by Frank Carey
"Good. The League needs warriors like your mate. Losing her was not an option."
"So, what's the plan? I'm hungry," Royce said.
"You're always hungry," Losira said.
"True, very true. You have fed me too well over the years," he said with a smile.
"Our first stop is our street market where you can feast while shopping," Galnish informed them. Wares and foodstuffs from around the planet will be available."
"I can't wait. Are you joining us, Hamish?"
"Yes, Your Highness, if you don't mind."
"We would love your company," she replied.
He nodded, then handed the trip over to Galnish who took them to a waiting conveyance. Unnoticed, an elf woman with blonde hair and an intense stare, spoke into a communicator as she boarded another vehicle and followed them out of the port.
###
Trent leaned back in his virtual chair and watched the royal entourage through his virtual big-screen TV. Sipping a beer, he called Mersa on the wrist computer's built-in comm unit. "Mersa, this is Trent. Do you copy? Over."
"Hey, slacker, how's the royal watching going?"
"Booooring. How many shoes can one woman buy?"
"How many are for sale?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"Nope. It's a girl thing that spans dozens of sapient species. Don't Alue girls have shoe collections?"
"I'll have to ask around..." A flashing light caught his attention. "It looks like the general got this baby an upgrade recently." He grabbed the remote and called up a readout on the big screen.
"What's up?"
"I'm picking up nearby anomalous quantum spin signatures. Six total, all within 50 yards of our current position."
"Any weapons?"
Trent changed over to general sensors. "Yep... Mersa, I need to tell the general."
"Do it! Hang tight. Mersa standing by."
"Dammit! I was just getting comfy." He stabbed a button on the remote which activated the sub-audible communications system. "General Aymar, try not to react. My name is Sergeant Trent, and I'm with EMEF Stryker Team 1."
"How the hell did you access this system?"
"My commanding officer, Colonel King, ordered me to follow your entourage just in case something happened. I'm in your computer bracelet."
"That thing still works?"
"Yes, sir. Sir, it's picked up six, heavily-armed individuals within 50 yards of your position."
"Welcome to Degreb, Sarge; they're all armed here in the DMZ."
"Yes, sir, but these individuals sport a quantum spin signature from outside this universe."
There was silence. "Anybody we know?"
"This particular signature is not in the database, sir."
"Dammit. Are you armed?"
"Of course, sir."
"Tell Titus we're going on alert and would like the honor of the presence of him and his team at this location, then get out here."
"Aye, aye, sir!" He switched frequencies. "Mersa, the general wants Team 1 to join him ASAP."
"We are already airborne. ETA three minutes. Give them hell, bro!"
"Right on, sister," he said as he went corporeal. He found himself in a fire fight.
CHAPTER FOUR
Mersa found the colonel guiding Nana and Marcus, both in their stryker armor, as they moved a large weight training apparatus into place. "That's it. A little right... Perfect. Set her down."
"Sir! We may have a problem," Mersa said.
"Define problem."
She explained what Trent had told her. King didn't even wait for her to finish. "Captain, assemble the team. We're going to check this out."
"Aye, aye, sir," Kalana replied as she slapped an alarm button mounted on the wall. "Stryker Team 1, alert status. All team members assemble on the roof ready for immediate action. Murph!"
"Ma'am!"
"Prepare the Dragora for launch."
"Aye, ma'am. It'll be ready when we get up there."
Less than one minute later, Stryker Team 1 was geared-up and assembled in the staging area at the far end of the building. From here, they could take the v-lift to the roof where the Battle Shuttle Dragora was parked, or they could go outside and board one of several ground transport units. Today, for the sake of speed, they were going to take the Dragora.
Once assembled, they boarded the freight elevator to the roof led by the colonel. He briefed them on the way up. "Trent has detected armed individuals from an unfamiliar universe in the area near the royal entourage of Ventosian Princess Losira and her bond mate, General Royce Aymar. We're going to the couple’s current location to lend a hand. Remember, we're deploying in a crowded marketplace, so take care with who and what you shoot. Nana and Marcus, I want shields around the couple!"
