Mage and Mate
Page 15
While disappointed to be staying with the base team, Jenna knew that she and Luka were best deployed where they were. Offering encouragement and verbal support, they would do what they could for the injured Axlen and her unlikely ally.
There was no question that Margot would be on the away team. She got into the assault craft with an expression of controlled fury, frightening in its raw intensity. Fully armed and clad in the armor that Ruth had obtained for her security personnel, the head of the Borachland Inner Keep Guard snapped herself into the seat behind the pilot and placed a haversack on the floor between her feet.
No one wanted to disturb her. Without speaking, the rest of the team filed in and prepared for transit. The officer in charge of the group, Captain Rence Heson, nodded to Margot and asked quietly, “I am not familiar with Axlen behavior or physiology. Is there anything special I should know?”
The others in the shuttle all leaned slightly forward as they strained to hear Margot’s reply. Offering a slight smile, the Guard officer answered, “Axlen are quadrupedal and complete pacifists. Mary would never have committed a violent act. She even has problems defending herself when attacked. Only in defense of the young could she strike a blow.”
There was a new type of dark sound that echoed around the inside of the shuttle, and the mood of the soldiers there tightened into a pool of shared outrage and anger. Rence’s face showed his contempt for those that had hurt one of theirs. It was audible in his voice as he asked, “That means she was a target of opportunity. If she would’ve been more aggressive, more assertive, it might not have escalated as far. But her nonviolent response told them that they were free to exercise their spleen and victimize someone vulnerable.”
“I agree and feel responsible. It did not occur to me to send protection with Mary, and that’s part of my job.”
The older officer knew that tone of voice, for he had heard it in his own words more times than he liked to remember. Rence was familiar with the shadowed look in Margot’s eyes because he had seen the same pain in his mirror for years.
Offering the woman advice from one soldier to another, he said, “There is no way to avoid making mistakes. All we can do is help to minimize the damage from those errors. And… make sure we don’t make that same mistake again.”
Briefly, Margot’s eyes welled with tears before she nodded in thanks and dropped her eyelids. I will be sure, absolutely certain, never to make that mistake again.
Chapter 27 – Transit is Torture
Arkken Port
“Come on, Mary. Tell me what your favorite drink is! I promise to learn how to make it,” Luka was trying desperately to keep Mary awake. He could tell that the Axlen was fading into unconsciousness. He kept talking to her, trying to keep her focused until their away team could arrive at her location. “Your chariot should be there in less than five minutes. If you describe your favorite drink, I can have it waiting for you when they get you back here for your date.”
There was no answer, and Luka felt a flush of cold, dank fear, unlike anything he had ever experienced for himself. It’s very different when it’s not in the heat of battle. When someone you care about is in danger, and you’re too far away to do anything, that is when you truly learn what fear is.
Jenna had disappeared briefly and chose that moment to come back to where Luka hunched over their comm-unit. Her eyebrows shouted a question to the bartender, and he answered quickly, “Mary is not answering.”
The man saw Jenna’s flash of panic quickly stuff down under her control. Before she could say anything, the sounds of projectile fire crackled through the comm-unit speakers. Every soldier in the bar grabbed their weapons, but they were too far away to do any good.
Evading Lucas clutching hands, Jenna move the comm-unit to one of the tables. At first, confused about why she had done that, the bartender realized that the bar area would’ve been overrun by all the soldiers that were now crowding around trying to see what was going on.
Five or six shots were fired before the noisy attack stopped. The men and women frustrated by the distance snarled almost in unison as a mocking voice emerged.
“I told you guys the animal was unarmed. Besides which, I doubt if she has the intelligence to fire a gun. The most she could do is crap on us and kill us with the smell.”
Cruel laughter was a response as a muddled group of other comments are made. One of the communications specialists had started raising his finger for each unique voice. He was up to six when Linie could be heard shouting in defiance, “Crony Robins, don’t you have better things to do than attack a defenseless woman? You should just leave before you get into trouble. And you can take Benjoe Jamith and Ryany Walkell with you. None of you is worth a shaved penny!”
“Big talk from somebody who doesn’t have a job anymore. You don’t even have a place to live, Linie. Holby here and his crew already visited that hole you used to call a room. You should thank them for redecorating it for you!”
The girl's voice shook with grief and fear as she bravely answered back, “Holby Reson, I never expected you to sink that low. You knew how much the few things I had from my parents meant to me, and you deliberately destroyed them. I have never done anything to hurt you, why would you do that to me?”
A different voice shouted out, “It wasn’t Holby that smashed your pretties. Kenny and I did it because he was going to spare them. Then we had to beat the hell outta him so he would learn not to be nice to anybody.”
Linie answered in a determined tone, “Well, Jesse Warders, now it makes more sense. You and Kenny Wheson are criminals that enjoy beating defenseless people up. In fact, if the police ever arrest you, they might find out that you were behind the bookshelf burglaries and lots of fatal muggings.”
