Jones and Einar eyed the small humanoids warily as Petricia continued up the tunnel. She knew there was fresh air on the other side and that hastened her steps. She’d had enough of being underground.
The door was more like a hatch, massive in construction but angled to keep people out. She cycled the unlock mechanism and tapped a lever that led to a counterweight. It dropped and the door cranked open. As it popped, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smelled sulfur and explosive, but it was still outside air.
When she opened her eyes, she found railgun barrels pointed at her, one from a mech, and pistols from both Terry Henry and Char.
“It’s Petricia,” she said weakly.
“At ease!” Terry called. “You can’t imagine how much grief you just saved us.”
Petricia nodded and started to climb the stairs out as the door was over her head. Terry was climbing in and ran into her. She pointed outside. Terry stepped back.
“Tunnels not your speed?” he asked.
“Not in the least,” she said with a half-smile. Char helped her out and she looked back.
“We’ll tell Joseph,” Terry said. Being underground wasn’t natural. He thought a vampire would take to it better, but Petricia had always been different. “Kae, get Auburn in here with our comm gear. I want Smedley knee-deep in this shit in five, and where are the rest of my Crooners? Get them in here, too!”
* * *
Terry climbed down the stairs and strode down the tunnel. Char was right beside him as they walked into the Crenellian planetary command center.
When he arrived, he found Joseph holding out his hands as three of the small humanoids were chittering at Bundin, who was wildly waving his tentacle arms.
“SHUT UP!” Terry bellowed, wading into the small aliens and bouncing them aside. “You stop!” Terry pointed to Bundin. “And you sit the fuck down!”
The Crenellians stood their ground. Terry grabbed one in each hand and slammed them into their seats. Char picked up the third and dumped him into the nearest empty chair.
Terry looked at the workstations. “Check the bunk room,” Terry said, pointing to a third door. “That one will be the kitchen. Should be some sleepers in there. Wake them up and drag them out here.”
Terry turned back to the aliens. The Podder continued to wave his arms.
“Can you calm him down, please?” Terry asked Joseph, who worked to get Bundin through the door and into the bathroom. He shut the door once they were through.
“Which one of you is in charge?” Terry stood with his hands on his hips and waited. No one spoke up. The pitter patter of little feet signaled the arrival of the other nine Crenellians. Jones and Einar chased twelve out of the bunk room. At least they looked tired instead of arrogant.
“Come on now. One of you goofy bastards is in charge.” Terry waited as the group was herded together. “Tik’Po’Rout, talk with them please and let them know that we are deadly serious.”
The small alien stepped forward. “They are deadly serious,” he said.
“I haven’t killed a Crooner, but I’m about to start, until I find one that’s halfway decent.”
Char moved closer to her husband to keep him from flying into a rage. “Joseph,” she said casually. “We could use your assistance in here.”
Down the tunnel, the werewolves, weretigers, and Pricolici trotted to join their fellows during the interrogation of the Crenellians.
“I’m Colonel Terry Henry Walton, leader of the Bad Company’s Direct Action Branch. We have been hired by your president to end this war. We’re going to do exactly that. The next piece in this puzzle involves you shutting down your weaponry, so I need you to jump onto your system and start turning things off.”
The assembled group of small aliens looked at him with no hint of any desire to take action.
“Ankh, can you please tell them that we are going to do this? There’s only one scenario where the Crenellians survive, and that depends completely on their cooperation.”
Ankh’Po’Turn hesitated briefly, looking at Terry with a blank expression before turning to one of the Crenellians. “Do as he tells you or he will destroy your computers and then abandon you outside, or worse, in the tunnels with only Tiskers for company.”
“I don’t understand,” the alien replied. “They were hired by our president so what are they doing here, destroying our equipment and threatening us?” The small humanoid waved in the direction of the tunnel and then back to the computers.
