He didn’t reply. He wasn’t convinced. He rummaged in his rucksack again, pushing through the agony, and pulled out an auto-injector, double-checked the label, then tore open the sterile envelope. He shifted his position and lay down in the tall grass that surrounded him. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath and winced again at the amount of pain surging through his body. He was one big lump of charred nerves.
“Hr’ent, there’s something else.”
“Graa’vaa, I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“The situation with Dolamiir—it was bothering me. I did some more digging and found photos of all the players involved.” There was a pause. “There, the images should be on your slate. Take a look…please?”
Hr’ent let out a long breath. “All right,” he said. He activated his slate and pulled up the data she’d sent. He scrolled through the files and bios of Dolamiir, Korvan, Satuur, and a few other ISMC board members. Then he got to the GenSha. There were only three key players. Bith Sundo, Gorn Dokai, and Saul Kotur, the ones who had been at the initial negotiation meeting. He memorized their features, although he thought it unlikely the information would be of any use to him. He’d probably be dead soon, and if not, he would kill all of them, or they would kill him. “There,” he said, finally. “I’ve reviewed them. Tucked their faces away in my battered brain.” He looked up at the sky. “Are you happy now?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Now get some rest, Hr’ent.” She paused, as if she’d finished, but then her voice came back to him. “In the morning, you’ll feel like a new Oogar. Hit yourself with a pain killer if you need to.”
“I’m way ahead of you,” he replied. He hit his thigh with the auto-injector and reveled at how quickly the pain abated, spreading out from his thigh and up through the rest of his body. “I hope you’re right, Graa’vaa,” Hr’ent said a bit dreamily. “Just need…to…close…my…” A soft snoring sound ended his sentence.
“Sleep well, Enforcer,” Graa’vaa said, then she cut the link.
* * *
Godannii 2
Emergency Relief Facility
As the four Peacemakers and the injured Jivool descended the stairwell, explosions rocked the outside of the building hard enough to cause small curtains of dust to fall from the ceiling. Gunfire erupted in spurts along the exterior of the building as well. Passing the ground level entrance, Rsach kept half his attention focused on the gunfire as he followed the others further down into the complex. Outside, the sounds indicated a major battle erupting between the GenSha security forces and ISMC or some ally to their cause.
More likely mercenaries, Rsach thought as the group passed the landing for level B1 and proceeded deeper into the compound. In the cacophony of battle, no one entered the stairwell. As he made the turn for B2, Rsach kept his eyes on the upper floors. Luck on the battlefield was a more common occurrence than anyone other than soldiers knew. In his limited experience, luck was a two-edged blade. Good luck for one group or unit seldom meant the same for the others. As long as luck was on their side, Rsach knew they should take it and not think twice.
Ven and Vresh reached the B2 door. Tyrn and Korvan paused on the staircase about five steps from them. Rsach stood on the intermediate landing and kept his eyes on the B1 door.
“Clear?”
Ven nodded. “Clear. Ready?”
The question was for Vresh who nodded, her antennae bobbing. “Ready.”
Ven wrapped one hand around the door handle and yanked it open cleanly. Vresh ducked around the opening door with her weapon and swept quickly from left to right. She stepped inside and repeated the quick scan. “Open and clear. Long hallway running to the right.”
“Go,” Rsach ordered, and the rest of their party followed Vresh. He closed the distance to Korvan. “Where is this emergency shaft entrance?”
The Jivool panted in obvious pain. “On the right. Look for Mechanical Room B2-207.”
“Ven?”
“I heard, Rsach,” Ven called. The Duplato moved quickly down the hallway in a crouching run. Vresh rippled alongside him.
Rsach took up a position on Korvan’s unassisted side. With his pincers, he attempted to take some of Korvan’s weight from Tyrn. “We’ve got to hurry, Tyrn. I do not want our luck to run out.”
Tyrn grunted but said nothing in response as they shuffled the heavy Jivool down the hallway. Korvan’s head lolled to Rsach’s side. “The shaft runs north toward the mountains. It emerges inside a fenced perimeter, securing an old utility shed. You’ll have to get through that somehow.”
