by Jason Kent
You can't keep everyone away at the edge of a blade, Dagger thought. She glanced over at Garrett. He was intently looking out the window, searching for her phantom.
"You have to let someone in," Dagger whispered to herself under her breath.
"What's that?" Garrett asked, distracted.
"I said," Dagger replied a little louder, "I felt like someone was looking in."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Garrett sighed. "Just when things were getting interesting."
A mischievous smile appeared on Dagger's face. In a silky voice, she said, "Oh, you want interesting, do you?" She put one hand behind Garrett's head, pulling him close for a long, passionate kiss. She pulled away, sucking on his bottom lip for a long moment. When their eyes finally met, she asked, "How was that?"
"Pretty good," Garrett shrugged. "You seem to be a bit out of practice though."
"That we can fix." Dagger pushed Garrett down into the closest seat and wrapped herself around him.
Unnoticed by the pre-occupied pair in Blade's cockpit, a black form moved out on the hull. It stole closer to the unsuspecting ship. As it inched around a stilled piece of machinery on Seiklus' hull, the barrel of a gun welded to a mechanical arm caught the light of a nearby star.
Chapter 20
In Sparrow's Hands
The cold hit Sparrow as she stepped through the doorway and into the massive hold. Her entire body shivered violently. Ross caught the movement and turned from his sweep of the room and glanced back at her.
"You okay?" Ross called over his suit radio. He went back to looking down the sights of his big assault rifle at the dead mechs crumpled closest to the door.
Sparrow rubbed her arms, willing the chill to leave her limbs. She checked her suit's temperature control. Everything read normal. Still, a plume of white vapor came out of her mouth, immediately frosting the interior of her faceplate.
"Ross..." Sparrow gasped and staggered back. Her heel caught on the door frame. She tumbled back into the corridor. As she struggled to sit up, Sparrow felt Ross' strong hands under her arms. She was back on her feet but still blinded by the frost inside her helmet.
"Just breathe," Ross instructed calmly.
Sparrow swallowed and tried to follow the marine's advice. She felt Ross working at the suit controls strapped to her forearm. Her eyes darted back and forth over the frozen interior of her visor. Schematics of the suit systems came to life in her mind as her implants connected with the controls. The fault tree analysis running in her head was only halfway done when a blast of hot air moved over her face. Sparrow closed her eyes and let the warm air weave its way around her head. Confident Ross' tweaks with her environmental controls would take care of the problem with her faceplate, Sparrow minimized the suit diagnostic floating in front of her eyes. She inhaled and focused again on her sensors, sending out their invisible tendrils deeper into the hold. They needed to find out what had happened in there.
"Better?" Ross asked. His helmet was nearly touching Sparrow's as the frost cleared from her faceplate.
"Yes," Sparrow said with a smile. From long experience, she was able to gaze into Ross' face while absorbing the other information flashing across her vision. After only a few seconds, Sparrow thought she had something worth passing on to her partner. Sparrow's smile grew and her silver eyes sparkled as she held her hand out to Ross.
"Maybe we should head back to the Blade," Ross suggested as he instinctively grasped Sparrow's hand. "You're suit looks fine, but tral! It shouldn't freeze up like that!"
"I'm okay," Sparrow reiterated. She made a show of turning down the heat blowing into her helmet. Sparrow looked Ross in the eye and exhaled deeply. Her helmet fogged up for a moment but cleared quickly enough. "My suit is fine."
"Then what was it?" Ross asked.
Sparrow turned her gaze back into the hold.
"You get something with your upgrades?" Ross asked softly and aimed his rifle in the direction the Link Sprite was staring.
"Oh yeah," Sparrow said, excitement crowding into her voice. She stepped through the door and strode forward quickly, moving nimbly around the bulk of the downed mechs.
"Sparrow!" Ross hissed. The Marine hurried to keep up, aiming his rifle at first one dead machine than another. "Tral! You need to be careful with all these mechs! We don't know what might cause them to reactivate."
"They won't," Sparrow insisted and moved deeper into the cavernous compartment.
