned back to me.

"Your words are intended as a show of strength," he hissed, "in an attempt to intimidate me, and force me to change my course of action. I am not impressed, nor frightened. I will ask one more time. Order your men to relinquish their weapons, or I will order my soldiers to execute them."

"My man fires," I said slowly, "and your guy goes home in two bags."

He cocked his head to the side again, that same rapid movement. "If your soldier fires, he will kill his target. Two of my soldiers will return fire, and kill him. I will execute you, and others will kill your remaining soldiers. My mission will continue, but yours will not."

"Say the word, Jack," Kyle said, never taking his eyes off his target, or his finger of the trigger.

I took in a deep breath, and held it. The commando was right, unfortunately. I looked to Kyle and sighed. "Stand down, Kyle."

Kyle slowly lowered his pistol, and his assailant tore it from his hand. The Edra handed off the pistol to someone else, and with one hand, lifted Kyle to his feet in a single motion. Kyle was two hundred and fifty pounds on his own, over three hundred altogether with his suit and gear. The Edra was his height, perhaps a bit taller, but far thinner. He looked utterly frail by comparison. He lifted the man like he was a ten pound mannequin, and threw him against the bulkhead beside me. Kyle hit the wall with a thud, grunting from the pain. A moment later, Raj and David were standing beside us.

The Edra, ten of them, lined up in front of us, their rifles up. I was starting to get the impression that we were on the business end of a firing squad. The Edra held very still, their red-black slit eyes looking down the barrels of their slim rifles at us. The Edra at the center, the one who had spoken to me, looked right at me. I stared right back at him, sizing him up.

Unlike his soldiers, who wore close-fitting helmets which covered all but their face, this one was bare-headed. The Edra looked almost human, but not quite. Humanoid, or so went the term. No hair, no ears, no nose, no eyebrows. The skin was a dark gray. The Edra's body was very thin, and the scaled armor covered everything from neck to toe. Even the hands were gloved. He had a ridge above his eyes that gave him a permanent scowl, the thick scaly skin shining in the flickering light. When he spoke, his sharp, black teeth gleaned. He had long, sharp fangs, though his lips moved only slightly when he spoke, so they barely showed.