by Alex Guerra
“We must go,” said Seya, turning to leave.
“Good luck,” said Ellia, bidding us farewell.
TWENTY
Dagger touched down on one of the landing pads along the eastern wall of the main city. Seya sent an encrypted message to Lena for her to meet us, as we needed to discuss our findings and the next step. Everyone exited the dropship, save for Kayton and her group. After the pad cleared, the three would head into town for a wardrobe change before reuniting with us among the crowd.
“Art,” said Ellar. “Permission to go to the medical wing to drop off Del’s sample and get the prosthetic?”
“Granted, but be quick about it,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” said Ellar.
Seya and I led the group of troopers into the overhang reaching out towards the pad, and Ellar took off ahead of us at a brisk pace. The rising sun to the east cast long shadows from our group like stacked dominoes. A strong breeze cut through us, carrying with it the smell of the ocean as before. How I was happy to be back in Kestar and away from the mudball of Garos, despite the circumstances. A paranoia lingered about me, as I studied everyone we passed on our way to meet our contact.
Dressed in her usual red garb, Lena brandished a weary smile on her face. Looking tired with prominent bags apparent under her eyes, she walked up to greet us—alone and without her usual entourage.
“Seya, Artur, so good to see you all again. And hello to your fine troopers who no doubt served the conglomerate with valor,” said Lena upon greeting us. She hugged Seya and held both my hands in the customary greeting. “What news do you bring with you, something good I hope?”
“Yes, we were able to obtain more power cores for the ship, and you will never guess what else we found,” said Seya.
“Oh? What might that be?” asked Lena. “Should we speak in a more private area?”
“No need, but check your message, it will explain everything. I cannot speak openly now,” said Seya.
“Oh, I didn’t see the last one. Just a moment,” said Lena, checking her dataslate.
Seya showed me the message before landing, and it explained what was going on and our plan. It was something to the effect of: don’t trust anyone, imperial agents on Fengar, someone may be watching.
Lena looked up from her dataslate with a stern look on her face, which she quickly changed to a warm and inviting smile. She understood the message.
“Has reports been coming in from our territories on any attacks or sightings of the Darkkon fleet?” I asked the blue woman.
“Nothing significant yet. Admittedly, the calm is a bit unnerving,” said Lena, her eyes darting at our surroundings.
“Trust me, it’s safe to say that we all feel that way,” I said, glancing back at the team who nodded to the sentiment.
“Let’s have a seat over here for a while since if you can’t tell by my ragged appearance, I haven’t been getting much sleep. Sometimes I feel befriending you was a curse, Seya,” joked Lena, as she led us to a nearby table.
Our table overlooked the courtyard with the fountain I saw when we first arrived. The sun gleamed and shimmered off the morning dew of the well-kept plants, and the breeze pushed the fountain’s arcs into a light mist to the west.
“Can you give us an update on what’s going on in the conglomerate? Some figures perhaps?” asked Seya.
More people were walking about, now that the day had begun. The sounds of the city rose steadily, as the walls seemingly amplified the crescendo with its dynamics. I was never a fan of large cities, at least I could never live in one permanently since it was way too loud. Of course, with a view like this to wake up to every morning, I was reconsidering.
With more people, came the rise in suspicion. The troopers stood guard vigilantly, looking about the area at everyone while speaking among themselves on the private channel. Every now and then they would say something into the earpieces Seya and I wore.
“Big hat at my thirty-five,” said Bon, using a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree orientation for spotting. There would most likely be a marker placed on their helmets’ HUD, but the callout helped Seya and me also look for the possible threat.
When someone called out a suspicious target, we made sure not to all look at it at the same time. The combat mind cautioned to scan as if we were just looking around, taking in the view and using our peripheral vision. The trooper’s helmets obscured their faces, giving them the advantage of no one knowing where they were actually looking.
“He’s just a gardener, look,” said Habi.
The man went down to the courtyard to tend to the plants, too far out of earshot to get any valuable intelligence.
“…ships fabricated in the Eltari system,” said Lena, as I returned to listening to the conversation. “Reports continue to come from around conglomerate space, including some from the wildlands. Tens of thousands of potential recruits have been signing up every day.”
“That’s good to hear. I was expecting a good turnout, but I must admit, I had a morsel of doubt,” said Seya.
“Art, it’s Kayton,” she said, over the comms.
“Go ahead,” I said, quietly.
“We’re onto phase two. There are a lot more people in the city now than I remember,” she said. “We’re making our way near your position now.”
“Lena says the people are from the recent recruitment campaign. Keep an eye out,” I said.
“Will do,” she acknowledged.
The conversation went on between the two women as the rest of us looked around. It was approaching lunch time, and a surge of people were swarming the hallways and courtyard where we sat. After watching for almost three hours, we had only spotted a few suspicious characters so far. With the number of people now all around us, it was difficult to keep my eyes trained on one person for long before they melted away into the crowd.
Ellar finally came back, bringing with him a case of some kind.
“I got the prosthetic. Del will be back up and running—quite literally—very soon,” said Ellar, tapping the case.