"They might!" Ross objected. He swung his rifle side to side as he followed Sparrow. The light on the rifle illuminated the dark optics of a nearby mech. He bumped into Sparrow, who had stopped outside of a large shipping container.
Ross' eyes drifted around the hold. "These mechs were in defensive positions..." His voice trailed off as he flicked his eyes at the container then back at the destroyed machines. "They were protecting something in there." He spun into a crouch, rifle raised, as a loud creaking sound erupted from behind him.
Sparrow was busy pulling open the steel door of the heavy-duty shipping container. The hinges were stiff with age and cold.
"Whatever it was," Sparrow huffed as she strained against the door's weight and protesting joints, "It was in here!" She stepped back over a dead Legionnaire in order to give Ross a clear look inside.
Ross moved his rifle light back and forth, up and down until he'd gone over the entire interior of the container. He let his weapon drop and looked back over his shoulder at Sparrow.
"What?" Sparrow asked. She leaned in to look around Ross.
"Empty."
"Impossible," Sparrow breathed. She stepped forward and plucked the flashlight from her belt. She shined the beam into the corners, looking for something Ross might have overlooked. "But, I felt it..." In her mind, the inside of the container was overlaid with a wire diagram. Sparrow quickly compared the outer dimensions to what she was seeing inside. The math worked out; there were no hidden panels and no space under the floor to hide anything.
"Could there be some sort of residual charge?" Ross suggested.
Sparrow shook her head. "I'm not sure. Whatever these Tallinn's died for..." She looked down at the frozen form of the Legionnaire at her feet. "It was in here."
"From what Nemus and Kate told us," Ross said, "The orb was here along with the tablet. Perhaps the orb was in this thing." He banged on the side of the container, sending a hollow gonging around the bay. The sound echoed off the walls and back at them. Ross shrugged, "It could have left...I don't know, an echo."
Sparrow scanned the far recesses of the hold once more with her implants. "If that's true, I'd really like to know where it is now...wait..." She stepped around to the side of the open shipping container. "There's another crate!" Sparrow jumped over the still bodies of Tallinn Legionnaires then hurried around a pair of mechs tangled hopelessly together by the violence of the long-past battle.
"And there she goes again," Ross grumbled. He took a quick look at the ring of defenders surrounding them and followed her.
Sparrow stopped in front of a small packing crate. She felt another chill, but not as bad as when she had first entered the chamber. Now that she knew to expect the feedback in her system, Sparrow was able to control the input better. Instead of her faceplate frosting up, it merely got foggy this time. It was not as dangerous as the earlier frost, but was still annoying. A quick check of the atmospheric sensors told Sparrow the air inside the hold was breathable. Sparrow reached up and unlatched her helmet. Immediately, the cold air seeped in and bit into her cheeks.
"Sparrow!" Ross yelled as he caught her in the act of removing her helmet.
Ignoring the marine's shout, Sparrow dropped her helmet to the deck. It clattered and came to rest next to one of the fallen soldiers. She took a step toward the crate and stopped. Ross rushed up to her side and looked from her helmet to the crate then finally to Sparrow.
"What the tral do you think you're doing?" Ross demanded. "There could be contamination!"
"There's somethin
g in there," Sparrow said softly as she knelt in front of the box.
"Yeah," Ross exclaimed and gestured at the still Legionnaires all around them, "Death for anyone without a helmet!"
Sparrow turned her head to look at Ross. She managed to give him a sweet smile. "Do I look dead?"
"Not yet," Ross said with a grunt. "But Georges would kill you...and probably me as well, if he saw you pull a stunt like that!"
"Ah, but the good Colonel is not here." Sparrow leaned closer to Ross and whispered, "And you're not going to tell him!" She let a wicked grin spread across her lips.
Ross shook his head but admitted, "You're right." He sucked in a lungful of suit air then tentatively raised his visor. Ross sniffed then let out a long breath which plumed in front of his face. "Smells like an old garage in here. You know, oil and exhaust fumes. I'm not sure how long it'll take to get this metallic taste out of my mouth." He wrinkled his nose then turned back to the crate and Sparrow. "Okay, so we aren't dead. What have you got?"
