Barbarians

Feel the bile rising from your guilty past

With your nerves in tatters

As the cockleshell shatters

And the hammers batter

Down your door

You better run

Pink Floyd - “Run Like Hell”

The explosion rocked the corridor on the other side of the sealed hatch, as Musashi turned on Whisper in sudden fury. “You lunatic!” he shouted, “You could have killed us!”

“Not a chance,” Whisper smirked, “I placed those charges facing away from the door. Besides, I just did you a favor.”

“A favor?” Musashi howled, as Whisper’s grin grew even wider.

“Absolutely. Notice how you don’t hear the pitter-pat of Khonhim feet out in the corridor anymore?”

Musashi stared at him for a moment, before turning back towards the door. Now that the blast had subsided it sounded rather quiet out there.

Whisper was having the time of his life. “See, if I hadn’t blown those charges, right about now the Khonhim would blast their way in. Graybird said he needed another half hour to finish the download, remember?”

Musashi had a sudden sinking feeling he knew where this conversation was headed. “Your point?” he said.

“My point is, that I’m certain the Khonhim will be just a wee bit more cautious in approaching that hatchway now,” Whisper chuckled. “They’ll take time to gather reinforcements, and come up with an assault plan. By the time they do, we should be just about ready to depart.” He looked pleased with himself, the blade coming out once as he twirled it around his fingers.

Musashi counted a full ten Mississippi’s in his head before he trusted his own voice to respond. “Whisper...I realize this may come as a shock to you, but we are a team. Teams communicate with each other...you know, little things, like, ‘Hey guys, I’m going to set off a bomb!’ Stuff like that, so we aren’t surprised….and you realize you’re supposed to clear that with your team leader, right?”

Even if you were right, he thought to himself...though there was no way he was telling him that.

Whisper just stared at him, as Musashi sighed. “...that would be me.”

Their pet psycho seemed unimpressed. “Fine, fine,” he replied, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.

Realizing that was about the best he could hope for, Musashi sighed again before turning to Graybird. “How much longer?”

“At least another fifteen minutes,” Graybird shot back. “It’s not like this is an exact science.”

Tango watched the exchange with amused detachment before Musashi looked back at her. “Watch the door...and if Whisper pulls another stunt like that without telling us, you have my permission to shoot him.”

There was a certain feral cast to Tango’s languid smile as she regarded Whisper, while he returned her gaze with an even wider grin. Nothing ever seemed to faze the guy...which could be a bigger headache than it was a help.

Like this one, for example.

“All right,” he continued, pinching his nose, “when we’re ready to depart, Whisper blows the door after he’d been damn well told to do it,” he said, “and we’re out of here while the debris is still falling. Given that the entire fleet must know we’re here by now, we’ll use the alternate exfil route. Questions?”

There were none. They might all have their quirks...although that term was more than a little generous when describing Whisper...but they were also consummate professionals. They all knew the drill.

The minutes ticked by, and Musashi could feel himself growing agitated as the time dragged out. They could also hear movement out in the corridor again, but this time he kept Whisper from blowing anything else up...though part of him suspected he was only being humored. The Khonhim had to be sealing off the exits, and the longer they waited the worse the odds…

“...got it!” Graybird shouted at last, as he began bundling up his gear.

“Thank God,” Musashi muttered, before looking at the rest of the team. “All right, get ready...on the count of ‘Three’, we blow the door,” he informed them. “Before the dust clears we’re up and moving...and keep your grenades handy. Something tells me we’ll be needing them,” he grimaced, as the four of them took up defensive positions away from the hatch. “Ok...one...two…three!”

On “Three” the hatch disintegrated in a massive explosion, though with the shaped charge they’d used the blast was all directed outward. Shrapnel from the door was still tearing through the corridor as they were up and moving, Tango in the lead with her pistols seeking targets. Khonhim bodies littered the hallway amidst the debris, torn apart by two separate charges as they blitzed their way back the way they’d come…

...and ran straight into a roadblock, a constructed barrier covering a Khonhim squad. “Grenades!” Musashi shouted, though the command was unnecessary. Their frags were already in the air as they dove for cover, peppering the improvised palisade with gunfire to keep their heads down. The explosions detonated almost as one, and at the sound of the blast they were up and moving once more. The one thing they could not do was get pinned down, giving the enemy time to maneuver around them and seal off any hope of escape. The Khonhim knew the ship’s layout far better than they did, so they had to keep moving...even if their headlong rush took them in the wrong direction.

