First Song

Rishaan

A civilian command post had been set up on the airbase to act as a counter to whatever the military was trying to achieve. It wasn’t quite as flashy as something that had been purpose-built from the start, but with everyone arrayed around with computer screens, it looked impressive enough to fool the casual observer.

I’d been given desk space in one of the rear corners of the room and had spent the past twelve hours working with Ademola and Prometheus. Our objective was to get better communications lines to the other symbiote pairs, but it was slow – they all really liked their independence. Ademola was also being cagey about where they all were. I suppose that was understandable, given how new our working relationship was.

Other people in the room were doing some good work, determining where those asteroid meteor things were going to land. They’d even plotted a high-resolution map covered in dotted lines and shaded areas to simulate exactly where the most destruction was going to be.

Everything had been going smoothly, excitement infusing the whole environment. That was until Erin disappeared from our tracking systems and everything went fucking bonkers.

That’s how it looked from here, anyway.

First, the meteoroids began to accelerate, pulling an unthinkable number of gees – the shift was throwing all our previous calculations out the window.

Because the Earth was constantly spinning, a change in velocity meant a different time and place intersecting with the planet’s surface. It was also possible that if they accelerated too much then they’d just skim the Earth altogether, due to our orbital position around the sun.

While we were struggling to re-run the new numbers, they started to change their trajectories along other axes, too. The mathematicians had started melting down at that point – I’d even seen some bashing their heads down into their desks.

Of course, I’d been relaying all of this to Ademola. I’d tried to keep Erin updated, too, once she came back on the grid, but her contact was intermittent and we eventually fell out of contact again.

The final comms from her had just asked me to wish them luck, but everyone here in Austria was too busy to pay much attention to what was happening to her. They were staring at their screens in numb disbelief.

As soon as the meteoroids broke up, it became impossible to hide the intelligence that was behind these events. Each individual piece was making its own course adjustments.

In the political sphere, accusations had started flying, issued by those that weren’t yet fully aware of everything we knew. This escalated to demands for explanations, backed up by threats of retaliation. Martin was given the job of bringing those individuals into the fold, explaining the extra-terrestrial nature of our foe.

Since then I’d had to watch as Erin’s last known position was pummelled by projectile after projectile. It was difficult to watch, but also a little eerie. I’d been watching some of those meteors as they continually changed vectors, homing in on and following Erin’s path across the Swedish countryside. Others had remained stubbornly fixated on Vasteras, the town where everyone in the vicinity was taking shelter.

I made a note to send someone out to pick Erin and Casey up as soon as it was reasonably possible.

The storm in the region was making everything ten times harder than it needed to be and the fog of war was becoming quite literal.

Reports were coming in of similar events occurring in North America, but the yanks were being unnecessarily uncooperative with us here at the UN. Martin had been swearing regularly about Canada’s geographic neighbours all afternoon.

We had to rely on international news coverage to get any sense of what was going on over there, but we’d noticed a few major differences with the Scandinavian zone already.

To begin with, their landing site wasn’t covered by a gigantic storm. The pictures we were getting were more consistent and of a higher quality than anything we could manage from Sweden for that fact alone.

Infographics were being shown and regularly updated on the newsfeed. It displayed an animated map that plotted the paths of the North American meteoroids. Since it had split up, each piece had veered northwards from the US-Canadian border, eventually striking the Calgary region of Alberta. 

Martin was watching the projection screen stoically, but I could see disbelief and anguish seeping from him like a miasma.

A haze of dust was still settling over the city – obscuring some of the more distant mushroom clouds – as the camera angled upwards, towards the sky. What it revealed was a dark shape as it hurtled towards the ground.

Once the cameras had stopped shaking and were able to track the swiftly falling object, we could make out the form of one of the hexapod machines we’d seen in the telescope images.

It was still tricky to pick out details, but it had a highly sloped central chassis with three crab-like appendages arranged on each side. The legs were curled up, protecting its underside until it came down close to the ground, where they unfurled to support its entire weight.

The metallic surfaces seemed to be smooth, without obvious joins or welding. The only blemishes that we could make out were probably scorching from its entry through the atmosphere. As soon as it had entered the thermosphere, it had begun dumping the huge velocity it’d built up in a fraction of the time it had taken to gain it – but it still remained in one piece.

