“I’ll tell you if we live through this one.”
“You always know how to motivate me.” He studied the terrain. “We can get to the Mother Lode first. Help Thad set up a defense now that we know the enemy’s true strength.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Engagement
Dixie stepped out of the air limousine, ignoring the driver who held the door. Moments later, Stephen Henderson III followed her. She stared at the burnt remains of the greenhouse, emotion completely wiped from her face. Henderson had made promises. She wondered if she was a fool to believe any of them. Her thoughts returned to the small blaster in her handbag every time she looked his way.
“This will be expensive to replace, but it was just a greenhouse,” Henderson said.
“I didn’t bring you here for the greenhouse. You promised to order your men to stand down,” Dixie said.
“Ah, yes. I did say that. It seems they have arrived to give me the opportunity,” Henderson said.
Dregg and Dedra walked ahead of their best fighters. All of them were men built like Dregg and armed like TerroCom soldiers, but without heavy armor. Dregg’s long hair flowed over his shoulders. His shirt showed his chest, shoulders, and arms. Dixie half-expected him to take it off for no reason. She thought even his fingers must have muscles on top of muscles. If he could lift both arms above his head at the same time, she would dance naked on a trolley to the SagCon mines.
Dedra wore a skirt that flared to show ninety percent of her thighs while still somehow concealing what needed concealing. Dixie thought it was the way the woman walked—so natural and so sensuous, it seemed she had invented the art of strutting. Dedra was tattooed everywhere there was skin except for all of her face and parts of her hands. The black and red squares ran down her back and under her arms like a bizarre painting from Alice in Wonderland. On her arms, the pattern converted into scrolling rose work leading to her fingernails like monster talons.
It was her eyes that disturbed Dixie. They blazed sapphire blue. If she believed in androids, this woman would be a good candidate. If there were such things as demons, this woman had to be their queen. Dixie thought she was more dangerous than her brother and Henderson combined.
“Hello, Stephen,” Dedra said as she strutted forward.
“Don’t hello me. I am very displeased at your brother’s behavior,” Henderson said.
“Oh?” Dedra said, moving closer.
Dixie backed away from the scene. She glanced down an alley she had used many times to visit the greenhouse covertly.
“I’ve always given you and your brother free rein, but this time, he went too far. Both of you know I am a patron of the arts. I’d rather abandon this entire project than lose one artistic soul to your crude violence,” Henderson said.
“I know,” Dedra said, taking the final step between them. Her hand flashed upward. No one saw the dagger until she pulled it back.
Henderson staggered towards her as she backed away, reaching for her with one arm. His mouth formed words that made no sense.
“Oh, thank you. You are such a gentleman,” Dedra said as she wiped her dagger on his sleeve. “Someone throw his body over one of the Unglok balconies. Make sure he falls all the way to the canyon floor. Someplace people don’t go very often.”
Dixie ran into the alley chased by Dedra’s laughter.
* * *
Sledge, Penelope, Mast, and Leslie concealed themselves on the rooftops to watch the approach to the Mother Lode. Maximus roamed the streets, sniffing out intruders. Thaddeus stood just inside the front door of the saloon and stared at the street. His fire coat hung just past his knees, opened in front to allow easy access to his blaster. He wore his hat indoors and ran scenario after scenario through his head.
Dregg and his sister had won every battle in this war. He hadn’t even realized they were playing a deadly game until it was too late. Pierre the younger and others had suffered as a result. The Mother Lode looked like the scene of a post-apocalyptic novel. The sign above the front door hung from one hinge. Wind blew dust down the paved street.
“Sheriff, Dixie just came in the back. She says Dregg and Dedra are coming,” Pierre said. The man had a shotgun, but didn’t seem excited about using it. Thaddeus wasn’t counting on him to fight.
Dixie burst into the room. “They killed Henderson! She killed Henderson. Stabbed him straight through the heart.”
“Who’s Henderson?”
“He’s the one who caused all this. Tried to buy out the Mother Lode,” Dixie said.