Terry was surprised by the emotion shown. It took destroying three computers before the last group came out of their shells. Terry appreciated Ankh’s improvisation. The colonel hadn’t mentioned abandoning the Crooners outside or in the tunnels, but that was something they didn’t know they feared.
Auburn appeared and started setting up the equipment. Joseph opened the door from the bathroom and walked in, slowly closing the door behind himself.
“My boys are with Bundin. He’s better now that he doesn’t have to look at this bunch,” Joseph whispered into Terry’s ear from behind.
“I wish I didn’t have to look at this bunch,” Terry whispered out the side of his mouth. “Can you get a login from that one and turn on the computer, please? We’ll let Smedley do it. I’m not feeling the love from these guys.”
Joseph walked past Terry, looked at the Crenellian that Ankh had talked with, and then continued to the nearest terminal. With a few screen taps, the system came on.
“Smedley, do your thing,” Terry said before waving an arm at the Crenellians. “Get them out of here, all except Ankh and that one.”
The one whose mind Joseph had pulled the login code from.
“What’s your name?” Terry asked once the warriors had herded the others up the tunnel. There was shouting at the entrance as Kimber and the platoon took charge of the small humanoid aliens.
“Don’t hurt any of them!” Terry yelled toward the tunnel before turning to face the Crenellian leader. “I asked your name.”
The humanoid looked at him with the expression that he loathed—one of complete indifference.
“I’m in, Colonel Walton,” Smedley said happily. “Oh, my.”
Terry looked at the communications equipment. That wasn’t an expression he had wanted to hear. “Oh, my?”
“This interface is different. It has access to everything, but we need the master code.”
“Standby, General.” Terry physically turned the alien so he was facing the screen. “What’s the code?”
Joseph nodded and started tapping.
“Thank you, Colonel Walton,” Smedley said before continuing. The screen in front of Joseph started flashing as the EI took over. “I’m deactivating the orbital defenses. There are two other ground assault systems that had been turned loose. I’m deactivating those now. I’m removing the access from the four remaining Crenellian outposts. Done and done.”
“Why would you do that?” the alien leader asked.
Terry took a knee so he could look the man in the face. “Because we can’t have a conversation while weapons are pointed in people’s faces.”
“But that’s what you did,” he countered.
“We didn’t shoot any of your people. Our failsafe is no harm. If we die, we don’t wipe out all life on the planet. Because of the threat of your force, we had to use force of our own. It’s not logical, but it is human. The Crenellian president hired us to do a job and then the Crenellians actively worked against us. You tell me how that makes sense? We were supposed to stop a war, not participate in a genocide.”
“They are only Tiskers,” he replied.
Terry clenched his jaw. “Get him out of here,” Terry growled.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hidden in a remote corner of the Pan Galaxy
Nathan Lowell leaned back in his office chair. Ecaterina sat across from him.
“What do you think of the Direct Action Branch?” she asked.
“We set Terry Henry up
poorly on his first mission, but he’s taking care of business. I hate to say it, but we did the same thing to Valerie too, but she’s handling things quite nicely as well. It confirms the old saying that you don’t have to be great, but you need to be surrounded by great people. I think we’ve done that.”
“I think so, too,” she replied, looking uncomfortable. Nathan knew why she was unhappy.
“Christina is doing fine. Better than fine, but the Tissikinnon action is ongoing. I hope Terry resolves it sometime soon so she can call us from the War Axe. I miss my little girl,” Nathan added.
Ecaterina nodded, her eyes glistening as she fought off the tears. Christina had been an adult for a long time, but she never stopped being their only child.
Nathan stared at his computer screen as if willing it to connect. “Screw it,” he said before tilting his head back in his take-charge pose. “Activate a comm channel directly to Terry Henry Walton.”
The screen came to life showing Terry up close, but he was looking at something off-screen. Behind him, Nathan and Ecaterina could make out banks of computers.
“You are the fucking man, Smedley!” Terry hooted. “Goddamn, you showed this system who’s boss. Fuck that little piece of shit. YES!” Terry stood up and started dancing the pelvic thrust.