"Aye, sir!" the two strykers replied.
"Nova and Glean, I want you to tag the unfriendlies, then join Nana and Marcus in protecting the royal couple."
"Aye, sir!" they replied. Today, Nova, like Murph, was sporting a compact Minotaur suit.
"The rest of you! I want the threats identified and neutralized in a non-lethal manner."
"And if they don't cooperate?" Mersa asked.
"Then it sucks to be them."
The lift came to a stop as its massive doors opened onto a large landing area. In front of them, the BS Dragora hovered with its doors open, waiting for them to board.
"Protection of the royal couple and non-combatants in the area is top priority!"
"Move, move, move!" Mersa yelled as she herded the group into the waiting shuttle. Once inside, Murph lifted off and headed to the market.
The team took combat seating and made final preparations for an urban ground operation while Colonel King walked up and down the central aisle. "Outstanding!" He walked up to where Kalana was standing behind the cockpit. "You have done well, Captain. You should be proud."
She looked at him from behind blue crystal eyes. "I am proud of each and every one of them."
"But not of yourself? I've read the after-action reports. You, Captain, performed above and beyond what was asked or required of you."
"And I almost got us killed in the last op."
"Kalana, you couldn't have known you were going up against a mutant force led by something like Nochmar."
"I should have gotten us out of there. Instead, I nearly got us killed."
"You're a surgeon, right?"
"Yes, sir, and a damn good one."
"Did you ever get in over your head?"
"A few times."
"In those instances, did you throw down your scalpel and walk out?"
Her eyes pulsed while her articulated armor tail slowly waved. "No. We kept going. There's always hope until there isn't any."
"Always keep that in mind. We are soldiers, even Glean and Nova. We'll die someday. Until then, we just save the good guys and neutralize the bad guys."
"Colonel! Thirty seconds!" Murph announced.
"Can we land?"
"No. Too many people. I can hover near the entourage. Sir, Trent indicates they are taking fire!"
"Strykers to the center hatches. Captain! I want suppressive fire the minute you three hit the ground."
"Aye, sir!" She went to one of the hatches running down the center of the floor. As she watched, the hatched opened. Below, crowds of people were trying to escape the fire fight occurring ahead. She looked behind her and saw Marcus and Nana giving her a thumbs-up. Seeing the crowd open below her, she leapt through the hatch and landed on the street with Marcus and Nana landing nearby. Once they were clear, the Dragora moved away to off-load the rest of the team while the strykers joined the royal security detail in the fray.
"Nana! Marcus! Flanking positions. Get in there and protect the princess and general while I draw their fire."
"Aye, Captain," they said in unison as they leapt into battle, each with shields up and weapons at the ready. Kalana ran up the street while yelling for the civvies to head toward the Dragora. She leapt
over a cart selling foodstuffs and landed next to two attackers wearing what amounted to ninja garb. They turned and fired their weapons--simple blasters--at her, the bolts easily absorbed by her shields. She manifested her own blasters and fired them at the attackers without breaking stride. The bolts hit them, stunning them instantly. She ran by as they crumpled to the ground.
She leapt once more and landed between the intruders and the security team who were having a pitched battle. She looked around and saw both Nana and Marcus were pinned down while only a few members of the security contingent remained conscious. Gunfire announced the arrival of Team 1.
"Captain! Protect the princess and general! We'll lay down cover fire," King ordered over the earcomm system
"Aye, sir!" she replied as she leapt toward the royal couple’s position. A shuttle appeared in her way, firing its cannons at her. Before she could evade, a bolt hit her dead center, driving her into the ground, sending her systems into reset by the impact. She got up and went elf as she shook off the shock of the crash. As she watched, the shuttle landed near the couple with its hatch opened. Three attackers ran out, firing their weapons at the princess and general, hitting him and knocking him to the ground.
Still woozy, Kalana brought her rifle to bear and unleashed a barrage against the three attackers, one of whom grabbed Losira and brought a weapon to her head. "Shut it down, soldier, or this one dies," they said.