All eyes in the command room were watching the North American newsfeed in disbelief and amazed muttering, but I needed to focus on my friend.

---

Erin

The cold downpour was slowly bringing me back to my senses, making me realise just how frigid the air had become. I popped up my collar and splashed through the rooftop puddles, crouching down by the hatch to open it.

“It will be happening soon,” my symbiote told me, her arms folding themselves across her chest.

My eyes were drawn back to the horizon, the echoing distant thunder and Athena’s comment both making my stomach feel like it was full of ice. Had the giant mecha insectoid thing landed already?

I heaved on the hatch and lowered myself back down to the floor below – I was a good girl and closed it after me.

Athena had stayed on the roof, her eyes scanning the distance, but I knew that she was still technically in my head, listening – whether that was as Muse or the Goddess of War.

‘I am the same entity. You don’t need to keep splitting me up in your mind,’ Muse’s voice whispered to me.

Of course, I knew that, it was just something my brain was doing subconsciously.

I shuddered as a shiver ran through me, and I pulled my sleeve down to cover the exposed skin of my forearm. The Aegis – the device that I’d just used to prevent almost certain catastrophe – was still there, glowing a soft, pale gold. Adrenaline was rapidly clearing from my system and I was feeling the chill air press in around me.

The wind outside had started to die down, at least, but rainwater was now dripping down through small cracks in the ceiling.

Rifling through my pockets, I pulled out my phone to see whether I was able to get in touch with Rish, but there I realised that there was no way I’d be getting any signal any time soon. The whole city was effectively in ruins, and that included mobile phone masts and powerlines.

 

We’d still need to get everyone moved somewhere safe somehow, while Casey and I needed a way to get over to whatever was happening in the east.

I tucked my phone back in my pocket and descended to the ground floor, skirting around fallen fragments of concrete and exposed rebar on the way.

It was only once I stepped out into the atrium that I saw Casey and Sebastian had managed to rescue everyone safely out of the basement. The survivors were standing around in groups, sprawled on the ground, or seated on pieces of broken masonry that were scattered around the wide-open space.

Some people were covered in blood and dust and looked the worse for wear, but Sebastian was already tending to them. His eyes were aglow with the symbiote’s light, his fingers lightly touching each person’s injury. Wherever he did, the patient’s skin fluoresced a brilliant golden yellow, leaving behind perfectly healed skin in its wake.

He had collected a small crowd around him, watching with awe and claps of appreciation – he was lapping the attention right up.

I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me, my heart fluttering in my chest as Casey nuzzled into my neck.

“Hey,” I laughed, greeting her with a beaming smile, but her only reply was to pull me into a passionate kiss. She released me only long enough for her hands to cup around my neck, and I had no choice but to melt into her arms at the sudden onslaught of lips and tongue.

“Hey,” she eventually purred back, pulling out of our kiss to grin into my rain-drenched face. She reached up a hand to brush a stray lock of hair that was tickling my nose.

I couldn’t help but feel intense love and desire for this crazy woman that had become my whole world. We were just about to go back for seconds when Jacques interrupted us, theatrically clearing his throat.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he said, “but what’s the plan now?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he was doing his best to not stare at us, with our lips only separated by a few centimetres.

We turned in unison, but my gaze dropping as I noticed our bags down by his feet. I was grateful to see that they didn’t appear to be damaged.

Only then did I consider his question, and realised that I couldn’t answer. Did we need a plan? So far we’d been doing pretty okay winging it, hadn’t we?

“What d’you have in mind?” Casey asked him, her arms now wrapping themselves back around my waist.

Nicole had stepped over to join us, but she stayed quiet while Jacques continued on, “You said it’s an invasion, right? Where’s the fighting?”

I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds as I sighed, carefully twisting in Casey’s embrace to answer him. “I think it’s to the east. When I was up on the roof, I could see the flashes in the distance.”

He swore under his breath in what I assumed was Afrikaans, rubbing at the back of his neck. As soon as he noticed Nicole, he smiled apologetically to her.

The language didn’t seem to faze her, and she spoke with a resigned edge to her voice, “I suppose that we should find a way to get you both over there.”

Casey and I exchanged a glance, and I could tell that she was putting on the pretence of being nervous in the face of real fighting. Inwardly, though, I knew that she was every bit my fierce warrior princess. We were also the only ones that really stood much of a chance against the invaders, so we didn’t really have much of a choice.

