The Last Spartan: Different Paths

by A. E. McCullough

  Talia frowned. “But that’s different.”

  “Not really, many think that the Mantodea are animals because of their appearance, that and their own ignorance. I have no disillusions about my actions. I might’ve been programmed to kill and obey orders but I am more than my programming. What I did on Gilese during and after the battle was the right thing to do. I know that.”

  “But you served time in prison for your actions.”

  “That was the choice of the Strike Commander. He didn’t even question me or my actions. He just passed judgment and shipped me off to Leavenworth. It was one way to shift blame for the debacle that was Gilese. I was a convenient scapegoat and since he didn’t believe that Myrmidons had any worth, it was no great loss to him. To him we were nothing but tools. Pawns to be used then discarded.”

  Kristopher asked, “And you going to prison had nothing to do with you trying to kill him?”

  Before Iaido could respond, the alert tones which signaled the activation of the EBS sounded throughout the factory.

  The EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) was designed by the Coalition to turn on any computer connected to the net allowing emergency bulletins or broadcasts to reach the majority of the population.

  “An All Points Bulletin has been issued for Iaido Achilles Spartan. He is wanted in connection with the murder of a Federal Agent and should be considered Armed and Dangerous. The Galactic Commission has issued a bounty of five hundred thousand credits for any information that results leading to his arrest and capture. Contact the NAPD with any information.”

  Alarms began to sound throughout the factory signaling a perimeter breach.

  Without hesitation or warning, Iaido slammed his left fist into Kristopher’s solar plexus knocking the wind out of the police lieutenant. As he doubled over in pain, Iaido immediately followed it up with a shuto strike to the side of his neck, knocking him out cold.

  “What did you do that for?” Talia asked, “I thought he was your friend?”

  “That’s why I did it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Now that there is an official warrant for our arrest, KC was duty bound to arrest me. And duty is something we both take serious.” Iaido pointed at the limp form at his feet. “Now he can honestly say that he didn’t have a chance to arrest us and if they tap into his memory aug, it will validate his claim.”

  An explosion rocked the building causing the lights to flicker once before going out. As the factory descended into total darkness, a second crash from the upper windows showered the companions with glass and served to herald the arrival of five heavily armored figures as they dropped in from the ceiling.

  The companions reacted instantly.

  Unable to see in the surrounding darkness but understanding what was about to happen, Jay hurled himself out of his chair to tackle Talia and take her out of the kill zone.

  Diana and Iaido become a blur of motion as they moved directly toward their assailants.

  Even unarmed, Diana was far from helpless. She rolled under the first shots of the SWAT team and into the two foremost assailants. With surprising ease, she disarmed one and knocked out the other before turning her attention to the rushing figures from the south end of the factory. Once she realized that their assailants were just cops doing their duty, nothing more and nothing less, she scooped up one of the fallen rifles and began firing. Using the targeting sensors built into her android brain, she went for wounding shots instead of kill shots; firing with superb precision and accuracy. Her every shot disabled a rushing cop and mere seconds into the breach, their charge was stalled.

  Iaido also recognized that the assailants were SWAT officers; tough and highly trained but misguided. With the sound of the first explosion, his combat conditioning kicked in and he slipped into the zone. Time seemed to slow for him, he was aware of Diana’s attacks, Talia’s shock and the fact that Jay had initiated lockdown but only slightly. His true focus was the three SWAT grunts in front of him. Two were within easy arm’s reach, while the third was nearly thirty feet away; still within reach but not without leaving himself open to attack.

  Subconsciously his mind registered that the SWAT grunts weren’t carrying the standard issue R-Gun; all were carrying THAB Mk8s –Tactical Heavy Assault Blasters Mark 8s. These were full military-grade weapons; Iaido had used earlier versions of the same rifle on many missions during his time with Omega. He also knew that these weapons are not normally carried by the police, even SWAT. They were reserved for heavy tactical assaults. This meant they weren’t going for a capture…their orders were to kill.