Thaddeus looked at Pierre, who only seemed more depressed and unresponsive.
The sound of fighting broke out in several directions. Thaddeus keyed up his radio. “Penelope, give me a report.”
“Interesting that you go straight to your ex-wife when the chips are down,” Dixie said.
“We have squad-level combat at all four of our observation posts. I’m a little busy. Don’t expect me to answer unless you’re bringing help,” Penelope said.
Thaddeus saw Dedra and Dregg walking side-by-side toward the front of the Mother Lode.
“They’re here,” he said.
“I’ll come with you,” Dixie said, pulling her small blaster pistol from her handbag.
Pierre nodded as though he would also come, holding the shotgun in both hands. No color remained on his sweaty face.
“Stay here. If they get past me, get Shaunte and go out the back.”
“I’m right here,” Shaunte said as she came down the stairs with her hunting rifle.
“Both of you stay here. You wanted me to do my job, so let me do it.” He stepped out onto the porch and stared down on his enemies.
“Is this going to be a blaster fight?” Dregg asked.
“It’s not going to be any kind of fight. You’re under arrest for murder, arson, and about a hundred counts of inciting a riot. I’m going to tell you what to do and you do it, starting with keeping your hands where I can see them.” Thaddeus felt the cool breeze of the Darklanding mesa on his face. The ever-present ships servicing the spaceport reminded him of Ruby. He hoped she was safe.
Gunfire sounded from several directions. He heard Penelope, Sledge, and the others shouting on the radio. “Dixie says she stabbed some guy named Henderson.”
Dedra took a step forward, tilting her head. “Did she?”
“Don’t let her get close!” Dixie shouted from the doorway.
Thad took a step forward, halving the distance to Dedra. She hesitated, then continued.
“Stubborn man,” Dixie said.
Dregg moved, but not as far as Thaddeus had anticipated. The man seemed to be maneuvering toward his flank.
“I don’t know why we haven’t met,” Dedra said. “You look delicious. All frontier rugged.”
“I’ve been busy.”
Dedra strutted forward, tugging down her blouse with one hand to reveal more cleavage. “That hurts my feelings. Usually when a man says he’s busy, he’s making excuses to chase after another woman.”
She lunged with a knife. Thaddeus caught her wrist. With his other hand, he pulled his handcuffs and slapped them on her. She screamed at him without words. He tripped her and she went down hard.
Dregg charged.
Thaddeus took several steps back and jumped sideways. The musclebound enforcer adjusted course and chased him with frightening quickness. Thad reached for his blaster. Dregg grabbed his wrist just as he had grabbed Dedra’s.
He tried to twist free. If he didn’t get control of his blaster, this fight was over. He kicked at Dregg’s knee. The big man dodged his feet backward without letting go of Thaddeus. The awkward dance upset his balance, but he was surprisingly nimble. Before Thad could capitalize on the move and try to trip him, Dregg drove his right knee forward like a kick-boxer, slamming into the sheriff’s diaphragm. Air rushed from Thad’s lungs.
Spots danced in his eyes. He heard the voices of his men on Centauri Prime. There was someone else, as well. A voice
he recognized. Someone he needed but didn’t want in this fight. His time in Darklanding had brought him excellent friends and he couldn’t bear to see them die because he wasn’t strong enough, fast enough, or smart enough.
“I will not muchly tell you again to let go of the sheriff!”
“Put that thing away, you stupid Glok!”
A blaster bolt flashed between Deputy Mast Jotham and Dregg Hardtime. Most of the energy seared into Thad’s shoulder, spinning him to the ground. He refused to let go of his enemy, dragging him down as he fell. They hit the ground side by side.
Thaddeus scrambled onto the giant man’s back and wrapped one arm around his neck. He took his injured arm and pushed on the back of the man’s head. He didn’t feel the pain yet, but his shoulder and pectoral muscles were badly damaged. He didn’t have much strength. What he had was weight and he leaned it all on the back of Dregg’s head, forcing the choke tighter.
