They were interrupted by a young Gote who was acting as a messenger. “Sir,” he said to Korick. “The Monster has escaped his cell. He is freeing the other combatants.”
“Is the entire city under attack?” Korick asked.
“Not that we can tell,” the messenger replied. “The military complex has been alerted. They are sending everything.”
“Finally, some good news,” Korick replied. He turned to the officer. “Find the Monster and kill him. Be aware that your guns will be ineffective. If you encounter any of the other combatants, feel free to kill them as well.”
The officer looked around. “What chance does one human have against all of us? They sure picked the wrong place to attack. I must ask though, will guns at least slow him down?”
“Possibly. I really don't know, to be honest.”
Constanthos was standing to the side of the steps with her body pressed as close to the wall as she could manage. She was taking a head count and decided it was in her best interest to find Frank and deliver her gifts straight away. Her eye caught the Li drone that was hovering nearby.
* * *
“Jard, it is me,” Frank said as he was trying to figure out how the lock worked.
“Are you sure the collar is deactivated?” Jard asked.
“Yes,” Frank replied. “I already took mine off.”
“You are human, so you will probably be alarmed by my appearance,” Jard stated with a tone of sorrow.
“We are friends, Jard. I do not care what you look like.” He moved the lever down and watched the rods leaving their slots in the ceiling and floor. He swung the door open and he saw what, at first, he thought was a shadow. And then he realized that shadows aren't three-dimensional. His eyes were a solid, bright green and upon closer inspection, Frank noticed the surface of Jard's body. It was somehow blacker than black, absorbing light and yet, it was also somehow jagged. A couple of inches taller that Frank, his form a was lean, yet powerful bi-pedal with what appeared to be quills of various lengths running down his neck and upper back. Their eyes met, and Frank realized Jard was smiling. His teeth and mouth were the same dark shade of black. And he was fumbling at his collar. “I do not know what you were worried about. You look awesome.”
“Do you really mean it?” Jard asked as he was still trying to get his collar off.
“Absolutely,” Frank replied. “Can I help you with that?”
“It is not a good idea. I am sharp all over. And I excrete a venom that coats my quills. It is deadly to everything that has been cut. I do not imagine a human surviving.”
“Well, this is your lucky day. I am immune to just about everything.” Frank reached up with both hands and grasped the collar. The metallic casing was crushed in his powerful grip, and he easily tore it apart. But Jard was right about his sharpness. Frank received a nasty cut across his knuckles.
“I am sorry, my friend,” Jard said.
“No need to be sorry,” Frank replied as he steadied himself against the wall as the venom tried to take effect. “Watch this.” Frank held up his hand so Jard could see the cut quickly heal up and completely disappear.
“That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen,” Jard commented. “And your strength. You may very well have slaughtered me had we met in the tournament.”
“It is a good thing that we are friends then,” Frank joked. He looked over at the dead Gote soldier that was laying in the corridor. “He had a gun. I do not know if you even use guns. But he tried to shoot me.” Jard darted over to the corpse with surprising speed and retrieved the pistol. He then started digging through the dead Gote's clothing, looking for additional ammo. “I hope we can see each other again, Jard.”
“As do I, Frank Ford. But I have a job to do.” Jard gave a slight bow and darted off toward the main corridor.
31.
“How can you be so casual?” Robert asked as he looked over at Phildan, who was sitting with his legs crossed on the couch, splitting his attention between the television and his data pad.
“I can afford to be casual, Robert.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Robert asked.
“I was basically dead until Frank saved me. Any time I have now is just a bonus. Hey, look at that.” Phildan caused the television to zoom in on some Gote gunners that had the Royal Guard pinned down beside their own ship.
“They need help,” Robert stated, suddenly in a serious tone. “Let's do it just like we did on Nuun.”
“I've made an attempt at understanding your weapon of choice. You may want to aim a little higher to account for the heavy gravity. Not much, just a little.”
“Wind?” Robert asked as the red circle opened slightly and he lowered the barrel of his rifle down into the hole.
“Negligible,” Phildan answered.
Robert paused for a moment as he took careful aim. Finally, he squeezed the trigger. “Good call, Phil.” He aimed and shot again. “I'm two for two. The others are bugging out.”
“I will send a message to Gladys.”
* * *
Frank began to walk around the coliseum toward the Mingrein combatants. He was thinking about just what to say to them to make them not try to eat him. And as he thought about it, he realized that they most likely wouldn't stand much of a chance against against the unknown odds on the upper levels. So he decided that the safest place for them at the moment was right where they were. He spun on his heel and headed back the way he came. He heard her voice as he was passing by his cell again.
“There you are,” Gladys said. “I lost you for a moment in the excitement.”
“Come here,” he said, holding out his hand. He didn't see it, but the remote landed in his hand. “Uncloak so I don't lose you. Just leave the transmission on. I'll carry the remote so it's one less thing for you to worry about.”
“You are always so thoughtful, my love.”
“I try, my dear. But I have no idea where I am going.”
“I will lead the way. Constanthos placed a remote at their computational hub. I have the schematics of the entire complex.”