“TH?” Nathan interrupted.
Terry looked at the screen. “Stop fucking with me, Smedley. Why did you put on a Nathan Lowell mask? Is it Halloween? With all the aliens out here, what do people dress up as? It boggles the mind, don’t you think?”
“It is Nathan, Terry. Are you okay?”
“Whoa! How’d you get in there?” Terry sat down and assumed a contemplative yet executive pose. “What can I do for you, Nathan? Hi, Ecaterina. I didn’t see you standing there.”
“We were talking and figured you were in the final stages of the operation, so instead of speculating on your status, we called. Was that your victory dance, TH?” Nathan asked.
“That was my not-safe-for-work-or-public-consumption dance. We have disabled all the automated scorched-earth systems the Crenellians installed here. The next step is to talk with the Podders and come to a new agreement. I have no estimate for how long that will take, but at least no one is dying anymore.” Terry looked down, furled his brow, and then looked back up. “I lost one, Nathan, and a second lost her leg, but she’s on the mend.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, TH. Please accept my condolences.”
“We went into this with our eyes wide open, Nathan. It’s nothing you did. I only want to make sure that our next job isn’t a veiled attempt by one race to cleanse another from existence.”
“Is that what they really wanted?”
“They wanted the Podders to help them with the mining, but my impression is that they never were able to communicate fully with the locals, plus there’s no single Podder government. Every region is different. What they negotiated and however they negotiated it didn’t apply to where they sunk their first shafts. With Joseph’s help, we’re able to talk to at least one Pod. If they agree to restore the original conditions, the Crenellians will get their minerals and the Podders will get whatever they expected from the bargain, which might be Bad Company’s protection from the galaxy’s predators. Can I agree to give them that?”
“It wouldn’t be the Bad Company, but we could sign a pact on behalf of the Force de Guerre, an official Federation agency. Kurtz is doing a good job getting it set up. For any signed documents, have Colonel Marcie Walton’s name as the nominal head of the FDG. We need to keep you separate.”
“That’s good to hear on Kurtz and the FDG, Nathan. We’ll make sure we get it right. Anything else?” Terry asked.
“Christina?”
“Christina is doing great. A valuable member of the team. She is uninjured and helping the others. She seems to work well with the weretigers. On a side note, if I wanted to recruit a Podder to the team, can I do that?”
“Can we talk with her?” Ecaterina asked.
“I’m sorry, Ecaterina, but she’s topside. I’m finishing things up here in the Crooner control room.” Terry held his ear out and listened intently. “It’s quiet as can be up there. I expect they’re taking some well-earned downtime.”
“I’m glad Christina has found a home with people who care about her,” Nathan replied, smiling at Ecaterina. “You can recruit whoever you want for the company. Just understand the logistics support aliens will need. You know what they say, amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.”
“Hey! I taught you that,” Terry said as Nathan’s image faded.
* * *
General Smedley Butler reappeared on the screen. “Smedley! Tell the captain that orbital defenses have been disabled.”
“Already done, Colonel. We’ll be scooping up what remains of the system for further analysis. Both hangar bay doors are operational and we look forward to your return to the ship.”
“Sounds great. Thaw some steaks for my people. They deserve it. And change the access codes on this system or whatever you need to do to prevent any Crooners from reactivating the failsafe.”
“That also has already been done.”
“You are the bomb, Smedley. Walton out.” Terry shut down the comm system. He stood and stretched before going to the bathroom door where he found Bundin and the two warriors. “Come on, we’re leaving, and we have a mission for you, buddy.”
They worked their way through the control room and out the tunnel.
Once outside and with the inner circle gathered with all the Were in their human forms, Terry turned to Joseph.
“Good job getting this far, my friends. The next part could be the hardest or the easiest. Joseph, I’d like Bundin to meet with his Pod and see if a conversation is possible between them and the Crooners. If so, we’ll bring the team and let the negotiations happen. I’ll act as a mediator so the Crooners will be accepting of whatever I tell them is fair.”