Crony roared in laughter, shouting back, “I am going to enjoy punishing you. By the time I’m done with you, you won’t be capable of complaining about anything, girly.”
In an alarmed tone, Jesse yelled a question, “Crony, why is she so careful to say our full names? If we kill the bastard animal and take the girl off like Chraha said, no one will know anything about this. Something doesn’t seem right.”
Just then, the listeners heard a little grunt of effort from Linie followed by pain and yells from the attackers. Jenna mimed throwing something so that those that could not see the comm screen knew that Linie was using the rocks and rubble she had gathered against her enemies.
A spontaneous cheer broke out from the massed listeners, drawing a reaction from the bullies in the remote alley. “What the hell was that? Anybody else hear that?”
“Stop playing with them! Let’s kill the animal and get out of here!”
Jenna could tell that Linie was throwing rocks as fast as she could. The fear of discovery had brought the men’s guns back out, and shots were being fired. Helpless to act, the listeners were positioned on the sharp edge of mass response.
A shot came so near to the comm-unit in the alley that those closest to the table where Jenna and Luka stood flinched back. Combat reflexes to the sound of close fire had some of the veterans glancing widely around the room trying to determine where the enemy was.
Threading his way through the packed crowd, Alan Culhane calmly picked up the comm-unit and said in a voice designed to be heard above the sounds of battle, “Crony Robins, Benjoe Jamith, Ryany Walkell, Holby Reson, Jesse Warders, and Kenny Wheson. We know who you are now, we have pulled your police files. We have your pictures and your IDs. There is no place you can run far enough to get away from us. There is no hole deep enough to hide you. If you value your miserable lives, start running now.”
Crony roared, “The little bitch has an open comm-unit! We have to get that bloody thing!”
“No! We have to get away before they find us!” Jesse’s voice was full of panic.
“You coward! There is no escape, so stop trying to weasel out!”
“But Crony!...”
The sounds of blows and cries of pain were audible.
Linie’s voice screamed, “Mary, no!” just as two more shots rang out. The anxious listeners heard a despairing sob, “Mary, no. Please, no!”
Swollen with satisfaction, Crony yelled, “Rush them. Looks like the filthy animal is dead and the girl can’t get up. She is trapped under the carcass.”
Jenna spun in place and grabbed the front of Alan’s tunic. “Where is the bloody shuttle? Why haven’t they gotten there yet?” The woman was flush with battle rage and shaking with a massive wave of adrenaline that had no place to target.
Before the Major could answer, sounds of crashing accompanied cries of pain from the remote alley. A confused medley of yelling voices froze their listeners in place.
“She booby-trapped the entire alley!” “Crap, that hurt!” “I can’t walk, that spike took out my ankle! Help me!” “Shut up! Just suck it up and finish them off!”
“Halt! This is the Arkken Port Patrol. Drop your weapons and place your hands above your heads immediately!”
Already demoralized by the unexpected resistance that Linie was putting up, the group of thugs seemed to fall apart. Crony kept yelling at them, trying to get them organized, but the fear level was obviously higher than when they were simply terrorizing two battered women.
The sharp screams of fear increased and the sound of beam weapons and ricochets grew quieter as Chraha’s bully boys turned to face the more significant threat of the City Patrol. The listeners in the bar could not see what was happening, but the sounds provided a reasonably good narrative.
“We have to get away,” screamed Holby, “We are trapped!” Crony roared at him, calling him a coward and threatening reprisals.
“Leave the woman and the beast until later! We have to fight our way out!” the head bully boy ordered.
“I am not going to fire on the Patrol! You can get the death penalty for that.”
“You measly coward! See how you like this…”
Holby screamed a shriek of fear and agony, only to fall silent.
“Kill them!” Crony screamed.
To the listeners in the bar, the sound of battle told a complete tale. The Patrol Officers were under attack by the same thugs that had been hunting Linie and Mary. For a while, the firing patterns of the law enforcement officers and the criminals were even in frequency and power.
All of a sudden, the distinctive sound of the more powerful Patrol weapons became sporadic. To the experienced combat forces, this was a clear message that at least one of the patrolmen was dead or incapacitated.
Alan yanked his comm-unit out of his belt, pressing a flashing icon. A voice could be heard, saying, “Captain Soner here.”
“José, this is Alan Culhane. You have two officers under attack in the Florn Shopping Area.”
“If it were anyone else telling me that, Alan, I would be asking more questions. You have some credit with me since you actually did save my life and help me salvage my career. However, you had better not be playing me .” The listeners could hear the Patrol Capt. directing emerging emergency response teams to that sector.
Coming back to Alan, they heard José asking what had happened. The Major answered quickly, saying, “They interrupted an attack on two of our people. We have an open comm-unit channel and heard your officers attempt to stop the assault. At least one of yours is out of the battle, and the other one is struggling.”
“What about your people? Can they assist?”
“Negative. One of them may be dead, and the other is injured and trapped.”
There was a momentary silence from the Patrol Captain. When he spoke again, he said, “My response team is ten minutes out. There is no one closer because we very seldom have major issues in that area during the day. I can have emergency medical there in fifteen.”