“Also, good foking job, ey?” the South African grinned. “I don’t know what you did up there, but we’re all still alive, so... thanks.”

 

We’d been trying to decide what to do for about twenty minutes when the thud-thudding of rotor blades announced the imminent arrival of a helicopter outside. As it came in low to land, I could make out two figures standing at the open doorway.

Once landed, they hopped out, and we beckoned for them to come over. About halfway to the building, I realised that it was the other observers: Shawn and Hans. It was nice to know that they were safe, too.

Much back-thumping and hugging ensued when they met up with Nicole and Jacques, but they were upfront that Casey and I were the real reason they’d come.

“Seems some bloke called Martin Parker is looking out for you girls,” Shawn announced, scrutinising the two of us as if seeing us for the first time.

“Nee, other way round, bru,” Jacques replied, giving us one of his grins.

Hans squinted at me but stayed quiet. I found his intense stare to be unnerving and was forced to look away from him.

“Oh yeah? Well,” Shawn commented back to us, “he wants these two in that helo and ready to go A.S.A.P. My guess is that they’re getting pulled out and back to safety.”

I smirked and folded my arms, but Casey laughed, pulling me against her.

“Oh you think so, do you?” she asked, squeezing me gently.

Shawn was evidently bemused, and he turned to Jacques for clarification, his palm upturned.

The South African lifted his shoulders in a shrug, gesturing at us with a hand, “These ladies here are the only reason we’re still alive.”

Nicole was nodded her head in agreement with him, her focus on Casey and me. She was regarding us with careful consideration but stayed silent.

Shawn was still sizing us up when a newcomer wandered over and joined our conversation, a guitar slung over his shoulder, “Are we leaving?”

Shawn and Hans now turned to Sebastian, gawking at his sheer audacity.

“Who the bloody hell are you?” Shawn demanded, his words dripping in incredulity.

Sebastian shifted his guitar, and gave the two of us a quick smile, “I’m Sebastian. And you?” He offered out his hand for Shawn to shake, his smile turning into a grin.

“Are you sure you want to come?” I asked Sebastian while Shawn cautiously took his hand. “There are still injured here.”

He nodded to me, his nose twitching as he turned to look at the helicopter outside, “Ja, I think so. At least he wants to go, so…”

Shawn started muttering obscenities under his breath and turned to look at the other civilians gathered around the room. He opened his arms wide and shouted, “Anybody else?” The poor guy was obviously exasperated by all this.

“No, it’s just the three of us,” I answered more quietly, adjusting the straps of my rucksack. “If we’re ready, let’s go.”

We gave Jacques and Nicole hugs and wished them well. Even if they’d asked to come with us, I would have told them to stay here. There wasn’t anything that they could do to help us with what was to come – I just hoped we’d get to see them again.

Finished with our farewells, the three of us turned for the noisy aircraft that was still waiting outside.

“That is a nice guitar, though,” I heard Hans mutter once we were outside, slowly moistening in the gentle drizzle.

---

We lifted off and headed eastwards. Even though I couldn’t hear the sound of the distant battle over the cacophony inside the helicopter cabin, I could still see flashes out the window. It actually looked like the fighting had spread a little further along the horizon, which had me concerned.

Eventually, I was able to get some phone signal, but it was for just long enough to receive some text messages before it went again.

Rish: Going to assume you’re still alive

Rish: Sending you some transport

Rish: Things are getting bad and could use your help

The battery situation was getting worse. I’d been forced to make sure to disable everything that I could get away with, in an attempt to extend its life. Since this was the only way to listen to the music I needed, it was a serious situation to be in. I totally needed an MP3 player.

We also took this time to make sure we’d eaten and taken on some water – I gave Sebastian some of my spares since he hadn’t brought anything himself. He flashed me grateful smiles as I handed him a small packet of biscuits and half a bottle of water.

About twenty minutes after we lifted off, I was offered a headset to put on so that I could speak over the internal comms.

Once I’d settled it in place over my ears and adjusted the microphone, the pilot started telling me about the current situation as far as he knew it. It turns out that shortly after I’d used the Aegis to deflect the final meteor, a large object was seen descending down through the clouds near Stockholm itself.