Rsach chittered. “We’ll cross that path when we arrive, Korvan. What do you think is going on outside?”
He laughed. “The GenSha have met The Darkness. They’re the Veetanho mercenary company we employed for security when the GenSha riots began. When they turned to combat operations, our board of directors approved their contract to escalate to combat operations in return. We are sick of dealing with the GenSha.”
Rsach did not respond. During a Peacemaker’s first year, their coursework dealt more with aspects of psychology and inter-species dynamics than most were aware of. The first rule of communication in stressful situations was to listen. When a being expected a response, a Peacemaker seeking answers was to give none. A mere pause solicited more words, and the practice was almost as effective as asking another question. He waited, and the Jivool continued.
“They expected us to capitulate in your presence without understanding how far our corporation reached.” Korvan laughed. “We can do the unthinkable on a whim.”
Rsach’s steps faltered under the shock of realization. He caught himself and returned to his position under Korvan’s left arm. Realization crashed on him in waves, but he said nothing.
The GenSha called the Peacemakers. Gods! He all but admitted it.
We were diverted by the Guild Master, himself.
We can do the unthinkable on a whim.
Gods! They’ve penetrated the office of the Guild Master. But why send us?
You idiot, Rsach. Why would the Guild Master send a team of four Peacemakers fresh from the Academy?
You were expected to fail.
Rsach clenched his mandibles as they moved toward the emergency shaft. He’d been the valedictorian and top graduate of his Peacemaker Academy class—even subverting others to get there. Could the Guild Master have sold them out? It was possible, but to what end? Rsach couldn’t answer that, and he’d learned in the Academy to let his thoughts percolate alone. He trusted the others—they were friends above all else—but while he couldn’t prove what he thought, he did not want to entertain any of their doubts along with his own.
Ven and Vresh stopped at a door on the right side of the hallway. Rsach glanced at Korvan’s face. “Can you get us through that door?”
“Keycard,” Korvan said. He looked down at the simple identification card hanging from his neck on a blue lanyard.
Tyrn moved them close to the door, and Korvan held the card to a nondescript gray box on the exterior of the door’s jamb. An internal lock clicked, and the door swung open. The five of them moved into the room, and Vresh closed the door after they passed through.
“Any way to seal the door?” he asked Korvan.
“No.”
“Then we do this the hard way.” Vresh nodded at Ven, and they started pushing whatever they could in front of the door to barricade it.
Rsach dropped out from under Korvan’s left arm. “Where is the shaft entrance?”
“Right rear corner of the room. Floor grate marked emergency ventilation system maintenance.” Korvan nodded. “It should have a fake locking mechanism in the hasp.”
“What do you mean fake?” Rsach asked as he started moving toward the corner. The room held four cylindrical air circulation units, each about a meter and a half in diameter, that were whirring at a low murmur. He stepped around the last unit and saw the grate in the floor. A silver and gold device glinted in the artificial light. Rsach shimmied up
to it and noticed it looked like a very simple hasp and clamp lock. With two pincers, he reached out to examine the lock, and it came free of the hasp with a gentle tug.
That was easy.
“I’ve found the entrance,” he called to the others in a hushed voice. He knelt and worked the square, meter-by-meter hatch open. Gray metal stairs descended into near darkness. He looked up and saw Vresh standing next to him.
“We barred the door as best we could, but you know how strong GenSha are.” She shrugged and pointed toward the shaft. “I’ll take point.”
“Good idea,” he replied. Their Jeha eyes were the best the group had at adapting to darkness. While they assumed the shaft would have some type of low-power emergency lighting, they couldn’t take any chances.
Tyrn and Korvan were the next down the stairs, followed by Ven. Rsach nearly followed them and closed the hatch when he realized they’d left the lights on in the room. He sped back to the door and snapped the overhead lights off before rushing back to the hatch, stepping onto the stairs, and closing the hatch behind him.