  Leaping over the closest grunt, Iaido couldn’t help but grin as he reflexively fired upward completely missing Iaido but spraying blaster fire on their entryway; which in turn caused the second team about to leap inside to fall back instead under cover. As soon as he landed, Iaido lashed out with a side kick and knocked the grunt off his feet.

  Long ago, Iaido had stopped wondering why his brain noticed the strangest things during combat.

  For example, W. Spurgeon was the name of the other SWAT grunt that was closest to his starting point and he had a cartoon figure of a talking sponge with legs, arms and a stupid grin painted on his tac-helmet.

  Officer Spurgeon began tracking Iaido and firing with controlled rapid bursts. Unfortunately for his teammate, he was so keyed on trying to shoot Iaido that he wasn’t paying attention to where his missed shots were going. That was until a three round blast took his partner in the head. Even the SWAT armor couldn’t take the punishment of the THAB; one of the blasts ripped right through his visor and ricocheted around the inside of his armor before blowing out his chest. The poor soul was dead before his body hit the ground.

  Iaido went into forward roll, scooped up the dropped THAB and fired two short bursts at the remaining SWAT grunts. Both were crippling attacks that would put them out of commission but with the advanced biometric systems in their suits, he knew that neither would die from the wounds.

  Scanning the area, Iaido saw that all visible assailants were down but he knew that even though they had stalled the first wave, there was more to come. No SWAT Commander would rush a building without having a backup plan and that probably meant more troops and heavier hardware.

  * * * * *

  Lt. Robert Brown was the Commander of SWAT-Four and looked on his Tac-Net with shock and dread.

  He had begun his assault with the most up-to-date Intel possible and highly trained and motivated troops but in less than a minute the situation had proven to be one huge SNAFU; a military term which meant Situation Normal All Fucked Up.

  Problems were to be expected given the speed the operation was set up and the numerous different agencies participating but his team hadn’t been briefed on the type of resistance they were encountering. The building had back-up generators and lights, so in less than a minute all power and defensive systems were back online and the defensive systems were state of the art; even the Feds couldn’t hack into their system to shut it down. Once power was restored, anti-personnel and anti-aircraft batteries had popped out of hidden alcoves on the roof and had disabled anything that came near, men and machines.

  Only the first squad had been able to breach and make entry but they had been disabled mere seconds after they entered. The only good news for the SWAT Commander was that his Tac-Net showed only one dead officer, thank god, but thirteen were down and completely out of the fight; their suits had administered drugs that put the injured officers into a hibernation coma.

  All that happened in the first minute, now they were experiencing some sort of electronic jamming that stopped all info on their tac-net, no communication, no monitor reading, no data flow at all. This was every commander’s worst nightmare.

  They were totally blind; in other words, they had moved into FUBAR – Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.

  Lt. Brown switched his com-link over to broadcast on all police frequencies.

  “All units be advised, SWAT-Fou
r’s CIC is down, I repeat, SWAT-Four’s CIC is down. All units fall back to safe positions Charlie, I repeat, fall back to safe position Charlie.”

  Lt. Brown turned to the tech working on the problem and said, “I don’t care what you do or how you do it but get me the tac-net back!”

  * * * * *

  Even with the first wave of attackers stalled and pinned down, Iaido knew they were screwed.

  If a SWAT team was making an assault that meant they had the area surrounded and all air traffic in the area was controlled and monitored. Squeezing off a few blasts at the pinned down troopers, Iaido low crawled his way back to Jay and Talia who were sheltered behind the computer console.

  “Interesting party you are throwing Jay, did you invite the whole NAPD?”

  “Nope, I completely forgot to invite them. I guess that’s why they ‘crashed’ the party.”

  Chuckling at the poor joke, Iaido squeezed off a few blasts at the troopers on the roof. “Good to see you still have your odd sense of humor. They have us pinned down and shortly they’ll have a superior crossfire. We need to get out of here, fast.”

  Jay pointed to an area not far away. “There’s an escape tunnel under that table that leads to the old sewer system.”

  Iaido looked at the table; it wasn’t large and would be easy to move. The problem was its location; there was no cover within twenty feet of it. Even with his enhanced reflexes it was a death sentence to try for it. Looking around, he knew they had no choice.

