Planetstrider by Chris Fox

Author:Chris Fox [Fox, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 6- Complications

T'kon lacked the words to describe the creature he stood beneath. He'd seen combat footage, of course, but it failed to capture the planetstrider's immensity. The tallest spires on this world would barely reach its knees, and many worlds could only boast a few mountains that were taller.

A pair of gargantuan reptilian legs ascended into the darkness, leading to a bulky body made more so by cybernetic enhancements. The creature's right arm had been replaced with a grasping claw with blades sharp enough to shear through anything unwise enough to engage. The left arm ended in a cannon the equal of any dreadnaught. It was quite capable of reaching vessels in orbit, but was more often used to end ground resistance. Mechanized divisions could be vaporized in a single shot, clearing the way for mobs of saurian infantry to finish the job.

Many self-styled empires had been brought to an early end by a single planetstrider. Even at the height of Azi power, they had only controlled one. Now, thanks largely to his own actions, the Azi had none.

Takkar possessed three of them.

T'kon reluctantly flipped the switch on his generator, bringing the boosters online. He leapt across the distance to the planetstrider's left foot in three quick hops. There was no immediate sign of resistance, so T'kon leapt again. This time he landed on the reptilian leg, along a bony ankle.

The stench was overpowering, even with his suit's atmospheric scrubbers. His eyes burned, and his lower nostrils scrunched shut. What did they feed such a beast?

He leapt again, grabbing a loose scale just below the knee. A low beeping came from his belt, and he cursed under his breath. He leapt again, three times in quick succession. He'd reached the planetstrider's waist, but the energy indicator on his belt was a cautionary yellow.

This was going to be close.

T'kon gathered himself, leaping to the mass of cybernetics where the elbow should have been. He grabbed a thick cable and swung himself atop a nearby panel, then leapt again, ignoring the frantic beeping, and again.

He'd made it to the shoulder.

A glance at his energy indicator confirmed his fear: the battery was drained. Even the beeping stopped after another few moments.

T'kon squatted, resting his back against a ropy conduit thicker than his body. There seemed no way to avoid the gaze of the Nameless Ones. Even if he made it inside and successfully found the core, how would he escape? It would take hours to climb back down, and by that time the guards would be on full alert.

He couldn't summon his ship, because it was too wide to fit down the corridors. There was simply no way to escape, not that he could see.

"Very well, then, the plan changes--a bit, anyway. I cannot escape, but my clan will know of my actions. The stain on my honor will be gone."

A lightness settled over him--the Haak, they called it. The certainty of death. Once a warrior embraced it, fear vanished. Peace remained.

T'kon rose, walking slowly up the scaled shoulder.

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