"Don't quote me yet, but I believe this may be what we came for."
"No really," Ross said and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Why is it out here instead of in the container?"
"Maybe it got dropped in the confusion of the fight," Sparrow speculated. She ran her hands over the top of the packing crate. Her gloved hands brushed away a thin layer of dust and ice.
"Whoever took the orb didn't have time to take this as well," Ross said. He took in the carnage from a fresh angle. He glanced down at Sparrow. "Whatever happened here, it was over quickly. Why don't you do your thing with the lock? Let's see if we've got the tablet and get the hell out of here."
"My thoughts exactly," Sparrow said, already probing the crate with her sensors. The lock was simple. The crate latches were designed merely to protect its contents during transport, not keep anyone out. With a simple thought Sparrow popped the double clasps.
Ross turned to face the crate when he heard the locks disengage. "You're handy to have around."
"Don't you forget it," Sparrow replied as she reached for the lid. Ross laid a hand on her arm.
"Wait," Ross said, "Do you think opening it is such a good idea?"
"Now is not the time to have second thoughts. Besides, how else are we going to know what's inside?" Sparrow asked. She gazed back at Ross, her eyes catching the reflection of his suit lights. "I'd rather see what's in here now instead of dragging the whole thing back to Blade. What if it's empty?"
Ross considered his options for a moment. He nodded. "Do it. If there are mechs waiting for us in the corridors leading back to the ship, the last thing I want is to be dragging this thing around." He aimed his rifle at the lid. "Go for it."
Sparrow did not wait for Ross to change his mind. She grasped the handles on either side of the crate's top and lifted. The lid swung open effortlessly. She craned her neck to see what they'd found as Ross played his weapon's light inside.
"Well, it's not a box of gold," Ross remarked.
"No, but it's the next best thing," Sparrow said solemnly. She reached into the crate, gently brushing aside packing material and grasped what looked like a slab of stone. Sparrow gently lifted the artifact from the box and held it under Ross' light. The beam glinted off rows of strange lettering cut in the smooth surface. A glass-like layer reflected the light from the bottom of the patterns and letters. "Ross, this is it!"
"Cool," Ross said. A nearby mech creaked slightly. Ross' eyes darted to the battle machine suspiciously. He muttered, trying to reassure both of them, "Settling. We probably jiggled something when we passed."
Sparrow looked up at the marine and laughed. "Cool? This could be the key to understanding the power source the Tallinns use. Think of it; clean, limitless energy."
"Sorry," Ross said with a shrug. "I never thought I'd say this, but after all the stuff Nemus has sent us to retrieve, it's hard to get—"
The sound of metal grinding against metal interrupted Ross. He swung his rifle around, and dropped into a crouch, ready to fire. His light found the source of the noise easily enough; a mech struggling to rise from the deck. "Oh..."
"Tral!" Sparrow finished the marine's curse. "Time to bug out?"
"Definitely!" Ross shouted. He grabbed Sparrow's hand and pulled her toward the corridor hatch.
Two heavily damaged mechs clattered and rose in front of Ross and Sparrow, blocking their path. Ross didn't hesitate, he jinked to the left, dragging Sparrow along with him.
"Where are we going?" Sparrow shouted.
"Somewhere else!" Ross yelled back.
Sparrow clutched the tablet against her chest, unwilling to let go of the precious artifact even in the face of danger. Her first instinct upon seeing the mechs come to life had been to drop the tablet and grab the pistols strapped to her hips. She glanced down at the artifact. They'd come a long way to get this thing and she wasn't going to be the one to drop it. Sparrow's eyes widened as her augmented vision detected new activity across the face of the tablet. With a flash of insight, she realized what she was holding.
"It's a memory chip," Sparrow said as Ross led her to the side of a Tallinn shuttlecraft.
"Got it," Ross grunted. He turned and fired a three-round burst into yet another mech coming to life nearby. It had just about gotten its six-barreled machine guns trained on them. The marine's shots took out the machine's optical sensor. This slowed down the mech but did little to stop it. "Oh, tral..." Ross pushed Sparrow to the ground and dove after her.