Dregg stood, lifting Thaddeus into the air, then threw himself backward to land on the sheriff. Stars flashed through Thad’s vision. He cranked as hard as he could with his good arm. Ten years seemed to pass before Dregg went unconscious. The pain in his shoulder and chest went supernova across all his senses.
Dedra screamed at Thaddeus, then at Mast as the deputy dragged her away from her brother. Thaddeus handcuffed Dregg with plastic zip ties while he was still unconscious.
Penelope, Sledge, and Leslie ran onto the scene, blasters still smoking from the recent gun battle.
* * *
Thaddeus slouched on the couch with an icepack pressed to the side of his head. Shaunte typed at her computer, a habit she had recently acquired in lieu of voice dictation. She sat so straight, Thad wondered if she were getting taller from her excessively good posture. He decided he liked the way she had pinned her hair up.
Dixie and Pierre sat opposite her at the desk.
Shaunte spun a tablet around, then slid it toward them. “See how that looks.”
“You set all the terms for six months,” Pierre said.
“This is an emergency contract. SagCon can and will seek additional vendors for all services needed on Darklanding.”
“That’s how this all started,” Dixie said.
“I’m forming a committee to help with the growth of Darklanding. Your input will be valuable. I plan to hire a professional staff to review applications and contracts. This was my mistake. I should have done my due diligence with Henderson,” Shaunte said.
“You won’t be having problems with him,” Dixie said.
“No, I won’t. Please review the contracts carefully. Everything is negotiable…to a degree,” Shaunte said.
Pierre and Dixie stood, nodded together, and left the room.
Thad took Dixie’s chair and put one foot up on the chair Pierre had been in. He shifted the ice pack, the sling holding up his arm, and stretched his back. His fight with Dregg had hurt him in places he didn’t understand. That was how fights were most times. The worst pain was his chest and shoulder, where emergency surgery had fixed him up for a long recovery. Even after his wounds healed, they wouldn’t be healed.
“Your report about the mine collapse is lame,” Shaunte said.
“Nothing much to report. A lot of flooding. Foreman Dickles has figured out some novel approaches to recovering submerged exotics,” Thad said.
“Lame.”
“No one would believe my story about the ship. I left it out.”
Shaunte closed the digital copy of the report without comment. “How is Miss Miranda Vandersun?”
“According to her grandfather, we won’t see her for a while. She’s off to explore distant galaxies.”
“Good for her.”
“He also mentioned he wanted to donate funds to repair the damage from recent events, in Darklanding and the mines,” Thad said.
“How much does he want to spend?” Shaunte asked.
“As much as it takes, quietly, of course,” Thad said.
“So Darklanding is still a boomtown?”
Thad nodded.
“Then you better get back to work.”
The End of Episode 8.
“So why did you come back to Darklanding?” Sledge asked.
Penelope Fry-Grigman, recently retired from the SagCon Special Investigative Branch, smiled without looking at him. She loved sunsets, even on rocks like this. “Thad is supposed to take me dancing.”
“I don’t think Shaunte will like that,” Sledge said. “Or Dixie.”
Penelope slapped him on the ass like they were both football players after a good game. “I came to rescue my partner, you big oaf.”
“Huh. That’s believable.”
She shrugged. “Something big is in the works. No one creates an army like TerroCom from scratch for no reason. My new boss has questions.”
The Real End of Episode 8.
Stay tuned, a Darklanding Episode will be published every 18 days. Join our newsletter lists to be the first to know when each new episode drops.
Thank you for reading this story. If you liked it, please leave a review.
