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Wheelchair Wars Part 2 (26)

Celebrations were held throughout the planet. Everybody was relieved to be alive and thought that it was a good way to honor the dead. The Emperor’s Ambassador quickly returned to take control once news of the alien defeat filtered out.

Timothy was awarded the Emperor Cross. At first, he felt proud but he barely made it through the lavish ceremony, which lasted for three days and three nights, and wanted to tell the Ambassador what he really thought of him. But he could not, he was still there on behalf of the Emperor, despite his cowardice.  In the official story, the one that would be sent throughout the quadrant he had been by Timothy’s side all of the time. The meals were extravagant, the alcohol flowed freely and there was much love-making.

Timothy found himself retreating to his room though, unable to fully partake. Each day, he felt worse and retreated for a little bit more. The first day had been mostly fine but then the problems really started. He knew that he should be rejoicing but found himself thinking of all the deaths under his command. He could see the faces of fear, panic, and bewilderment of the dead staring at him in his sleep, waking him in cold sweats.

This was not what was to be expected. For he was a wheelchair warrior, born to kill. Why was he so soft? Was it the force of chaos within him?

All he knew was that he must hide his frailties.

Pegasus (Part 32)

We must have drifted off asleep because the next thing it was bright again. But now the train was hurtling through a rainforest. A blanket of densely packed trees leaving a dark forest floor. No more large herbivores were to be seen. I nudged Tabitha to wake her.

“What?”

She immediately looked around as if sensing danger.

“It’s okay. Just wanted to wake you. We seem to be in some sort of forest.”

“Yes, in another few hours, we’ll come to a clearance. The train will slow down somewhat and then we’ll have to jump.”

“Jump?”

“Yes, jump.”

Damn it. That is not what I wanted to hear. This didn’t look like the kind of place one would survive an injury.

“What if we get injured?”

“Oh, you’ll be okay. There’s a technique to it. I’ll show you.”

With that, she showed. It involved rolling once your feet touched the ground.

I sure hoped it would work.

“Once we’re off the train, we will have a bit of a walk through the dense jungle ahead of us. I want you to know that we’ll be perfectly fine. I’ve done this particular journey a few times previously.”

I nodded.

“So tell me about your family Tabitha. I want to know everything about you and where you are from. How did you get involved in all of this?”

Galway Girls Part 8

Just as well, Sean was with us because I would have no idea where I was going with all the side streets. Turn left, turn right there, like a maze in a labyrinth of possibilities.

“Just across the road now. Can you get up that path?”

Looking across the road, I see that it is an aging, degraded footpath with only a small bump required to get up onto it.

“Yeah, I’ll be grand,” I replied.

A few moments later Sean was pointing down a narrow laneway, which led to a relatively large but narrow smoking area. I found a suitable spot to park. It was a beautiful sight to behold, more women than lads in what felt like a crowded, raucous outside garden with hanging flowers here and there. Sean really knew the best places to go.

I also gathered what he meant by “alternative”. There were all colours of hair and piercings. All very exotic for the likes of me. Most were smoking away on their vapes and in boisterous, jovial form.

But priorities, priorities. We had our priorities and drink was top of the list. This time Ronan was entrusted with the responsibility. Sean said he would check if there was any space inside as it was at a premium where we were.

Wheelchair Wars Part 2 (25)

They were going too slowly. Timothy ordered them to pick up the pace. Those that didn’t or were unable to were to be left behind. The only exception was wheelchair users who had soldiers assigned to carry them to safety. He ordered his troops to the rear to try and protect at least the swift-moving civilians. A few moments later the sweet sound of machine gun fire ran out through caves.

It was only a matter of time without the heavy cannons. He knew that from his first battle. But a bit more time was all that he needed. He could feel that he was driving upwards now and found himself bobbling up and down over the stone surface.

His troops were going frantic and he could hear the screams of death over the communicator. It was over though, the enemy just didn’t realize it yet. He set off the preliminary explosions. This sealed off the enemy menace killing many of his own men.

Then a few minutes later he set off the rest of them to bury the enemy.

The plan had worked to perfection. A few hours later they exited the vast underground chamber with the remaining survivors. By then, the Tyranid ship had already left its orbit and was sulking back to its hive.

Pegasus (Part 31)

Gradually, the light faded and it became night in the habitat. It was now close to pitch black except for very dim lighting. But, you could still hear the massive creatures and occasionally smell what they left behind them. I wondered what magnificent or terrifying sights I would behold the next day.

“It’s amazing what has been built here, isn’t?”

Tabitha raised her head from my shoulder and stared at me.

“It’s terrible. There are billions of humans engaged in a living nightmare on Earth. I’ve been to London. They are forced to try to survive underground most of the time, drink filthy water, and eat barely edible food. This would be heaven on earth for them. And some of them were the best type of people. Instead, it’s one man’s playground. He’ll never even set his eyes on the majority of it.”

“Yes you’re right,” I replied wondering how things suddenly got so serious.

“It’s important, this is what I’ve given up my life for. I know you are new to all this but you must realize how important this cause is to me.”

” I know, and it’s important to me too.”

With that, she held my hand and put her head back on my shoulder.