"Stand down, Captain," the colonel ordered.
Kalana powered down her weapon and laid it on the ground before raising her hands. Two of the attackers dragged the general into the ship while several other wounded ones followed them. Once everyone was aboard, the one holding Losira let her go, then tipped its hat before backing up into the ship, while keeping the weapon on the princess. Once inside, the hatch closed, and the small ship leapt into space.
"Murph, follow them!" King ordered. "LWS Stanislaw, this is Stryker Team 1. A shuttle just lifted off from this location. Stop it. Be advised, they are holding General Aymar hostage."
"Roger that, Stryker Team 1, we're... Dammit, they just disappeared from our scopes."
"What? That's impossible," King said. "That was a short-range shuttle--no FTL capability."
"Sir, this is Murphy. Sensors indicate the shuttle just performed an interdimensional jump."
"Shit!" Kalana said as she swatted a frying pan hanging next to her. "And where the hell is Trent?"
CHAPTER FIVE
Kalana sat on the side of the exam table and held her ribs as she waited for a doctor to show. She could have easily fixed the broken ribs with a shot of spare nanorobots, but EMEF regs forbid self-medication by physicians, so she waited and wondered where the hell the kidnappers had taken the general. She was especially worried about Trent. He hadn't checked in, and Trent always checked in. "I think we need a softer table," she muttered while trying to get comfy.
There was a knock at the door followed by Princess Losira walking into the room. She was wearing a lab coat and had a stethoscope hanging around her neck. In her hands was a chart.
Painfully, Kalana tried to get off the bed and onto a knee. "STOP!" Losira ordered. "I am no longer Queen and you are hurt, so sit there and let me heal you!"
"Yes, ma'am," Kalana said as she sat back on the bed. "I've been kneeling in front of you all my professional life, and it's a hard habit to break."
Losira put her hand on the captain's shoulder. "I know. Trust me, I appreciate the gesture. So, how do you feel?"
"Like I was hit by a truck. What the hell did they hit me with?"
"According to Gloria, they hit you with a blaster tuned to your specific armor. That weapon was designed to take you out."
"Me? What about the others?" She was worried about Nana, Marcus, Gabe, and the other strykers."
"Only you. Your bots are unique, so they create a unique armor. Whoever kidnapped Royce knew you would be leading the team rescuing him."
"You have my word, Princess, we will find him and bring him back. Just patch me up..."
"Sit!"
"Yes, ma'am. Have they found Trent yet?"
"He's with Royce. Nana scanned the big lug when they dragged him aboard the shuttle and found Trent's biosignature in Royce’s computer bracelet. You trained your people well, Captain."
"I wish I could take credit, but he did that on his own..."
"He improvised, something he learned from his commanding officer. Wait, that would have been you." Losira took Kalana's arm and injected her with something.
"Ouch. What was that?"
"Wuss. That was a batch of reprogrammed nanorobots courtesy of the Biocybernetics Group at the Cube. These little guys have shields with rotating frequency shields which are resistant to blaster fire. You armor will now be internally shielded."
"Gloria to the rescue. I can't understand why Gabe thinks everyone is afraid of her. I think she's sweet."
"Office of Security Detective Chief Inspector Gabriel Adon is correct, anyone who has seen Gloria go off on one of her tears is afraid of her. Hell, Royce is afraid of her, and he's her twin brother. How are you feeling?"
Kalana let go of her ribs. "Much better. When can I return to duty?
"Six hours and not a minute sooner. You can attend meetings, but no going stryker, no pitched battles with hostiles, and no duking it out with battle shuttles."
"Yes, ma'am."
Losira ran her scanner over the captain's ribs. "Good, they're healing nicely." She helped Kalana get dressed, then gave her a gentle hug.
"The general will be fine, you have my word," Kalana said.
"Thanks. Anyway, they'll have to give him back soon, or else he'll eat them out of house and home."