Social Media for Scott Moon
Amazon – www.amazon.com/Scott-Moon/e/B0082VIWL8
Facebook – www.facebook.com/scottmoonwriter
My web page – www.scottmoonwriter.com/
Scott’s Email – [email protected]
Social Media for Craig Martelle
Amazon – www.amazon.com/author/craigmartelle
Facebook – www.facebook.com/authorcraigmartelle
My web page – www.craigmartelle.com
Craig’s Email – mailto:[email protected]?subject=Darklanding
Other Books by Scott Moon
Darklanding with Craig Martelle
Episode 1: Assignment Darklanding
Episode 2: Ike Shot the Sheriff
Episode 3: Outlaws
Episode 4: Death of an Unglok
Episode 5: Grandfather
Episode 6: SAGCON
Episode 7: Race to the Finish
Episode 8: Boom Town
Episode 9: A Warrior’s Home
Episode 10: Hunter
Episode 11 TBD
Episode 12: TBD
The Chronicles of Kin Roland
Book 1 – Enemy of Man (also available on audiobook) Book 2 – Son of Orlan (also available on audiobook)
Book 3 – Weapons of Earth (also available on audiobook)
SMC Marauders
Book 1 – Bayonet Dawn
Book 2 – Burning Sun
Grendel Uprising
Episode 1: Proof of Death
Episode 2: Blood Royal
Episode 3: Heavy Weapons
Son of a Dragonslayer
Book 1 – Dragon Badge (also available on audiobook)
Book 2 – Dragon Attack (also available on audiobook)
Book 3 – Dragon Land
Other Books by Craig Martelle
The Terry Henry Walton Chronicles, a Kurtherian Gambit Series, co-written with Michael Anderle
World’s Worst Day Ever (a short prequel of sorts)
Book 1 – Nomad Found (also available on audiobook)
Book 2 – Nomad Redeemed (also available on audiobook)
Book 3 - Nomad Unleashed (also available on audiobook)
Book 4 - Nomad Supreme (also available on audiobook)
Book 5 – Nomad’s Fury (also available on audiobook)
Book 6 – Nomad’s Justice (also available on audiobook)
Book 7 – Nomad Avenged (also available on audiobook)
Book 8 – Nomad Mortis (also available on audiobook)
Book 9 – Nomad’s Force (also available on audiobook)
Book 10 – Nomad’s Galaxy (also available on audiobook)
Nomad’s Journal – A Terry Henry Walton Short Story Collection
The Bad Company (with Michael Anderle)
Book 0 – Gateway to the Universe (with Justin Sloan)
Book 1 – The Bad Company
Book 2 – Blockade
Book 3 – The Price of Freedom
Books 4 – Liberation (Coming in April 2018)
More books coming in this series.
Free Trader Series
Book 1 – The Free Trader of Warren Deep
Book 2 – The Free Trader of Planet Vii
Book 3 – Adventures on RV Traveler
Book 4 – Battle for the Amazon
Book 5 – Free the North!
Book 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas
Book 7 – Southern Discontent
Book 8 – The Great ‘Cat Rebellion (2018)
Book 9 – Return to the Traveler (2018)
Outpost of the Ancients – a Free Trader short story published in the Apocalyptic Space Collection, Volume 1
Cygnus Space Opera – set in the Free Trader Universe
Book 1 – Cygnus Rising
Book 2 – Cygnus Expanding
Book 3 – Cygnus Arrives
Cygnus Omnibus – Books 1 to 3 under one cover and also as an audiobook
Darklanding with Scott Moon
See above
Become a Successful Indie Author –non-fiction
End Times Alaska Series, a Winlock Press publication
Book 1: Endure (also available on audiobook)
Book 2: Run (also available on audiobook)
Book 3: Return (also available on audiobook)
Book 4: Fury (also available on audiobook)
Rick Banik Thrillers
People Raged and the Sky Was on Fire (also available on audiobook)
Paranoid in Paradise – a short story within the Close to Bones Anthology
Short Stories (and where you can find them)
Just One More Fight (published as a novella standalone)
Wisdom’s Journey (published as a novella standalone)
Fear Peace (published as a short story standalone)
The Trenches of Centauri Prime (in Galactic Frontiers, edited by Charles Ekeke)
Boom Town Page 10