There’d been a huge military build-up in that area since we arrived that morning, and they’d all started firing everything they had at whatever it was that was descending to the ground. Nothing was having an effect, including the cruise missile strikes that I’d seen go overhead at the hospital. Anything that had been launched either from the ground or the air either impacted harmlessly or had been intercepted by something before it could reach.

Nobody had mentioned the possibility of humanity’s ultimate weapons, but I had zero doubt in my mind that they were being considered.

Since then, units on the ground had been engaged in a retreating battle with the enemy as swarms of smaller, spider-like drones overran their positions. Initial rumours were that anything less than an armour-piercing fifty calibre round would simply bounce off their outer plating. They were incredibly fast and – now that twilight was setting in – hard to detect.

I scrunched up my nose as I heard all this, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what half of the terminology meant, but the pilot was patient and explained it to me when I asked.

About ten minutes later, I saw expanse filled with burning buildings and wrecked vehicles come into view beneath us. I pointed to different places on the ground for both Sebastian and Casey to see.

‘I am uncertain whether they will realise that we are their biggest threat, but we should avoid making ourselves an easy target,’ Muse advised. ‘Our main target should be the primary machine, but you should be aware that it has an impressive array of weaponry to bring to bear should it be able to detect us.’

“I’ve been warned to keep out of the line of sight of the large arachnoid machine,” I told the pilot, interpreting the advice in a way that he could better understand.

The whole frame of the aircraft began to shake, and we were suddenly diving down low, tilted almost ninety degrees to the side.

“Affirm,” the pilot answered back, his voice betraying the anxiety he was feeling. I thought I’d seen a glowing beam pierce the air where our helicopter had been an instant before we banked hard to the side.

I could feel my last meal trying to evacuate from deep in my stomach, the acrobatic manoeuvre causing it to churn its way for freedom – but I just about managed to hold it in. Casey reached across to reassure me, resting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing.

Only once we were low down to the ground, hidden by some forest-covered low hills, that I was able to relax and bring my stomach under control.

There was an explosion just ahead and to the right, the searing red flash and blastwave making our pilot swerve slightly to avoid taking collateral damage. It had torn apart an abandoned car by the side of the road, leaving a flaming husk in its wake. Soldiers were retreating, but I couldn’t quite make out who or what they were running from.

One thing was clear, though. We’d found the fight.

 

As we came in low over a cluster of red brick buildings, I could see the flashes of gunfire lighting up the streets below. It looked like a group of soldiers had barricaded themselves into a complex of some kind, firing across the road at some shadows shifting in the darkness.

“Hover us over there,” I called out to the pilot, pointing to the area on the ground for Casey and Sebastian to see. “Just down and to the right.”

“In the… uh... middle of the firefight?” he asked hesitantly.

I smiled to myself, amused, as I replied, “Yeah. Right above it.”

The headset was off – and my earbuds in – before we finally came to a halt. The muzzle flashes had stopped for now, and I suspected that it was our noisy presence that was responsible for the lull.

When I gestured for the door to be opened, the member of the aircrew complied, heaving it to one side and exposing us all to the turbulent evening air. Casey and Sebastian moved over alongside me, and I turned to glance at them. I wasn’t sure why Sebastian still had his guitar on his back, but I smirked at him and lifted my eyebrows.

He gave me a thumbs up, but I reached out to take his hand in mine.

Next, I looked at Casey. She placed a kiss on my forehead, then gave me her hand, as well.

‘We are ready, Erin,’ Athena told me, but she was joined by two other voices.

‘Casey and I have been waiting for this for a long time,’ Artemis commented, their voice betraying just a hint of excitement.

‘I have told Sebastian to leave his instrument somewhere safe, however, he insists on taking it with him everywhere he goes,’ said a masculine tone. ‘We are ready.’

I released their hands and took a deep breath as I fumbled for my phone. The moment the music began to really kick in, I threw myself out of the open door and into the twenty-metre drop to the ground.

The freefall made my heart scream in my chest, and I channelled energy into my landing. An empty, explosion-cratered road was below us, and I readied myself for the impact.

My fist struck the asphalt at the exact same moment as the beat dropped, and I felt incredibly proud of myself for my timing. The ground around me fractured, cracking as my kinetic energy was dispersed through the surface.

“You did that on purpose,” Athena smirked, commenting on my superhero landing. She was standing before me, peering down at my crouched form with her arms folded.

Fuck yeah, I did.