The group waited for him. He glanced at Korvan who pointed to the right. Vresh started in that direction, and they followed her. There were emergency lights trailing off into the distance. As they walked, Rsach turned around often to check behind them.
As he turned, Ven whispered. “The lights are about 100 meters apart.”
“How do you know that?”
Ven chuckled. “Pace count. You haven’t forgotten land navigation skills already, have you?”
Rsach clamped his jaw shut. Embarrassed, he knew he should have thought of tracking their actual distance. He looked at Ven. “Keep count. Korvan said the shaft was 2,000 meters long.”
“We’ve gone 400 meters, Boss.”
Rsach twitched his antenna. “I’m going to check on our executive. Let me know when you hit 1,500 meters. Pick up the rear guard.”
They moved through the darkness. Tyrn and Korvan seemed to have established an ambling rhythm that allowed the injured Jivool to lean on the Jivool Peacemaker and keep pace with the others. About 50 meters ahead of them, Vresh moved from side to side in the five-meter-wide shaft checking boxes, the occasional piece of equipment, and several doors marked as restricted areas. None of them appeared to be open or have an electronic lockbox like the ones in the buildings above.
Rsach didn’t need Ven to tell him the pace count. As they neared the end of the shaft, the number of lights in the distance became finite. Three. Two. The last was next to a small ladder which appeared to be wide enough, and sturdy enough, for a Sumatozou. As they drew closer, the distant chatter of weapons fire from the surface returned.
“Sounds like a damned firefight,” Ven chuffed. “I thought you said this ended far enough out that no one would care about it?”
Korvan shrugged. “Could just be a patrol under fire. Maybe the fight can hide our escape.”
Rsach nodded. “He’s right. Vresh, climb up and see what you can see.”
Vresh scaled the ladder quickly and opened the hatch. Night had fallen outside. Flashes from her left lit up the hatchway as weapons fired in the darkness. She ducked back down and stared at them.
“A group of three or four GenSha are pinned down about 100 meters to the left. Looks like an armored sled on the adjacent hillside is firing down at them. I can’t tell what’s there, but they’ve bracketed the GenSha pretty well.”
As she finished talking, the weapons fire slowed down considerably. Vresh climbed up and looked again.
“What happened?”
Vresh didn’t look back at him but kept her eyes on the surface. “The GenSha are down. The sled is pulling away. We have a chance to move if we go right now.”
Rsach nodded. “Go. Ven, I’ll take the rear. All of you get up there and move to cover as fast as you can. We’ll start up the high ground once the area is quiet.”
Tyrn and Korvan scrambled up the ladder behind Vresh, who ducked outside and kept watch. The two Jivool moved faster than Rsach thought they could. Ven followed them, and as soon as the Duplato kicked his legs over the lip of the shaft’s exit, Rsach followed.
The night air was cool, and the first tinges of light touched the eastern skyline. He saw Ven and Vresh huddled behind an abandoned utility shed about 10 meters from the fence line. Tyrn and Korvan had paused while Tyrn worked, it appeared, to adjust his grip on the injured executive.
“Shit!” Vresh hissed. “That sled is coming around!”
Rsach ran to Korvan’s unattended arm and started to hoist as much weight as he could when he froze. Korvan’s eyes stared down at Tyrn’s outstretched paw. The Jivool Peacemaker held a GenSha radio with the transmit button pushed all the way in.
“What are you—”
Tyrn dropped Korvan. Rsach tried to keep the Jivool upright but failed. As the injured executive toppled to the ground, Rsach followed. He rolled over and looked up at Tyrn.
“Let go of the transmit button, Tyrn.” Rsach pleaded. “You’re calling them back!”
Tyrn nodded, brandished one of his claws, and held it wavering in the space immediately above Rsach’s eyes. “I’m doing my duty as I was ordered.”
“Who’s orders?” Rsach asked, stunned. He couldn’t imagine who had given Tyrn orders to betray the team and the mission.