“She is here? How?”
“We can cover all of those details later,” Gladys said.
“Do you know where she is?”
“I lost sight of her when she planted the remote. She is cloaked.”
“Oh.” Frank thought about it for a second. “She is fine. Hell, she is way smarter than me, and I'm still alive.”
“She is smarter than all of us put together, Frank.”
“I'm looking forward to meeting her again.”
“I would stay away from the lifts, my love. There is a service staircase behind the door to your right. She is looking forward to seeing you too.”
The door was locked so Frank kicked it off of its hinges. “Is everyone else doing okay?” he asked as he began to ascend the stairs.
“We have zero casualties so far, as far as I know. Gildract is about to land.”
“Gildract? Shit. Now it's a party.”
“This door leads to the main level,” she stated as he reached the top of the flight of stairs.
“I'm going to put you away or safe-keeping. I don't know what is waiting for me on the other side.” He tucked her remote, via a series of gestures, into the front of his varitherm, right above his sternum where his now massive pectoral muscles wouldn't crush it. “Shit.”
“What?” Gladys asked.
“It's locked.”
* * *
“What did you see?” Moldew asked.
“The corridor is empty. There doesn't seem to be any damage to this part of the building.”
“Raymond, we need to arrest Korick. Being inside, we have an opportunity.”
“I agree,” Raymond replied. “It is almost like they forgot about us.”
Moldew pulled out his pistol and looked it over. “I wish I would have brought something...better.”
“You're no good with a rifle anyway,” Raymond joked. “We'll have to ma
ke due.” He swung the door of their quarters open and stepped out. He had a pistol in each hand, pointing one each way, covering both sides at once. “Which way?” he asked.
“We'll try his office first.”
* * *
“What on Vera?” a Gote soldier asked as the air suddenly became very warm.
“Look alive,” the superior officer ordered. “I've read about these. It's a Li fog dome.”
“The Li are invading us?” another soldier asked.
“That wouldn't make any sense,” the superior said. “I don't think they can take our gravity. Everyone hold position.”
“Sir?” another nearby soldier started as he blinked repeatedly. “I'm getting to where I am unable to see very far.”
The superior officer looked to his rear and saw the main entrance to the casino. To his right, the street that led to the nearby city was starting to fade out of sight. He then looked straight ahead to where they had earlier spotted a vessel landing off in the distance. “Keep holding position,” he said.
“Do you hear that?” a different soldier asked.
“Yes. What is that?” the officer asked.
“It sounds like more ships.”
* * *
Jard had found a different way to the main floor. He only had to kill two Gotes so far, each of them dying fairly quickly from his ever-present venom. Peering around the corner, he caught sight of Korick over near the main staircase. But there were too many of them and they were all armed. He was trying to formulate a plan when a voice startled him.
“Assassin, he will try to run at some point soon,” Ottwan said, his voice coming quietly from the drone.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Jard replied in Lianese, never taking his eyes from Korick.
“Would you allow me to present an idea?”
“Certainly,” Jard answered as he ducked back into the shadows.
* * *
“What the hell happened in here?” Raymond said as he quickly surveyed the office before turning to cover the door.
“Let us see who this is,” Moldew said as he grabbed onto the Gote that was still laying face-down in the floor. He rolled the large body over and was surprised to see who it was. “It's Ahn. And he is still alive. He's been shot.”
“It wasn't Frank. He doesn't use guns.”
“Yes, I know, Raymond. He seems to be waking up. Ahn? Can you hear me?”
Ahn slowly opened his eyes. “Moldew,” he said in a hushed tone, “he killed her.”
“I don't understand,” Moldew replied.
“Korick is responsible for the accident that killed the royal family.”
“How do you know that?” Raymond asked from over near the door.
“He told me. I tried to kill him, but I am not meant for such things. He was much faster. Now he means to kill Caja.”
“Raymond,” Moldew said as he stood back up. “We need to warn her. But we can't just leave him here like this.”
“Leave me,” Ahn said. “I'll be fine. I think the Monster has escaped. Korick won't be coming back here.”
“We'll send help just as soon as we can,” Raymond said as he happened to glance at Korick's desk. There was a familiar looking pocketknife sitting there. He reached over and grabbed it as they were leaving the room. The offices were positioned above the secondary gaming floors, across the dome from the main room. The glass of the dome was one wall of the corridor, which cut back toward the interior, away from the coliseum. It offered a nice view of the fights, away from the crowds. “Moldew, look down there!” Raymond exclaimed, pointing down into the main gaming room.
“There are at least two hundred soldiers down there.”
“What are they doing?” Raymond asked.
“There are clubs being distributed. They must be going after Frank.”
“We sure can't be going out that way.”
“Surely there is another way out,” Moldew said as he looked to his right. “We should move in the direction of the airfield. There's probably and exit on that end.”
“I vote we go through the lower level. There is a stairwell that leads down over there. I'm sure there is more than one, but I don't know where they are. And that is the one that Frank is most likely to take.”
“We must hurry then,” Moldew said. “Maybe we can warn him as we make our way to the airfield.”