Losira walked her out to the staging area where the rest of the team waited sans Trent. Carefully, they all walked up and embraced her. Colonel King walked up and asked, "How is she, Doctor?"
"Mending. Give her a few hours and she'll be tip top."
King nodded. "Good. Got a minute, Doc?"
"Sure. What's up?"
King pointed to the room's large, multi-use view screen. A video feed from one of the HQ's holding rooms came up showing an elf pacing the room.
"I know him," Losira said. "That's my mother's aide de camp, Murgatroyd Ulwyn. His wife is on my brother's ambassadorial staff."
"Close. His name is Murgatroyd Ulwyn, and he's a mechanic in the royal motor pool on Earth, the ruling world of the Realm of Gweyr. Kalana stunned him this morning." The Colonel tapped a button and the view shifted to another room, this one with another male elf lounging in his chair with his head tilted back and his eyes closed.
"Charlie? That's impossible, he's light-years away in a survey ship."
"Charles Quintana Grenor," the Colonel explained, "the captain's identical twin brother. Currently working as a grifter for a crime family in New York. He claims he assassinated a rival drug lord by the name of Gabriel Adon. Mersa nailed this one with a wicked right-hook. You go, girl!"
Another tap of the switch brought up a human. "Ciara Devlin, ex-director of the Cube and the brains of the operation. Normally, Ciara works as a... companion at the largest Casino in New York. She has over 300 employees on staff, each of which commands in excess 10,000 credits per hour. She tripped and knocked herself out when Glean jumped her."
Glean smiled while he and Marcus fist-bumped.
King shut down the viewer. "Last, but not least, the missing piece to this puzzle." He took a paperback novel and handed it to the princess. "Remember this?"
She frowned. "Of course, I remember this. I helped edit it." She handed it to Kalana.
"The Quest?"
"Yes, though we changed the name to 'Royce' in later printings. It's a story based on the hallucinations Royce experienced when he was shot right before we bonded. His whole team was killed, yet that stubborn, lovable idiot was able to survive a blaster hit, then save my live and the lives of my diplomatic team."
Mersa took the book. "I remember this. Something about t
he Realm of Gweyr where the general was a prince. He was supposed to kill his father and sister, Princess Gloria?"
Losira nodded. "Back then, the Space Marines were experimenting with drugs which induced rapid healing. Royce was dying, so his AI, Parker, injected him with a full medical pack of drugs. The only thing that saved him from a hearts attack was his determination to save my tail. He told me about the hallucination..."
"It wasn't a hallucination."
"Excuse me?" Losira said.
"That book was taken off Charlie who said they got it from one of their agents they sent to this universe to look for Royce. Charlie also had this on him. "King handed a well-read magazine to Losira. "This is your typical gossip rag magazine you can find at any magazine stand."
Losira took the periodical and stared at the cover. "The Gweyr Monitor: News for people in the know who have to know." She thumbed through it. "My gods, same crap, different universe. What do they want with Royce? I thought they had one of their own."
"Not quite." Everyone turned toward a woman with white hair and multi-hued skin. She was wearing jeans, a cotton top, jacket, and cowboy boots.
"Why do we even bother?" Murph asked. "Hello, Parker. Nice to see you forgot about the proscriptions..."
"Hey, it’s Murphy with the stick up his ass. Nice to see you buddy. And Nova! I thought you two broke up. Are you helping him with his stick..." the sound of seven blasters powering up cut her off.
"And you are?" Losira said from behind a rather large and deadly looking blaster."
"Parker! Your mates ex-AI helper? The being who saved his elf ass?"
Losira slowly lowered her weapon, then gestured to the others to follow suit. "What do you want? You made it clear that you didn't approve of the bonding, so you had a hissy-fit and left. What brings you back?"
Parker smiled. "I did do that, didn't I? Yeah, I got a little over-protective of the big goof. I apologize for my past actions..." She saw Murph's synthetic eyebrows raise to new heights. "Give me a break, Pal. I'm still the bitch I've always been."
"So, answer Doc's question. Why are you here?"
"I'm here to help get Royce back, of course."