“Good work,” I said. “Take the south position over there.” I pointed in the direction I wanted the medic to be. More friendly eyes would keep my paranoia in check for the moment.
“Anything on your end?” I asked Kayton on a private channel.
“Nothing. What a mess, there are too many people. Even for this part of the city,” she replied.
It was true. While near landing pads, this part of the city was generally reserved for representatives, their assistants, and workers. It was becoming hard to tell who belonged and who was just passing through. The wash of clashing colors fused in an abstract collage like peering into a kaleidoscope.
“This is getting to be too much. We need to move away from here,” I said to the others.
“I’ll take you to one of the private rooms for lunch. We’ll be able to speak freely in there,” said Lena, leading us away.
Although I wouldn’t be betting all my chips on the imperial showing themselves so soon, a part of me thought this would be the best time for them—especially if they were in constant communication. The empire would know that we escaped Garos and also delivered a crushing defeat to their forces. There was only one place we would be going to—Fengar. If there were imperial agents here, they knew our movements.
“Alright, let’s take a break then. Remember, only rations,” I said.
Lena gave me a look but didn’t say anything else. She knew today was not like our typical meetings and left it at that.
The troopers were slowly making their way through the dense crowd and converging on our position.
“Gun!” came over the comms.
A shot rang out nearby. Tracing the sound, I found the gunman. He fired close to me, but the shot missed. Accessing the combat mind, my hand rushed to the blaster beneath my shoulder cape and drew a bead on the attacker.
We fired at each other simultaneously, but my aim was better. A round punched right through him, k
illing him before he hit the ground. I brought my weapon up and scanned through the screaming crowd, which was either running in a panic, throwing themselves to the ground, or ducking behind cover.
“More of them,” said Seya, desperately trying to aim through the crowd.
I put several shots into the ceiling as several people threw themselves to the ground, clearing our lines of fire.
More agents.
They fired at us and the troopers alike, having twice our numbers. They turned the plaza and courtyard into a shooting gallery. The attackers shot civilians in their desperation to hit us.
A spur of movement came from behind me. I didn’t turn fast enough, and the flash of a silver knife came down upon me, stopping inches away from my face. A hand grasped the attacker’s bladed hand while another arm wrapped around his neck.
It was a civilian that saved me.
Moving the blaster a few inches from its current position, I shot the man in the knee as he cried out in pain, falling down onto the affected limb. The civilian guided the knife during the attacker’s momentary loss of strength, planting the weapon into the man’s gut several times.
I recognized the tenacity from the civilian as Kayton. The other civilians caught in the fighting must have been Tal and Ornay. They blended in so well, even I didn’t even recognize them.
The troopers were fighting in close quarters—some even hand to hand—but the attackers geared only in their light clothing would have to face troopers kitted in full armor. Garvo crushed an attacker’s skull by using his heavy weapon as a club. Habi successfully parried a knife attack with her free hand, releasing her own knife from its sheath in an underhanded grab and cutting the man’s neck in a graceful spin. The would-be assassin dropped his weapon, clinging to his neck as blood ran through his fingers before falling face down and lifeless.
A pair of gunmen with rifles shot in our direction, but Bon rapidly silenced them with two quick blasts.
We came under fire from a large weapon down the hall. Civilians hugged the ground, attempting to crawl away, but the attackers were on an assassination mission and careless in their aim, so collateral damage would be of zero concern.
Seya flipped a table over for us to take cover while pulling Lena by the back of her uniform up to us. The woman was unresponsive, and her breathing was shallow as blood oozed from her collarbone.
“Ellar!” I shouted over the comms and the incoming fire. “Lena is down.”
“I can’t get to you. I’m pinned down,” the medic yelled.
“Suppress that weapon,” I ordered, and the troopers responded in a hailstorm of bullets.
Pillars and tables shredded under the fire, obliterating vases and anyone foolish enough to peek out of the disintegrating cover. I urged the civilians to make a break for it while they had the chance. They soon escaped with screams of pain and panic.
Ellar ran to us, sliding and then rolling into the cover with us.
“This is bad,” he said, looking over Lena. He fished out a small applicator from his chest holster and inserted the nozzle into the fresh wound, filling it with a coagulating gel. “We need to get her out of here, now.”
“Civilians are clear!” shouted Nadu.
“Frag that shooter!” I shouted. Where the hell was the Fengar guard? I hadn’t seen a single red trooper in the past hour and the response time was appalling.
“Frag out,” I heard someone call before an explosion rocked the hallway and the incoming fire stopped.
“Get to the dropship!” ordered Seya. A man playing dead rolled over and shot at us, missing by a hair before Seya put him down with a well-aimed shot, removing the top half of his head. Bodies of foes and civilians alike littered the area—some of whom were still squirming or writhing in pain.
There was no time to help them, we needed to get out of here.
“Dotty, fire up Dagger’s engines, we’re leaving!” I shouted. Ellar scooped Lena into his arms as we cautiously made our way to the dropship.
“Confirmed, ready to launch,” said Dotty over the squad’s comms.
As we ran, Ellar slowed down. “Someone, grab that case,” he said, nodding to the item.