* * *
“My dear?” Frank said as he stood next to the door, trying to listen.
“Yes, my love?” Gladys responded.
“I was expecting to see a bug running around here. I wonder where he is.”
“Should we go check on him?”
“I certainly don't want anything to happen to him. I shouldn't have told Argee to open the cells. But I need to be going that way.” Frank hooked his thumb toward the door.
“I'll go back. I can explain the situation to him. And I can fly my remote very fast.”
“Sounds good. I'll wait right here.” He opened his varitherm and watched as the orb darted back down the stairwell. The sounds coming through the door were muffled, but he kept trying to listen. He looked down at himself and felt pretty ridiculous. The varitherm was pulled up high over his thighs, and the right sleeve was now up over his shoulder. He considered pulling the left up, just so it matched, but thought it best to keep the bracelet covered, just in case. The sound of footsteps descending from the upper level pulled him back to reality, and he stood ready to fight. As they came into view, he let himself relax.
“Frank!” Raymond exclaimed in a hushed tone. “Do not go through that door!”
“Hey, Ray. Moldew. What's behind this door?”
“It leads out to the main gaming floor,” Raymond replied in English. “There's a couple hundred soldiers out there right now.”
“Good to know. Where are you guys off to?”
“Korick means to kill Princess Caja,” Raymond replied. “We are trying to find a way out past the soldiers so we can warn her.”
“Well, I wouldn't recommend going through the lower level,” Frank said.
“Why?” Moldew asked.
“Breet is down there. His cell has been opened.”
“I vote we go back up,” Raymond quickly said, not feeling a bit bad about changing the plan.
“I believe there is a concourse on the second level,” Moldew said in Gotian. “I fear the soldiers will see up as we cross around the dome.”
“I can provide a distraction,” Frank offered, in English.
“You understand Gotian?” Raymond asked, looking quite shocked. Frank just smiled and shrugged. Raymond just shook his head and smiled. “You are full of surprises. You look like you've tripled in size the past couple of weeks. But I ain't even gonna ask. Oh, by the way, I think this belongs to you.” Raymond presented the pocketknife to Frank. “I took the liberty of closing it.”
“Holy shit! I thought it was lost forever. Thanks.”
“We must hurry,” Moldew urged.
“We can't really let Frank go out there alone and unarmed,” Raymond said in protest.
“I'm not unarmed,” Frank said with a smile. “I have this knife. Now get going.” He flipped the knife open and started looking at the door latch. It wasn't unlike those on Earth, so he inserted the blade and within a few seconds, the door came open.
* * *
“Do you smell that?” Gildract asked. “That is the smell of fear in the air. The fog dome reaches all the way to their building. The unknown has them in a state of terror.”
“And we just stay here, Sire?” a Mingrein soldier asked.
“Yes. We guard the dome generator. The Rotinoms will advance.”
“That seems like an odd plan. Not that I'm doubting you.”
“I welcome questions. That is how you learn. We are covering the South and the East. Those Royals are advancing from the West. The friends of Frank Ford are covering the North, and providing whatever air support is needed.”
“We are not invading. We are
merely providing support. I understand now.”
“Good. We have programmed the Rotinoms to only shoot uniformed Gote soldiers if they can help it. We need to keep them somewhat contained so they don't cause too much collateral damage. The Sessik asked that we not risk our lives.”
“Sire,” a different Mingrein called out from inside their freighter. “We have tanks and several thousand foot soldiers making their way from around the pyramid to the East.”
“Several thousand?” Gildract asked with a smile. He was longing to join the little gray automatons on the battle field, but knew the plan called for them to hang back. There were more explosions coming from the direction of the pyramid.
“Correction, Sire. The tanks have been eliminated.”
Gildract laughed out loud, and the others joined in. “Okay, let's try to be serious here. Let's start with two hundred gunners. Point them toward the edge of the pyramid and have them stop short of the edge of the dome before they open fire. I want to see how fast these Gotes can die. If any of them happen to make it past our gunners, we will feast on their flesh!” Everyone cheered. “Go ahead and send fifty gunners straight at the building. All gunners to be restocked as needed.”
* * *
Constanthos was pressed against the wall, trying to make her way around the crowd of Gote soldiers in order to keep Korick within sight. But there were too many of them, and as Korick started making his way toward the west, away from her, she was unable to follow. She was still searching for a way around when a sound caught everyone's attention. A door at the edge of the crowd opened and suddenly, a Gote went flying. And then she saw him. Frank was marching forward with an odd grin on his face. His varitherm was obviously too small for him now. The hair on his head was long and unkempt, and his beard was very shaggy. She decided, as she stood over around the side of the now panicked crowd of soldiers, that Frank was beautiful. “Remarkable,” she thought to herself as she watched him charge the large crowd, armed with only a pocketknife, laughing and making a spectacle of himself. He wasn't trying to run. In fact, he was searching out Gotes to punch, kick, or stab. She looked over as Raymond and Moldew were crossing within plain sight and realized that Frank was providing a distraction for them. He had already made his way about two-thirds of the way through the crowd when he screamed.
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