Past the barricade they were back at the ladder, dropping more grenades down the tube to clear the way. This was a major danger zone...until they landed on the next level they’d have no idea where the Khonhim were waiting. The grenades would clear out anyone close, but if they were smart...and so far the Khonhim were making the smart moves...they’d pull back behind cover and open fire before they’d gotten themselves regrouped. If they were very smart, they’d set up in two or more separate corridors and catch them in a crossfire, but if they could stay one step ahead of the reaction forces then they might just have a chance.

Tango dropped down the tube as the grenades detonated, firemanning the ladder with her pistols at the ready, with Musashi right on her heels. She hit the floor with a tuck and roll and came up shooting as he landed behind her, his shotgun pumping out one round after another as they smashed their way through the ambush. Speed was everything, never give them a chance to react or recover, shoot their way past and just keep moving. More bodies piled up as the Khonhim’s shots went wild, and as Graybird and Whisper landed behind them they were already down the corridor, the airlock just a few dozen meters away. Once they were out, they were golden, the chances of the enemy picking them up once they were in space were slim...not impossible, but the odds would be in their favor. Just around the corner and the team came skidding to a halt, as they ran up against a massive piece of equipment blocking their escape. Somehow they’d guessed their route and blocked the exit, which could only mean…

“...back!” Musashi shouted...just as they sprang the trap.

Dozens of Khonhim came boiling out of the corridors, cutting off their only chance at freedom. The team hit the deck and returned fire, and while they were holding their own for the moment their position was untenable. The Khonhim seemed content to contain them, blocking off any exit as they brought in more reinforcements. They recognized just how dangerous the team was, and if they decided to play the long game and soak up casualties, they’d have no other choice than to surrender. Their plan was as brilliant as it was simple...only they’d made one critical mistake.

They hadn’t factored in a madman.

As the trap closed in on them Whisper leapt into the fray, his beloved knives flashing as he whirled like a dervish, slashing and stabbing any Khonhim foolish enough to get within arm’s reach. The enemy wall recoiled at his deranged attack, and that was all the opening they needed. Tango was a heartbeat behind him, her arms raised as she fired round after round, a deadly Valkyrie come to claim her due. Musashi and Graybird added their fire, as the enemy will to fight crumbled against the desperate onslaught. With Whisper in the lead they cut their way through the Khonhim, coming out the other side of the ambush as they emerged in the clear on the far side.

But the moment was fleeting, already the Khonhim were struggling to regroup. The team retreated from the killing zone, backpedaling as fast their feet would carry them as they fired again and again. If the enemy had expected this they’d be dead in the water, as they had pointed all their firepower to the rear and focused on breaking contact. Tango’s icy cold stare stood in sharp contrast to Whisper’s wild-eyed mania, and yet the two together were far more than the sum of their parts. Resistance seemed to melt away behind them, as the four of them turned on their heels in unison and bolted for safety. They had to find a way off the Khonhim ship...for the alternative was unacceptable in any of their minds.

They could hear the Khonhim’s howls of anger and dismay as the enemy horde gave chase. There had to be other airlocks, other ways off the ship, but in their mad Run-and-Gun the team had become disoriented, forcing them to pick a direction at random and hope for the best. Their pursuit was drawing near, but another tossed grenade gave the hounds pause. Ammo was growing low, and if they didn’t find a way out soon…

“...here!” Graybird shouted, pointing down a side corridor. The rest of the team followed without thinking, bundling their way into a cramped antechamber that...thank the Gods...held an airlock.

But the Gods are tricksters, capricious and temperamental, and their joy at finding escape turned to dismay as they realized the airlock, their path to freedom, had been damaged in attack...and would not open.

The sound of their pursuit was growing louder, as their options dwindled to zero. “Shit,” Musashi said in dismay, “that’s the ballgame.”

“Oh...I wouldn’t say that,” Whisper grinned, digging into his bag of tricks...and pulled out their last explosive charge.

The idea was insane. They were too close, and if they tried blowing the airlock from that position it would kill them all, just as surely as the Khonhim would...which left only one option open.

“Set the charge,” Musashi ordered, “while the rest of us make some room.” A brief nod to the others and they turned back once more, placing some distance between them and the airlock...just as the Khonhim found them at last. The enemy roared their fury as they charged forward, eager to avenge their fallen comrades and crush these few pitiful humans, once and for all.

The Khonhim couldn’t be blamed for their recklessness. They had never heard of Bastogne, or Camarón, or Rorke’s Drift. The names Leonidas and Henry V and Davy Crockett meant nothing to them.

They couldn’t comprehend the power humans can somehow tap into, when making a Final Stand.

The team was still holding their ground when the charge blew….sucking both them and their attackers into space