  “We need a distraction.”

  Jay tapped a few commands into a nearby computer. “In the works. In less than a minute you’ll have your distraction. It will be costly but effective.”

  Before Talia or Iaido could ask what he meant, the door to the bar burst open and in rushed all the dancers. The SWAT troopers paused in their attack to study this new opponent. Most of the dancers were still nude or semi-nude. As they jumped on the closest troopers, the dancers began to scratch, bite and kick. It was mayhem but it was all the distraction they needed.

  Iaido rushed to the concealed doorway, threw the table aside and wrenched open the hatch to reveal a ladder leading into the darkness. Running back, Iaido snatched up Jay and shoved Talia toward the hatch.

  Glancing back over his shoulder, Iaido yelled. “Diana! We are leaving!”

  Diana nodded in acknowledgement, dropped her THAB and turned toward the escape hatch but before she got three steps Eve’s cries for help echoed through the warehouse. With all the chaos of the last few minutes, the companions had completely forgotten the child.

  Burdened with Jay and Talia, Iaido could only watch as Diana ran the length of the warehouse to grab the crying child. Scooping her up, Diana tucked the young girl’s head into her chest and began the run back to the escape hatch. Iaido hazarded a glance at the SWAT troopers, nearly all of the attacking android dancers were down.

  The best description of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that Iaido had ever heard went something like this; place your hands on a hot stove and seconds would seem like hours; place your hands on a hot girl and hours would seem like seconds.

  And so, the short run the length of the warehouse on any given day would be nothing to Diana or Iaido. However, the companions could do nothing but watch as Diana loaded down with Eve tried to cover the hundred feet before the inevitable happened. She had covered over half the distance when the blaster fire began, mostly random shots. Three seconds later, she was nearly to safety when her luck ran out.

  The first blaster bolts clipped her in the shoulder and spun her around with the force of the blast. Eve went flying out of her hands which probably saved her life as a second bolt entered Diana’s head, right behind the left ear. Since Diana was still moving at a fast pace when she was shot, her momentum carried her into Iaido’s arms and nearly knocked him from his perch on the recessed ladder. Snagging her with one arm, Iaido tried to look for Eve but the increased blaster fire forced him to duck below the tunnel lip. Chancing one last look into the warehouse, Iaido counted twenty-five SWAT troopers closing in on the tunnel. Ducking back down, he pulled the hatch closed and threw the locking bolt across the opening.

  Eve was lost to them for the moment. It was a painful realization but it was the truth.

  It seemed so familiar; the feeling of leaving behind someone important. But Omega Squadron never left a man behind, alive or dead. They took care of their own.

  So, why did the feeling of déjà vu haunt him so much as he carried Diana’s limp body down the escape tunnel?

  CHAPTER 12

  The incessant pounding in his skull finally drove Kristopher to open his eyes and he regretted it the instant he did so. Maybe it was the flashing lights or the sound of jack hammers nearby that made his head feel like it was about to explode. Whatever it was, he wanted it to stop. Seeing a med-tech leaning over him, Kristopher intended on asking for something for the pain. However, all he could manage was a weak grunt.

  The med-tech noticed his discomfort, smiled at him and said something to him that was swallowed by the noise.

  Kristopher noticed absentmindedly that she had a beautiful smile but anything beyond that was past his comprehension at this point.

  The med-tech pulled out a small box from one of her pouches, depressed a button and poof, all the noise surrounding them was gone. She once again flashed him a dazzling smile and said, “Sorry about that, I should’ve used my dampening generator sooner. The shot I gave you should start to work shortly but I need you to sit up, if you can.”

  Without the overwhelming noise, Lt. Kristopher found that the throbbing in his head began to lessen. Glancing over at the med-tech, he read her ID badge, Melissa Greer – RN/EMT. Moving slowly and with her help, Kristopher sat up and looked around. It was obvious that he was still inside the warehouse but it looked more like a war zone than a factory. Broken glass and body parts lay all about the floor. The sight of the disembodied limbs caused Kristopher to do a double-take.

