“Korick!” He noticed the Gotes forming ranks right outside the doors so he stopped to claim his spot in the open area near the entrance. Several Gotes started firing their pistols at him, but his shield deflected their bullets back into the crowd.
“Use your clubs!” a commanding officer ordered as he himself marched forward into the space that Frank had claimed. He came in swinging and she marveled at how easily Frank evaded him. But another Gote hit him from behind with a club. It was obvious that they were somehow electrified, as she could see the current as it shot into Frank's back. But instead of falling to the ground, Frank spun and sliced both of the assailant's wrists before turning his attention back to the officer. The officer was looking wide-eyed, having seen Frank's resistance to the prod. “All at once! Go!” They surged in, in unison, and hit him from all sides. There were screams and groans as they were crushing each other as they tried to crush Frank. Constanthos was about to rush to his assistance when the whole mound of Gotes went flying in every direction. The area around Frank was once again clear, and as he stood up with that devious smile back on his face, his eyes devoid of color, she knew that he had somehow used his shield again. Gotes were laying around, groaning, when she saw an opening. She jumped up onto a nearby gaming table and leaped over several Gotes to land silently near Frank. She reached into her pouch and pulled out the wad of varitherm that Phildan had provided. She smacked it onto Frank's back.
* * *
Frank had just decided that an exit strategy was just about in order when he felt the familiar application of varitherm hit him. As it covered his bare legs and arm, he smiled even bigger and whispered, “Thanks. You should get yourself somewhere safe.” He didn't bother to look around, as he knew he would never see someone that was cloaked.
“I think I'll stay.” It was the familiar contralto of Constanthos. “I have been fantasizing about this moment.” He felt something enter his left hand. It was the handle of a katana. He folded the knife and handed it to her. It disappeared. “A gift from Yohei Nakamura,” she said.
The Gotes had regrouped and were preparing to reengage. He waited for them to get close before he drew the sword. To them, it appeared as if he had produced it from nothingness. “Play time is over,” he said in Gotian as he began removing arms and heads. He noticed from his peripheral that Constanthos had uncloaked and was joining in. At first he was concerned, but it didn't take long for him to realize that she was more than capable. After the first couple dozen he slaughtered, he had a break in the action with which he took a moment to appreciate her work. She was moving toward a group of six as they were at the same time attempting to surround her. But her speed won out before they could even from a semi-circle. With no wasted motions, she quickly turned them into a heap of bloody body parts before she moved toward her next victim. Frank advanced once again and before long, the Gotes started breaking ranks and running for it.
“Korick left in that direction,” Constanthos said pointing to the west.
“That must be where the Princess is.” He paused to admire her as she pulled off her face-plate. She affixed it to the back of her left shoulder before gesturing the varitherm off of her head, freeing her long dark hair.
“Will you hold this for me?” she asked, presenting her sword, handle first.
“Sure,” he answered as he took it and watched her produce a hair tie from somewhere and quickly pull her hair back. He shook his head and looked away, as she was quite distracting. And then he noticed the awesome craftsmanship of the matching swords. “These are really nice.” He handed hers back to her.
“Yohei somehow acquired several Mingrein great blades from New York. He had them fashioned into these swords as a gift for you.”
“I bet that was a pain in the ass.”
“I understand it was. They were both meant for you. I hope you don't mind me borrowing one.”
“Not at all, Connie. So, how about those guys out there?” He was pointing to the growing number of Gote soldiers that were forming ranks at the front of the building.
“Gildract is going to be keeping them occupied. I suggest we pursue Korick.”
“I didn't think the Mingrein had those kind of numbers,” Frank commented as they turned away.
“The compound on Korbaal is way more vast than we realized. It extends several levels below the ground. There is a full production facility. A large batch of Rotinoms was almost ready when you took the planet.”
“Sweet.”
“There is only a handful of Mingrein out there. But the Gotes don't know that. It is understood that they will lay down their weapons when the princess arrives.” They were strolling down the wide hallway that led to the west as they talked. The hum of thousands of rounds from the Rotinom backpackers began after a short time.
“Oh, I know that tune,” Frank said. “They'll be busy alright. Busy being dead!” He smiled and looked at her. “Eh?” He kept smiling until she finally smiled back.
“That was pretty bad, Frank,” she said as she finally laughed. “Shouldn't we run? Or at least walk faster?”
“If someone says we didn't pull our weight, we can just refer them to the mess we made back there.”
“You're letting Gladys catch up with us, aren't you?”
“Yes. She went to go check up on Breet. I ran into Raymond, the human, and his friend, and they needed me to distract those Gotes back there. I don't want her to be, you know, worried.”
“You are very thoughtful. She can find us fast enough with our beacons. I think we should move.”