“We have to emphasize what the Crenellians want and how it is delivered,” Char suggested.
“Kimber, bring that Crenellian leader in here and see if Ankh will come, too.”
Kimber nodded and walked toward her platoon that was spread out, half of them asleep while the other half guarded the Crenellians.
“Are they prisoners of war?” Timmons asked.
“In the pre-WWDE sense of the word? No. They are detainees. We are securing their safety by taking away their liberty. What a deal for them!” Terry smiled and shook his head. “We’ll turn them loose as soon as we can, as soon as their people can come pick them up.”
Kimber was carrying the alien leader while Ankh walked by her side.
“Thank you for coming, Ankh, and you too, whatever your name is. I need to know what the original agreement between Crenellia and Tissikinnon Four was all about. What did you get from the deal?”
The leader stared at Bundin. Joseph started to laugh but stifled it quickly. Terry rolled his eyes, but appreciated the bond Joseph and the Podder had formed that they could joke at the Crenellian’s expense.
“Dammit! Auburn, can you set us up so Smedley can join us?”
Char handed Terry her comm device. “Smedley, have you been able to find the original agreement between the Podders and the Crenellians?”
“Yes. It was for monthly deliveries of four elements that are common on Tissikinnon Four but rare on Crenellia.”
“Joseph, can you translate the elements and monthly quantities for Bundin? The billion-credit question. What would the Podders want to deliver that amount to the surface monthly for the Crenellians to pick up?”
Joseph nodded and leaned on Bundin’s shell as they conversed, silently, mind to mind. The vampire had found that by touching the Podder, they could speak clearly to each other.
“Do you think he would fit in a Pod Doc?” Terry asked Char. She leaned one way and then another.
“Maybe,” was the most to which she would commit.
Dokken sighed. The German Shepher
d was exhausted, but his cat naps weren’t doing it. He needed a good sleep on a bed. When are we leaving? he asked.
Only as soon as humanly possible, Terry replied, scratching the dog behind his ears.
The wait grew long and Terry started to look for a place to sit. Half of the others had already dropped to the ground, their exhaustion near complete. The more that Terry and Char did nothing, the more the fatigue gripped them.
Petricia seemed to be asleep on her feet as she draped herself across Bundin’s shell, leaning against Joseph.
Christina started to snore. The Crenellians looked at her oddly.
“What is that noise?” Ankh asked.
Marcie strolled up. Terry and Char hadn’t seen her leave. A towel was over her shoulders and her hair was still wet.
“What?” she asked.
Char’s mouth dropped open. “I’ve been out here wallowing in my own filth while you’re in there taking a shower?”
“Yes,” Marcie replied matter-of-factly.
Char smiled and bolted for the doorway. Snoring with one breath and awake with the next, Christina popped upright. “Showers?” she said. “That’s right!”
Before Terry could say anything, she was running toward the tunnel, too.
Joseph stepped away from Bundin. “He says it is no problem at all. What they want in return is a food facility, as long as Terry Henry Walton’s Bad Company will provide security. The Podder foray into arming themselves has been a disaster. They won’t seek to do it again.”
“Can Bundin speak for his people? What about the blue Podders?” Terry said, using their terminology. He couldn’t tell them apart and wouldn’t try.
“Bundin suspects that the attack by the behemoth tank eliminated the blue Pod.”
“Eliminated?” Terry said, noticing the look of despair that flashed across Kae’s face.
“Yes. They marched to their deaths against the tank. When a Pod commits, every member of that Pod commits. The problem with the initial attack on the Crenellians was that it wasn’t the original Pod that made the agreement, but once that Pod saw the Crenellians attacking, they responded in kind, including attacking us when we appeared in the middle of it all.”
The Bad Company™ Boxed Set (Books 1-4) Page 19