Tyrn said nothing, but the malevolent smile that split his face was something Rsach had never seen before. Several low-pitched explosions sounded from the adjacent hill where the sled continued to maneuver. Mortar rounds arced into the sky, heading straight for them.
Rsach spat, “You turned on your Guild! On us!”
“Not everyone wants peace, Rsach,” Tyrn replied with a sneer.
Rsach raised his needler and fired three quick rounds into Tyrn’s chest. The Jivool gaped and raised his paw to slash through Rsach’s face.
WHAMM!
Tyrn’s head exploded.
Rsach saw Vresh sling her rifle, scramble over the fence, and head up the hill with Ven close behind. Rsach looked down at the shocked face of Korvan and realized the injured executive could not make it over the fence without assistance. There was no time to assist the Jivool, and Rsach knew he had no intention of helping the executive.
“Please?” Korvan reached out to Rsach.
“You brought this on yourself.”
“You have a code.”
“Fuck you, Korvan. It’s only the code that keeps me from putting a few rounds through that wretched face of yours.”
Rsach turned and ran up to the fence. He snaked over it in a flash and took off as fast as his legs could carry him. Moments later, the first mortar rounds slammed into the utility shed and the area around the emergency shaft’s hatch. Wood, earth, and fencing flew in all directions. Round after round fell as the ISMC, or whoever their allies were, walked the ordnance in on the transmitter’s last known location. Debris scattered across his carapace as he worked his way up the hill using rocks and trees for cover. With grim determination, he cursed himself for failing to see what had really been going on.
I will never be on the wrong side of things again.
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty
Godannii 2
ERF Escape Route Exit
Mortar shells slammed into the ground near the escape shaft’s exit, filling the hillside with brilliant flashes of orange light. They heard the report of weapons and were fearful they were the target. Rsach and the others instantly changed position and scrambled up the imposing hill in the near darkness, and they didn’t stop. Rsach and Vresh moved low to the ground around tree trunks and shrubs with ease. Ven moved on his rear legs for the most part, but as the slope increased steadily, he slung his rifle over his broad back and moved on all four.
Rsach saw them drawing together and called, “Spread out! We don’t want to give them easy targets.”
They moved quickly to a 10-meter spread as they worked their way up the hill. Ven reared up on his legs and stood for a moment. “How
far up do you want to go?”
“There has to be a defensible position up there somewhere,” Vresh chittered. “Maybe even on the top. This kind of terrain is perfect for it.”
Rsach grunted in agreement. “First we have to get up there. The higher we go, the smaller the terrain around us. We’ll find a place and—”
Vresh snapped her head in his direction. “And what? Rsach?”
The mortar impacts behind and below them tapered off, and Rsach heard vehicles. He glanced toward the sound and spotted the high-intensity headlights of two armored sleds moving along a nearby trail running adjacent to the hillside to the south. The angular front ends of the vehicles were pointed in their direction.
“We’ll fight until we can’t, Vresh. We’ll see if we can get a signal out and pray someone is nearby and crazy enough to attempt an extraction.” Rsach shook his head. “We’ve got to go faster. Those sleds are coming around on us. We’ll be in their line of fire any—”
A bright, staccato flash from one of the vehicles lit up the hillside around them as a blue-tinted chemical laser ripped through the air, some bolts impacting on several tree trunks while others streaked past their position.
“Gods!” Vresh yelped. “That was close!”
“Keep moving!” Rsach called and pressed his body closer to the ground, using multiple sets of pincers to try and accelerate up the hill. He saw Vresh instinctively doing the same off to his left. To his right, and farther down the hill, Ven pushed upward as fast as his legs could carry him. They scrambled through the darkness, moving as quickly as they could from cover to cover, attempting to reduce the line-of-sight from the Veetanho sleds as much as possible. The heavy repeater would rip them to pieces in seconds.
“We have to stick together,” he yelled to Vresh. “Lay down some covering fire.”
Vresh rippled up the hill to an exposed rock formation about two meters high and three wide. On one side was a natural notch, and he watched his friend crawl into it. She popped up, aimed her rifle, and looked back at him.
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