“If you say so. You're the brains here.” He smiled and winked. Just as she was shaking her head at another bad joke, they heard a scream. “Was that a female?” he asked. Up ahead of them, where another corridor intersected, a group of Gote soldiers turned the bend and were running as fast as they could manage to the west. Breet 1751 appeared and as he slid around the corner, he reached out with his pincer and caught the heel of the slowest Gote, causing him to fall face-first and slide to a stop on the polished floor. Breet screeched the most terrible sound as he mercilessly stabbed the Gote to death with his second pair of legs. With his pincers, he was searching the Gote's uniform. He finally found what he was looking for as he held every bit of ammo in his left claw, while grasping the pistol in his right pincer. He fired several shots into the distance, hoping to hit the soldiers that were scampering away. After another screech that was directed after them, his feelers twitched. He spun around to find Frank and Constanthos casually walking toward him.
“You must be the Monster, of Earth,” he chirped
“You can just call me Frank,” Frank answered in Sessiki. “I am honored to meet you, Breet 1751.”
“Honored? I don't deserve that. They should call me the Monster, of Rhoshe. I am nothing but a killer.”
“You fight and kill so your brothers don't have to. That is just about the most honorable thing I have ever heard.”
“Yes. I suppose. But now I am going to kill every Gote that I can before they kill me.”
“I must tell you a few things first, if you will allow,” Frank was trying to be as respectful as possible, as Breet was obviously mentally unstable.
“Please be quick about it,” Breet replied in a short tone.
“The Royal Guard has arrived to shut down Korick's operation. So please don't kill any of them. They are on our side. Also, don't go back that way.” Frank pointed to the direction of the main gaming room. “All of the Gotes down there are already dead and the Mingrein have opened fire on those that are outside.”
“Mingrein?” Breet asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes, they are on our side as well. They don't like having their brothers kidnapped and forced into the tournaments.”
“That is certainly understandable. They can share in my revenge.”
“Good. The Royal Guard is wearing the dark red and gold clothing. You've already met a few soldiers.” Frank gestured toward the dead Gote that was still under Breets
feet.
Breet paused and looked toward the floor. “Where would my presence be the most useful?” he finally asked.
“If you're intent on killing Gotes, no one is covering the north side of the building.” Frank paused as Breet looked confused. “Back the way you came,” Frank clarified. Breet was turning his large body back toward the north. “Oh, Breet? Have you seen a Sessik remote flying about?”
“What does it look like?” he asked.
“It's a little sphere, about this big.” Frank held his finger and thumb a couple of inches apart.
“I've seen no such thing.”
“Thanks anyway,” Frank said. “Good hunting.” Breet nodded his head and shot off. Frank looked over to Constanthos, who was staring wide-eyed back. “You alright?”
“Yes. I suppose I wasn't mentally prepared to see a bug up close.”
“The other Breets that I have met are really nice. 1751 has been through a lot. I hope he can recover.”
“Everything is different in this body,” Constanthos explained as they continued their way to the west. “The emotional component is the hardest part to get used to.”
“I guess I can see that,” Frank agreed. “You certainly have the physical part figured out. When did you get trained? It's only been a few weeks, hasn't it?”
“I brought your training and combat memories into this body with me,” she said with a smile.
“Your form is way better than mine,” Frank admitted.
“I spent some time with Yohei. He brought in swordsmen and martial artists of various styles to help me fine tune my technique.”
“Wow! I bet that was a lot of fun.”
“I must admit that I wish I could have taken more time to enjoy it. I rushed through it so that I could begin acclimating.”
“That part sucks for sure,” Frank said. “It looks like there's some Gotes up ahead.”
“Here,” she said. “You should carry your own sheath.”
32.
Gladys was sitting in her high-backed chair focusing on reuniting her remote with her husband. Denise was standing over her right shoulder to offer an extra set of eyes on the array of view screens.
“I just don't know what I'm going to do with that man,” Gladys said in an exasperated tone as she was trying to find an open stairwell.
“Don't panic,” Denise said in a soothing voice. “Take a deep breath and we'll figure it out together. He obviously had a reason for leaving that stairwell. You can see over here that their beacons are together. Frank and Connie have found each other and they are moving to the west.”
“But Breet is running lose. I was supposed to brief him and he is nowhere to be found.” Gladys had found no other way out of the lower level except from the stairwell where Frank had kicked the door in. When the orb had returned to where Frank was supposed to be waiting, she found the door closed and Frank was nowhere to be seen. So she piloted it up to the second level, where the door had been left standing open. “This is near where Constanthos left the remote. It's sifting through their entire system now.”
“What is it looking for?” Denise asked.
“Information on the Ezilak home world. Nuclear weapons locations. Things like that.”
“You're amazing,” Denise said. “I was focused on us getting Frank out of here and you are doing all of this other stuff too.”
“It isn't me,” Gladys replied. “It's Constanthos. I would just get Frank and leave too.” She was slowly moving past the offices, peering inside each one briefly as she passed. “It looks pretty deserted up here.” She pulled back out headed toward the glass wall of the dome. “Oh, my,” she said as she noticed the mess down across the dome on the main level.