“José, our away team will be there in the next ten seconds. We have medics on board the shuttle and enough personnel to defend the perimeter. However, my team is a combat force, not law enforcement. I am not sure if it will be possible to avoid loss of life in the criminals involved.”
“Alan, if any of my forces are down, I will accept your help. But you need to tell your soldiers to limit the use of force. These may be attacking your people, but they still are civilians and have certain protections that need to be observed.
“You have my formal request to provide assistance to the Patrol. I would greatly appreciate your help in suppressing the criminal activity in process. Any and all help that you can provide in ensuring that my officers survive would be greatly appreciated.”
Alan offered, “I will keep you informed and would suggest that your representatives be on site as soon as possible. Also, please route the extra medical personnel to that location since we are unsure about how big the butcher’s bill will be.”
The Patrol officer broke the connection, and the Comm officer quickly relayed the instructions to the away team.
A couple of seconds later, while patrol officer’s weapon could still be heard firing desperately against the assault of multiple enemies, the roar of a rapid landing assault shuttle overwhelmed the comm-unit’s speakers.
The walls of the Force X Bar rang with cheers.
Chapter 28 – Extraction and Action
In Route to Florn Shopping Area, Arkken Port
“Borachland Shuttle 73A2, you are once again in violation of Arkken Port Air Control. Immediately land your vehicle and surrender to the local authorities,” crackled over the communications channel.
The pilot and copilot exchanged grins before the copilot tapped his microphone and responded, “Sorry, Arkken Control, but no can do. As we told you before, we are on a mission of emergency evacuation for injured and endangered personnel. Since we are covered under diplomatic immunity, we suggest that you watch your blood pressure and just stay out of our way. Borachland Shuttle 73A2, callsign Dragon 2 out.”
When additional threats and screaming were addressed to the shuttle by the frustrated controller, the copilot reduced the volume until it was just a murmur. Margot and the Marine Captain heard his comment, “I will monitor it, but unless they actually remember how to fly a gunship, all they can do is yell.”
Margot knew that the cannoneer in the tail gun had his weapon live. She expected that the top turret weapon was in the same status. Unless the threat level increased, they wouldn’t be flying weapons hot, but that status change was only a button push away.
They had not gotten very far before one of the Comm officers back at the Force X Bar with Major Alan Culhane notified them that a pair of civilian Patrol officers had responded to the weapons fired and were now under attack also. The captain of the law enforcement group had been notified, and the man had formally requested assistance at the site until his forces could move up to takeover.
The away team was also warned that Mary was down, either killed or severely injured, and the woman with her had also been shot. The shuttle’s landing site was going to be hot, and they should be prepared for enemy fire immediately.
The pilot broadcast over the general circuit, “We have signs of a firefight on visual. Both beam weapons and projectiles appear to be in play.” Rather than causing any consternation, the air in the cabin seemed to hum with anticipation.
Swooping over the rooftops like a metallic bird of prey, the side door hatches dropped with a clatter. Tilting to the left first, an armored sniper nimbly propelled himself from the shuttle toward his vantage point. He crashed onto the flat roof overlooking the combat field with a whine of shock protection. Without pausing, the soldier dropped into a prone position and used his elbows and knees to scuttle over to the building edge and look for targets.
The shuttle swung around to the other side of the alleyway and across the intersecting street before it tilted to the right
and deposited the second sniper. With actions that mirrored the first sharpshooter, within a very short time, the away team had two snipers in position and ready to engage.
Diving to the ground, the armored assault vehicle slammed the extended side door hatches onto the ground fragmenting the street. Raising up to hover just a small distance above the surface, the sound of the shuttle’s powerful engines created a roar that overwhelmed anyone without ear protection.
For the listeners in the remote bar, the noise of the shuttle and the frightened yelling and screaming from the thugs combined in a cacophony of sound. For those participating in the battle, the noise was music to the dance that they had come to perform.
Spilling out of the shuttle, the massive forms of four heavy combat troops deployed in a wide dispersal pattern. First checking out all directions to ensure appropriate protection, these soldiers evaluated enemy positioning. Taking a knee to reduce their target exposure, they held their fire until the situation could be analyzed.
Panicking with the appearance of reinforcements, two of the thugs fired at the Borachland forces. Bullets pinged off the combat armor without a trace, but the combat soldiers automatically returned fire, obliterating their attackers.
Surrounded by the evidence of what happened when fighting the Borachland forces, and seeing two of their number reduced to scattered body parts and a mist of bloodied air, the fight became much more frightening for the original combatants. One of the thugs already wounded turned his head, and retched uncontrollably.
Over the comm channel, the sniper lead signaled clearance, freeing the medic to land. The shuttle touched down on the ground fully to allow the medic to exit via the rear ramp. The massive combat shooter that had been positioned to the rear of the shuttle moved up, providing a moving shield wall for the medic as he hurried over to the damaged Patrol vehicle.