  Melissa followed his gaze. “Don’t worry. Most of those limbs are parts from androids, the best I have ever seen but purely artificial. However, several of the SWAT officers also lost some limbs. Thankfully, there was only one fatality.”

  Lt. Kristopher found his voice to be scratchy when he asked, “Wh…who?”

  Melissa glanced down at her datapad. “A young SWAT officer by the name of T. Ernspiker. He took three hits from a THAB at close range and square in the head.”

  “Who?”

  “We believe it to be a Blue on Blue, sir.”

  “Dammit! Who’s the officer in charge of this cluster-fuck?”

  Before he could get an answer, an unfamiliar voice from behind him asked, “Lieutenant Charles Kristopher?”

  Turning quickly, Kristopher nearly fell over as a wave of dizziness rolled through his body as he discovered two Galactic Marshals in full body armor standing behind him.

  “Yes? How can I help you gentlemen?”

  The smaller of the two pulled out his badge and flipped it out so he could see it. “Lt. Kristopher, I am Marshal Cassius and this is my partner Marshal Brutus. We would like you to accompany us.”

  Before Kristopher could answer, a middle age SWAT Lieutenant stepped up. He was bald and had a reddish-grey mustache and wore his armor like the weight of the world sat on his shoulders.

  “I’m sorry gentlemen but Lt. Kristopher isn’t going anywhere with you.”

  “And just who do you think you are?” asked Marshal Cassius.

  “I am Lt. Brown and until I am relieved by a higher authority, this is my crime scene. Anyone and everything within these perimeters is under my jurisdiction.”

  Marshal Cassius drew back his shoulders slightly and for a split second, Kristopher would’ve sworn that the marshal was going to attack…but the moment passed and the two marshals turned their attention toward another patient nearby; one that he hadn’t noticed until that very moment, Eve.

  Marshal Brutus moved over to the young girl and without so
much of a word to the med-tech, lifted the young girl up.

  Lt. Kristopher stepped forward to block the Marshal’s path. “Where do you think you are going with that child?”

  Marshal Cassius stepped next to his partner and said, “The lieutenant is correct, we have no jurisdiction here. But this young child is obviously a Sylvan and we have overriding jurisdiction whenever and wherever they are concerned.”

  “Where are you taking her?”

  Stepping out of the dampening field, Marshal Cassius called over his shoulder. “To headquarters of course, she has answers that we need.”

  Knowing it was hopeless; Kristopher started to rush forward until he felt Lt. Brown’s hand on his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry old friend but they’re correct. There’s nothing anyone could do to stop them, at least not legally. Our treaty with the Sylvans gave that sort of power to the Galactic Marshals.”

  Kristopher felt helpless watching the Marshals that he now knew to be Myrmidons and cold blooded killers walk away. However, knowing and proving are two different things in the legal system. He knew that they were scum, now came the challenge of proving it.

  CHAPTER 13

  When the companions finally exited the sewer system that the escape tunnel had led them to, Iaido laid Diana’s mortally wounded form gently on the waiting speeder. Jay tapped a few buttons on the control panel and the muffled sounds of several explosions echoed through the tunnels.

  The former Master Chief looked over his shoulder and said, “The passageway above us is now closed and there is no direct route to us at the moment but eventually they will find us down here. This is a temporary reprieve at best. Where to?”

  “A better question, where are we?” asked Talia as she looked around at the dark tunnels which ran off in four directions.

  Without releasing Diana, Iaido spoke softly. “Legends state that in 1874 when the Union General Sherman did his famous ‘March to the Sea’ during the War of Northern Aggression on November 11th he set fire to Atlanta and watched it burn to the ground over the next few days. At the end of the war, the southerners rebuilt the city overtop the ruins of the old city and so Underground Atlanta was born. When the Great Meteor Strike of 2012 destroyed most of the eastern seaboard of the United States including Atlanta, once again the survivors vowed to rebuild, bigger and better. And so now in the twenty-second century, we have Underground New Atlanta or UNA for short. It is its own city with its own rules and laws. It is but a pale shadow of the city above it but far more deadly.”