“Holy shit,” Denise said. “That is like, I don't even know.”
“I would compare it to Washington. Frank left a similar mess there.”
“He is going to need some serious counseling once this is all over,” Denise commented.
“We all are,” Gladys added as she moved her remote across and then down the concourse to the west. It was a very long, wide corridor and she could see some movement on the other end.
* * *
“So here we are, my friend,” Moldew said as he was catching his breath.
“Just like Hitakkita,” Raymond answered.
“If we don't make it through this,” Moldew continued, “I want you to know that your friendship has meant everything to me.”
“I feel the same way, buddy.” Raymond looked the doors over. “We'll need to prop them open or we might be stuck out on the terrace.”
“There won't be time to worry about that. The gunners are right there. And you know who they're shooting at.”
“You're right,” Raymond agreed as he drew both of his pistols. “Alright, let's do this.”
Moldew kicked the door open and Raymond darted through. The Gote soldier that had been covering the door was caught off guard, and didn't even have time to raise his gun before Raymond placed a bullet right into his eye. He had killed two more gunners before Moldew emerged to assist. Neither of them knew that the Sessik remote shot through the door just before it closed behind them.
* * *
“I recognize those two,” Denise said.
“They are with the Royal Guard,” Gladys replied. “That human is impressive, but they are in over their heads.” She turned to a different screen and pressed a spot on a pad. “Phildan, two royals need help on the west end. Second floor terrace.”
“I wonder what is taking Frank and Connie so long,” Denise said, looking at the screen that showed the location of their beacons.
“They may have met resistance,” Gladys replied with a grave tone.
* * *
Moldew cried out in pain. His coat was designed to withstand bullets, but they still hurt. “Raymond, can you hurry up?” he shouted.
Raymond reached from around him and fired off a few more shots. “We're a bit outgunned here! I'm doing my best!” He fired two more shots. “Keep your head covered.” Luckily he noticed a Gote soldier trying to flank them. He sent a bullet into its temple. But as he was drawing a bead on another, the soldier received a round from a different kind of gun altogether. Raymond looked around the best he could from behind his gigantic friend when he saw another soldier fall. He tried to trace the trajectory back to its source but it didn't make sense. He looked up in the sky just as a tiny circle, a passageway into the unknown, was closing.
“What is it?” Moldew asked.
“We're getting help from somewhere,” Raymond answered. Just as they thought they were in the clear, they realized that the terrace extended around the corner, and four more soldiers appeared and opened fire. “Cover up!” Ray shouted. He was able to get two of them before he had to hide behind Moldew again.
“This is getting old,” Moldew complained as the bullets were now striking his large back.
“At least now they are all in one direction,” Raymond said as he reloaded. “I'll have this done real quick.” He centered himself, took a deep breath, and sprinted away from Moldew with both guns unloading in the direction of the soldiers. He knew that Gotes had a hard time hitting moving targets, so he kept moving. He shot one in the face right away, but the other was wearing body armor, and covered himself up. Having reached the low wall of the terrace, he darted back the other way, but before he could aim, another bullet came in from the sky and hit the soldier in the neck, where the armor was void. Raymond looked up again to see the circle closing. He thought about it for a second and then waved. The circle opened back up and he could see the flash from the muzzle. “What is he shooting at?” Raymond asked out loud. He was answered by a dead Gote soldier falling from the third level terrace above.
* * *
“You guys can drop your guns and walk away,” Frank called out in Gotian. “There's no need to die today.”
“Has that ever worked?” Constanthos asked in a low tone.
“No,” Frank answered with a
smile, “but it makes Gladys happy when I try diplomacy.”
They were answered with gunfire. The large caliber rounds were being deflect by their shields, but Constanthos was being knocked around. “How do you strengthen your shield?” she asked in an almost desperate tone.
“I just focus on setting my feet,” Frank answered. “I don't really know how it works.” She tried a couple of times and failed. So she simply stood behind Frank. “You guys are starting to upset my lady friend here,” Frank called out to the soldiers.
“You're not getting through these doors!” the lead soldier declared.
“I beg to differ,” Constanthos replied as she stepped out from behind Frank and launched a shuriken. It sailed past the soldiers and upon hitting the door, it exploded, blowing both doors off of their hinges. The blast killed the two soldiers that were standing nearest to the doorway. The other four were sent reeling forward. Frank met them with his sword. “That was awesome.” No motions were wasted as the first three were decapitated. “You have exploding shuriken, really?” The fourth, the lead soldier, received Frank's blade through his heart. He looked over at Constanthos, who just smiled and shrugged. Frank withdrew his sword as the Gote fell to the floor, and stepped to look out the door. Wiping the blade off onto the uniform of a dead Gote, Frank said, “The Royals are still meeting resistance. I can hear gunfire.”
“Maybe the sound is coming from the soldiers out front,” Constanthos replied.
“I doubt any of them are still standing,” Frank said. He stepped outside and was greeted by the sight of an orb uncloaking.
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