Galway Girls (Part 7)

A few moments later, the main act appeared on the stage. He was a thirtyish Irish bloke from Cavan of all places. It didn’t take him long to get the crowd going. He interacted much more with them, asking them where they were from and what their jobs were; hitting the jackpot somewhat when he came across some nurses. They had fascinating tales about body parts getting stuck in very strange places, which the crowd found very amusing.

All the time, the drinks kept flowing After about 40 minutes, the gig came to an end.

“Well, what did ya think of that Sean?” I asked. They had gotten up off their seats and were standing in front of me now.

“Yeah it was good,” he replied.

“Where now?” asked Ronan,

Sean was the guy from the area, so we were following him with the expectation that he would bring us to the best spots that the city had to offer. He had yet to let us down.

After glancing at his watch he said, “Well, there is an alternative type spot quite close to here. It can be very packed but we should be able to get in if we leave now.”

Alternative, I thought to myself. I wasn’t really sure what he meant exactly but it did sound like somewhere I should be going to. 

“Yeah, let’s go there. It sounds cool.”

With that Ronan concurred and off we went.

Wheelchair Wars Part 2 (24)

Then one of the six-legged beasts jumped and landed in front of him. He opened up with his machine guns and the beast was cut down swiftly. It’s green blood splattering over his face. But more were coming. He continued firing as he reversed saving at least some of his minions.

The fortress’s heavy cannons had fallen silent now. Timothy launched some grenades from the back of the battle chair killing several of the enemy but still they came.

It gave him the time though to finally get inside the mine entrance as a large metallic door closed from overhead behind him. Immediately, he could hear the enemy hurling their bodies against it. In the dim light, he turned to assess his forces. Despite minimal losses, only a third of them, or thereabouts, had been wiped out so far, they seemed cowed. Expressions of astonishment and fear were written on their faces. All except for his veterans who had known what to expect.

“It won’t take them long to get through that door. Follow me, if you wish to live!”

He was leading them deeper into the abyss. They descended into the heart of the network before what sounded like a large explosion echoed through the cave structure. It was the sound of their protective heavy metal entrance being breached.

Pegasus (Part 30)

Much time passed with us in each other’s sweaty arms. I loved the feel of her warm body up against mine. The fact that we smell terribly Her peerless beauty was memorizing and kept me in a magical trance. Then, she told me that there was something wonderful that I needed to see.

We quickly put back on our clothes and she takes me by the hand. At this moment, I feel like I would follow her anywhere. She leads me to the open side of the carriage. For a few moments I am utterly speechless for before me are behemoths that I would never have the imagination to envision. I had seen them from the air but this was something else entirely.

There was a huge herd, with their necks raising what were relatively small heads up to the sky. Their legs were huge, wider than a car with a long tail. Every now and then, they let out this enormous guttural roar that could be heard over the rattling tracks.

“They are herbivores. Despite their immense size, they are not a threat. Well, unless they accidentally stomp on you, of course. It’s the carnivores you have to watch out for,” Tabitha advised solemnly, “there are not as many of them and they are not quite so huge, but they can gulp you down in an instant.”

“Well, this is all very comforting,” I replied, “Tell me this are we not in danger of crashing into one of these things?”

“No, the train gives out a low-frequency sound that drives them away from the tracks.

With that, we sat and admired the local wildlife. It was all there was to do.

Galway Girls (Part 6)

The warm-up act was an Australian woman with long blonde hair and a very strong accent. She regaled us with the stories of her love life. She had slept with men from all over the world and was somewhat upset that she might end up getting around to every country. She was middling, a few laughs and not much more.

Still, I was content with the lads ensuring that I had a constant supply of liquor, which made even simple jokes sound hilarious. Every chair was taken giving the place a cramped, jovial atmosphere. The smell of Guinness pervaded the room.I couldn’t but help notice all the pretty women around. There was definitely a higher percentage than my hometown where you would be lucky to spot more than one on any given day.

After half an hour, her act came to an end to much applause. Some, like Sean got up off their seats to look for a refill.

“Well Ronan, what did you think of the of the act Ronan?”

“A bit crude, what did you think?”

“Ah, it was okay,” I replied.

Then I noticed a woman staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Now that wasn’t something that happened to me every day. I looked over and gave her a smile, which was reciprocated. She had short curly blonde hair, with a somewhat heavy build dressed in a black jacket and dress.

“Here’s another one.”

Our brief eye contact was broken as Sean handed me a drink. Damn, I thought to myself.

Wheelchair Wars Part 2 (23)

Then finally, the enemy began to head straight towards the base. The same was occurring throughout the planet. Timothy ordered the long-range artillery to fire. It made little difference except for splitting the odd hideous monster in two. The attack carried on regardless.

As they grew closer, he gave the order for the rest of the guns to open up. A sizeable number of the six-legged beasts were being cut down. But when he looked up, all he could see was the black swarm as far as he could see.

This would be a glorious day to die.

He scanned the reports from the other bases. Some had defeated all the enemy in their vicinity, and others were still in the heat of battle. None were facing the enormous energy force that was in front of them. The Emperor was looking kindly at him.

The guns were firing at the maximum at the bodies were piling up. Soon they would be able to jump from them onto the defensive walls.

He shouted out the command for a tactical withdrawal to the underground mining tunnels. The heavy gunners would be the last to leave their posts and he would remain on the walls with them.

His most loyal troopers wanted to stay with him but he ordered them back. They had no battle wheelchair and would be a nuisance.