Steven Campbell - Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap

“Okay. Good luck,” I said to his back.

I guess I could understand that. Those young guys sure were nimble up here.

I walked alone in the dark, being certain to keep my gun and parachute from getting tangled on anything. On the ground, I wasn’t especially concerned if I ran into things, I usually knocked them over or they broke. But if I tripped and fell off this latticework or into one of these huge machines, I was dead.

After what I guessed to be some hours, I was regretting the Navy going alone. I had no idea what was happening. They were probably fighting right now and I still had hours to go to reach the jump point.

I didn’t have anything to take my mind off what I was doing either, and this was kind of a scary place. A few times I had gotten my autocannon stuck in the railing, almost tripped, and become frozen with fear. I didn’t consider myself afraid of heights per se, but I was never in high places.

When I looked down and saw the city, there was a realization that all of that could kill me. It wasn’t a phobia, being afraid, it was healthy self-preservation.

Sometime later I noticed a blue beacon ahead on the latticework and saw it was where the Navy had cut through the mesh supports so they would have an unobstructed jump.

The cords of their parachutes were tied to the railing. I assume they didn’t all jump at the same time, so presumably it worked or the others wouldn’t have gone afterwards.

I tried to look down and see what was going on, but couldn’t make out much because of the distance and the lights. Even though they were facing down they were still extremely bright. They were simulating planetary daylight after all. I could see the Portal pylons. This spot seemed to be some blocks from them.

I could also make out Therezians too, lots of them, but they were in the distance. Presumably they moved away from the Portal after they came in so they didn’t crush any of the equipment.

I prepared for the jump. I shifted my autocannon to my lower back under the parachute. Made sure my clothes were tight and secure. I connected my rip cord to the railing.

That was a long way down, actually.

I squinted for another five minutes or so trying to figure out if the Portal was still working and it was necessary for me to jump.

Off the latticework.

At the very edge of space.

But there wasn’t anything for it. I walked all this way and I had no clear signs the Portal was destroyed. There were no soldiers dancing for joy in the middle of the street that I could see.

I took a deep breath and jumped.

The ground immediately started rushing towards me. I looked up to see my parachute had deployed successfully. But the street was still coming awfully fast. Soon I realized that these parachutes weren’t designed for someone of my weight.

There’s a primal fear that comes over you when you understand you’re about to hit the ground at an absurd speed. I flailed my arms and legs helplessly as if I could escape from my fall.

“Ahhh!”

I hit the ground feet-first like a brick and then landed on my side. I was sure I broke both my feet and at least dislocated my shoulder.

My first thought was, “What should I eat for dinner?”

I disconnected my parachute. Using my right arm, I unbuckled my autocannon and put it on the ground in front of me. I used that to stand. My feet hurt a lot but they weren’t broken. At least not badly.

My left shoulder was definitely not happy, however.

I took turns yanking on my autocannon to try and pop it back into place. I then hit it with my right arm and pulled on it, but that did nothing. I swung it in circles.

“Ow!”

I stopped doing that. I could live with it for a while.

I put my autocannon on, moving one strap from my left shoulder to my right, and gingerly began walking forwards on aching feet.

I travelled a block when I started seeing them. Dead soldiers were all across the street. Most of them, I noticed, were against the walls of buildings. They were not killed by gunfire. They were mangled and mashed.

I moved another block and it connected with a side street. There, walking even slower than me, were two blood-soaked Gandrine.

They were coming towards me.

Gradually.

How did they ever kill those fast soldiers?

I could autocannon them or plasma pistol them. Or I could talk.

“Hi,” I began cheerfully. “Um, you may not know, but the…guy with no clothes. Old Colmarian guy with the beard and hair. Who ran the corporations. He’s dead. He was disintegrated.”

It became clear the Gandrine were not moving towards me, they were heading back to the Portal. They scraped along the road past me, oblivious.

“So whatever deal you might have had with him, it’s over. He’s gone.”

They kept going, uninterested.

“Hey! The Naked Guy had planned to start a galactic civil war! Billions of people could die. Whole planetary populations. The Therezians are just one weapon in that war. Can you hear me? You bringing more here might cause untold deaths.”

The Gandrine stopped.

Very slowly they turned in unison to face me.

“So what!” One yelled.

They turned back towards the Portal and continued walking.

I had been ready for a lot of responses, but that was not one of them.

I hadn’t thought the Gandrine were uncaring, just uninterested. But maybe they couldn’t feel empathy for the Colmarian Confederation. It wasn’t their empire after all.

But why would they keep bringing in Therezians unless they were also part of the final attack? Or they didn’t understand. Or they were homicidal psychopaths.

The Gandrine had reached the Portal control area and they appeared to be working on it.

I loaded an HE round. I disconnected my autocannon and put it on the ground. From there, I aimed it at the controls some two blocks away. I was worried I would miss if I tried to fire while standing.

I got down on my knees behind the gun, leaned over and put my weight on it.

I turned away, closed my eyes, and pulled the trigger.

Kachooom!

I got flipped up in the air like a bottle cap. I landed on my bad shoulder.

There was an explosion down the street and the control panel was clearly demolished and burning in several places. Numerous other explosions erupted and I saw the nearest Portal pylon tilt dangerously.

It kept coming in my general direction and I crawled to my autocannon, which had spun away about ten feet. I used it to stand up and right as I turned around, the pylon came crashing down not thirty feet behind me.

It’s amazing how metal can become almost liquid when under enough stress. This pylon, which was probably five feet in diameter and taller than a tall Therezian, melted into the street. Pieces scuttled past my feet as it came apart.

From the smoke and dust of the wreckage, I saw some darker shadows.

Gandrine.

I tested taking a few steps backwards. My feet still hurt a lot. This was going to be a really close race if they “chased” me.

However, I was concerned about what part they might still play in this. Did they know of Naked Guy’s plans? Were they active participants? They certainly didn’t seem to care much about the fate of my empire.

I loaded an armor piercing round. I hadn’t had a chance to strap on my autocannon, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

Holding it up so I could try and aim, I balanced it with my bad arm and held it against my chest. I had to spread my legs far apart and lean backwards. The barrel was wobbling dangerously as I couldn’t keep it steady, but when it passed over the figure of the Gandrine on the right, I pulled the trigger.

“Eat suck, suckface!”