Sparrow fell hard on her elbow and rolled onto her back, using her body to cushion the blow on the irreplaceable tablet. Ross landed next to her, expecting bullets to rip through the air above them. When the mech didn't fire, he sat up with his assault rifle locked against his shoulder. Ross shot the mech again, this time taking out leg. The mech settled to the floor, its weapon turned away from them. Ross scrambled to his feet.
"They're everywhere," Sparrow said.
"Yeah, I know," Ross grunted. He grabbed a handful of Sparrow's suit and started to move again. "We had to practically crawl over them to get to...that." He nodded at the tablet she was holding so protectively.
Sparrow looked down at the tablet and hoped it wouldn't turn out to be their tombstone.
Ross spun from one mech to another as they clanked and churned their way out of their previously inert state. He whispered, half to himself, half to Sparrow, "Why aren't the rest of them firing?"
Sparrow let her silver eyes glide over the mechs now forming a circle around them. "Something's not right."
"I got that much!" Ross hissed.
"No..." Sparrow paused and aimed one of her palm sensors at the nearest mech. She scrunched up her face in confusion. "None of their power systems are on-line."
Ross looked sideways at the Link Sprite. "They sure as tral are being powered by something!"
Sparrow stepped in front of Ross. Each of the robotic monsters tracked her movement as best they could with their damaged legs and arms.
"They like you," Ross whispered. He jerked his weapon from one mech to another.
"Not me. They are after the tablet," Sparrow stated. She gulped, realizing if any one of them fired, they would be killed instantly. "Guess we should have gone with that armor of yours."
"You think?" Ross stepped sideways and pressed his back against Sparrow's. He locked his left elbow with her right arm. Linked together, Ross pulled Sparrow in a slow circle seeking the right target. He needed to create a hole for them to get through the tightening ring of machines.
"They don't seem to want to shoot at the tablet," Sparrow surmised. "How can we use that to our advantage?"
"Not sure," Ross said. "You got any ideas?"
Sparrow contemplated the mysterious runes on the tablet. No help there. The spinning of multi-barrel guns the mechs had pointed at her caught her attention. She muttered, "Just like the drive shaft..."
"If that's an idea," Ross replied with a quick laugh, "I have no clue what it means!"
"It means, hold this!" Sparrow said. She turned and thrust the tablet into Ross' arms.
"I can't shoot with this!" Ross protested as he juggled the awkwardly-sized artifact. With the tablet in one hand, he jammed the butt of his rifle against his hip, ready to fire the big gun one handed.
"You won't have to," Sparrow said.
Ross started to ask what she meant but stopped, his mouth hanging open as she lifted her hands and pointed them at one of the mechs. Her palms glowed, visible despite the gloves she wore. Sparrow tilted her head and closed both hands into fists. The mechs' torso crumpled with a grinding screech. The machine managed to stay on its feet for several seconds. Finally, the red glow of its optical sensor dimmed and went out. It fell forward onto is face with a crash.
"One down," Sparrow muttered as she turned her attention to the next mech.
The bulky radio at Ross' hip chirped. Ross pressed against Sparrow, hoping the tablet would work as a talisman. Since the mechs wanted the tablet, they wouldn't shoot at it. Cursing, he let his rifle hang by the strap and grabbed the oversized radio from his belt. Ross waited for the sound of the crumbling mech to fade before he clicked the 'send' button.
"This is Ross! Make it quick!" Ross tapped Sparrow's shoulder and pointed at a mech behind them. It had decided advancing on them was preferable to waiting for the girl with the magic hands to crush it like an empty tin can. Sparrow spun around Ross and aimed her palms at the stomping mech. She clapped her hands together then jerked her fists away from one another.
The mechs legs ripped out of their joints. Suddenly unsupported, the torso crashed to the deck.
"Ross!" Master Sergeant Merrick's scratchy voice came out of the radio. "Whatever killed the crew could still be in the hold!"
"Yeah..." Ross paused as Sparrow crushed another of the mechs, "we figured that out!"
"Don't enter the hold!" Merrick ordered.