“I got it, keep moving,” said Seya, grabbing the item with her free hand while running with her blaster in the other.
The troopers ran in pairs ahead of us before stopping and covering our exit. They repeated the process all the way to the dropship. Loud explosions arose throughout the city like a bombing run. I looked to the skies but didn’t see any enemy aircraft. Kestar must have been crawling with imperial agents as bombs continued tearing down the infrastructure.
A steady sound of conglomerate gunfire screamed up from the streets below. Red and gold conglomerate fighters streaked overhead, making fast sweeps around the city. Their engines screamed, leaving a tremor in the sky as we continued running. When we spotted the obsidian around the curve of the overhang, the Fengar troopers finally arrived, moving to secure the area we came from and render aid to the civilians. Unfortunately, they were too late to save the numerous people we stepped over on our way out.
The team ran at full speed across the landing pad towards the orange energy of Dagger’s engines in full spin—roaring and buffeting us with gusts of wind. When we were aboard, Dotty didn’t bother waiting for us to get strapped in. Dagger’s engines changed from its low and rumbling idle to an increasingly louder whine. Its tone increased, and with it, our altitude. The ramp slowly lifted, giving me a shrinking slit of a view of the landing pad and the eastern wall of the city fortress. Fires raged throughout the city as the narrowing view of Dagger’s ramp shut and sealed into place.
Looking down at Lena, the gel had stopped her bleeding, but she was a few shades lighter than her normal dark blue. Ellar used the medical scanner over the injury to get a readout.
“She’s not yet stable. The gel got most of it, but she still has some internal bleeding. Broken bones, no exit wound. Looks like it struck an artery,” he said, taking out a vial and seating it into an injector. “I’ll get her to the medical pods as soon as we get to the ship.”
Seya tightened her fists as she watched the medic going to work. “They got her...I didn’t think it would be so many,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have risked her safety,” I said.
“There was no way of knowing something of this degree would happen, Captain,” said Bon. “Did you see the rest of the city? It looks like complete sabotage.” He flicked his weapon onto safe and set it down across his lap, shaking his head.
“Dotty, open a channel to Inquisitor Litari. We need to warn him,” I said.
“Channel open,” responded the A.I.
“Inquisitor, it’s Holland, do you read me?” I said, gazing around the hold.
“I hear you, Captain. I am getting reports of attacks sprouting up around the city. What’s happening?” asked the inquisitor.
“There are imperial agents dressed as civilians. Make sure that the prisoner and Princess Ellia are secured. Place the fort on lockdown and do not trust anyone.”
“This is not good,” he said. “I have yet to get the information I need from the prisoner. I will make sure to inform the guards of the attack. Where are you now?”
“Getting off the planet. Councilor Marscos needs medical attention. We’re taking her to our medical bay right away,” I said.
“Lena is injured?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yes, but we’ll handle it. Keep the fort on lockdown. I will be in touch, stay safe.” I said, closing the channel.
“Arthur, incoming hailing frequency from Vira Olmos,” said Dotty.
I cocked an eyebrow at Seya who looked back at me with grave concern.
“Put it through,” I said.
“Arty, is that you?” came Vira’s voice.
“I’m here with the team. Are you safe?” I asked.
“Yes, but these crazy people wrecked my shop!” she said in her most frustrated
voice. “I grabbed what I could and made an exit. I am approaching your ship low from the starboard side.”
Quickly moving to the cockpit and looking out the viewport, a bulky ship rose up next to us and gave a quick wing flash.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“It’s not safe down there, and there is still much work to do. Permission to dock at your ship?” asked Vira.
“Permission granted, follow us up,” I said, closing the channel. I ran a hand through my hair, which was now damp with sweat. “Fuck!”
I hoped the Circles took my advice to secure factories with more defenses. Besides the lives of the civilians and the two Circles—including the southern fort—the factories were the most important things on this planet. I had to trust that the Fengar guard would root out the imperial agents before they attacked more civilians and buildings.
“Dotty, has the Fengar fleet run into any problems or spotted any enemies?” I asked.
“No, Arthur. The attack appears to be limited to the city only,” said the A.I.
That was one less thing to worry about anyway. We approached The Pillar, and I had a secondary bay open to accept Vira’s vessel. The dropship locked into place and spun around while the ramp opened. Ellar was the first one out of the ship, and I followed close after him, hurrying down the halls.
The medic hastily undressed the woman so he could put her in the tank I was prepping with the help of Dotty.
“Make sure to give her the serum right away,” I said. The medic followed my logic, acknowledging that she most likely had the transmitters in her. In case we had to make a break for it, I didn’t want the Darkkon tracking us.
Discarding her bloody clothes to the side, her dataslate slipped out from one of the hidden pockets. Ellar quickly snatched up the autoinjector and dosed the woman before we put her in the open tank. Once the glass door slid into place, the tank began to fill with the blue liquid and rose above her blue head. The unconscious woman spasmed as her lungs filled with the liquid before Dotty placed the apparatus over her face, snaking the feeding tube down her throat and into her stomach.
